By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

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Tangy hoisin vinaigrette
can heighten dish

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Sometimes the crucial element in a dish is not the central ingredient, but an embellishment. A tangy sauce or a crispy garnish can be the detail that demands attention.

Such was the case for Jo Ching, who was drawn to the Duck Napoleons served by the Renaissance Ilikai Hotel during a recent Brunch on the Beach Sunday in Waikiki. But it isn't the duck part of the dish that she's trying to recreate, it's the Hoisin Vinaigrette served with the dish.

Ilikai chef Chip Hawkins layers fried won ton wrappers with shredded cooked duck, diced tomatoes, baby greens and the vinaigrette. At home you could assemble a simple salad, topped with duck and the vinaigrette, for your own scaled-down version. Top with crunchy won ton chips to seal the effect.

This would also make a nice change-of-pace dipping sauce for the next time you roast duck. (Note: Hawkins is this month's guest chef on "The Electric Kitchen." For details see Page D-3.)

Hoisin Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sake
1-1/2 tablespoons minced fermented black beans
2-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 scant tablespoons EACH minced garlic, minced ginger and finely sliced green onion
1-3/4 cups hoisin sauce
3/4 fluid ounce plum sauce
1/2 cup orange juice, with pulp
1-3/4 cups rice vinegar

Combine sake and black beans; let stand 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a heavy pan over low heat. Add garlic, ginger and green onion. Stir until softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and stir to blend. Makes about 3 cups.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: to come .

Can you help?

"Back in the '50s and '60s, a bakery named Hadley's made a prune cake that friends and I still remember with great longing," Lue Zimmelman writes. "It was wonderful, full of moist prunes and topped with a white icing laden with tiny pieces of prunes. Could you possibly locate this recipe?"

If anyone still has this recipe, please get in touch.

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.