The fabled (and frequently forgotten) North Shore of Oahu is known for its waves and beaches, not its cuisine. But surfing swells your appetite (or so I’m told) and many locals and visitors feed that hunger with a visit to Ted’s Bakery in Sunset Beach.
Last week, I talked story about Waialua Bakery in Haleiwa serving up home-grown and homemade baked goods, sandwiches, and smoothies.
Ted’s, on the other hand, serves up local traditional food like our family favorite: Portuguese sausage, rice, and eggs. This is such a staple for kama’aina (local residents) that McDonald’s even offers it on their menu.
Ted’s Bakery draws in many visitors for their Chocolate Haupia Pie (haupia is a gelatinous Hawaiian dessert made with coconut milk) but we found much more to love than their version of chocolate cream pie. We stopped in for breakfast on the way to Haleiwa, hoping their Portuguese sausage, rice, and eggs would live up to our high expectations. But not knowing if we’d have time to stop in again, we had to sample their baked goods as well: a malasada (a Portuguese version of a donut), a slice of chocolate haupia pie, and a macadamia nut danish.
I am not a big donut fan but you can ask my kids how many times I marveled at the texture and flavor of their heavenly malasadas. They say Leonard’s in Honolulu has the best malasadas, but I don’t know how they could be better.
After tempting our taste buds with the pastries, the main course arrived. Luckily, my daughter and I decided to share because clearly Ted expects just that:
When we prepare this meal at home, we always use steamed rice but Ted’s offers a fried rice option that @dormantchef chose to sample. It was outstanding – not only is the portion ample but the flavors and texture are expert – still moist but the grains were separated and had soaked up the ingredients nicely.
Portuguese sausage, if you’re not familiar, is similar to linguica but according to Hawaii Magazine: “What’s now called Portuguese sausage here (Hawaii) is a larger, slightly sweeter and softer sausage than the original linguiça. You can buy it in both mild and hot versions, the latter having a dash of red pepper.” We prefer the spicy version but many restaurants only offer the mild. Ted’s, though mild, met our expectations – pan-fried with a crisp bite on the outside and smoky flavor on the inside. Only thing missing was the hot kick. But I guess you can’t have it all, all the time.
At home, we always make our favorite soy sauce eggs to accompany the portuguese sausage, a simple twist on classic scrambled eggs that you should add to your BFD (breakfast for dinner) repertoire.
Portuguese Sausage, Rice, and Soy Sauce Eggs
Active prep: about 10 minutes; Total time: 20 – 25 minutes; serves 4
- 2 or 3 cups of medium grain japanese rice (or any rice of your choosing)
- 2 or 3 portuguese sausage links, mild or spicy
- 8 eggs
- 3 – 4 tsps reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 4 tsps of cream or milk
-Broiling is the healthier approach, allowing some of the fat to drain off and is an easy way to cook a large batch fairly easily. Watch closely because it goes from perfect to burnt quickly. I would guess about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the second side.
I'm Beth - a seasoned marketing professional, food blogger and full-time mom. Join me as I make cooking like Granny cool again, blending and stirring ingredients and memories alike.
This looks just right for dinner! I am intrigued by soy-sauce eggs – have to try:) And where would you buy Portuguese sausage in the U.S.? I am assuming you managed to bring some from Oahu:)
I am so grateful for my girls as I can share almost any meal with one of them!
And now go get some rest! We ain’t young chickens any more (although I am not giving in yet, and it seems, neither are you!)
Hi Lana – good question about where to buy the sausage. I have found variations at costco and recently at whole foods. For authentic made in Hawaii sausage, you can look up where Frank’s Foods from Hilo distributes in your area. For example, in my area there is a Japanese store that carries it. I also got a tip from a friend about a Portuguese butcher nearby that makes it. I am sure in your area you will find a good source!
I too am blessed with kids that will eat anywhere and anything with me! It’s become part of the fabric of our family. It’s great, isn’t it?
If you can’t find it locally. You can do like I do and order it online from only from hawaii ( onlyfromhawaii.com )
Thanks for the suggestion Mike – think I’ll go over and check that site out right now!
Man that chocolate pie looks delicious. So do the rest of the goodies. I am going to have to start cooking again.
This is so easy – you should try it. It’s a nice twist on scrambled eggs that you just might like!
Beth, we are huge breakfast-for-dinner people. Will have to try this soon. Great post!
Sometimes bkfst for dinner is just right, isn’t it?
Yum yum! I haven’t had Portuguese sausage, eggs and rice for a long time, ever since we ran out of our supply from the last time we went back to Honolulu.
Great tip about broiling the sausage. Pan-frying can get messy.
Leonard’s is indeed the best malasada (IMO) in Hawaii.
Next trip, we’ll be sure to stop at Leonard’s – we intended to once back in Honolulu but just couldn’t fit it in.
Frank’s Foods from Hilo has great sausage and I understand some Japanese markets carry it. Hard to go without it for too long, eh?!
Do you mean the Japanese shops in San Jose Japantown, or at Mitsuwa on Saratoga, or at the Marukai in Cupertino?
Nate – I am told by a reliable source that Nijiya Market in Japantown carries the Frank’s Foods brand. I will try to get there next week and report back.
Wow that looks good! I bet it would also be good with the Cajun sausage I love – andouille, a chewy smoked sausage that I get from http://www.cajungrocer.com. I will google your Portuguese sausage to see if I can find it near Arkansas! I can’t wait to try this.
Here’s one resource for the Portuguese sausage:
http://suresave.com/index.php/component/option,com_ixxocart/id,92/is_print_version,true/lang,en/p,product/parent,15/
And yes, I think Cajun Andouille would be delicious as well – maybe change up the additions to the eggs to match. Yummy!
p.s. do you have a recipe on the pie?
Ted’s won’t give out the recipe but here’s one attempt at it:
http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/blogs/hawaii_today/2009/8/5/chocolate_haupia_pie_recipe
Yummy is right!! Makes me want to go to Hawaii, but since that’ s probably not in the cards this year, I’m so glad you found a way to bring a taste of it home. Thanks for sharing!
P.S. I’m visiting from the Sharefest
Thanks for visiting! This is, indeed, an easy way to bring some Aloha spirit to your home when you can’t traverse the ocean to go get some!
Thanks so much for this post! I used to live on Kauai and spent a wild summer on the North Shore as well. Kauai had it’s own island made sausage that was ono. I made some of the best Portuguese soup with it. Really missing Hawaii these days…
Oh I would love your recipe for the soup! Kauai is a wonderful island. Didn’t know there was a sausage maker there tho! Glad this post brought back good memories!