Farmers market find: Wade Ueoka teams up with Ho Farms

Clockwise from top: somen salad, spicy eggplant, pickled okra, pickled tomatoes

Wade Ueoka, former chef de cuisine of Alan Wong's, is no longer with Tsunami's, where he was making waves with his duck confit sandwich and some of the most creative bar salads in town. Now, he's working with Ho Farms at the farmers markets, creating sides and dishes built around the produce, not the other way around. Recently spotted: a spicy eggplant salad (it makes a great bruschetta with one of Naked Cow Dairy's cheeses and Breadshop bread, both available at the markets) and pickled tomatoes, like Bloody Mary spheres, bursting with acidity, sweetness and heat. All you need is vodka. Somen salad features an assortment of Ho Farms veggies—sesame chard, chili-flecked cucumbers and that eggplant salad.

Starting in June, Ueoka will also start popping up at Taste on Thursdays, using that time as menu development for a future restaurant. Last week, an impromptu lunch menu included kimchee potato salad, a crispy mochi-crusted ono, and the return of the twice-cooked pork katsu that he debuted at Tsunami.

Wade Ueoka and Ho Farms at Wednesday Blaisdell and Saturday KCC farmers markets. Schedule at hfbf.org
Taste schedule at tastetable.com