Page 9 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Sep 29 2021

CHICKEN HEKKA
Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar • 3/4 cup shoyu
• 3/4 cup mirin
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 6 ounces dried cellophane or glass noodles
• 2 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 pounds boneless, skin-on chicken thighs, sliced into 1-inch- wide strips
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 cup carrots, diagonal-cut slices • 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 (14-ounce) can baby corn, halved lengthwise on the diagonal
W H Y ?
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 9
TBin Roof Chef Creates A ‘Hekka’ Of A Dish
orn in Hilo, chef Shel- “The sound of rain on a tin don Simeon (pictured roof is what reminds us of at right) acquired his home,” he says of his name-
LANAI
love for cooking from his par- sake restaurant. “You know
ents. His path led from Hilo High School to the Culinary Institute of the Pacific, and then to an internship at Walt Disney World. Upon returning to Ha- wai‘i and earning the “Fan Fa- vorite” title on award-winning series Top Chef, he opened his casual eatery in Kahului — Tin Roof Maui.
• 1 cup bamboo shoots, sliced
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh watercress, cut into
3-inch pieces
• 2 small baby bok choy, trimmed
and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 ounces aburage, sliced into
1/2-inch-wide stripes
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cubed • 6 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, shoyu and mirin, and
set aside. Place the dried shiitakes in
a bowl and cover with warm water to soften. Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with warm water to soften.
In a large wok or Dutch oven, heat the sesame oil over medium-high. Add the chicken, increase the heat to
when the rain is coming; it’s soothing, calming and com- forting. In this tin roof garage under that Hilo rain is where we built our definition of home.”
high, and sauté until the meat is mostly cooked, 3-4 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the carrots, onion, baby corn, bamboo shoots, shoyu mixture and chicken broth.
Reserving the soaking liquid, drain the mushrooms, cut off and discard any stems, and slice the caps. Add them and the soaking liquid to the pan. Bring all of this to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain the cellophane noodles (they should be softened at this point) and cut into 3-inch lengths. Add them to the pan along with baby bok choy, aburage and tofu. Simmer until bok choy are blanched but firm, about 2-3 minutes. Finish by folding in watercress and scallions. Serve with cooked rice if desired. Serves 4-6.
He shares his recipe for Chicken Hekka from his new- ly finished cookbook Cook Real Hawai‘i.
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(Above) The food is always shaka-worthy for chef Sheldon Simeon and the author. RYAN SAKAMOTO PHOTO (Top) Simeon’s recipe for Chicken Hekka is found in his cookbook, Cook Real Hawai‘i. RUBEN CARRILLO PHOTO
You can watch episodes of “Cooking Hawaiian Style,” presented by Maui County Farm Bureau, on OC16 channels 10 and 1012, as well as nationwide via LifeStyle Network, FNX Network, Roku and Hawaiian Airlines in-flight entertainment. “Cooking Hawaiian Style” airs in over 43 million homes worldwide. Get this free recipe and thousands of others at cookinghawaiianstyle.com.