Plate lunch

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The plate lunch (Hawaiian: pā mea ʻai ^[a]^[1] is a syncretic menu item that is a quintessential part of the cuisine of Hawaii, roughly equivalent to a Southern U.S. meat-and-threes plate. However, the inclusion of pan-Asian ingredients makes the plate lunch unique to Hawaii. Standard plate lunches consist of two scoops of white rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a main entrée.^[2] Many plate lunch outlets also sell "mini-plates" which come with the same entrées in smaller portions.

[edit] Origins

Although the exact origin of the plate lunch is disputed,^[2] it is clear that the various entrées of the plate lunch reflect the variety of ethnic groups that contributed to the plate lunch.

According to the University of Hawaii professor, Jon Okamura, says plate lunch probably grew out of the Japanese bento. "[B]entos were take away kinds of eating and certainly the plate lunch continues that tradition," says Okamura. ^[2]

[edit] Popular entrées

There are a number of popular entrées that come with plate lunches, mostly of Asian influence or origin. Notably from Japanese origin is chicken katsu, fried boneless chicken breaded with Japanese bread crumbs, and beef teriyaki (often shortened to "teri beef"). A common side-dish with plate lunches is fried noodles, often made of either chow mein noodles or sometimes saimin noodles.

A notably American facet of the plate lunch is the hamburger steak, a hamburger patty smothered with brown gravy and placed on top of rice. When a fried sunny side up egg is added onto hamburger steak, it becomes a Loco Moco.

In many plate lunch restaurants, you'll find entrées of Hawaiian origin as well, like kalua pork (also called "kalua pig") and lau lau. Some side dishes of Hawaiian origin include lomi salmon (also called "lomi-lomi salmon") and haupia (a coconut dessert).

In many local Korean restaurants, many Korean entrées are available with plate lunches, including kalbi and meat jun. Some side dishes include taegu, and namul, a dish made of seasoned soybean sprouts.