Trip to Hawaii (Maui - September 2010)...Ichiban Okazuya

We were going back to LA in the afternoon. It turned out to be the most relaxing Hawaii trip in the past many for us. We were sentimental when we had to leave "our" condo in Kahana.

On our way to Kahului Airport, we stopped by at Ichiban Okazuya in Wailuku to pick up plate lunch. It's a very Japanese-Hawaiian style take-out place, and loved by the locals.

Yes, the owner/ chef (Sasaki-san) was there! He was the guy who made the wonderful sushi at the wedding for another friends back in July (here's the link). He only does sushi for catering, while his shop has only deli and cooked items. They have a large menu of mostly rustic Japanese dishes. The kitchen had about 6 people and they were working so busily.

I ordered Miso Butterfish with Kinpira Gobo and half-and-half brown & white rice. The fish was cooked to order, and I could overhear the cook saying "Oh, this miso fish looks and smells so good. I just want to eat it!" as he was preparing it. That's so sweet. And, he was right. The butter fish with the miso sauce was so juicy and so delicious! I soaked the rice in any remaining sauce, and ate everything. Kinpira gobo (sauteed burdock root and carrot) was so rustic and homey. It hit my spot, too.

I also had the Namasu (wakame and cucumber in vinegar sauce) and even sauteed Okara (soybean pulp with vegetables)!!

This was exactly what I was craving for and why I love Hawaii. I wish Ichiban Okazuya was in the west Maui. Their food is so rustic, so good, and real.

Trip to Hawaii (Maui - September 2010)...More fish for the final dinner

One of many things I enjoyed so much in this trip was breakfast in our lanai.

(Since there was no frying pan in our condo's kitchen), my improvised "milk pan" frittata became a regular item. I cooked the eggs with the roasted sliced Maui purple yam. It was topped with some pickled ginger and served with a drizzle of la-yu. So tasty!

For lunch, a couple of friends came over and I made more Ahi poke, etc. and we drank wine. It was such a nice relaxing lunch together.

Then, we had more fish for dinner again. We got exactly the same fish as the previous night (mahi mahi and ono), but this time, I marinated in Soy-curry sauce for about 20 minutes before pan-frying the fish. It was incredible! So, here it is...my quick fish recipe.

Pan-fried with with Soy-curry teriyaki sauce

Ingredients

2 filets fish (we did mahi mahi and ono)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sake

1 tablespoon mirin

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon ichimi pepper

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 small knob ginger, sliced into thin matchsticks

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

black pepper

some thinly sliced scallion

some roasted sesame seeds

Procedure

1. in a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sake, mirin, curry powder, cumin, ichimi pepper, garlic and ginger. Marinade the fish filets for 15-20 minutes.

2. Heat the sesame oil in a pan, remove the fish from the marinade (save the marinade sauce) and sear both sides.

3. Once the fish filets are cooked through, transfer them to a serving plate.

4. Deglaze the pan with the reserved marinade sauce (including the garlic and ginger). Reduce down to thick consistency and pour over the fish.

5. Sprinkle some ground black pepper, scallion, and sesame seeds, and serve.

Fish was served with some other "regular" dishes in this trip. Miso soup (with Maui tofu), roasted Maui purple yam and Maui onion, etc. We've made the salad, sushi rice, and ahi poke again, too!

Oh, Aloha Natto has also become our staple in this stay. This locally-made natto is made from small soy beans and has the very nice flavor and texture. It's fermented, obviously, but the beans taste "fresh" and not tired. I totally fell in love with this natto!

We enjoyed another serious "grinds"!

Trip to Hawaii (Maui - September 2010)...Island Fish Dinner

We have been enjoying our stay in Maui so much.

We've also been enjoying watching the sunset from our condo's deck. The view and the feeling are just priceless.

For the dinner, we picked up more fish from Fish Market Maui and the simply prepared dishes became a feast. Their seafood quality is so outstanding. They have fresh catch every day. Our Ahi was cut to order. I simply sliced it to sashimi and we had it temaki style with soy sauce and wasabi.

I also made the simple pan-fry of fresh-caught Mahi Mahi and Ono (seasoned with just salt & pepper), and served with sake glaze pan-sauce, la-yu, and lemon wedges. Both fish was so amazing. Roasted Hawaiian purple yam and poi (Hanalei Poi from Kauai...my favorite kind and you can find it in grocery stores in Maui also) made the very nice accompaniment, too.

Because it started drizzling outside, we ate inside. We both agreed we want to have the same fish again the following night! The simple dinner with the local ingredients was just so delicious.

Trip to Hawaii (Maui - September 2010)...Maui Banana Bread and Maui Tofu

Day 4 in Maui...

We had another beautiful sunny morning. Our morning starts with breakfast in our lanai. We have omelets, fruit, bread, local fruits jams, etc. We also tried homemade Maui Banana Bread from the farmers market. It was so dense and delicious.

Another nice local stuff is Maui tofu! It's made fresh every day at Tamashiro Tofu Factory in Wailuku and distributed to grocery stores in the island. I couldn't resist to eat it just fresh with the wasabi and soy sauce.

Ahi Poke, rice, Tamashiro Tofu, and Maui pineapple. Mmmm...so nice. The tofu was really fresh and had the nice rustic texture. Pineapple was one of the sweetest/ juiciest I'd had!

We also had Ono Burger from Fish Market Maui (yes, we went there every day).

After the wonderful lunch, we went for a little drive and swam more.

Trip to Hawaii (Maui - September 2010)...Our friends' wedding!

Day 3 in Maui ended with the main event. The big day...our friends' wedding!

We were ones of the luckiest people to be part of this special celebration. The wedding was held at this gorgeous private property, south of Lahaina. The weather was so gorgeous as well.

It was a real special wedding! Both the bride and groom were so beautiful and so as their families. More than 100 guests were invited and it was a big celebration.

Everybody was so happy and we all had a wonderful time.

Really happy. I saw a shooting star at the wedding.

Even a frog was dancing with us!

Trip to Hawaii (Maui - September 2010)...Tacos from the Fish Market

Day 3 in West Maui...

We went back to Fish Market Maui to pick up lunch.

I had their tacos plate lunch. There were three kinds of tacos. Mahi Mahi, Shrimp, and Kalua Pig. Mahi mahi and shrip were pan-seared with the cajun seasoning. They were all so tasty. I normally feel shy about ordering "blacken" seafood from most places (because many of them tend to overdue it), but their versions were really nice. I also ordered rice and made my own salsa and guac rice.

Very satisfying.