THE INSTAGRAMMER A foodie to follow

WE’RE FOLLOWING KATHY YL CHAN, A FOOD BLOGGER FROM HONOLULU, HAWAII, WHOSE BLOG CHAMPIONS THE ISLAND'S CUISINE

Why did you start your blog, Onolicious Hawaii?

I wanted to share my love for the wonderful food and culture in Hawaii. People tend to picture beaches and vacation, but there’s a whole different side to the island.

What do you like to cook at home?

Mostly what I grew up eating: a mix of local, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese food, using lots of local fish, meat and vegetables.

What inspires your recipes?

Family, friends, local restaurants and community cookbooks. Hawaii has a rich history of home cooking.

How would you describe Hawaii’s food culture?

It’s a melting pot of the many cultures that have immigrated here. Take saimin, a local dish created in the late 1800s when different ethnic groups worked together on the sugar plantation fields. Noodles and soups were shared between ethnic groups: the Chinese made noodle soups, the Japanese made ramen and the Filipinos made pancit (a noodle dish). Ingredients and cooking styles were traded, and from that came saimin, Hawaii’s noodle soup.

What are some of your favourite Hawaiian dishes?

Chicken long rice, luau stew, poi (a starchy paste made from taro root), lau lau (pork and butterfish wrapped in luau and ti leaves) and haupia (coconut pudding). There’s a great song by Sean Na’auao called Fish and Poi, which captures how much we Hawaiians love our food.

What’s the one dish visitors must try?

How about a few? Malasadas (fried dough balls), chicken long rice, lau lau and a proper ‘plate lunch’ (a local staple typically consisting of two scoops of rice, one scoop of macaroni salad and a meat entrée). Butter mochi, too!