For the Love of Li Hing Mui

Daphne Kauahi’ilani Jenkins What is one of your most memorable li hing mui moments from small kid, keiki time?

Neale Asato It’s probably when my mom used to take us to the crack seed store. We grew up in Aina Haina by Doe Fang [a crack seed and candy shop], where Uncle Clay’s was. We used to go there after school and always get Icee and li hing mui and stuff. Even Kaimuki—the Crack Seed Store. By Kam Shopping Center, there was an old crack seed store in the ’90s. I remember her taking us there because she liked the li hing sauce for the Icee. That’s where a lot of the flavor ideas came from—small kid time, the Icee kind of flavors.

Daphne Speaking of crack seed stuff, do you have any favorites? What’s your grab-and-go on a regular day?

Neale I like the li hing cherry. I like lemon peel, too—the sweeter strips. Not the whole lemon one, because some of them are kind of bitter, but the sliced, dried ones. I do like the wet stuff, too, like the wet prune mui.

Daphne For those not familiar with local kine culture, how would you explain the role of crack seed stores in our communities, in our childhoods? And the flavor of li hing mui?

Neale It’s like the community snack shop, but they specialize in preserved and dried fruits. I just tell people it’s like dried plum, but it’s salty and sour. It’s just a flavor that all of us grew up eating.

Daphne Why sherbert and guri-guri for you as a culinary artist? I’m gonna call you that even if you don’t.

Neale We stayed two years in Maui when I was in preschool, ’cause my dad works construction. And every summer, we would go visit my auntie—she had Kaohu Store, like a little corner store with groceries and an Icee machine—and we’d always go get Tasaka Guri-Guri in Maui. When we moved back to O‘ahu, my mom used to make homemade guri-guri with Diamond Head soda and condensed milk. Every time we go Maui, always first stop is Tasaka, and last stop is Tasaka. We missed it on O’ahu. So, we’ve always made [sherbert] at home, since we were little. And then, ’cause I always worked food industry and I was trying to figure out a food product and thought it’d be fun, that’s how it started. Just making it at home and then giving it to friends and then selling it eventually.

Daphne Why do you think us local people have such a thing for sherbert?

Neale I think it’s just lighter. There’s less dairy in there, and the flavors are more fruity. It’s just not as rich. You can eat a lot. For ice cream flavors, you need to put a ton of flavor because the butter fat coats your mouth. I feel like there’s more intense flavor if you just make it a sherbert instead.

Daphne What do you think makes our local palate so unique?

Neale I think it’s just a mix of all the different cultures. Tasaka Guri-Guri is like over 100 years [old]. I believe it was his family’s recipe—he brought it from Japan—mixed with local culture, and just using the ingredients they had. That style was a mix of all the cultures making something new—unique—for Hawai‘i, and they passed it down through generations. And then, it’s just nostalgic flavors that only Hawai‘i people get. Some people wouldn’t enjoy some of the flavors that we love. But if you’re from Hawai’i, I think it touches more than just a flavor. It’s more of a memory. That’s what we try to do.

Daphne Can you talk about some of your li hing mui flavors? Like, they’re extensive!

Neale Li hing has always been the cornerstone flavor that we’ve done spins on. We started doing the Super Li Hing—li hing sorbet, the li hing sauce swirled in, and then the seed on top. The King Mui flavor is a sweet one. And then we started introducing some of the lemon peel flavors, too, like the lemon peel gummy bears. Then we started doing li hing lemon peel things, just mixing it all together.