Hawaii has perhaps the most culturally diverse population on earth. The story of how the Polynesians, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, Filipinos, Okinawans, Puerto Ricans, various Southeast Asian peoples, and Caucasians (known as haoles) brought together their culinary traditions on these islands makes fascinating reading. Laudan concentrates on local food rather than the world-class glamour of the Hawaiian regional cuisine cooked up by famous island chefs Amy Ferguson Ota and Roy Yamaguchi. She presents the polyglot world of the plate lunch, Spam, mochi, seaweed, shaved ice, sushi, and all the other dishes that Hawaiians really eat every day. Primarily a living and lively culinary history, this book does include recipes for the most commonplace Hawaiian dishes.