Friday nights.
For when the week deserves a slow finish
The plate-lunch-leaning, comfort-first lineup CurtisJ cooks when the kitchen has time to spread out — long-braised, generous, the kind of dinner that earns leftovers.
12 RECIPES · CURATED BY CURTISJ
Curator’s note
CurtisJ · 12 picks
Pick one main, two sides, a cold drink. Friday is for the dishes that take an extra step, because nobody is rushing the table tonight.
Kim Chi Fried Rice: Hawaii's Korean-Hawaiian Hangover Breakfast
Kim chi fried rice is the Hawaii-Korean breakfast: aged kim chi, cold rice, Spam or bacon, scrambled egg, sesame oil. Tangy, spicy, fast.
Lau Lau: Hawaii's Steamed Pork-and-Butterfish Bundle
Lau lau is the traditional Hawaiian steamed bundle: pork and butterfish wrapped in taro leaves, then ti leaves, steamed for 4 hours. The luau classic.
Spam Fried Rice: Hawaii's Most Honest Breakfast
Spam fried rice is a 12-minute Hawaii breakfast: cold rice, diced Spam, scrambled egg, green onion, shoyu around the edge of a hot pan. The drive-in classic.
Kalua Fried Rice: The Morning-After Move
Kalua fried rice turns leftover kalua pig into a 12-minute Hawaii breakfast. Cold rice, smoky pork, cabbage, scrambled egg, shoyu. The brunch-table classic.
Lup Cheong Fried Rice: Hawaii's Chinese-Plantation Breakfast
Lup cheong fried rice is the Hawaii-Chinese breakfast — sweet Chinese sausage, day-old rice, scrambled egg, green onion. The 12-minute weekday move.
Hawaiian Noodle Recipes: A Honolulu Kitchen Field Guide
Hawaii's noodle dishes are a plantation-era pan-Asian crossroads — saimin, fried saimin, pancit, chow fun, and how each one ended up on the local menu.
Kalua Pig in the Instant Pot: 90 Minutes Instead of an Imu
Kalua pig in 90 minutes via Instant Pot: pork shoulder, Hawaiian salt, liquid smoke, banana leaves if you have them. The mainland-friendly version of the imu.
Hawaiian BBQ Mixed Plate at Home
How to build a real Hawaii BBQ mixed plate at home: two proteins, rice, mac salad, kim chi, and the timing that puts it all on one plate.
Kalua Pig in a Smoker: The At-Home Imu Substitute
If you have a smoker, you can get 90 percent of imu-style kalua pig at home: banana leaves, Hawaiian salt, kiawe or mesquite wood, and a long slow cook.
Cooking with Spam Beyond Musubi
How Hawaii cooks use Spam beyond musubi: caramelizing technique, knife work, the nine everyday dishes, and which variety to buy for each.
How to Build a Hawaiian Plate Lunch at Home
A practical guide to building a Hawaii plate lunch at home: the three-component rule, the right timing, and the moves that separate it from approximations.
Meat Jun: Hawaii's Korean-Hawaiian Comfort Food
Meat jun is Hawaii's egg-battered pan-fried marinated beef: the Korean-Hawaiian plate lunch protein you mostly find only in the islands.
One recipe a week. No filler, no affiliate spam.
