Maui- Locals Condiments Have These, call yourself "Local"

Future visitors to Maui, here's a little foodie info for you if you really wanna be like us locals, let me tell you what a true local has as his or her condiments.

Shoyu- soy sauce, brands include locally owned Aloha Shoyu.

On the left is orginal on the right is lower salt, well if you want lower salt shoyu, just add  water to the original, but don't tell them that, they'll kill me. But this brand if you buy it? Hey you're one of us man, no questions asked. Though there's other great brands out there. Kikoman, and some other brands used in fine Japanese diners, but can't go wrong using Aloha Shoyu, or Aloha Soy Sauce as it says on the package.

Add this to saimin (Japanese noodle soup), chow fun (Chinese style rice noodles), Vietnamese Pho (soup), or with a marinade for Ahi poke. Add it to wasabe and make a  good paste for dipping fried morsels of meats, fish, chicken. Or some people will add mayonnaise to it for a spread, or in dyanamite dishes you'd find in sushi bars.



Best Foods Real Mayonnaise

All the locals that I know of that eat local, they all have lots of mayonnaise in their cupboards, it's one of the richest condiment that's versatile. Add some to sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers, salads, mix it with hot sauce, add it into chili, beef stews, curries, into sushi rolls, and whatever else, meatloaf mixes, the list goes on and on, add some ketchup and make a thousand island dressing, add some lemon, vinegar, and mustard and make a Hollandaise sauce, add some soy sauce and make some rich Japanese blend, add it to cake mixtures, and the cakes become rich.








Tabasco

This hot sauce is universal, packs enough punch for some spicey hot kick, sure there's other brands out there that has stuff called Volcanic! Or Utimate Heat! Or Blistering! Well, you can search for the hotter sauces, go right ahead but what I've found is most people can't tolerate very hot pepper sauce, so having Tabasco should do the trick. I personally add it into soups, stir fries, and grilled meats or chicken.










Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water

It is easy to make Chili Pepper Water, take some of these little red hot chilis, like about a cup of it, slice them lengthwise, leave the seeds in. Heat up a pot that can fit 24 fl. oz. Heat up about 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil over medium high heat, add in the chilis and saute over low eat, do not burn it, let the low heat sweat out the juices and water. Add in 1 inch of ginger sliced, 4 cloves of garlic crushed, then add in 24 fl. oz. of water, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat. Add in 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp. of kohser salt, 1 tbsp. of red pepper flakes, continue to cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Off the heat, let cool. Pour contents into 12 fl. oz. jars, separate all of the ingredients evenly. This is just a basic recipe, you can add more ingredients if you like, or subtract more, it is up to you. There is some fine products out there, but making your own CPW is the bomb! Can't beat it. For me personally, I like it in soups, and for deep fried meats, it adds kick.


Patis Rufina Brand

You may have read my other articles on patis, if you haven't it is slowly becoming a condiment my white friends are learning to love. If you use just a tad of this condiment, it can enhance many a dish, soups, dips, sauces, if you love anchovies, you'll take to patis. It comes from the Philippines, and is a fermented fish sauce, the aroma becomes more of an unpleasant odor if it is used in huge quantities, but just a tad into your soups, or other sauces, it enhances it considerably. A lady I know who was originally from California moved to Maui back in the late 70s when I was just a kid, she couldn't stand the smell of patis. "It smells so bad, like a dead cat!" she once said. But later she hung out at local Filipino's homes, and started to eat the foods of the Philippines slowly, and slowly she became a user of patis. Next thing I know, that chick is cooking Filipino foods better than some Filipinos. This condiment, put a couple of tablespoons into a ramekin, along with a squeeze of citrus, and a clove of garlic, and you have an awesome dipping sauce for deep fried pork bellies. Thicker cuts are boiled to soften then fried, and it goes well together. Some patis afficionados pour generous amounts over rice and eat fried fish with it, it really is a condiment all cultures have embraced over the years. Tongans, Samoans, Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiians, and white folks, I mean that with respect, have taken to patis. Yes it can smell if using large amounts, but using just a tad of it in your cooking will add kick to it.

Other condiments include wasabe paste, ketchup, yellow mustard, hot mustard, oyster sauce, sesame oil, peanut oil, nuoc mam a Vietamese fish sauce.

Just have in mind that the aromas here represent a lot of different and diverse cultures, we here on Maui are one big melting pot, and we have people from all over the world which makes Maui a cool place to learn about foods, and if you're a foodie, what better place to be than Maui.