Wordless Wednesday: Wild Hydrangeas

Ribs Extraordinaire

I am going to call this recipe "Cheating the Cheat".  I got the original concept from Sam Sifton who among other things (like being the chief restaurant reviewer for the Times) does a column in the New York Times Sunday Magazine called The Cheat. It has long been one of my favorite things. He goes to a restaurant and deconstructs the food that he thinks is most delicious. Sometimes he gets a little help in the way of hints from the chefs, more recently this is true. I have a dog eared copy of a recipe he did for brined pork chops with glazed apples that is at least 6 years old. This is literally how I learned to cook. I would go to a restaurant and taste... then I was most often able to replicate flavors and textures. All of this intuition was of course backed up by technique and skills that I learned along the way, but the ability to figure out the things that really make a dish unique are somewhere in my DNA. Of course Mr. Sifton takes it to a whole new level... because he is none other than Sam Sifton whom I humbly revere.

In a recent "Cheat" article he explored ribs... really wonderful ribs, Malaysian style and perfectly cooked. The restaurant he reviewed earlier and had a lust for the ribs from was "Fatty Cue" in Brooklyn. The Chef/Owner there, Zachary Pleaccio had recently made a trip to Malaysia in search of inspiration for his food. His theme is: "The appeal of “strong cocktails, chili, palm sugar and smoky fat.” All of those elements appeal very much to me. You can read Mr. Sifton's review of Fatty Cue here. Warning, unless you are a vegetarian, this is going to make you salivate incessantly and inspire you to buy a ticket on the next plane to New York. 


Here is what I have learned about really great ribs: 

#1 You do NOT want fall off the bone ribs, those are ribs smothered and cooked in a way that loses much of the flavor and all of the bite of a good rib.
#2 When smoking (my favorite way to do ribs) you need to take time, do it slowly and in the end, you must have a smoke ring when you bite into it.
#3 My favorite ribs are those cooked with Malaysian/Asian elements.
#4 Sauce is good, but it is not the key element and I usually do not sauce my ribs, but serve sauce on the side, though these ribs end up being lacquered with a glaze at the end of the cooking process.

Mr. Sifton's recipe included all of those elements ~ and so I knew I would love these ribs. He did not use a smoker, but a grill. I have and love my Digitally controlled Bradley Smoker, so I used it, but this can also be done using the indirect method on a grill and with a smoke box in the grill. I did finish my ribs off on the grill, just to get a nice char on the exterior.

And, so here is the recipe. There is some wiggle room if you want to personalize it, but one thing you cannot remove or change is the element of the Fish Sauce. Three Crabs being the preferred brand. This takes an entire day to do. I added the star anise, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves,. chiles and increased a few things like the amount of garlic. This makes a lot of brine, I halved the recipe because I was using just one rack of ribs, this formula would work for two racks, maybe even three if you cut them up into sections as I did.

Recipe: Fatty 'Cue Spare Ribs (slightly altered)

2 cups fish sauce (preferably Three Crabs brand; see note)

10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

2 medium shallots, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

3 whole star anise

4 kaffir lime leaves

1-2 fresh hot chiles cut in half (seeds intact)

2 stalks of lemon grass, bruised and tied in a knot

1/2 cup sugar

2 racks pork spare ribs (I used meaty back ribs)

2 tablespoons toasted and ground Indonesian long pepper, or to taste (see note)

6 ounces palm sugar (see note)

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups fish sauce with the garlic, shallot, lemon grass, kaffir lime, star anise, chile, black pepper and sugar in a large pot. Add at least a gallon of water, then cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, place in a nonreactive container and chill. Place the ribs in the brine for at least 6 hours and no longer than 12.

2. Remove the ribs from the brine and dust lightly with ground Indonesian long pepper.

* Steps 3 & 4 were replaced by me using my digital smoker. I just set it on 220 degrees, put the Jim Beam Whiskey Barrel Wood disks in and let it go. If you do not have a smoker that you can control the heat with , use steps 3 & 4. I did char the ribs on the grill. 

3. In a grill with a cover, build a small fire to one side, making sure all the wood or charcoal becomes engulfed in flame. When the flames begin to die down, leaving flickering coals, place the ribs on the grill on the side without fire. Do not let the flames touch the meat at any time.

4. Cover the grill, vent slightly and cook, checking the fire every 30 minutes or so and adding a bit more fuel as necessary, for about 5 hours at around 220 degrees, until the meat recedes from the bone and its internal temperature is at least 170 degrees but no more than 180.

5. Meanwhile, make a glaze. Combine the palm sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small pot over a medium flame, and heat until the sugar melts. Combine that simple syrup with the remaining 1/2 cup fish sauce.

6. When the ribs are ready, glaze lightly and sear on the grill for about 5 mintues, then heavily glaze them again and serve. I served them with grilled corn on the cob, grilled smashed potatoes and parsley carrots. Salad on the side. Asian Slaw would be great with them too. 

Serves 4 to 6. Adapted from Robbie Richter and Zakary Pelaccio.

Note: Three Crabs fish sauce, long pepper and palm sugar can be found at most Asian Markets or at Amazon.com or Kalustyans.com.

Wordless Wednesday: Seven Sunrises

ACF Chef's Luncheon at Keauhou

Last week, the Kona Kohala Chef's Association had their monthly luncheon meeting at the Keauhou Beach Resort. Chef Cy Yamamoto put on quite the spread featuring an abundance of local products from Hawaii Island.

It started off with a talk in the kitchen by Chef Cy and his former boss, Chef Trask. They discussed sourcing and utilizing local products. Some of which were Hamakua Mushrooms, Ohelo Berries & Kuahiwi Ranch Premium Free-range Island Beef.

The menu for the luncheon included a Big Island Bounty Salad and Tropical Fruit Bar featuring an array of fresh and grilled island produce with an assortment of condiments and Mango Raspberry Vinaigrette.

The Entrees were Ono with Mango Basil Burre Blanc, Grilled Ginger Scented Chicken with Asian Ohelo Berry Caramel Butter Sauce and Roasted Kona Coffee Seasoned Kuahiwi Ranch Premium Free-range Island Beef with Sweet Soy Hamakua Mushroom Ragout served with Ying and Yang Potato Mash (purple and white mashed potatoes.)

Dessert was an Ohelo Berry Upside Down Cake with a Caramel Sauce.

Home Made Maraschino Cherries

I am tired of ingesting sappy sweet maraschino cherries loaded with red dye #3. I want some *real cherries* for my manhattans and Mai Tais! And so, I made Home Made Maraschino Cherries. Now, there are two ways to make them (that I know of) and one of them requires sourcing something I have not been able to find on the big island of Hawaii; Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur I am sure that someday I will find a bottle (hint hint to my friends on the mainland) and then I will make a batch of those cherries. Meanwhile, I have never tasted a spiked cherry, so why not just make them the old fashioned way? Basically this involves taking fresh cherries at their peak, creating a syrup adding some spices and flavors that will compliment the cherries, then simmering the cherries lightly in the syrup without really cooking them completely. This enables the flavors of the syrup to penetrate the cherries and still retains the texture of a fresh cherry. 

This recipe is simple and can be completed in the space of an hour. I am sure that when the cherries have been soaking in the syrup even longer, they will be even tastier. I did not pit the cherries and I left the stems in tact. You will need a large jar or container to store the cherries in. They do need to be refrigerated. The alternative of course is to process the cherries, but then they would lose so much of their fresh taste and texture. 

Which would you rather have? 

These cherries are not just good... they are DAMN GOOD! Try it, really, it is so worth it! 


Home Made Maraschino Cherries

2 cups pomegranate juice (use 100 percent juice)

1 cup sugar

3 1/2 ounces fresh lemon juice (from approximately 3 lemons)

Pinch of salt

3 whole pieces star anise

8 whole cloves

1 pound sweet cherries 

1 teaspoon almond extract

In a nonreactive saucepan, add juice, sugar, lemon juice, salt, cloves and star anise. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the cherries and almond extract. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes or until the cherries have exuded some of their juice and the syrup has taken on a distinctly cherry flavor. Be careful not to overcook. The point is not to actually cook the cherries, but to heat them in the syrup just long enough to bring out their essence.

Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the cherries and the syrup to a bowl a container with a tight-fitting lid, cover tightly, and refrigerate. The longer the cherries steep, the more flavorful they will become.

Ultimate Manhattan

I had my first Manhattan at the bar of Tavern on the Green on my first trip to New York in 1997. I 've loved them ever since. I have returned to Manhattan several times since then, both in my heart and in person, I always order Manhattans when I am there.  It's a sophisticated, strong and simple cocktail, and the ultimate showcase for as many maraschino cherries as you care to pack into your glass. The proportions are 2:1 

Makes 1 drink

3 ounces whiskey or rye

11/2 ounces sweet vermouth

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

Maraschino cherries, for garnish

In a double old fashioned glass, add the whiskey, vermouth and bitters, stir. Garnish with maraschino cherries and serve on the rocks. The drink can also be served straight up by using a cocktail shaker and straining into a martini glass. 

So, after an afternoon photo shoot, I am left with a nicely iced Manhattan at 3:00 in the afternoon.  Oh well, it is 9 pm in Manhattan right now. I may as well be there in my mind. Salute!

Simple Local Dinner~ Grilled Ono and Bok Choy

I got some great Ono (local fish, also known as Hawaiian Wahoo) steaks and grilled them up, stir fried some bok choy that I bought from my "plantain lady" at the Hilo Farmer's Market and smashed a few fingerling potatoes and grilled them along with the fish. 


Ono is a realative of the King Mackerel. The flesh of the ono is whiter, flakier and has a more delicate texture than the meat of other fast swimming pelagic species. Although they may make oceanic migrations as far as those of tuna and marlin, it contains less of the strong-tasting "blood meat" that the latter species use for long-distance swimming.  While ono may grow to up to 100 pounds in round weight, the local Hawaii catch is usually between 8-30 pounds. It is a perfect fish for grilling and can usually be found at reasonable prices in Hawaii because it is so local. We have a Big Island Grocery chain Foodland/Sack n Save that regularly buys fish from local fishermen. They sell them cut up as well as whole. They also make the best Poke on the island, fresh daily. 


Grilled Ono
serves two but can be easily doubled


Two Ono Steaks (6-9 ounces each)


Marinade: 
1/2 cup of pineapple vodka * 
1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce
1 inch of fresh ginger grated with a microplane 


2 tablespoons smoked paprika


In a bowl, stir marinade and add ono. Marinate for 30 minutes. 


Remove Ono from the marinade and sprinkle with smoked paprika. 


Oil a hot grill and place the ono on the grill. After 4 minutes turn. The fish should be ready 3-4 minutes later. 

* I make pineapple vodka by steeping pineapple slices in vodka for 4-6 weeks. You can also use sake in place of the vodka if you do not want to take the time to make it. 

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy
serves two but can easily be doubled


This is such an easy and healthy recipe! 


6-8 baby bok choy cut in half


2 Tablespoons Peanut Oil
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil 
pinch of crushed red pepper 


2 Tablespoons Soju (soy sauce)


In a large wok, add the oils and pepper, heat on high and toss in the bok choy, stirring frequently. It only takes 5-8 minutes to cook.  


Sauce with the soju before serving. 


Grilled Smashed Fingerling Potatoes
serves two but is easily increased


This can be done with fingerlings or small red or yukon gold potatoes. 


6 small potatoes or fingerlings
olive oil
Hawaiian sea salt (I use my home smoked salt) 
freshly ground pepper


Microwave or bake the potatoes till barely soft... do not over cook them or they will fall apart. I usually microwave them for 2 minutes and check them, then add a minute more if they are not soft enough. If you are using an oven, I would check them after 15 minutes. 


With a potato masher gently smash the potatoes so that they are about 3/4 of an inch thick. Again, the key here is not to Over mash. The potatoes skin should be mostly intact so that the potato will hold together. Drizzle generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, then flip and do the same on the other side. 


On a hot grill, grill the potatoes for 4 minutes, flip and cook for 4 minutes more. You want a nice crust. 

You may need to add more seasoning as much of it will fall off when cooking, but I like both the "cooked seasonings" and the freshly added ones. You can also add some fresh herbs such as rosemary or parsley.