By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

Wednesday, January 30, 2002

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Pork hash craving fulfilled
for a former Kailua man

Some calls for assistance you simply cannot ignore: "Help! I no stay in Kailua. Now stuck in Tucson. Need pork hash recipe. Any help?"

So wrote William Hole, who has been away from his Kailua home for three years, enough time, apparently to develop a serious craving for pork hash.

Here are two versions, one in patty form, the other a Cantonese recipe with corn and peanuts that dispenses with patties in favor of a panful of flavored ground pork.

Pork Hash

"Favorite Island Cookery, Book II" (Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, 1975)
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup minced water chestnuts
2 tablespoons minced green onion
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon minced chung choi (see note)
1 teaspoon sherry
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Combine ingredients and mix well. Form into patties. Place in a bowl or on a plate over boiling water and steam 25 minutes. Serves 2.

Note: Chung choi is dried, salted Chinese cabbage sold in Asian markets and Chinatown.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 390 calories, 27 g total fat, 10 g saturated fat, 190 mg cholesterol, greater than 1500 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 25 g protein.*

Variation: For fried pork hash, dip patties in flour, then a beaten egg and coat with panko (Japanese breadcrumbs). Pan fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Serve with tonkatsu or soy sauce.

Pork Hash with Corn

"Chinese Home Cooking: Recipes of Cantonese Dishes" (Chinese Committee International Institute of the YWCA, 1941)

1 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ginger juice (see note)
1/4 teaspoon wine
1 12-ounce can corn
2 teaspoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced parsley stems
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
1/4 cup crushed roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Season pork with soy sauce, sugar, ginger juice and wine.

Drain corn, reserving liquid. Add cornstarch to liquid, mixing to dissolve. Set aside.

Heat oil and fry pork over medium heat until cooked through. Add corn, parsley and onions. Thicken with some of the corn liquid. Garnish with peanuts and parsley leaves.

Note: To make ginger juice, grate fresh ginger and squeeze out juice.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 450 calories, 32 g total fat, 10 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 530 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, 24 g protein.*

Can you help?

If you know how to make any of these dishes, please get in touch by mail or e-mail:

>> Marlene Sigwarth remembers fondly the chocolate brownies with chocolate icing served at the Alexander Young Hotel back in the 1970s.

>> Ralph Lee would like to make the candied fruits and vegetables served at Chinese New Year, especially candied tongan.

>> Alanna Higdon is looking for a recipe for Vietnamese-style manapua.

>> Nancy Evans is hungry for banana roll, which she describes as a cake roll with a banana-flavored filling that has a thin coating of red coloring, so that the cake displays a red spiral running through it when sliced.

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.