Image by Bettina Nørgaard from Pixabay
If you’re like us, you’re kind of bummed that traveling isn’t so easy right now. Being able to experience new foods in new places is one of our favorite things.
So when our campmate suggested we do a Hawaiian night, we were all for it!
Now Kevin has been to Hawaii but I have not. Even for him, it was a long time ago. So he doesn’t remember and I’ve never had any of these dishes.
Our campmates have been to Hawaii fairly recently and have eaten the non-vegan versions of these dishes. They would be able to tell if we hit the mark.
Spoiler: we did.
What did we make? Spam Musubi, Loco Moco, Pasta Salad, and Haupia for dessert. I’ll get into what all these dishes are below and give you recipes. But first, I have to tell you...
WARNING: THIS IS NOT A HEALTHY, BALANCED MEAL
All of this is a departure from our normal eating style. But it was also delicious and comfort food at its best.
Vegan Spam Musubi
Spam Musubi is a popular snack in Hawaii and you’ll find it in most convenience stores. It’s cheap and a great on the go snack. Spam Musubi is also easy to make vegan and at home.
Spam Musubi looks kind of like sushi and is put together in a similar way. But you don’t need a sushi mat or any special equipment. It’s the healthiest of the dishes we made. Spam Musubi would also make a fun party appetizer.
Now that I’m looking at photos online, I realize that we served them upside down. But it seemed more stable with the rice on top of the tofu.
Vegan Spam Musubi
Ingredients
1 block (14-16 oz.) extra-firm tofu, pressed well
2 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos, soy sauce, or tamari
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons water
2 cups cooked sticky white rice (we used Annie Chun’s)
1 ½ - 2 sheets of toasted nori, cut into 1” wide strips
Instructions
After the tofu has been pressed, slice the block into 8 pieces along the short end. You’ll get planks about 1” x 4”.
Mix together the Bragg Liquid Aminos, maple syrup, liquid smoke, rice vinegar, garlic powder, ginger, and water in a shallow container with a lid a little larger than the tofu. Add the tofu slices to the marinade, make sure all the pieces get coated with the marinade, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. You might want to flip the tofu over in the container halfway through for even flavoring.
You have 3 options for cooking the tofu. Grill it on each side until lightly browned. (This is what we did.) You can fry it in a nonstick skillet until each side is browned. Or, you can put it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and bake at 375ºF for about 15 minutes on each side. Let cool enough to handle.
Make or heat up your rice and let it cool slightly because you will have to handle it. Set up your assembly station. You’ll want your tofu, rice, and nori strips at hand. You’ll also want a bowl of water next to you. And grab a plate for your completed musubi. If you have them, food service gloves are nice, but not necessary.
Grab a piece of tofu and put it on your serving plate. Get a handful of rice, ¼ - ⅓ cup. If you’re using the Annie Chun’s sticky rice, you’ll want ¼ of the container. Squeeze the rice together in your fist and then place it on top of the tofu. Shape it to the tofu and even it out so it’s level. Put the tofu and rice on top of a nori strip. Get a little water on your finger and wet both ends of the nori strip. Now wrap the nori around the rice and tofu, first one side and then the other. Now flip so that it’s tofu side up. Repeat for the rest of the tofu pieces. You may find yourself needing to wet your hands multiple times during the process to keep rice from sticking to them. Eat as is or drizzle with teriyaki sauce.
The spam part of the recipe was adapted from this one from Cheap Lazy Vegan.
Hawaiian Pasta Salad, Vegan Style
Taylor found this recipe and veganized it for us and it was delicious. You could take this to any cookout and it would be gobbled up. But if you want to enjoy it, do not run it through a nutrition calculator. This is comfort food, not healthy food.
Hawaiian Pasta Salad (serves 10-12)
Ingredients
1 pound macaroni (Taylor used gluten-free)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 carrots, shredded
1/4 cup onion, shredded (optional)
2 1/2 cups vegan mayonnaise (Taylor used Vegenaise)
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (Any unsweetened mild-flavored milk should work. Taylor used unsweetened vanilla hemp milk.)
2 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and place macaroni in a large bowl, ideally one that will fit all the ingredients so you can chill it all in the fridge.
Toss the vinegar, carrot, and onion with the macaroni while it’s still hot. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together vegan mayo, non-dairy milk, and sugar.
Stir the mayo mixture into the macaroni until the noodles are evenly coated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight if you can. Stir before serving and you can add a tablespoon or two more non-dairy milk if needed.
Loco Moco
Loco Moco is a Hawaiian dish that has many variations but traditionally it’s rice, Spam, and a fried egg in a bowl topped with gravy.
Since we were already spamming it up with the musubi, our Loco Moco had burgers instead of Spam.
Loco Moco makes a great build-your-own dish at a gathering. We kept everything separate and let everyone make up their own bowls.
Vegan Loco Moco (4 main-dish servings)
4 Beyond Burgers, or your favorite meat-like vegan burger
1 box Just Folded Eggs, or make eggs with Just liquid egg or substitute tofu scramble
3 cups cooked white rice
1 recipe Brown Gravy (below)
Instructions
For the burgers
Cook to your liking. We grilled ours.For the eggs
If using the Just Folded Eggs, cook all four according to package directions. If using Just liquid egg, you’ll want to fry 4 servings up into little rounds or you can just make one big omelet out of it and cut it into 4 pieces for serving. It all depends on how pretty you want it.Make the gravy and have it ready.
To serve
Put about ¾ cup of rice at the bottom of a bowl. Top with a burger pattie. Add the egg on top of that. Now drizzle gravy all over that mess.
Brown Gravy (makes about 1 ½ cups)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos, or tamari, or soy sauce
1 ½ cups of water
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tahini
Instructions
In a small saucepan, whisk cornstarch and Bragg Liquid Aminos together until smooth. Gradually whisk in the water, garlic powder, and ground black pepper.
Heat over medium-high heat whisking constantly until the mixture boils and begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and whisk in the tahini. Serve immediately or keep warm until serving.
If you have leftovers, store them in the refrigerator and heat up in the microwave. It’s delicious on potatoes!
Haupia
For dessert, we had Haupia. It’s like coconut pudding that’s firm enough for you to pick up and eat with your fingers. It’s kept in the refrigerator and a refreshing treat on a hot day.
Taylor followed this recipe but used coconut sugar instead of bleached granulated sugar. So ours was a little beige instead of white but that doesn’t affect the taste. White sugar usually isn’t vegan though because it is processed with bone char.
Tepache
I also made Tepache, a fermented pineapple drink. It’s not Hawaiian at all but since it’s made of pineapple we thought we’d sneak it in. I shared how to make it in our last email for supporters. If you’d like emails like this more than once a month, consider becoming a supporter.
New video coming
If you’re following us on YouTube, we’re releasing a new video this week where we take a Royal Caribbean cruise and try out their new vegan dinner menu. If you’re curious about cruising while vegan, don’t miss it!
Have you been to Hawaii? If so, have you tried any of these dishes? Are you cooking new things during the pandemic or are you stuck in a rut?
Thanks for reading and see you next time!
mmmmmmmm.... hawaiian.