Made in Hawaii Recipe: Good to Grill

The 15th annual Made in Hawaii Festival takes place August 20-22 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. Festival-goers will enjoy shopping for a selection of ono food, books, unique gifts, arts & crafts, music, plants, jewelry and more. A highlight of the festival each year is the cooking demonstrations from some of Hawaii’s finest chefs.

Cooking demonstrations are made possible with the support of the participating restaurants and the Department of Agriculture’s Hawaii Seal of Quality program. Featured vendors: Island Princess Macadamia Nuts Nalo Farms Greens

Chef Isaiah Cantotay, the executive chef of Good To Grill and Burgers on the Edge will present a cooking demonstration on Friday, August 20 at 4 p.m.

Here is the recipe for his featured dish.

Herb Crusted Opah with Ponzu Butter Sauce on Nalo Greens

Recipe serves 6-8

Start with 3 lbs of Opah (cut into 4 oz pieces)

Sauté sauce

Ingredients
2 ½ cups mayonnaise
1 ½ tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. Granulated Garlic
1 tsp. ground black bepper

Preparation
Mix together ingredients.

Butter sauce

Ingredients
1 tsp. finely chopped shallot
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup salt and pepper
¼ cup 36% heavy cream
¼ lbs. unsalted butter in chunks

Preparation
Add chopped shallots and wine to sauce pan and reduce till almost dry. Add the heavy cream and reduce by half. Remove from heat and whip in the butter till thick. Salt and pepper to taste.

Ponzu sauce

Ingredients
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup water
2 tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 ½ tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tbs. orange juice
1 tbs. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 serrano chile, stemmed and sliced (with seeds)
1 scallion (green and white), thinly sliced
½ tsp. cracked coriander seeds (optional)

Preparation
Whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl

Herb crust

Ingredients
1 lbs. Panko bread crumbs
1 quart shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh chopped basil
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
¼ cup fresh chopped garlic
¼ cup dried thyme
1/8 cup kosher salt
1 tbs. white pepper
1 cup chopped Island Princess macadamia nuts

Preparation
Mix all ingredients together.

Combining the Ingridients

Final Preparation
Lather the 4 oz. Opah pcs with the sauté sauce. Roll the pieces in the herb crust then sauté the opah in a pan until cooked.

Plating
Place on top of a bed of Nalo greens and drizzle butter sauce and Ponzu sauce over the finished product.

 
For information on attending the festival, visit madeinhawaiifestival.com
 

About The Chef

Isaiah Cantotay, Good to Grill Chef Isaiah Cantotay is the Executive Chef of Good To Grill & Burgers On The Edge. Isaiah grew up on Kaua’i, where he was influenced by Filipino, Puerto Rican, Hawaiian, Samoan, American, and Japanese cuisine. He graduated from the Kauai Comunity College Culinary Program. Isaiah worked for TS restaurants for 5 years as a Sous Chef for Keoki’s Paradise, and Dukes Kalapaki and studied under Mentor Chef Frank Sweeny and Chef Peter Merriman. He later partnered with friend and Mentor Bert Agor Sr. to bring the home town resturant feeling back to old Koloa town with Tomkat’s Bar and Grill. Upon moving to Oahu, Isaiah worked for Restaurants Unlimited at Kincaids at Ward Warehouse. In 2008 he was promoted to Executive Chef where he displayed his years of cooking knowledge on his ‘Fresh Sheet Specials’ with dishes like Herb Crusted Opah, Braised Kalbi Short Ribs, and Kauai Coffee Creme Brule. In late 2009 Isaiah joined the team at Burgers on the Edge and Good to Grill. Good to Grill is located in the Safeway Kapahulu complex at 888 Kapahulu Ave. Call 808-734-7345 or visit www.goodtogrill.com for more information. Good to Grill offers Kiawe wood-fired fine dining food without the fine dining prices.

The Made in Hawaii Festival Cooking Demonstrations are coordinated by HONOLULU Magazine and are sponsored in part by the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture’s Hawaii Seal of Quality program. All of the recipes featured include farm fresh Made in Hawaii local produce or seafood resources.

The Hawaii Seal of Quality  represents the cream of the crop of Hawaii’s agricultural producers. It was established to protect the integrity and value of the marketing cachet for Hawaii branded farm and value-added products.  Products with this seal are genuine, Hawai’i-grown or Hawai’i-made premium products, a guarantee that is enforced by the State of Hawaii.

When choosing your ingredients, consider the Hawaii Seal of Quality. For more information, visit: http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/add/soq/