The REAL Juicy Fruit

One day in Hawaii, my neighbor and dear friend Ann came to me with an armload of large yellow fruits.  She had picked them fresh from one of the many trees outside the joined lanais of our condo complex.  I had no idea what they were though they looked a little like monster grapefruits.  Ann handed me one and told me this was a pomelo (Citrus maxima).  A little unaccustomed to picking strange tropical fruits from my yard and eating them, I tried a piece with a wee bit of trepidation.  It was delightful - sweet, juicy, and unlike anything I’d ever eaten before.  I was in heaven.  Sometimes spelled pommelo, pumelo, or pummelo, this golden globe of goodness is simply succulent.  You must try one.

    

Until I move back to Hawaii and can pick a pomelo from a tree in my own back yard, I have to be satisfied with the ones I buy in the grocery store.  The biggest, best, freshest, and cheapest ones are found in Asian specialty groceries since pomelos are a beloved fruit native to southeast Asia.

A couple weeks ago, I was fortunate to find a heavy for its size, smooth skinned, green tinged beauty at Uwajimaya in Seattle.  Mine was about eight inches in diameter and weighed in just over two pounds.  (Depending on the specific variety, a pomelo can weigh 2-5lbs and range from 4-12" in diameter)     

Getting to the sweeter-than-a-grapefruit but more-tart-than-an-orange fruit can be a little tricky, but with the right tools, a little know-how, and a lot of patience, this flagon of flavorful vitamin C can be yours for the taking.  Wait…I must backtrack for a moment to the flavor.  The pomelo tastes like the two aforementioned citrus fruits because it is related – directly related.  The grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) is the bitter baby of the union between Sweet Mama Orange (Citrus sinensis) and the Big Daddy Pomelo. Ah ha! 

Now – here’s the how-to.  While hands are handy, a citrus peeler works the best to cut through the rind also know as zest or flavedo and uber thick (1/2-3/4") white pith underneath (albedo) without piercing the membrane covered segments (carpels) and releasing all the glorious juices contained in the pulp (vesicles).  Got that?  No?  Yes?  Here are a couple pictures to illustrate my point.

Pomelo with rind and most of the pith removed

The remnants of the rind and a pile of the pith

Pomelo split into halves allows access to the good stuff

The prize!

Before eating, be sure to remove every last scrap of the membrane.  It’s yucky.  While the segments are luscious, the membrane is just as bitter as that of a grapefruit – maybe more.

Oh...and one more thing.  Grab a napkin - or a few.  Better yet, get a towel.  This is one juicy fruit!  

 

Thank you to the Purdue University Horticulture department for bits of the above info.

Oh, Redondo

How I love you so. I’ve often said that one of the big things I miss about Hawaii is the food…and the flowers. But mostly the food. Portuguese sausage is one of those. One time we returned to Hawaii for a visit and I stuffed a suitcase with Hawaiian BBQ sauce and…you guessed it…Portuguese sausage. Silly to some, but anyone who has ever tasted the spicy salty red greasy goodness understands the passion.

Portuguese sausage may be a Hawaiian import, but it is nearly as popular as Spam - so much so it is served on their McDonald’s Big Breakfast with eggs, rice AND Spam. My favorite, Redondo’s Portuguese Brand Sausage, won Honolulu Magazine's 2008 award for "Best Portuguese Sausage."  (I didn't even know there was such a thing) 

Imagine the little dance I did when I spied the links of Redondo’s Portuguese Sausage – spicy and mild – in the meat cooler at a local store. It was expensive - $5.99 for a 12 ounce link, but I didn’t care. It was mine all mine and worth every penny.

This morning for breakfast I steamed the rice, scrambled the eggs and sliced and fried the 100% porky goodness and called the family to the table. 

Oh, Redondo...

http://www.redondos.com/

Loco Moco

Some time ago I wrote about the famous plate lunch that epitomizes popular Hawaiian cuisine (at least in my mind). When I was on the Big Island in April, I was able to get my plate lunch fix by going to L&L drive-ins on two separate occasions. The food was good and plentiful as ever, and even though I shared one three ways, we were unable to finish the rice, macaroni salad, bbq beef, chicken, and short ribs that are included on the “combination plate.”

Another thing I had to have was loco moco. A stop at Ken’s House of Pancakes in Hilo was the sure place to order up a bowl. Considered the ultimate Hawaiian comfort food, this dish is comprised of a generous serving of steamed rice topped with a hamburger patty then one or two over-easy eggs and finally a rich brown gravy. Delicious!  (For the hearty eater, Ken’s offers the Sumo Moco made with six scoops of rice, two hamburger patties, and three eggs all smothered with gravy, and when this dish is ordered, a bell is rung and everyone in the place yells, “SUMO!”)

I pride myself in cooking delicious, nutritious, vegetable intense foods for my family but have been craving loco moco for days now, so that’s what we had for dinner.  (My daughter did point out that I used farm-fresh organic eggs and lean beef)  As I sat down to the steaming, delicious smelling bowl of gravy drenched Hawaiian Heaven, I almost felt like I was back in the islands…

Visit Ken’s online or be sure to eat there when you go to the Big Island – just turn right out of the airport and go a little way. (Order the most awesome pancakes - available 24/7 and served with Guava, Passion Fruit and “Kokonut” syrups, Yum!) http://kenshouseofpancakes-hilohi.com/

Beyond Pineapples and Poi

Very soon I will return to Hawaii for a couple weeks of vacation. Some people go for the sun and the beaches and the soft tropical breezes. While I deeply enjoy these, especially the sweet scented air that wafts to your nose the second you step off the plane, I also go for the food.

Hawaiian food, or should I say the food you can get in Hawaii is like none other. Two scoops of Polynesian blended with a side of Korean and a dash of Japanese best describes much of the food there. An excellent example of this is the traditional “plate lunch” usually served with a scoop of potato-mac (just like it sounds - potato and macaroni salad with tons of mayo), steamed white rice, and a main meat like kalbi (Korean marinated and grilled beef short ribs) or chicken katsu (pounded thin, breaded and fried chicken cutlet akin to the Japanese tonkatsu). 

Plate lunch can be found about anywhere in Hawaii – in a strip mall, at a roadside stand or from a lunch wagon at a local surf contest. A popular place to get plate lunch has found its way to the mainland in the form of L&L Hawaiian BBQ (called L&L Drive-in or just L&L in Hawaii). Check out this eye candy: www.hawaiianbarbecue.com/  



I mentioned my love of Spam in a previous post. Well, Hawaii is a good place to get my fix. (mmmmm…Spam musubi) Several stories try to explain Hawaii’s love of Spam. Regardless of which one you believe, Spam is everywhere – even on the McDonald’s menu. Mainland has its Big Breakfast, but Hawaii has its Spam, Eggs and Rice. Oh…and Portuguese sausage Eggs and Rice! I love Portuguese sausage! Last time when we flew back, I packed about 6 long links in my luggage (two spicy and four regular).

Another favorite, and the one my husband is most looking forward to, is the huli-huli chicken. Any given weekend, someone somewhere is cooking huli-huli – probably for a fundraiser. Look for the smoke and head towards it. You will probably end up in a grocery store parking lot waiting in a line of cars for your share. Just drive up when it’s your turn, hand the man your money and get a whole crispy, juicy, salty, messy, delicious rotisserie-style chicken (or two) in a bag. You better have some napkins though, because most people start eating in the car.

Now, everyone has their secret marinade recipe containing some mixture of shoyu (soy sauce), pineapple juice, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and more, but I have been using the Aloha Barbeque Sauce for close to twenty years and love it. The problem is getting it back home. One time I put a gallon bottle in my carry-on. You should have seen the local Hawaiian dude at customs when he saw it. He laughed out loud and said, “Don’t leave home witout it, eh?!” and passed me on through inspection.  Last time security restrictions prevented me from that method, so I bought several quart bottles, double zip-locked them, put them in the checked bag (along with two five-pound bags of Hawaiian sea salt and some NOH Hawaiian Poke mix) and said a prayer. The huli-huli gods must have been smiling on me, because all the bottles made it home without leaking.

So, if you get a chance to go to Hawaii, skip the tourist luau and hit some of the local eateries. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Oh, and would you stop by 7-11 and bring me back some ginger cookies from the Hawaiian Candy Company? Please? www.hawaiicandy.com/