Creamed corn has not a whit of cream yet lives up to its name through virtue of its milky, golden creaminess. Pig intestine noodles are completely vegetarian, yet no one would disagree with their resemblance to porcine tracts. Most foods deserve their names—even if the names don't always make sense. Because more often than not, you can see where the original christener was coming from. Yet the one thing that stumps me is shaved ice. It doesn't matter what it's called—Japanese kakigÅri, Pinoy halo halo, Korean bingsu, Thai nam kang sai, or Chinese bao bing—none of them have a consistency anywhere close to what I'd term "shaved." Ground, maybe—with their coarse, gritty grains that kind of lump together before...
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Li hing mui and pineapple shave ice from Ward Farmers' Market. Photograph by Kathy Chan I know it's just a pile of finely shaved ice soaked with flavored syrup in a paper cup, but ... no, it's so much more! I have yet to taste the simple, heavenly joy that is Hawaiian shave ice (not "shaved," just "shave"), but thanks to Kathy Chan's photos and descriptions of this refreshing treat, this simple combination of frozen water and syrup is the one food I want to try the most when I visit Hawaii. Related How to Make Spam Musubi Snapshots from Hawaii: Garlic Shrimp Real Hawaiian Food...
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