Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Kanaka Maoli ʻAi Pono: Poi & the Loʻi

Updated June 8, 2026

The deep food of the windward Oʻahu home seat: the pounded taro and the canoe crops of the loʻi, the Kanaka Maoli dishes the sovereignty revival is bringing back. Food you sit down with like a relative, not a side dish.

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Baked ʻUala (Hawaiian Sweet Potato in the Embers) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Baked ʻUala (Hawaiian Sweet Potato in the Embers)

Whole Hawaiian ʻuala baked in embers or a hot oven until the skins char and the flesh goes honey-soft, finished plain with paʻakai so the canoe crop tastes like itself.

Paʻiʻai (Hawaiian Hand-Pounded Taro) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Paʻiʻai (Hawaiian Hand-Pounded Taro)

Hawaiian paʻiʻai is kalo steamed soft, cleaned, and pounded by hand until it shines, thick enough to lift from the stone, ready to eat as is or loosen into poi.

Baked ʻUlu (Hawaiian Roasted Breadfruit) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Baked ʻUlu (Hawaiian Roasted Breadfruit)

Hawaiʻi's ʻulu, breadfruit, roasted whole until the skin blackens and the inside turns soft and bread-like, the old canoe crop made real for a weeknight oven.

Poi (Hawaiian Pounded Taro) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Poi (Hawaiian Pounded Taro)

Steamed Hawaiian kalo pounded warm with water until it turns from stubborn pieces into smooth, living poi, fresh and sweet today, tangy tomorrow, always eaten like kin.

Koʻele Pālau (Hawaiian ʻUala Sweet Potato Pudding) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Koʻele Pālau (Hawaiian ʻUala Sweet Potato Pudding)

Hawaiʻi's koʻele pālau turns steamed ʻuala into a soft coconut-cream pudding, sweet but grounded, the canoe crop brought forward for a celebration table or a quiet bowl at home.

Kūlolo (Hawaiian Taro and Coconut Pudding) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Kūlolo (Hawaiian Taro and Coconut Pudding)

Kauaʻi's kalo country gives us kūlolo: grated taro, coconut cream, and sugar baked slow in ti leaves until dark, glossy, and firm enough to slice.

Maiʻa Pūlehu (Hawaiian Baked Cooking Banana) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Maiʻa Pūlehu (Hawaiian Baked Cooking Banana)

Firm Hawaiian maiʻa baked in its own skin until the starch relaxes into quiet sweetness, split open with coconut cream and paʻakai, a canoe-crop side for weeknight rice or a lūʻau table.

ʻInamona (Hawaiian Roasted Kukui Nut Relish) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

ʻInamona (Hawaiian Roasted Kukui Nut Relish)

Roasted kukui nut pounded soft with paʻakai ʻalaea, the salty, oily Hawaiian relish that makes poke taste like home and carries the old hand into a weeknight kitchen.

Poi ʻUala (Hawaiian Sweet Potato Poi) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Poi ʻUala (Hawaiian Sweet Potato Poi)

Hawaiʻi's sweet potato poi, pounded from ʻuala instead of kalo, smooth and faintly sweet, a canoe-crop starch for the table when the loʻi isn't the only teacher.

ʻUlu Paʻiʻai (Hawaiian Hand-Pounded Breadfruit) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

ʻUlu Paʻiʻai (Hawaiian Hand-Pounded Breadfruit)

Hawaiian ʻulu cooked until tender, peeled while warm, and pounded dense and smooth into paʻiʻai, the thick stage before poi ʻulu, simple enough for a weeknight and old enough for the canoe.

Poi ʻAwaʻawa (Hawaiian Sour Poi) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Poi ʻAwaʻawa (Hawaiian Sour Poi)

Fresh Hawaiian poi left to turn ʻawaʻawa, sour, over a few days, tangy and clean from its own kalo life, ready beside fish, kālua puaʻa, laulau, or tomorrow's plate lunch.

Piele (Hawaiian Baked Taro-Coconut Pudding) - Chef Makoa

Chef Makoa

Piele (Hawaiian Baked Taro-Coconut Pudding)

Hawaiʻi's piele is kalo from the loʻi grated with coconut cream and sugar, wrapped in ti leaf, and baked soft and set, a tender cousin to kūlolo.

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