On a per capita basis, Hawaii consumes more than three and a half times more Spam annually than any other state (that's four million cans a year, all told.) The author claims, and makes a good case that Spam is "Hawaii's soul food." After World War Two when Spam became the brunt of derogatory jokes in most of the world, Hawaiians continued their Spam consumption at a voracious rate. In the process they got more and more imaginative in the preparations. I travel to Hawaii on business quite a bit, and can vouch for the popularity of Spam: even the Local McDonald's has a Spam breakfast. I just had it last week, in fact: it consists of two pieces of fried Spam, scrambled eggs, and two scoops of rice. Try finding that on the mainland.
While I admit to having the McSpam breakfast as a novelty, Hawaiians take their Spam very seriously, and this book showcases some extremely imaginative methods of preparing Spam. It has "Spam and Mushroom Rolls," "Spam Musubi," "Kalua Spam," "Spam Won Ton," "Spam Chowder," "Spam Fu Young," "Spam and Zucchini Omelet," and the unpleasant sounding "Basic Spam-Fishcake Pupu Mix," among many other recipes.
To say that there is a wide variety of Spam recipes here is quite an understatement, but there's much more than just Spam here. In a continuing homage to the Hawaiian love of canned and potted meat food products, there are also recipes for sardines, corned beef, and Vienna sausages, all of which are wildly popular on the islands. Enjoy the "Sardines and Warabi [Fern Shoots]," "Mabel's Kim Chee Sardines" (which is a gastronomic line in the sand I refuse to cross), "Sardine and Tofu Souffle," "Puukolii Pork 'n Beans," "Vienna Sausage Pupus," "and something named simply "Pokey-Pokey" (Filipino scrambled eggs complete with Vienna sausage, eggplant, and garlic.)
The book contains many basic, yet amusing, illustrations, and a glossary of terms germane to Hawaiian Spam cookery, which helps the neophyte Spam chef substantially.
If you want a single book on cooking Spam Hawaiian style, this is the best volume you will ever find. I'm not saying that I would eat everything in this book, but I am saying that this is the book I recommend above all others in the quest for preparing authentic Hawaiian Spam dishes!
'Ai iho!