History

Shave ice (kakigori in Japanese) came to Hawaii with Japanese plantation workers in the 1880s. Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa opened 1951 and became the canonical North Shore version with custom-cut ice and house fruit syrups; the family still runs it 75 years later. Waiola Shave Ice in Kapahulu Honolulu opened in 1940 with even finer ice grain and a deeper roster of syrups. The signature local order: rainbow shave ice over vanilla ice cream with azuki beans and condensed-milk drizzle.

Common allergens: Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1.5 litres filtered water, frozen in a 20x20cm pan into a solid ice block
  • 250g granulated sugar
  • 250ml water for syrup
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 150g fresh strawberries
  • 1 ripe mango, pureed
  • 100g pineapple, pureed
  • 200g vanilla ice cream
  • 200g canned azuki red beans, drained
  • Condensed milk for drizzling

Method

  1. Make the strawberry syrup: simmer 100g sugar with 100ml water until dissolved. Add the strawberries and a splash of lemon juice. Cook 4 minutes, then blend and strain.
  2. Make the mango syrup: simmer 75g sugar with 75ml water until dissolved. Stir in the mango puree, cool. The pineapple syrup follows the same method.
  3. Use a shave-ice machine or a sturdy Microplane to scrape the ice block into fine, powdery flakes. Pack the flakes into a chilled bowl, mounding above the rim.
  4. Pour the three coloured syrups in a rainbow pattern across the top: red strawberry, gold mango, yellow pineapple. They should soak slightly without melting the ice.
  5. Lift one side of the mound and bury a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a spoon of azuki beans underneath.
  6. Finish with a generous drizzle of condensed milk. Eat with a spoon and a straw within five minutes.

Tip from the editors. A standard blender or food processor will not give the fine powdery texture; you need a machine that shaves rather than crushes. A Hatsuyuki home shaver runs around 300 USD and replicates the North Shore counter result.

Where to eat shave ice

Shave ice in Honolulu

Matsumoto Shave Ice ★ 4.4

Bakery$Daily 10:00-18:00Walk-in onlyShave ice, syrups

Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa on Oahu's North Shore, an hour from Honolulu, has scraped fine-grain shave ice since the Matsumoto family opened.

Tip: Queue runs 20 to 60 minutes; order the rainbow with azuki beans and condensed milk. Free parking behind the lot.

Worth the queue: Rainbow shave ice

66-111 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, HI 96712

Waiola Shave Ice ★ 4.2

Street food$Daily 10:30-18:00

Waiola Shave Ice in Kapahulu Honolulu has shaved the city's finest-grain shave ice since 1940, with house syrups and the canonical strawberry condensed milk.

Try: Strawberry condensed milk shave ice

Tip: Strawberry condensed milk is the move; cash and card. Mokihana Street relocation in 2013.

3113 Mokihana Street, Honolulu, HI 96816

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