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FOOD FOR THOUGHT By Wanda A. Adams |
Betty Ihara wrote from Kalaheo to ask if there was a way to make your own natto — those pungent fermented soybeans so beloved of Tokyo Japanese and so unappreciated by many others. An online recipe we found (plug "natto recipe" in a search engine like Google) uses commercial natto to start the fermentation process. Recent research shows that fermented foods may be heart-friendly.
A reader who asked that his name not be used sent in a requested recipe for wakame vinaigrette (aka Korean sea-weed salad). It's a recipe by Kay and Allan Okuda, former owners of Kay's Lunch Center in Hilo. Over the years, the Okudas appeared on UH-Hilo's "Focus on Agriculture" class, a televised course about food through interviews of behind-the-scenes experts.
Kay's Wakame Vinaigrette: Rinse and soak 1 ounce wakame (dried green seaweed) in cold water. Julienne 1 cup peeled cucumber, 1 cup peeled daikon radish, 1 cup peeled carrots and 1 cup sweet onion; combine with drained wakame. In another container, blend 1 cup rice vinegar, 1 cup sugar and a dash of Hawaiian salt. Pour over vegetables and let stand for a few minutes before serving.
Makes about 4 cups.
Katherine Fujimori requested a recipe for guava butter and I was able to find one way, way back in our files: It's a recipe developed by Verna Dod, food specialist for the Home Demonstration Service of the University of Hawai'i, back in 1953. The Windward University Extension Club — anybody remember those busy ladies' groups concerned with food, cooking, preserving, nutrition and such? — used to sell this at its annual fundraising bazaar.
In case you get your hands on a bunch of guavas next fall, the recipe uses guava pulp left over from jelly-making, so you get to make the fruit do double duty. (For those unfamiliar with the process, you first cook the cut-up guavas, then put the pulp into a cloth "jelly bag" and let the juice drain off. The juice is combined with sugar and other ingredients for jelly-making. The pulp, strained to remove skin and seeds, can be used for jam or this guava butter.)
Guava butter: Place 8 cups strained guava pulp in a large kettle. Stir in 6 cups sugar, 6 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger, 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice and 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Bring to a boil, turn down and simmer, cooking slowly, stirring often, until thick. A spoonful of the guava butter placed on a chilled saucer should sit up; when you draw a finger through the puddle, the pathway should remain clear.
Pour into hot, sterile jars; cover and process 10 minutes in a hot water bath.
Makes 2 1/4 quarts.
Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
