Hawaiian Style Beef Stew. . . Or is it?

I've always wondered how beef stew became such a staple in Hawaii. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing dish that I grew up eating, but nothing about it is local other than the fact that us locals LOVE it! Typically, a stew is a stand alone dish that is a complete meal in and of itself, right? Maybe true in most parts of the world but not in Hawaii. If you're ordering beef stew, you're getting beef stew over a bed of rice and a side of mac salad! That's just how we do it in Hawaii. Maybe that's what makes it local?

As I got older and more and more into cooking, naturally I learned how to make beef stew. It was the perfect dish to make for large families when you're on a budget. My late Aunty Kathleen was the first person to teach me the recipe. She was known in our family as a great cook. If you told aunty Kathleen she had $5 to feed 15 of us, she'd come back about an hour later with a hot meal fit for a king! Her recipe was the most basic of basics:

Hawaiian Style Beef Stew
Ingredients:

• beef chuck roast (or any other cut you prefer)
• onions
• celery
• carrots
• potatoes
• garlic cloves (crushed)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2-3 bay leaves
• dash of soy sauce
• flour
• tomato paste (or sauce)
• water
• olive oil

Preparation:

1. Cube beef, onions, celery, potato and carrots into 1-2inch large pieces. Keep potatoes on the larger side.
2. In a bowl, coat beef cubes with salt, pepper and flour.
3. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot over medium-high heat then add beef cubes and crushed garlic.
4. When beef cubes are well browned on each side add tomato paste, bay leaves, onions.
5. Add water (to cover) then bring to a boil and let it simmer on low heat for 1-2 hours, until beef is tender.
6. Add potatoes, celery, carrots and a dash of soy sauce then simmer for another 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
7. Season with more salt and pepper, to taste.
8. To thicken the stew further,  add extra potatoes in the beginning and mash them up once they are tender, or you can mix flour and water then whisk it into the stew.
9. Serve Hot!

Now comes the question of where did this style of beef stew come from? Throughout the years I've learned several versions and eventually settled upon one to my very own liking. I like to add green beans and cabbage 10mins before finishing off the stew, as well as some secret spices, as seen below (green beans are hiding underneath). I've also learned various other types of stews and the one thing I found a lil peculiar was that Irish Beef Stew and Hawaiian Beef Stew are almost exactly alike! I'm thinking that somewhere in history an Irish man landed in Hawaii and made this awesome dish. Hawaiians, being the lovers of food, then started making it as well. Is this confirmed? No, but it's definitely food for thought!

My roommate loves to make it with beer, particularly Guinness. Either way, try one of these recipes out for yourself and let me know what you think! =)

Peace & Poi,
Dis Hungry Hawaiian

Chasing the Manapua Man

Here in California we have Ice Cream Trucks that serve well. . . ice cream! Well in Hawaii we have "Manapua Man" that serve EVERYTHING you can imagine, especially something called Manapua (pictured above) which gave them their name. Manapua, is a baked or steamed bun stuffed with pork char siu (a sweet and savory Chinese pork dish). As time passed and people experimented with flavors more, Manapua started gaining new fillings other than char siu, but the original is always my favorite.

The Manapua Man typically played the same music as Ice Cream trucks, or very similar, and almost always drove a white van with the side door removed (or opened) and a plexiglass display in its place. Like so:

You get the picture right? It didn't even matter if it was a lady driving and she was the only worker, they were all called the Manapua Man (which is what I'll refer to them as going forward as well). When I said they serve everything, I mean EVERYTHING. You could get rice cake (nian gao), fried noodles, egg rolls, fried chicken, pig in a blanket, musubi's, pork hash (shumai), candy, soda, juice, cigarettes, toys and more. Now you may have already gotten the hint that a majority of the food items are Asian cuisine. Well, there is a huge Asian influence in Hawaii, from Chinese to Japanese to Filipino to Korean and then some. Most of the Manapua Men are ran by Chinese immigrants, at least back when I was a kid, and always a family run operation. 

My most fond childhood memories are from the days when my brother and I would beg our grandmother, mother, stepfather or anyone else for money so we could buy something when the Manapua Man came around. Part of the fun was in the chase. When you heard the Manapua Man music you had to run out of the house as fast as you can and hope that you got to the street in time to flag the Manapua Man down. Most times you had to chase them down for a ways before they stop and let you order. I swear they did it on purpose!!

Once we'd get to him, my brother would buy candy toys while I was a sucker for baked manapua and fried noodles. Of course if my brother got a toy, I had to have one too . . .

As I got older, my love for those items never changed. What did change is my method of chasing the Manapua Man. Instead of a van, I chase the recipes. Now that I'm in California it's become harder to find good manapua. I've found only one bakery in San Francisco that I really love, but SF is 45mins away (without traffic) and parking/driving in SF is terrible! Instead I decided to learn to make my own manapua.

After scouring the internet and testing out a few recipes for baked manapua I finally tweaked a recipe to my liking. The dough is soft and sweet and my Char Siu has the perfect combination of sweet and savory. Unfortunately I will not be handing out my Char Siu recipe today (because I misplaced it) but I will gladly give out my dough and the instruction for preparing it. Honestly you can use whatever filling you want and it will almost always turn out well. Give this a try and let me know how it went:

Baked Manapua:

Dough Ingredients:

• 1 packet highly active or rapid rise yeast
• 1/4 cup water
• 1.5 cups milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda (optional)
• 6.5 cups flour
• 1 egg, beaten (for brushing manapua before baking)

Preparation:

1. Mix packet of yeast with 1/2 lukewarm water and let sit until it foams (approx. 10mins)
2. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl or mixer. Add milk, eggs, and yeast mixture.
3. Kneed until dough is smooth (10-15mins) or use mixer for 10-15 mins until dough is smooth.
4. Place dough in a large, lightly oiled, bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough rise, at room temperature, until doubled in size, about 1.5-2hrs.
5. Do not punch air out of dough before rolling the bao.
6. Gently cut small pieces of dough, about 2-3 inch sized, and roll out into a small circles. Lightly use oil or flour if it starts to sticks.

Dough rising next to some fried noodles and soon to be egg rolls

Char Siu Filling Ingredients:

• diced char siu
• sugar
• hoisin or Oyster sauce
• diced onions
• cornstarch
• water

Filling Preparation:

1. Sauté onions then add diced char siu, sugar, and housin or oyster sauce. 
2. When well incorporated, add small amount of cornstarch and water mixture to thicken the filling. Portions of cornstarch and water widely depends on how much filling you're making. A safe measurement would be 1 part cornstarch to 2 parts water. Add mixture slowly so you can control how it thickens.
3. Set aside and let it completely cool.

Manapua Preparation #1:

1. Fill dough with desired filling and pinch edges together to seal the filling within. Be sure the filling is precooked and well cooled before using.
2. Place finished product onto a small piece of wax/parchment paper, making sure the pinched side faces down and let proof for another hour before baking.

manapua filled and doing its second rise

Manapua Preparation #2:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and brush manapua buns with a beaten egg then place in the oven for 15-20mins, or until golden brown.
2. Let cool for 5-10mins after removing from oven then enjoy! 

And although I didn't give you my Char Siu recipe, feel free to check out the following photos from when I made it last.

I can comfortably say that my days of chasing the Manapua Man are over. I've perfected just about every recipe that they make, be it simple or complicated, and I doubt the sound of their music will ever get me runnin ever agai....wait what's that sound? BRB!! lol jk...

Try this recipe out and let me know what you think!
 
Peace & Poi,
Dis Hungry Hawaiian

Hawaiian Style Loco Moco

Loco Moco w/ sautéed mushrooms and onions

Question: What does Loco Moco mean and where/how did it originate?


As I searched for a good recipe to feature today I pondered several different dishes, but nothing stood out. I decided to check my FB photos and see if I could find some inspiration from there. Jackpot, it worked!!! I landed on several photos of Loco Moco's that I've made in the past. So here goes. . .

Loco Moco's have been a part of Hawaii cuisine since as long as I can remember and then some. As a kid we used to love it just because the name was kinda funny to say but it actually tasted amazing too. That's a win/win situation for parents, right? Though it may not be healthiest dish, it's definitely one of the greatest dishes ever to come from Hawaii. The only thing about the Loco Moco and it's origins in Hawaii is that no one really knows how/where it came about! Seriously, not even the internet, and the internet knows all!!! Wikipedia says that there are suspicions of it originating at either the Lincoln Grill or May's Fountain, both of which are restaurants in Hilo, Hawaii, in the 1940's. However, I've seen other documentaries that say it was originally a dish created by surfers who needed a lil carb & protein energy boost after a long day in the water. I have my own theory too.

I've been in San Jose, CA, for almost 4yrs now (not including time I spent in high school here) and I've made friends of almost every cultural background. My good friend Mike and his family are of Mexican descent, among other things, and have taught me much about Mexican cuisine. I introduced Mike to the Loco Moco a few years ago and we had a discussion that made me change my opinion of how the Loco Moco may have came about. Well, at least maybe its' name. Mike told me that Loco Moco means "crazy booger" in spanish. The traditional Loco Moco is two hamburger patties over a bed of rice and topped with two eggs over-easy and brown gravy. If you've ever had one and mixed up the egg yolk and the gravy with rice and hamburger patties, you can kinda see where the "crazy booger" term might seem relevant.

In addition to the traditional Loco Moco, there are indefinite variations that you can make. Just about any meat, rice and gravy combination will work (emphasis on ALMOST). Spam loco Moco, Fried Rice Loco Moco, Kimchi Fried Rice Loco Moco, Chicken Katsu Curry Loco Moco, Teriyaki Beef Loco Moco are just a small sample of the possibilities!! Try it out yourself and see what you can make:

Traditional Hawaiian Style Loco Moco

Ingredients:

• 2 hamburger patties (minimum, unless you on a diet)
• 2 eggs
• sticky rice (short grain or sushi rice)
• gravy (packet or homemade, whatever floats your boat)

Preparation:

1. Cook rice.
2. Make gravy.
3. Cook hamburger patties.
4. Fry eggs, over-easy.
5. Fill a bowl or plate with a generous serving of rice and place the two hamburger patties on top, side-by-side if possible (get a bigger bowl or plate if not)
6. Drown the rice and patties with gravy and top it with the two eggs.
7. Serve

Simple, right? I personally like to add sautéed mushroom and onions. I also make my gravy from scratch whenever possible. Here are some photos of Loco Moco's I've made:

 

If you're interested in making your own gravy from scratch, here is a basic brown gravy recipe:

Brown Gravy

Ingredients:

• oil or fat
• flour
• beef broth (cold or room temp)
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (optional

Preparation:

1. Make a roux by heating your desired amount of oil on medium heat the adding an equal amount of oil/fat (preferably by weight).
2. Whisk the mixture until it forms a semi thick blob, similar to cake frosting.
3. Keep whisking while the mixture bubbles, making sure it doesn't bubble too rapidly.
4. Once the mixture darkens to near the same color of the beef broth, slowly whisk in the beef broth.
5. Let mixture simmer for at least 10-20 minutes so that the flour in the roux fully incorporates into the broth and prevents a grainy texture to the gravy. 

So that's that. Subscribe to my blog for more recipes =)


Peace & Poi,
Dis Hungry Hawaiian

Kalua Pig Tostadas

Kalua Pig Tostadas courtesy of Yours Truly

My First blog! =)

So yesterday marks over 2 weeks in recovery from minor surgery I had done on my leg and I'm still not up to 100% because of a post op infection. I had also just spent a ton of money paying off most of the surgery bill as well as a birthday party which consisted of a Seafood Boil fit for a king! In an attempt to save money but still eat well, I decided to prepare dinner from things we already had laying around the house, with a minor exception of buying onions, tostadas, tomatoes, refried beans and sour cream from a local Mexican market.

I know, I know. . . The list of items bought seems like a lot right? Well if you know these Mexican markets, you'd know that these markets are dirt cheap! Just take a peak at the following picture, for proof. Sometimes the deals here get even cheaper and the quality is no different from Safeway, in my opinion.

Santa Fe Mercado, Eastside San Jose

So after we got whatever supplies we needed from the store, which btw is literally just about 2 blocks away from my house, I got to work. Well actually I put on Fast & Furious 6 and chilled with my gf for about an hour, to give my roommate time to get home and eat with us. We were also waiting for a friend to stop by to pickup a Chocolate Haupia(coconut) Pie for an ongoing fundraiser I'm doing to pay for my surgery bill. Well my friend was running late due to a last minute crunch to meet a deadline at work (I assume from procrastination, hehehe) and I figured that since it was already kinda late in the evening, I'd just invite him over for dinner.

The roommate was out unusually late and I was too lazy to text him to find out if he'd be home soon, so I waited for my friend to text when he was on his way. Once the text came I went to the kitchen and got to work. We had leftover shredded cheddar from the Cheddar Bay Biscuits my roommate made, lots of Kalua Pig from my ongoing fundraiser and cilantro from I-have-no-clue-when (but it was fresh). All that, combined with what we bought, I began the process:

Kalua Pig Tostadas

Ingredients:

• 1lb. kalua pig
• 6-12 tostadas
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or more)
• 1 red onion
• a gallon of sour cream
• 1 large mountain of shredded cheddar cheese
• a salad bowl of refried beans
• 3 chopped tomatoes

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees, on broil
2. Heat the kalua pig however you like (I placed it in a pot with some water on medium heat)
3. Quickly layer beans, cheese, onions and tomatoes on each tostada
4. Please tostadas on a baking sheet then place in the oven on the top rack, for about 1 minute
5. Remove tostadas from the oven and immediately place a generous amount of kalua pig on each
6. Drizzle sour cream onto each (or drop a fat slab in the center like I did)
7. Garnish with cilantro and serve =)

Note: The reason for layering the ingredients quickly is because the tostada tends to get soggy if you let it sit for too long with all the ingredients on it. 

Kalua Pig Tostadas, 6 to a tray

Just as I finished making the tostadas and posting pics on Facebook, both my friend and my roommate arrived at the same time. I had tagged them both in the FB photo so both had already knew what was waiting for them. When they walked in the door we all almost immediately served ourselves and sat down to watch Jack the Giant Slayer while we munched on my mouth-watering creation! 

I made a total of 12 tostadas with just 1 pound of kalua pig and everyone was completely satisfied after dinner was done. We even had 1 tostada to spare at the end of the night. 

Not bad in my book! 

Peace and Poi,

Dis Hungry Hawaiian