Japanese-Style Pork and Vegetable Rolls (Butaniku no Yasaimaki)

Last Saturday, after a frustrating and ultimately fruitless four-hour search for tuk trey, tuk prahoc, and kroeung that involved driving around half of Oahu and even calling a Cambodian restaurant, I was left with no energy to cook dinner, too many random ingredients I didn't have the imagination to deal with, and little appetite. Luckily, my wife had been out shoe shopping for much of the day and came home in a good mood. (Shoe shopping often has this effect on her.) She was also hungry. Seeing that I'd turned into a crabby blob in her absence and wasn't about to budge from the couch, she took it upon herself to dig through our refrigerator to see what she could whip up.

For the record, let me state that I almost never get in bad moods. I'm one of those types who's always happy and optimistic (but not annoyingly so). On this day, however, I slipped over to the dark side. But once I heard the sounds of energetic chopping and popping, sizzling grease, I instantly perked up and got off my butt to see what was cooking in the kitchen. At a glance, my bad mood disappeared, and when I also saw that our fridge still had two bottles of Kirin Beer left I rejoiced at the sudden turn of events.

The following recipe is really very easy. Even I, unschooled in any sort of serious Japanese cooking, could whip this up without incident. This is similar to the tonkatsu dishes one normally comes across in Japanese restaurants, but it's technically not tonkatsu at all. Also, while the addition of veggies are healthy, this dish is definitely worth serving with a green salad or some sliced tomatoes.

Ingredients

1 medium green pepper, sliced thinly

16-20 green beans, halved

1 carrot, slivered into 2-in. pieces

1 lb. lean, thin-cut pork

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup Japanese panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Preparation

1. Cut the vegetables as described above (and pictured below). 

2. Collect a small portion of vegetables and wrap with one strip of pork at a slight angle to cover them.

3. Sprinkle the rolls with flour, then dip them in a bowl of beaten eggs that has a dash of salt and pepper mixed in, and then coat with panko.

4. Place pork and veggie rolls in hot oil, up to four at a time (or as your pan or wok or frier allows).

5. When browned (after 5-7 mins; you'll know when they're done by the smell of cooked pork wafting into your face) remove from oil and drain on paper towel or newspaper.

6. Serve hot with Bull-Dog tonkatsu sauce and a dollop of Dijon spicy mustard for dipping.

Oh, and if you happen to have an extra lime on hand, feel free to give it a squeeze over your hot butaniku no yasaimaki.

Make Way for Trung Nguyen

Lately, as I consider my career direction and the options I currently have, I can’t help thinking how satisfying it would be to open and operate my own café. In fact, I got pretty close to doing this back in 2005 when I flew from Saigon to Osaka, Japan, and convinced the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to support my plan to open a “writer’s café” in Kyoto. I had a 50-page business plan and was looking forward to running the café out of a traditional wooden townhouse called a machiya.

Wouldn't it be nice to have your morning coffee in a place like this?

Ah, but it wasn’t meant to be. At least not in 2005. Maybe it was good that I didn’t go forward with it, seeing how the global economic situation has migrated south and will probably remain there for at least a couple more years. In Hawaii it doesn’t make sense to consider opening a writer’s café since commercial rents are through the roof and hardly anyone here seems to have a serious enough interest in writing to support this particular concept. (Or maybe they do have the interest but must work so much to afford living here that they’d never patronize it.)

All this leads me toward the subject of coffee.

I’m not a huge coffee drinker, though that’s less a matter of choice than it is of constitution. I love the stuff, but can’t handle more than two cups of it a day, and usually make do with a single, steaming mug of it in the morning. Like many people I know, my coffee habit began in college. Back then I always drank it with milk and sugar, but when I moved to Vietnam I immediately got hooked on it with plenty of white sugary sludge mixed in – sweetened condensed milk, in other words.

In the last few years, however, I’ve learned to drink it black. Now that I have it this way, I'm convinced that this is how coffee is meant to be enjoyed -- with nothing to interfere with the full-bodied flavor of roasted ground beans. I don’t drink any of the specialty items that Starbucks has come up with, as they’re so dressed up that they resemble desserts in paper cups more than anything else. And for the $5 I have to pony up for one of them I could just as easily buy an entire three-week supply of what I consider to be the best coffee available to me in Hawaii: Trung Nguyen (pronounced choong win).

(What about Kona coffee? For me, it’s too acidic and short on flavor, and I can’t justify paying so much for it. Unless I want a 10% Kona blend, which I don't -- ever -- the real thing costs between five and seven times what I pay for Vietnamese coffee.)

If you haven’t tried Trung Nguyen coffee, you really should make a point to if it's available where you live. In Honolulu, the only place I've found it is in Chinatown, but since there are so many Vietnamese groceries and foodstuffs there it's easily found. Trung Nguyen is strong stuff, somewhere between regular black coffee and straight espresso, which is why it goes so beautifully with sweetened condensed milk (and yes, I do make exceptions and drink this sometimes!). Rather than having to settle for the unsatisfying combination of sugary milk and weak coffee, you get complementary flavors that you just can’t get with anything else.

In Vietnam, Trung Nguyen's drinks menu is extensive; their list of coffees not only has translations of the kinds of beans that are used but also a thorough description of how they're expressed on the palate. Trung Nguyen is also famous for ca phe chon, or “civet coffee.” It's said that some coffee plantations actually feed civets coffee beans and then collect the partially digested remains from the animals' excrement and use them for this specialized blend, though Trung Nguyen's website explains that this is a former practice, not a current one. In any case, ca phe chon is robust, deeply bitter, and, yes, also quite clean. It goes best with sweetened condensed milk, becoming almost chocolaty when the two are combined, and is the most expensive item in the Trung Nguyen coffee line. Although I just finished my last ca phe chon from a recent trip to Vietnam, I’m not at all unhappy to return to the more quotidian “Gourmet Blend.”

$5 will buy you 500 g (1.1 lbs) of Vietnamese coffee

It’s worth noting that Trung Nguyen has cleared room for itself in the crowded café landscapes of Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, and Thailand, and I’m sure that it’s only a matter of time before we see it in LA and NYC…and doing extremely well in those places. In Vietnam, Trung Nguyen is seemingly everywhere, running the gamut from provincial holes-in-the-wall to seriously upscale and hip coffeehouses. Other competitors like Highlands Café, though consistently upscale themselves, just don’t compare (although Highlands does serve beer, which earns it an upward tick on my review scale).

Trung Nguyen Cafe on Tran Hung Dao Street in District One, Saigon

Highlands Cafe in District Seven, Saigon

For directions on how to make Vietnamese coffee with a Vietnamese slow-drip filter, visit this comprehensive blog entry at Wandering Chopsticks:

http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2007/03/ca-phe-sua-da-ca-phe-sua-nong.html

A regular coffee maker should work just as well as a one-cup filter, though you'll want to experiment at first with how much coffee you use. My only word of advice is to forego Café Du Monde’s “French Roast with Chicory” blend, which the above link recommends, and which virtually every Vietnamese restaurant in the U.S. uses, and opt instead for Trung Nguyen. I think you'll find that there’s a world of difference between the two.

Ca phe sua da at a Trung Nguyen Cafe in Saigon

"Awards"

The last few weeks have been a little more distracting to me than usual, largely because I'm considering a job in Taiwan that could start as soon as late May. Ah, life is seldom simple. Complicated, yes, but also fairly interesting when looked at in retrospection. In any event, before I forget, I want to take a moment here to thank three bloggers for the awards they passed on to me last week.

I received the “Friends Award” simultaneously from Selba at http://selbyfood.blogspot.com and Sophie at http://sophiesfoodiefiles.blogspot.com. If you haven’t visited their websites yet -- both are two of my favorites on the food blogosphere -- please make sure to do so. Selba and Sophie are wonderful at what they do, and they’re more than equal to the “friend” appellation of this award. Thank you!


I also received an award from Kristy at http://thewickednoodle.com, which is a new and brilliant website featuring all kinds of recipes, videos, tips, deals, and other goodies. I should start by saying that I’ve never been embraced into any sort of sisterhood in my life, which makes this award all the more interesting for me. Yes, I’ve been honored with the gratifying, if unlikely, “Sisterhood Award.” Thank you, Kristy!


I appreciate both awards very much, as well as the support and positive feedback I’ve been lucky enough to get over the last few months, all of which motivates me in my desire to create something interesting and unique with my website.

Sapuche

In Hawaii, Innovation Makes an Old Food More Ono

Poke anyone?

Most of my mainland friends have never heard of poke, and when I tell them what it is, they give me bewildered looks. “It sounds Japanese,” they say. When I respond that it’s Hawaiian, they look at me askance and ask if I’m sure it’s not Japanese. “I’m sure,” I reply, knowing there’s little chance of introducing them to this signature Hawaiian dish unless they hop on a plane and fly here.

How is that sushi has made inroads into nearly every corner of the country, available in such unlikely places as rural Midwestern convenience stores, whereas poke, from a state that welcomes nearly eight million annual visitors, largely remains unknown? Poke marries with other ingredients in more varying, interesting, and successful ways than raw fish by itself ever could.

Poke, described by some as a “fish salad,” is popularly conceptualized as cubed fish mixed with Hawaiian salt, chili pepper, and limu (a crunchy, edible Hawaiian seaweed). Its origins can also be traced back centuries, and represents an important ingredient to native Hawaiian identity. In the words of Justin Tanioka, General Manager of Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering, “Poke is a continuation of the past, a continuation of a Hawaiian food tradition.” Many visitors to Hawaii compare it with sashimi (“raw fish” in Japanese), but I find the comparison off target. Poke, which can also be seared, cooked, or even made from meat and vegetables, is a completely different eating experience from sashimi.

An ingredients list for poke sometimes reads to me, a relative newcomer to Hawaii, like a field guide to the Islands. Here’s a quick rundown of some common Hawaiian words you may encounter when shopping for poke: ahi (yellowfin tuna), aku (skip jack tuna), a’u (marlin), ‘inamona (roasted, pulverized kukui nuts mixed with sea salt), limu kohu (a red, spicy seaweed), limu manauea (a red-green seaweed with a mild taste), ‘opihi (limpets), and pa’akai (sea salt used in traditional food preparation and for flavoring).

One of poke’s biggest enthusiasts is world-renowned chef Sam Choy. Choy has been instrumental in popularizing Island cuisine, and even hosts the Sam Choy Poke Contest, which attracts scores of entrants, hundreds of attendees, and publicity from all over the world. Despite his and others’ efforts, however, poke remains little known outside Hawaii.

Poke selection at Tamashiro Market

Oahu’s best-known poke seller is Tamashiro Market, which has become a local institution since moving into its current salmon-colored building (and hanging a giant, plastic red crab twenty feet above its entrance) in 1962. Located in Kalihi, a working-class, immigrant neighborhood once famed for its many fishponds, Tamashiro Market specializes in fresh fish. A counter inside offers more than thirty kinds of poke, while its owner, Guy Tamashiro, creates new ones all the time. One of his latest creations, the Ahi Seaweed Supreme, is a laboriously constructed bricolage of dehydrated limu, deep-fried wonton strips, nori (dried Japanese seaweed), and a sauce made from twenty different ingredients.

One of my all-time favorites here is Surf Clam Poke. For me, the slightly sweet sauce and three distinct crunches, from the sliced Maui onions, green and bell peppers, and firm, lightly cooked meat of the clams, make the dish. Their most surprising poke is a Tahitian-inspired dish called Oka Poke: Pacific blue marlin marinated in coconut milk, with chopped tomato, onions, and crunchy cucumber wafers.

Oka Poke

When I crave smoked, dried, or cured flavors, I head to Tanioka’s in Waipahu and jostle with multiethnic throngs of grannies and high school kids to place my order. My three favorite poke here are Pipikaula Poke (russety strips of Hawaiian salt-cured beef), Smoked Salmon Poke (fishy, oniony, and delicately smoky) and Dried Ahi Poke (luxuriously dark niblets of yellowfin tuna). These briny morsels are washed down perfectly with a tall cold one, or, as my mood sometimes dictates, chilled sake.

Pipikaula Poke

Just down the road from Tanioka’s, Poke Stop offers what could fairly be called Oahu’s most innovative poke. Owned and operated by Elmer Guzman, former executive chef at Sam Choy’s and author of The Shoreline Chef, Poke Stop expands on traditional poke recipes by applying gourmet concepts to it.

Poke selection at Tanioka's Seafood & Catering

“Poke must have certain elements,” Guzman explains. “The most basic version uses salt, kukui nuts, and ogo (limu manauea). That was all the ancients had available for their poke. Nowadays you can use anything – as long as it makes sense.” Guzman’s Blackened Ahi, Tofu, Ginger Scallion Shrimp, and Kapakahi were the most memorable poke dishes of a recent Poke Stop feast. The Kapakahi Poke won me over, though, with its sweet, marbly hunks of ahi and creamy, faintly bitter limpets.

Kapakahi Poke

There’s a richness to poke that lingers after eating. This comes from the fat of the fish as well as the marinade, which is typically made from sesame oil. When combined with Hawaiian sea salt, the mix can render poke quite savory. The other day, my wife and I tried ten kinds of poke at Tamashiro Market. With steamed rice and some okra that we boiled at home, our poke dinner was satisfyingly filling and cost less than eighteen dollars. What’s more, we had enough leftover for lunch the next day.

“Everything has to be consistent,” Justin Tanioka said when I asked if there’s a secret to making good poke. “Obviously, the quality and freshness of your ingredients is key. Different fish also have different flavors, and even the same kind of fish doesn’t always taste the same. So you have to be aware of what you’re using and how your ingredients can complement it.”

For a nutritious, filling snack, poke is a low-fat, high-protein option. Ahi and aku, the most popular fish used in poke, are great sources of Vitamin B12, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, and Selenium, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. A four-ounce serving of either tuna variety measures in at less than 200 calories. While poke tends to be salty, salt is what draws much of the flavor onto the fish.

Ginger Scallion Poke

Poke remains inexpensive despite its popularity and the innovations that have changed how people think of it. One reason for this is that poke traditionally uses “economy” cuts of fish, minus the sinew. Back when he was a boy, Guzman most often ate poke made from akule (big-eye scad) – “poor man’s poke,” he says, “that my father made at home.” Now, by filleting it, dicing it up with shoyu, sesame oil, and chili flakes, he’s made akule a big-seller. Guzman admits that his modern take on poke didn’t work at first. “But once people understood what I was doing,” he says, “using higher-end ingredients and innovating on old ideas, they really went for it.”

Eating poke is like nibbling on the ocean itself. That's another difference between poke and sashimi: poke brings the taste of the ocean more intensely onto your plate. And the taste, as Justin Tanioka explained, is hardly uniform. The contrasts between, say, ahi onion poke, blackened ahi poke, and dried ahi poke will make you think that you’re eating completely different fish.

“For me,” Guy Tamashiro says, “one of life’s great joys is eating. I don’t ever want to lose my sense of taste. I’ve been eating poke since I was a kid and don’t want to give it up now. I just couldn’t live like that.”

When I ask why people who have never had poke should give it a try, he sighs as if he knows about my food-challenged friends. “Any food is worth trying at least once,” he says. “And you should do it for yourself because, who knows, you may discover a favorite dish. New textures, new tastes, new combinations of different ingredients. You should never be afraid to try something new. That’s what life’s all about.”

And that’s what I discover all the time in Hawaii. With such a magnificent blend of cultures, one’s food choices here are more varied than just about anywhere else in the world. Newcomers to Hawaii should not view poke as a dangerous leap into the unknown. For those who arrive with an interest in Island culture, it offers an easy and exciting entrée into what feeds it.

Where to get poke in Oahu:

Tamashiro Market: You’ll find over thirty kinds of poke here along with everything you need to make your own. Excellent quality and very affordable. 802 N. King Street. (808) 841-8047.

Poke Stop: Like the name says, a great place to stop for some of Hawaii’s best poke. A little off the beaten track, but well within reach if you find yourself at Pearl Harbor or bargain-shopping at the Waikele Outlet Mall. 94-050 Farrington Highway, Waipahu Town Center. (808) 676-8100. (www.elmerguzman.com)

Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering: Anyone in Hawaii will assure you that quantity does not take precedence over freshness and quality here. While a bit far from Honolulu, it’s just up the road from Poke Stop. 94-903 Farrington Highway, Waipahu. (808) 671-3779. (www.taniokas.com)

House Without a Key (Halekalani Hotel): Although expensive, you can get a scrumptious Island Style Ahi Poke “Martini” ($18) served on a bed of shiso (perilla) leaves and garnished with lumi, sesame seeds, chopped green onions, and radish sprouts wrapped in pickled ginger. The oceanside seating makes for a perfect place to savor your poke as the sun sets and live Hawaiian music takes the stage beneath an ancient Kiawe tree. 2199 Kalia Road, Waikiki. (808) 923-2311. (www.halekulani.com)

Island Style Ahi Poke "Martini" with taro chips