by TheLastWonton | May 30, 2010 | Asian, Beef, Pork & Lamb, Chicken & Poultry, Hawaiian, Main Dishes, Pasta & Noodles, Veggies
MY HAWAIIAN KITCHEN
Delectable memoirs of living on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai high above the famed Kona Coast on the beguiling Big Island of Hawaii.
Dear Journal – We followed the obscure directions we had on a scrap piece of paper to lead us to a hot pond tucked away in the jungle just off the coast near Isaac Hale Beach Park. With flip flops, swim suits and towels we trooped onto the beach until we found the easy-to-miss path heading mauka (towards the mountains). Through thick growth we wove this way and that, our intrigue leading us on, until we found it. It was like something out of a south seas movie. There in the black rocky lava surrounded by overgrown vines, trees that touched the sky and palms of all shapes and sizes was a perfect natural hot tub. The eerily still, crystal clear, magnetic blue water beckoned but was somehow oddly scary at the same time. Sense of adventure intact, towels and assorted gear quickly hit the jungle floor with a soft plop and we slid into the warm water. Aaaaaaah! Ooooooooh! Heated personally by Pele (volcano Goddess) and the hot lava from far below the earth’s surface the water caressed us in delicious warmth. We stayed in that heavenly pool a good long time just soaking up the wonder of it all. When we got home late that afternoon with hungry tummies we absolutely knew that dinner must be as luscious as the day. It was.
1 pound pork tenderloin, sliced into thin strips (or chicken breasts, or nice big prawns)
1 tablespoons dark shoyu (soy sauce)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon sambal oelek or other Asian chile paste
2 cups or more broccoli or asparagus, chopped into big bite size pieces and steamed or blanched until just barely al dente
1/2 – 3/4 pound thick-ish rice noodles, cooked al dente, rinsed in cold water
Drizzles of oil for stir frying
1 small sweet onion (Maui, Walla Walla or Vidalia), chopped
4 green onions, cut on the diagonal into about 1/2 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 – 3 tablespoons ketchup
Zest and juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
2 tablespoons rice or white vinegar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sambal oelek or other Asian chile paste
1/3 cup salt macadamia nuts, chopped (or peanuts)
1 egg, beaten
1-2 cups fresh bean sprouts
Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro, chopped nuts, lime wedges and more chile paste
Mix 3 tablespoons shoyu, granulated garlic and 1 teaspoon chile paste in medium bowl. Add sliced pork tenderloin and mix well to evenly coat meat. Set aside for 30 minutes to 4 hours to bask in all that flavour.
Cook broccoli or asparagus til just barely al dente, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking, drain well, set aside. Cook rice noodles again til just al dente, making sure they’re completely cool by rinsing well with cold water. Set aside.
Next get all your flavour ingredients into little bowls, so when you start to stir fry you can just go at it. The French call this ‘mise en place’, meaning ‘everything in place’. I call it ‘making cooking a breeze’. So put chopped onion, green onions, chopped garlic, cilantro, ketchup, lime juice and zest, vinegar, fish sauce, shoyu, brown sugar, sambal, nuts, beaten egg and sprouts into little bowls, cups or containers. Cover with saran and set aside.
When it’s fry time, heat large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat with a drizzle of oil. Add marinated pork and stir fry 3-5 minutes until there’s some marvelous crispy edges and the meat is slightly caramelized and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside for a wee bit. Hit the hot pan with a bit more oil if necessary and add chopped onion. Stir fry about 2 minutes until edges are starting to caramelize, add green onion and garlic, cooking another 1-2 minutes. Add cilantro and stir. Quickly rinse cooked, cooled rice noodles with a bit of water to loosen them up and add to hot pan. Reduce heat to medium and stir fry about 1 minute. Stir in ketchup, lime zest and juice, vinegar, fish sauce, shoyu, brown sugar, sambal, nuts and beaten egg. Cook, stirring gently, turning, mixing and evenly combining the glorious flavours and textures for about 1 minute. Add broccoli or asparagus, pork and bean sprouts and continue cooking, stiring, turning gently for another 2-3 minutes. Serve hot with garnishes. Makes 2-4 servings. Mmmmmm. Great with ice cold beer!
by TheLastWonton | May 30, 2010 | Appetizers & Snacks, Baking & Desserts, Breads & Sandwiches, Breakfast & Brunch
Our forests here in the Okanagan are very happy these days. Why? Spring rains. May often brings those first few sneak peaks of summertime hot days just to get us ready to swelter. But, uh uh, not this year. Cool breezes, big dramatic skies and every kind of rain imagineable. From glorious downpours to drizzley tickle your face showers and everything in between. What do we get out of the deal? A lot of green, and cozy-up days that scream for comfort food.
I don't know about you, but I'm one of those people that is not so secretly thrilled at an excuse to comfort my spirit, cravings and tummy. After that it comes down to options, and there are so many. Yesterday as the early morning rain pitter pattered on my kitchen skylights I wanted to be swept back……. home…..long past. I jumped on the first thing that came to mind. Yeasty baked goodness. Just like mom used to make.
ANGEL BISCUITS………Continued here
by TheLastWonton | May 27, 2010 | Appetizers & Snacks, Beef, Pork & Lamb, Breakfast & Brunch, Hawaiian, Main Dishes, Mexican, Sides
MY HAWAIIAN KITCHEN
Delectable memoirs of living on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai high above the famed Kona Coast on the beguiling Big Island of Hawaii.
The savory melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of the slow cooked pork hits it off like gangbusters with the crispy, crunchy tortilla chips and creamy cheese. One big tray of hot-from-the-oven yum.
Dear Journal – The morning dawned bright and sunny. Just right for our beach day. Hapuna Beach or bust!! Driving north from Kona, we eye-spied a pod of whales spouting not too far out from the shore. Further off across the blue Pacific we could see Haleakala brushing the skies over Maui and off to the mauka (mountain) side we marveled at the mantle of fresh white snow atop Mauna Kea. Way cool. Needless to say we hit Hapuna smiling. After a few lazy hours of bobbing in warm, clear turquoise waters and easy beach chatter we headed home blissed out, sun-glazed and totally relaxed. How to top off this day? Crunchy, gooey, hot-from-the-oven nachos that begged to be munched in the shimmering silver light of a Hawaiian full moon? Yup, that would do it. The night wound down happy and moony.
Melt in your mouth, tender, juicy, overflowing with flavour broken pork.
BROKEN PORK NACHOS
1 x 2 – 3 pound boneless pork butt roast
8 whole garlic cloves, peeled (cut in half lengthwise if too plump)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Hawaiian or other sea salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
1 onion peeled and roughly sliced
2 cups water
1 small can (4-oz) chopped mild green chilies
1 bag (325gr – 400gr) best quality tortilla chips
1 can refried beans
2 small fresh, firm, ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 medium size sweet Maui, Walla Walla or Vidalia, chopped
2 fresh Hawaiian chili peppers or jalapenos, thinly sliced into rounds (optional)
1 – 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, diced
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Serve with Salsa Fresca, sour cream and guacamole
For Broken Pork – Preheat oven to 300F degrees. Place pork in smallish roasting pan. With a small sharp knife cut 8 or more deep little pockets in the roast and insert the garlic cloves. In small bowl mix together olive oil, salt, chili powder, black pepper and dried red chili flakes. Massage spices all over the roast. Sprinkle onion pieces around the roast in the pan. Add 2 cups water to the pan. Cover with tin foil and roast 2 hours. Check to make sure there’s still water covering the bottom of the pan and if needed add more water. Cover and bake another 1 – 1 ½ hours until pork is ridiculously tender.
Remove from oven and as soon as meat is cool enough to handle shred into bite sized chunks using two forks. (Do not, I repeat, Do Not eat all of the pork as you are ‘breaking’ it or you’ll have to start all over again!) Add tin of chopped mild green chilies to the broken pork and mix to combine evenly. Use immediately to make nachos or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
For Nachos – preheat oven to 400F. On large rimmed baking sheet place half of the tortilla chips. Evenly layer half of the toppings over the chips – little dabs of refried beans, chopped tomato, chopped onion, hot peppers, fresh pineapple, as much shredded pork as suits your fancy and the cheeses. Top with the remaining chips and layer all remaining ingredients on top, ending with the cheeses. Bake nachos for 10-20 minutes or until you can’t wait another moment to indulge in the gooey, crunchy, succulent goodness. Serve hot with sour cream, salsa and guacamole.
Serves 4-5 as a meal, 8 or more if serving as pupu.
by TheLastWonton | May 24, 2010 | Appetizers & Snacks, Asian, Beef, Pork & Lamb, Hawaiian, Main Dishes, Sides
MY HAWAIIAN KITCHEN
Delectable memoirs of living on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai high above the famed Kona Coast on the beguiling Big Island of Hawaii.
Dear Journal ~ Kuawa is the Hawaiian word for guava. For me, it all started way back when, on those first few holidays to the Hawaiian Islands before we moved here. It was sooo easy to get hooked on guava juice with breakfast. Mmm. Then I discovered that sweet juice, with it’s fragrant tropical taste, makes a great mixer with vodka and lots of ice. But wait, there was more kuawa goodness to be had. Jelly. Ah ha! Shimmering jewel-like and pinky sweet in it’s perfection, guava jelly tastes like Hawaii on your morning toast. Which got me to thinking of other yummy possibilities. Let’s guava things up. With plump pork ribs in the fridge, it wasn’t but a moment later that I imagined those very ribs singing their own version of the Ka’ua Crater Boys song Guava Jelly – ‘Baby, here I am, come rub it on my belly like guava jelly.’ Once my imagination started in that direction, yummyness followed.
GUAVA RIBLETS
3 – 4 pounds sweet and sour cut pork spareribs
½ cup shoyu (soy sauce)
6 tablespoons liquid honey
Juice from 1 lemon
4 plump garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup Fire Rock Pale Ale, your favorite brew or ginger ale
(What are you going to do with the rest of the ale?)
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
Guava Glaze:
1 cup guava jelly or crab apple jelly
3 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons Ketchup
Lemon and lime ‘wheels’ or fresh pineapple chunks for garnish
Cut between each rib bone to separate ribs. Place ribs in bowl; set aside. In a small bowl combine shoyu, honey, lemon juice, garlic, pepper and beer. Pour over ribs. Cover and marinate 6 hours or overnight in refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 375F. Drain ribs, discarding marinade. Arrange riblets on a large baking sheet with raised sides. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare guava glaze: In a small pot combine jelly, vinegar and ketchup. Stir over low heat until jelly melts. Once ribs have cooked, covered for 45 minutes, brush sauce generously over ribs. Bake 15 minutes uncovered. Turn ribs, brush with remaining glaze. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake uncovered 15 minutes longer.
Arrange kuawa-ed riblets on serving platter; garnish with lemon and lime wheels or fresh pineapple chunks and serve those tender sticky little buggahs hot with lots of napkins. And frosty cold beer or guava juice on ice. 12 or so pupu servings.
by TheLastWonton | May 23, 2010 | Food and Drink, Hawaiian
Imagine a place where the people have such an innate appreciation for life’s simple blessings that they create a word that exemplifies their very way of life.
A word that explains how they live. A word that speaks of pride, respect, family and love. A word that honors harmonious co-existance, of the land, the sea, the heavens.
A word that is readily shared. Sometimes a warm welcome, sometimes a fond farewell, sometimes a state of mind. A word of caring.
Every nation, place and people should have such a word. It would be a better world. Or maybe, for now, we can just borrow Hawaii‘s.
Aloha.
