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By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, January 26, 2000

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
OnJin Kim cuts up king crab legs for her bouillabaisse
while sous chef Glenn Fukuda prepares other ingredients for the dish.

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Bouillabaisse
bounty by OnJin

At $21, the bouillabaisse is the priciest item on the menu at OnJin's Cafe, and it's easy to see why, just by checking out the ingredients. You get two kinds of fish, shrimp, scallops, clams and king crab -- not to mention that precious saffron.

Chef/owner OnJin Kim says she doesn't know what it is that makes her bouillabaisse special, but it has been the highlight of more than one restaurant review -- and is a personal favorite of email correspondent Maria, who asked for the recipe.

Perhaps it's the lemongrass, or the Pernod (a licorice-flavored liqueur), or the way the fish is marinated, or the marinara sauce made specially to flavor the broth.

Whatever the case, Maria says it is especially delicious.

By the way, bouillabaisse was invented by French fishermen to make use of fish that were hard to sell, but if you want yours to be the best, use the freshest and nicest seafood you can find. The word comes from bouillir (to boil) and abaisser (to reduce).

And that's enough miscellaneous facts. This is long recipe, so let's get on with it.

Bouillabaisse de Chef OnJin

12 1-1/2 inch square pieces salmon fillet
12 1-1/2 inch square pieces opakapaka or snapper fillet
12 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
8 medium scallops
6 king crab legs, cracked
6 live clams

Stock:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large leek, white part only, chopped
2 pieces lemon grass, white part only, diced
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1-1/2 cups white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 quart clam juice
1-1/2 cup marinara sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon each chopped fresh basil, parsley and cilantro
1 tablespoon Pernod

Fish marinade:
1 cup white wine
1/4 teaspoon saffron
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Marinara sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
1 14-1/2 ounce can tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

To make the fish marinade: Bring ingredients to a boil and cook until reduced by half. Cool. Add all the seafood except the clams and marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

To make marinara: Heat oil. Add onion, basil, thyme and oregano and saute until onions are soft. Add garlic, bay leaf and tomatoes and simmer 30 minutes. Add tomato paste, salt and pepper and bring to a boil 1-2 minutes.

To make stock: Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add leek, lemongrass and saffron and saute until leek is sweaty and yellow from the saffron. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add clam juice, marinara sauce and garlic and boil again. Add basil and parsley and simmer 30 minutes. Add cilantro and Pernod and remove from heat.

To assemble dish: Bring stock to a boil. Add fish and shrimp and cook 2 minutes. Add scallops, crab and clams and cook for 1 minute more. Divide bouillabaisse among 6 bowls. Garnish with tied chives and serve with toasted garlic bread.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: (not including toasted garlic bread) 420 calories, 13 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 125 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,200 mg sodium.*

Food Events: 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.