The United States of America: Hawaii: Sesame Seared Mahi Mahi with Spicy Lilikoi Sauce, Seaweed Slaw, Potato Mac Salad & Coconut lemongrass rice
The United States of America (USA), is located in North America
between Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The third largest country
in the world, the USA is divided into fifty states, and one federal district.
The states of Hawaii and Alaska are the only two states not sharing a border
with the mainland country of USA. The food of the USA
is a
diverse fusion cuisine. It is characterised by rich, regional food styles and
practices that are influenced by location-specific climate, ingredients, traditional
food practices, and patterns of migration.
The fusion of US cuisine began with
colonisation, when the traditional food practises and ingredients of Native
American people were merged with the cooking styles of European Colonists
(predominantly English and French). Later, 19th and 20th
Century immigrants from all over the World introducing new and diverse food
traditions to the USA. I love the delicious,
and surprisingly diverse food of the USA. As I can only cook one version of
this Fusion food here I am choosing to cook the cuisine of Hawaii. Why? Because
I have experienced this food tradition first hand and love Hawaii.
Hawaiian Food History
Traditional
Polynesian food of the Hawaiian Islands was focused around earth oven
cooking and key ingredient such as fish, pork, coconuts, sweet potatoes
and yams. European and American cuisine was introduced after colonisation of
the Islands in 1778.
Whale hunters introduced salted fish (that has evolved into today’s Lomilomi
salmon), and Christian missionaries brought New England cuisine cooking
methods and ingredients (such as parsley and sage). The Missionaries also established sugar cane and pineapple
plantations.
The plantations
then led to a migration of workers between 1850 and 1930 from China,
Korea, Japan, the Philippines & Portugal who
all brought their own food traditions, which over time blended &
combined with the existing Indigenous, European, and American foods in
the plantation working environments and in the local communities. This
blend of cuisines formed a "local food" style unique to Hawaii. Since
the 1990’s Hawaiian Chefs have been developing a fresh fusion cuisine drawing on
the Hawaiian Islands’ diverse history & food influences.
those beautiful little dots out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean are the Hawaiian Islands
Our Hawaiian Menu included
Sesame Seared Mahi Mahi
with
Spicy Lilikoi Sauce
Seaweed Slaw
Potato Mac Salad
&
&
Coconut lemongrass rice
with side dishes of
jalapeno chilli, sweet chilli sauce
&
Salty Wahine black lava Hawaiian Sea Salt
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sesame
Seared Mahi Mahi with Spicy Lilikoi Sauce
Ingredients:
· 6 x filets of Mahi
Mahi, sliced evenly to 1cm thick pieces
· 1 cup White Sesame
Seeds
· 1 cup Black Sesame
Seeds
· 2 tbs flour
· salt & pepper
· 4 tbs olive oil
For the Lilikoi Sauce:
· 2 cups vegetable
stock
· pulp of 5 large
Lilikoi (Passionfruit)
· 3 tbs brown sugar
· 3 tbs Sweet Chili
Sauce
· 2 teaspoon fresh ginger,
sliced to thin sticks
· 1 Shallot diced
· ½ tbs Fish Sauce
· 1 tbs Cornstarch
flour
· 2 tbs Butter
Method:
1.
first make the Lilikoi Sauce: Place stock, lilikoi pulp, sugar, sweet chili
sauce, ginger, shallot and fish sauce in a pot and bring to a simmer.
2.
Simmer for 10 minutes.
3.
Mix the cornstarch flour with 2 tbs water to form a
smooth paste.
4.
Remove the sauce from the heat & whisk in
cornstarch paste
5.
Now gently bring the sauce up to a simmer stirring
constantly to stop it from going lumpy: simmering sauce until it thickens to a
light glaze.
6.
To finish the sauce remove the sauce pot from the heat
& whisk the butter into the sauce. Do not return it to the heat.
7.
To finish the
sauce strain it & keep it warm in a metal dish sitting in another dish of
warm water to keep the sauce warm until ready to serve
8.
Now cook the fish
9.
Place the sesame seeds, flour, salt & pepper into
a bag or airtight container & shake to mix well.
10.
Now add the fish & shake container until the fish
is coated with the sesame mix
11.
Heat a flat BBQ hot plate to medium hot, add a
sprinkle of Hawaiian sea salt then enough oil to coat the plate
12.
When the plate
is hot add the Mahi Mahi to the BBQ.The fish will instantly begin to sear so
turn the heat down to low to prevent the fish or / & sesame seeds from
burning before they are cooked.
13.
After a minute pour the remaining olive oil over the
fish
14.
Cook the fish for about 10 mins until golden brown
then turn over to cook the other side for a further 5 -10 minutes until ready
a q-zine recipe adapted from an original
found at:
Note:
the Lilikoi sauce appeared quite tangy until it was tasted alongside the
fragrant coconut lemongrass rice, which allowed the subtle passionfruit
flavours in the sauce to emerge.
Seaweed Slaw
Ingredients:
•
2 cups wakame seaweed / Ocean Salad
•
¼ small red cabbage, shredded
•
1 carrot, shredded
•
1 yellow bell pepper (capsicum), thinly
sliced
•
½ cup daikon, thinly sliced
•
½ cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
•
3 green onions (shallots), thinly sliced
•
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
•
2 tsp black sesame seeds; toasted
•
1 tsp ginger, peeled and grated
•
1 tsp fish sauce
•
2 red chili peppers, sliced (optional)
•
2 tbs sesame oil
•
2 tsp brown raw sugar
•
1 tsp vinegar
•
salt to taste
note:
if you can buy authentic seasoned Wakame Seaweed Ocean Salad (also known as
Chuka Wakame), already marinated in chilli, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar &
salt it is not necessary to add those flavour ingredients to the salad. Just
add the seasoned wakame to the salad & only add extra spices according to
your taste.
Method:
Mix all the ingredients together in a large serving
bowl
a q-zine original recipe adapted from an original found at:
Potato Mac Salad
Ingredients:
• 4 large red and/or yellow potatoes
• 1 cup elbow macaroni - dry
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced and chopped
• 2 pickles, chopped
• 2 green onions (shallots), chopped
• 3 hard boiled eggs (whites chopped, set aside yolks
for dressing)
• 1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
• 2 celery stalks chopped
Dressing Ingredients:
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup Italian dressing
• 1 tbs mustard sauce
• 3 yolks from the boiled eggs, chopped
• 2 tbs pickle juice
• 1 tbs
parsley, chopped
• Ground pepper & salt to taste
(I used Salty Wahine black lava Hawaiian Sea Salt)
Method:
1. mix
the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside in the fridge to become
firm
2. Boil
potatoes in the skin in salted water until tender then drain & set aside to
allow to cool
3. When
fully cooled peel the skin off & cut potatoes in cubes
4. Cook
the macaroni in salted water (with a little dash of olive oil in the water to
stop pasta from sticking), until tender but firm (according to packet)
5. Then
rinse macaroni under cold water until fully cool & drain well until dry
6. Once
the cooked macaroni and potatoes are cool, gently mix them together, then
add the remaining ingredients & fold together lightly.
7. Now
fold the dressing gently through the salad to avoid breaking the potato.
qzine original recipe adapted from one
found at:
Coconut lemongrass rice
INGREDIENTS:
·
2 cups of long grain rice
·
4 cups of Coconut water
·
2 teaspoons of Salty Wahine black lava Hawaiian Sea Salt
·
1 large piece fresh lemongrass (about 3 inches/6cm long)
note:
use a wooden, coconut wood or bamboo spoon to prepare this dish
as
it will add a nicer flavour to the rice than a metal spoon.
METHOD:
1. First prepare
the lemongrass by cutting off the green grassy tops (you can save them for
making lemongrass tea), cutting off the roots & peeling off any tough outer
layers till you just have a tube of fresh fleshy lemongrass. Or maybe you
bought it already prepared.
2. Now split the
lemongrass tube down the middle with a sharp knife.
3. To release the
maximum Lemongrass flavour (but without breaking the lemongrass into pieces),
place the lemongrass (cut side down), on a chopping board & use the end of a
strong bamboo spoon or something similar to hit down vertically onto the
lemongrass.
4. Take a medium
size pot with a tight fitting lid.
5. Add the rice,
lemongrass, sea salt & coconut water
to the pot and stir well with a wooden / coconut wood / bamboo spoon.
6. Bring the pot
of rice to the boil stirring often to stop the pot from sticking.
7. When the mix
comes to the boil stir well making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of
the pot
8. Cover the pot
with a lid & reduce heat to lowest point then cook covered for 10 mins
9. After ten
minutes turn off the heat. Do not remove lid.
10. Let the pot
sit on the heat element as it cools for a further ten minutes.
11. Do not remove
the lid until you are ready to serve the rice
12. When you are ready
to serve the rice, remove the lid, fluff the rice with the wooden spoon &
turn it out into a bowl.
This is a q-zine original recipe
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