Home-cooked favorites fill our new ohana cookbook

This is the day when I try to sell you a cookbook. It is also the day (the first Wednesday of the month) when I present you with a new recipe for your slow cooker. Conveniently, these efforts converge.

Available for advance order: The Star-Advertiser’s latest cookbook, "Hawaii’s Ohana Cookbook," edited by food editor Joleen Oshiro and me, and produced in partnership with Mutual Publishing. Or I really should say it was a partnership between us and about 100 newspaper readers who sent us their favorite family recipes.

We’ve got all kinds of stuff in here: Chinese scallion pancakes, Samoan chop suey, Puerto Rican gandule rice,

Okinawan ohagi, Korean mandoo, Filipino ambrosia salad, Thai curry rice, French ratatouille, Hawaiian squid luau, Japanese konbu maki and no less than six versions of Portuguese bean soup (you’d be surprised how many ways there are to make this comfort dish).

Accompanying each is a story of a family’s connection to the recipe, one that often transcends generations.

The books will sell for $17.95 once they hit retail stores. Until Oct. 31, though, you can buy them for $13 (includes postage) or $10 if you pick up the book at Mutual, 1215 Center St. in Kaimuki. The order form is in an ad on Page D8 of today’s paper (if you miss it, the ad will run several times through the month in the Star-Advertiser and MidWeek). Or call 732-1709. For online orders go to www.mutualpublishing.com or email orders@mutualpublishing.com. Books will be available on Sept. 30.

A portion of the cover price goes to the Star-Advertiser’s Good Neighbor Fund, which supports families in need during the holidays.

This recipe is a sample from the cookbook. It comes from Steve Dung and is designed for the Crock Pot, making it perfect for my monthly series, "Slow Ono," which has been exploring local-style recipes for the slow cooker all year.

When submitting his recipe, Dung wrote: "The only time we would get sweet-sour pig’s feet was when someone had a baby," referring to the soup’s supposed curative properties. "Unfortunately, all of our friends and family are past the child-bearing age. The following is a simple recipe to have pig’s feet any time you have a craving."

It may seem like there’s a lot of vinegar and sugar in this recipe, but have faith. Dung has made it many times, adjusting the balance of sweet and sour, and the amount of ginger, to his family’s tastes. He says the sauce that results from slow cooking is good enough to be sipped as soup.

SIMPLE CROCK POT PIG’S FEET

6 to 7 pounds pig’s feet
2 20-ounce bottles black vinegar (see note)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 16-ounce package brown candy sugar (see note)
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 pound ginger, sliced or crushed

Parboil pig’s feet 45 minutes, skimming impurities. Rinse clean and drain (this can be done the night before).

Put vinegars and sugars in slow cooker (break up pieces of brown candy sugar). Add pig’s feet and ginger. Cook on low eight hours. Serves 6.

Nutritional information (based on 6 pounds of pig’s feet per recipe, and 1/3 cup of sauce per serving): 630 calories, 25 g total fat, 7 g saturated fat, 165 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 50 g sugar, 35 g protein

Note: Black vinegar (a dark, rich vinegar made from fermented rice) and brown sugar candy (also called wong tong or Chinese brown sugar) may be found in Chinatown markets. Adjust the sweet-sour balance to your taste.

Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Email Betty Shimabukuro at bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4768. Write “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813.