The vast majority of Hawaii’s commercial fisheries species can be considered in four major groupings: Tuna, Billfish, Bottomfish and Open Ocean Fish. Taste factors such as aroma, texture and flavor intensity and consequently best preparation methods are closely related with these groupings.

TUNAS are generally good raw, sautéed or broiled. They are more robust in flavor intensity than any other Hawaiian fish and when cooked have a range of medium to firm textured, steak-like flesh dependent on the degree of cooking. Of the tunas, Tombo (albacore) has the mildest flavor intensity followed by the two Ahi’s (yellowfin and bigeye) as equally robust and at the high end Aku (skipjack) ist the most robust and flavorful tasting. Fattiness ranges from moderate to high except for Aku which is generally lean and consequently has a tendency to become dry when cooked through.

BILLFISH are good sautéed, broiled, poached or in soup. Nairagi is additionally good raw or seared. They are more firm than tunas, with the exception of swordfish which has a medium firmness. All have a steaklike grain to the cooked flesh texture. Billfish flavor intensity is less than tunas with all falling within the moderate range. Hebi, the shortbill spearfish, is consistently more intense in flavor than the two marlins Kajiki and Nairigi and the swordfish Shutome, all three of which have about the same flavor intensity.

The OPEN OCEAN FISH are good sautéed or broiled.
• Mahimahi is additionally good baked, steamed, poached or in soup
• Ono is additionally good smoked, broiled, raw, poached or in soup
• Opah is additionally good raw or seared
• Monchong is additionally good poached or in soup

Open Ocean Fish range in flavor intensity from Ono with a delicate flavor to Opah which has an almost robust flavor and is very aromatic, a smell when cooked characterized as similar to roasted pork. Mahimahi is almost as delicate in flavor intensity as Ono but has a much more tender flesh. Opah and Monchong are even more tender than Mahimahi.

BOTTOMFISH with few exceptions are good in any preparation except smoked and seared. They are considered the most tender, flaky, sweet and delicately flavored of Hawaii’s fish. When it comes to fish for cooking these are the most versatile and tasty of Hawaii’s fish. To most consumer palates they are almost identical to each other in taste characteristics with few exceptions except for the firmness of the Uku (grey snapper or green jobfish). The bottomfish are also the most limited in supply since they are only found at certain depths fringing around each island (versus the tunas, open ocean and billfish types which inhabit the entire ocean area).

AQUAFARMED FISH such as Moi are best steamed or poached but are also good sautéed or baked or pan-fried. Moi is considered one of the most delicate flavored, sweet and tender of the marine fish found in Hawaii. Although it is no longer available in commercial quantities from the wild, it is cultured using new technologies developed in Hawaii. It is the culinary equivalent to another Hawaii favorite the kumu (saddleback goatfish), the rouget in France and the Dover sole in England. The flesh is translucent white with no significant bloodline and very simple bone structure allowing easy filleting and deboning. It is most often cooked whole in Hawaii though.