W is for Wasabi AtoZChallenge

PUPUS, Hawaiian snacks similar to hors d’oeuvers, tapas, and canapés,

make up the third segment of my A-to-Z Challenge theme.

 

Wasabi is a green paste comparable to horseradish, and just as hot. The thick paste is mixed with a generous helping of shoyu (soy sauce) then used for dipping. Do not attempt to spread the wasabi on raw slices of fish the way you would use tarter sauce. Pick up the slice of fish with your chop sticks, run the fish lightly through the wasabi/shoyu sauce mix, add a paper-thin slice of fresh ginger, and pop it into your mouth. Repeat.

I have a tendency to overdue it and my nose burns until my eyes start to water. Then I have to sit back and wait for the sensation to pass. 

Sashimi is sliced raw fish. One of my favorites is Onion Salmon. The popular Japanese food is a delicacy that takes center stage for everyone’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Hawaii, especially Ahi Sashimi, my all-time favorite when served with wasabi and fresh ginger. 

Can you say “ONO”?

 

U is for UNAGI AtoZChallenge

PUPUS, Hawaiian snacks similar to hors d’oeuvers, tapas, and canapés,

make up the third segment of my A-to-Z Challenge theme. 

Unagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eel. Genki Sushi Restaurant in Honolulu serves sliced unagi over rice topped with a dipping sauce called Tare, a sweetened, thickened soy sauce. 

I am not a fan of eel in any form but do believe in authenticity when writing articles. So I patronized the Genki Sushi at Ala Moana Center and selected a platter of Unagi from the converor belt of ready-made offerings. 

 

 

If you have read my ‘O’ post for AtoZ, you’ll understand when I say that Unagi and Uni (Sea Urchin Roe) are not on my list of Ono foods. 

My second sushi choice for the day was a plate of California Rolls, far better suited to a palate accustomed to fried perch and smoked salmon.

 

 

Q is for QUACK, as in Pei Pa Duck AtoZChallenge

PUPUS, Hawaiian snacks similar to hors d’oeuvers, tapas, and canapés,

make up the third segment of my A-to-Z Challenge theme. 

Whether you think of the Chinese capital as Peking or Beijing, the smoked duck is still flavorful, if somewhat greasy. To be authentic, Peking duck is served in a flat pancake with little meat. In Hawaii, people want more meat and it is served manapua-style, in a steamed bun. 

Pei pa duck is duck roasted hanging up. It gets its name from a Chinese musical instrument. The Pipa is a pear-shaped guitar. The duck is spread out like the Pipa, air-dried, and deep-fried with special spices. The duck is crispy enough to eat even the smaller bones.  

At Market City, down the road from me on Kapiolani Blvd., is a restaurant named Duck Lee Chinese Express. It specializes in “roasting” foods, like roast duck, pei pa duck, and char siu. It is finger-lickin’ food you can snack on anytime. 

 

 

 

OCTOPUS POKE IS ONO AtoZChallenge

PUPUS, Hawaiian snacks similar to hors d’oeuvers, tapas, and canapés,

make up the third segment of my A-to-Z Challenge theme.

 ONO is the Hawaiian word for ‘delicious.’ My favorite pupu is poke (po-key), raw fish cut into cubes and seasoned with seaweed and shoyu (soy sauce) or sprinkled with sesame seeds. Any food that tastes great - broke da mouth is the Hawaiian Pidgin expression - is said to be ONO. 

Octopus (Tako) poke can be eaten alone or mixed with tomatoes, Maui onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, sea salt and chili pepper. I admit Ahi poke with seaweed and shoyu is more to my liking, though.

 



  

Ahi Poke





Octopus (Tako) Poke



 

Onion Salmon

 

 

 If you’re not into raw fish, onion-laced tofu poke with green peppers might be more to your liking.

 

Tofu Poke

Sunday brunch at the Oceanarium Restaurant in Waikiki’s Pacific Beach Hotel wouldn’t be complete without platters of Onion Salmon flanked by bowls of capers and cream cheese.
 

Greetings from the Oceanarium

 

EDAMAME & BEER for first Saturday of AtoZChallenge

Edamame is the fancy name for boiled or steamed soy beans. The word ‘edamame’ is Japanese. Eda means ‘twig’, and mame is ‘bean’. It makes a great snack food, especially in a bar with a cold beer chaser because of the sea salt added for flavor. 

It isn’t unusual for Edamame to pop up at picnics and other outings, so easy to strip the beans from the pod with your teeth, toss the shell and grab another. The hard part is stopping so there is room for all the other delicious pupus on the table. And the ones on the way, there are always more on the way! 

If you don’t live in China, Japan, Indonesia, or Hawaii, you can probably find those tasty soy beans in the frozen foods section of your supermarket.  

Another favorite Hawaiian pupu is boiled peanuts. If soy beans aren’t to your taste, you might like snacking on boiled peanuts. To make your own, use semi-mature peanuts that aren’t dry yet, boil them in salt water, cool, and eat. But beware, they’re like potato chips, you can’t eat just one. 

 

All pupus go good with beer!

 

CHICKEN KATSU PUPUS

PUPUS, Hawaiian snacks similar to hors d’oeuvers, tapas, and canapés,

make up the third segment of my A-to-Z Challenge theme.

I hope they will delight your palate each Thursday and Saturday. 

Pupus are so popular in Hawaii that restaurants, and even some private parties, are rated by their choice and variety. Almost any bite-sized food that can be eaten with fingers or chopsticks falls into the category of pupus. 

Chicken katzu, a bit similar to chicken nuggets, is a favorite of mine. L&L Drive-Inn serves the best in town, along with a huge scoop of white rice and macaroni salad on the side. 

Chicken Katsu from L&L Drive-Inn
Honolulu

At a party, those three food choices are served in separate, oversized aluminum pans. I think what I like most about the L&L katzu is their famous katzu dipping sauce, a blend of sweet and sour flavors that include Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and tabasco sauce, sugar-water-salt, with a touch of chicken bouillon, garlic power, and ground pepper. It’s good for a snack or a full meal. 

Other popular Hawaiian pupus on my “C” list are just about anything made with coconut, including coconut shrimp and haupia (coconut milk based) pudding and cake. Every luau and most Sunday brunches serve haupia desserts.

Coconut Oblong Cake, top shelf
not as colorful as the Guava and Mango cakes
but just as delicious (Ono!)

Do you like your chicken huli huli style? Or would you prefer Chinatown Shrimp?

 

If the AtoZChallenge was any longer,
I'd gain 10 lbs. and go broke!

 

A to Z CHALLENGE - ART: Picasso's BLUE Period

 

Thank you to Arlee Bird,

Alex J. Cavanaugh, and all the co-hosts

of the 2014 A to Z Challenge,

for your tremendous efforts

to 'make it happen' each year.

 

 

 

 

The theme of my 2014 A-to-Z Blog Challenge is BLUES, PUPUS, and REVIEWS.

Tuesday & Friday - BLUES: Art, Movies, Music, and Police;

Thursday & Saturday - PUPUS: Hawaiian snacks to whet your appetite;

Monday & Wednesday - REVIEWS: mini-style book reviews

When I worked in the Chicago Loop, my interest in Picasso was fueled by a daily lunchtime rendezvous with Picasso’s unnamed sculpture. Donated to the city in 1967, it dominated the Civic Center (Daley Plaza).

 

I also spent an inordinate amount of time at the Art Institute of Chicago (now The Chicago Institute of Art) in Grant Park. Picasso’s most popular ‘Blue Period’ painting, THE OLD GUITARIST, was displayed prominently there. I purchased a poster of the piece, framed it, and hung it on my apartment wall. Years later, the poster still triggered images of the original painting’s genius brush strokes. Far from feeling blue, the obvious message of despair Picasso projected, I felt my spirits soar.

 

I especially like the elongated fingers of the old guitarist in the painting. They reflect the influence El Greco had on Picasso. His blue period, from 1901 through 1904, was dominated by themes of loneliness and poverty, possibly sparked by his friend’s suicide.

 

Some say it was not poverty that led Picasso to paint the impoverished outsiders of society: beggars, prostitutes, drunks, and outcasts, but that he painted them made him poor himself. If this is true, does it follow that subject matter also determines a writer’s spiritual wealth?