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By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, November 1, 2000

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Gerri Maeda holds a copy of "Mixed Plate," while Ella Teruya,
center, and Fumiko Yoshimoto hold soba and mimiga, or pigs'
ears, respectively, made following recipes in the cookbook.

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Good measure of tradition

AMERICAN pork producers would be pleased if we'd all learn to cook Okinawan. No need to blather on about "the other white meat." In Okinawan cooking, meat equals pork. Period.

Okinawan tradition called for the slaughtering of a hog -- one per family -- on the day before New Year's. Every part of the animal was used in some way, states the new cookbook, "Okinawan Mixed Plate: Generous Servings of Culture, Customs and Cuisine."

OKINAWAN MIXED PLATE Proceeds support cultural programs of Hui O Laulima. To buy a book: In person: Okinawan Cultural Center gift shop in Waipio. Cost is $20. By mail: Make checks to Hui O Laulima, 1188 Bishop St., Suite 2908, Honolulu 96813-3312. Add $3.50 postage for the first book; $1.50 for each additional. Call: 536-8183, 523-5858 or 941-0586

"The tail of the pig was usually left for a member of a family who was a slow riser in the mornings or to the person who was always slow in getting things done."

"Mixed Plate," published by Hui O Laulima, the women's auxiliary of the United Okinawan Association of Hawaii, is full not only of recipes but of cultural notes on everything from tattoos to lacquerware to awamori, the homegrown liquor of the island.

Fumiko Yoshimoto worked on the last Hui O Laulima cookbook, published 25 years ago. It was a modest affair, collated by hand by "the girls getting together after work," Yoshimoto recalled.

"We did most of the things manually. Our club was kind of new and we didn't have a lot of money."

The current edition is a sophisticated publication with a clean, elegant design. Best thing about it, though -- all the recipes were tested, tasted and revised. Few locally produced cookbooks take this step.

Bobbi Kuba, coordinator of the project with Gerri Maeda, said club members gathered every few weeks to cook. It took five years to complete the book.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
"Mixed Plate" cookbook features many Hawaii favorites.

It was important to the group to build on the cultural essays that were also part of the first cookbook, Kuba said. "The awareness of being Okinawan has just grown tremendously, and I think the desire to know more about the culture has grown stronger."

The bulk of the book, though, is on how to cook -- good timing for Tina Yarbrough, who asked recently for a recipe for Okinawan Soba. "We spent seven years on Okinawa and fell in love with this wonderful dish," she wrote.

Also included here is a salad made of pig's ears, for the sheer audacity of it. Yoshimoto said the ears are available in Chinatown meat markets. "Although I was so surprised you can just buy the ears," she said. "Not like in my parents' day, when they had the whole head."

Okinawan Soba

1 14-ounce package fresh Okinawan soba noodles (see note)

Stock:
2 pounds pork bone
1/2 pound belly pork
3 quarts water
1-1/2 cups bonito flakes
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Pork seasoning:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons stock
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon awamori (Okinawan distilled whiskey) or sake
1 tablespoon mirin

Garnish:
1/3 package kamaboko (fish cake), in 8 thin slices
1 stalk green onion, in 3-inch lengths

To make stock: To remove excess fat, cover pork bones and belly pork with water, bring to a rolling boil, drain and rinse. Add 3 quarts fresh water to bones and pork; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Skim off foam and simmer another 30 minutes.

Remove bones and pork. Cut pork into 3-by-2-by-1/4 inch slices and set aside.

Add bonito flakes to broth in pot and boil 2 minutes. Strain; discard flakes. Add salt and soy sauce; simmer 2 minutes.

To season pork: Combine seasoning ingredients in a skillet and bring to a boil. Add sliced pork from the stock pot, turning occasionally until well-glazed. Set aside.

Pour boiling water over soba and drain. Put noodles in bowls; add stock. Garnish with pork, kamaboko and onions. Serves 4.

Note: Okinawan soba is a wider, flatter noodle than Japanese soba, available in Asian markets. Dried soba prepared according to package directions may be substituted for fresh.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving, per 1/2 cup: 530 calories, 30 g total fat, 11 g saturated, 80 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,500 mg sodium, 24 g protein, 40 g carbohydrate.*

Mimiga Namashi (Pig's Ear Salad)

2 pig's ears

Dressing:
2 tablespoons peanut butter
4 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon MSG (optional)

Singe ears by holding over an electric stove coil or the the flame of a gas stove or hibachi, until skin is burnt. Scrape off burnt areas and wash well.

Cover ears with water and boil about 30 minutes or until easily pierced. Drain and slice into slivers.

Mix dressings ingredients until smooth. Stir in pig's ears. Serves 8-10.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving, per 1/2 cup (assumes 1-1/8 pound pig ear meat): 180 calories, 12 g total fat, 4 g saturated, 50 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium, 16 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate.*

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.