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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Maui onion no ka 'oi in mouth-watering recipes

 •  Celebrating the onion

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Bring fine-dining flavor to your home table with chef Russell Siu's pan-seared lacquered salmon with pickled Maui onions and yuzu butter sauce. A soy sauce and sugar coating gives it caramelized sheen.

Photos by WANDA ADAMS | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Maui Kula onion lomi salmon makes use of readily available salmon fillets and is a favorite of local kids who are away from home.

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At the recent Maui Onion Festival at Whalers Village in Ka'anapali, members of the Maui Onion Growers Association demonstrated two recipes using fresh Maui onions. We've included a third recipe, for a "marmalade," that takes advantage of the onions' sweetness.

This first recipe is one a number of Advertiser readers have asked for — a way to make salt salmon at home.

Explained farmer Ann Uyehara: "Lomi is the Hawaiian word for massage or knead. Lomi salmon is one of the staple foods served at a traditional Hawaiian lu'au. This recipe is a favorite of local kids who are away from home and hungry for Hawaiian food." Uyehara uses the large salmon fillets you can find at Costco and other stores.

MAUI KULA ONION LOMI SALMON

  • 1 pound salt salmon (commercial or homemade)

  • 5 cups ripe tomatoes, crushed with hands or diced

  • 4 ice cubes

  • 1 cup diced Maui Kula onion

  • Hawaiian salt*

    To make salt salmon at home: Take 1 fresh, raw salmon fillet, cut into 3-inch slabs. Coat the salmon well with Hawaiian salt. Place fish into 1-gallon zip-closure plastic bag or sterilized glass jar. After two days, drain off liquid and add more salt. Continue, replacing salt and draining for seven to 10 days to cure salmon; it will develop a denser texture as the salt draws the moisture out of the fish. Rinse well before use.

    If using store bought salmon, soak in cold water overnight and drain well.

    Remove bones, skin and cartilage. Lay salmon on cutting board and scrape with spoon into small pieces. Add salmon to tomatoes. Adjust to taste by adding more tomatoes, if too salty. Add ice and chill well. Just before serving, add diced Maui Kula onion.

    Serves 12.

  • Per serving: 80 calories, 3.5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, greater than 600 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 8 g protein

    Though the herbs in this recipe are optional, they add a great deal to the flavor of this fresh salad. Vary the oil or acid for variety.

    MAUI KULA ONION ARMENIAN SALAD

    For the salad:

  • 1 large Maui Kula onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

  • 1 cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

  • 2 tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

  • 1/4-1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

  • 1 teaspoon chopped basil

  • 1 teaspoon chopped mint

  • 1 teaspoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

    For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice of 2 large lemons)

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • Salt and pepper to taste

    Combine vegetables, feta cheese and herbs, then toss with dressing. Chill well.

    Serves 6.

  • Per serving: 230 calories, 21 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 10 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 3 g protein

    This recipe for an easy, sweet-sour onion "marmalade" is from hungrybrowser.com, where a character named "Uncle Phaedrus" calls himself a "finder of lost recipes." (Phaedrus was the title character in a dialog written by Plato; he is a searcher and questioner.) It complements grilled meats and fish; or use it atop garlic toasts for an appetizer.

    SWEET ONION MARMALADE

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 cups chopped Maui Kula onion

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

  • 1/4 cup red wine

  • 3 tablespoons raisins

  • Salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

    Heat butter over medium heat in medium heavy saucepan. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

    Sprinkle with sugar and continue slowly cooking (you may need to turn heat down if onions begin to brown too quickly or burn) until onions are very soft and browned — 8 to 10 minutes.

    Add vinegar, wine, raisins and simmer until almost all of the liquids have evaporated and the onion mixture is glistening and syrupy — about 5 minutes.

    Yields 2/3 cup.

  • Per serving (2 tablespoons): 130 calories, 3.5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 10 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 16 g sugar, 1 g protein

    For this salmon dish, chef Russell Siu uses two techniques a home cook can master: creating an attractive glaze by coating a fish fillet with a little sugar and make an Asian-style beurre blanc (butter sauce). The key to the latter is to have the butter chilled until the last minute and to keep the heat on the sauce ingredients low as the butter is whisked in; this creates a cream-textured, silky sauce, but too much heat will cause the butterfat and milk solids to pull apart and the sauce will "break." (Still tastes good, but looks nasty.)

    PAN-SEARED LACQUERED SALMON WITH PICKLED MAUI ONIONS AND YUZU BUTTER SAUCE

    For the pickled Maui onions:

  • 1 cup rice vinegar

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1 medium Maui Kula onion, cut into thin rings

  • Salt to taste

    For the sauce:

  • 1 cup rice vinegar

  • 1 cup white wine

  • 1 (1-inch) piece peeled, chopped fresh ginger

  • 1 tablespoon chopped green onion

  • 1 clove garlic, halved

  • 1 tablespoon minced shallots

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

  • 2 tablespoons yuzu (juice of a Japanese citrus; lemon or lime may be used)

  • 3/4 cup well-chilled unsalted butter

  • Salt and pepper to taste

    For the salmon:

  • Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

  • 8 (3.5-ounce) salmon fillets

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 4 teaspoons sugar

    Garnish, if desired: microgreens or minced green onions

    In advance, make pickled onions: Combine rice vinegar and sugar in a non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil. Taste and correct sugar balance. Remove from stove and add onions. Steep until mixture cools. Add salt if needed.

    Make sauce: In a saucepan, combine rice vinegar, white wine, ginger, green onions, garlic and shallots and reduce, simmering, by half. Add heavy cream and yuzu and reduce until cream slightly thickens. Turn heat to very low. Slice chilled butter into pieces and lightly whisk into warm mixture, incorporating fully but not allowing the sauce to "break" by overheating it. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm in a double boiler until needed.

    Prepare salmon: Season sal-mon with salt and pepper. Rub bone side of fillet with soy sauce. Press soy sauce side of fillet onto sugar. Heat pan over medium heat and add oil. Place salmon (soy-sugar side down) in pan and saute until sugar caramelizes to a nice sheen. Turn over and saute to preferred doneness.

    Place 2 ounces sauce on each plate, place 2 pieces salmon atop sauce and garnish with pickled Maui onions. Microgreens or minced green onions may be used for garnish.

    Makes 4 servings.

  • Per serving: 1,000 calories, 72 g fat, 31 g saturated fat, 240 mg cholesterol, greater than 600 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 22 g sugar, 42 g protein

    Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.