Everything's fishy at this smokehouse

By Joan Namkoong
Advertiser Food Editor

Steve Shiraishi, above, and his wife, Joanie, have opened the Hale'iwa Smokehouse at the old Waialua Sugar Co. mill. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I've been a commercial fisherman all my life and smoking fish for 20 years," said Shiraishi, proprietor of the new Hale'iwa Smokehouse, where commercially smoked fish will soon be attracting fans.

Shiraishi and his wife Joanie have set up shop at the old Waialua Sugar Co. mill owned by Dole Foods, next door to Waialua Coffee Co.

The old sugar mill buildings belie the modern smoking technology within the small mom-and-pop operation the Shiraishis have built from scratch.

Shiraishi smokes 'ahi, opah, marlin, scallops, mussel, octopus, butterfish collars, ono, whole mullet – whatever top-quality seafood he can get his hands on. But it's not just a matter of throwing the seafood into a smoker.

The commercial fisherman who used to sell fish to others is now on the other side, buying fish from his former customers. Once he gets it Ü sometimes sashimi-grade 'ahi Ü he cuts the fish into small pieces, marinates it in his own special brine solution for 48 hours, then drains and dries each piece before placing it on the smoking racks.

"It's very labor-intensive," Shiraishi said. "We get the fish from local fishermen at Hale'iwa harbor and we have some former plantation workers helping in the kitchen."

Once the fish is prepped, it goes into a state-of-the-art thermoprocessing oven with a computer that controls the smoking process. "The computer is there for consistency," Shiraishi said of the $85,000 unit he purchased in Portland, Ore. "I can cold smoke at 75 degrees for 12 hours or I can hot smoke at 145 degrees for a half hour. With 18 racks, I can do up to 500 pounds of fish at a time."

Of course, there's shrinkage: about 50 percent for 'ahi, higher for some of the other fish.

Fine wood chips go into a smoke-generating unit on the outside of the oven, and the smoke is circulated into the oven for flavor. The result is a smoked fish or seafood left with moisture and a gentle smoked flavor that doesn't overpower.

"Eventually, I'd like to use mango or guava wood chips," Shiraishi said.

Shiraishi and his wife are enthusiastic about their new venture and sharing it with the growing number of folks who are stopping in.

As people sample their smoked 'ahi or special 'ahi spread, they get hooked. "I had an offer from a buyer from Harrod's (the London department store) for my smoked opah," Shiraishi said proudly.

The Shiraishis are trying to place their packaged smoked products in upscale specialty food stores in Honolulu. The smoked fish is packaged in 4-ounce bags. Smoked 'ahi is $5.50 and smoked opah is $7.

With a commercial kitchen on the premises, the Shiraishis are also generating foods to go with the help of Lin and Taz Vongsasohnpohn. Summer rolls, green papaya salad and other Southeast Asian-inspired dishes are prepared using the smoked fish products.