By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

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Hongwanji fest showcases
‘Island Cookery’ favorites

If there were a game called Stump the Cook, local-style, the reference book to decide all challenges would be the six-volume set, "Favorite Island Cookery," produced by the ladies of the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin.

Annette Motoyama, for example, seeks a recipe for Chinese-style peanut candy, that chewy, peanut-sesame candy bar. It was surely an attempt to stump the cook, but the recipe is right there on Page 194 of Book VI, latest in the series, circa 1995.

But before we get to the recipe, take note that the Betsuin's annual "Taste of Hongwanji" takes place 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the temple on Pali Highway. This is the best place to complete your collection of cookbooks, should you have missed one since Volume I came out in 1973.

The festival includes temple tours and sales of handicrafts, plants and fish, but its focus is food, centering on favorites from the cookbook series.

Papaaloa Hongwanji on the Big Island is providing chicken Portuguese sausages and smoked pork; Pearl City Hongwanji will bring pickles, boiled peanuts and baked goods.

Shiatsu massage will be offered for those stressed-out by all the choices.

Now for Motoyama's recipe. This version has been adapted slightly based on my home-testing and comes with this warning: It looks simple, but getting just the right chewy texture is tricky. Exact cooking time is the key and you may have to try a few times to get it right. If you don't cook the syrup long enough, your candy will be too soft; cook too long and you have peanut brittle. Believe me, I did it both ways.

Sesame Peanut Candy

2 cups sugar
1/6 cup vinegar
1/6 cup water
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
1-1/2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts

Heat sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring until mixture boils, then boil until syrup reaches a soft golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease an 11-by-7-inch pan or line it with cookie parchment. Sprinkle half the sesame seeds and all of the peanuts over the bottom of the pan. Pour syrup over nuts; smooth surface with a greased wooden spoon. Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. Cool, cutting into pieces when still slightly warm.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving 1-by-2-inch piece: 88 calories, 4 g fat, no cholesterol, 1 mg sodium, 2 mg protein, 13 mg carbohydrate.

EVERY FEW MONTHS someone will write asking how to buy the Hongwanji cookbooks. They may be picked up at or ordered through the temple, 1727 Pali Highway, Honolulu 96813, or call 536-7044 for specifics on prices and postage. The books sell for $8.50 to $10, depending on volume.

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.