Bring on the Heat
Aipono Award winner Kyle Kawakami reveals the secrets of his famed fish
by Chris Amundson
From his eye-catching Big Red Maui Fresh Streatery truck parked in Maui Lani Commercial Area, a third-generation native of Maui prepares fish so clean and flavorful that it draws not only loyal locals but also return visits from the star of Food Network.
The Maui-born chef, Kyle Kawakami, slices his fish super thin, then splashes it with hot chili oil, releasing aromas from cilantro and scallions. He makes the dish for customers and family alike. The dish is an experience that is meant to be shared. There’s something timeless and attractive about such simplicity and community.
Kawakami prefers kanpachi, bred sustainably off the Big Island’s Kona coast by Kona-based Blue Ocean Mariculture.
“Instead of using tuna or swordfish, which may not be as sustainable, kanpachi is pen-raised,” Kawakami said. “You don’t see penetration of body fat in kanpachi like you do bluefin tuna on the East Coast or Japan, where it’s ultra cold — that fat content is penetrating the flesh. Here the fat is closer to the skin.”
That fat helps make kanpachi a more forgiving fish to prepare, compared to other choices that overcook rapidly. “Say you’re cooking tuna or swordfish,” Kawakami said. “You have such a small margin before it turns into shoe leather.”
Kawakami serves the kanpachi with a mix of Maui-grown vegetables, such as pohole fern. The meal requires no special equipment, and there are plenty of options for alternatives that home cooks on the island and the mainland alike can use.
Kawakami makes local fish and greens a high priority, and not just because of the August 2023 fires, which destroyed farms and backyard specialty producers of flowers, fruits and microgreens. Kawakami is committed to supporting local agriculture; he estimates that 95 percent of his ingredients originate on Maui. He wants sustainable agriculture — on land and sea.
Chef Kyle takes care of the island, too, cultivating relationships with local farmers and fishermen.
One famous chef on Food Network can’t seem to stay away from Kawakami’s cooking, nor his way of living.
“Guy Fieri is so inspirational — his joy and his knowledge of food,” Kawakami said. Fieri and the Food Network crew recently spent two and a half days filming episodes with Kawakami. “He’ll usually drop me a line and say, Hey, we’re coming out.’ ”
If mainland cooks don’t have easy access to kanpachi, Kawakami suggests some alternatives: Atlantic salmon or halibut. And he offers special instructions: Leave the skin on. “I always do crispy skin,” he said.
Wherever someone lives, Kawakami encourages them to consider timeless choices: locally sourced food whenever possible, taking only what you need when fishing and harvesting, and providing for others who cannot provide for themselves.
“Always think of kupuna, or the elders,” Kawakami said. “They fed you when you’re young, but now that they’re older they may not be able to go out into the ocean or go out into the mountains. Now you are the steward to take care of them.
“And then you pass that on to the children so that they take care of you.”
Chef Kyle’s service to the community and Maui’s agriculture industry are what earned him the 2023 Friend of Agriculture Aipono Award.
Congratulations, Chef Kyle!
Sizzling Kanpachi Sashimi
2 lbs Kona kanpachi filets,
skinned and quartered
Substitution: hamachi-yellowtail
or salmon
1 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1/4 cup scallions, thin sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp mirin sweet cooking sake
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp crispy garlic chili sauce (Taberu Rayu)
1/4 cup canola oil
⅛ cup sesame oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Slice kanpachi as thinly as possible and lay out on plate without overlapping slices. Lightly season with kosher salt. Sprinkle with ginger, scallions and cilantro. Combine the canola and sesame oils in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until smoking.
Using a spoon, carefully drizzle smoking hot oil over the sashimi slices, quick searing the flesh and aromatics. Drizzle with soy sauce and mirin. Finish with a sprinkling of chili garlic sauce and serve.
Serves 4
Crispy Skinned Kanpachi
2 lbs Kona Kanpachi filets,
skin on. Substitution:
hamachi-yellowtail or salmon
Kosher salt, to taste
Portion filets into desired serving sizes. Score skin lightly to allow for crispier skin. Season with kosher salt. Heat non-stick skillet with light oil on medium high heat. When hot, start with skin side down, cooking until crispy and brown. Flip and finish on flesh side, cooking filet to medium rare. Hold warm until ready to plate.
Serves 4
Kyle’s Pohole Salad
This light and refreshing salad features pohole fern, which grows wild on Maui and is available from farmers in local stores.
1 lb pohole fern shoots, cut in
to 1-inch sections. Substitution:
asparagus or fiddlehead ferns
½ red onion, fine julienne
1 pint cherry tomato, quartered
1/4 cup oyster sauce
Kosher salt, to taste
Bring 1/2 gallon of water to boil. Salt water. Blanch pohole fern shoots for 1 minute in boiling water then immediately shock in ice water. Drain and dry fern shoots. Combine fern shoots, onions, tomato and oyster sauce.
Serves 4
Roasted Ulu Mash
Ulu paired with pesto creates an herbaceous twist to this starchy staple of Hawaii.
1 mature ulu (breadfruit)
Substitution: fingerling potatoes
1 cup pesto sauce
Roast whole ulu over fire embers, a grill, or in the oven. Once the skin is charred and flesh tender, remove the skin and core. Rough smash ulu with a spoon. Mix in pesto and hold warm before serving.
Serves 4
