A Taste of "Home" for Sunday Lunch

I'm kinda surprised at how busy I can be on a typical weekend morning.

For example; today, after waking Frankie, taking him for a short walk:

1 - Make food for Frankie and his Cousin Auggie - basically 9 pounds of simmered chicken thighs, carrots, sweet potato, and quinoa (yes, F is a hipster I guess). Freeze. Enough for about two weeks.

2 - Meanwhile; finish off making duck confit in the oven. (I made the duck fat yesterday and cured the duck overnight) We've got a heat wave coming this week; so I'm not going to want to have that oven on.

3 - Go grocery shopping

4 - The Missus requested Niku Tofu; so I made that

5 - Make a batch of Ume Dressing

6 - Put together the Missus's salad for Her lunch tomorrow

7 - Put duck into storage pan and wait to cool - this'll keep for months

8 - Clean

Whew; it ain't even eleven yet and I'm bushed.

I really wanted some comfort food......so I made this for lunch.

I'd been missing "home"....the untold toll of Covid-19 is the mental side of things.....no normalcy, we're not able to do many things that were part of our usual way of life. I think not being able to travel has been especially taxing, beyond all the days of work, inability to head out for dinner, the social distancing, the exhausting politicization of the pandemic.

I didn't really expect this to be good....it was an impulse buy when I went to pick-up poke for the Missus at Hawaiian Fresh Seafood Fish Market...but seeing the Chili Pepper Water...I just had to get that.....and so why not grab the laulau and kalua pork?

And it did the trick....especially the fragrance of the luau (taro) leaves.....just the aroma takes me home and back to when, still in high school, I was working (full time by the age of 16). My manager, took me under her wing, and sort of adopted me, they were part of a large family....in fact, my Mom knew the family; the Kukahiko's from growing up in Honolua! Carol would take me to family gatherings in Waianae....introducing me as her "Japanese son". She was quite a character.....all her nieces and nephews called her "Auntie Tita". Food was the best part of these gatherings; at least for me, and they had one of these huge, round metal, steamer things that looked like a buoy. All full of bombucha home made laulau....the best I've ever had. I could put away five jumbo laulau! A little 112 pound Japanese kid!

So, while there was no salted fish in the lau lau, but there was a nugget of fatty pork - in this case pork belly. It was fine...….just the aroma was worth the price, as was the condiment of choice.

And soon after, I was ready to join Frankie as the "Kanak Attack" settled in......

The power of food and our memories of it...…..

We hope that in spite of these challenging times, that you are safe and in good health!

Comments

[Jason]

Busy morning! That list would have taken me all weekend. Thanks for sharing what you've been cooking at home. We've enjoyed making Hainanese chicken lately, seems simple but lots of ways to perfect the recipe and it's got that combo of very comforting asian flavors.

[kat]

small world if I remember correctly my aunty’s husband’s relatives are the kukahikos

[RedDevil]

Some of your posts, like this one, really strike home even though I grew up nowhere near Hawaii and have very different food memories but this post really resonates with me. Cheers!

[Rhys Ford]

Do they sell the laulau all the time or just on certain days? I was looking at their website and on yelp but probably missed it. I'll look again!

[Kirk]

It was Jason! Perfecting Hainan Chicken! That's quite difficult - it's perfecting the simplest dishes that are the most challenging.

That's awesome Kat!

I'm glad you enjoyed this one RD!

I've only seen it once Rhys; it was in the fridge area across from the main counters - they do carry kalua pork more often. Good luck!

[barbara paddock]

I used to make the exact same things for my elderly foster dogs, including the quinoa. They love that entire combo and will eat it no matter how sickly they are. I joke they ate better than I did, heh. I have not had a foster in a long time due to COVID. I look forward to getting back to it once this pandemic is stopped. Your "human" food looks fabulous too. I had two Filipino families that "adopted" me as a token white kid for their family parties. Man, those were the days! That food. I can still make decent Pancit but that is about it. There were lots of aunties and cousins and I loved it. I had no relatives growing up but them.

[Kirk]

Hi Barbara - Love your story! Food does so much to form us....wish more people would have that exposure, I think it would really help resolve many problems we have. Hope things turn around soon so you can get back to doing those things that give you joy....there are so many pooches that need a foster mom!

[Junichi]

That list of things to do would take me all weekend long!

[Kirk]

Lol Junichi! That's just a single morning.....