Shrimp Curry
In a galaxy far, far away when discotheques allowed patrons as young as 18 years old into their establishments, we often stopped by Likelike Drive Inn before heading back to Kaneohe for sustenance as most of the evening was spent partaking in adult beverages at La Mancha, The Point After or Steel Wings. And more often than not, it was for their Shrimp Curry which was more satisfying than just a bowl of saimin. Local shrimp curry is a little different than the usual beef or hamburger curry as it doesn’t contain the traditional mirepoix of carrots, celery and onions but like Indonesian type curries, has coconut milk to enrich the broth. Of course, since the pandemic arrived, Likelike Drive Inn is no more but you can easily recreate the shrimp curry at home. And since the Asian Garden frozen shrimp at Longs or Waterfront Bistro frozen shrimp at Safeway regularly goes on sale, you can make this every month!
Hawaiian Style Shrimp Curry
2 pounds shrimp
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp curry powder
4 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp light brown sugar
3 tbsp curry powder
4 tbsp flour
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 can (12 oz) coconut milk (light or regular)
Peel and devein shrimp.
Combine the white wine, oil, curry powder and shrimp in a zip-top bag and marinate for about 15 minutes
Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the garlic, ginger, and onion and cook until the onion is soft, but do not let it caramelize.
Add the sugar, curry powder, salt, black pepper and flour and mix until the flour is incorporated then slowly whisk in coconut milk to create a smooth sauce.
Continue cooking, stirring often for about 10 minutes on a low boil so the sauce gets thick. If the sauce gets too thick, you can add chicken broth or water to reach the desired consistency.
Add the shrimp to the sauce, stir and heat through just until the shrimp is cooked (opaque and curled).
Serve over hot rice with the garnishes of your choice. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Where’s my Manapua?
Within a year of the pandemic, I lost my two favorite manapua establishments; Libby Manapua Shop in April 2019 then Char Hung Sut during the first pandemic shutdown. Both had the drier, flaked char siu filling that I prefer versus the wetter, glazed filling found in most other manapua. I’ve tried recreating my own marinating small chunks of pork in the Noh’s Char Siu marinade for several days then baking and flaking the meat but I still haven’t had any success recreating the taste of either establishment. So if you’re aware of any establishment that creates manapua just like Libby or Char Hung Sut, let me know and I’ll create a cocktail in your honor!
The Holy Grail
Unlike manapua where you might find a restaurant that makes manapua almost as good as those from the past, the next two items will simply remain in my memories – I’ve tried recreating one of them to no avail and simply don’t know where to start with the other.
Jon’s hamburger
Jon’s was located on the lower, mauka side of Ala Moana Shopping Center adjacent to the sand pit that kids played in with the huge bronze and steel sculpture created by Edward Brownlee (the first MFA recipient at UH) that resembled a huge, misshapen mechanic’s nut. Jon’s hamburger was unlike any other as I believe it also contained pork as well as beef with a slight curry flavor and pronounced black pepper. It was served simply on a white hamburger bun garnished with a leaf of iceberg lettuce and yellow hot dog relish. I’ve tried recreating it with various mixtures of lean and regular ground pork as well as altering the pork to beef ratio without any success in duplicating the flavor.
King’s Bakery marzipan(?) or Princess(?) rolls
When King’s Bakery was still located on King St, Mom and Dad always purchased a box of pastries after a trip to Ala Moana and it usually included a dense pastry with a pronounced cherry flavor. It was so richly flavored that I never was able to finish the whole pastry even if it was only the size of a croissant. I haven’t seen any pastry like it at any other bakery since King’s Bakery closed and even wrote to food columnist Betty Shimabukuro who didn’t recall any King’s Bakery pastry like I described – she did send me a recipe for marzipan rolls but they were more like fluffy, dinner rolls. A friend who originally started as a baker did recall the cherry flavored pastry and thought it was either called a marzipan or Princess roll though the current King’s Bakery in Torrance, CA doesn’t list any pastry on their website that remotely resembles what I enjoyed noshing on as a child.
So if anyone has the recipe for either Jon’s hamburger or the King’s Bakery marzipan-type pastry, send it to me and I’ll create a whole bar list of cocktails in your honor!
In the end, my friend didn’t think my version of the piroscki filling mimicked the taste of Rada’s though he admitted that he didn’t think he would try to recreate it in his kitchen since they required a deep fryer. Oh well, sometimes it’s the journey that counts and not the actual destination…
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