Andrea...aloha from Kauai! As a long time resident, and avid amateur cooking enthusiast, obtaining ingredients, and cooking a lot of dishes has been a challenge. Thankfully many of the grocery stores and our local farmers have stepped up and we now have a a lot of depth in what is available. Let me say that among local grocery stores it has been the Hawaii based chains and the small independent grocery stores that have become the best source of niche asian ingredients. Times Supermarket in Lihue has in addition to its large asian section, a whole section of the store dedicated to Japanese ingredients. The Foodland stores, especially the Kapaa store has a large variety of SE asian ingredients. With our large filipino population there is a heavy emphasis on filipino ingredients. However Sueoka's store in Koloa has a wonderful assortment of Thai and Vietnamese ingredients. The farmers markets are excellent here as you have said as well. What so many of us have done though is turned to gardening for for our ingredients. With year round growing conditions, most of the time we just go into our garden for our vegetable needs, as well as for herbs. Our garden easily provides us with kafir lime, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, cilantro, la lot, diep ca, and ngo cai...as well as garlic chives, curry leaves, bay leaves,...and a good variety of chile peppers, citrus..(even yuzu!) avocados...and the list goes on. It's not as easy as going to the market and picking out your ingredients, we have to work with what we have available at the time. The farm to table movement took a while to take root here on Kauai...but now it's gone gangbusters. As we say here..."lucky we live Hawaii".
My husband and I vacation in Lihue every couple of years. So many of the stores and restaurants have closed since we first started visiting in the 1990s. Costco wasn’t there until more recently. I love the selection of local products and fresh fish, poke, and sashimi you can pick up there. Our funniest memory from the early days was going to the Long’s pharmacy to buy slippers (Hawaiian flip-flops) and finding the best selection of high end wines that I was having trouble sourcing in California!
Quick local shout out for Marukai, in Cupertino. That is where I can sometimes find the pre-sliced Redondo’s sausage in perfect-for-musubi pieces (I.e. Spam-shaped, and even thickness) that I prefer when I am needing a little lift for my Aloha spirit. Even tho that location is not huge, it has a good produce and fish dept as well, and a decent Hawaiian items selection. I also find a good variety of koji items which I have used in marinades. On island, yes, for some reason the Foodland up in Princeville is not my favourite Foodland location. If we are staying in Poipu or Koloa, we always try to shop at Sueoka. And we also shop farmstands and the farmers markets there when possible.
Mahalo Andrea, I have a new appreciation for the grocery shopping options available on Oahu after seeing them described through your eyes. Farmlink (CSA boxes and locally grown a la carte items), Ma'o Organic, and the Saturday Kaka'ako Farmer's Market are all great options.
I certainly enjoyed your grocery travelogue, even though I’ve never been to Hawaii and don’t necessarily plan to. One of me and my husband’s first dates was to 99 Ranch, and of course we met and still work in a grocery store. It seems like at least once a day I help someone who is stocking up on treats and snacks to take back to Hawaii, and I see a lot of Foodland bags! Regarding the salad dressing recipe, how similar is Taiwanese vinegar to Zhenjiang? Also, thanks for the nod to Cook Real Hawai’i because I’m now rereading it in bed.
Although I’d like to bring you to one of the three Costcos within 7 miles of my house, the local H Mart sharing a parking lot with one of those Costco (there’s a Kura rotary sushi there, too) and my favorite, Naperville Fresh Market catering to Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European folks and where I cannot identify about one-third of the items. They also have Mexican, Middle Eastern and Asian food prepared to order at different “booths”.
Andrea...aloha from Kauai! As a long time resident, and avid amateur cooking enthusiast, obtaining ingredients, and cooking a lot of dishes has been a challenge. Thankfully many of the grocery stores and our local farmers have stepped up and we now have a a lot of depth in what is available. Let me say that among local grocery stores it has been the Hawaii based chains and the small independent grocery stores that have become the best source of niche asian ingredients. Times Supermarket in Lihue has in addition to its large asian section, a whole section of the store dedicated to Japanese ingredients. The Foodland stores, especially the Kapaa store has a large variety of SE asian ingredients. With our large filipino population there is a heavy emphasis on filipino ingredients. However Sueoka's store in Koloa has a wonderful assortment of Thai and Vietnamese ingredients. The farmers markets are excellent here as you have said as well. What so many of us have done though is turned to gardening for for our ingredients. With year round growing conditions, most of the time we just go into our garden for our vegetable needs, as well as for herbs. Our garden easily provides us with kafir lime, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, cilantro, la lot, diep ca, and ngo cai...as well as garlic chives, curry leaves, bay leaves,...and a good variety of chile peppers, citrus..(even yuzu!) avocados...and the list goes on. It's not as easy as going to the market and picking out your ingredients, we have to work with what we have available at the time. The farm to table movement took a while to take root here on Kauai...but now it's gone gangbusters. As we say here..."lucky we live Hawaii".
My husband and I vacation in Lihue every couple of years. So many of the stores and restaurants have closed since we first started visiting in the 1990s. Costco wasn’t there until more recently. I love the selection of local products and fresh fish, poke, and sashimi you can pick up there. Our funniest memory from the early days was going to the Long’s pharmacy to buy slippers (Hawaiian flip-flops) and finding the best selection of high end wines that I was having trouble sourcing in California!
Quick local shout out for Marukai, in Cupertino. That is where I can sometimes find the pre-sliced Redondo’s sausage in perfect-for-musubi pieces (I.e. Spam-shaped, and even thickness) that I prefer when I am needing a little lift for my Aloha spirit. Even tho that location is not huge, it has a good produce and fish dept as well, and a decent Hawaiian items selection. I also find a good variety of koji items which I have used in marinades. On island, yes, for some reason the Foodland up in Princeville is not my favourite Foodland location. If we are staying in Poipu or Koloa, we always try to shop at Sueoka. And we also shop farmstands and the farmers markets there when possible.
Next time you're on Kauai, visit Hoku Foods Natural Market -- 2 locations.
https://www.hokufoods.com/
Wonderful, family-owned and operated market.
I love visiting grocery stores in new-to-me places! Such a great way to get a feel for local culture.
I live on the big Island. Don't forget to shop at KTA!
Mahalo Andrea, I have a new appreciation for the grocery shopping options available on Oahu after seeing them described through your eyes. Farmlink (CSA boxes and locally grown a la carte items), Ma'o Organic, and the Saturday Kaka'ako Farmer's Market are all great options.
I certainly enjoyed your grocery travelogue, even though I’ve never been to Hawaii and don’t necessarily plan to. One of me and my husband’s first dates was to 99 Ranch, and of course we met and still work in a grocery store. It seems like at least once a day I help someone who is stocking up on treats and snacks to take back to Hawaii, and I see a lot of Foodland bags! Regarding the salad dressing recipe, how similar is Taiwanese vinegar to Zhenjiang? Also, thanks for the nod to Cook Real Hawai’i because I’m now rereading it in bed.
Thank you Andrea for the update from wonderful Hawaii. We hope Oahu folks are recovering from the horrible wild fires this past year.
Fun!
Although I’d like to bring you to one of the three Costcos within 7 miles of my house, the local H Mart sharing a parking lot with one of those Costco (there’s a Kura rotary sushi there, too) and my favorite, Naperville Fresh Market catering to Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European folks and where I cannot identify about one-third of the items. They also have Mexican, Middle Eastern and Asian food prepared to order at different “booths”.
I live in a Chicago suburb...