Friday, June 23, 2006

Nilagang Baboy (Boiled Pork with Cabbage & Potatoes)





























Ingredients:

6 fresh pork hocks. About 4-5 lbs. You may substitute with fresh pork ribs and or belly pork.
4 fresh whole garlic cloves-smashed, peeled, and minced fine
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 large bay leaves-ripped into quarters
1 whole white or yellow onion-peeled and quartered
3 large whole russet potatoes-peeled and quartered
1 fresh whole round head cabbage-cored, halved, and quartered
MSG to taste (optional)
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
3-5 Tbsp of patis=fish sauce=nuoc mam
pinch coarse hawaiian or kosher salt to taste
4-6 pieces of filipino sweet chili peppers (optional)
1/2 lb fresh string beans-cut into 1 inch sections (optional)

Procedure:
  • Rinse pork hocks under cold running water until clear. Place pieces in a big stockpot or pressure cooker.
  • Boil for 10 minutes and skim scum and foam. Drain and rinse pieces under cold running water a second time. Rinse pot clean of particles and add pieces back. Cover with clean water and bring to a boil again. If using pressure cooker, cook at optimal pressure for 10 minutes also and rinse the same way.
  • Add garlic, onions, and bay leaves. Add MSG and salt.
  • Bring meat to a boil then simmer until semi-tender. About 1 hour 15-30minutes. Skim foam and scum everynow and then. If pressure cooking, bring to optimal pressure and cook for a total of 30 minutes.
  • While pork is cooking, prepare potatoes by peeling, cutting and soaking potatoes in cold water to prevent discoloration.
  • Prepare cabbage and set aside.
  • Add potatoes, cabbage and optional vegetables 5 minutes before pork reaches "off-da-bone" tenderness.
  • Season to taste with the patis fish sauce.

Serves 4-6

This is my sister-in-law Cathy's favorite dish while my wife Aurora's fave is Sinigang Na Baboy. This dish is also called "Lauya" by Ilocano filipinos but has vinegar added to the taste and aroma of pork adobo.

Well this whole week it has been some kind of dish with pork hocks or in reality "pig's feet". Filipinos don't waste any part of the pig and its so apparent in all their dishes no matter the dialect or part of the Philippines. In future postings I hope to make dinuguan (tender pork in blood stew) and kare-kare (oxtail in peanut sauce stew).

The pork hocks were on sale at the Pearl Harbor NEX Commissary last week for an unheard of $0.58 per pound! I couldn't pass that up so I got four cryovac packs for us! A super great deal for fresh hocks!

Enjoy! Time fo kaukau!! :)

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Tuna Scrambled Egg Omelette with Ampalaya (Bittermelon)




























Ingredients:

12 large fresh eggs
1 whole fresh clove of garlic-smashed, peeled, and minced fine
1 medium round white or yellow onion-peeled, sliced, diced, and chopped fine
1 large ripe red tomato-sliced, diced, and chopped fine
1 green bittermelon=chinese cucumber=ampalaya-ends cut off, seeded, quarted, and sliced into strips
2 cans tuna fish packed in water
1 tsp MSG optional
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
1 pinch iodized table salt
3-4 Tbsp fish sauce=patis=nuoc mam to taste
canola oil for frying

Procedure:
  • Prepare tomatoes, onions, garlic, and bittermelon by putting in individual little bowls and set aside.
  • Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and remove any shell particles.
  • Open 2 cans tuna and water from can into another small bowl. Use a fork to smash up the tuna into mashed tuna flakes.
  • Add flaked tuna into mixing bowl with eggs and scramble with a wire wisk. Do not overscramble. Add MSG, salt, pepper, and patis and mix well. Set aside.
  • Heat large frying pan and add enough oil. About 4 Tbsp or so.
  • When oil is almost smoking add onions, garlic, tomatoes, and bittermelon. Saute until vegetables are cooked down and wilted. About 5 minutes.
  • Add scrambled tuna egg mixture to frying pan. Use a spoon to mix eggs into vegetables.
  • Continue to fry eggs and keep them moving. Use a spatula. Eggs will thicken and water will evaporate. Keep eggs moving hence "scrambled". This is not like an egg foo yung or omelette where it's folder like a crepe or pancake. This is a scrambled omelette!
  • Add more oil if needed. Cooking will continue for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Serves 4

Kaukau with steamed rice! Good for a low carb meal at breakfast or lunch. Ok let's kaukau! :)

We used tabasco, soy sauce and ketchup!

Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Crispy Pata (Deep Fried Pork Hocks)





































Ingredients:

6 fresh pork hocks
1 pinch coarse Hawaiian or kosher salt
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 whole bay laurel leaves
1/4 tsp MSG (optional)
peanut or canola oil for deep frying

Dipping Sauce:

white or apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic fresh peeled and smashed fresh cracked black pepper
salt or soy sauce to taste
2 green or red Hawaiian chilis smashed

Procedure:





  • Rinse pork hocks under running water and place in a large pot or pressure cooker. Cover completely with cold water.
  • Make sure water is clear and not bloody.
  • Add bayleaves, peppercorn, salt, and MSG to pot and cover. If using a pressure cooker secure lid tightly and time cooking when precise pressure is reached.
  • Cooking time for pressure cooker is 30 minutes.
  • Regular boiling time should be about 1 hour 30 minutes or until tender.
  • Do not over cook too much or meat will fall off the bone. You want the meat intact on the bone to hold well while deep frying.
  • Rinse under cold water and remove any particles stuck on hocks.
  • Drain meat on colander and pat dry with paper towels. Remove all excess moisture. Let the pieces air dry by use of a running fan for about 15-30 minutes. The dryer the meat the crispier and crunchier the fat rind will become.
  • Heat the oil to about 375 degrees until almost smoking then lower to 350. Use a deep fryer basket and lower pieces slowly into deep fryer. The oil will splatter so be careful. Use thongs, oven mitts, oil splashguard screen, and a cooking apron.
  • Deep fry until golden brown and crisp. Usually about 10-15 mins. Use thongs at initial fry to separate and loosen hock pieces as they cook. They love to stick together. :)
  • Combine vinegar, pepper, garlic, pepper, soy sauce in a bowl. Mix well.
  • Take pieces out of deep fryer and drain on paper towels.

Serve warm and use dipping sauce!

Serves 1 hungry wife or 2 people. :)

ok let's kaukau!!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Sinigang Na Baboy (Pork in Sour Tamarind Soup)
















It's called Sinigang Na Baboy which means pork in sour tamarind soup and is a typical dish cooked in many filipino homes. There are a few other fruits that can substitute the souring agent for tamarind which are green guava and or green mango I'm told by my wife. As long it can get sour it's "sinigang"! My mom loves this also for the sour tangy flavor. As for my dad and I we prefer it less sour so you may cut down on the tamarind soup base to your liking.


Ingredients:

3-4 lbs fresh pork spare ribs or pig's feet shanks, cut into desired size pieces
1 whole ripe tomato quarted and sliced thin
1 round yellow onion peeled, halved and sliced thin
1 Tbsp coarse Hawaiian or kosher salt
3-4 green sweet whole chilis
2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed and minced fine
1 inch ginger root, sliced in half and smashed
2 packages Mama Sita Tamarind Soup Base
3 long eggplants sliced 1/4 inch diagonally
1 bunch fresh ong choy or kangkong (swamp spinach)
3-4 small taro root (gabi=dasheen=araimo=taro) peeled and quartered
6-8 fresh okra, stems cut off and sliced into 1 inch sections
1 small Japanese radish or daikon, peeled and quarted
MSG to taste (optional)
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
4-6 Tbsp of fish sauce or patis=nuoc mam
fresh cold water

Procedure:

  • Rinse pork and place in stockpot. Fill with fresh water just to cover. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes and skim off scum. Drain and rinse pork pieces under running water. Wash stockpot clean and return pork to pot. Once again cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook until tender about 1 hour and 15 minutes or so. Check tenderness with fork during simmer.
  • While pork is simmering add onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and tamarind mix.
  • Season with MSG, pepper, fish sauce and salt to taste.
  • Add eggplant, gabi, ong choy, daikon, and sweet chilis about 5 mins before pork reaches tenderness. Bring heat to high to cook down the vegetables.
  • Taste broth and adjust taste accordingly.
Serves 3-4
Eat with steamed fluffy white rice! Enjoy and let's kaukau!! :)

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Just Hamburgers and Hotdogs...






























Trying out Jensen Meat Co.'s premium ground beef patties we purchased from Sam's Club and Hawaii's favorite brand Redondo's Hawaiian Winners. As you can see in the pix it's just burgers and hotdogs and some assorted vegetables. I was too tired after coming home from work to prepare something gourmet so I peeked into the freezer and pulled some patties, hotdogs, and frozen vegetables to heat up. Everything was pan fried with Pam, fresh cracked blackpepper, Hawaiian salt, and Mrs. Dash. Condiments were catsup, Tabasco, and Aloha Shoyu brand soy sauce. Oops almost forgot the rice! :)

That was it. Time fo kaukau!!

The patties were lean and moist considering it was ground beef sirloin!

Jensen Meat Co.

Redondo's Hawaiian Winners

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Pork Tabungao (Pork with Chinese Long Squash Soup)



Here is a dish my grandfather would cook for us when we were little. It brings back so much memories. The pork is soft and tender with the sweet taste of the squash. The broth is rich and delightful on a cold night. Heat the soup and add cold rice and you got a typical Ilocano dish easy to cook and prepare.
This dish is locally also known as "Pork Sari-Sari" as in a mix of vegetables.  The local Ilocano restaurants make a shrimp version also.

Ingredients:


2-3 lbs fresh pork chops, sliced thin (pork ribs is also good)
1 2 lb small Chinese long squash, peeled, cut lengthwise, then cut into 1/4" slices
1/2 round yellow union, sliced thin
1 whole red ripe tomato, halved and sliced thin
2 fresh cloves of garlic, crushed, peeled, and minced fine
1 whole bay leaf, ripped in half
2-4 Tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam or patis)
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
dash MSG to taste (optional)
1 Tbsp white vinegar
fresh cold water
vegetable oil for frying
Optional vegetables :
2 long eggplants, diagonal slant slices
1-2 lb. Chinese long beans or sitaw, cut in 2 inch length pieces.

Procedure:


Heat a 6 qt pot with cover. Add 2 Tbsp oil and heat til smoking. Add pork and stir fry. Brown and cook pork well done about 10-15 mins on high heat. Season with pepper and bay leaf while frying. Add onions, tomato, and garlic. Continue to stir fry until vegetables are translucent and wilted. Add additional oil if needed. Add 4-6 cups of fresh water to pot, cover and bring meat to a nice boil then lower heat to simmer. Simmer til meat is tender. Add fish sauce, MSG, and white vinegar to soup. Add squash to pot and cover. Cook til squash is soft. Add more pepper and patis to adjust to your taste. Serve with white rice.

This dish is closely similar to Pork Sinigang but without the tamarind powder mix.  The broth or sabaw is not tangy.  Also I add a Tbsp of vinegar to the broth so the dish keeps and doesn't "turn" or spoil quickly on account of the tomatoes.  It makes the sabaw acidic like how adobo doesn't spoil without refrigeration.

Serves 3-4




Chinese long squash or tabungao in Ilocano and Upo in Tagalog.





Let's kaukau!! Enjoy! :O)

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Stir Fry Pork Ong Choy with Shrimp Sauce Revisited






























Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh boneless country style ribs or pork chops, sliced into thin strips
2 Tbsp cornstarch1/4 cup straight whiskey or shaoxing cooking wine
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Canola or peanut oil for stir frying
2-4 fresh whole garlic cloves, crushed and minced fine (more if you love garlic!)
1 whole tomato cut in quarters and sliced thinly
1 whole round yellow onion, peeled, halfed and cut into thin slices
1 pinch MSG (optional)
Fresh cracked ground black pepper to taste
1 whole bunch ong choy (swamp cabbage/water spinach), cut into 1" sections. Separate stems from leaves.
2 Tbsp chinese fine shrimp sauce (Harm ha)
Fresh cold water

Procedure:

1. Add sliced pork into a mixing bowl and add cornstarch, wine, and soy sauce. Mix well and let stand to marinate for 30-45mins.

2. While meat is marinating prepare the vegetables as above and set aside.

3. Heat wok or big fryin pan. Add a Tbsp oil and wait til just about smoking.

4. Add marinated pork to hot oil and saute. Keep stir-frying until pork is browned and cooked evenly. Add more oil if needed.

5. Set cooked pork aside in metal colander to drain excess oil.

6. Heat wok again and add Tbsp oil. Heat til smoking then add onions, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir-fry saute the vegetables for 3 minutes and add ong choy stems, stir fry for another 2 minutes, add 1/4 cup water and cover to steam saute. Add leafy parts of ong choy thereafter. Vegetables should be cooked down before adding meat.

7. Incorporate drained pork into wok with veggies. Continue to stir fry. Add shrimp sauce and stir to mix evenly. Add MSG, pepper and green onions. Please note that sauce will become thick without adding additional cornstarch. Taste and adjust saltiness accordingly by adding more water.

Serves 3-4 people

Plate dish and it's ready to kaukau!

Enjoy!! Get your rice ready! Let's kaukau!! :D

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Spicy Hot Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks

BUFFALO DRUMSTIX 07JUN06 001

BUFFALO DRUMSTIX 07JUN06 005

My wife wanted drumsticks instead of wings if you're wondering...

:)

I haven't taken my wife to Hooter's yet and try their signature Buffalo Wings here in Hawaii but all my friends rave about how delicious the hotwings there are and as a gauge of authenticity. Another place here on Oahu is called Dirty Lickins and is supposed to be the most authentic buffallo wings you can find on the island. I bought my wife a few 15-piece plates a few months ago and from the very first taste she was hooked! I researched many variations of this recipe I came down with one that had all the ingredients in my kitchen pantry which made it easy.

Ingredients:

Enough Canola, vegetable, or corn oil for deep frying. Shortening may also be used.
40 chicken wings, and/or drummettes or 15 chicken drumsticks
2 teaspoons coarse kosher, Hawaiian rock, or sea salt

Dry Mixture
2 cups flour 1 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne pepper (hot!)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon MSG (optional)

Spicy Sauce

1 cup butter or margarine (low fat ok)
1 cup Tabasco sauce (more if you want more heat)
2 Tbsp white vinegar (more if you want more tang)
1 Tbsp Hunt's tomato ketchup (more for color)

Instructions:


  • Thaw frozen chicken pieces and soak in fresh water. Refresh water after thawed and add salt to create your salt brining solution. Soak chicken in brine for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes drain in colander and do not rinse.
  • Mix dry mixture ingredients in a mixing bowl with a wire wisk till blended well set aside.
  • Heat oil in large deep frying pan or wok to 350 degrees F. Dredge each chicken piece in dry mixture, shake excess flour off and add to hot oil one at a time. Be careful not to overcrowd the frying pan/wok. I fried the 15 drumsticks in 2 batches. Cook chicken for 15 minutes till golden brown and crisp.
  • Drain pieces on paper towels. While chicken is frying, bring the spicy sauce ingredients to a nice simmer in a big saucepan. Mix well with wire wisk. Bring about a consistency of Hollandaise sauce. The saucepan or wok should be large enough to fit all the fried chicken pieces.
  • Incorporate fried chicken into simmering sauce and coat evenly by tossing the pieces in the saucepan or wok. Ready to serve.
  • Serve with bleu cheese or ranch dressing and celery sticks to make a definite pupu platter winner!!
    Enjoy!! My wife did! Let's kaukau! :)

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Oven Smoked Pork BBQ Ribs












































Ingredients:

(2)Two meaty slabs fresh pork ribs

Smoke Marinade:
Liquid smoke
Fresh cracked black pepper
Coarse Hawaiian or Kosher rock salt
MSG (optional)

Dry Rub:
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Paprika powder
Onion powder

Procedure:

Remove as much of the thin membrane as you can from the bone side of the slabs and then wash them off and dry with paper towels. Rub ribs with a good amount of the smoke marinade and finally the dry rub. Allow them to stand at room temperature for about half an hour. If you can leave them over night, all the better.
Heat your oven to 250°. Lay ribs, bone side down, on racks and cook for about 5 hours or until the meat pulls away from the bone.

During the last ½ hour, you may choose to baste or mop the ribs with your favorite bbq sauce. If you use a thick barbeque sauce, cut it down with water so the sugar in the sauce doesn't burn and ruin all your hard work.

Enjoy!! :)

Monday, April 17, 2006

Oven Smoked Pulled Pork
















Ingredients:

Smoke Marinade:
(2)Two 8-10lb Boston Pork Butts or Pork shoulder
Liquid smoke
Fresh cracked black pepper
Coarse Hawaiian or Kosher rock salt
MSG (optional)

Dry Rub:
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Paprika powder
Onion powder

Procedure:

Rub 8-10 lb untrimmed shoulder or pork butts with a good amount of the smoke marinade. Don't skimp! Let it stand for 15-20 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. Place it, fat side up, in a large aluminum roasting pan and apply dry rub all over the meat. Don't be stingy! Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place butts in oven and cook for 10 to 12 hours, maintaining a temperature of 250 degrees F. Begin checking meat for doneness after 10 hours of cooking time. Use fork to check for doneness. Meat is done when it falls apart easily when pulling with a fork. Once done, remove from oven and set aside to rest for at least 1 hour. Pull meat apart with 2 forks or slice and serve as a sandwich with coleslaw and bbq sauce as desired.

We ate ours with steamed asparagus spears, brown rice, apple sauce and of course the bbq sauce!

Enjoy!

:)















Monday, April 10, 2006

Texas Oven Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket















Ingredients:

11-12 lb. beef brisket
Garlic powder
MSG (optional)
Paprika powder
Hawaiian coarse rock sea salt or Kosher salt
Fresh coarse cracked black pepper
Liquid Smoke
Barbecue sauce

Procedure:

Pour Liquid Smoke over brisket, placed in a aluminum foil pan then generously sprinkle garlic, paprika, MSG, salt, and black pepper.

Place the beef brisket in the refrigerator overnight, covered.

When ready to cook, sprinkle both sides of meat with all spices again. Oven "smoke" for 5 hours uncovered in a 250 degree oven (very slow oven). Place foil over top of meat and sides of pan so meat will lie in good juices while it cooks for another 5 hours. Then uncover meat and pour/brush barbecue sauce over it and bake one more hour. (Allow to cool at least 1 hour before slicing. May crumble if served hot.) Once the meat has cooked the suggested five hours, it will have the appearance of a large piece of charcoal. Don't be alarmed! Smell it. Pull off a sacrificial end piece and try it. Wow! How good is that? Sneak a piece of meat every now and then. When the strands fall apart, or the inside of the brisket reaches around 200°, your brisket is ready. :)

Cut brisket across the grain. Serve with barbecue sauce on the side. Try not to smother it with too much sauce. You still want to preserve the savory smoky tender slices. mmmmm yum!!

We ate it with brown rice and steamed asparagus spears and butter garlic steak mushrooms.

Enjoy!! :)
















Sunday, January 22, 2006

Pata Tim (Braised Oyster Sauce Pork Shank)















Ingredients:

1 pork leg shank and feet
Enough Canola oil for deep frying

Master Sauce Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced fine
2 inch knuckle of fresh ginger root, sliced lengthwise in half and crushed
4 star anise
1 cup soy sauce
2 cups water
1/2 cup whiskey or shaoxing wine
2 cinnamon sticks

Oyster Sauce Gravy Ingredients:

2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 cup water
1 Tbsp tapioca or corn starch with 1 cup of water mix well into a slurry.

Procedure:

Rinse and clean pork leg shank and feet.
Combine mastersauce ingredients and bring to a boil in a pot large enough to braise pork leg.
Place pork leg into pot and bring to a boil and turn down heat to a nice simmer. Braise meat for 2 hours or until tender. Baste every now and then.
Take out tender pieces of pork, drain and cool.
Heat Canola oil in wok for deep frying.
Deep fry leg until skin is brown and little crisp. Do not burn. Take out and drain excess oil.
Add deep fried pork leg into boiling hot water for 2 minutes to remove greasiness. Drain, cool and set aside.
In the wok add 1 cup water and oyster sauce and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and add tapioca starch slurry to thicken gravy.
Take pork leg and put in a serving dish that can be used in a steamer. Pour gravy over pork leg and place in steamer. Steam for one hour until pork leg is super tender and soft.
Garnish with Chinese parsley or cilantro.

Serve with hot steamed white rice

Enjoy!! :)

Friday, January 06, 2006

Okinawan Pig's Feet Soup (Ashi Tebichi)





























Ashi Tebichi

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs foreleg and pig's feet, pre-cut and cleaned
12 cups water
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, sliced
2 strips nishime kombu
8 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
8 medium daikon (turnip), peeled and cut into large chunks
1/4 cup soy sauce or miso
1 teaspoon Hawaiian salt
2 tablespoons sake or straight whiskey
1 small bunch mustard cabbage, parboiled and cut in 2-inch lengths (may substitute watercress or winter melon)
1 bunch chinese parsley or cilantro

Procedure:

The day before, cover pig's feet in water and bring to a rolling boil; drain and rinse. Return pig's feet to pot and cover with the 12 cups water. Boil for 10 minutes at high heat. Reduce heat to medium for 15 minutes, then add ginger. Cook 1 hour more until meat is tender. Refrigerate pig's feet and stock separately overnight.The next day, remove fat from refrigerated stock. Wash kombu; tie knots about 3 inches apart. Cut into sections. Soak shiitake in warm water with a pinch of sugar, 20 to 30 minutes. Reserve liquid; cut mushrooms into quarters, discarding stems.
Combine reserved mushroom water with enough stock to make 7 cups. Add pig's feet, kombu, mushrooms and daikon; cook 10 minutes. Add soy or miso, salt and sake; cover and simmer 1 hour, gently stirring 2 or 3 times.

Just before serving, add mustard cabbage. Grated ginger may be served as a condiment with chinese parsley or cilantro.

Serves 10-12

Enjoy!! :)
















Saturday, December 24, 2005

Hawaiian Pork Laulau Recipe
















Ingredients:

1 roll heavy duty aluminum foil
4-6 lbs fresh taro (lu'au) leaves, leaves deveined and stems peeled (cut into 1"x 1" pieces0
6 lbs of fresh or frozen pork butt cubed 1"x 1"
4 lbs of fresh or frozen belly pork cubed 1"x 1"
Hawaiian coarse rock or kosher salt
MSG (optional)
Fresh cracked black pepper
2-3 tier steamer pot or pressure cooker

Procedure:

Mix pork butt and belly pork fat in a mixing bowl. Add salt, Msg, and pepper. Mix and let stand for spices to marinate meat for about 30 minutes. Amount of spices to add is by pinches. You will have to adjust to your preference. Less is better.
Rinse leaves and stems and set aside in a separate bowl.
Precut foil sheets to approximately 8"x 10". Make as much sheets as needed or until you run out of meat and taro leaves.
You will be making little foil packages. Here goes.
On one foil sheet, place 2 taro leaves in center. Add 2 pieces of meat and fat (equal amounts). Add a few pieces of taro stems.
Continue by folding in leaves and foil into the center tightly to contain the meat and leaves. The foil package should be like the picture.
Traditional laulau making is hard work using Ti leaves in place of the foil and sometimes tied with butcher's twine. I learned this recipe from my good neighbor George Keala Sr. while growing up in Kalihi. He had his own luau catering business and told me why work harder when you can make easy "juicy" laulaus instead of typical dry ones you buy at the market or restaurants.
Fill steamer pot with water and as much laulaus you can fit into each tier. steam for 6 hours and keep replenishing water levels.
With a pressure cooker you need to fill with water to appropriate level and add laulaus. Bring pressure to 40 psi and cook for 1 hour.
Laulaus will come out juicy. Eat with steamed whit rice or traditional poi (Hawaiian style mashed taro paste). Our family loves it with tabasco and soy sauce.

Yields about 40-50 mini laulaus!!

Freeze the rest for easy quick meals.

Enjoy!!
:)












































Friday, November 18, 2005

Crispy Deep Fried Chicken Legs with a Turkey Fryer































































































































Ingredients:


20 lbs fresh whole chicken legs (drumstick and thigh section)
coarse Hawaiian rock or kosher salt
MSG (optional)
garlic powder
fresh cracked medium ground black pepper
enough peanut oil for deep frying


Instructions:

  1. Rinse chicken pieces and drain in colander.
  2. Place chicken into a big stainless steel mixing bowl and add warm water to cover chicken and 2 tablespoons of rocksalt to create your salt brine that will marinate the chicken through.
  3. Soak chicken for 30-45 mintes and drain again in colander.
  4. Add pepper, MSG, and garlic power. Sprinkle liberal amounts all over and mix chicken parts with clean hands.
  5. Heat peanut oil in turkey deep fryer. Use deep fryer thermometer and preheat to 400 degrees for 10 minutes and lower heat to 375 for the initial frying.
  6. Place seasoned chicken pieces into the deep fryer basket(do not overcrowd) and carefully lower into hot oil. Be cautious as oil will splatter. Wear heatproof mitts and cooking aprons and long metal thongs.
  7. When chicken is completely immersed in oil, cook chicken for 15-20 minutes or until cripsy and golden brown. Watch your timer. Lift out basket slowly from turkey cooker and drain chicken in basket.
  8. Take out chicken and place in serving pan to cool for 10 minutes
    for additional stand time. Chicken will still be cooking in the inside and steam itself nice and juicy. Deep fried turkey is a little bit more touchy because of the sheer size of a whole bird going into hot oil.

I'll post that recipe and pictures from the next family get together or coming up holiday occasion. This chicken is plain and simple. No flour or breading was used. The skin will be crispy and the meat inside will be moist and juicy. All you need is your favorite condiments like soy sauce, catsup, tabasco, lemon (kalamansi) juice and or barbecue sauce.
Everybody was suprised because a family member would usually bring KFC Original Recipe Chicken to gatherings. So clean crispy fried chicken was a delight to all.

So there you go. Let's kaukau!! Enjoy! :)