Hawai`i Potluck Dinners
It has been a while since our families gathered and had big potluck dinners, but this holiday season, we brought out the catering pans & feasted.
We did, potluck style which is everyone brings something! A potluck is defined as a meal or party to which each of the guests contributes a dish. And at the end, everyone makes a plate to take home a variety of leftover!
If you live here in Hawai`i, you know all about this and the questions is usually what are you going to bring or who is bringing what? If you don’t live here, this is what I suggest as the THE best food experience you will have in Hawaii. If you can find a friend to invite you to a potluck style lunch or dinner, you’ll get a little taste of all of the local’s favorites + aunties/uncle’s home cooked specialties!
Here are some suggestions of what we commonly see at a family potluck:
White rice
Noddles
Meat
Side dish
Vegetable salad
Fruits
Dessert
Here are some specific ideas of what people bring to potlucks in our family:
Fried rice
Sushi rice with nori
Chow fun
Gau gee mein
Spaghetti
Meat jun
Chicken wings
Steak
Chili
Turkey
Pork roast
Steamed fish
Mac salad
Somen salad
Tofu watercress salad
Li hing pineapple
Chocolate Dobash cake
Custard pie
The funny thing about potlucks is even if you don’t plan and you get a mish mash of all kine food, somehow it works! You just need compartmented paper plates to keep the good stuff separated! :)
erin’s tip
Find a dish you love to make and share or an easy one to purchase & pick up that everyone will enjoy. (I always say, “I’ll bring chocolates.”) This takes out the stress of potlucks and lets others know early what you will bring!
