You know that one neighbor who always brings the newest, hippest, best pupu to the potluck? Last fall, our hip pupu neighbor busted out hot lava pork rinds and everyone at the party pretty much had their minds blown. The product was still in the taste-test phase, and our neighbors were helping give feedback to the creators. The feedback that night was, "Whoa! Where can I buy these?"
Now, the creatively flavored pork rinds, under the brand name Pork Grinds Hawaii, have hit the market. They’re available in local commissaries, online and in select stores on Oahu.
Pork Grinds are the brainchild of buddies Joie Yuen and Darrin Muramoto, who work together at a title company and who, like most, enjoy hanging with friends, snacking and watching UH sports. Pork rinds often found their way into that scenario, but as ono as those are, the two realized that there could be better.
"We were basically tired of the stuff we could find in the markets at the time. They were always oily and stale," Yuen said. They saw a show on Food Network about a pork rind food truck, and they were inspired. Their minds reeled with possible flavor combinations: Kim chee could work. Teriyaki, of course. And furikake goes with everything.
"Our friends and family were our guinea pigs, so to speak. They gave us honest feedback whether a particular flavor worked," Muramoto said. "One flavor that did not work was li hing-flavored pork rinds."
OK, but the other flavors got rave reviews, and now there are 11 in all, including the aptly named Lava BBQ, which could make a grown man cry. Muramoto and Yuen set up a commercial kitchen in Aiea to make the product fresh every day, and the business took off. Muramoto’s wife, Christine, came up with the brand name.
"She thought it was a great play on words to incorporate the ‘grinds’ instead of ‘rinds,’ and I agree," Yuen said.
Muramoto and Yuen have been making the rounds of craft fairs and product shows. Much of their business has come from online orders, and they’ve shipped Pork Grinds to customers as far away as Virginia. They’re in discussions with local stores to get their products placed, but are already in Alicia’s Market in Kalihi, Diamond Head Grill and Market, and Chit Chat in downtown Honolulu.
They say that Pork Grinds are a healthier alternative to potato chips because they provide protein, have fewer than 80 calories per serving, have zero carbs and are cooked in vegetable oil, so they contain no trans-fats. But really, if you’re snuggled on the sofa with a bag of flavored fried pork skins, none of that matters much. All that’s important is the taste, and it turns out that pork skins make a great bass note to all kinds of local toppings. Char siu-flavored pork rinds? Heck yeah.
Lee Cataluna can be reached at lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
