A festival at KCC explores
By Betty Shimabukuro
food as sustenance, as art and as
cultural tradition
Star-BulletinIn the Marshall Islands, they take their pandanus seriously.
Here in Hawaii, the pandanus is a curiosity. Occasionally a tourist might ask if it's a pineapple tree. It may bear fruit, but it isn't food.
In the Marshalls, though, the pandanus is a staple and it gets a lot of respect.
"Because it's a coral atoll over here, there wasn't much food and there still isn't," says Stephen Marquard, executive chef at the Outrigger Marshall Islands. "What they've done is take the pandanus and they've mastered the propagation of it. They turn out these huge pandanus, bigger than a watermelon. You might see a tree with 12 of them on it."
A lesson in pandanus is one of many to be learned in a three-day festival of food and culture that begins tomorrow at Kapiolani Community College.
Marquard joins chefs from Fiji, Australia, Tahiti and Hawaii in "Outrigger Hotels Cuisines of the Pacific" -- a festival that approaches food from all angles.There's food as an eating experience (sample Pacific cuisines in the KCC dining room), food as a learning experience (films, lectures and chef demonstrations), food as cultural influence (a display of Pacific art, all related to food, in the library).
"The relationship of people to their food and to the spirits or ancestors that provide the food is a close one in the Pacific," Caroline Yacoe, curator of "Pacific Food and Art" says in her introduction to the library exhibit. "Natural forces, local materials and learned techniques are powerful influences both in the foods and in the implements having to do with them. ...
"Whether for every day or for special ceremonies, the ritual of food has been so important that it brought out the very best of artistic and craft traditions."
Pandanus in the Marshalls reflects food as a social tradition as well. Marquard says it comes in 31 varieties there, some of which can be eaten raw. "It's almost like a social event: People will sit under a tree and chew on it ... I think it's really user-friendly."The taste has been described as similar to sweet potato by some, like mango or peach by others.
"We puree and freeze it and then we use it through the year in things like a pandanus creme brulee, pandanus hollandaise sauce, sauce for fish and other things." Even pandanus cheesecake, which resembles lilikoi in flavor, Marquard says.
Also big in the Marshalls is coconut, used fresh daily in everything from alcoholic beverages to sugar. Breadfruit is big, too, and seafood, particularly bottom fish, in thousands of varieties that sell for as little as 90 cents a pound.
Marquard is wrapping up his second year in the Marshalls, after three years in Hawaii at such landmark sites as 3660 on the Rise, Michel's and the Hawaii Prince.
Spinning menus off of the local foods has provided rich fodder for experimentation, yielding such local-yet-western specialties as his Coconut Crab and Breadfruit Cake, which he will prepare at the KCC festival. The crabs are land-based creatures that live off coconuts and Marquard is bringing 75 cooked crabs with him.The chef will also cook with pandanus, but those recipes would be difficult for the Hawaii home cook to replicate. So for a taste of the Marshalls, try instead his crab cake, which uses breadfruit, and panko instead of bread crumbs.
Substitute potatoes if you don't know anyone with a breadfruit tree. In place of coconut crab, use lobster or king crab.
Coconut Crab and Breadfruit Cake
Cut and rinse breadfruit, then steam for 6-8 minutes. Set aside.Crab cake
5 ounces breadfruit, diced
1/4 cup chopped bacon
10 ounces coconut crab meat
1/4 cup diced Maui onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced jalapeno peppers, seeded
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4-1/2 cup panko, to bind
Salt, to taste
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
2 cups pankoCook bacon over medium-high heat until it begins to brown. Remove most of the fat, then add crab, onions, garlic and peppers and saute 2 minutes. Place mixture into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool slightly, then add breadfruit, green onion, mustard and sauces. Mix, then add mayonnaise and panko to bind.
Season with salt and mix. Chill for 1 hour or more. Divide mixture into 9 portions, dip in the egg, then coat with flour and panko. Fry in butter or oil until golden brown and heated through. Cakes may be finished in the oven, at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
Cuisines of the Pacific
Highlights
Jacques Laurent, executive chef of The Hotel School in Australia, will grill up some kangaroo fillet at "Cuisines of the Pacific." Recipes from elsewhere
in the PacificIt's a bit of a tall order for that backyard barbecue in Hawaii, but several of the Pacific specialties to be featured are manageable.
Try these fish specialties from two of our Pacific neighbors.
Tahitian Raw Fish
Suzanne Coppenrath, chef/owner,
Vaitiare Restaurant6 ounces ahi fillet, cubedCombine all ingredients except the coconut milk in a salad bowl. Mix softly, then pour out any juice that is not absorbed. Allow to marinate a few minutes.
1/3 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1 tablespoon thinly sliced onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon each salt, pepper
1/4 cup coconut milkJust before serving, add coconut milk. Serves 2.
Fijian Kokoda
Executive Chef Shalendra Naidu,
Castaway Island Resort1-1/3 pound Spanish mackerel, skinned and cut in 3/4-inch cubesCombine the fish with the vinegar and salt and refrigerate overnight, making sure the fish is immersed.
3-1/3 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 small tomato, seeded and diced
Juice of 1 large lime and 1 lemon
1-1/4 cup coconut creamThe next day, strain the fish and rinse thoroughly to remove salt. Add remaining ingredients. Serve cold. Serves 10.
Note: To make coconut cream, grate a coconut, then add 1/4 cup hot milk and strain through two layers of cheesecloth. Wrap the coconut in the cheesecloth and twist the cloth to squeeze out more liquid.
Star-Bulletin staff
