Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: `Aha`aina - Recapturing the Global Flavors of the Luau (Part II, The Recipes)

Here is a sampling of the amazing food that we shared at our `Aha`aina (Great Feast), complete with recipes. You can read about and see more photos of the area, the event and the food from the other food blogger in attendance, Deb, from Kahakai Kitchen. Recipes here are courtesy of the friends and coworkers who attended and agreed to share their recipes* with the people in attendance, and with you - the rest of the world. I promise you, everything was absolutely, incredibly, mouth-wateringly delicious! Enjoy!


APPETIZERS:

Tapenade: (France, Eric R.)
400g pitted black olives
5-10 anchovies

10-15 capers

1 large spoon of olive oil

Hummus: (Greece, Eric R.)

400g of chickpeas
2 garlic cloves
2 large spoons of fresh shredded basil
2 large spoons of olive oil
1 large spoon of water
1 small spoon of white vinegar
salt and pepper

Pulse the ingredients in a food processor for the tapenade until well mixed smooth; clean your processor. Then pulse together the ingredients for the humus until smooth. Serve with cut up local veggies - including cucumbers, celery, carrots and bread.


MAIN DISHES:

Kalua Pork Burritos (Baja California/Mexico, Craig M.)

Kalua Pork Burritos:
1 tbsp. rock salt
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1 tsp. minced garlic
5 lbs. Pork roast, slashed
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients and rub over pork roast. Place in roasting pan and cover. Roast for 4 hours at 325 degrees (to 170F internal temp). Shred the pork using 2 forks or fingers. Reserve juices and saute with cabbage until cabbage is tender. Add rock salt and roll into steamed tortillas. Serve with mango salsa.

Salsa:
4 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and diced
3 small Maui sweet onions, finely chopped
2 jalepeno chiles, minced (include ribs and seeds for hotter salsa)
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
approx. 3 tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 avocado, diced
chili powder, salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients for salsa in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If it’s too hot or acidic for your tastes, you can add more diced avocado.


Chicken Long Rice (China, Mackenzie M.)

2 lbs. chicken thighs, skin and fat removed
1 inch thumb of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz. bean-thread noodles, aka cellophane noodles, aka "long rice"
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 medium carrot, julienned
half medium yellow onion, minced
6 green onions, cut into 1 inch lengths
sea salt, to taste
4 cups low sodium chicken broth

Submerge the chicken and ginger onion and garlic in broth and simmer for one hour. While the chicken simmers, soak long rice noodles in separate bowl of warm water for at 45 minutes. Cut noodles into three inch lengths with a pair of scissors and set aside. Prep carrots, mushrooms, onion and green onions... set aside. Remove the chicken, reserving broth, and let cool slightly. Remove chicken bones and discard. Chop chicken into fine pieces. Taste the broth and lightly salt to taste. Bring the broth back to a simmer, add the carrots, mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken and long rice. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the long rice turns translucent. Don't overcook, or you'll end up with gelatinous sludge! Just before removing add the green onions. Most of the broth will have been absorbed, but you want a little to remain.



Huli Huli Yakitori Chicken (Japan, Yumi K.)
Servings ~20 skewers

4lbs. of Chicken thighs
pinch of salt
1 cup of Sake (Japanese cooking wine)
1 cup of “Hawaii’s Famous Huli Huli Sauce”

Cut up the chicken thigh to small pieces. Marinate chicken in mixture of salt, Sake, and Huli Huli Sauce for an hour. Put chicken pieces on skewers. Cook skewered chiken in an oven at 300F for about 70 minutes (Rotate skewers half way).

Kalua Pork Cabbage Rolls “Kaldomar” (Sweden, Deb C. – from Kahakai Kitchen)
Serves 6 as a meal (more as a pupu!)

1 large head Savoy cabbage or 2 smaller heads green cabbage
Water to boil cabbage in
1 tsp salt

Filling:
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups cooked white long grain rice
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cooked Kalua Pork, shredded (see recipe below)
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 stick of butter (to top cabbie rolls when baking)

Sauce:
1/3 cup liquid/drippings from cooking Kalua Pork (cooled and fat skimmed off)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped for garnish

Core cabbage and cook in salted boiling water until leaves are slightly soft and easy to remove (about 10 minutes). Remove cabbage from water, peel off leaves one by one and place on a towel to drain. While cabbage is cooking, sauté onion in butter until soft and translucent. In a pan, place cooked rice and mix in milk, cooked onion, Kalua pork and five spice powder; add salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. To assemble rolls: Take a cabbage leaf, trim any thick edges and trim the coarse center vane (easiest to make a small “v” cut into the leaf. Put a 1 1/2 Tbsp of the filling on the cabbage leaf, fold up the bottom of the leaf, tuck in the sides and roll up to the top (thin end) of the cabbage leaf, as tightly as you can. Place the cabbage roll, seam side down in a large oven proof pan or casserole. Repeat and fill casserole, packing rolls tightly together to keep them intact. Once pan is filled (about 24-26 small rolls), place several pats of butter on top of leaves and place in oven to cook about 20-25 minutes until rolls are slightly brown on top. While cabbage rolls are cooking, make sauce. Place liquid/dripping from Kalua Pork in pan with Tbsp butter. Once butter is melted, add 2 Tbsp cornstarch and five spice powder and blend. Gradually add milk and cream, stirring constantly until sauce is smooth and heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove cabbage rolls from the oven, top with sauce and serve with the boiled potatoes and preserves.

Easy Slow Cooker Kalua Pork:
4-5 pounds Pork Butt Roast
1 Tbsp Hawaiian Alaea Sea Salt (or substitute regular sea salt)
2 Tbsp liquid smoke flavoring

Trim any excess fat from pork butt. Using a fork, pierce the pork butt all over. Rub pork butt with liquid smoke and sprinkle with salt. Cook on low for 12-16 hours depending on size of roast (Two 2.5 lb roasts took about 12 hours, one 4.5 pound roast took about 16). Turn roast once during cooking time. Remove pork from slow cooker, reserving the cooking liquid. Shred pork, adding some of the drippings/cooking liquid if needed to add moisture to the meat. Allow the surplus dripping/ cooking liquid to cool; skim fat from the top and use if needed for sauce or gravy.

Inspiration: Cabbage Rolls or Kaldomar are a classic Swedish dish where the cabbage is stuffed with ground beef or pork, onion and either rice or bread crumbs. It is believed to have originated when the Swedish King Karl XIII was campaigning in Turkey in the 1700s and brought back the idea of making a “dolmades” or stuffed grape leaves. Since there are not a lot of grape leaves in Sweden, cabbage was used. In searching the internet there were many recipes for this dish—some baked, some fried, some using a sweet syrup, some using a creamy sauce, some with breadcrumbs, others with rice so I took inspiration from all of them and came up with what sounded best to me. To add the Hawaiian touches to the dish, I substituted Kalua Pork (smoked, shredded pork butt) for the ground meat. Here is Hawaii you can buy containers of Kalua Pork but it is simple and much cheaper to make your own—all it takes is some time and a slow cooker. Since allspice was featured in a lot of the recipes, I decided to add Chinese Five Spice, since this seasoning is used frequently in cooking here and I felt it would compliment the smoky flavor of the Kalua pork. In Sweden, this dish is traditionally served with small boiled potatoes and Lingonberry preserves, I dressed my potatoes with butter, parsley and Hawaiian Alaea Sea Salt and served it with Poha Jam (poha is a sweet/tart berry grown in Hawaii). Check out Deb's experience at the `Aha`aina here!

















Mole (Mexico, Heather M.) Recipe coming soon!


Hawaiian Lau Lau with a Fijian Twist (Fiji, Haruka and Todd R.)

Lau Lau Leaves (= Taro leaves)

Ti Leaves
Kalua pig
Coconut Milk
Sweet Onions

Twine to tie

Wash Lau Lau leaves and Ti leaves. Slice sweet onions. Wrap Kalua pig, sweet onion and coconut milk in Lau Lau leaves and then in Ti leaves, and tie the ti leaves by twine into small purses. Steam or bake until Ti leaves turn black (approximately 4 hours). **Please do not eat Ti leaves nor twine! Kalua pig can be substituted with any other type of meal, fish or starch.

Inspiration: Normal Hawaiian Lau Lau does not use coconut milk. However, when I stayed in Fiji for over 3 months, I discovered that Fijian people add coconut milk to Lau Lau, giving it a nice creaminess and sweetness. Why not borrow this wonderful idea?


Kadon Pika (Guam, Alesia B-P.)

1 whole chicken, cut up into small pieces or chicken parts
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder (or fresh garlic, crushed)
1 large papaya, chopped
3-6 hot peppers, crushed (use less or leave out if you don’t like it spicy)
2 eggplant (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 bundle string beans, 1 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 375F. Place eggplant on a cookie sheet and add a little oil. Lightly season with sea salt and bake for 20 minutes. Brown the onion in a medium sized pot with very little olive or canola oil. Add chicken and cook at medium heat until brown, then add the water, vinegar, soy sauce, coconut milk, black pepper, garlic, bay leaves and hot peppers if you are using them. Add baked eggplant and string beans to the pot. Cook on high heat until it starts boiling, then turn down to medium and cook until the chicken if fully cooked.

Kroppkakor (Sweden, Mattias O.)
Filling:
1 kg boiled potatoes 1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs 250 g Kalua pork
2½ dl flour 2 onions
Teriyaki sauce

Mix boiled potatoes, eggs and flour together. Fill with filling. Boil for 5 minutes. Serve with pineapple.



SMALL DISHES/SIDES/SALADS:

Vegetable Pancakes: Taro Jun (Korea, Marisa)

2 bunches of green onions, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 white onions, finely chopped
2 taro, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cups of flour
4 eggs
2 tbsp. sesame seed oil

Mix everything together, add enough to the skillet to make them about 4 inches across and very thin, then fry like pancakes.


Tortilla Espanola - with a touch of Hawaii (Spain, Christine G.)

3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
4 medium-sized sweet Hawaiian potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
10 eggs
1 big Maui onion (or 5-6 small Maui onion), chopped
1/2 liter olive oil
salt

First, heat the oil in a large frying pan and then gently fry the sliced potatoes and the onions until almost soft, stirring from time to time so that they don't burn on the bottom of the pan. Drain the vegetables in a colander to get rid of the excess oil. Beat the eggs in a bowl and season with salt. Add the potatoes and onions and mix well. Heat a little oil in a frying pan on a moderate heat. Pour in the potatoes and eggs and shake the frying pan from time to time so that the omelette doesn't stick to the bottom. Once the bottom of the omelette has set (about a couple of minutes approximately), turn the omelette by placing either a flat plate or saucepan lid on the frying pan and quickly turning over. Gently slide the omelette back into the frying pan and continue frying for less than a minute, once again shaking the pan from time to time so that it doesn't stick to the bottom.


Roasted Vegetables Provencal with Pineapple (Italy, Michael Layden)
serves a lot of people!

1 large head of cauliflower, separated into florets
6 Molokai sweet potatoes 15 mini Ewa sweet onions, cut in half (or two large sweet onions)
1 medium Maui Gold pineapple
2 large green peppers,
4 medium red peppers
8-10 large carrots
1 tbsp. dried basil
2 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. salt
pepper, to taste
pinch of cayenne
olive oil, to coat

Preheat the oven to 425F. Cut all of the vegetables and pineapple into 1 – 1 1/2” pieces. Toss with olive oil and spices, and spread in a single layer on 2 cookies sheets. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until vegetables become caramelized and browned.

Inspiration: I chose the roasted veggies because it is a rustic style dish that makes a great staple at any meal and the flavors meld well with many other dishes. Also, my typical version of the roasted veggies is savory and I though that the addition of sweetness brought by pineapple would give this dish a great island flavor. To me, the unique flavors melting together while the veggies roast represents the melting of culture and tradition to bring out the best in all and I feel this dish could do that.


Mango Shrimp Salad (Korea, Marisa)

1 head of lettuce, chopped or torn
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 Roma tomatoes
1 cucumber, sliced
2 mangoes, chopped
1 Fuji apple, chopped
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup of cooked shrimp
1 bottle of Annie's Papaya poppyseed dressing



German Taro Salad with Portuguese Sausage (Germany, Tim D.)

1⁄2 large taro root (equivalent of 5-8 potatoes depending on how much salad is to be made)
1⁄4 cup chopped green chives
1⁄4 cup chopped green onions
1⁄2 cup chopped Maui onions
1⁄2 stick butter
5 tablespoons olive oil
4 Portuguese sausages
6 hard-boiled eggs
Mayonnaise

Remove outer skin of taro, dice into 1⁄2 inch x 1⁄2 inch cubes. Bring large pot of water to boil, then add taro, boil until taro becomes soft. Drain water from taro. In a separate pan, melt butter and olive oil in saucepan, next add the maui onion to cook it slightly. Add some taro to the simmering butter/olive/onion sauce and fry until golden brown (you can do this with most of the taro, it gives it a crunchy texture). Add the remaining butter sauce to the taro and mix. Add the chives, green onions, and an adequate amount of mayonnaise until the mixture becomes creamy. Gently mix in the cooked Portuguese sausage and enjoy!


Lomi Sea Asparagus Tofu Salad (Japan, Yumi K.)
Serving Size : 20 people

3 Packages of Sea Asparagus
6 Tomatoes
3 Japanese Cucumbers
1 Package of medium firm Tofu
1 package Nalo Greens
1 head Romaine Lettuce
1 bottle “Hawaii’s Special Peppered Papaya Seed Vinaigrette“

Boil Sea Asparagus for 30 seconds. Drain and soak ice cold water. Cut up to a 1 inch pieces. Chill for at least an hour. Chop up tomatoes, cucumbers, and tofu. Mix up all the ingredients and pour over to bed of greens and lettuce. Pour dressing over the top.


Green Salad with Papaya Seed Dressing (Hawaii, Michelle P. from The Accidental Scientist)

Salad:
1 large head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 bag mixed greens
1 small bunch basil, finely chopped
1 small bunch mint, finely chopped
2 large red peppers, sliced
1 package goat cheese, small pieces
1/2 large red onion, sliced
1 large papaya, cut into 1/2" pieces

Dressing: (makes about 3 cups)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon whole mustard
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons papaya seeds

To prepare dressing: In a food processor, combine sugar, salt, mustard and vinegar and process until smooth. With the motor running, add oil in a steady (but slow) stream and blend the dressing until it is emulsified. Add the shallots and the papaya seeds and blend until the seeds are the consistency of ground pepper. Serve the dressing with the above salad.



DESSERTS:


Kolacky Cookies (Lithuania, Dan B. – recipe from his grandmother, Elizabeth Barshis)

1 c. butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Guava, Strawberry Guava and Pineapple-Coconut preserves

Cream butter and cream cheese with vanilla extract until fluffy. Blend flour and salt; add to creamed mixture. Chill dough thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350F. Form small ~2in diameter circles by hand or alternatively roll out dough 1/4 inch thick on floured surface and cut with 2 inch round cutter. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheet. Make a small indentation in center of each round, then fill indentation with fruit preserves. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.


Taro Lefse (Norway, Hollie and Travis P.)

4 cups mashed potatoes (substitute taro or poi)
3/8 cup shortening
1/8 cup sugar
3/4 tablespoon salt
3/4 to 1 cup flour (the less the better)

Stir to mix. Make small balls of the mixture, flatten and roll out thin. Fry on ungreased hot griddle. Cool and store covered in the fridge. To rehydrate wrap in a moist cloth or towel. Spread butter and powdered sugar mixture on one piece of lefse. Place another piece of lefse on top and cut both layers with butter sugar mixture between into strips.


Haupia Flan Casero (Mexico, Pablo “The Flan Master”)

1 can of coconut milk
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of table cream
2-3 eggs (depending on size)
1 little spoon of vanilla
1 bar of cream cheese
sugar (as much as you want)
1 small can of pineapples or fresh small pieces

Mix the coconut milk and the next 5 ingredients (through cream cheese). In the empty flan container, add the sugar and heat until sugar is dissolved and has a golden color. Then let it cool to room temperature. Once sugar has cooled down, add the coconut milk mixture and put it in the oven. Let it bake for 45 minutes at 200 degrees. (Note- it is very important that the container in the oven has a lid and also is placed on another container with water, Bano Maria). Check the flan as needed, baking time will depend on your location. To know that is ready insert a wood stick and if it stays and doesn't move, the flan is ready! To decorate use the pineapple around the flan, now you are ready to enjoy your Haupia Flan!

Inspiration:
The flan master (Pablo) is originally from Mexico. Flan is a very common dessert in Mexico shared in family dinners. The Haupia flan was inspired by the good moments with family and friends in both Mexico and Hawaii. For him is a way to say thank you to this beautiful land with some Mexican-Hawaiian flavor!


Dobos Torte with Lilikoi curd (Hungary, Neva M.)

Lilikoi (passionfruit) curd:
1 1/4 cups sugar
pulp from 4 lilikoi (~1/2 cup or more)
1/4 cup lilikoi concentrate, sweetened
3/4 cup butter (European style)
9 eggs, room temperature
juice from 1/2 a lemon
~1Tbsp Cointreau liquor

Torte:
8 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sifted bread flour
8 egg whites
Thin mango slices
Crushed macademia nuts

For Curd: Squeeze the lililkoi through a strainer or cheesecloth to get as much pulp and juice as possible. Melt the butter in a non-reactive pan over low heat. Stir in the sugar, lilikoi (both pulp and concentrate), and lemon and bring just to a boil. Whip half of the hot liquid with the yolks and then pour back into the remaining hot liquid. Add the Cointreau. Return to a simmer, whipping until it starts to thicken (several minutes). Do not bring to a boil. Strain and chill.

For Torte: Beat egg yolks and sugar together until thick. Gradually add heavy cream, and stir well to blend all ingredients. Add bread flour, sifted. Mix thoroughly, and fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Divide batter into 7 equal portions. Butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform mold. Spread a thin layer of cake batter with a spatula. Bake at 400oF for 8 min., or until done. Sandwich layers together with lilikoi curd. Spread top layer with lilikoi curd, arrange mango slices, and sprinkle with macademia nuts. Keep chilled until served.


Victorian Sponge Cake with Coconut Cream and Guava Jam (England, Michelle P. – from The Accidental Scientist)

3/4 lb. salted European-style high-fat butter, softened (plus extra for pan)
3 cups self-rising cake flour (plus extra for pan)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups double Devonshire cream (or 4 oz. mascarpone and 4 oz. cream cheese)
3 – 4 tbsp. coconut milk (not light) or coconut cream
3/4 cup guava jam
confectioner's sugar and mint sprigs, for garnish

Preheat oven to 360F. Grease two 2" deep 8" round cake pans with butter and dust with flour; set aside. Beat remaining butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high for 5 minutes. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Combine eggs with 6 tbsp. water in another bowl and whisk together. Add half the egg misture and half the flour to the butter-sugar mixture. Beat well for 1-2 minutes, then add remaining flour and egg mixture. Beat for an additional 5 minutes. Divide the batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Invert cakes onto a rack, remove pans and let cool completely.

Beat cream (or mascarpone and cream cheese) in a medium bowl until stiff (or smooth if you are using the cream cheese/mascarpone mix) . Add 3 tbsp. coconut milk and mix well. If too stiff, add the last tbsp. of coconut milk - if not stiff enough, chill slightly. Put 1 cake layer on a cake plate, spread the top with jam, then cover the jam with the cream. Spread top of remaining cake layer with remaining jam and place it, jam side down, on top of cream. Dust cake with confectioner's sugar and add a mint sprig to the center.



Drinks:

Coconut-Mint Limeade (Hawaii, Michelle P. from The Accidental Scientist)
makes approximately 1 gallon of limeade - can easily be cut down!

limeade:
2 cups of lime juice (from approximately 24 limes)
2 cups of simple syrup (recipe below)
5 cups of coconut water
1/2 large bottle of sparkling water, or to taste
1 lime, slice thinly, for garnish

mint simple syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 large sprigs of mint

For the simple syrup, mix the sugar and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil undisturbed for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the mint sprigs and cover with a tight lid. Allow it to rest for at least one hour or cool to room temperature. For the limeade, mix all the ingredients together (except additional lime) and chill it or pour it over ice. Add the lime slices for garnish and serve.

*Most people used locally grown ingredients for their dishes; alterations in recipes to make them "Hawaiian fusion" are indicated in purple. Keep in mind that many of the recipes served at least bites to about 30 people - so they'll make great pot-luck sizes, or else you may need to pare them down!