How to Plant (and Cook with) a Veggie Garden Inspired by Hawaii

In Alana Kysar’s new book Aloha Veggies, Hawaii’s vibrant local ingredients take center stage. Part cookbook, part love letter to the Islands’ farms, it’s a celebration of home gardens and farmers’ markets alike, with fresh summer produce that will transform everyday meals with a touch of island sunshine.

Peak Summer, Island State of Mind

Photo by Moses Aipa.

Summer is the season that Aloha Veggies is built for: abundant, accessible, and grounded in the idea that when produce is fresh, meals don’t need much else.

“Abundance and accessibility are at the heart of the book,” Kysar says. “Aloha Veggies is about taking the flavors and methods we all know and love here in Hawaii and applying them to the veggies.”

TIP: Choose one standout vegetable and build around it using familiar flavors like shoyu, ginger, or sesame oil. When produce is fresh and local, it already carries the complexity—your job is just to get out of the way.

Hawaiian Flavor Starts at the Farm… and in Your Garden

Kysar spent time on farms of all sizes while developing Aloha Veggies. “The farms I visited …. all focused on producing the best crops they could, whether taro, carrots, or watercress,” she says. “When you center a dish on a vegetable, you are already starting with so much flavor and texture.”

Even a small backyard or container garden benefits from the same principles: thoughtful planting, attention to microclimates, and growing the best-quality produce possible. “All of these small practices help me grow the best crops I can, and that translates to more flavor on every plate,” she says.

TIP: Know your local climate. Kysar shares that while breadfruit thrives in lowland Hawaii, her high-elevation garden in Maui favors apples, stone fruits, and persimmons.

Summer Flavors, Defined by Place—and Reimagined on the Plate

Summer is a long, generous season in Hawaii, with constant harvests that make vegetables exciting year-round. Her approach is all about versatility: familiar dishes reimagined with vegetables at the center. A perfect example? A light summer dinner might pair her recipe “Soft Tofu with Watercress Chinese-Style” with umami-rich “Mushroomy Rice” and “Tomato Poke”—hot and cold, soft and crunchy, all in one satisfying plate.

TIP: Embrace seasonal variety. Try a subchapter from Aloha Veggies, like shoyu, and focus on the four recipes within. You’ll likely find a veggie in season at your local farmers’ market that fits perfectly.

Get the Book

Ten Speed Press

Aloha Veggies: VegForward Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of Hawai‘i, by Alana Kysar (Ten Speed Press, $25.78).

Island-Inspired Summer Crops

These standout vegetables and herbs capture Hawaii’s vibrant summer flavors. Kysar encourages adding them to your garden or picking them up at the local farmers’ market and experimenting with their bright, island-inspired flavors.

Taro (kalo)

Taro is central to Hawaiian culture—it symbolizes family and life itself. You grow new plants from the huli, the top half-inch of the corm, plus about 8 inches of stem. The whole plant is edible. I use the leaves in lau lau and luau stew, and the corm in taro mash or kimchi taro mac salad. Taro tubers (Colocasia esculenta) are available for purchase online and in specialty markets.

Reprinted with permission from “Aloha Veggies: Veg-Forward Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of Hawai’i.” Text and photographs copyright © 2026 by Alana Kysar. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

Breadfruit (‘ulu)

Plant an ‘ulu, and you can feed a community! Fast-growing and prolific, each tree can produce hundreds of pounds of fruit. Use it anywhere you’d use potatoes—lau lau filling, veggie loco moco patties, garlicky breadfruit mash, or breadfruit mac salad. Ripe fruit? Bake with butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. In a pinch, frozen options are sometimes available online.

Green Onions (scallions)

Green onions are one of the most-used finishing ingredients in local Hawaiian cooking. They’re easy to grow, too. When in doubt, thinly slice some and sprinkle them over your dish before serving. You can even regrow them from supermarket scraps: Just save the white ends and push them into the soil.

Fresh Ginger

Fresh ginger is one of my favorite ways to build flavor in a dish or to brighten it at the very end if finely julienned. You’ll find it in many dishes throughout Aloha Veggies. It’s also incredibly easy to grow at home using the fresh ginger you buy at the grocery store or farmers’ market—just pick roots with eyes and plant them shallowly in well-draining soil.

Fresh Herbs and Pantry Power-Ups

Small additions make a big difference. “In Hawaii, we love green onions, ginger, garlic, and even cilantro,” Kysar says. Pantry essentials like shoyu, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, miso, and short- or medium-grain rice quietly shape everyday cooking.

Finishing touches elevate any summer dish. “If it’s something super savory, packed with umami, a hit of acid or a squeeze of lime or lemon brightens the dish,” she says. Chopped fresh herbs or scallions add lightness and aroma: “Adding fresh herbs to a dish is a lot like flipping on a light in a dark room.”

TIP: Cilantro is a quick win for mainland gardeners, offering peppery brightness, while julienned fresh ginger wakes up any dish. Even a single herb or aromatic can transform a summer harvest.

Farmers’ Market Finds: Tap Into Local Abundance

For readers outside Hawaii, Kysar encourages exploring farmers’ markets to find peak-season vegetables: “There’s likely a veggie that’s in season in each sub-chapter, and the farmers’ market is such a good place to find the freshest produce!” Start with a flavor subchapter from Aloha Veggies, pick a recipe, and shop for what’s local and ripe.

TIP: Treat seasonal produce like inspiration, not a checklist. Let what’s fresh guide your menu, and don’t be afraid to try a new vegetable or herb—it’s the essence of Hawaiian cooking.

Try This at Home: Namasu Sweet Potato Salad

Reprinted with permission from “Aloha Veggies: Veg-Forward Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of Hawai’i.” Text and photographs copyright © 2026 by Alana Kysar. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

Creamy sweet potatoes meet bright, tangy pickled veggies in this effortless summer side. “The combination of the creamy sweet potato and the acidic, crunchy pickles really works,” Kysar says. Comforting yet punchy, it’s a fresh take on island flavors that will steal the show at any BBQ gathering.

Click here for the recipe.

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