Coconut milk in Honolulu is a pantry can, not a dessert. This is chicken thighs simmered in unsweetened coconut milk with ginger, garlic, and chili, and a pile of bok…

Katsu on a mixed plate in Honolulu is a fried cutlet, a mountain of shredded cabbage, and a dark sweet sauce. The problem is the panko and the bottle of…

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…

Fresh ahi is one of the actual luxuries of cooking in Honolulu, and it is wasted under a sweet glaze. I sear steaks hot and fast and spoon ginger-garlic butter…

Portuguese sausage and eggs is a Honolulu breakfast I ate long before I ate keto. The usual plate is sausage, eggs, and two scoops of rice. I kept the sausage…

Musubi is convenience food in Honolulu. It is also rice wrapped in nori with a slice of SPAM, which does not fit how I eat. I still want the shape,…

I like poke as much as anyone who lives here. I do not like pretending a sweet, sticky bowl with a scoop of rice is “keto because ahi.” This is…

The North Shore shrimp trucks are a Honolulu ritual, and they dredge. Flour is how Giovanni’s and the rest get that crust and that clingy garlic butter. I want the…

I do not have an imu in the backyard. I have a slow cooker, a Costco pork shoulder, Hawaiian salt, and a bottle of liquid smoke, and that is how…