Hawaiian Holiday Recipes

Here in Hawaii, the holidays mean great food. Yes, we usually have the traditional American food,  and, because there are so many different cultures living here, we also have a potpourri of other delectable food items to please all the guests and neighbors. So besides the turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, you may find on the table some Hawaiian Pork Chops, Hawaiian sweet bread, and one of my favorites, mochi. Here are a few recipes you might like to try.

Many Hawaiian families go all out and make an imu (underground oven) where they cook their turkey, ham, laulau, root crops and other foods. Often they cook a whole pig in this traditional Hawaiian oven. The men do most of the heavy work, which is great for the women, but for those that like pork, but do not know how to make an imu, here is a great recipe for Hawaiian Pork Chops that is sure to please:

HAWAIIAN PORK CHOPS

Six lean boneless pork chops

One tablespoon prepared mustard

Two tablespoons white win vinegar

One tablespoon hoisin sauce

One half teaspoon salt

One eighth teaspoon pepper

One 8 ounce can pineapple chunks in juice

Two tablespoons cornstarch

Two tablespoons water

One papaya, peeled, seed and sliced

Place chops in crockpot. In small bowl, combine mustard, vinegar, hoisin sauce, salt and pepper. Drain the juice from the pineapple chunks and add it to mustard mixture. Reserve pineapple chunks. Pour the sauce over chops in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for five to six hours or until the meat is tender. Remove chops and keep warm. Turn to high. Dissolve cornstarch in water in small bowl and stir the cornstarch mixture into the juices in the crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the pineapple chunks and papaya. It is best if the papaya is firm - not mushy. Serve the pork chops and add coconut and macadamia nuts if desired. Yum!

HAWAIIAN SWEET BREAD

One of my favorite holiday breads is Hawaiian Sweet Bread. It is baked in a pie tin instead of a bread pan, and is very festive.

Seven cups all-purpose flour

Three quarter cup instant mashed potato flakes

Two thirds cup sugar

Two (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

One teaspoon salt

One half teaspoon ground ginger

One cup milk

One half cup water

One half cup butter, softened

One cup pineapple juice

Three eggs

Two teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine the flour, potato flakes, sugar, yeast, salt and ginger in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the water, milk, butter and pineapple juice to 120-130 degrees F. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and beat just until moistened. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic for about six to eight minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to greast the top. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until doubled - about one hour.

Punch dough down, turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide into thirds. Shape each into a ball and place in three greased 9-in round pie baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake at 3 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil it top browns too quickly.

Now for my favorite holiday treat - mochi. This is an easy basic mochi recipe for beginners. There are many kinds of mochi with different fillings and sometimes it is wrapped around ice cream.

One box of mochiko sweet rice flour

One and one half teaspoon of baking powder

Two and one half cups of sugar

One can of coconut milk or one can of evaporated milk

One and one half cup of water

Extract flavor desired (vanilla, almond or coconut)

Food dye (optional)

Mix mochiko flour, sugar and baking powder in one bowl. Stir the dry ingredients together.

Mix coconut or evaporated milk, water, a few drops of extract flavor such as vanilla, almond, strawberry or lemon and a few drops of food dye in another bowl (the color should be a light pastel). Stir the liquid ingredients well.

Pour the mixed liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Grease sides and bottom of baking dish. Stir ingredients well and pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Let the mochi cool then cut into squares. You may like to dust lightly with mochiko flour to prevent stickiness. Serve as a snack or as a dessert. This treat will store for several days in a covered container.

As you can see, Hawaiians love to add a little pineapple or coconut to many of their recipes to give it a Polynesian flavor.

Another great way to use Hawaiian Sweet Bread is as part of the holiday stuffing. You can add pineapple chunks, cranberries, along with the sage, thyme, sweet onions and celery.

I hope you have enjoyed these Hawaiian recipes. Have a great holiday season.