Those curious about the array of global influences colliding in what Hawaiians affectionately dub “local food” should head straight for Northeast Portland’s Kau Kau and its signature combo plate.

At its heart: kālua pig, a pile of tender smoked pork (the name referencing Hawaii’s traditional underground baking method and an animal brought by Polynesian sailors 800 years ago) and chicken long rice (the slippery strands of ginger-scented glass noodles introduced by Chinese workers at Hawaii’s sugar plantations in the 1800s).

Filling the plate: two mounds of fluffy Koshihikari rice (from Japan), one scoop of Kau Kau’s mustard-tinged mac salad (a Euro-Asian mishmash), plus a little dipping bowl of chile pepper water, a bracing vinegar-based condiment aglow with bits of bird’s-eye-like nioi

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