When Tim Wong of Manoa makes a good breakfast, he cooks what his mother, Ava, would prepare for him: country ham and buttermilk biscuits.
Wong’s mother, Ava Lee Hayes, was a Tennessee native who followed her husband-to-be, Yan Tim Wong, to Hawaii in 1948. She worked as a lab technician at the Queen’s Medical Center for many years, while her husband was a psychiatrist and neurologist. Ava shared her love of country ham and biscuits with her two sons — my second cousins Tim and Tom — and the entire Wong clan.
Ava would order two or three hams each year directly from a producer and would hang them in their laundry room for up to 12 months. Before eating, it would be a major production to prepare. Wong remembers soaking whole 20-pound hams in water for three days to remove excess salt, then scrubbing off mold, followed by his father using a hacksaw to cut through the hambone.
Hawaii folks are familiar with “city ham,” which is labeled simply as “ham.” This version is milder and softer than a country ham.
“Hawaii people may find country ham tougher than what they are used to, but the flavor is stronger, saltier and just delicious,” Wong said. “Country ham has character and is robust. My dad’s side of the family would say it tastes like Yunnan ham from China.”
The Southern-style cured pork is unavailable for purchase in Hawaii.
Wong orders it from Burgers’ Smokehouse in Missouri and favors the type with the fabulous name “Attic Aged Uncooked Country Ham.” These hams are not smoked; they are aged for a “country year” of seven to nine months and cured with salt, brown sugar and black pepper.
They’re called “attic-aged” in a reference to practices back in the day when hams would be wrapped in burlap bags and literally hung in the attic during the coldest months to cure naturally.
There are many suppliers of smoked and nonsmoked hams. Wong’s son Alex mentions another favorite, Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Tennessee.
It’s simple to enjoy this style of meat. Wong orders the attic-aged ham already sliced and vacuum-sealed individually or in packs of two. The ham must be refrigerated. When he’s ready to prepare it, he slices it, trimming off fat and cutting out the bone.
There are two ways to prepare the slices. The traditional way involves simmering the ham in about an eighth of a cup of water in a skillet for about 10 minutes, turning it once and then cooking until the water has evaporated.
Another method involves cooking in a dry skillet on low. After one side is heated, the ham is flipped, then a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar is sprinkled on the slice. It is cooked until the sugar has caramelized.
Next came the biscuit-making. Ava taught her son, a retired director of engineering for BAE Systems, all the tricks of the trade.
Wong starts by mixing the dry ingredients and chilling them in the refrigerator. Next comes mixing in cold shortening and cold buttermilk.
As to creating individual biscuits, the goal is even pieces. The key: Avoid twisting the cutter.
“Go straight down, then straight up,” Wong said.
Baked for just 12-15 minutes, the resulting biscuits are tender yet do not crumble.
They are a perfect match for the robust ham, able to stand up to the salty, dense meat.
Although Ava Lee Wong died in 2006 at the age of 81, her Tennessee traditions continue when Tim and Alex Wong whip up breakfast.
“Mom used to serve the biscuits with country ham and sometimes added in eggs and even bacon,” said Tim Wong. When she paired the ham with buttermilk pancakes, maple syrup would replace the brown sugar.
Wong says the small slices in his packages of ham, too tiny to eat with biscuits, are put to other good uses: They are perfect in Portuguese bean soup and make for an amazing fried rice.
That’s another breakfast story.
Ava Lee Wong’s Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
Heat oven to 400 degrees. In bowl, mix flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder; chill 1/2 hour.
Cut in shortening until it is pea-sized. Stir in buttermilk, taking care not to over-mix. Rest dough a few minutes.
Lightly flour a board and use rolling pin to roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut biscuits using a 2-inch round cutter. Be careful to not twist the cutter, as this will make the biscuits uneven.
Bake on ungreased baking sheet 12-15 minutes until biscuits are lightly browned on top.
Cool on rack at least 5 minutes. Slice in half and make a sandwich with the country ham. Makes 12-15 biscuits.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per biscuit (based on 12 biscuits): 120 calories, 4.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 3 g protein
Lynette Lo Tom, author of “The Chinese Kitchen,” is fascinated by old-fashioned foods. Contact her at 275-3004 or via instagram at brightlightcookery. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.
