Posted on: Wednesday, June 8, 2005

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
In search of '70s-style spaghetti

By Wanda Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Time for queries:

• Baked spaghetti — Kim P. would like to know if anyone has a recipe for baked spaghetti. She is particularly interested in one that replicates that flavor of Ma'ili Elementary's baked spaghetti from the 1970s.

• Sugar-free desserts — Gail Kimura wrote to ask for good sugar-free cookies or desserts. Sugar-free could mean without added sweetener or with the use of a sugar substitute.

• Drying persimmons, Asian-style — June Williams wants to know how to dry persimmons like the ones you see sold at New Year's time.

• Chinese green mochi — Robin Fong is looking for a type of mochi that "Popo" used to make. "We would pick these plants (mugwort?) from along Kapalama Canal or any place that had a lot of water. You would boil the leaves and then mash and blend into the mochi dough giving the dough a green color. You would then roll the dough into balls of about 1 inch and press the ball into a carved wooden mold. ... The dough would then take the shape of the mold.ÊI believe you steam them to cook. I have only seen these during the Chinese New Year "Night in Chinatown" festivities. I have asked the sellers if I could get the recipe but they said 'no.' ... The Chinese name that I know it by is lin sai biang. I've also heard of in sai biang. Either way, the plant adds the flavor. The leaves are jagged and look furry on the underside." Can anyone out there help?

• Korean potatoes — Hazel Rizzi is looking for a recipe for a dish served in Korean barbecue takeout places — the one that "looks like boiled potato chunks and browned in something that gives it a mildly sweet flavor." Are those potatoes? And how prepared?

Just gotta share this old-style salt-cod recipe that Margaret Grace sent me in thanks for finding a recipe for her:

Salt cod salad: Soak 8 ounces salt cod in cold water overnight, changing water several times; drain and pick out any skin or bones; pat dry. Boil, peel and coarsely chop 2 pounds potatoes (Russet type). Slice 3 ripe tomatoes in 6-8 pieces each. Slice 2-3 medium round onions thinly and break into pieces. Slice 2 green onion stalks (green and white parts) in 1/4 -inch pieces. Chop 10-15 cloves garlic (or less, or more, depending on your taste).

In 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil in large, heavy-bottom frying pan, fry cod over medium heat until golden brown, then add onions and fry a couple of minutes. Add potatoes and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and garlic is a little golden at the edges. Add tomatoes and green onions and fry another minute or so, then turn off heat and sprinkle with apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

This can be breakfast, lunch or dinner with poi, rice or crusty bread. Makes 6 servings.

• Per serving: 300 calories, 6 g fat, 1 grams saturated fat, 55 mg cholesterol, greater than 2000 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 6 grams sugar, 28 grams protein