Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

By JJL9

In Hawaii, people absolutely LOVE the plate lunch. A Hawaiian plate lunch always consists of some kind of meat dish (poke, lau lau, kalua, or my July 4th BBQ chicken :D) served with two scoops of sticky Japanese-style rice and macaroni salad. The macaroni salad has a cult following; it's different from our mainland macaroni salad in that the dressing, mayonnaise-based like ours, is thinned with milk, and the pasta is cooked until VERY soft, which helps the macaroni absorb the dressing.

The key to Hawaiian macaroni salad is all in the dressing; the only vegetables typically added are carrots and celery, just enough to give a bit of crunch. The dressing is mayonnaise-based, ALWAYS using Best Foods/Hellmann's mayonnaise, thinned with milk, soured with a bit of cider vinegar, and sweetened with brown sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups whole or 2% milk, divided (skim or 1% is just too thin)
• 2 cups mayonnaise, ideally Best Foods' or Hellmann's, divided
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, peeled & grated
• 1 celery stalk, minced
• Salt & pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 Tbsp salt and the macaroni; cook until VERY soft, about 15 minutes. Drain and return to pot; add the cider vinegar and toss until absorbed. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the milk, 1 cup of the mayonnaise, the brown sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 tsp pepper.

Once the cooked pasta has cooled for 10 minutes, stir in the dressing. Let cool completely.

Add the remaining 1/2 cup milk and 1 cup of mayonnaise, along with the scallions, carrot and celery. Stir to combine, then season to taste with salt & pepper. Chill for at least one hour before serving.