chawan

The word "chawan" comes directly from Japanese, translating literally to "tea bowl" but universally used in Hawaii to mean a rice bowl. It is a staple vocabulary word in local households, especially among Japanese-Americans and anyone who grew up eating rice with every meal. While it is perfectly appropriate for everyday use at the dinner table or at local plate lunch spots, it also carries a humorous slang meaning. A "chawan cut" refers to a terrible bowl cut hairstyle, implying someone literally placed a rice bowl over a kid's head and trimmed around the edges. You will hear the term used affectionately by elders serving dinner, or mockingly by teenagers making fun of a bad haircut.

The kitchen in Makawao was absolute bedlam. The smoke alarm was blaring because Darlene forgot the teriyaki chicken in the oven, while Colleen frantically waved a dish towel at the ceiling trying to clear the air. "Turn off the stove!" Lori yelled over the noise, simultaneously trying to swat the cat away from the cooling spam musubis on the counter. Nobody was listening to anybody, and the rice cooker had just clicked to warm, signaling the only thing that had actually gone right.

"Where's the good dishes?" Darlene shouted, abandoning the burnt chicken to dig through the glass cabinets. "Bachan going be mad if we use the paper plates for New Year's!" Colleen was coughing from the smoke, blindly reaching into the dish rack. "Just grab whatever! Pass da chawan, the big ones with the blue flowers, I gotta start scooping the rice before the uncles start complaining they starving!"

Lori finally managed to silence the alarm with a broom handle, dropping it with a clatter. "I cannot find the blue ones! Just use the regular chawans and tell everybody portion control!" she yelled back, tossing a stack of mismatched ceramic bowls onto the island. Between the burnt soy sauce smell, the screaming cat, and Darlene dropping a serving spoon down the garbage disposal, dinner was going to be a complete disaster.