Ok. Here's the problem. I can't cook rice. It's taking me many years to finally admit this. I just can't cook rice. It comes out burnt, or gloopy, or crunchy in the middle. I just want to make lovely, fluffy rice. I want to make sticky rice for sushi. I want to make long-grain wild rice. I want to make fragrant jasmine basmati rice. It doesn't matter the type of rice, I ALWAYS find a way to mess it up. I just can't do it. I know what you are thinking, but I won't do it. I won't use a rice-cooker because I feel like that is cheating. My momma never used a rice cooker and her rice was pretty good (most of the time). I promise I am pretty good at cooking other grains. I just can't cook rice. I have adopted quinoa and couscous instead of rice for most of my every-day recipes. However, quinoa and couscous simply will not do in my veganized local dishes. Local grindz require white rice. Thus, my dilemma.
This week I was torn between two dishes: loco moco and "spam" musubi. Unfortunately they both require rice. My usual crunchy/gloopy rice just won't cut it to form the rice balls for the musubi. I probably could have gotten by with poorly cooked rice for the loco moco, but I also needed decent rice for my burger patties.
After three failed attempts (and a couple cups of rice), I gave up on cooking rice this week. I made myself some scrambled tofu and kale, curled up on the couch, and watched Real Housewives of Atlanta. All the while, lamenting my poor rice-cooking abilities.
If anyone has any types on cooking perfect rice, please let me know.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Kalua "Pig": 1st Attempt
Kalua pig is one of those quintessential local dishes you will find at any gathering or diner. Traditionally, kalua pig is cooked in an imu (a large hole in the ground that acts as an oven). The meat is rubbed with salt and wrapped in ti and/or banana leaves then cooked with hot stones and burning koa wood. After hours of slowly cooking in the ground, the meat absorbs the smoke from the wood and banana leaves. Most of the kalua pork found in restaurants is an oven-roasted pork shoulder rubbed with salt, wrapped in ti leaves, and cooked with liquid smoke.
This is my very first attempt at cooking local-style food. I decided to use just the ingredients I had on hand already, so there is some tweaking to be done. I will most definitely be trying this again in a month or two so I can compare the results. I didn't have ti leaves or banana leaves so I improvised based on other kalua pig recipes.
Lately I have been getting into using jackfruit as a meaty substitute. The stringy flesh of this fruit resembles pulled pork. In fact, a lot of vegans use it for their barbecue recipes. You can find canned jackfruit at Asian and Indian markets. It's usually less than $2 so it's a nice, cheap alternative to meat. The young/unripe fruit in brine is the kind you want. Be sure to rinse off the brine before cooking with it. The mature fruit (typically in syrup) is sweeter. Fun fact: JuicyFruit gum is jackfruit flavored.
For this recipe:
- 1 20oz can of young jackfruit. Rinsed and shredded.
- 2 tsp of Hawaiian salt (any sea salt should work)
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke.
- 1 banana
- 1 tbsp olive oil
How to make:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Rinse the jackfruit.
This is what it looks like right out of the can. After rinsing the pieces, shred it by hand. There will be a couple harder pieces. I like to cut them up and keep in my dishes because I don't like to waste anything (or I will snack on the harder pieces while preparing my food).
In a medium bowl, mix the jackfruit, oil, salt, and liquid smoke. Once everything is all mixed up, put it in casserole dish lined with tinfoil. Throw in the banana (sliced longways) since we are not using banana leaves to cook or wrap the jackfruit.
Wrap that shit up. For right now, we are pretending the tinfoil is our ti/banana leaves. Next time, I am totally using leaves in my cooking. Throw the dish in the oven for an hour and half at 350. Once your kitchen smells of mesquite smoke and banana, you know it's ready.
Tada! Sorry I am not the best food photographer. It's another skill I hope to improve upon in the coming months.
Once it cools a bit, serve with a scoop of rice (I like my rice seasoned with furikake).
Final results:
So my first attempt wasn't a complete failure. It has a smokey, slightly salty taste. The banana gives just a hint of sweetness. Very simple flavors, but quite tasty. Any vegan would be happy to have this at their next luau.
I was missing some key elements though. Next time I will use ti leaves or banana leaves to wrap my jack fruit. Or my other option is to use a slow cooker. I will try both methods in the coming months and compare results.
This is my very first attempt at cooking local-style food. I decided to use just the ingredients I had on hand already, so there is some tweaking to be done. I will most definitely be trying this again in a month or two so I can compare the results. I didn't have ti leaves or banana leaves so I improvised based on other kalua pig recipes.
Lately I have been getting into using jackfruit as a meaty substitute. The stringy flesh of this fruit resembles pulled pork. In fact, a lot of vegans use it for their barbecue recipes. You can find canned jackfruit at Asian and Indian markets. It's usually less than $2 so it's a nice, cheap alternative to meat. The young/unripe fruit in brine is the kind you want. Be sure to rinse off the brine before cooking with it. The mature fruit (typically in syrup) is sweeter. Fun fact: JuicyFruit gum is jackfruit flavored.
For this recipe:
- 1 20oz can of young jackfruit. Rinsed and shredded.
- 2 tsp of Hawaiian salt (any sea salt should work)
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke.
- 1 banana
- 1 tbsp olive oil
How to make:
Preheat the oven to 350.
Rinse the jackfruit.
This is what it looks like right out of the can. After rinsing the pieces, shred it by hand. There will be a couple harder pieces. I like to cut them up and keep in my dishes because I don't like to waste anything (or I will snack on the harder pieces while preparing my food).
In a medium bowl, mix the jackfruit, oil, salt, and liquid smoke. Once everything is all mixed up, put it in casserole dish lined with tinfoil. Throw in the banana (sliced longways) since we are not using banana leaves to cook or wrap the jackfruit.
Wrap that shit up. For right now, we are pretending the tinfoil is our ti/banana leaves. Next time, I am totally using leaves in my cooking. Throw the dish in the oven for an hour and half at 350. Once your kitchen smells of mesquite smoke and banana, you know it's ready.
Once it cools a bit, serve with a scoop of rice (I like my rice seasoned with furikake).
Final results:
So my first attempt wasn't a complete failure. It has a smokey, slightly salty taste. The banana gives just a hint of sweetness. Very simple flavors, but quite tasty. Any vegan would be happy to have this at their next luau.
I was missing some key elements though. Next time I will use ti leaves or banana leaves to wrap my jack fruit. Or my other option is to use a slow cooker. I will try both methods in the coming months and compare results.
Introduction
I have been a vegetarian/vegan for over six years, and for the last two years I have been living in Hawaii. While there is no shortage of fresh tropical fruits and vegetables, finding vegetarian-friendly local style food is quite difficult.
The local-style dishes are the product of several different groups merging: Native Hawaiian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Samoan, Tongan, American. Local food is diverse and each group has contributed its style and flavors. However, everything seems to have fish, chicken, or pork (or spam) involved in the recipe. This makes things difficult for those vegheads who want to try local kine grinds.
Recently, I went to a work holiday party where the menu was anything but veg-friendly: kalua pork, lomi-lomi salmon, chicken and long rice, laulau, poi, rice, and various desserts. The one other vegetarian and I ate plain white rice and some poi while the omnivores dined on all sorts of dishes. This was the final straw. I took to the internet to find veg-friendly local kine recipes, but the majority of the dishes were some sort of fruit salad or dessert. While I love these things, it's not what you will find on a mix plate, at a cookout, or party. I decided it was time to try my hand at making some local kine grinds with a vegan flair.
I am no chef. I don't work in the food industry. I am just a girl who has been living a veg lifestyle for over six years. Also, I am NOT a local. I just some haole girl from Ohio. In fact, it would be a lie to say that I have actually been able to eat any of the local grinds I will attempt to veganize. I just really want to try them, and I want to share them with the other frustrated vegetarians on the island. I have never had spam musubi, kalua pig, chicken and long rice, etc. I am going by sight, smell, and the words of my omnivore friends to judge the my version of local foods since I don't have a real point of reference. This will be a learning experience for us all. Hopefully, my food will be 'ono.
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