Maui Musubis
The Okazuya of the days before will always be where the start of musubis come from and that is no different on the island of Maui. Throughout the island there would be an okazuya here and another one there and it really would be based on the location of plantation camps. So after development for tourism went full force there were many okazuya which had closed. The food would change with the customers slowly and they would be sort of hard to find if you didn't know exactly where to look, but its great when you find one. Katsu had been a star for many Maui Okazuya as an item that customers kept on buying and some Okazuya even were known from the quality of their Chicken Katsu. So, when the craze for Katsu as a portable musubi the quick adapting market that is equally as creative in Maui would pay close attention. Unlike the vast array of Okazuya on Oahu the Maui Okazuya would do a few things well and stick to it or even take it to the next level with limiting their dishes. This would be the beginnings of the welcoming of a dish from Oahu that would quickly be specialized in Maui kitchens. Katsu Spam Musubi This dish that was the craze was the Katsu Musubi as most famed for its variation of Katsu Spam Musubi seen at conevenience stores. It has a slice of spam that is both breaded and fried with brushed on teriyaki sauce. These sorts of musubis are seen in many Hawaii restaurants on the mainland run by mom and pop stores as well as larger groups like L&L Hawaiian Barbeque and has two main types. In 1990's, there was an unhealthy treat of fried tasty spam that went on top of a block of rice and had sauce brushed on top with a generous amount. It was popular among young students who were on their way homes from school on Oahu near what is known as "Town side" that can span from Kaimuki all the way to the end of Kalihi. When asked where they found such a delicious musubi the teens would say the local convenience store that was across the street. 7-Eleven Hawaii and Katsu Musubi In the late 1990s, one of the employee commissary of Warabeya USA decided to experiment with ingredients to make sort of musubi creation that would be based on Katsu. This would be based on the popular idea that was Ham Katsu which was all the trend in Japan. As he was eating a Spam Katsu Musubi for lunch the 7-Eleven Hawaii Merchandising Manager at the time noticed and asked what it was and he would introduce the Spam Katsu Musubi to the company. Soon thereafter, 7-Eleven Hawaii introduced the Spam Katsu Musubi to its local customers and after its release the item became an instant hit. The creator of the Spam Katsu Musubi eventually became the President of Warabeya USA because of his passion for innovation. The offices of 7-Eleven Hawaii is in Nuuanu. While its origins are often debated its popularity had come from Oahu Nuuanu. And then made its way into the hearts of those on Maui who already had a large group of dishes under the Katsu banner of the island. Les Tomita & Da Kitchen The development is looked upon its predecessors, which would be first the convenience store saucy katsu musubi. Then the second would be made in homes which was the crispy spam musubi. Throughout the 2000's, katsu musubi had been a growing trend and has most of its variations currently developing on the island of Maui. Many of those who would be eager to try Maui's Katsu Musubi's would go in search of Da Kitchen in Kihei. One of the most known developers is Les Tomita and Mariah Brown owners of Da Kitchen. Who would develop even more variations of Katsu Musubi with their Fried Spam Musubi that tossed in the entire snack into the fry. The rice would be mixed with a sauce and a generous amount of spam would be inside, which made it popular and a must have menu item when ordering from Da Kitchen Menu. Little did they know it would spark a deep fried experimentation line of home cooks to katsu up all sorts of things and place it on a block of rice. Katsu is no stranger to maui or its residents as they continue today with variations of the dish. Kihei Fried Spam Musubi Due to the popularity of the dish it was nicknamed "Maui's Musubi" or from tourists "Kihei Fried Spam Musubi". When it is eaten its appearance is a golden brown and ends up being crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The fried up musubi makes another layer of flavor to the experience of a typical spam musubi. It was popularized from Da Kitchen. Wailuku Chicken Katsu Musubi It is said the story goes from the family that a hungry naughty grand-child who enjoyed their chicken katsu would always ask his mother for some as they drove past Ichiban Okazuya. One day the mother had gone on the weekend to return to the okazuya to wait in line to get a steaming hot crispy katsu and bring it home. She would then slice it up into sections to make musubis wrapped in nori. The spoiled grand-son of Wailuku would eat and eat until he was dizzy and eventually fell asleep from a kanak attack.
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