Recipe: Huli Huli Burger Wraps

A friend of mine is in love with Hawai'i. She and her husband head there nearly every year, sometimes twice. They take their kids, their grandkids, their friends, and pretty much anyone they meet because they both love it so much. If they had it their way, they'd retire right on the beach of some lagoon in the Hawaiian islands.

Beyond the beauty of the Pacific, one of her favorite things about Hawai'i is the food.

Hawaiian food has lots of specialties and their own unique cuisine. From spam musubi to Kalua pork, Lau Lau to chicken katsu, and of course, their infamous Hawaiian BBQ.

Spam Musubi and Kalua Pork

What is Hawaiian BBQ, you ask? It's a fabulous blend of Asian and American flavors, a bit more on the sweet side (as most Hawaiian food tends to be), but marvelous. Traditional Hawaiian plates come with two perfectly rounded scoops of rice, a heaping side of macaroni salad, and whatever entree is being served. It's not a lunch or dinner for the weak - most of the time, there's plenty for the next meal or two. Or maybe three.

For those of us who live on the mainland, a family-run chain of restaurants has brought all those flavors to shore. L&L Hawaiian BBQ has brought us fresh varieties of some of the most famous Hawaiian dishes. It's a great way to experience some of the food right where you live until you can catch that cruise or plane ride to your vacation getaway.

My friend and I were talking about Hawai'i, as we often do while we are busy making cookies. She raved and raved about one of her favorite sauces - Huli Huli sauce. Huli Huli Sauce was the invention of an islander, Ernest Morgado, who needed to marinate and baste his chicken in a teriyaki sauce while he was grilling for a farmer's meeting. He used his mother's teriyaki sauce recipe and the chicken became an instant hit. After nearly 30 years of competitions and fund-raisers, he began bottling his special sauce. You can buy it in most stores, but homemade is the way to go, especially if you can't eat soy or gluten. It can be used as a marinade, a basting sauce, a dipping sauce, or pretty much any way you can think of. Burgers, chicken, kabobs - you name it. Delish.

Huli Huli Chicken

This sweet, tangy, slightly spicy sauce, is a perfect family pleaser.

A week after my friend gave me her recipe, she asked excitedly, "Have you tried it yet?"

I hadn't.

And part of the reason I hadn't was the addition of soy sauce to the recipe. I don't eat much soy sauce due to the wheat content, as well as the soy. Neither does well in my body, so I had to find an alternative. So, I headed to the kitchen and decided to try it with my No Soy Soy Sauce.

And it is as wonderful as she claims. Sweet, tangy, slightly spicy from the ginger. All the sugars caramelize into the most amazing crusty sauce. It's fantastic, as well as versatile.

I think Ernest would be proud.

Happy eating!

Huli Huli Burger Wraps

Recipe collaboration: Sauce by L. Dolan (with my adaptation); the rest of the deliciousness by Michelle L. Hankes
Serves 4 hungry people (can be easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled, or quintupled)

For the Huli Huli Sauce:
(makes about 2 - 2 1/2 cups of sauce)

1 cup packed brown sugar or vegan cane sugar
3/4 cup ketchup (organic preferred)
3/4 cup soy sauce or No Soy Soy Sauce (just triple the recipe)
1/3 cup chicken broth, veggie broth, or warm water with two large pinches of sea salt
2 1/2 tsp fresh minced ginger root
1 1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic

Pour all ingredients into a medium bowl, then whisk to combine. Reserve 1 cup for the burgers. Place remainder in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for later use, up to 2 months.


For the burgers: 

1 1/2 lbs. good-quality ground beef
sea salt, to taste
8 lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup Huli Huli Sauce, divided

1. Place ground beef in a medium bowl, add a bit of sea salt (to taste), then mix with fingers just until combined. Divide the beef into 8 equal portions. Form each portion into a flat log-shape so they will fit easily into the lettuce leaves. (Don't put them in the lettuce leaves, yet!) Set aside.

2. Heat a cast-iron skillet on medium (or grill, if you prefer).

3. While the pan is heating, place 1/4 cup of the Huli Huli sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

4. When the pan is hot, place the "burgers" on the skillet (or grill) and allow to fully cook on one side about 2-3 minutes to get a good sear. Flip; then using the remaining 3/4 cup of Huli Huli sauce, baste the burgers either using a basting brush or a small spoon. Let cook for a minute or two, then repeat allowing to cook for another minute. This should create a lovely caramelized sauce on the burgers. Yum. (For safety, discard the rest of the basting sauce.)

5. Remove from pan when cooked to your liking and place in the lettuce leaves. Using the Huli Huli sauce that was first set aside (in step 3), drizzle a small amount over the burgers. If there's any left, save for a further use or use for dipping (it also makes an awesome Huli Huli mayo).

6. Serve with two scoops of rice, macaroni salad, and/or a green salad! Enjoy!

No Soy Soy Sauce

Ah, soy sauce...

Delicious, tangy, salty, briney. All the things you want to add some oomph to chicken, fish, burgers, sauces, and pretty much any dish that resembles something derived from an Asian culture.

But, soy sauce does not work for every body. Sometimes, it's the soy; sometimes, it's the wheat (although, you can now find wheat-free soy sauce in many stores or online). But either way, if soy sauce does not make you sing with delight, there aren't many alternatives to get the same flavor.

Until now.

That's right. I take credit for this delicious concoction created out of necessity.

Okay, nobody needs soy sauce, for the most part. But fried rice without soy sauce or teriyaki without soy sauce?? How bland! How boring! How, un-umami.

But, soy sauce in both components is not body-friendly for me. So, what's an umami-loving girl to do?

Create her own.

Happy Umami Eating!

No Soy Soy Sauce

Easy-peasy recipe by Michelle L. Hankes

Makes scant 1/4 cup

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1 tsp tamarind concentrate*

2 generous pinches of sea salt (or to taste)

Directions: 

Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until combined. 

Use immediately one-for-one in any recipe needing soy sauce or as a dipping sauce. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, for a week. Can be frozen for up to 3 months. 

*Tamarind concentrate is made from the tamarind fruit. It has a lovely tangy, kinda sweet, and definitely sour flavor that when added with salt makes a wonderful substitute for soy sauce. It is used in many traditional Asian dishes, including Pad Thai. I use Tamicon that can be purchased at Whole Foods or most grocery stores in the Asian food section or Hispanic food section. I use the concentrate version because it's smooth and intense in flavor, but it also comes in paste form and blocks of concentrate. I haven't tried those, but I'm sure they would work equally well. 

Easy Creamy Pesto Pilaf

Dinner! It should be easy, shouldn't it? Well, that's what I am all about lately. E-Z! Well, simple can be just as delicious as anything else and as you read on, I will show you a little restaurant tip to make food look fabulous.

But food first.

Cooked quinoa

I always have quinoa on-hand for just about any time of day. I like it for breakfast sometimes, as a great start to my day. And sometimes, for lunch, it's quick and simple too. Plus, it stores easily on the shelf and in the fridge for a long period of time, so it's great for re-heating and eating a quick bite. I love quinoa! It's healthy, filling, full of all sorts of beneficial nutrients and it's relatively cheap. I buy mine at Costco in a big bag for $10 and it lasts me forever. Really. Now, a family of four...maybe less than forever, but still - for ten bucks? How can you say no?

And next to my quinoa in the pantry is my millet. I love millet. I've written a recipe or two on here with millet included, mostly in flour form, but I love the grain. Some people like to make fun of it because in this country our idea of millet is the little yellow grain in bird seed. It's true. That is millet. But we are missing out on a powerhouse of nutrition here. And I just love the flavor and texture it brings to dishes - a sweet, nutty, crunchiness that is different than other grains. I love it. Not only is it gluten-free, like quinoa, it's hearty, filling, eco-friendly, highly sustainable, cheap (seriously cheap! No pun intended.) and getting easier to find in health food stores.

Toasting millet

This recipe came about because I was in the mood for something simple, fast and didn't require me to go to the store for anything. I just wasn't in the mood. We all have days like that, right? Well, I happened to have some thawed pesto on hand (I keep mine frozen after making several batches all at once to save time - a trick I learned from a good friend!) and something creamy sounded too good to pass up. I pulled out the quinoa and the millet and - wala! - dinner was served. So easy. This is a quick night yummy for any household. And if you don't have quinoa or millet or both on hand, just use rice. Use whatever you've got. Sometimes, I like to mix and match - a little quinoa, a little millet, a little rice. Whatever. It's all good!

Note: if you decide to mix and match your grains, just make sure you add enough water to the pot to make sure all of the different grains cook evenly. 2 cups of water : 1 cup of quinoa, 3:1 for millet, and 2:1 for rice. And the same goes for the veggies I included. I had squash on this particular day, but the Creamy Pesto Pilaf would be just as good with asparagus, greens, peas, eggplant, mushrooms - whatever you've got. This is a mix and match, what-you've-got kind of recipe. Experiment and have fun! That's half the fun of cooking!

Fun serving suggestion: This recipe, although delicious, is not the prettiest to put on a plate. It's thick and green, but the flavor is fabulous. So, I did what restaurants and chefs do to make something that isn't exactly pretty into something gorgeous and upscale. I used a cookie cutter. That's right. A heart-shaped cookie cutter. You can use any style - round, square, diamond, oval, whatever. I would avoid too many nooks and crannies, but whatever suits your fancy will work! The cookie cutter/biscuit cutter is what gourmet chefs do to polenta, rice dishes and even oatmeal to make it ten times more appealing on a plate. You'll see what I mean. You don't have to do this, but it's fun and elegant and you  know what? You're worth it! Place a medium or large cookie or biscuit cutter on a plate. Fill the center with the Creamy Pesto Pilaf, pressing everything down gently. Slide the cutter slowly up, holding the pilaf down with a finger or spoon and - presto! - you have restaurant-beautiful pilaf. Repeat for more than one serving or depending on size of cutter. Top with fish or beef and enjoy!

Happy eating!

Creamy Pesto Pilaf

Serves: 4 – 6
Cook time: 30 - 45 minutes

½ cup quinoa, rinsed

½ cup millet, rinsed

1 tbsp butter or olive oil

2 ½ cups water

1 – 2 tbsp olive oil

½ onion, chopped

2 cups squash or zucchini, sliced into ¼-inch half-moons or rounds (about 1 large squash or two small)

½ - ¾ cup pesto of choice (see optional recipe below)

3 tbsp cream cheese, Neufchatel cheese, or non-dairy cream cheese substitute

Sea salt

*Degorge squash, if necessary, by placing rounds in a shallow bowl and tossing with a pinch or two of sea salt. Allow to sit for 20 minutes, then rinse and drain. Set aside.

Rinse quinoa and millet in a fine-mesh strainer until the water runs clear. In a medium saucepan, heat quinoa, millet and butter over medium heat, allowing the butter to melt fully and gently toast and brown the grains, about 2 minutes. Add water and a generous pinch of salt. Allow mixture to boil gently, stirring occasionally, until all the water is absorbed. During last five minutes, place cover on pan and allow to finish cooking. Remove from heat.

Heat a skillet over medium heat, then add olive oil and onions with a small pinch of sea salt. Mix and let brown gently for 1 - 2 minutes. Add drained squash and continue to sauté, adding more olive oil, if necessary. Brown pieces gently on both sides, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove cover from cooked grains and fluff with a fork. Add the pesto and cream cheese and place the cover back on top for 30 seconds to a minute. Remove the cover and using the fork, gently combine the grains with the pesto and cheese. In a separate large bowl, place the pesto pilaf, sautéed onions and squash, Mix gently with fork to combine.

*Tip: if degorging squash due to bitterness, do not add any salt to squash during cooking. The salt that remains on the squash after rinsing is plenty unless you like things really salty!


Easy Homemade Pesto

2 cups fresh basil, washed and de-stemmed (or use another herb of choice: cilantro, parsley, mint)

¼ - ½ cup pecans, walnuts, almonds or pine nuts

2 cloves fresh garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder

¼ to ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (or more as needed)

¼ cup grated Parmesan or Parmesan-substitute (optional)

Sea salt, to taste

In a food processor (or if you’re brave – a mortar), combine herbs, nuts and garlic until finely ground. While machine is running, slowly drizzle olive oil into the mixture until a smooth paste forms. Add cheese, if using, and sea salt to taste.

Cover and place in the fridge for one hour to let flavors mingle. Makes about one cup. Freeze remainder or keep in fridge for a week or two. It's great on bread, pastas, chicken, fish or eggs.

Optional tasty variation: Decrease amount of herbs by one cup and add one cup of sautéed swiss chard, raw or sautéed spinach, or raw or sautéed broccoli. This will add an extra amount of flavor and nutrition! Experiment and enjoy!

Product Review: Tinkyada Gluten-Free Rice Pasta

You know, even for someone who can't have wheat, everybody deserves a little pasta in their life, right? It's chewy, filling, and satisfying in so many ways. And all the delicious things you can do with it!

Okay, truth is, we all know pasta is not the absolute best thing for us especially if all we ever have are cream sauces or butter on it. However - and this a big HOWEVER - if you use it complementarily with all sorts of other delicious and nutritious items, then yes, pasta can be a really great food. And don't despair gluten-free eaters, there are many, many companies who are more than willing to provide you with a whole host of gluten-free options. In fact, in Asia, rice noodles have been used for thousands of years with the most basic ingredients possible - stone-ground rice (rice flour) and water. That's it. Pretty simple and easy to make.

You can walk into any Pho house in the world and you'll find exactly what I'm talking about: good rice noodles steeped deeply in that delicious Pho broth. And if you want rice noodle selection, just peruse your local Asian market (if you have one) and walk down the noodle aisle. One whole side will be dedicated to rice noodles in every shape and size.

Now, for anyone who has tried a rice noodle, it really depends on the noodle, the maker and the ingredients as to how the texture and feel in your mouth will be. Some noodles are sticky intentionally; some noodles fall apart if overcooked; some noodles cook quickly while others take twenty minutes or longer to soften; and some noodles just aren't very good.

Rice in and of itself is not a bad food. It has gotten a bad rap because the glycemic index of it is a bit high and that is a major concern for a lot of people. However, rice is a quick and sustainable energy source, low in sodium, cholesterol-free and full of vitamins and minerals like niacin, Vitamin D, calcium, iron, thiamine and riboflavin. This popular crop feeds more than half of the population of the world and is considered a staple in most countries.

And just think about the vast quantity of types of rice: red, white, black, jasmine, arborio, short-grain, long-grain, instant. The list goes on and on. But the most popular debate has and will probably always be: white or brown? Keeping that outer husk with all its beneficial bran seems a great way to go.

And that is just what my favorite rice pasta company has done.

As more people find themselves on a gluten-free diet, the need for gluten-free pastas are on the rise. Companies are taking hold of this potential and creating new and exciting options that really rival their original wheat-filled counterparts. Penne, spirals, shapes and letters, bunnies, lasagna, elbows, fusilli, fettucini, shells, and more. The rice pasta industry has tried and succeeded at copying just about everything.

But as I have said before, not all pastas are the same. I have tried quinoa pastas made with corn, rice pastas made with organic brown rice, standard rice flour and water pastas, rice pastas that add dried vegetables right into the pasta and more. They all have their positives and their negatives and one of these days, I would love to do a taste, compare and share. But, that's another article.

Today, I am going to share with you my all-time favorite rice pasta and why it is my all-time favorite.

Tinkyada Rice Pasta is the winner hands-down. http://www.tinkyada.com/

Let me tell you why.

I have tried a lot of rice pasta. A LOT.

In my early quest for a great gluten-free diet, I didn't know how to make my own pasta and finding rice pasta was easy. In every natural store, it is abundant and now, in most stores, you can find at least a package or two. I have learned to make my own pasta, but pre-packaged rice pasta is fast, easy and readily available, so why not? That's my theory. And there is no way I am about to spend the hours trying to make my own gluten-free pasta into little spiral shapes. Not gonna happen. Who has time? Or should I say, days?

When I started out, I tried lots of different kinds of rice pastas, always looking for the one that would offer some greater nutritional value, but also a really great product. That's not too much to ask, is it? I didn't think so. So, I bought various package after package cooking them according to direction and remembering the rules of great pasta cooking (believe it or not, with the right rice pasta, it will cook just like the wheat varieties, al dente and all) I found my favorite.

Through a few bad pasta experiences, I found some gluten-free pastas to be dull or lifeless, grainy or starchy, overly chewy or gummy, and so many of them with all the great rice bran just fell apart when you cooked them. That's not any fun. Food should be pretty, as well as enjoyable. If it is possible, why compromise for second-best? Again, that's my theory.

And that's when I stumbled upon Tinkyada. Okay, stumble is probably not the right word. Fell would be more like it. How could I not when in the majority of the stores I went into it was either the only rice pasta they carried or it filled the entire shelf. Tinkyada has such a vast variety of types, shapes and sizes, most stores don't even carry all they offer. So, with the store stocking so many, it must be good, right?

This is where I wave my little red flag. Note to all gluten-free eaters: just because a store stocks several varieties of a particular brand does not, and I repeat, does not mean they are actually any good or even the best. Tinkyada is the exception here. As a matter of fact, they are quite the exception because their pasta is good. Okay, not just good, but goooooooooooooooooooooood. Can you hear my lips smacking just thinking about them?

Tinkyada offers lots of options from organic brown rice pastas to spinach brown rice spaghetti noodles (one of my favorites) to multi-colored vegetable spirals with carrot, tomato, and spinach in the pasta itself. Probably the one and only noodle I have yet to have tried is their lasagna noodle. No, wait. I believe I did try that some years ago, but it has been awhile. I just haven't gotten around to making any sort of lasagna. But, I will!

You can eat the noodles cold or hot (a big problem for many manufacturers), you can sauce them or eat them plain, and nearly all the noodles contain rice bran for extra nutrition, texture and flavor. And only one is made with white rice; the rest are filled with the beneficial brown rice variety. Delish.

So, what is one to do with a rice noodle?

Whatever you want to.

Literally. Make spaghetti with marinara sauce and add a meatball or two; make a cold pasta salad on a hot summer night; add some to make chicken noodle soup; make a delicious cream sauce and serve up some fettucini; or do what I do: make your own sauce concoction and devour. *See below for my latest offering.

Here are some tips for pasta lovers (and really, these are pretty standard pasta making tips whether you eat wheat pasta or rice):

1. Salt the water generously. This will make the pasta more flavorful and you'll have to add less salt to your dish later. (Of course, for those of you who don't eat salt or prefer not to, this is completely optional. Tinkyada is just as delicious without added salt.)

2. Cook the pasta just until al dente, which literally means, "to the tooth." The texture should still be a bit chewy and firm. The pasta will continue to cook once you remove it from the heat, so if you overcook it prior to that, by the time it gets to the plate and in your mouth, it will be mushy. Unless you like that, then have at it.

3. If you need to stop the pasta from continuing to cook (aka, you overcooked it), then run it under some cold water to stop the cooking process. Some of the packages of rice pasta will recommend that you do this anyway. You don't have to do this with Tinkyada's pasta. Not necessary. And on the plus side, then your pasta won't be cold when you want it to be hot. Some of the other brands recommend you do this to also remove the excess starch from the outside of the noodle. After having cooked some of them, I can see why. They start to clump in the water and that's just a gooey mess. This is not a problem with Tinkyada. Ever. No need to rinse unless you really want to.

4. If you are going to refrigerate any leftover pasta or you are going to serve it by itself (where people can put their own toppings on, etc), then remove the pasta from the water, rinse if you must, and add a little olive oil and gently mix it around. This will prevent the pasta from sticking together, which does happen whether it is wheat or rice. If you are putting a sauce or dressing on it right away, this step is unnecessary. But remember, as with all pastas, the pasta is going to absorb the dressing somewhat. Add more later if you need to.

And that is pretty much it. Pretty simple, pretty fast and pretty delicious.

Happy eating everybody!

Creamy Italian Squash and Carrot Sauce

Great with pasta or over turkey or chicken! Delicious!

Recipe courtesy of Michelle Hankes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 cups baby carrots or regular carrots chopped into 1” pieces

½ acorn squash, seeded, peeled and diced

1 cup water

¼ cup milk of choice

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp dried basil

2 bay leaves

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dried tarragon

½ - 1 tsp salt (add more or less to taste)

Dash cayenne pepper

½ onion, diced

1 tbsp olive oil or butter

½ tbsp butter or natural margarine

2 oz. Neufchatel cheese or vegan cream cheese alternative


Place carrots, squash, and water in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until squash is tender and carrots are easily cut or pulled apart with a fork, about 15-20 minutes. Place cooked squash, carrots and water mixture into a blender or VitaMix. Add milk and blend until smooth.

Return pureed mixture to saucepan and add thyme, oregano, basil, bay leaves, garlic, tarragon, salt and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to gently simmer.

Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil or butter on medium-low heat. Saute onions until tender, not browned, about 3-4 minutes.

Add sautéed onions, butter and Neufchatel cheese to saucepan with pureed mixture and stir gently to incorporate. Gently use a whisk to incorporate the cheese, if necessary.

Remove bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!