Kākelekahe Steamed Fish

 

Description: Kākelekahe Steamed Fish (kah-kel-eh. kah-hay) highly depends on the highly seasoned fish and the sizzling hot peanut oil that is drizzled on fish and is marked by high heat as it is poured there is a crackling sound as it hits the fish skin. The name itself "Kākele" that means greasy and to rub with oil that really emphasizes the sauce that depends on the oils that have been flavored with a generous amounts of ginger. Due to the sort of fish this particular steamed fish skips the mayonnaise or has very small amounts of it.

Chinese Steamed Fish: While it is the most common sort of steamed fish in Hawaii it is also seen as a specialty on Oahu as there are so many variations that have been slowly showing themselves as recipes have been shared online. On Oahu it is simply known as "Chinese Steamed Fish" as it gives credit to the origin dish of "Qing Zheng Yu", so many people are confused on if its a Local Hawaii dish, a Local Hawaii-Chinese dish, or straight out of Cantonese cooking. The taste itself is unquestionably local as people who eat it know that it tastes of island flavor from the fish itself that is from Hawaii waters as well as some of the changes that were made in the recipe. The history can be tasted as the flavor of island families hone their skills and further develop a variety of steamed fish with their own signature dish they bring to pot lucks.

Snappers: This particular cooking method goes well with all sorts of Snappers. This includes Uku grey snapper, Onaga longtail snapper, Ehu squirrel fish, Opakapaka, and Ta'ape blueline snapper. Snapper is used for its fine, flaky, and tender texture that can be best tasted with these sorts of fish. Snapper typically has white, lean flesh, and is desirable for steaming as it cooks up with a lower fat content. That means it cooks evenly and doesn't release too much oil during steaming, which means the added oil takes center stage of the first layered flavor, the second being the fish meat, and the third is the seasoning.

Shiitake Kākelekahe Steamed Fish (Waipahu): The sauce has ginger, peanut oil, sesame oil, and shoyu. Same seed puree, calamansi, mayonnaise, dry shiitake mushrooms and turn them into powder, dry mustard, hawaiian salt, dashi powder, black pepper, dried thyme, celery seed, onion powder, garlic powder.

Bacon Kākelekahe Steamed Fish (Ewa): Add canola oil for the pan, then add the bacon, ground pork, onion, mushrooms, lup cheong, garlic salt, and black pepper are cooked together to extract the fat by cooking with the lid on. Remove the rendered bacon and Lup cheong to use for garnish later. The garnish comprises of Chinese parsley, Lup Cheong, Green Onions, and a dash of Smoked Paprika for color. It is optional to add a mix of Mayonnaise with shoyu, sesame seed oil, dashi powder, and white pepper, until liquidy, otherwise add additional peanut oil and sesame seed oil. Let the fish marinate in the mayonnaise liquid, then pour it on top the fish before baking. When it comes out of the oven steamer finish it by pouring heated oil over the fish for the classic sizzling noise from the crackling.