5. COVERED ICEE
And now, here’s some slushy goodness for the underage set. I haven’t had an Icee in years, but remember ordering them from Camellia Seed Shop in Queen Ka’ahumanu Center, then adding a sprinkle of li hing mui powder on the top. Ahh, memories.
6. RED LI HING MUI WITH LEMON
Just typing out those words makes my mouth water and salivary glands tingle. Basically, cut a lemon in half, then shove a whole red li hing mui inside and suck on it. In Hawaii, this is also a common cure for a sore throat. Now there’s a silver lining for anyone who is under the weather.
7. GUMMIES
The powder goes well with most every gummy candy you can think of. My favorites are gummy worms, strawberry belts, apple rings and gummy bears.
8. POWDERED APPLES OR PINEAPPLES
In its powdered form, li hing mui is more mild than eating the plain seed. A Costco-sized bottle (see above photo) lasted me through college in Chicago. And when I left the city, my mainland friends argued who would inherit the coveted seasoning. Sprinkle a few shakes of the powder onto diced apples, and viola, a sweet and salty snack. Better than candy.
9. PARADISE TROPICAL ICE
Every month during Wailuku First Friday, I scoop up some Paradise Tropical Ice. It’s similar to Italian ice—slushy without being watery. Of course, choosing my favorite flavor is a no brainer!
10. ONOPOPS
These gourmet OnoPops popsicles have a cult following here in Hawaii, and not surprisingly, their li hing mui flavor is a crowd favorite. As mentioned above, they use an all natural version of the flavoring—the only folks I’ve heard of doing such a thing.
With the lemons, we grew up doing it like this:
Cut a hole on the top pointy side of the lemon just big enough to fit a li hing mui plum inside
jam as many as you could in there, while squeezing and rolling the lemon in your hands to free up the juices
Keep stuffing and rolling until you can’t anymore..
Sip the juice, then puckah!!
If I were to grow a plum tree, which type would be used for this?