Eatery dishes out classic recipes

Oxtail Soup ($15.50)

It’s clear that family-owned restaurant Shiro’s Saimin Haven doesn’t cut corners with its food. This local staple has served its classic Hawaiian dishes with the same care and attention to detail since it first opened in 1969.

Bryce Fujimoto, vice president of Shiro’s, shares a few customer favorites, like Oxtail Soup ($15.50). This humble dish is elevated with a generous amount of premium oxtail bones. “We use large pieces of oxtail bones with a good amount of meat on them, and we cook them long enough (so) that the bones fall apart,” says Fujimoto. The soup has a multi-step process that takes almost half a day. Bones are simmered for hours in the first batch, then the water is discarded and the second batch of broth is used for the actual soup.

Hawaiian plate with poi ($12.05)

Spicy Beef Saimin ($10.05) also is another favorite, perfect for cooler weather. It has a spicy, chili oil base, with wontons, vegetables, char siu and green onions. The beef is hand-cut at the restaurant and marinated in a sweet-and-spicy sauce for depth and flavor.

Fujimoto says the Hawaiian plate ($11.45) is offered only on Fridays and occasionally Saturdays, depending on supplies. It comes with lau lau, chicken long rice, lomi salmon, and white or brown rice. Customers also can replace one scoop of rice with poi for a total price of $12.05. The lau lau is made in-house using wetland taro leaves sourced from Wong’s Farm and cured pork butt, pork belly and a small amount of butterfish.

Spicy Beef Saimin ($10.05)

Shiro’s has two locations, one in Waimalu and another in Ewa Beach. “It’s been cold weather recently, so we want everyone to know that you don’t have to go into town if you’re on the west side — swing by our Ewa Beach location to enjoy our famous saimin,” says Fujimoto.