Local food expert strives to make light taste right

• Char siu chicken marinates overnight

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Carol Devenot

Later, she became a high school home economics and food science teacher and, after retiring, a recipe tester and writer for guru of Hawai'i nutrition Dr. Terry Shintani, creator of the Wai'anae Diet and Hawai'i Diet (some of her recipes are in the line of Zippy's Shintani specials).

Shintani says Devenot has an exceptional knack for knowing how to make a dish taste right to the local palate even after it's been lightened up. Asked how she does it, she says — and even over the phone you can hear the smile in her voice: "I'm reeeeeeally local. And after all these years of cooking with my students, I just know how things should taste."

Book signings Carol Devenot, author of "Island Light Cuisine" (Blue Sea Publishing, paper, $12.95). 12:30-1:30 p.m. Friday, Bestsellers, downtown Noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 4, Borders, Ward Centre Noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 5 Borders, Waikele Noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 11, Borders, Kahului, Maui 2 to 3 p.m. Nov. 22, Borders, Kailua-Kona, Big Island Noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 23, Borders, Hilo, Big Island

From her work with high school students and with Shintani, Devenot, a fit and gorgeous grandmother of three, is very much aware of the many diet-related health problems suffered by local people, particularly Hawaiians. And she knows that many people here are conscious of all the fat, salt and sugar their favorite dishes contain, but are unwilling to give these foods up entirely, or don't know how to create good-tasting alternatives.

Devenot, who also works with the TV show "Tasty and Meatless," says this book is meant to be "transitional — for the person who is not quite ready to go vegan, or to give up some old dishes."

The message is "you don't have to sacrifice everything that you eat normally. You just have to adjust, be moderate and use better ingredients, quality ingredients that are nutritionally better for you," she said.

The dishes outlined in the book still contain some fat, salt and sugar (she tried to keep fat grams to no more than 4 per serving and got down to two wherever she could). All the ingredients are available in the regular grocery store, though she does introduce users to some health-food store items she finds helpful (offering substitutes for those who don't want to venture into a health-food store).

"I think going into a health-food store is very intimidating to many people," she said. "I didn't want to scare anybody off."

Devenot calls her approach "healthy fusion cooking." The idea is to use just enough of a familiar ingredient to retain the flavor and texture experience that people expect of a dish.

With shoyu chicken, for example, the key is a marinade and cooking liquid containing anise seed, but she saves a bundle of fat just by removing the skin from the chicken, reduces the sugars used (honey and brown sugar) and adds healthful shiitake mushrooms for more depth of flavor.

Her chicken katsu is still garlicky and crispy, and still served with a tangy sauce, but the panko-coated chicken is baked rather than deep-fried and the breading uses egg white rather than whole egg.

She makes a baked banana lumpia with phyllo dough that is a hit at parties.

"You have to give people the impression of the food they like because they're going to be very disappointed if you call it banana lumpia and it tastes like cardboard. You turn them off for good and defeat your whole purpose. You have to make it 'ono," she said.

Among her helpful techniques:

• Sauteeing in a little water or broth instead of oil or butter, or with a nonstick frying pan and vegetable spray. She saves cooking water from vegetables for this, sometimes.
• Baking instead of frying.
• Using olive oil instead of other vegetable oils.
• Incorporating whole grains into dishes normally made with refined products (such as tostadas made with whole-wheat tortillas or sushi made with part brown rice).
• Adding lots of vegetables in place of fattier meats and other ingredients (as, for example, in Kalakoa Fried Rice, which contains no char siu but incorporates sweet red pepper, celery, peas, green onion and carrots).
• Making dishes vegetarian that traditionally include meat, such as a Portuguese bean soup made with soy-based sausage, or using turkey bacon or other lower-fat meats.
• Substituting vinegar-based dressing or a tofu mayonnaise for regular mayonnaise.
• Using a range of good-tasting but more nutritionally sound commercial products (the book includes a helpful index to the brands, their manufacturers and their web sites). Among her favorites are egg substitutes (she likes Better'n Eggs), soy-based meat alternatives (such as Vita Corp International SuperSoy, Boca Burger and White Wave Vegetarian Stir Fry Strips), lower-fat tofu (Mori-Nu brand), Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce (made from mushrooms), Hinode Hapa Blend Rice (brown and white rice blend), brown rice syrup (a substitute for refined sugar that's less sweet and not as sharp-tasting), American-made tamari (lower salt, gentler-flavored soy sauce), low-fat phyllo dough instead of pastry, canned vegetarian broth and a range of light, less-sat or low-fat canned and packaged products.

(To get a sense of how Devenot works, it's interesting to flip through her book side-by-side with Jean Watanabe Hee's best-selling "Hawai'i's Best Local Dishes," which contains traditional versions of many of the same dishes.)

Devenot is very concerned about Hawai'i's nutritional future. With families busy and eating out more, and nutrition science and home economics are phased out or de-emphasized in high schools, she points out, fewer young people are learning how to feed themselves, and how to do so healthfully. She promotes cooking together as a family activity, and learning how to make favorite dishes more healthy as a challenge to be taken up jointly.

Char siu chicken marinates overnight

Here's a recipe that characterizes Carol Devenot's approach to lighter local-style foods. It's a substitute for fatty char siu pork, and is made from baked, skinless chicken. Note that the dish needs to be started the night before serving. This is one of the more indulgent recipes in the book; reserve for a special occasion, or use just a little of the chicken in other recipes such as stir-fries, as you would char siu.

Char Siu Chicken

• 2 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, skinless
• Char siu sauce ( recipe follows)
• Vegetable oil cooking spray

Place chicken and char siu sauce in zippered plastic bag and marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and place a wire rack in the pan. Spray vegetable oil cooking spray on wire rack to prevent chicken from sticking.

Lay chicken pieces on rack and place in oven. Roast 15 minutes, then baste and roast another 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Test for doneness by slicing into one of the pieces.

Makes 6 servings.

Per serving, with sauce: 369 calories, 60 grams protein, 7 grams fat, 14 grams carbohydrates, 0 gram dietary fiber; 68 percent protein, 15 percent carbohydrates, 17 percent fat.

Char Siu Sauce

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice
• 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 to 3 teaspoons red food coloring (optional)
• Combine. Makes enough marinade for 2 1/2 pounds of chicken.

Makes 6 servings.