Habanero kimchi omelette

A simple meal. Crispy Kalua pork with habanero kimchi omelette with more kimchi on the side

My 1st attempt at fermenting kimchi. I've tried many store bought brands and thought it was too mild for my tastes. So why not add my favorite pepper to the mix and let ferment for a 8wks. The result is a fiery, tangy, salty, garlicky mass of nuclear waste. Almost too hot to eat straight from the jar...almost...produces a sweat on my brow every time.

This is probably my favorite way to enjoy left-over Kalua. Add a a bit of lard to the cast iron and fry the pork leaving a crispy outer surface while the interior is still moist. 

Ahi Poke

I was in the mood for Poke. One the way home stopped off to get some sushi grade Ahi. This recipe is all about the quality of the fish since it's main ingredient. The hardest item to find is Ogo seaweed. Surprisingly I found a bag at Japanese market in the bay area a month or so ago. 

1lb Ahi tuna
1oz Ogo seaweed
1/2 tsp Hawaiian salt
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp seasame oil
1/2 tsp coconut aminos
Choppd green onion

Soak Ogo for 5min then cut into 1/2 lengths. Dice Ahi into 3/4in cubes. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly but gently. Place if fridge for an hour for flavors to meld. Sprinkle with green onion before serving.

Fermented lard mayonnaise

In preparation for another dish I need some mayo and something I have not made before. So what better time to give it a try. Didn't want to do the typical olive or coconut and was not going use seed oils I decided I'd give lard a try.

 2egg yolks
3/4tsp lemon juice
1tsp coconut sugar
1/2tsp sea salt
1/2tbsp whey
1/2c melted lard

Actually was not hard at all, just put everything in the food processor, drizzle in the melted lard and blitz for a couple minutes. One thing I did do out of the ordinary was ferment it to give it a longer shelf life.

Once placed in jar leave on counter over night to ferment then place in the fridge. You'll need to let it come to room temp to be easily spreadable.

Pig pancreas

Purchased this more out of curiosity than anything else. So I kept seasoning to minimum to be able to taste the flesh. Preparation is simple, just remove the fatty connective tissue and it's ready to fry up. Add salt and pepper, then a quick sear in some brown butter to medium rare. Served over butter braised kale.

Flavor was similar to liver but milder. Flesh was tender, almost melt in your mouth. I will be buying it again.

Sweet potato cookies

These little guys are great! I usually make them on carb up days as sweet treat. This time I tried it with orange sweet potato, dough was moist and gooey compared to the purple sweets. Cookies were crisp on the outside and moist in.

These are made from Okinawan purple sweet potatoes which I previously baked. The were not as moist but crispier. The were both good but like the purple best.

Ingredients
1-1/3 cups sweet rice flour
1/2c applesauce
1 tbsp whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 egg
1 cup baked (purple or orange) sweet potato
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries 

Directions
1. Bake sweet potatoes at 400º degrees for about 40-50 minutes. Check by poking with a fork. Take skin off and discard. Mash the potatoes and allow to cool completely.
 2. Mix sweet potato, applesauce, coconut sugar, egg and yogurt together.
 3. In a separate bowl combine the rice flour, salt and baking powder.
 4. Combined the dry ingredients and the potato mixture until well blended. Using a spatula mix in the cranberries.
 5. Preheat your oven to 375º degrees. Using tablespoon place the batter onto my baking mat. Flatten the cookies a bit to create a circle if you like. Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on how you like your cookies.

Fermented Sriracha

Theses photos are from last summer when the farmers market had red habaneros. They are usually only available July, maybe August from local grown sources. If you can't find these or don't want it fiery hot use fresno chilies or you can use any red chile.

1lb red Habs, snip off stems but leave the green shoulders. It add some depth to the flavor. Hard to explain what but there is a taste difference if they are removed.

 Place peppers into your vita-mix or other high power blender. Add 2 cloves garlic, 2-3tbsp salt and 1/4-1/2c water to puree

The puree should be thick enough to hang on the spoon.

Pour into a mason jar and screw on lid tight. Or you can use a burping valve. Let ferment for 1-4wks depending on the tang you like. Start tasting after 2wks. I have tried an unfermented version using vinegar and prefer the fermented. The fermenting process changes the flavor and texture for the better, and you do not need to add vinegar to get the desired sourness.

When fermentation is complete you can use as is for the probiotics or you can cook. Either way add 2tbsp coconut sugar and mix thoroughly. Add more salt if needed. I've made both raw and cooked, the latter has better flavor and texture

Put into clean jar and store in the fridge. Hab sriracha is way hot compared to fresno's and Thai chilies are some where in between. There's no comparison to the store bought version, the depth of flavor here is incredible!

One concoction I made used the Trinidad scorpion butch T peppers. This sauce is so freakin' hot just tasting the tip of the spoon sent me reeling. I made 5 batches last summer to hold me over till the next season.

Kalua pork

Had some left over pork butt from the Dinuguan recipe so a little Kalua was in order. Kalua is a style of cooking not a flavoring as in Kahlua (the liqeur). In Hawaii the pig cooked in an Imu, here on the mainland we do it in the oven and the following is one way to this. This can also be bone in a crockpot or dutch oven. Very simple, all you need is pork butt or shoulder, garlic, Hawaiian salt and liquid smoke. Banana leaves are optional but adds a slight sweetness to the meat.

Rub butt with garlic, salt and place on banana leaf on top of large sheet of foil. Drizzle liquid smoke and wrap tight with foil. 2 pieces are needed. There are no amounts, everything is done to taste, so experiment. I didn't measure but a good starting point is a tbsp of each ingredient for this 2lb butt.

Bake at 300 deg for 4 hours (large portions of meat will take longer). Then expose the succulent meat and enjoy!

Eat over rice, with cabbage or baby bok choy as I did