Island Macaroni Salad

MY HAWAIIAN KITCHEN
Delectable memoirs of living on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai high above the famed Kona Coast on the beguiling Big Island of Hawaii.

 
 

Dear Journal - What is Hawaiian food anyway?  Welllllll, one of the first things that comes to mind is a 'plate lunch'.  Casual, local kine grinds.  Every city, town and village on every Hawaiian island has its favorite Plate Lunch or Mixed Plate joints.  Good eats!  Sublime in their collaboration, all self-respecting plate lunches have three parts.  A plate lunch is almost always 2 scoops of rice, 1 scoop of macaroni salad and a tasty, usually Asian-ish meat or fish, like...kalbi shortribs, chicken katsu, teriyaki beef, tempura prawns or other goodies that create delicious indecision.  But it's the chilled mayonnaisey macaroni salad that make the flavours and textures of that hot entree and rice come alive.  Kismet!  And there's one more little twist to most macaroni salads in Hawaii, the unexpected earthy addition of potatoes.  Trust the Hawaiians to take something good and make it mo' bettah.  More please.

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

2 medium red potatoes, peeled, diced into bite-size pieces (not too small).

1 small English or Japanese cucumber, quartered lengthwise and chopped into small chunks

4-5 green onions, thinly sliced

1 medium sized carrot, grated

¼ cup sweet gherkins, chopped into teeny little pieces

1 - 1½ cups good quality mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)

4 tablespoons vinegar

¾ cup very small cubes medium or aged cheddar or Monterey Jack

Hawaiian, sea  or kosher salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

 

Cook macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water until just al dente.  Drain and rinse in cold water right away to cool the pasta.  Set aside.  Meanwhile, cook diced potatoes in boiling salted water until al dente or still a bit firm.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.

  

In a large bowl add the cucumber, green onion, carrot and gherkins.  Toss to combine.  Add cooled macaroni and potatoes and toss again. Add mayonnaise, mustard, shoyu, vinegar, cheese cubes and seasonings.  Mix carefully and thoroughly to make sure your mac is well dressed.  Adjust seasonings til you go ‘mmmm’ when you taste. 

 

Can be served right away, but better covered and chilled for at least 2 hours for flavors to get happy.  Macaroni will absorb some of the moisture in the salad, so you may need to add a dollop of mayonnaise and mix well just before serving.  Don’t forget the chopsticks!  Serves 8-10.

 

 

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