The Hungry Anthropologist

  A. Weaver || August 28, 2022 Huli Huli Chicken has to be one of my favorite dishes that is so unique to Hawaiʻi. When I lived on the island of Maui, it was normal to see uncles and aunties to motorcycle clubs sale these delicious birds on the side of the road.  The term "Huli" means "turn" in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language). This term is used in reference to the rotating grills that are used to cook this local style rotisserie chicken. As the story goes, Huli Huli Chicken was created in 1955 by an enterprising poultry farmer named Ernest Morgad (Simeon 2021). From its first introduction in the 50s till today, it has become a local staple and is often sold at football games and stands peppered along the highway. The recipe and cooking method for Huli Huli Chicken varies, however, most tend to use a teriyaki base with the addition of pineapple juice or ketchup to add a slight acidic, tanginess. Cooking Huli Huli varies as well. The chicken can be found either san...

 A. Weaver || August 8, 2022 Chicken long rice is frequently and unapologetically assumed to be a Hawaiian side dish, as it is often seen and served at most lūʻau with its delicious counterparts comprising of kālua pig, poi, laulau, and lomi salmon. However, chicken long rice is not Hawaiian in origin, it is a dish of Chinese decent. But how did this dish get to Hawaiʻi? Chinese (1850) After the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778, his influence on the Hawaiian Islands would have a lasting impression that would change both Hawaiʻi's cultural and biological environment forever. Many haoles (foreigners) found their way to the islands through the shipping industry. This industry would bring haoles to use the Hawaiian islands as a platform for new economic endeavors. By 1835, the first sugar plantation opened and production exploded. Hawaiʻi’s rich soils created the perfect climate for growing sugar, pineapple, rice, and coffee. As plantations started exploiting pineapple and sugar on a l...

 A. Weaver || August 7, 2022 A Brief History of Hawaiʻi's Local Food Culture Hanalei, Kauaʻi (2020) Polynesians Migration The study of the origins of Polynesians and their isolated migrations, spanning thousands of miles to occupy islands across the Pacific, has been regarded by scholars as one of the most interesting puzzles in human history. Archaeological evidence has determined the launch of prehistoric migration to the first-occupied islands of Papua New Guinea to their period between 4000– 6000 BC and the last to the Hawaiian Islands between AD 500-700. Ancient Polynesian succession of island occupation produced new relationships with the land, the sea, and cosmogony. Through language, mythologies, and material culture, scholars have been able to piece together the establishment of Polynesian cultures and societies.  Straddling the Tropic of Cancer amidst the waters, the Hawaiian Islands stand isolated in the middle of the North Pacific. The entire Hawaiian archipelago c...