[1] After first contact in 1778, European and American cuisine arrived along with missionaries and whalers, who introduced their foods and built large sugarcane plantations.

Christian missionaries brought New England cuisine[2] while whalers introduced salted fish which eventually transformed into lomilomi salmon.

Immigrant workers brought cuisines from China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Portugal after arriving in Hawaii, introducing their new foods and influencing the region.

The introduction of new ethnic foods, such as Chinese Cantonese char siu bao (manapua), Portuguese sweet bread and malasadas, Puerto Rican pasteles, and the Japanese bento, combined with the existing indigenous, European and American foods in the plantation working environments and the local communities.

Shortly after World War II several well-known local restaurants opened their doors to serve "Hawaiian Food".

[8] Pigs were raised for religious sacrifice, and the meat was offered at altars, some of which was consumed by priests and the rest eaten in a mass celebration.

[12] The modern name for such feasts, lū‘au, was not used until 1856, replacing the Hawaiian words ‘aha‘aina and pā‘ina.

Prior to cooking, pigs and dogs were killed by strangulation or by holding their nostrils shut, in order to conserve the animal's blood.

[14] Large pieces of meat, such as fowl, pigs and dogs, would be typically cooked in earth ovens, or spitted over a fire during ceremonial feasts.

[18] In 1778, Captain James Cook arrived at the island of Niihau, leaving a ram goat, ewes, a boar, an English sow, and seeds for melons, pumpkins, and onions.

[25] Marin, called "Manini" by the Hawaiians, experimented with planting oranges, limes, beans, cabbages, potatoes, peaches, melons, maize and lettuce.

By the late 19th century, pineapple and sugarcane plantations owned and run by American settlers took over much of Hawaii's land, and these two crops became the most important sources of revenue for the Hawaiian economy.

The Chinese immigrants brought Cantonese cuisine, cooking the first stir fry, sweet and sour, and dim sum dishes in the islands,[27] and replaced poi with rice, adding their herbs and spices.

[26] Chinese rice growers imported familiar fish varieties from Asia to stock local streams and irrigation ditches.

[5] The homes of Japanese immigrants lacked ovens, so their cooking relied on frying, steaming, broiling, and simmering, leading to the popularization of tempura and noodle soups in Hawaii.

[31] Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii began in 1900, contributing spicy, Spanish-seasoned thick soups, casseroles, pasteles, and meat turnovers.

[27] Filipinos reached Hawaii in 1909, bringing peas and beans, the adobo style of vinegar and garlic dishes, choosing to boil, stew, broil, and fry food instead of baking, and eating sweet potatoes as a staple besides rice.

[5] In 1905, George R. Carter, Territorial Governor of Hawai'i, promoted increasing local agricultural production, saying that "there was a time when Hawaii supplied California with flour, also potatoes and other vegetables.

Newspaper editorials of the time also questioned why locally-grown guavas were rotting on the ground while agribusiness was planting non-native pineapples in Hawaii.

"[35] Since the 1970s, pineapples have been grown more cheaply in Southeast Asia, so Hawaiian agriculture has taken a diverse approach, producing a variety of crops, including squash, tomatoes, chili peppers and lettuce.

[5] From 1978 to 1988, chefs who came to Hawaii would avoid Hawaiian-grown ingredients like their European counterparts, preferring to ship everything in from the U.S. mainland, or as far away as Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

Smaller mom-n-pop shops such as saimin houses, convenience stores were common in neighborhood serving pre-set bentos or a la carte items at an okazuya (Japanese "deli").

[37] Some were even mobile, affectionately known as manapua vans selling small dim sum-like treats long before food truck culture became the trend in the 21st century.

The cuisine draws from local ingredients (including seafood, beef and tropical foods), and is a fusion of ethnic culinary influences.

[40] The cuisine style was developed in 1991[3] by a group of twelve chefs: Sam Choy, Philippe Padovani, Roger Dikon, Gary Strehl, Roy Yamaguchi, Amy Ferguson Ota, Jean-Marie Josselin, George Mavrothalassitis, Beverly Gannon, Peter Merriman, Mark Ellman and Alan Wong.

The goal of the group was to link local ranchers, fishermen and farmers with chefs and business in the hospitality and restaurant industry to develop Hawaii regional cuisine as a reflection of the community.

[50] Originally brought to Hawaii by American servicemen in their rations,[51] Spam became an important source of protein for locals after fishing around the islands was prohibited during World War II.

The Pacific blue marlin (kajiki) is barbecued or grilled at high temperatures, but for a relatively short period of time to avoid overcooking due to its very low fat content.

Poke is a local cuisine that originally involved preserving raw fish or other seafood such as octopus with sea salt and rubbing it (lomi) with seasonings or cutting it into small pieces.

[66] c. ^ Men and women ate their meals separately to preserve the distinction between male and female mana, which was thought to be blurred by both sexes handling the same food.