Winner, winner, it’s shrimp for dinner

Nearly a dozen food-focused high school teams participated in Aloun Farms’ Mahiai Culinary Competition. Leilehua High School’s Kapukawai Natividad and Guylen Shimabukuro (at left and right, respectively, in bottom left photo) took home the top prize for their winning dish: Crispy Kauai Shrimp with caramelized onion coconut soubise, served with smoky kamote and greens. The duo earned $2,500 for Leilehua’s culinary program.

Learn more at alounfarms.com.

Crispy Kauai Shrimp Ingredients for shrimp:

• 4 ounces Villa Frizzoni angel hair pasta

• 12 Kauai shrimp, peeled

• 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic, puréed

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger, puréed

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• Oil, for frying

Directions:

Boil a pot of salted water. Cook the pasta, 2-3 minutes. Drain; set aside. Toss shrimp, garlic, ginger, salt, sugar and white pepper in a bowl. Marinate for 30 minutes. Dredge shrimp in cornstarch; wrap noodles around shrimp until they’re encased. Fry shrimp in heated oil until noodles are crispy.

Ingredients for sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 large Aloun Farms sweet onion, sliced

• 1 ounce butter

• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 7 ounces coconut milk

• 1/2 cup water

• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

In a pan, heat olive oil.Add onions and cook over low heat. Set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add flour; cook for 1-2 minutes. In a bowl, combine water and coconut milk, then whisk into the flour mixture. Bring to a simmer.

Add ginger and salt; let simmer for 15-

20 minutes. Purée the sauce. Season as needed.

Ingredients for kamote:

• 1 pound sweet potato, peeled, cut into chunks

• 1 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 ounces olive oil

• 2 ounces water

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 ounces melted butter

• 4 ounces heavy cream, heated

• 4 ounces Aloun Farms kamote leaves, destemmed and blanched

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine sweet potato, liquid smoke, olive oil, salt and water. Toss.

Pour all ingredients into a baking pan. Cover with foil; bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven.

Transfer potato to a bowl, then mash. Halfway through mashing, add butter and cream. Mash until smooth.

Arrange blanched kamote leaves on a cutting board, overlapping the edges to create a 4-inch circular “mat.” Place 2-3 tablespoons of sweet potato mixture into a mound in the center of the leaves, then pull edges of the leaves up and over the top, forming an encased bundle of sweet potato.

Ingredients for tomato/onion salad:

• 12 Kauai shrimp heads (optional)

• 12 ounces assorted Ho Farms tomatoes, halved

• 1/2 Aloun Farms sweet onion, thinly sliced

• 4 stalks Aloun Farms green onion, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons Aloha shoyu

• 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil

• 1 Hawaiian chile pepper, minced

• 1/4 cup chopped Hawaiian Host macadamia nuts

Directions:

If using shrimp heads, roast them in a 375-degree oven approximately 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Squeeze the contents of the shrimp heads into a large bowl. Pour juices from the roasted shrimp into the bowl. Reserve the heads to fry as garnish.

Add remaining ingredients, except macadamia nuts, into the bowl. Toss; allow to marinate for at least 1 hour. Stir in nuts before serving.

Ahi poke musubi for the win

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, for all of October, The Kahala Hotel & Resort will donate a portion of sales from Plumeria Beach House’s fried ahi poke musubi ($25) — a local favorite — to Breast Cancer Hawaii.

Complete with sweet soy, ogo and Asian remoulade, the fried ahi poke musubi is available on Plumeria Beach House’s lunch and dinner menus.

This delectable starter is also part of the Sunday brunch TeiHoku at Hoku’s at The Kahala.

The resort will also donate a portion of the proceeds from its strawberry-flavored macadamia nuts ($34), available at Signature at The Kahala, to support Breast Cancer Hawaii.

For more information, visit kahalaresort.com and breastcancerhawaii.org.