Firefighters’ dishes
good catch

These are the recipes for dishes prepared by firefighters from the Waikiki and McCully Fire Stations on "Hawaii's Kitchen" this week. The program airs at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday and is rebroadcast at the same time the following Saturday on KHON/FOX2.

Boneless stuffed opakapaka with caper sauce

From the Waikiki Fire Station

1-2 pound opakapaka (brown snapper)
1 pound shrimp (cleaned and deveined)
1 can crab meat (optional)
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Black pepper to taste
2 cups bread crumbs
Stock (fish or chicken) as needed

Clean the opakapaka. Slice down each side of the center bone to the tail. Using poultry shears, cut bones on each side connected to the center bone and cut center bone out.

Using long nose pliers, pull out the bones on each fillet. Be sure to be careful not to tear the fillet or puncture the fish.

Wash the fish well inside and pat dry. Season the fish with salt and pepper and set aside.

Melt butter or margarine in a sauce pan. Add onions, celery, red peppers, green peppers, garlic, green onions. Cook for about 3 minutes to soften the vegetables. Add shrimp and crab to the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes. Add pepper and parsley.

Remove from the heat and add bread crumbs and enough stock to reach the desired degree of moisture.

Stuff the cavity of the opakapaka and place in a baking dish. Place remaining stuffing around the fish.

Bake uncovered in a pre-heated 350F oven for about 30 minutes. or desired doneness. Brown under the broiler briefly before serving, if desired.

Sauce
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon flour
1 cup half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash of lemon juice
Splash of white wine
Dash of worcestershire
2 tablespoon capers

Make a roux by melting butter and whisking in flour. Add half and half and whisk for a few minutes until thickened. Simmer on low for a few minutes. Add remaining ingredients to taste.

Poor man's seafood plate

From the McCully Fire Station

Potato-imitation crab cake
3/4 cup mashed potatoes (leftovers is okay)
1 can water chestnuts, chopped coarsely
1 egg
1-1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
Green onions, chopped
Chinese parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound imitation crab chunks (broken up)

Mix all ingredients. Form into patties. Dip into egg, then panko. Fry in oil.

Serve with Chinese-style shoyu-mustard sauce or the shoyu-cream sauce with mahimahi that follows.

Shoyu-cream sauce with mahimahi
1 pound frozen mahimahi, sliced and marinated in: salt, pepper, lemon juice and worcestershire sauce, to taste
Chopped garlic, to taste
1/2 onion, chopped
Ginger, slivered, to taste
Fresh shiitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced (what you can afford)
1 can chicken broth
4 ounces milk or half and half
Fish sauce, to taste
Shoyu, to taste
Lime juice, to taste
Wasabi, to taste (optional)

Sear mahimahi, remove from pan. Cook onion, garlic, ginger, and mushrooms in small amount of chicken broth until limp. Add fish sauce, shoyu, lime juice, and the rest of chicken broth and simmer. Lower heat, add half and half and wasabi, along with mahimahi.

Serve mahimahi sauce with imitation crab cakes. Garnish with chopped Chinese parsley and black sesame seeds. Serves 5-6.

Nutritional analyses not available.