{"id":3123,"date":"2017-03-03T12:27:19","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T12:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/?p=3123"},"modified":"2019-10-03T11:08:50","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T11:08:50","slug":"hawaiian-luau-the-costco-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/hawaiian-luau-the-costco-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawaiian Luau: The Costco Way!"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most common questions I get from couples is, “Steve, which luau do locals go too?” \u00a0 There are three primary luaus on Oahu: The Polynesian Cultural Centers, Paradise Cove, and Germain’s Luau; and most locals don’t go to any of them. \u00a0 They either make their own Hawaiian food if it’s a special event. \u00a0 But most of the time, they just go to Costco!<\/p>\n

Yes, you read that right. \u00a0Costco is our one-stop shop for Hawaiian food. \u00a0Of course, there’s the little hole in the walls which serve Hawaiian food that is great. \u00a0 But when we want to save money, and want some pretty good quality, we go to Costco. \u00a0And to tell you the truth, it’s pretty good! \u00a0Better than good. \u00a0 I would say it on either on par or beats most hole in the wall places, restaurants, and luaus. \u00a0 You just need to know what to buy.<\/p>\n

So here’s my list of what to buy at for your Hawaiian Luau – The Costco Way!<\/p>\n

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May’s Kaula Pig<\/p><\/div>\n

MAYS KAULA PIG<\/span><\/h1>\n

Kaula means to shred;\u00a0pig is – well, you know what a pig is. \u00a0So, “Kaula Pig” is shredded pork. \u00a0It’s made by steaming pork butt\/shoulder till it’s fall off the bone tender, then shredding it with a fork. \u00a0 Seasoning is simple. \u00a0It’s Hawaiian Salt and liquid smoke. \u00a0 The “Hawaiian Way” is to cook in an underground pit with lava rocks and banana leaves. \u00a0 That can be good, but it’s all about seasoning. \u00a0If they screw up on the Hawaiian Salt and liquid smoke mixture, it can be plain.<\/p>\n

The May’s Version of Kaula Pig is already pre-made, pre-cooked, but taste fresh. \u00a0Put this into a pot, add just a touch of water to it, and heat it up making sure you don’t burn it. \u00a0Then, add it a bit of liquid smoke to kick it up a notch. \u00a0It’s pretty awesome.<\/p>\n

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Pipakaula – smoked meat<\/p><\/div>\n

PIPIKAULA\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

I have no idea what this means in Hawaiian, but I know what this is. \u00a0It’s basically smoked salted beef brisket. \u00a0 This is one of my favorite food to chew on while I watch football. \u00a0Many supermarkets make a prepared version of pipikaula that mixes jalapenos\u00a0and spices with slices of pipikaula. \u00a0 Costco sells this piece of meat in one gigantic slab. \u00a0 All you have to do is cut it into thin, bite-sized pieces, put it on a plate, and serve it cold, not hot. \u00a0This goes really good with football.<\/p>\n

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Keoki’s Lau Lau<\/p><\/div>\n

KEOKI’S LAU LAU<\/span><\/h1>\n

Lau Lau is the perfect low carb food. \u00a0If you are carb counting, this is heaven. \u00a0 It’s made of taro leaves, pork, butterfish. \u00a0 All those ingredients are steamed together until it’s tender and it’s served hot. \u00a0 \u00a0It sounds easy to make, but strangely, many places can’t make a good Lau Lau.<\/p>\n

I’ll be the first to say that Keoki’s Lau Lau is not the best Lau Lau in town. \u00a0 In fact, it’s not even close to second. \u00a0 The best Lau Lau belongs to a guy who sells it out of a truck by the Hygenic Store in Kaneohe, Kahaluu. \u00a0 (https:\/\/www.yelp.com\/biz\/holo-holo-stop-kahaluu). \u00a0His Lau Lau is really good. \u00a0 Okay, I’m going off subject here, but I thought I put that in.<\/p>\n

But this Lau Lau will do the trick. \u00a0 This is best served if you steam them. \u00a0But if you just cover them up in the microwave with wet paper napkins, set the micro to two minutes, that tends to do the trick too. \u00a0 \u00a0Don’t unwrap the tea leaves until after you micro them.<\/p>\n

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Taro Brand Lomi Salmon<\/p><\/div>\n

LOMI SALMON<\/span><\/h1>\n

A lot of supermarkets have their own version of Lomi Salmon. \u00a0It’s really not an ancient Hawaiian food. \u00a0If it is, I really don’t know where they got the salmon from – haha. \u00a0Lomi Salmons is quite simple to make. \u00a0 It’s basically diced up tomatoes, round onions, some green onions, and salted salmon. \u00a0 It’s very easy to make. \u00a0The Lomi Salmon here is good, but nothing beats home cooking.<\/p>\n

Lomi Salmon is a bit salty and is best eaten with Poi! \u00a0 I bet you heard about Poi! \u00a0I’ll get to that later. \u00a0 Make sure when you serve Lomi Salmon, you serve it cold!<\/p>\n

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Sesame Seaweed Salad<\/p><\/div>\n

SESAME SEAWEED SALAD<\/span><\/h1>\n

This is not an ancient dish either, but very popular. \u00a0This salad is made with artificial something, flavored with sesame seed oil and spices. \u00a0It’s low in calorie, pretty much zero in carbs, and taste great. \u00a0 The only bad thing about it is that it gets stuck in your teeth. \u00a0 It’s very tasty and it also goes well with poi!<\/p>\n

Make sure you have dental floss nearby. \u00a0I wasn’t joking about this stuff getting stuck in your teeth.<\/p>\n

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Poi – Taro Brand. It’s thick. The Costco Version is big. You may want to try a smaller version at a local grocery store.<\/p><\/div>\n

POI\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

All poi is a the root of a plant, that’s pounded into a paste. \u00a0 When you get it in a bag like this, it’s rather thick, so you may have to add water to it, mix it up with your hand, to thin it out. \u00a0 The thickness of it is up to you. \u00a0 \u00a0Yes, use your hand to mix it, it’s the easiest.<\/p>\n

Poi is also known to tourist as wallpaper paste, oh this taste awful, and what the hell did I just eat – but I’m about to change that narrative.<\/p>\n

I love poi, and I have no idea what you tourist are complaining about. \u00a0And when I tell you how to eat poi, you’re going to love it too. \u00a0 Poi is a starch. \u00a0And like most starches, if you just eat it plain, it tastes like crap. \u00a0 Who the hell eats regular potatoes? \u00a0 Who the hell eats rice with nothing on it? \u00a0Rice is great when it soaks up all that oil and blood from a perfectly seasoned steak on the grill. \u00a0And potatoes are awesome when they are baked, served with lots of butter, sour cream, bacon, and my secret – parmesan cheese.<\/p>\n

So like all starches, you’re not supposed to eat poi just by itself. \u00a0 You eat it with other salty foods. \u00a0 I love poi with almost any meat. \u00a0 Steak, ribs, hamburgers, even canned corn beef. \u00a0 And when it comes to Hawaiian food, it’s best with Kaula Pig. \u00a0Poi has a habit of absorbing whatever flavor that meat has, and making it into flavored toothpaste. \u00a0 \u00a0Steak flavored toothpaste doesn’t sound too bad – if you really think about it.<\/p>\n

Moral of the poi story, eat it with meat or something salty. \u00a0You can thank me later – or even better send me a nice little tip to my PayPal account!<\/p>\n

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POKE<\/span><\/h1>\n

Poke, pronounced “poh-key,” is chopped raw fished, seasoned to perfection.\u00a0 If you like sushi, this dish is for you.\u00a0 It goes great with rice and even poi.\u00a0 I don’t have any picture here, but they do have poke at Costco!\u00a0 And it’s pretty good.\u00a0 I love the Kajiki Poke there.<\/p>\n

Alright peeps, let me know how it goes!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most common questions I get from couples is, “Steve, which luau do locals go too?” \u00a0 There are three primary luaus on Oahu: The Polynesian Cultural Centers, Paradise Cove, and Germain’s Luau; and most locals don’t go to any of them. \u00a0 They either make their own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamweddingshawaii.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}