Luau! A Glossary of Hawaiian Party Food

Lû`au!
A Glossary of Hawaiian Party Food

Source: Pukui, Mary Kawena & Elbert, Samuel H., Hawaiian Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged Edition, University Of Hawai`i Press, Honolulu, 1986.
Pronunciation Guide

KA `ÔLELO HAWAI`I (HAWAIIAN) :		KA `ÔLELO HAOLE (ENGLISH) :
`aha`aina [ah' hah ai' nah] lû`au [LOO' au] Elongate the first syllable and take a breath break (note `okina) before the second syllable. Not: [loo' wow]		Hawaiian feast or large party. Lit., meal gathering. Lû`au is a post-contact Hawaiian word for `aha`aina (feast), named for the young taro tops (lû`au) always served at one. The usage of "lû`au" to replace `aha`aina or pâ`ina (small party with dinner) goes back at least to 1856, when so used by the Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Click here and here for more on the history of lû`au.
`Aka`akai me pa`akai / `alaea [ah' kah ah kai' meh pah' ah kai' / ah lae' (y)ah]		A relish of onion with pa`akai (Hawaiian sea salt) or `alaea (red Hawaiian sea salt colored with ocherous earth). Slices of sweet, white Maui onions are the best. Grown on the slopes of Maui's Haleakalâ mountain, they are so sweet that they can be eaten like apples.
ake [ah' keh]		Liver, served maka (raw).
haupia [hau pee' (y)ah]		A custard-pudding dessert made from a mixture of niu (coconut) cream and formerly with pia (arrowroot); these days, cornstarch is substituted as a thickener for pia. Click here for more information on niu and here for more information on pia.
hua [hoo' (w)ah] hala kahiki [hah' lah kah hee' kee] mai`a [mai' ah] manakô [mah nah KOH'] `ôhi`a `ai [OH' hee ah ai'] hê`î, mîkana [HEH' EE'], [MEE' kah nah]		Fruit Click here for more on fruit. pineapple banana Click here for more information on mai`a. mango mountain apple Click here for more information on `ôhi`a `ai. papaya
i`a [ee' ah]		Fish Various preparations: kûlepe: Split open from head to tail for salting and drying, such as `ôpelu (mackerel scad). Broiled before serving. kopole: Cooked by wrapping it in leaves and roasting. lawalu: Cooked in ti leaves or broiled over charcoal. pûholo: Steamed with hot rocks in a sealed calabash. pûlehu: Roasted on coals or embers. Click here for more information and translations of Hawai`i fishes.
imu [ee' moo]		In-ground (earth) oven used to cook a whole pig, fish, taro and bananas, using `eho (red-hot stones placed inside a carcass in cooking, especially in an imu) or filled with pôhaku ahuli`u (white hot stones). Click here and here for pictures of imu.
`inamona [ee' nah moh' nah]		Relish made of the roasted kernels of the kukui (candlenut) and mashed with salt. Perhaps a contraction of `îna`i momona (sweet garnish). Go easy on this side dish, or you'll be spending the rest of the evening in the lua ("john"), as excessive kukui has a purging effect. Click here for more information on kukui.
kâmano lomi [KAH' mah noh loh' mee]		"lomi salmon" . Side dish made of small chunks of salted or raw salmon, marinated with chopped green and round onions and tomatoes. The kâmano (salmon) is worked with the fingers (lomi = knead, massage), and thus, lomi salmon.
kûlolo [KOO' loh loh]		A thick, brown dessert pudding made with piele (grated taro) mixed with grated niu (coconut), and traditionally baked in an imu.
laulau [lau' lau']		A bundle of good eats. Pork, chicken, and/or butterfish wrapped in (edible) taro leaves, then bundled with an insulating (non-edible) outer wrapping of ti leaves. Traditionally baked in an imu; these days, steamed. Often a main course. Click here and scroll toward the bottom of the page for a picture of laulau.
Mai, mai e `ai. [mai' mai' eh ai']		Come, come in and eat! [Traditional greeting; all passersby were welcomed to eat and rest]
moa [moh' (w)ah]		Chicken. These days, often prepared as chicken lû`au (shredded chicken cooked with lû`au (taro greens and coconut cream) or chicken long rice (shredded chicken cooked with clear, Asian noodles).
`ôpae [OH' pae]		Shrimp
`opihi [oh pee' hee]		Limpet. Plucked from the rocks along wave-swept shorelines. Considered a delicacy. Served marinated and raw. Retails for $125 or more a gallon. Taste one, and see if you like it before taking more. Don't waste.
pâpa`i [PAH' pah ee]		Crab
pipi kaula [pee' pee kau' lah]		Jerked beef (beef salted and dried in the sun, broiled before eating). Lit., rope beef.
poi [poi]		Taro pounded and thinned into a paste. A staple. Staff of life in the Hawaiian diet. Poi shortages are common in Hawai`i . Don't waste a spoonful! hô`ai. To thin with water to make a good consistency of poi. ho`owali. To mix poi. `înai. Food eaten with poi. kalo. Taro (Colocasia esculenta), with many uses, but poi is the most important. Click here for more on kalo (taro). miki. To eat poi with fingers. miki pâlua. To eat poi with two fingers. Click here to read more about poi.
poke [poh' keh] Not: [poke-y]		Bite-sized pieces of raw fish or other seafood, including octopus and clams, marinated with limu (seaweed), pa`akai (salt) chili peppers, and/or `inamona (kukui relish). Click here for a picture of a poke platter and here for tako (octopus in Japanese) poke. Poke = slice, cut crosswise into pieces, as fish or wood.
pua`a kâlua [poo ah' ah KAH' loo (w)ah]		"Kâlua pig". Shredded pork, traditionally from a whole pig cooked in an imu. "Special Event / Party food" in old times, as Hawaiians did not use much meat. Pua`a = pig. Kâlua (kâ= causative + lua= pit) .
pûpû [POO' POO'] Elongate each syllable. Not: [poo' poo]		Appetizer, hors d`oeuvre. Formerly, the fish, chicken, or banana served with `awa (a ceremonial narcotic drink) and mullet. Possibly derived from the meat of the pûpû (snail), as eaten by Hawaiians. Click here for a picture of a pûpû platter.
`uala [oo (w)ah' lah]		Sweet potato, a staple since ancient times. Click here to learn more about `uala.
ula [oo' lah]		Hawaiian lobster
wai nîoi [vai NEE (y)oi]		Chili pepper water made of tiny red chili peppers, water and/or vinegar. "Firewater" to some; to others, essential. Bottles of it often found on the tables of local restaurants.
Click to this site's Food Links webpage, scroll down to Lû`au for recipes and check other sites on the page for Hawaiian recipes.