By Request Betty Shimabukuro

Welcome back

25 years out of print, the classic "Cook Japanese" makes a return

ONE EVENING, in pursuit of a good fried-chicken dinner, Muriel Kaminaka dragged her husband to a certain restaurant-that-shall-not-be-named. The chicken arrived, dark and unappetizing. She sent it back. Told the manager his cooking oil must be old, told him she wanted chicken that looked like the photo in the menu -- all crunchy and golden.

"So I don't go there anymore."

The phrase "Hell hath no fury ..." could well end with "... a Muriel scorned, in pursuit of dinner."

"My husband gets nervous when we go out to eat," she says. "He doesn't know what I'm going to complain about."

Common sense and an it-better-be-good sense of quality were the trademarks of Muriel's career in teaching others to cook. She started out as a home economist for the Gas Co. in 1960, a job that involved teaching "Wiki-Wiki Kau Kau" classes at lunchtime. This evolved into one of the original local cooking shows, "Cook Japanese," which Muriel hosted in the early '70s.

And that evolved into "Cook Japanese: Hawaiian Style" in 1974, a cookbook classic in many local kitchens -- those that still have a copy, that is. It's been out of print for 25 years, but has just been repackaged and republished as "Japanese Cooking Hawai'i Style" (Mutual Publishing, $26.95), under Muriel's name at the time of the original printing, Miura.

I should tell you that Muriel and I have been friends and collaborators since I started writing about food eight years ago, which is why I refer to her as Muriel, and not in the usual newspaper last-name manner. We've even talked about doing a cookbook together someday.

So I admit I'm inclined to look with favor on any of her projects, but this cookbook doesn't require kind words from me. Every few months I get a request from someone looking for a copy of the old "Cook Japanese," or for a recipe that was part of Muriel's repertoire. Obviously, she's got a built-in market hungry for a new edition.

THIS COOKBOOK is glossy, colorful and beautifully designed. Quite a contrast to Muriel's first printing, a modest little paperback with hand-drawn illustrations.

The first edition sold for $3.95, and she published it herself, using a printer who did pamphlets for the Gas Co. It was his first book project.

"I guess I had more guts than brains in those days," she says.

Her aim was to earn some extra money to pay her daughter's private-school tuition. She also wanted to put on the record traditional Japanese cooking techniques she'd learned from her parents -- and the basic home-style recipes that were already being lost by her own generation.

Her memories are unclear on all the details, but she remembers the book sold out eight or nine printings. The first two runs were 5,000 copies, but after that she printed 10,000 at a time. Do the math: That's as many as 100,000 copies.

"Maybe, maybe," she says now. "All I know is it was my bread and butter for a while."

Consider the times: Cookbooks that reflected local tastes were rare, mostly published by educational or church groups. A Japanese focus was even more rare, evidenced primarily by the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin's "Favorite Island Cookery" series begun in 1973.

Muriel followed with several more cookbooks, all self-published. The proceeds didn't just pay tuition for her daughter, Shari, who was 14 when "Cook Japanese" first came out. "Those cookbooks helped to pay my daughter's way through medical school."

Now in her 70s, Muriel remains active with the Moiliili Community Center and the Japanese Women's Society, helping both publish benefit cookbooks. She's with her daughter in Maryland for the next two months, and won't be doing the usual round of book signings to promote "Japanese Cooking."

In her usual no-nonsense way, she says she's too old for all that fuss and bother anyway.

AMONG THOSE paying attention to Muriel's culinary presence all those decades ago was Hari "Let's Go Fishing" Kojima, who invited her to his cooking show, "Hari's Kitchen."

Kojima says he admired her smarts, but thought she could use some lightening up. "She was always so straight-laced," he says, so he'd try to inject some nonsense into their TV encounters.

"I would try to tease her, try to have fun with her, and she would scold me, just like my mother."

The two eventually put out a cookbook together, "Cooking with Hari & Muriel," in 1994.

Also paying attention back then was Bennett Hymer, Muriel's current publisher. He remembers watching her cooking show every Sunday after "Hawaii 5-O."

"What I liked about it was how she related to the audience," he says. "She knew her audience and they knew her. They felt comfortable with her."

Mutual Publishing got into cookbooks in 1994 with Sam Choy's "Cuisine Hawaii," and bookstores started asking Hymer for Muriel's cookbook. In fact, it became their No. 1 request. "They'd say, 'You know, there was that good book out many years ago by Muriel Miura ...'"

About 15 years ago, he looked up Muriel and asked her about reprinting "Cook Japanese." She said she'd have to get back to him. Two years ago, Muriel got finally in touch.

"She said, 'Well, I'm getting back to you ...'"

THE BEST WAY to understand Muriel's approach is to study her no-nonsense recipes. They've been a long time coming. Or coming back.

Maze Gohan (Mixed Rice)

» Vegetables (Gu):
1/2 konnyaku (tuber root flour cake), minced
1 small carrot, slivered
3 pieces dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in water until soft, then slivered
1/2 cup gobo (burdock root), slivered
1/3 block kamaboko (fish cake), slivered
1-1/2 cups water
6 string beans, slivered

» Seasonings:
1 tablespoon dried shrimp
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup soy sauce

Combine Gu ingredients, except green beans, simmer 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Add beans and seasonings; cook additional 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and cool.

Mix into cooked rice. Garnish with fried egg strips, if desired. Serve hot. Serves 6 to 8.

Hiya Ramen (Cold Saimin)

» Condiments (Gu):
1 small cucumber, slivered
2 cups bean sprouts, blanched
1 cup minced green onion
1 cup luncheon meat, slivered
1 cup kamaboko, slivered
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

» Garnish:
Fried egg strips
Nori strips

» Dipping Sauce (Tsukejiru):
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 package dashi-no-moto
Few drops hot sauce, optional

Cook saimin as directed on package. Rinse, drain and chill. Arrange in individual serving bowls (on ice, if desired); arrange Gu and garnishes over noodles.

To prepare Tsukejiru: Combine ingredients in a jar; shake thoroughly. Pour over noodles and condiments. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

'Thorny' Tempura

» Batter:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup water

Form fishcake into balls, about the size of walnuts. Dredge fishcake or shrimp in flour and set aside.

To make batter: Combine flour and cornstarch. Beat egg in water; add to dry mixture and stir until ingredients are blended.

Dip fishcake balls or shrimp in batter; roll in somen.

Heat oil to 365 degrees. Fry fishcake or shrimp until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot. Makes 2 dozen.