Although Arnold Hiura has been sampling local kine kaukau his whole life, he has only turned a critical eye upon it in the last three years. What is the cultural, ethnic, national, gastronomic significance of the Spam musubi, anyway?

Food for thought. And yet, Hiura claims he didn't put on excess pounds doing the three-squares-a-day research writing “;Kau Kau — Cuisine & Culture in the Hawaiian Islands.”; The Watermark publication is a splendid, well-illustrated overview of the various types of ethnic foods we consume.

Hiura, a former Hawaii Herald editor who became a successful freelance writer and “;generic media person,”; had been writing little vignettes about local food and filing them away. His original concept was a collected book of such sidebars, but publisher Watermark had something grander in mind, no less than a history of grinds, complete with recipes.

“;These sidebar essays is what I had in my head,”; said Hiura. “;And Watermark wanted more of an expository treatment. But you know it's impossible to include everything, to work the puzzle out of what is local food. You've got to broad-stroke the whole thing.”;

Which explains why the various “;ethnic”; cuisines examined in the book don't specifically include haole food, although there is a loving tribute to the glory that is macaroni salad.

Mac salad and rice are the two great starches in local food, and much of what we consume includes flavorful variations upon these blank canvasses.

“;My primary interest is in how it all overlaps, how common food — even Spam — is not ethnically unique, but it fits our lifestyle. We like dried, salted and pickled food, food in a can that we can keep in a cupboard. It's environmental: We live on an island, and virtually all of our food come from elsewhere.

“;It's also the economy. We have to stretch those pennies. A little salty fish or Spam could flavor a whole pile of rice. And because we share these common foods, we share common values.

“;Ancient Hawaiian foods were primarily agricultural or aquacultural,”; Hiura explained. Then there were obvious European influences, such as German and Scots, on the plantations, along with the Japanese and other Asian workers.

Another major influence was the early hotel chefs in the early part of the century, introducing dishes that would later become staples, like potato salad.

He credits Watermark for whipping the ambitious volume into submission. “;It was at the insistence of the publisher that we expanded to fill gaps. I said, 'I'm done,' and they said, 'Oh no, you're not!' They have their own catalog of images, and they did the graphics and design and made it all work together,”; said Hiura. “;Plus, I'm not a chef. I'm an eater. They matched up key recipes and also had a person prepare and test them.”;

As a freelance writer-for-hire, Hiura has worked on a number of books, “;but this is the first one with my name on the cover!”;

Some of his early research became the basis of the Japanese-American National Museum exhibit “;From Bento to Mixed Plate,”; which also became a documentary.

He has a number of book signings lined up to meet his readers. “;Anecdotally,”; reports Hiura, the book is doing just fine, but it's really too early to tell if it's flying off the shelves. You'd think it would make great lunchtime reading.

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KAHUA RANCH BEEF STEW

3 pounds boneless stew beef
Salt and pepper, to taste
Water, to cover meat
1 medium onion, roughly diced
1 pound carrots, cubed
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 stalks celery, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup water

Brown meat, adding salt and pepper, then cover with water. Add onion. Cook about 2 hours until meat is tender.

Add carrots and cook 30 minutes more. Add potatoes and cook another 30 minutes. Add celery and cook 15 minutes.

Mix flour and water and pour slowly into stew; cook until raw floury taste disappears. Serve over hot rice. Serves 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste or rice): 180 calories, 4.5 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 135 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 23 g protein

LARRY'S ALL-PURPOSE TERIYAKI SAUCE

8 cups shoyu
6 cups sugar
1/4 cup sherry wine
1/4 cup oil
3-inch piece ginger, peeled, sliced and crushed
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Combine shoyu, sugar and wine. Heat oil in small frying pan and brown ginger. Add ginger to shoyu mixture, leaving oil in frying pan. Brown garlic and add to shoyu mixture. Mix well. Yields 12 1/2 cups.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per tablespoon: 30 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 850 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 1 g protein

ANDAGI

4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
3-1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil, for deep frying

In large bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla together; mix in sugar.

In separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt; add to egg mixture. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over-mix.

In a deep frying pan, heat oil to 350 degrees. Drop dough, in half-fist-sized portions, into hot oil. Fry until doughnuts are golden brown and rise to surface.

To do this the Okinawan way, fill right hand with dough, then squeeze it out by moving thumb toward index finger, and drop dough gently into hot oil.

Yields 4 dozen doughnuts.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per andagi: 120 calories, 5 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 100 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 2 g protein