Native Hawaiian cuisine refers to thetraditionalHawaiian foods that predate contact with Europeans and immigration fromEast andSoutheast Asia. The cuisine consisted of a mix of indigenous plants and animals as well as plants and animals introduced by Polynesian voyagers, who became the Native Hawaiians.

The date of the arrival on theHawaiian Islands of the earliestPolynesian seafarers isunder debate. Nonetheless, when they arrived, few edible plants were indigenous to Hawaiʻi aside from a fewferns and fruits that grew at higher elevations. Fish, shellfish, andlimu are abundant in Hawai’i.Flightless birds were easy to catch and eggs from nests were also eaten. MostPacific islands had no meat animals except bats and lizards. Various food-producing plants were introduced to the island by the migrating Polynesian peoples.

Botanists andarchaeologists believe that these voyagers introduced anywhere from 27 to more than 30 plants to the islands, mainly for food. The most important of them wastaro. For centuries, taro—and thepoi made from it—was the main staple of the Hawaiian diet, and it is still much loved.ʻUala (sweet potatoes) andyams were also planted. TheMarquesans, the first settlers from Polynesia, broughtʻulu (breadfruit) and theTahitians later introduced thebaking banana. Settlers from Polynesia also broughtcoconuts (niu) andsugarcane (kō); though it is of note that Hawaiians utilised less of the coconut due to the islands' more milder climate yielding not so abundant fruit compared to groves in the southern tropics.^[1]

Ancient Polynesians sailed the Pacific withpigs,chickens, andPolynesian dogs, and introduced them to the islands. Pigs were raised forreligious sacrifice, and the meat was offered at altars, some of which was consumed by priests and the rest eaten in a mass celebration. The early Hawaiian diet was diverse, and may have included as many as 130 different types of seafood and 230 types of sweet potatoes. Some species of land and sea birds were consumed into extinction. The non-native species may have caused various birds, plants and land snails to go extinct.

Early Polynesian settlers brought along with them clothing, plants and livestock and established settlements along the coasts and larger valleys. Upon their arrival, the settlers grewkalo (taro),maiʻa (banana),niu (coconut), andʻulu (breadfruit). Meats were eaten less often than fruits, vegetables, and seafood. Some did import and raisepuaʻa (pork),moa (chicken), andʻīlio (poi dog).

In ancient Hawai'i, communities divided into sections known as Ahupua'a. These were slices of land that typically stretched from the top of the mountain to the ocean. This division gave each community access to all natural resources the land could provide, and allowed each community to be largely self sufficient.^[2] This division importantly gave communities access to streams running through the valleys down to the ocean, which allowed for construction oflo'i, irrigated mud patches that were used forkalo agriculture. In the spaces where the streams met the ocean,estuaries were adapted tofish ponds (aquaculture).

ʻAwa (Piper methysticum, kava) is a traditional food among Hawaiians. Breadfruit, sweet potato, kava, andheʻe (octopus) are associated with the four major Hawaiian gods:Kāne,Kū,Lono andKanaloa.

Popular condiments includedpaʻakai (salt), groundkukui nut,limu (seaweed), andko (sugarcane) which was used as both a sweet and a medicine.

Men did all of the cooking, and food for women was cooked in a separateimu; afterwards men and women ate meals separately per the ancientkapu (taboo) of separating the genders for meals. This kapu was abolished in 1819 at the death ofKamehameha I by his wifeKa'ahumanu. The ancient practice of cooking with theimu continues for special occasions and is popular with tourists.

Vegetables were a significant portion of the meal, often boiled in a special method called thehakui where hot stones are dropped intocalabashes (ipu) and covered until the contents have cooked.^[3][4]

Thespesia populnea wood was used to make food bowls.

Cyanea angustifolia was eaten in times of food scarcity. It and the now endangeredCyanea platyphylla are known in Hawaiian ashāhā.

There is no fighting when eating from a bowl ofpoi. It is shared and is connected to the concept becauseHāloa (Taro), the first-born son of the parents who begat the human race.

Hawaiians identify strongly withkalo/taro, so much so that the Hawaiian term for family,ʻohana, is derived from the wordʻohā, the shoot or sucker which grows from the kalo corm. As young shoots grow from the corm, so people too grow from their family.

• Kalo (Taro) was the primary staple food in the Native Hawaiian diet. The tubers are grown inlo`i kalo, terraced mud patches often utilizing spring-fed or stream irrigation.Kalo are typically steamed and eaten in chunks or pounded intopa`iai orpoi. Additionally, the leaves are also utilized as wrappings for other foods for steaming.^[5]
• `Uala (Sweet potato) was another common staple crop that was introduced by the first Polynesians to voyage to Hawai`i. The potato required much less water to cultivate thankalo, so it was important in regions that lacked sufficient precipitation for construction oflo`i kalo.`Uala can be prepared in similar ways tokalo, including steaming, boiling, or cooked in animu with other foods.^[6]
• `Ulu (Breadfruit) was the last of the three staple crops that were introduced to Hawai`i by the Polynesians.`Ulu fruits grow on trees, unlike the previous two staple crops,kalo and`uala, which are grown in the ground. These varied agricultural needs allowed the Native Hawaiians to have a good level of resistance and resilience to seasonal changes in precipitation.`Ulu is a starchy fruit and can be prepared in similar ways to`Uala andKalo.^[7]
• I`a (fish) and other seafood such asOpihi (limpets) andWana (sea urchin) were a large part of the Native Hawaiian diet, as the reef ecosystems surrounding the Hawaiian islands made for an abundant food source. Seafood was largely eaten raw and seasoned with sea salt andlimu (seaweed). This preparation gave birth to the now popular dishpoke.
• Hāpuʻu ʻiʻi, (Hawaiian tree fern) (Cibotium menziesii) is an example of a food endemic to the Hawaiian Islands that was not introduced by the Polynesian voyagers. The uncoiled fronds (fiddles) are eaten boiled. The starchy core of the ferns was considered afamine food or used aspig feed. It was prepared by peeling the young fronds or placing the entire trunk with the starchy center in anʻimu or volcanicsteam vents. A saying was "He hāpuʻu ka ʻai he ai make" (If thehāpuʻu is the food, it is the food of death).

• 
  Fish were caught in near-shore reefs and tidepools using spears and nets
• 
  Lo`i Kalo (taro patches) were used to growKalo, the staple of the Hawaiian Diet.
• 
  `Ulu (Breadfruit) were another starchy staple food in the Hawaiian diet.

Certain foods were eaten primarily by the royalty and nobility. These were also sometimes consumed by common people. These includePua`a (pig),Moa (chicken) and`Ilio (dog).^[8] All of these animals were introduced to Hawai`i, which prior to Polynesian voyagers did not have any large mammals. Pigs were hunted, while chickens and dogs were raised domestically. Animals were slow cooked primarily inimu, or underground ovens made by burying food with hot rocks and banana wood. They were also often cooked by cutting the animal open, filling its body with hot rocks, and wrapping it in ti, banana, and kalo leaves.

Most cooked foods eaten by Native Hawaiians, were prepared either through steaming, boiling, or slow cooking in underground ovens known asimu. Due to their lack of non-flammable cooking vessels, steaming and boiling were achieved by heating rocks in fires and placing the hot rocks in bowls of water.^[9] Many other foods, such as fruits and most seafood, were eaten raw.

• Kalua, pig cooked underground in an imu.
• Poi (pronounced po-ee) is made from cooked, mashed, and sometimes lightly fermentedtaro. It is the starch staple of the native Hawaiian diet.
• Laulau is made with beef, pork, or chicken and salted butterfish wrapped in taro leaves and then ti leaves. It was traditionally prepared in an imu.
• Poke (pronounced po-keh) is a raw marinated fish or other seafood salad (such asahi poke or octopus poke). It is made with sea salt, seaweed,kukui nut oil and in more recent times with soy sauce and sesame oil.
• Lūʻau (pronounced Loo-ow) is made withcoconut milk cooked with taro leaves in a pot. It has a creamy consistency. Squid is usually cooked with this dish, but chicken is sometimes substituted for the squid.
• Haupia (pronounced how-pee-ah) is a flan like dessert made with coconut milk and groundarrowroot. Cornstarch has become a widespread substitute for the arrowroot.
• Ko'ele palau (pronounced ko-ele pa-lao) is a dessert made from cookedsweet potato mashed and mixed withcoconut milk.
• Inamona is a traditionalrelish or condiment often accompanied meals and is made of roasted and mashedkukui nutmeats, and sea salt. It sometimes mixed withedible seaweed.
• Kulolo (pronounced ku-lo-lo) is a pudding dessert made from gratedtaro corm andcoconut milk that's baked in animu, having a fudge-like consistency.
• Piele is another Hawaiian pudding similar to Kulolo, with grated sweet potato or breadfruit mixed with coconut cream and baked.

• 
  Men poundingpoi in 1890

On important occasions, a traditionalʻahaʻaina feast was held. When a woman was to have her first child, her husband started raising a pig for theʻahaʻaina mawaewae feast that was celebrated for the birth of a child. Besides the pig,mullet, shrimp,crab, seaweed, and taro leaves were required for the feast.^[10]

The modern name for such feasts,lūʻau, was not used until 1856, replacing the Hawaiian wordsʻahaʻaina andpāʻina.^[11] The namelūʻau came from the name of a food always served at aʻahaʻaina, young taro tops baked withcoconut milk andchicken oroctopus.

Pigs and dogs were killed by strangulation or by holding their nostrils shut in order to conserve the animal's blood.^[12] Meat was prepared by flattening out the whole eviscerated animal and broiling it over hot coals, or it was spitted on sticks.^[12] Large pieces of meat, such as fowl, pigs and dogs, would be typically cooked inearth ovens, or spitted over a fire during ceremonial feasts.^[12][13]

Hawaiian earth ovens, known as animu, combineroasting andsteaming in a method calledkālua. A pit is dug into earth and lined withvolcanic rocks and other rocks that do not split when heated to a high temperature, such asgranite.^[14] A fire is built withembers, and when the rocks are glowing hot, the embers are removed and the foods wrapped inti, ginger or banana leaves are put into the pit, covered with wet leaves, mats and a layer of earth. Water may be added through abamboo tube to create steam.

The intense heat from the hot rocks cooked food thoroughly—the quantity of food for several days could be cooked at once, taken out and eaten as needed, and the cover replaced to keep the remainder warm.^[15] Sweet potatoes, taro, breadfruit and other vegetables were cooked in theimu, as well as fish.Saltwater eel was salted and dried before being put into theimu.^[16] Chickens, pigs anddogs were put into theimu with hot rocks inserted in the abdominal cavities.^[15]

Paʻina is the Hawaiian word for a meal and can also be used to refer to a party or feast. One tradition that includespaʻina is the four-month-longMakahikiancient Hawaiian New Year festival in honor of the godLono (referred to as the sweet potato god) of theHawaiian religion. Makahiki includes a first phase of spiritual cleansing and makinghoʻokupu offerings to the gods.

The Konohiki, a class of royalty that at this time of year provided the service of tax collector, collected agricultural and aquacultural products such aspigs,taro,sweet potatoes, dry fish,kapa and mats. Some offerings were in the form of forest products such as feathers.

The Hawaiian people had no money or other similar medium of exchange. The goods were offered on the altars of Lono atheiau—temples—in each district around the island. Offerings also were made at theahu, stone altars set up at the boundary lines of each community. All war was outlawed to allow unimpeded passage of the image of Lono.

The festival proceeded in a clockwise circle around the island as the image of Lono (Akua Loa, a long pole with a strip of tapa and other embellishments attached) was carried by the priests. At eachahupuaʻa (each community also is called anahupuaʻa) the caretakers of that community presentedhoʻokupu to the Lono image, afertility god who caused things to grow and who gave plenty and prosperity to the islands.

The second phase of celebration includes:hula dancing, sports (boxing, wrestling,Hawaiian lava sledding,javelin marksmanship,bowling,surfing, canoe races, relays, and swimming), singing, and feasting.^[17] In the third phase, thewaʻa ʻauhau (tax canoe)was loaded withhoʻokupu and taken out to sea where it was set adrift as a gift to Lono.^[18]

At the end of the Makahiki festival, the chief would go off shore in acanoe. When he came back in he stepped on shore and a group of warriors threw spears at him. He had to deflect or parry the spears to prove his worthiness to continue to rule.

Native Hawaiian dishes have evolved and been integrated into contemporaryfusion cuisine.^[19] Apart fromlūʻau for tourists, native Hawaiian cuisine is less common than other ethnic cuisine in parts of Hawaii, but restaurants such as Helena's Hawaiian Food and Ono Hawaiian Foods specialize in traditional Hawaiian food.^[20]

• Cuisine of Hawaii
• List of Hawaiian dishes
• List of regional dishes of the United States

• Native Hawaiian cuisine
• Polynesian cuisine

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