• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Little Ferraro Kitchen logo
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Cookbook
  • Shop
  • Recipe Index
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Cookbook
    • Shop
    • Recipe Index
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Dinner Recipes

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch

    Published: Sep 17, 2013 · Modified: Feb 4, 2023 by Samantha Ferraro · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    Local style eats, this plate lunch is filled with Kalua pork, macaroni salad and lomi lomi salmon.

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    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.

    It was a day like this that I was craving being back home in the islands. When Joe and I lived in Hawaii, we would always have our bathing suits in the back of the car for quick ocean dips. He would pick me up from work at about 5pm and the first thing we did was pull off to our facvorite beach, throw on our bathing suits behind the open car door and run into the warm Hawaiian waters. There is nothing like jumping into clean warm waters at sunset. It's truly magical.

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    Let me warn you, there is absolutely nothing healthy about this dish, but it's just how it is. Basically 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, like kalua pork or shoyu chicken. And..it's damn ono!

    I got the kalua pork recipe from my friend Shanna at Pineapple and Coconut. She also has a huge fascination with the Hawaiian culture and created a kalua pork recipe in the crockpot! 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 smokey and so incredibly tender! Shanna makes her pork in the crockpot with coarse, thick Hawaiian salt and cheats with a touch of liquid smoke. If you don't have a chance to build a giant imu in your backyard, this recipe should do the trick.

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    Joe made the mac salad and that's what you call it. Not macaroni salad, but mac salad, as in "I like one plate lunch, 1 scoop rice wid mac salad". Or you can get it without mac salad, as in "Hey brah, I like 1 kalua pork plate lunch wid 2 scoop rice". This is how you order it back home.

    The secret with this amazing mac salad is...a lot of mayo and grated onion! Since Joe made it there was no real measurements (sorry), it's an eyeball thing really but I'll try my best and figure it out.

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    The next part is lomi lomi salmon, the salt-cured salmon salad with onions and tomatoes. Lomi lomi means "massage" which is what you'll be doing to the salmon. I'll show you how to make this salty salad.

    1) Lay a good layer of Hawaiian salt on the bottom of a wide baking dish.

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    2) Rinse and pat fry your salmon, place it on top of the salt and cover it with more salt. Massage the salt into the salmon.

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    3) Cover it in plastic wrap and place another wide dish with a large weight to help weigh down the fish. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    4) By this time you can see the salt helped pull the moisture out of the fish. It's totally safe and delicious to eat the fish now since the salt helped cure it. Next, rinse the salmon very well under cold water. (You may even want to rinse it several times because it can get very salty).

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    5) Remove skin from salmon and cut into small cubes. Add chopped tomatoes, onion and green onion. Toss well and refrigerate until ready to use.

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    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!

    Here is another great Hawaiian recipe.

    Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

    Hawaiian Plate Lunch

    Samantha Ferraro

    LittleFerraroKitchen.com

    Local style eats, this plate lunch is filled with Kalua pork, macaroni salad and lomi lomi salmon.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 581 kcal

    Ingredients
     
     

    Kalua Pork

    • 2 pounds cooked kalua pork or hoisin pork

    Mac Salad

    • 1 lb macaroni
    • ½ c mayonnaise or more depending how "wet" you want it
    • 1 carrot grated
    • ½ onion grated
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Lomi Lomi Salmon

    • ½ lb salmon
    • 1 cup coarse Hawaiian salt may need more
    • 2 to matoes seeded and chopped
    • 2 green onions chopped
    • ¼ onion chopped

    Cooked white rice

      Instructions
       

      Mac Salad

      • Cook macaroni to package directions and rinse under cool water when done.
      • In a large bowl, add the macaroni, mayo, onion, carrot and salt and pepper. Toss to combine and taste for seasoning.

      Lomi Lomi Salmon

      • 1) Lay a good layer of Hawaiian salt on the bottom of a wide baking dish.
      • 2) Rinse and pat fry your salmon, place it on top of the salt and cover it with more salt.
      • 3) Cover it in plastic wrap and place another wide dish with a large weight to help weigh down the fish. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
      • 4) By this time you can see the salt helped pull the moisture out of the fish. It's totally safe and delicious to eat the fish now since the salt helped cure it. Next, rinse the salmon very well under cold water. (You may even want to rinse it several times because it can get very salty).
      • 5) Remove skin from salmon and cut into small cubes. Add chopped tomatoes, onion and green onion. Toss well and refrigerate until ready to use.
      • Assemble plate with 1 or 2 schoop white rice, 1 scoop mac salad, lomi salmon and kalua pork.

      Notes

      Find the Hoisin pork recipe is here. 

      Nutrition

      Calories: 581kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 36gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 19655mgPotassium: 721mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1772IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 150mgIron: 3mg
      Did you make this recipe?Let us know by leaving a comment and 5 star rating!

      Hawaiian Plate Lunch via LittleFerraroKitchen.com

      More Dinner Recipes

      • Turkish pide with two different fillings of cheese and another with spiced ground beef, peppers and tomatoes.
        Turkish Pide (Turkish Pizza) with 2 Different Fillings
      • Fasulye is Turkish green bean stew with cubed meat.
        Fasulye (Turkish Green Bean Stew with Meat)
      • Kalbi ribs served with rice, kimchi and fried egg.
        Kalbi Ribs with Kimchi (Korean Beef Short Ribs)
      • Creamy chicken tikka masala recipe in a creamy spiced coconut and tomato sauce.
        Chicken Tikka Masala

      Sharing is caring!

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Email
      • Print

      Weeknight Mediterranean Shopping List

      Subscribe to get the Mediterranean shopping list and to be the 1st to get brand new recipes!

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. 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
      2. 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

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

      Primary Sidebar

      Hi, I'm Samantha! I started this blog for my love of world cuisine and cultural flavors! You’ll find everything here from Jewish recipes, Middle Eastern, Italian and more!

      More about me →

      Flavorful Salad Recipes

      • Pearled couscous with colorful roasted vegetables.
        Israeli Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables
      • Kale salad with roasted beets and citrus with orange segments off to the side.
        Winter Kale Salad with Radicchio and Roasted Beets
      • Serve the kale cranberry salad on a platter with crumbled feta cheese and apples.
        Kale Salad with Cranberries, Apples and Feta
      • Parmesan Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pistachios
        Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pistachios

      Order My Cookbook!

      Buy This Book Online
      Buy from Amazon
      Buy from Amazon Kindle
      Buy from Barnes and Noble
      Buy from IndieBound
      The Weeknight Mediterranean Kitchen
      Buy now!

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      About

      • Privacy Policy

      Newsletter

      • Sign Up! for emails and updates

      Contact

      • Contact

      As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

      Copyright © 2023 · Samantha Ferraro · Little Ferraro Kitchen · All Rights Reserved