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Home » Recipes » Asian + Hawaiian Recipes

Hawaiian Plate Lunch

Published: Jan 5, 2024 by Samantha Ferraro · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

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Local style eats, this Hawaiian Plate Lunch is filled with smoky Kalua pork, creamy macaroni salad and cooked white rice.

Kalua pork and cabbage served with macaroni salad and cooked rice.
Jump to:
  • What is a Hawaiian Plate Lunch
  • Components of a Plate Lunch
  • What is Kalua Pork?
  • How to Make Kalua Pork
  • How to Make Mac Salad
  • More Hawaiian Inspired Recipes
  • Hawaiian Plate Lunch

What is a Hawaiian Plate Lunch

I really should have plated this in a styrofoam plate or take-out container. Because that's how I've always had it, usually at a local Hawaiian spot or at someone's luau.

A plate lunch (for those that didn't grow up in Hawaii), is a simple plate of food with rice, macaroni salad and some protein, such as kalua pork or shoyu chicken and it's so ono AKA "good to eat" in Hawaiian!

Components of a Plate Lunch

When you order a plate lunch in Hawaii, what you'll get is a scoop or two of white rice, a scoop of mac salad and the protein of choice. You can also ask for "two scoop white rice" instead of the mac salad. But when in Hawaii, always order the mac salad, there is nothing like it!

Hawaiian plate lunch with chicken katsu and shrimp curry.
Hawaiian plate lunch (mixed plate) with chicken katsu, shrimp curry, rice and mac salad from L&L in Kona, Hawaii.

Proteins

Usually, you'll see these protein choices for a plate lunch or "mixed plate", where you can order more than one protein.

  • Kalua Pork and Cabbage: Smoked and shredded pork that is seasoned with Hawaiian salt. (Recipe below).
  • Shoyu Chicken: Tender pieces of chicken simmered in a flavorful soy sauce mixture.
  • Chicken Katsu: Fried chicken cutlets served with a ketchup based katsu sauce.
  • Shrimp Curry: Fried shrimp and vegetables simmered in a rich and savory Japanese curry.
  • Laulau: Steamed fish or pork that is wrapped in laulau and ti leaves.
  • Teriyaki Beef: Thin slices of beef seasoned with a flavorful teriyaki marinade.
  • Kalbi Ribs: Korean style short ribs are flavored with soy sauce and other aromatics that are grilled until charred on the outside.

Starch

  • 1 or 2 scopps of cooked white rice
  • 1 scoop of mac salad

What is Kalua Pork?

Traditionally, kalua pork is cooked in an imu (an underground oven). If you've ever been to a luau, you have probably seen it done the morning of the luau. It's a beautiful ceremony of taking the whole pig and cooking it underground with hot rocks and banana leaves.

The hot rocks heat the pig slowly for hours and hours and the pork is smoky and so incredibly tender!

How to Make Kalua Pork

Because not everyone is lucky enough to have an imu in their backyard, making kalua pork (or kalua pig) at home couldn't be easier! Thanks to the modern advantages of a slow cooker and liquid smoke, tender and fall apart kalua pork can be done with ease.

Rub Hawaiian salt all over the pork shoulder.

Step 1. Pierce the pork shoulder with a fork all over and rub Hawaiian salt and liquid smoke all over the pork.

Place the salted pork shoulder in the slow cooker.

Step 2. Place the pork in the slow cooker, fat side up and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours until tender.

Cooked kalua pork with cabbage in the slow cooker.

Step 3. About one hour before the pork is done, add chopped green cabbage and continue cooking for the last hour.

Slow cooker kalua pork and cabbage.

Step 4. Shred the pork with forks and remove any excess fat, if desired.

How to Make Mac Salad

Ingredients for Hawaiian mac salad include Best Foods mayonnaise.

Step 1. Cook elbow macaroni and let cool. Shred carrot and grate onion.

Authentic Hawaiian mac salad with grated carrot and onion.

Step 2. In a large bowl, add the cooked macaroni, mayonnaise, grated carrot adn onion, sugar and vinegar is using. Season with salt and pepper, mix well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Kalua pork and cabbage plate lunch with mac salad and white rice.

I hope you enjoyed my modest version of a Hawaiian plate lunch. There is nothing like the people of Hawaii and the Aloha spirit. I hope you all get to experience one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Aloha!

More Hawaiian Inspired Recipes

For some Local style beverage inspiration try my Passion Fruit Mojito or my Passion Fruit Margarita with Li Hing Mui.

  • Purple Sweet Potato Haupia Pie
  • Sticky Hawaiian shoyu chicken thighs with rice and mac salad.
    Hawaiian Style Shoyu Chicken
  • Hawaiian Style Chicken Katsu with Furikake
  • Shoyu poke is a popular poke style that you'll find all over the Hawaiian islands. This version is ahi shoyu poke with cubed ahi (tuna) that's seasoned with shoyu (soy sauce), sesame oil and sliced sweet onions.
    Hawaiian Style Shoyu Poke
Hawaiian plate lunch with kalua pork, rice and mac salad.

Hawaiian Plate Lunch

Samantha Ferraro

LittleFerraroKitchen.com

Local style eats, this plate lunch is filled with Kalua pork, macaroni salad and cooked white rice.
5 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
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Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 6 hours hrs
Total Time 6 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Course Lunch, Main
Cuisine Hawaiian
Servings 8 servings
Calories 737 kcal

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker
  • Nesting Bowls
  • Rice Cooker

Ingredients
  

Kalua Pork

  • 4 pound pork shoulder
  • 1 tablespoon Hawaiian Salt
  • 1-2 teaspoons liquid smoke
  • 1 small green cabbage roughly chopped

Mac Salad

  • 1 pound elbow macaroni
  • 1 ½ cups mayonnaise Hellmans or Best Foods
  • ½ cup grated carrot
  • ¼ cup grated onion yellow white or sweet onion
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper + more if needed

Instructions
 

Kalua Pork

  • Pat the pork dry with paper towels and pierce a fork all over the pork shoulder.
  • Rub the pork with Hawaiian salt and liquid smoke and place in the slow cooker, fat side up and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours, until fork tender.
  • An hour before the pork if finished cooking, add the green cabbage and continue cooking for the final hour.
  • Once the pork is incredibly tender, use a fork to shred the pork. Discard any excess fat, if desired.

Mac Salad

  • Boil the macaroni noodles in a large pot of water until cooked through according to box directions, about 8 minutes.
  • Once cooked, drain the noodles and run the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking.
  • Transfer the cooked noodles to a bowl and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 30 minutes.
  • Once the noodles are chilled, add the mayonnaise, grated carrot, grated onion, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir to combine very well.
  • Taste for seasoning, though the flavor will change slightly after it's chilled further.
  • Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the bowl and chill in the refrigerator so the flavors can blend together, for at least 1 hour.
  • Taste for seasoning again and adjust as needed. Garnish with chives, if deserved and serve.

For Serving

  • Serve the shredded kalua pork with cooked white rice and a scoop of macaroni salad.

Notes

  • Macaroni salad tastes better as it sits and will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 737kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 36gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 20gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 1566mgPotassium: 835mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1484IUVitamin C: 43mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?Let us know by leaving a comment and 5 star rating!

More Easy Asian & Hawaiian Recipes

  • Vietnamese rice noodle salad with grilled lemongrass chicken.
    Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Chicken
  • Classic loco moco with hamburger patty, white rice and decadent mushroom gravy.
    Loco Moco with Mushroom Gravy
  • Furikake ahi recipe served with rice and green onions.
    Seared Furikake Ahi
  • Recipe for sweet and refreshing lychee mojito with cucumber and mint.
    Cucumber Lychee Mojito

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anne @ Webicurean says

    September 18, 2013 at 8:38 am

    5 stars
    You just brought me back to our honeymoon in Kauai! There was a little hole-in-the wall store where we'd walk to get our plate lunch, and once I tried the lomi lomi salmon, I didn't really care about anything else on the plate! I think I could have lived on that salad (and maybe a spam masubi here and there)

    Reply
  2. allie@sweetpotatobites says

    September 17, 2013 at 11:17 am

    5 stars
    I remember getting Hawaiian plate lunches when I visited the islands back in the day. Gotta love the mac salad and pork and rice!

    Reply
5 from 5 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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