The fifth annual Hawaii Food & Wine Festival encompasses almost two weeks of spectacular events celebrating sustainable cuisine. The events are spread over three islands — Oahu, Maui and Big Island, with more than 100 internationally renowned chefs and luminaries. It all starts in our backyard.
The kick-off event, called “Seven Chefs, One Island,” will be held on Saturday at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Featured chefs include Jayson Kanekoa, Waikoloa Beach Marriot; Hans Lentz, Hilton Waikoloa Village; Michael Meredith, Meredith’s Restaurant, Auckland, New Zealand; Paul Qui, qui, Austin, Texas; Richard Rosendale, Rosendale Collective, Leesburg, Va.; Andrew Sutton, Napa Rose, Anaheim, Calif.; and Ming Tsai, Blue Ginger, Wellesley, Mass.
Co-founded by two of Hawaii’s most prominent chefs, Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, the festival showcases wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, excursions and interactive dining experiences; all highlighting our state’s bounty of local produce, seafood, meat and poultry. Proceeds benefit local companies committed to sustainability and cultural/educational programs in the islands, including the Hawaii Agriculture Foundation, Hawaii Community College Culinary Arts program, Hawaii Farm Bureau and others. The full roster of events on all three islands, spanning Saturday through Sept. 13, as well as ticket information, can be found at www.hfwf.me.
Three of the festival’s participating chefs have graciously contributed recipes for this column, including one from the new Hawaii Food & Wine Festival cookbook, which should be off the presses just in time to debut at the upcoming event.
Dad’s teriyaki short ribs with jasmine rice pilaf and neighbors’ mango salad
This recipe, which requires a few days advance preparation, is featured in the new HFWF cookbook, “Taste Our Love for the Land.” By chef Roy Yamaguchi of Roy’s restaurants. Makes four servings.
16 bone-in beef short ribs, sliced 1 cm thick
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup finely chopped green onion
¼ cup finely minced garlic
¼ cup finely minced ginger
Mix all ingredients in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. (Makes about 2 1/2 cups of marinade; reserve extra.) Marinate the short ribs in the refrigerator for three days, in enough of the marinade mixture to coat well. When ready to serve, dip the short ribs in more of the reserved marinade and grill over charcoal to desired doneness. The short ribs taste better when the sugar and soy sauce caramelize during grilling over high flames.
Neighbors’ mango salad
1 ounce Big Island hearts of palm (bottom pieces), cut into 2-inch rounds, sliced paper-thin
1 1/2 ounces “next door neighbor” Hayden mango, sliced in thin strips, about 2 1/2 inches by 1/2 inch
1/2 ounce North Shore baby red leaf lettuce, or other local lettuce, using the smaller leaves (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches), stems trimmed
1 ounce cauliflower florets, shaved paper thin
1/4 ounce Waimanalo radish, or other local radish, sliced paper thin
3/4 ounce Ululoa Nursery pea tendrils or other as available
Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil before serving.
Jasmine rice pilaf
1 cup jasmine rice (rinsed and drained)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup plump golden raisins
1 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons finely minced garlic
5 tablespoons macadamia nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
In a small nonstick pot, combine the rice, chicken stock and raisins. Stir gently so that the raisins are evenly distributed. Heat the pot over medium-high heat, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a small saute pan over medium-low heat. Once the oil is hot, add minced garlic, reduce heat to low and stir gently. When garlic is golden-brown, strain using a skimmer; drain on two layers of dry paper towels and let cool.
Remove rice pot from the heat, quickly fluff the rice and cover immediately. Let stand for five to 10 minutes. Once the rice is cooked tender, add the macadamia nuts and crispy garlic, season to taste with salt and serve immediately.
Soy sauce poke
By Chef Jayson Kanekoa of the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. Makes four servings.
2 tablespoons garlic
4 tablespoons cotton seed oil
1 tablespoon sake
2 ounces Yamasa soy sauce
1 pound sashimi-grade ahi tuna
3 ounces Maui onion
1 ounce green onion
1/4 pound hoeo (fiddle head fern, tips only; optional)
1 chili pepper (optional)
Pinch bonito flake
Pinch paakai (sea salt), to taste
Brown garlic with cotton seed oil, remove garlic when golden brown.
Drain half of the oil from browned garlic. Add sake to pan; simmer for two minutes.
Add soy sauce and simmer for an additional five minutes. Remove from heat; place in refrigerator until cool. Combine remainder of ingredients with soy-sake mixture (including garlic) and mix well.
Add salt to taste.
Charred ahi tuna with garlic chips and chili daikon
By Chef Hanz Lentz of the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Makes four servings. You can use prepared ponzu sauce if you wish; recipe follows for making your own.
500 grams tuna fillet (a generous pound; ask for small diameter cut of the loin)
Vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 medium red onions
1 red chili pepper
2 stems ginger, peeled
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons sake
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 ounce caster (super fine) sugar
5 stems spring onions (sliced very thinly, green part only, and washed to remove strong taste)
2 grams (a pinch) Japanese chili paste
1/2 ounce fresh daikon (peeled and fine grated)
5 1/2 ounces ponzu sauce (recipe follows)
30 pieces garlic chips (sliced on mandolin and cooked in oil at 120 degrees until crisp)
Preparation:
1. Prepare and cut the tuna fillet into a rectangular-shaped log.
2. Heat your searing pan to the smoking point.
3. Oil your tuna log, season with salt and pepper and sear it in the hot pan for 15 seconds on each side, seal on all sides evenly.
4. Once sealed, place the tuna in the freezer until cooled down.
5. Slice the tuna into thin, 3mm-thick slices.
6. Finely slice the red onion, and very finely chop the chili, ginger and garlic.
7. In a hot pan add a little oil and cook the red onion a little, add the chili pepper, ginger and garlic and cook just until the onions are tender but not soft. Remove mixture to a tray; deglaze the hot pan with sake, soy, rice vinegar and sugar.
8. Place the red onions tray in the refrigerator to cool.
9. Divide onions into four serving plates.
10. Place six folded slices of tuna on top of the onions on each plate.
11. Top with five or six slices of spring onion over the tuna.
12. Mix the Japanese chili paste and grated daikon together and place next to the tuna in the bowl.
13. Add 40 ml ponzu sauce to each bowl.
14. Sprinkle six to eight garlic chips onto the tuna and serve.
Ponzu sauce:
1 tablespoon mirin
2 teaspoons sake
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons tamari soy
10 cm kombu
5 grams bonito flakes
1 whole orange, sliced and segmented
Preparation:
1. Combine the mirin and sake and bring to a boil.
2. Continue until all the alcohol is burned off.
3. Add the remaining liquid ingredients and the kombu.
4. Just before the liquid comes to a boil, remove from heat.
5. Add the bonito flakes and oranges and allow cooling down.