How the Mixed Plate Started

Aloha is What Makes Hawai’i a Special Place

One of my favorite examples of this is looking at the immigration to Hawai’i. The Chinese came in the early 1790s, and the Japanese came in the early 1800s. In 1852, Hawai’i had a huge wave of immigration because of the sugar cane.

One of My Favorite Childhood Stories

You had the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Portuguese, Spanish all working on sugar plantations. During lunch time, you were given a tin with three layers. One for your hot rice, one for vegetables and one for your meat. Because there was a limited amount of shade on the plantation, everyone sat close, and the Hawaiians told everybody to come together and share. The Chinese guy had his noodles and rice, the Japanese guy had his teriyaki, the Filipino guy had his adobo, and the Hawaiians had some fried fish and Poi. That’s how the Mixed Plate was born.

Growing up in Hawai’i

I’d go to my aunties and uncles houses and they always made more food than we needed. The intention was to share the food with the ones they loved and that needed it. I’d always go home with a hot plate of leftovers and the food was always ono. Now as an adult living back in Hawai’i, I get to cook for my loved ones all different types of food that was brought to Hawai’i. I get to embrace and appreciate all different types of cultures.

Having my kids be Hapa, meaning half white, half Hawaiian, it’s important that I can cook all of their favorite local cuisines and teach them about their culture and heritage, why it’s important to respect and malama the land that provides for us and grounds us, and the important of tradition and respect.