Combine seafood,
taro for tasty cakes

Here are the recipes for prize-winning dishes in the recent Malama i ke Kai taro recipe contest. prepared by the winners, two Hawaiian language immersion schools),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.

Opakapaka and kalo fishcakes
on a bed of leafy lettuce with
soy sauce vinaigrette

Punana Leo O Waianae

2 pounds opakapaka fillet (white meat only no bones)
1 cup kalo (taro), cooked and diced
1/4 cup fresh shiitake, sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup Maui onions in medium diced
1 large egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of roasted sesame seeds
Leafy lettuce
Soy sauce vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Cut the fish into chunks and run it through the food processor until it looks like a paste. Add the egg and run the processor for about half a minute. Place mixture in a bowl and refrigerate.

In a small pan, sweat the Maui onions with a little bit of oil and set aside to cool.

Combine diced kalo, sliced shiitake, chopped cilantro, cooled Maui onions and fish meat. Add salt and pepper to taste and the roasted sesame seeds. Mix well. Shape into 3-inch disks and refrigerate until ready to cook .

Lightly flour the fishcakes and fry in a lightly oiled pan until cooked through. Arrange on a bed of lettuce and serve with soy sauce vinaigrette.

Soy sauce vinaigrette

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
Juice of one lime

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Ko'olauloa delight (kalo
patties with oopae and shiitake
oyster sesame sauce)

Punana Leo O Ko'olauloa

2 pounds kalo (any type)
1 pound shrimp (31-50)
2 8-ounce bags dried shiitake
12 cloves garlic
1 bunch green onions
3/4 oyster sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine)
2 sticks butter
Additional butter for browning patties

Cook kalo (steam or boil).

When cooked, peel and clean, then mash kalo until lumps are gone. Do not add water. (If water is added you will end up with poi.). Once you have completed mashing the cooked kalo the patties can be shaped.

Peel and clean shrimp then butterfly

Soak shiitake in hot water to cover until soft, then drain and cut into julienne.

Chop garlic into small pieces

Chop green onions into small pieces

Heat wok to medium heat; add two sticks of butter, then garlic and shiitake.

Add oyster sauce and tablespoons sesame seed oil. Stir to blend all ingredients. Add shrimp and cook until tender, then add mirin and green onions.

Place patties in a frying pan with butter and fry until patties have browned and formed crust.

Nutritional information unavailable.