glossyp

Thanks for posting a very interesting article. MSG has been a subject of debate for years in our household so this article will rekindle a discussion which has just been waiting for fuel!

Roy Yamaguchi's Seared Ahi with Lilikoi-Shrimp Salsa is another good use for passion fruit. My personal favorite is as a flavoring for cheesecake, it's delicious.

Nice photos Rachel and what a great menu. We were fortunate to be invited to the lovely home of fellow egulleters yesterday. It was a combo 23rd wedding anniversary (congratulations again you guys!)/Independence Day celebration and they laid out a wonderful spread utilizing lots of local products - some home grown and some from the farmers' market supplemented of course from the grocers. We had: Grilled North Shore Skirt Steak w/secret rub and chimichurri sauce from home grown parsley Grilled NS flank steak cut very thin teriyaki-style with a modified version of Sam Choy's teriyaki marinade & sauce recipe Caprese salad with succulent local tomatoes and two kinds of basil Grilled Ewa sweet corn from Aloun Farms - this was so good it didn't need any butter or salt Onions seasoned with garlic and butter and grilled in foil packets Roasted red peppers Everything was delicious and we felt particularly thankful for good friends, the bounty of the land and the freedom to enjoy all of it. Happy Fourth of July to everyone!

You would need to experiment with proportions but substituting pineapple juice for some or all of the liquid will work. My mother used to do this but I don't recall the ratio.

The most interesting banchan I've seen has been on Guam where there are a lot of first generation Koreans who own restaurants. They have incorporated tropical fruits such as green papaya, green mango, star fruit and atis (not sure what this is in English) with excellent results.

I'd just like to second this request. I know next to nothing about fry bread (although I'm pretty sure I'd like it, since it seems to hit two of my favourite food groups, namely 'fried things' and 'bread'), but I'd love to learn more. Is it sort of like bannock? ← I'm endorsing this thought as well. Mabelline is quite right about the multitude of frybread variations and I think it would be interesting for those less familiar with this dish and other quintessential foods from the American Southwest. Nice article Jon - I was very pleased to see that you didn't miss the aforementioned geographic area - chile verde rules!

Thanks for the recipe! I can guess why your kimbap is so popular. I've seen various methods including those where the cook uses mostly pickled veggies so the gentle cooking for the fresh veggies is a plus. The biggie for me is the bulkogi - yum, meat! Most of the ones I ate out and about never had meat in them. The log description comes from the first time I saw one at the market and they were offered on the counter rolled up and uncut for ease of transport and eating. Students and others would purchase them as snacks and eat them like that. Very convenient "fast food" and it might also reveal the kind of neighborhoods I lived in during the early years in Korea! Note to ellencho: SPAM is common in Hawaiian kimbap and is a variation I've been known to enjoy.

I wasn't sure where to post this (kind hosts please move as needed) but we just posted an interview with August's executive chef, Tony Liu. The interview was written for readers in Hawaii (Tony's a local boy) but I thought it might be interesting to those who are fortunate enough to dine at August. Tony's View

It's a delightful log of rice, assorted vegetables including Korean-style pickled radish, etc. rolled up in a sheet of kim aka dried laver. I would love to have Touaregsand's version, hint, hint.

I really sympathize with the targets of the attitude some Koreans put on those they consider "less Korean". As a non-Korean who lived in Korea, spoke the language fluently and worked for Korean entities, I was treated much better and with more graciousness than my Korean co-workers who had come back to Korea after schooling overseas or who grew up outside Korea and moved there. They were constantly reminded that they didn't "fit in" - I on the other hand never would so it didn't matter. I remember one instance where we had a potluck-style lunch party for a coworker and people actually snubbed the dish of chapchae one of my "not as Korean as she ought to be" friends had prepared. It was fine, it was prepared perfectly but I ended up eating most of it to try and help her save face. I was appalled. So many instances where I saw this type of prejudice happen, this one just happened to be food-related. BTW, I wonder if their definition of "traditional" means it has to taste bad??? edited as usual for clarity

A very pleasant surprise at Taste of Honolulu was the booth from Kevin's Two Boots. Kevin Tate is back in town and has a lease on a commercial kitchen. For the time being it's catering only and doing events like TOH - those of you hungry for some gator can catch him at the big Schofield Fourth of July events on the third and fourth. If you're looking for catering, you can reach him at 383-4550. Good to know that they all don't just fade away!

I'd guess it might be the high cost of doing business here from the price of real estate to the general challenges associated with permitting, taxes, adequate supply of employees, etc. Then there's the cost of getting the goods here and I suspect their margins are pretty low. It would be great to have a place like that here though.

Yes. Confirmed. I also had a dissappointing little discussion regarding 'authentic' recipes and flavors with a woman from a Korean cooking school. ← Thanks so much. And do tell us what was "dissappointing" in the discussion? Maybe a new thread would be appropriate? At any rate, I am very curious and I'm sure others are as well.

I wish we had a Sonic here in Hawaii - I always eat at Sonic when I'm on the mainland. My favorite, most trusted fast food place.

Thanks! I appreciate him (and you) taking the time to follow up on this for me. I look forward to learning more.

I don't mind crusting seared ahi - it's the multiple ingredients used to crust (recent example seen locally - "sesame seeds, togarashi, black pepper, wasabi, cumin and furikake crusted seared ahi") and the overdressing of the dish itself that bothers me. Must be a market for it though so I may be in the minority. Wouldn't be the first time! ← Wow, that is an awful lot of ingredients! It almost sounds good to me-- time to get back to Hawaii I guess. Did that whole craze start there? Anyway, I was partly joking. I think most places can't sear ahi right (i.e. without cooking it too much) and a coating may just barely keep the whole thing from getting cooked. Also, if you are cutting it in slices a crust makes it look nice on the plate, I guess. ← To hold you over until you make it back to the Land of Aloha - here's a recipe from Roy Yamaguchi for Seared Ahi and one from Dean Louie (I've had this one and it's a classic) Seared Peppered Ahi. As far as where the craze started, you could ask in the Hawaii forum - we have some serious local food historians over there.

Maybe slightly off topic but we have some egulleters here who could reasonably be called experts - or at the very least have elders they can ask! Did metal chopsticks evolve from the historical use of silver chopsticks? And were chopsticks silver because silver would discolor in the presence of poison? True or the Korean equivalent of urban legend/old wive's tale? Inquiring minds and all that want to know.

I don't mind crusting seared ahi - it's the multiple ingredients used to crust (recent example seen locally - "sesame seeds, togarashi, black pepper, wasabi, cumin and furikake crusted seared ahi") and the overdressing of the dish itself that bothers me. Must be a market for it though so I may be in the minority. Wouldn't be the first time!

Amen. Acknowledging this is tantamount to sacrilege in Hawaii but the bastardization of it happens here as well. Crusted with multiple ingredients, plated and served with not one, not two but how about three or more dips/sauces? The list goes on but the phrase you used, "drunken mardi gras of flavors", is brilliantly descriptive!

Sounds like perfect fodder for the cell phone food porn thread...we'll be watching for it!

Okay, I'll bite on this one. I like Kalihi Super Meats for beef and pork (warning: this place is not for you if run down and seedy turns your stomach) but they will cut meat to order and it is excellent quality at a good price. I buy some produce at the Farmers' Markets but I buy most of it at Times. They have a great produce section with plenty of local produce which is clearly marked as such. I also get fresh chicken there. Check out Y. Hata for unique cheeses, olive oils, vinegars and other stuff. It's the only place I know to get veal demi glace (frozen) for stock. They are also the only place I can find the Dutch licorice I like. They also carry a wide range of dried pastas. Palama Market or Ranch 99 is where I get most of my Korean food stuffs.

In 2001, Congress decided that only one taxonomic family of catfish (out of the roughly 30-35 families commonly used in science) was allowed to be referred to as catfish. Basa belongs to one of the other taxonomic families. ← Thanks for the additional info and, if you know, how does the one called basa differ from what we typically think of as catfish? I haven't been able to tell any difference in taste or use when cooking. Was the move by congress to protect U.S. fishing, aquaculture and catfish market?

Basa is the word used for catfish that is imported (usually from Vietnam). There is quite a controversy regarding its use in certain parts of the southern U.S. where it has replaced locally grown catfish. Here is a good recipe for it though if you like somewhat complicated recipes that yield tasty results. Smoked Basa & Lump Crab Cakes with Sweet Soy Butter Sauce and Tropical Fruit Salsa

Well it was about 25 years ago and a job requirement for me to attend. It was clear that it was designed to improve the typical students' (all young females) marriage prospects by giving them the skills and knowledge to marry and move up in a very class conscious society. ← Oh, apologies. I didn't mean to imply that you were a newly middle class Korean. I'm aware of you having lived there from your other posts. ← No worries. I was striving for clarity regarding my personal experience so as not to be presumptuous or misunderstood by those who might not be as familiar with my prior posts. Fortunately, the nuances of Korean class structure are outside the realm of this forum so I'm going to get back on track by seconding Jimyo's notion of opening with kim chee. I think I'll go have some for lunch now. Kim chee and peanut butter with mayo on whole wheat...yummy!