Ohana Style: Food from Hawai’i, for Your Family

Chef Simeon (Cook Real Hawai’i) celebrates the complexity and creativity of Hawaiian cuisine and its many influences in this alluring volume. Numerous recipes draw from East Asian cuisines: teriyaki potatoes, for instance, are the result of 20th-century Korean immigrants settling in Hawaii and adapting their recipes with readily available Japanese ingredients, while the Chinese American classic shrimp egg foo young is a local favorite, according to Simeon. Southeast Asian–inspired dishes include curried mung beans, chicken adobo fried rice, and bulalo (beef shank soup). Elsewhere, the pickled allium and vinegary flavors of pocho bean salad pay tribute to Portuguese influence, and the Hawaiian staple pastele stew originated from 20th-century Puerto Rican immigrants who subbed in green bananas for plantains. Equally intriguing are Simeon’s original creations: he adds ginger and oyster sauce to stir-fried olives to achieve a “slight wok hei flavor,” replaces traditional bucatini with tteok (chewy, tubular Korean rice cakes) to accompany Amatriciana sauce, and boosts the flavor of store-bought animal crackers with a shoyu-nori glaze. Most ingredients can be found at supermarkets, and unfussy instructions make many of the dishes suitable for busy weeknights. Home cooks looking to spice up their repertoire will be inspired. Agent: Katherine Cowles, Cowles Agency. (Mar.)