What is Easy Hawaiian Cookbook about?
Easy Hawaiian Cookbook is a Hawaiian home cooking guide with 70 recipes for island-inspired meals, snacks, drinks, desserts, and homemade staples. It focuses on making local Hawaiian and plate lunch–style dishes feel approachable for everyday cooks.
Who wrote Easy Hawaiian Cookbook?
Easy Hawaiian Cookbook is by Chef Philip “Ippy” Aiona. He was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawai‘i and grew up working in his parents’ restaurants.
What kind of recipes are in Easy Hawaiian Cookbook?
The book includes small bites, drinks, chicken, pork, beef, fish, seafood, plant-based dishes, snacks, desserts, and sauces. Recipes range from musubi, poke, and shoyu chicken to potato mac salad, garlic shrimp, haupia pie, and teriyaki sauce.
Will this book help me make Hawaiian food at home if I don’t live in Hawai‘i?
Yes. The book is written to help readers recreate Hawaiian dishes wherever they are, using alternate ingredients and easier techniques when traditional methods or specialty items are hard to find.
Is Easy Hawaiian Cookbook beginner-friendly?
Yes. The author says the recipes are meant for casual cooks and are designed to be simple rather than long or confusing.
Are the recipes actually easy and practical for weeknight cooking?
Many of them are. The book marks some recipes as QUICK for 30 minutes or less, and others as 5-ingredient or one-pot recipes to make them easier to choose and cook.
Does the book include step-by-step recipes or just background on Hawaiian food?
It includes both. There is an introductory section on Hawaiian food, pantry staples, produce, fish buying, and tools, followed by recipe chapters with clear ingredients, prep times, cook times, and instructions.
What cooking shortcuts does Easy Hawaiian Cookbook include?
The book includes shortcut tips for replacing homemade staples with premade versions, such as store-bought teriyaki sauce. It also suggests ingredient swaps when harder-to-find items are unavailable.
Do I need special equipment to use this cookbook?
Not much. The book says most recipes use basic kitchen tools, though a rice cooker, blender or food processor, baking sheet, knives, and a few pots and pans are especially helpful.
Does Easy Hawaiian Cookbook explain specialty Hawaiian ingredients?
Yes. It includes a pantry guide that explains ingredients like mochiko flour, furikake, fish sauce, short-grain rice, soy sauce, and canned meats such as Spam. It also notes when substitutions can work.
Are there recipes for sauces and staples like teriyaki sauce or chili pepper water?
Yes. The book has a full homemade staples chapter with recipes for teriyaki sauce, Korean barbecue sauce, katsu sauce, chili pepper water, mushroom onion gravy, tempura batter, and more.
Does the book include seafood recipes like poke and shrimp?
Yes. It includes recipes such as Spicy Ahi Poke Bowls, Poke Bowl, Garlic Shrimp, Coconut Shrimp, Salt and Pepper Shrimp, Miso Salmon, and several fish dishes.
Are there any plant-based or vegetarian recipes in Easy Hawaiian Cookbook?
Yes. There is a plant-based chapter with dishes like Sesame Noodle Salad, Vegetable Tempura, Grilled Teriyaki Tofu, Taro and Corn Chowder, Coconut Curry Stew, Eggplant Stir-Fry, and Tofu Lettuce Wraps.
Does Easy Hawaiian Cookbook include drinks and desserts too?
Yes. It includes drinks like Mai Tai, Lava Flow, Polynesian Limeade, and Hawaiian Fruit Punch, plus desserts such as Pineapple Whip, Haupia Pie, Banana Cream Parfait, and Coconut Bread Pudding.
How much time do the recipes take?
The timing varies by recipe. Some take just a few minutes, while others require marinating, chilling, soaking, or longer cooking times, and each recipe lists prep and cook times clearly.
If I want classic Hawaiian plate lunch dishes, will this book help?
Yes. The book specifically presents itself as a guide to easy local plate lunch–style Hawaiian cooking. It includes dishes like teriyaki beef, chicken katsu, kalua pig and cabbage, loco moco, and potato mac salad.
