Watercress in Honolulu is not a garnish. It is a bunch from Foodland that wilts in bacon fat and still tastes like a stream. The usual plate is watercress, bacon or Portuguese sausage, eggs, and two scoops of rice. This is the same plate without the rice. The greens take the bacon fat. That is the whole trick.
I’m Mark. I cook this as a late breakfast most days I can find a decent bunch. Summer through early fall the watercress is actually good. If the stems look tired, skip it and make the Portuguese sausage skillet instead. I am not forcing a sad bag of salad into a Honolulu breakfast.
Yield: 2 servings | Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes | Total: about 25 minutes
Hawaii Grocery Notes
- Foodland / Times: bunched watercress in produce (look for perky stems, not yellow leaves). Eggs. Thick-cut bacon if they have it.
- Costco: eggs, bacon in the big pack. Watercress is hit-or-miss; I usually get the bunch at Foodland.
- Don Quijote: bacon, eggs, chili pepper water, sometimes watercress. Skip the pre-washed “spring mix” swap. That is a different dish.
- Local watercress (Sumida and the other valley growers when you see the name) is the point. Mainland clamshell baby watercress is too mild and too expensive for this.
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch watercress (about 8–10 oz), washed well, thick woody ends trimmed, cut into 3-inch lengths
- 6 slices bacon
- 4 large eggs
- Black pepper
- Optional: chili pepper water or a splash of shoyu at the table
- Optional: 2 oz leftover kalua pig, warmed in the bacon fat before the greens
- Salt only after tasting — bacon is already salty
Instructions
- Wash the watercress in a deep bowl. Sand hides in the stems. Drain well. You want it wet enough to steam a little, not dripping.
- Cook the bacon in a wide skillet over medium until the fat renders and the slices are browned, 8–10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate. Leave about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan. Pour off extra but keep it; you may want a spoonful back.
- Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the watercress. It will look like too much. Toss in the fat 1–2 minutes until the leaves wilt and the stems are tender-crisp and still bright. If the pan is dry, a spoon of reserved fat. Do not cook it to army green.
- Push the greens to the sides. Crack the eggs into the open space, or make wells. Cook until the whites set and the yolks are how you eat them. I like the edges a little crisp and the yolks runny so they sauce the greens.
- Bacon back on top, broken into pieces. Black pepper. Chili pepper water at the table. Eat it out of the skillet if you want. There is no rice to plate around.
Kitchen-Estimate Macros (per serving)
Kitchen estimates only, not lab-tested. Calculated for 1 of 2 servings (3 slices bacon, 2 eggs, half the bunch). Watercress volume varies with how hard you wilt it.
| Calories | Fat | Protein | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~420 | ~34 g | ~24 g | ~3 g |
Notes
- Hidden sugar / starch: the diner version is the rice. Some “local breakfast” plates also drop in gravy. Skip gravy. Sweet chili sauce does not belong here either.
- Watercress is peppery. If a guest is new to it, tell them before they take a stem-end bite and decide they hate Honolulu greens.
- Portuguese sausage instead of bacon is fine. Then you are next door to the skillet recipe. I still want the watercress, not cabbage, when the bunch is good.
- Leftover wilted watercress is limp in the fridge. Cook what you will eat. Bacon and eggs reheat; the greens do not.
— Mark Souza
Honolulu
