By Request
Bea Shimabukuro was happy to talk about her post-retirement life and her turkey stuffing -- but could it wait a week? She was busy preparing for a big karaoke contest. Stove-top stuffing
NOT from a boxBea's Drive-In having been reborn in April with a new name and new ownership, the Bea of the old marquee is busy with Bible study, church work, exercise classes and karaoke. She's active in Okinawan community events and in October she'll be a model in the Hui Maka'ala (her women's club) fashion show. And yet, she says, "I still complain that I want to go back to work."
This is what happens when you've been in business 47 years, when some of your customers have been around for every one of those years, when you basically love what you do.
But for health considerations and other reasons, Shimabukuro (who, by the way, is not related to me -- too bad) had to give up her Kaimuki drive-in.
She'd been known for her hearty plates of hamburger steak, beef stew and roast turkey -- plus bowls of oxtail and pig's feet soup. But for Lance Samura, it was the turkey stuffing that marked perfection. "I've never really liked turkey stuffing all my life, until I ate Bea's Drive-In's stuffing," Samura wrote. "Now that Bea's has joined other memorable 'eateries in the sky,' do you think it would be possible to get the recipe?"No problem, Shimabukuro said. She cautioned, though, that it probably won't come out the same way at home as it did in the restaurant, where she normally made enough to pair with 50 pounds of turkey, never really measuring. Still, she painstakingly measured out a recipe at home, breaking it down to a more workable amount.
Her recipe, flavored with lots of bacon and margarine, was always popular, she said, although she never cared for it herself. "Basically, I don't like stuffing -- I don't care whose stuffing. I don't like mushy-mushy stuff. I like my bread chilled in the refrigerator. I like it hard."
The Bea's story begins in 1953, when Shimabukuro bought Donald Duck Drive-In. She was just 20 years old and lived in an apartment above the restaurant. The next year, her son was born.
In the early '60s, she tore down the old Donald Duck and put up a new Bea's, the first of four renovations. It was a true drive-in, with carhops.Shimabukuro had been on her own since age 15, when her mother died (her father had died when she was very young). She remembers food being short throughout her childhood, and says part of the reason she was attracted to restaurant jobs was that you could count on being fed.
A youth of adversity taught her that hard work is a point of pride -- and that there's always a job out there. "I'm not afraid of anything," she says.
Earlier this year, Shimabukuro sold her restaurant to Kayoko Kiyoto, who renamed it Kay's Grill and Saimin Stand. Many of Bea's old customers are new patrons of Kay's, as is Shimabukuro, who meets there often with various groups of friends.
She still loves cooking, and is experimenting with Chinese foods now. In fact, she can't keep herself from trying to feed others and says she's always trying out dishes and inviting people over to taste.
Bea's Drive-In Turkey Stuffing
Giblets from 1 turkey
4 cups water
10 slices bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 pound margarine
2-1/2 tablespoons poultry seasoning, or more to taste
Dash EACH of salt, pepper and MSG (optional)
2 24-ounce loaves bread, broken into small piecesBoil giblets in water until tender; dice. Reserve cooking water.
Fry bacon; when almost crisp add onion and celery. Brown vegetables, then add giblets and margarine. When margarine is melted, add poultry seasoning. Add up to 3 cups of cooking water from giblets, depending on how soft you like your stuffing. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
Toss mixture with bread, then season with salt, pepper and MSG, if using.
Note: This is a stove-top stuffing, so it doesn't go in the oven with your turkey. It makes more than enough to serve with a large roast turkey. It also can be served as an accompaniment for roast chicken or duck.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per half-cup serving (without dash of salt or MSG): 300 calories, 20 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 450 g sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 6 g protein.*
Food Stuffs: Morsels
Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
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.
