• heleneleduc on May 03, 2026

  LOVE this book! To this day, best ever butter mochi recipe. Fail-proof and super easy to make. Winner

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Shoyu‘ahi poke

  • LeilaD on December 30, 2019

    Salt. So much salt. Since there is also soy sauce, can definitely cut down on the sea salt.

  • mamacrumbcake on November 15, 2021

    Good basic poke. I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt and it was fine.

• Cone sushi

  • BeckyLeJ on June 04, 2019

    These were a bit fussy only because the rice was so sticky. I know there’s a trick in making sushi, will try that next time around!

• Mac salad

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    Who doesn’t like mac salad? Grating the onion is a great idea and adding half the mayo before chilling and the rest after ensures you get the best texture for your preference. I did add more pickle.

  • lkgrover on January 06, 2020

    Excellent pasta salad. The mayo, pickle juice & relish gives a nice tang. I used shells pasta instead of elbow macaroni pasta.

  • mjes on May 23, 2021

    Okay, I'll admit I've never really liked a mac salad but there are times when it is so traditional, the meal seems incomplete without one. So tonight's Hawaiian theme includes a simple Mac Salad - one where grated carrot adds a bit of interest. So, yes, I actually recommend this recipe for people who actually like a mac salad. Do use the smaller amount of mayonnaise suggested and consider cheating and using Kewpie mayonnaise - I'm sure some Hawaiians do.

  • shelbstirr on January 18, 2025

    This is sooooo good, just like what I used to love getting at a Hawaiian food truck. I agree grating the onion and adding half the mayo before serving are important to the recipe.

  • QuinceHouse on November 04, 2025

    So good!

  • VKHummel on January 05, 2026

    My favorite mac salad recipe & one that reminds my best friend of his childhood in Oahu.

  • Mtbike5280 on January 26, 2026

    Great authentic Mac salad, I add a dash of white vinegar to it.

  • holly_6rdxil on April 10, 2026

    This was great traditional mac salad! I learned that I prefer less relish personally, but grating the onion in was a game changer.

  • hirsheys on April 20, 2026

    I am sometimes iffy on Hawaiian Mac salad, but really liked this one. For my taste, I’d go heavy on onion, light on relish (and maybe add the hard boiled egg from the other recipe), but this was surprisingly addictive.

  • Yuanboa on May 03, 2026

    We have made this a couple of times now and add something each time. Latest was to do 1/2 sweet onion , more sweet pickle relish, more carrots and more mayo. We use recipe as guide

• Potato mac salad

  • Ultimatecookies on May 27, 2019

    We doubled the recipe for a cookout, but didn’t double the mayo. It was still very creamy for our tastes!

  • amandaeats on January 18, 2022

    I thought this was good, and my guests went for seconds, but I’d add a little rice vinegar next time. The potato really added a nice texture

  • amystar on January 27, 2022

    i really enjoyed it. i grated the carrots and added a cucumber. i didn’t have pickle juice or pickle relish so i mixed in rice vinegar, sugar and salt. i’m sure i’ll enjoy it more when i make the recipe as the author intended.

• Pickled onion

  • hirsheys on April 20, 2026

    Simple and tasty. I cut the sugar in half and would again.

• Namasu

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    So easy! It was good almost right away but even better the longer it picked. We ate it as a side with bbq chicken and with loco moco. I want these pickles everything!

  • MollyB on February 14, 2020

    Loved this! It was great with the mochiko chicken from the book. Like BeckyLeJ, we've been eating this pickle with everything since I made them. Be warned that the smell of the daikon pickle may not be popular with any kids in the house. :)

  • hirsheys on February 16, 2025

    Very good - we ate these after only a couple hours and they were really tasty. Couldn’t source the right salt, so I used some interesting Japanese salt instead but I think kosher would also be fine. Great alongside the shoyu chicken. ETA: got even better after a few days.

• Takuan

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    Per the recipe, I let these sit 1 week before eating. So good!

  • AnikaLavine on February 08, 2025

    I could not get these to work for me. Stayed waaaay too salty. Bummed cause I love Takuan

• Portuguese sausage patties

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    These were tasty but be careful not to over cook. Save extra for the chili!

• Portuguese spice blend

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    Made a batch for the sausage - it does make extra!

  • imaluckyducky on September 19, 2019

    Brilliant spice mixture, a grinder of some sort is a must (couldn't get it to work in my massive mortar and pestle). Didn't toast the spices because I was short on time, and it was still massively flavorful and well-balanced.

• Cornbread

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    So good! I like a sweet cornbread and this was perfect. Goes great with the chili.

  • Kinhawaii on June 15, 2019

    I enjoyed this too, kept well, some wanted it even sweeter & more buttery. I thought it was on the sweet side already in a good way.

  • Rinshin on June 17, 2019

    A sweeter, light-textured variation of cornbread with minimal cornmeal flavor. I reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup, which provided a pleasant sweetness—any more would have been too much for our taste. The texture leans more toward corn cake than traditional cornbread due to the small amount of cornmeal relative to flour. Mine was done about 7 minutes before the specified baking time. I served it with BBQ pork ribs, baked beans, coleslaw, and sliced pineapple. I believe there’s a place for both a more robust, cornmeal-forward cornbread and a sweeter, lighter-textured version like this, depending on the meal.

  • steeno on November 10, 2022

    moist and delicious, not too crumbly, added some frozen corn and it is now my go to cornbread recipe

• Kālua pig

  • imaluckyducky on September 19, 2019

    Ok listen. Don't go into this recipe expecting the level of smoky flavor you'd get with traditional kalua pork - this requires a smoker or a nice pit in the dirt. However, this is the BEST version of oven kalua pork I've encountered. Relatively simple dish - salt and pepper get rubbed on the butt or shoulder roast and liquid smoke is poured into the bottom of the pan. If you can find frozen banana leaves suggested in the recipe, 100% use them to wrap up the roast in. Doing so is a fiddly process that twine can easily fix, but you will be rewarded with achingly tender neat that is infused with the slightest notes of herbaceous tea provided by the banana leaves. Will make again.

• Char siu pork

  • BeckyLeJ on June 04, 2019

    I did not marinate this overnight. The only ingredient I was missing when I was ready to make it the night before was whiskey, so I just let it go a few hours. It was good but next time I’ll go the full 12 hour marinate time!

  • steeno on November 10, 2022

    easy to follow and delicious! used the leftovers in banh mi sandwich yum!

  • hibeez on January 19, 2026

    This was delicious! And very easy to make. I made half a recipe using 2 lb of meat but made 3/4 of the marinade. Thought it was going to be too salty but it was not overly so; I still may cut back the salt rub next time. I did not use food coloring. It was not clear if you should add more water to the lower pan each time you turned the meat, so I did so, mostly so I wouldn't have a burnt mess. Served with jasmine rice and some steamed veggies. Definitely will make this again; it would be great for a crowd.

• Spam fried rice

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    Great for using leftover rice! Easy and tasty! Top with eggs, per author’s suggestion.

  • anya_sf on November 23, 2019

    We enjoyed this. Double the recipe served 4 for dinner. I added a small diced red bell pepper with the carrots and some frozen peas at the end.

  • jenburkholder on June 18, 2024

    This was good! Doubled the Spam (half a can?) and used a bit more of everything else. Threw in some peas. The eggs on top are a must, as is the sriracha. Rich and savory, satisfying dinner.

  • gootenbeez on May 18, 2026

    Had to make some substitutions to use up what I had in the fridge. I enjoyed the seasoning.

• Soy-glazed Spam musubi

  • Nkrieda78 on July 12, 2020

    Best Spam Musubi we have ever had! Hands down!!

  • mjes on January 24, 2021

    So I had some pickled mango which is listed as a potential accompaniment so why not soy-glaze my spam. The furikake in the rice is a nice additional. This made a very nice musubi.

  • Kinhawaii on April 24, 2021

    I agree- best spam musubi! I like my spam in the middle of the rice to soak up the glaze- yum!

  • eileentien on November 04, 2022

    Love the simple soy glaze. We didn't have furikake at home. Just as yummy without it.

  • eloise_tqh0g2 on April 05, 2026

    Next time, double the glaze recipe so you can have extra to put on the rice while assembling. Use short grain rice or sushi rice. Long grain rice will not stick

  • holly_6rdxil on April 10, 2026

    I wish I would have gotten a musubi maker prior to making these! Shaping them was kind of a challenge without it. I tried to use the can as suggested but it was too sticky and messy for that. The sauce was amazing I wish I had doubled it!

• Pork vinha d’alhos

  • amandaeats on January 20, 2022

    VERY good. I added more potatoes to stretch the dish.

• Pork and peas (Pork guisantes)

  • shelbstirr on May 18, 2025

    Really good! Fairly simple, but the flavors meld together into something special. Will happily make again.

• Portuguese bean soup

  • imaluckyducky on September 19, 2019

    O.M.G. This soup is officially in my Top 5 favorites of all time. The style is close to minestrone, however with sausage and a Portugese flavor profile that includes star anise, cloves, and cinnamon. Portugese sausage is incredibly hard to find in my area, so I used hot italian sausage with great success. Spanish chorizo could also be used. Lacinto kale was MIA at the store, so I reverted back to cabbage, the traditional ingredient. I doubled the amount of the spice blend and added salt to taste. This created an addictive, "I want more as I eat more" kind of soup. Will make again.

  • tmjellicoe on March 08, 2024

    We really enjoyed this soup. I made the Portuguese sausage using the recipe from this same book and it was tasty. I used smoked pork hock as shanks were unavailable. I only used 1 though and it didn’t provide as much meat so next time I would use at least 3 hocks. I’m also tempted to use cabbage as well as kale and mixed beans instead of just kidney beans.

  • Rinshin on March 21, 2025

    This soup had unusual flavor components, such as cloves, whole star anise, and cinnamon, combined with beans, smoked ham shank, Portuguese sausage, thyme, rosemary and parsley. Although we enjoyed it, it’s not something we would crave again. We served it with rice, as suggested in the recipe.

• Mochiko chicken

  • BeckyLeJ on June 04, 2019

    Yum! This was super tasty and surprisingly easy!

  • MollyB on February 14, 2020

    Very good and quite easy (for something you are deep frying). We didn't have nori on hand so we skipped the wrapping; it might be a little more interesting with the nori, but they were great even without it. I highly recommend making the suggested pickles to go with it. They were a nice complement.

  • amystar on January 27, 2022

    these were good. i only marinated them for about three hours (author suggests 5-24 hours). the longer marinating time would’ve made them tastier or next time i may add a teaspoon of salt or chicken stock powder to the marinade. the nori sheets gave the chicken a pleasant seafoody taste. i’ll be making this again.

  • katelyn_spmny1 on March 24, 2026

    Didn’t like these. Seemed like way too much soy sauce, something felt off with the recipe. Too salty.

• Shoyu chicken

  • Kinhawaii on May 14, 2019

    Very yummy- easier than another recipe I used before. Sauce got thick enough that didn't need cornstarch. The chicken was so nice & brown we didn't broil it either. Will definitely cook this again!

  • anya_sf on November 20, 2019

    Delicious. There is a ton of extra sauce, but I don't think you could braise the chicken properly in a smaller amount. The sauce's flavor is very concentrated, so you don't need a lot drizzled on top of the chicken.

  • TrishaCP on December 24, 2019

    This is pure comfort food and we loved it. I used boneless, skinless thighs. To adapt, I let the sauce cook on its own for 30 minutes, and only then did I add the chicken thighs to cook with the sauce for the last 30 minutes.

  • amandaeats on January 18, 2022

    This is a great weeknight dish, especially if you WFH and can take the 6 minutes required to get the braising liquid ready. I used closer to 3.5lbs of meat and the sauce didn’t need to be adjusted. This will be a repeat in our home

  • eileentien on November 04, 2022

    Very easy to make for a weeknight dinner. The chicken was flavorful and tender. Broiled it for a few minutes to brown the chicken skin made it taste even better. Didn't feel the need to thicken the sauce.

  • AnikaLavine on February 08, 2025

    This is the best recipe! Become my de-facto I want something delicious with low effort. Make it all the time.

  • hirsheys on February 16, 2025

    Really delicious. We were really happy with this. Made it with boneless skinless thighs (using the method recommended in by Trisha of cooking the sauce down a bit before adding the thighs). Served with namasu pickles, pineapple chunks, and butter lettuce with creamy Asian dressing, and rice. Fantastic meal! (Next time I’d use ~3 lb)

  • eloise_tqh0g2 on February 23, 2026

    VERY DELICIOUS !! Pretty easy to make. Used 2tbs of corn starch to help thicken sauce. Next time I’ll use 3 lbs of chicken because there was a lot of leftover sauce. Served with grilled pineapple

• Chicken adobo

  • rachel_ywqstg on May 19, 2026

    I used this recipe more as inspiration than following every step word for word - I used homemade chicken stock instead of beer, and I did not broil the chicken after braising. Regardless, the result was tasty and surprisingly I loved how aromatic the peppercorns and bayleaf were when I took the extra step to toast them. My resulting dish was on the salty side, but I think I over reduced the sauce a bit and it was still balanced over white rice.

• Local-style BBQ chicken (Huli huli chicken)

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    This is the easiest bbq chicken ever! We were rushed and only let it marinade about an hour, but it was still really tasty. Will plan ahead next time for the full 8 hour marinade time.

  • babyfork on October 01, 2020

    Made this for my daughter's sweet sixteen socially distanced tropical-themed pool party. It was a hit! I marinaded overnight. Since I was running the show all by myself and didn't want to man the grill, I baked the chicken at 450 for about 25 minutes. Then broiled for a few minutes more. Oh, and I scattered some fresh pineapple chunks over the chicken before putting it in the oven. I simmered the reserved sauce for a bit until it thickened while the chicken was in the oven. Drizzled with the sauce. Yum! Really good and kid-friendly.

  • MollyB on April 26, 2022

    Great grilled chicken recipe! I made it last night and am already planning for when I can make it again. It will go into my rotation of tasty grilled chicken thigh recipes (the other leader on that list is the Grilled Chicken from "Into the Vietnamese Chicken").

  • anya_sf on April 29, 2022

    The chicken marinated 6 hours, but was still really flavorful. We loved it.

  • hbakke on June 01, 2023

    Tasty marinade. Will repeat.

  • heather_72w4t4 on April 16, 2026

    This is amazing. Don’t forget the extra marinade to pour over the chicken. I will make this again. Also, marinate it a long time

  • hirsheys on April 20, 2026

    Quite good - I used an oven roast, then quick broil approach similar to babyfork. Also added pineapple chunks. (Note to self - don’t go too heavy on ginger.)

  • Yuanboa on May 03, 2026

    We have made this twice now. Important to save marinade to swipe on chicken as turned. We love this recipe

  • QuinceHouse on May 18, 2026

    Great for bbqs!

• Chicken katsu

  • jennifer_vszvd1 on February 21, 2026

    I salted the chicken breasts the night before breading and cooking. I also omitted the recipe sauce and served with a cherry/yuzu/balsamic sauce.

  • rachel_ywqstg on May 20, 2026

    Crispy and delicious - I paired this with a japanese curry sauce

• Loco moco

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    This is one of my favorite dishes! Serve with sriracha and pickled vegetables.

  • Kinhawaii on June 16, 2019

    Very yummy, also enjoyed it without the egg too, may add some bread or something to soften the burger part next time since we like our burgers well done.

  • EmilyR on February 16, 2021

    Definitely Hawaiian comfort food.

  • eileentien on November 05, 2022

    The beef took a little longer to cook. The sauce didn't really thicken. But it didn't affect how delicious and flavorful this dish is. Also very easy to make. Love it!

  • Acarroll on January 22, 2023

    This was really good but really rich. Next time I'd serve with a side of kimchi. Also the 80/20 meat was a bit fatty, I'd go leaner next time.

  • hirsheys on February 18, 2025

    Cozy, rich, and yummy. I made the patties too thick, so next time will be sure to go thinner and/or make more smaller ones and probably would put them back in the sauce to simmer a little at the end (to keep them juicy). I wanted more onion so will use a large one or two medium in future. And agree that the sauce was thin, so would maybe add a bit more cornstarch. Still, even with the minor tweaks, this was another big hit from this book. We loved the egg on top and these went great with leftover Namasu pickles.

  • greylyn_uwdghg on May 15, 2026

    very good, but i added another onion

• Beef chili

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    This is a kind of involved recipe if you’re making the sausage just for the recipe, but it is worth it! Note to self, mince the bacon! Serve with the cornbread!

  • anya_sf on November 01, 2020

    I chopped the bacon and sausage extra small initially to avoid chopping them again. Used a whole green pepper. This chili was super thick and flavorful. My family absolutely loved it, served over rice and topped with cheddar cheese.

  • meggan on February 09, 2022

    I use store-bought linguiça. Very flavorful but I found I had to use a far more liberal application of spices Than called for.

  • kariholsberry on February 15, 2026

    Loved this recipe! Used a diff sausage but still turned out great.

• Guava cake

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    This cake is amazing! Couldn’t find the guava concentrate, so I cooked some down over the author’s suggestion, you will have extra after.

  • Kinhawaii on July 14, 2019

    I was hoping for a stronger guava taste. Nice texture, even refrigerated, not too sweet. I think I would have liked a guava curd or jam filling to up the guava flavor. Used a frozen puree, maybe the puree wasn't as concentrated? Didn't have food coloring so included a photo of cake without it.

  • EmilyR on August 06, 2019

    This cake has a nice texture, though I wish I could have gotten the frosting to be a bit more smooth. I used jarred guava in a light syrup, which I rinsed off and then pureed. We made cupcakes and a small tier cake brushed with the guava syrup to retain moisture. For some natural coloring I used beet powder.

  • AnikaLavine on March 28, 2026

    For me this cake was just ok. It was a bit dense and I overbaked it a tad so it was dry - that was clearly my bad. I couldn't find guava puree so I used paste instead and melted it down. I didn't realize paste had extra sugar but the cake didn't turn out overly sweet in my opinion. It just had a more concentrated guava flavor. I have heard a recommendation to whip the egg whites separately and then fold into the batter to make the cake lighter and airier. I'll try that next time. Overall a good base recipe but still needs some finessing in my opinion.

• Li hing gummy bears

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    The li hing powder adds an interesting tang to the gummy bears. Note, they’re pretty wet immediately after making. They do dry a bit in the storage.

• Hurricane popcorn

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    My new favorite popcorn! I like the wasabi furikake for a little extra heat. (Molly Yeh makes a version of this that’s got soy sauce mixed with the butter and it’s equally amazing.)

• Pog

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    I’ve never had the canned stuff, but this is really good! We’ve been using it for mixed drinks as well.

• Fruit punch

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    So good! For the strawberry juice, we blended some strawberries and strained out the seeds.

• Creamy Asian dressing

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    This is the absolute best salad dressing!

  • anya_sf on April 30, 2022

    We enjoyed this dressing very much on a salad with bibb lettuce, cucumber, carrot, avocado, and edamame.

  • MollyB on December 07, 2022

    We love this dressing! We made it to serve with the Mochiko Chicken, and ended up putting it on lots of different salads and bowls. It goes well with just about any greens, when you're in the mood for a dressing that leans sweet rather than acidic. I just made a double batch of it to have on hand in the fridge!

  • hirsheys on February 16, 2025

    Really yummy. Great on a salad of butter lettuce and shredded lettuce, but also would be good with other lettuces and as a dip for chicken or dressing for a rice bowl.

  • AnikaLavine on February 08, 2025

    It's a travesty if I do not have this in my fridge at all times. Almost out of a double batch I made last week. Make this, you won't regret it.

• Westerner’s lilikoʻi vinaigrette

  • BeckyLeJ on May 16, 2019

    Love this tangy dressing!

• Beef curry

  • BeckyLeJ on May 25, 2019

    I really liked this dish! It’s sweeter than a typical curry and similar to a beef stew. It’s also incredibly tasty.

  • MollyB on September 11, 2019

    Very good curry-flavored stew. Leftovers were very good - I happily ate it for two days for lunch. If making again, I would cook the beef longer before adding the vegetables, or perhaps pressure cook it up to the point of adding the vegetables. I used beef chuck, and it took a long time to get tender, so I ended up with very well cooked potatoes and carrots (which were still really good).

  • tmjellicoe on August 30, 2022

    I agree with this being delicious and cooking the beef longer (which I did thanks to a previous note). Next time I’ll cut the larger pieces down as the smaller ones were just that much more tender. I also added turnip (needed to be used up) to good success.

  • Bessp on March 31, 2026

    This was a bit of miss for us. The curry flavor was very mild, and the gravy was very thin and watery, even after cooking the curry longer to get the beef fully tender. Not bad, but not great. If I make it again, I'll reduce the beef stock and up the spice. I used a chuck cross rib roast because it was on sale, it worked nicely for this dish.

• Chow fun

  • BeckyLeJ on June 04, 2019

    Loved this! Great use of the leftover Char Siu Pork. I did have trouble finding chow fun noodles but substituted XL rice noodles instead and it came out great.

• Vanilla syrup

  • BeckyLeJ on June 04, 2019

    Great for using in coffee!

• Lilikoʻi syrup

  • BeckyLeJ on June 04, 2019

    Can use to make hurricanes!

• Ice cake

  • BeckyLeJ on June 04, 2019

    A super simple summer treat!

• Butter mochi

  • BeckyLeJ on June 29, 2019

    I’ve been dying to try this recipe. Tonight I was craving something sweet and decided it was time. Oh, this was perfect! Not overly sweet, just what I wanted! And I love the texture - it’s stickier than mochi but it’s got that same sort of jelly like texture.

  • ethedens on June 20, 2024

    Cross post with Aloha Kitchen since this is an adapted version of that recipe. I was not a good recipe follower here. I picked this butter mochi because it called for milk with any fat percentage, which was necessary because I subbed soy milk due to a dairy allergy. I also did not include the coconut because unsweetened shredded coconut has been almost impossible to find. I would also note that I used glutinous rice flour but not specifically mochi flour. The recipe says either is okay but some internet forum people thought otherwise. Anyways, despite my horrible adherence to the recipe this was great and I'd make it again. And the flavor is such a clean slate it opens itself to even more bastardizations of the recipe! 4/5

  • shelbstirr on February 05, 2025

    I love that this is less sweet than most desserts, and the texture is amazing. The recipe makes a lot, so next time I would do half. It did seem a little greasy, so I might try and tweak the amount of butter.

  • Rachel_ on March 28, 2026

    Put it too close to the top of the oven so it browned really fast…but a little foil on top and cooked it through to the end.

• Double-chocolate haupia pie

  • Kinhawaii on July 12, 2019

    Loved this pie. Used own crust & got lazy by using regular heavy whipped cream served separately because family doesn't always like cream. Followed rest of recipe. Chocolate layer was creamy & rich, haupia layer not too firm nor too sweet. Will definitely make again!

  • Xyz123 on August 13, 2021

    The chocolate portion of this is wonderful. The haupia on its own was good, but I couldn’t detect its flavor when eaten all together.

  • steeno on November 10, 2022

    loved this! takes extra time to make the two layers, so i used premade pie crust to cut down on the time. it was a fan favorite with my loved ones!

  • EmilyR on January 08, 2023

    After spending a few weeks in Kauai where I discovered Kauai Kookie's dark chocolate haupia and then bought and ate several pies, I was on the quest to recreate something when I got home. This is a solid recipe... I am still testing others to see if I can get something even closer. Be forewarned that it's a lot of stirring over heat for the pudding and the haupia. It also states to pour the haupia directly onto the chocolate. I wish I had chilled the chocolate first as it mixed slightly in the middle so it wasn't as beautiful as I would have liked.

• Macadamia nut cream pie

  • Kinhawaii on August 02, 2019

    Nice creamy pie- like vanilla pudding with lots of macadamia nuts. Used vanilla paste & just 1 recipe of stabilized whipped cream- not 2- we don't like that much cream. Good for macadamia nut lovers.

• Somen salad

  • Kinhawaii on September 04, 2019

    This recipe encouraged us to add more toppings to the usual somen salad- which was a nice change. The dressing has less shoyu & acid (rice vinegar) than the one we usually make- this is a lot milder & sweeter. We enjoyed this variation on our usual salad.

• Beef stew

  • lkgrover on November 10, 2019

    Thick, hearty beef stew. Preparation is easy, but requires a long cooking time.

  • anya_sf on November 23, 2019

    I made the stew a day ahead and served it over quinoa. I thickened it with AP flour instead of mochiko, mixing it with chilled broth, although the stew was actually pretty thick already. I stirred in some frozen peas at the end. My family loved it with extra Hawaiian salt sprinkled on top.

  • mamacrumbcake on July 29, 2022

    This is really a good beef stew. I make it as written except reduce the potatoes and omit the final thickening with rice flour. The sauce is thick enough.

• Westerner’s guava dressing

  • babyfork on October 01, 2020

    I used Ceres brand Guava juice which is one of the brands the author recommends. Used a Vidalia onion instead of the Maui (figured they are both mild, sweet onions). This was too acidic as written. The guava was overpowered. I added some honey which helped. I think this is a good starting point and just needs some adjustment.

• Ginger misoyaki butterfish

  • babyfork on October 01, 2020

    I followed this recipe to the letter and almost ruined over $30 worth of fish! The recipe says to raise your oven rack to 6-8 inches below the heating element. I even used a ruler and was at 7 inches. The recipe says to broil for 8-10 minutes and then broil for a minute or two more to caramelize the top of the fish. I decided to check at 7 minutes and it was black! I pulled it out and I must've gotten it in the nick of time because it didn't taste too burnt. It was okay but disappointing with the 2-day marinade, plus the cost of the fish, sake, furikake and mirin, etc. and then it being overcooked when I really followed all the instructions.

  • TrishaCP on October 09, 2022

    This was good, but a more time-consuming version of similar miso black cod recipes that I’ve made. So not sure I’d repeat, though the ginger was nice. Based on babyfork’s note, we ignored the recipe’s cooking instructions, and used the air fryer for 7 minutes.

  • AnikaLavine on February 08, 2025

    My fiance and i call this "candy fish" it is absolutely amazing. Give it the full 3 days and watch it like a hawk - as previous notes stated it can overcook easily especially if you give it the full time in the recipe. They must have been working with some thick fish. Also the marinade can burn if you leave to much of it on the fish before broiling so watch out for that also.

• Chicken hekka

  • hirsheys on February 18, 2025

    This is very simple and tasty, though the chicken pieces are a bit bland. Honestly, I would maybe just leave them out next time or substitute roast pork or shoyu chicken instead - something with a bit more flavor. I have zero issues making this a veggie dish though - it’s not terribly hard and it’s tasty. Will make again. (Next time, maybe sauté the onions for a bit more sweetness.)

  • anya_sf on November 08, 2024

    I made 1/3 recipe just for me, using proportionately more vegetables and substituting celery for the bamboo shoots. Very tasty - I especially liked the mushrooms.

• Haupia

  • steeno on November 10, 2022

    easy to follow recipe and delicious, used it to make the chocolate haupia pie that's also in this book

• Liliko‘i chiffon pie

  • steeno on November 10, 2022

    the texture of the chiffon was a little off, but i think my gelatin had not melted/set properly. will try again next time and not multitask during that step!

• Papaya seed dressing

  • als102 on June 02, 2026

    This turned out absolutely horrible, which is really surprising given everything else I've tried in this book is excellent. Oh well!

• Maui-style kalbi short ribs

  • VKHummel on January 05, 2026

    A solid favorite in this house. I typically leave out the ginger which is a personal preference & add in sambal oelek for a little kick.

• Mai tai

  • holly_6rdxil on April 10, 2026

    This was strong but very balanced with the syrups and lime juice. Not too sweet! I’m looking forward to having these this summer!

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  A beautiful reflection of the food of Hawaii.

  Full review