Big Island Poll #5 results: Voters were divided on favorite Hawaiian food — poke or pork?

It was a toss up between shredded pork or raw fish, but after 1,530 votes, the winner is — drumroll — Kalua pig!

In Big Island Now’s latest 30-second poll we asked: “If you were cooking – or eating – a meal for a dinner party on the Big Island, what Hawaiian food would be a must on the menu?”

Kalua pig, or shredded pork that is cooked in an underground oven, or imu, took first place with 394 votes (25 percent).

Poke, raw ahi cubed and flavored with different sauces and seasonings, came in at a close second with 378 votes (24 percent).

In third place was lau lau, a Hawaiian dish made of pork and butterfish wrapped in lu‘au leaves and ti leaves. The dish garnered 290 votes. One Facebook user commented: “Wow, it has to be laulau.”

Commenters on the poll had other ideas of what their favorite Hawaiian food was. One Facebook user said malasadas, which sometimes is called “Portuguese fried dough.” It is a fried type of doughnut, made of flattened rounds of yeast dough, flavored with lemon zest and coated with granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Another Facebook user suggested haupia: a Hawaiian dessert that is often referred to as “coconut pudding.” The key ingredient in haupia is coconut milk.

The full poll results:

• Kalua Pig: 394 (25%)
• Poke: 378 (24%)
• Lau Lau: 290 (18%)
• Poi: 122 (7%)
• Teriyaki Chicken/Beef: 108 (7%)
• Chicken Katsu: 63 (4%)
• Spam musubi: 56 (3%)
• Loco Moco: 46 (3%)
• Saimin: 37 (2%)
• Lomi Lomi Salmon: 36 (2%)

Total Votes: 1,530

Editor’s Note: On Monday, Big Island Now’s weekly Poll #6 will ask: “What is your favorite Easter tradition?