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Stories by Betty Shimabukuro
Sam Choy
Star-Bulletin
SAM CHOY
This travelin' man has made
By Betty Shimabukuro
a science of life on the road
Star-BulletinTHE last time Sam Choy saw his family was three weeks ago. Time at home is short, travel periods long at this time of year, when his calendar is packed tight with guest appearances across the country.
But soon he'll be on a plane to his home in Kona. An assistant pops in to say a driver is on the way to take him to the airport.
"Tell him to get the dog food first," Choy instructs. That would be the organic dog food he buys for his six basenjis -- 40 pounds per month.
Choy's respite in Kona will be only a few days long. In less than a week he'll be back in Honolulu for "A Gourmet Affair," his annual benefit for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu. It's his seventh year hosting this event, a shindig that has featured such high-powered guest chefs as Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse. It raised more than $100,000 in 1999. This year's star attraction is Ming Tsai.
Once that's done, he'll be off to Napa Valley for a guest-chef gig at the Robert Mondavi winery.
This is life on the run for Sam Choy, who gives the concept of diversification new meaning. He owns eight restaurants. He cooks for an airline (United) and a cruiseline (Crystal). He has a TV cooking show, a half-dozen cookbooks with more to come, a line of sauces and salad dressings distributed nationwide. And that travel calendar. Always that.
It's gotten so that he knows airline schedules by heart, knows whether to sleep inflight to avoid jet lag. Airport employees in several cities call him by name. "You know how scary it is when you're walking through an airport and they say, 'Hey, Chef Sam!' "
He travels with two assistant chefs and up to 20 boxes carrying fresh ingredients. They're linked to Choy's Honolulu office by email via laptop computer.
Once they reach their destination, it's a regular drill, Choy says. First, "we try to sleep in that time zone." Then comes a day of meetings with the host chef and the kitchen staff, including the distribution of packets containing Choy's recipes and photographs of the completed dishes. A room-service dinner follows, as they set a timetable for the next day.
Event day dawns. They prep, they cook, they taste, and two hours before the event they've got samples of all the dishes for the dining room staff. By this time, Choy says, "I'm already thinking about the next event."
That means another town, another plane flight. But first, a post-event day of recreation, usually golf. At his last stop, a food festival in Homestead, Va., the temperature was 40 degrees. "A little cold for golf," Choy says, "but I always try to make time anyway."
For more than three years it's been this way -- "One week travel, then come here, film my show, go home, change clothes, come Tuesday -- bam -- I'm gone again."
The schedule is grueling, and Choy plans to cut back next year. All this traveling to promote himself and his restaurants isn't so critical anymore, so he'll be booking fewer commitments, "maybe not fill in my calendar that much."
Of course, a minute later he's talking about certain events he'd never miss, and how he wants to take his cooking show on location in the future. But he knows he's missing a lot at home, so the incentive's there.
Choy pulls out his wallet. Folded up inside is a newspaper clipping showing his son, Christopher, pitching for the Wave Riders of Kealakehe High School. Choy doesn't get to see many games.
"My family, they should be family of the year," he says "They're fatherless, husbandless so much."
Life does go on without him. In fact, on his first night home in so many weeks, he'll be alone with the six dogs, Choy says. It's wife Carol's bowling night and his son's worknight.
But he'll be home, and that's a relief, for now. "Without a family or a nucleus of friends, you have a hard time trying to make things happen."
MING TSAI
The TV chef shifts his focus to
Stories by Betty Shimabukuro
e-commerce with ming.com
Star-BulletinLATEST occurrences in Ming Tsai's life: new baby, new Web site, new TV show.
No new restaurants, though, and none planned.
Blue Ginger, his restaurant in Wellesley, Mass., will be an only child. Tsai is headed in another direction: e-commerce.
His Web site -- http://www.ming.com -- is the first step. Poke around here for information about Tsai's Food Network show, the Blue Ginger menu, recipes and cooking tips. But you'll also find many shopping opportunities: Tsai's signature ceramic knife ($250), his cookbook, a hand-picked selection of pantry items.
"Just trying to make a living, so to speak," Tsai says.
Through ming.com and his new company, Ming East-West Inc., this aspect of his chef persona will grow. He plans to expand into feng shui and Chinese medicine, using the Web site to offer information and advice, but also to sell products -- perhaps his own line of Chinese remedies.
Through Ming Inc. he can develop partnerships, with medical experts in China, for example. "Instead of me doing a second restaurant, this is how I'm spending my time and energy."
Another restaurant in another city means too much time away from home, Tsai says. Which leads to the new baby, David Jia-Lung (House of the Dragon), born Feb. 24, to wife Polly. "It's been the best thing I've ever done in my life. And I thought a TV show was great."
Still, he's traveling about half the year, what with all the Food Network commitments and the invitations he gets to make guest appearances nationwide.
A second TV show being developed would include location work, where he'd emphasize cultural connections, not just cooking.
His new projects invite comparison to another Food Network star, Martha Stewart, the doyen of trendy home living.
It's not a comparison he's comfortable with, although he does categorize himself as a "celebrity authority," like Stewart and home-improvement guru Bob Villa.
"I'd never compare myself to Martha. She's much better, much more experienced and much better connected."
Tsai believes he can control all these endeavors and give himself the time he needs to be a dad. "Those things ideally I can do them from anywhere in the world," he says.
That would include Wellesley, Mass. "I want to see my kid grow."
A GOURMET AFFAIR
Seafood specialties
Star-Bulletin
from the chefsOK, $200 for a nice dinner is a bit out of reach of the average eater. As much as we'd all like to contribute to Big Brother Big Sisters, most of us will have to pass on the six-course meal crafted by chefs Sam Choy and Ming Tsai.
Recipes are free, though, so for a taste of a Choy/Tsai dinner, try these.
Tsai's Ahi Tuna Parfait is a favorite of his for preparing at guest appearances. It's molded in a section of PVC pipe. If this isn't handy, or if you're worried about the cleanliness of PVC, use a can 2-3 inches across.
Choy is preparing a dish of monchong -- or pomfret, an oily, moist fish -- using ginger sauce. The recipe that follows is another Choy dish using monchong, with an onion compote that's fairly easy to prepare.
Also on Saturday night's menu: Foie Gras and Shiitake Shumai, Red Roast Duck with Baby Bok Choy, Lamb Chop with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes and Lemongrass Parfait with Tropical Fruit Salsa.
AHI TUNA PARFAIT WITH
Ming Tsai, via foodtv.com
WASABI TOBIKO VINAIGRETTE4 ounces ahi tuna, finely diced
2 dashes hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 ounces wasabi tobiko
2 ounces Osetra caviar
4 tablespoons unsweetened whipped cream
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon wasabi tobiko
Salt and black pepper to tasteTo make vinaigrette: Whisk all ingredients together. Should not be emulsified but a broken vinaigrette.
To make parfait: In a chilled bowl, combine all ingredients except the tobiko, caviar and cream. Using a PVC mold or empty can, build a parfait alternating layers with tuna and tobiko, then tuna and caviar. Unmold. Top with whipped cream and garnish with chive points. Drizzle plate with vinaigrette. Serves 4.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste): 275 calories, 23 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, 240 mg cholesterol, 360 mg sodium.*
MONCHONG WITH ONION COMPOTE
"The Choy of Cooking: Sam Choy's Island Cuisine" (Mutual Publishing, 1996)4 monchong fillets (5 ounces each)
Salt and pepper to taste
Flour for dredging
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Maui onions, minced
1/2 cup minced green onion
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 tablespoons brandy
1/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups fish stock, clam juice or chicken stock
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to tasteTo prepare compote: Melt butter on low heat. Add onions and ginger. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until tender. Add brandy and cream. Cover and cook another 5 minutes or until onions are very tender. Season with salt and pepper.
To prepare sauce: Boil fish stock and cream, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or until reduced to sauce consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
To prepare fish: Season fillets with salt and pepper, dredge in flour. Melt butter and oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook fish 3-4 minutes per side or until just done. Top fillets with compote and sauce. Serves 4.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 600 calories, 45 g total fat, 24 g saturated fat, 175 mg cholesterol, 380 mg sodium.*
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