#VoicesfromtheStacks

Image taken from his Facebook.

Sam Choy–a man of Chinese, German, and Hawaiian descent is a Hawaiian chef and the Culinary Ambassador of Big Island. He was born and raised in Laie, Ohau, and is known for his kindness, welcoming smile, and colorful personality. He has a restaurantin Hawaii called “Sam Choy’s Kai Lanai,” and poke restaurants and food trucks in Seattle, Tacoma, and Washington. He’s one of the foundingcontributors of Pacific Rim Cuisine, which is a cookingstyle that combines local ingredients from Hawaii and a fusion of other ethnic culinary influences. He describeshis cooking as “a melting pot of the freshest ingredients from every culture on the Hawaiian islands…true Hawaiian heritage cooking.”

Sam Choy’s Sampler: Welcome to the Wonderful World of Hawai'i’s Cuisine(found in our Szathmary Culinary Collection) captures over 80 of Choy’s recipes that reflect a mixture and melding of East, West, and Polynesian food cultures, along with his own added twists for the dishes. The recipes included are his own creations, and his version of some Island favorites. The recipes range from poke, to seafood appetizers, to Hibachi Tofu Salad where the Tofu is grilled, to traditional Hawaiian cuisine like Kalua Pork and Squid Lu'au.

Try out some Pacific Rim cuisine with Sam Choy! We also have two of his other books, which can be found in our catalog.

Happy AAPI month everyone!

-Matrice Y, Special Collections & Archives Olson Graduate Assistant

I love Trader Joe’s, don’t get me wrong. And right now I live next-door to one, which certainly makes day-to-day planning a big convenience. But my family didn’t shop there much growing up - it didn’t carry bags of rice large enough or offer discount gotta-go frozen meats or stock industrial jugs of Kikkoman; and honestly we thought of it as “fancy” (in fact, we thought of a trip there as a special treat and one time my sister was asked what her favorite restaurant was and she responded “Trader Joe’s”). 

Times have changed, obviously. As Trader Joe’s has expanded, the prices have gotten more reasonable and they’ve started including more cultural foods to reflect changing palates and demographics - though their shoyu sucks (and comes in some tiny ass bottle….like is it for dollhouses????) - which seems nice and inclusive in a lot of ways. But I have to admit I definitely paused when I saw generically boxed Mochi Cake Mix, something I grew up calling Butter Mochi that was made by my mom from scratch, being sold to the exact kind of people who looked at me like I was eating a greasy slab of rubber when I was a kid. And I felt that same feeling creep up again when I saw the Chili Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Chips….which are just basically Takis Fuego but packaged to be more approachable to white people, I’m guessing. 

So. I’m just gonna go ahead and share the “original” version of some of these TJ’s products because I think it’s just as good to support the companies or the groups that have been making and enjoying this stuff for years, as it is your favorite grocery chain.

Mochi Cake Mix < Hawaii’s Best Hawaiian Butter Mochi Mix

While Butter Mochi requires only mochiko, eggs, butter, sugar, and milk - you can always opt for the mix from Hawaii’s Best which has been pumping out variations on the ono treat (and other local desserts like kulolo and haupia) for years. Not to mention, it’s a Hawaii based company that employs local Hawaiians during a time of financial decline for native Hawaiians in their own homeland. You can buy it from Hawaii’s Best directly, but it’s also available on Amazon or, even better, on Snack Hawaii (another family owned and operated company that has been selling local goods out of Hilo for 25 years). And - shameless plug - I’ve been buying from Snack Hawaii for a long time, so if you need a discount link, HMU.

Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips < Takis Fuego

The company that makes Takis was founded in 1978 and has been pumping these guys out in different flavors since then. And while Trader’s only offers one flavor, the Takis from your local convenience store come in Fuego, Guacamole, Fajita, and Nitro. The company was founded in Lerma Municipality, Mexico, but has since moved to the US. And for me, this is less of a “support your local company” plea (because Barcel is a big corporation) but more of a “support your local culture” plea. Takis is one of those foods that has existed for a long time in specific cultural circles and so, gets looked down on as a marker of being poor or lower class. Which is utter bullshit and which makes the TJ’s version feel like gentrification in snack form. So instead of buying the “safe” version, maybe instead broaden your horizons and support your local Northgate Marketplace, and grab some homemade tamales or visit the panaderia while you’re there? Also, hot tip, Takis cost $1 while the Trader’s version will set you back $3.99. 

P.S. If you’re going to say “but Takis have MSG,” please allow me to educate you on how the fear ofMSG is a racistand xenophobic myth. 

Amba Fermented Mango Sauce < Galil Pickled Mango

So this one specifically depends on if you’re looking for Indian, Israeli, or Middle Eastern Amba and Trader Joe’s doesn’t really specify which one they’re aiming for here. But Galil has been selling their Amba since 1985 and has been family-owned and run since then. Their Amba is also Kosher, and you can buy it on Amazon as well as this awesome site called Super Kacher that specializes in Middle Eastern and Israeli specialty food. If you want a more Indian Amba, try Ship Brand, which has been made by Poonjiaji’s Spices in Mumbai since 1883. The bottle looks crazy generic and if you live in LA, can be easily spotted at Bharat Bazaar at Samosa House, or again - available on Amazon! 

All this to say, don’t knock the originals because you have to go to H Mart or Tehran Market to get them. Maybe you haven’t been to those places before or maybe you just don’t have time to hit two markets (in which case, I have provided you with links for online shopping) - but give the cultures that have provided fodder for your favorite chain a fighting chance to prove why they were good enough to be appropriated in the first place.