KAUKAU TIME!--"Kaukau" is a Hawaiian pidgin slang word meaning "food" or "to eat.": nuoc cham

"Kaukau" is a pidgin slang word meaning "food" or "to eat." The Hawaiian term for food is `ai. The two theories on the origin of the word "kaukau" are the Hawaiian word for table, pâkaukau, and the Chinese word for food, chow chow. In Hawaii we say "We go kaukau!", I would say, "I hungry I like kaukau!" or "Let's kaukau!" The Cuisine of Hawaii is a fusion of foods brought by immigrants to the Hawaiian Islands, particularly of Portuguese, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Polynesian etc.

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Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Thit Heo Nuong - Vietnamese Pork Chops

Ingredients:

2-4 Tbsp brown sugar or Splenda
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce (nuoc mam or patis)
1 stalk green onion, cut into 1/2" sections
1 stalk Lemon grass, crushed and roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic, crushed and minced fine
2 Tbsp canola oil
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp MSG (optional)
6-10 Boneless Pork Loin Chops

Procedure:

Combine and mix well sugar, fish sauce, green onions, lemongrass, chopped garlic, MSG, black pepper and oil. Pour over chops in a shallow dish. Let marinate 3 to 4 hours, turning meat occasionally.
Grill over charcoal or bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 60 minutes or until cooked well done.

Serves 4-6 Enjoy!!
Let's kaukau na!! :)

This recipe is from Auntie Yvonne. She makes this her specialty at family gatherings and we all love it! The pork chops go well served with cucumber slices and iceberg lettuce over fragrant jasmine rice!! The dipping sauce is the spicy sweet sauce called nuoc cham used with the vietnamese crispy spring rolls (cha gio).