My brother José attended college in Hawaii in the late 1990s and never came back. After more than 20 years of island life, he’s thoroughly adopted the ways of the locals (who are known as kama’aina), including their food culture. That’s one reason that I’ve enjoyed reading all 300 pages of chef and restaurateur Sheldon Simeon’s new cookbook, “Cook Real Hawai’i” (Clarkson Potter/Publishers).
Born and raised on the Big Island by parents with Filipino roots, Simeon gained aplomb and accolades (nominations from the James Beard Foundation and Food & Wine magazine, two-time finalist on “Top Chef,” among others) by cooking food that was “affordable and accessible to everyone, most of all locals — simple, honest, delicious food that spoke to the community.”
Simeon’s recipe for Blistered Shishitos With Furikake Ranch and Crispy Quinoa originated as an ad hoc staff meal at one of his restaurants. As he explains in the headnote, “It began with shishito peppers blistered in a screaming hot pan, because who doesn’t love shishitos? I took some cooked quinoa that was on the line and threw it in the fryer until it turned nutty and crunchy. I mixed some furikake and ranch together, because delicious plus delicious equals more delicious.”
Blistered or charred shishitos are now a mainstay veg dish, especially at shared plates concepts across the country (and fresh peppers are just as accessible to the home cook, found loose and pre-bagged at the supermarket). While shishitos are everywhere, chefs write their signature with sauces and seasonings. (Just the other day, I sampled an iteration by chef Christina Wai of Drawbar at the new Bellyard Hotel in West Midtown in Atlanta, where the wrinkled peppers are paired with a saffron aioli.)
