The Flavor of Home

Teriyaki chicken with pine apple salsa, rice and kimchee slaw!

I am from Hawaii. I ran through guava forest and swam along coral beds swarming with schools of tropical fish. I ate mangoes and drank down coconut water to wash down the saltiness of dried fish. I marveled at avocado trees pregnant with green orbs of delicious cream. I eagerly peeled the red sea urchin skin of rambutan and suckled their white watery flesh. I dug my fingers into the stringy tangy meat of the sour sop as I spent lazy days at the beach. I dipped my fingers into the viscous purple velvet of poi and coupled it with chunks of sesame flavored poke. Need I go on? I miss Island food. Don't get me wrong, great food is everywhere, but there is something special about the food you grow up eating. Perhaps it's the memories associated with food you grow up with. One of my fondness memories is associated with island food. I remember playing on the kitchen floor as my mom spent hours making okara burgers and hibiscus tea. Her head was wrapped up in some colorful cloth, she wore a colorful island themed skirt and she smiled when she passed me my burger. Good times !

Sometimes I think about the time I had gotten out of a grueling anthropology theory class and promptly bought a bag of poi (mashed taro root), cut a tiny hole in the bottom corner crease, allowing me to squeeze the contents into my mouth for rejuvenation. Sooo ono! (so delicious). Now that I live in California, I often miss my island vittles, and on occasion I whip up a meal to remind me of home. I was missing home just the other day and decided to make one of my favorites: White rice, kimchee cabbage, and teriyaki chicken with pineapple salsa. As I sat looking at the pink sunset, I imagined that I was at my sister's house eating this fine meal, and just for a moment, I was home.

My teriyaki chicken with pineapple salsa