Food and culture in Hawaii

Chinese influence on Hawaiian food 

During my research for my paper, I came across a source that showed how Chinese food had migrated to and influenced the Culture of food in Hawaii. At the time of writing my paper I was able to use some of the information I found in this article to show the cultural norms of the Chinese food. But I was interested in this Idea of food spreading and influencing a country. Since I was unable to find a nice way to fit it into my essay I decided to do a product on it instead. The first article that I had originally found was  “Chinese America: History & Perspectives.” by N.G Franklin. In the Article written it explained the relationship between the Chinese food that was brought by the Chinese immigrants and the more traditional “Hawaiian food”. Perhaps the most interesting part to me was not that there is Chinese food in Hawaii or that there is Traditional Hawaiian food but how the Chinese and Hawaiian food have come together and created new “Type” of traditional Hawaiian food. Another article that I Found is by a popular food blog site that I myself enjoy to read, It's called First We Feast. They also have a youtube show that talks about food (Link to article included at bottom of product). So the article then I read from them literally lays out many of the Hawaiian food and how it was influenced by different countries food. One example would be Saimin which is a noodle soup similar to Ramen However it uses a Chinese style noodle with a Japanese style broth and is often served with traditional Hawaiian roasted pork. Another one would be Manapua which is pretty much a Chinese Pork Bun. I thought this was really cool tho that Chinese food has transformed and shaped some of the “Traditional” Chinese food. In conclusion, Chinese food in Hawaii is a blend of Traditional Hawaiian and Chinese food mixed into a well balanced combination.

Link to Blog post- https://firstwefeast.com/features/hawaii-food-history/manapua