By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Marianna Klinenko holds a plate of baked specialties
made for the Greek Festival.

Eat your way through
two cultural celebrations

Star-Bulletin

Hawaii's Okinawans and Greeks celebrate this weekend with festivals of ethnic entertainment, crafts and -- always important -- foods.

Enjoy andagi at Kapiolani Park or baklava at Ala Moana Park. Or make a weekend of it and do both! And to get ready for the celebrations, try these ethnic specialties:

Rafute

(Seasoned pork chunks)

3-4 pounds pork butt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 thumb-size ginger root, crushed
1 cup pork stock
2 tablespoons mirin
1 cup shoyu
1 cup sake or whiskey (1/2 and 1/2)
1/2 cup sugar

Cover and boil pork 40 minutes. Cool and slice into 1-1/2 inch squares. Combine stock, garlic, ginger, shoyu and sake in a heavy skillet and bring to boil. Lay pork in sauce and cook for 1-1/2 hours over low heat. Add sugar and mirin. Continue cooking for 1/2 hour without cover turning pieces to glaze until pork is tender.

Pork cooked in this fashion can be kept refrigerated for weeks. When warming up pork, use sake, wine, or pork stock and add variety of vegetables and tofu to extend dish. Serves 16.

Approximate nutritional analysis per 3-ounce serving: 260 calories, 12 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 1,060 mg sodium.*

Star-Bulletin
Pork has been one of the main sources of protein in Okinawa,
with almost all parts of the pig used in some sort of cooking.
This drawing, adapted from the book "Okinawan Cookery
and Culture," shows how the pig is divided up in two cultures.

Okinawan festival

When: 9 a.m.-9 p.m Saturday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
Place: Kapiolani Park
Highlights: Parade, 11 a.m. Saturday; bon dance, 9 p.m. Saturday
Admission: Free
Call: 676-5400

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Melomakarona

(Greek honey cookies)

3 cups salad oil
3/4 cup orange juice
Rind of 1 orange
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
7 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup honey
Chopped nuts for garnish

Blend oil, juice, rind, sugar and spices together. Sift flour. Add baking powder, salt, and baking soda to 1 cup of flour. Stir constantly while adding flour mixture to the oil mixture. Add remaining flour as needed to make a ball of soft dough that can be handled. Add walnuts and blend thoroughly.

Shape into oblongs that are about 1-1/2 inches long and about 1 inch wide. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Put the honey in a saucepan, add 3 teaspoons of water, and heat until lukewarm. Dip cookies in honey mixture, then sprinkle nuts on top of them. Makes 70 cookies.

Approximate nutritional analysis per cookie, with half walnut per piece: 170 calories, 12 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 55 mg sodium.*

Greek Festival

When: 5-9 p.m. Friday; noon-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Place: McCoy Pavilion, Ala Moana Park
Highlights: Folk dancing, 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; story-telling throughout the festival
Admission: $2
Call: 521-7220