Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, Florida-Style
Chef Roy Yamaguchi is the "Roy" in Roy's restaurants.
The chain he founded has 35 eateries worldwide, including six in Florida and one in Orlando, the first stop in The Early Show's Summer in the City tour.
Each Friday, Food & Wine magazine is spotlighting star chefs in the cities the tour visits.
Chefs such as Yamaguchi, a James Beard Award winner known for using local ingredients and flavors to create his famed Hawaiian fusion cuisine. It features European sauces and bold Asian spices, with a focus on seafood.
To recommend a chef in your city, and to vote on Food & Wine's top picks, click here.
On The Early Show Friday, Yamaguchi showed how he uses the flavors of Florida in the dishes he serves at his Orlando restaurant.
RECIPES
MENU:
Appetizer: Seared Ahi with Gulf Prawns & Passion Fruit Salsa
Main Course: Pesto-crusted Mahi Mahi with Watercress Salad & Thai-style Key Lime Garlic-Nam Pla Vinaigrette
Dessert: Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Mango Coulis
Cocktail: Key Lime Mojito
ROY'S SEARED AHI WITH GULF PRAWN & PASSION FRUIT SALSA
Appetizer — Serves 4
1 Ripe passion fruit, halved
4 oz. Extra Gulf Prawns large shrimp (about 4) peeled, deveined, and diced
2 oz. Valencia Oranges
1/2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1/4 cup Minced Maui or other sweet white onion
1 Large Roma tomato, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
2 tbsp. Finely diced scallion (including green parts)
1 tbsp. Minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-3 oz. pc. Ahi
To prepare:
Scoop the seeds and pulp from the passion fruit with a spoon and press it through a fine-mesh sieve. Reserve the juice (about 1 tablespoon) and discard the seeds and pulp. Put the shrimp in a small bowl and toss with the olive oil to coat. Set a dry stainless-steel sauté pan over high heat and, when hot, add the shrimp. Sear, turning often until evenly pink, about one minute. Transfer to a non-reactive bowl and add the reserved passion fruit juice, onion, tomato, scallion, cilantro, Tabasco sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well to combine. Cover and refrigerate.
Put the ahi on a plate, coat with peanut oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set a dry cast-iron skillet over high heat for 2-3 minutes and, when hot, sear the ahi for about 30 seconds on each side for rare, or about 1-1/2 minutes on each side for medium-rare.
Transfer the ahi to serving plates and spoon salsa over the tuna, letting the juices from the salsa run onto the plates.
STEAMED PESTO-CRUSTED MAHI MAHI WITH WATERCRESS SALAD AND A THAI-STYLE KEY LIME GARLIC-NAM PLA VINAIGRETTE
Serves 4 as a main course
This dish was inspired by Thai cooking and uses Thai fish sauce. The sauce is a basic ingredient across Southeast Asia, but I prefer the Thai and Filipino versions, which are milder than Vietnamese or Burmese types. The salad and vinaigrette echo the classic Thai green papaya salad. It is important to prepare the salad immediately before serving so the ingredients do not become soggy. Serve the dish with steamed rice, if you like.
Key Lime Garlic-Nam Pla Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed Key lime juice (3 or 4 limes)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 or 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons sugar
4 cloves garlic, very finely sliced
2 shallots, very finely sliced
1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 tablespoon sambal oelek or your favorite hot sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
Pesto Crust and Mahi Mahi:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/3 finely sliced scallions (green parts only)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 spoon minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons water
4 (7-ounce) uku fillets
Watercress Salad:
Juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 bunch watercress, stems trimmed by ½ inch
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and julienned
1 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and julienned
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
To prepare the vinaigrette:
Combine the Key lime juice and lemon juice in a bowl. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Stir in the garlic, shallots, fish sauce, and sambal. Gently stir in the mint and cilantro. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to marry.
To prepare the pesto crust:
Combine the peanut oil, scallions, cilantro, oyster sauce, ginger, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in a blender. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and blend to a sauce. Season the Mahi Mahi fillets with salt and pepper to taste on both sides and coat on one side with the cilantro pesto. Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a steamer. Place the crusted Mahi Mahi on a rimmed dish or plate the can fit inside the steamer, cover, and steam for 4 to 5 minutes, until opaque throughout.
To prepare the salad:
Combine the lime juice, olive oil, fish sauce, and vinegar in a bowl. Add the watercress, mango, red and yellow bell pepper, and peanuts and gently toss together.
Place the Mahi Mahi on serving plates and pour the vinaigrette around the fish. Arrange the dressed watercress salad on top of the fish as a garnish.
UPSIDE DOWN PINEAPPLE CAKE WITH MANGO COULIS
Glaze:
1-1/2 lbs. Butter
1 lb 4oz. Dark Brown Sugar
Julienne Pineapples
Cake batter:
14 oz. Butter
11 oz. Sugar
11 oz. Brown Sugar
6 Eggs
2 tbsp. Vanilla
2 lbs. Cake Flour
1 tsp. Salt
2 tbsp. Baking Powder
1-3/4 cup milk
Mango Coulis:
3 pounds 8 oz. Ripe Mango
1/4 cup Lime Juice
1/4 cup Orange juice
Place Mango in food processor along with lime juice and orange juice. Puree then strain out the stringy fibers
To Prepare:
Prepare glaze by melting the butter over a medium heat and add sugar, stir in until smooth. Fill molds (aluminum disposable) with 2 oz. of glaze and chill for 1 hour. Place thick julienne of pineapple on top of glaze and use an ice cream scoop to portion out the cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-18 minutes or until the cake is firm. Immediately turn upside down onto a plate and remove the mold. Hint — use a torch to quickly heat the bottom of the mold. This will allow the pineapples to come out clean from the mold.
KEY LIME MOJITO
Serves 2
8 Mint Leaves
2 Key Limes (for juicing)
2 tsp, Powered Sugar
4 oz. White Rum