Maui Recipes

All recipes are created by Chef Mike Lofaro.

LOMI PAPIO WITH LIMU KOHU AND HE'E

He'e (Tako):

Place the he'e in a cold pot. Cover and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Take out the he'e and cool it on a platter.

Add to the pot with he'e liquid:

1/2 cup water
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 sliced onion
4 slices ginger
1/4 cup rice vinegar

Once he'e is cooled, slice off the legs, clean them by rubbing in a cloth, cut into chunks and place in the pot.  You can add the head to the pot if you'd like.  Cover pot and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Limu Kohu: 

To prep and store: Clean the limu kohu, clump into a 2 inch ball and pack in salt.  

When ready to use, take a small piece off the limu kohu ball, about 1 tsp. and finely mince. Place into a bowl.

Cube papio and place into bowl.

Cut cooked he'e into 1 inch pieces and place into bowl.

Mix in:
shaved Maui onions (to taste)
1 Tbs. minced cilantro, mint and green onions
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. shoyu
1 tsp. sesame oil

Mix.  Season with salt and pepper. 

PEPINO DOLCE HORCHATA

Puree 1.5 cups uncooked jasmine rice, 2.5 cups water and about 4 Tbs. sugar in a blender for about 15 seconds.

Peel and quarter 1 or 2 pepino dolce and add to blender.  Puree.

Add 1 to 1.5 tsp. cinnamon and half a can coconut milk to blender. Puree.

Taste and adjust flavors to your liking.  Puree.

Pass the puree through a strainer into a bowl, then pour into a cheesecloth or nut mill bag, squeezing liquid through the cloth into a bowl or pitcher.

Place in a refrigerator.

Separately, beat 1.5 cups of greek yogurt. Beat in 3 Tbsp. sugar.  Beat in 1/4 cup honey.  Freeze.

Mike's take on agua fresca (fruit salad) 

8 pepino dolce, diced
Grapefruit slices
Diced Olinda peaches
Diced lychee
Diced strawberries
Juice of one lime
10 mint leaves
1/8 Cup Thai basil, plus more for garnish
1 Tbs. coconut palm sugar
1 tsp. sugar
Fennel pollen (to taste)
Fennel powder (to taste)

Put the pepino dolce in a dish, then add grapefruit slices, diced olinda peaches, diced lychee and diced strawberries. Squeeze juice of one lime and mix. Chop the mint leaves and Thai basil and add to fruit. Add coconut palm sugar and white sugar, and mix. Cover and refrigerate.

Place 4 Tbsp. of agua fresca fruit salad in a heap in the middle of a bowl. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup horchata into bowl. Place small Thai basil leaves on top. Place fennel pollen on leaves. Garnish with herbs and fennel powder.

SWEET AND SPICY OLINDA PEACH SAUCE WITH THAI BASIL (for fish):

Cut 10 oranges in half horizontally and 10 calamansi (Filipino lime) in half.  Squeeze out juices to make about 4 cups.  

Cut off flesh of 10 peaches and place in blender.  Squeeze juice off pits into blender as well.  Pour the orange and calamansi juice through a sieve into blender.  Blend for about 7 seconds.  Pour in 1 cup of homemade caramel.  Blend.  

In a pot, sweat out 3 large garlic cloves thinly sliced, 4 large shallots thinly sliced and 3 inch peeled ginger thinly sliced.  Saute in 2 Tbsp. oil on medium for 2-3 minutes.  Pour contents of blender through a sieve into the pot.  Add 2 green onions cut into four-inch pieces.  Reduce liquid by about 1/4 to 1/2 by keeping it on a low boil.  After reduced add about 2 cups sliced peaches, shaved jalapeños, lychee and about 1 cup Thai basil and mint leaves, plus peeled grapefruit slices.  Pour onto fish.

Pour on fish.  

UKU (Grey snapper):

Salt the cleaned uku and squeeze lime on top.  Cook in the oven.

KOLE (wrasse):

Salt and fry in oil.