A mixed plate in Honolulu is two proteins, two sides, and a mountain of rice. I still want the two proteins and a crunchy side. I do not want the rice or the mac salad that tastes like sugar once you start reading labels. This is my weeknight version: Costco rotisserie chicken, leftover kalua pig from the slow cooker, and a chili-cabbage slaw that takes ten minutes. It is not a new recipe so much as how I actually eat when the week is already in motion.
Yield: 4 plates | Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 10 minutes (to reheat) | Total: about 25 minutes, if the kalua is already done
Hawaii Grocery Notes
- Costco: rotisserie chicken at the door. I pull meat off while it is still warm and store it in a container so I am not carving at 6 p.m. Also a second cabbage if the kalua pot used the first one.
- Foodland / Times: cabbage, green onion, chili pepper water, mayo, a lime or lemon.
- Don Quijote: chili garlic sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, extra mayo.
- Rotisserie chicken is convenient. Some birds are injected. Costco’s is the one I use; still, if a store bird tastes sweet, I do not buy that store’s chicken again.
Ingredients
Proteins
- 1 Costco (or similar) rotisserie chicken, meat pulled — you will use about 1 lb meat for 4 plates (save the rest for eggs tomorrow)
- 2–3 cups leftover kalua pig, with some cabbage if you have it
- 2 tablespoons of the kalua juices or butter, for reheating
Chili-cabbage slaw
- 6 cups finely shredded green cabbage (about ½ large head)
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or lemon juice
- 1–2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or homemade chili pepper water, to taste
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)
- Pinch of salt and black pepper
- Optional: 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro if you like it
Plate
- Lemon wedges
- Extra chili pepper water at the table
Instructions
- Stir the slaw dressing: mayo, vinegar, chili sauce or chili pepper water, sesame oil, salt, pepper. Taste. It should be sharp and a little spicy, not sweet. If it tastes like restaurant mac salad, you added the wrong sauce.
- Toss cabbage and green onion with the dressing. Set aside 10 minutes so the cabbage softens slightly. It should still crunch.
- Reheat kalua pig in a skillet with a spoon of its juices or a little butter, just until hot. Do not boil it dry.
- Pull or slice the rotisserie chicken. Dark meat is the better mixed-plate energy. Warm it in the same pan for a minute if it is fridge-cold, or serve it room temp. I do not microwave it if I can help it.
- Build plates: a scoop of kalua, a scoop of chicken, a pile of slaw. Lemon over the chicken. Chili pepper water on everything. That is a mixed plate. Sit down and eat it while it is hot.
Kitchen-Estimate Macros (per serving)
Kitchen estimates only, not lab-tested. Calculated for 4 oz rotisserie meat (mostly thigh), 3 oz kalua pig, and about 1½ cups dressed slaw. Using more skin-on dark meat raises fat; using only breast lowers it. Chili sauces with sugar will move net carbs.
| Calories | Fat | Protein | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~520 | ~36 g | ~38 g | ~6 g |
Notes
- Hidden sugar: store mac salad, bottled “island” dressings, teriyaki drizzle, and sweet chili sauce will turn this into a regular mixed plate with a keto costume. Mayo + vinegar + chili pepper water is the slaw. Read the rotisserie ingredient list once so you know what you are buying.
- No kalua leftovers? Two rotisserie chickens and extra slaw still works. Or swap Kahuku-style garlic shrimp as the second protein.
- This is the leftover strategy in practice: Sunday or Monday kalua pig is not one dinner. It is this plate, a breakfast skillet, and maybe a wrap in lettuce on Thursday.
- Pack the slaw separate if this is lunch. Dressed cabbage weeps. Still edible. Less crisp.