For Kealoha Domingo, a cultural practitioner who specializes in Hawaiian cuisine, Thanksgiving resembles makahiki, the traditionally monthslong Hawaiian celebration.
“You spend makahiki with family,” he said. “It’s when you reap the harvest of all the work and effort you put forth throughout the year.”
Domingo, 44, says he likes to cook food that is similar to what his ancestors ate, but he modernizes techniques to make it friendly for today’s cooks.
His opah belly poached in coconut water is a prime example, and one that offers a way to localize a Thanksgiving offering for the potluck table.
Domingo prepares the fish “lawalu style,” wrapped in ti leaf. Though his ancestors would probably have steamed it over an open fire, he says the dish can be prepared in an oven or on a stove-top. His modern interpretation also includes a coconut milk-butter sauce, drizzled over the dish.
Domingo’s rule of thumb when cooking is “e ai ka mea loaa.” “It means to use what you got,” he said. “That ties in with Thanksgiving, to be thankful for what you have.”
Wai Niu Poached I‘a Lawalu with Niu Haohao Butter Sauce
2 4-ounce pieces opah belly or other pelagic fish
» 1 teaspoon Hawaiian salt, plus more for sprinkling
» 2 ti leaves, deribbed
» 4 cups coconut water
» 4 to 8 slices fresh ginger
» 1 lemongrass stalk
» 2 teaspoons inamona (ground roasted kukui nuts; available at Tamashiro Market and Nico’s Fish Market)
» Scallions or microgreens, for garnish
Niu Haohao Butter Sauce:
» 12 ounces coconut milk
» 2 tablespoons salted butter
» Pinch Hawaiian salt
Sprinkle fish lightly with salt and wrap in ti leaf, securing with a single knot using stem. Set aside.
In pot, add coconut water with ginger, lemongrass and 1 teaspoon salt, and bring to a slow boil. Carefully add wrapped fish and cover pot. Check fish after 15 minutes. It should be fork tender.
Meanwhile, make butter sauce: Slowly heat coconut milk, being careful not to scald or overheat and curdle milk. Slowly whisk in butter and finish with salt.
Unwrap cooked fish and plate. Cover with butter sauce and garnish with inamona and thinly sliced scallions or microgreens. Serves 2.
Approximate nutritional information (based on 2 appetizer servings with 2 tablespoons sauce each): 380 calories, 22 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, greater than 1500 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 13 g sugar, 28 g protein
Macrobiotic chef Kathy Maddux offers a localized Thanksgiving side of stuffed kabocha filled with ulu (breadfruit), kalo (taro), onion and celery.
The healthful vegan dish, which can be served in lieu of traditional stuffing, “really smells like Thanksgiving” thanks to some fresh sage, said Maddux, 69, who cooks for farm-related events at Mohala Farms in Waialua.
“It reflects my style of cooking because it’s local, seasonal, has no dairy or meat and not a lot of oil.”
Stuffed Kabocha
» 1 3- to 4-pound kabocha, scrubbed clean
Filling:
» 1 tablespoon oil
» 1 cup diced onion
» 1 cup diced celery
» 1/2 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
» 1 cup diced, steamed mature breadfruit (firm but slightly soft to the touch)
» 3/4 cup cooked taro
» 1 tablespoon fresh minced sage
» 2 to 3 sprigs parsley, minced
» Fresh black pepper, to taste
» 1/3 cup dried tart cherries or 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
» 1 cup vegetable broth (organic if possible)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice off top of kabocha to form a lid, then seed cavity. Set aside.
In pot, heat oil and saute onion and celery with 2 pinches salt, 1 to 2 minutes. Add breadfruit, taro, sage, parsley, rest of salt, pepper and cherries or cranberries. Stir to combine.
Add 1/2 cup broth. Filling should be moist; add more broth as necessary. Cook 2 minutes.
Fill kabocha with filling, packing loosely. Place lid back on top, place in casserole dish filled with 1/4-inch water. Bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until kabocha is easily pierced with a fork.
If there is excess stuffing, place in another prepared casserole dish, add more stock to further moisten, then cover with parchment and bake 15 to 20 minutes. Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 8 servings): 120 calories, 2 g fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 2 g protein
Chef Mark “Gooch” Noguchi of Pili Group said he once whipped up a poha berry sauce to replace cranberries during Thanksgiving on the Big Island, where poha is abundant. An apple orchard was nearby, so he combined the two fruits and added some citrus.
“I had no idea how it would come out, but it came out great,” he quipped.
Apples provided the texture and structure because the poha eventually melted away. The citrus added dimension.
Other local options: ohelo berries and pineapple. Here, Noguchi, 40, provides a recipe for the latter. It calls for lemon juice and lime peel, and spices of nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
Pineapple Sauce
» 1/4 cup sugar
» Dash lemon juice
» 1 pineapple, half chopped and other half small-diced
» 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
» 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
» 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
» 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
» 4 slices lime peel
» 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
» 1/4 cup chopped mint
In heavy pot on medium heat, add sugar and lemon juice. Melt and caramelize sugar. Stir occasionally to prevent burning but don’t over-stir, which will cause crystallization (lemon juice prevents this). If crystals develop, brush down sides of pot with pastry brush and small amounts of water.
Add chopped pineapple. When liquid starts bubbling, turn down heat to low. Add vanilla pod and beans, and all the spices. Stir. Add lime peel. Stir.
Cook down until liquid evaporates. Add rice wine vinegar and cook 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool. Remove vanilla bean and lime peel. Add diced pineapple. Fold in mint. Makes about 4 cups.
Approximate nutritional information, per 1/4 cup serving: 40 calories, 11 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 9 g sugar, no fat, cholesterol, sodium or protein
Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., a nutritionist in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii-Manoa.
