Da Kine Mac Salad

My fiance and I love all things Hawaiian, including food and drink, but also history and culture. We watched a great documentary the other night on the last Queen of Hawai`i, Lili'ukolani, and perhaps that was the reason he was craving some mac salad. In Hawai`i, the plate lunch has been a staple of mid-day dining since the sugar plantation days, when immigrants from Asia were brought to the islands to work the fields. At lunch, they would share their food, and in doing so share their culture. A Japanese worker might share his teriyaki or katsu, while a Korean worker might offer up some of his kalbi or ribs. Filipino workers brought their adobo, the Chinese contributed noodle dishes, and the Hawaiian workers shared their Kalau pig. In doing so, everyone's lunch became a series of small portions of many items. The concept became ingrained in Hawaiian culture, and now the plate lunch can be found anywhere you go. A classic plate lunch consists of 2 scoops of white 'sticky' rice, 1 scoop of macaroni salad, and at least one (usually more) different pan-Asian entree items.

Some mac salad can be very complex, with everything but the kitchen sink included. But in a plate lunch, I like it to be simple, so it doesn't compete with the flavors of the main dishes. So we stuck with a simple recipe adapted from AlohaWorld.com:

Da Kine Mac Salad
1 Bag macaroni
2 Scoops mayo
1 Med red onion (peeled)
1 Carrot (peeled)
Salt & pepper to taste

First of all go boil da water for da macaroni. While boiling, throw in da macaroni with some salt. Ok, while this is cooking over there, start chopping your onion and carrot, for the carrot I just grate um , more fast and more easy but I chop da onion. Small kine cryin going on. Then strain da macaroni with hot water I use hot water so da macaroni no be all wet and make the salad watery. Then throw everything in one big bambutcha bowl. Mix it all up. The mayo varies on how ~mushy~ you like it ! Serve cold.

(adapted from AlohaWorld.com