Seafood Farmer's Market in Kona

On Friday April 29th I attended the National Energy Labs Hawaii second Seafood Farmer's Market. It was 100% local and 100% awesome. It is billed as the first market of eco friendly sustainably raised seafood in the world. Another first for Hawaii. Lucky us!

Chef Olelo pa'a Faith Ogawa gave a demonstration on cooking the beautiful farmed abalone in a browned butter sauce. This is a technique that I took home with my abalone and recreated for an appetizer. Simply, you take butter, add garlic and shallots, then some chopped parsley, some capers and then a bit of white wine. Simmer to reduce the sauce slightly then toss in the sauteed slices of pounded abalone. The abalone was pounded and then dipped in flour and an egg wash before being flash fried in canola oil. 

The prawns I bought were the main star of my dinner. I marinated them in a sate marinade and  then grilled them and served them on bamboo rice. I did the abalone as an appetizer and started a collection of the shells. 

This market is a service to the local community and an astounding 2000 people showed up for the first one in April, which surprised the vendors so much they ran out of seafood. Now the market also features local produce, honey and other products. Mark your calendar for the last Friday of the month. Get there early! 

There are many vendors that I regularly buy from at NELHA (aside from the market) and there are tours of various vendors there during the month. Click here to see what is available to the public.