You can only eat so much Spam, even in Paradise.

  Ok, I’ll be honest here at the risk of never being invited to another Island Theme Party. I’ve never eaten Spam in Hawaii. We had it at home as kids, but that’s to be expected growing up in the 60’s & 70’s with six boys. White bread from the Day Old Bakery, peanut butter and jelly by the case, meatloaf, and yes, the occasional slice of gelatin covered fried Spam. So, after spending my later years sharpening my palate eating in the finest happy hour bars I could afford, potted meats were off the menu. My apologies to the dude in Sling Blade and Hawaiians everywhere.

I’ve always loved seeing whole fried fish on a restaurant menu; it just looks…exotic. So exotic I found out, that women and children will immediately laser beam you that look that says “OH HELL NO!”. So I did what most of you manly types out there would do, I found new women and ditched the children; temporarily. I went on to make versions of whole fried fish with the usual suspects, trout and other fish small enough to be a single serving. Typically these creations always followed a French recipe; Almondine, Buerre Blanc, blah, blah, blah. Then came an excursion to San Francisco Chinatown; Flaming woks with odd looking fish and the smell of garlic, ginger and chili. Especially chili, I was hooked. Then, watching a late night rerun of Iron Chef Japan, I became a full-on Whole Fried Fish Szechuan Junkie.

Fast forward to the North Shore of Oahu this year. My addiction somewhat quelled and hidden from those closest to me. I had been web surfing for out of the way chow-stops when I found one of Guy Fieri’s Triple D gems. Claiming to specialize in Philippine, Thai and local Hawaiian “fusion”, He-eia-kea General Store and Deli on the end of a pier sounded like just the place to get my fix, in relative obscurity.

I hopped in the rental and screamed out of the parking garage with no regard for the money Avis was losing on tires. Thirty minutes seemed like, um, at least thirty-five, but finally, there it was; the pier with the shack. Deli? General Store? They made as much sense to me as the name He-eia-kea. But I had neither time nor desire to question anything, I was the only Haole there, my secret was safe and I had needs.

My recollection of the moments that followed are vague at best, but I recall looking at the chalkboard menu, and there it was; local whole fried fish! Yessssss! What kind of fish, I have no idea. I don’t need to remember; it was small, single serving size. It came with two starches, rice and macaroni salad, both of little consequence to me. I scored; my Jones was cured, and no one had to know. As I raised my head from the Styrofoam to go container for the last time, I was finally able to comprehend my surroundings. Apparently during my frenzy a dozen or so young, mainlander types and several locals had crept onto the patio and had been watching me with a combination of distain and amazement. I stood, surveyed my fellow patrons and vocalized the only sentence I could form,  “How YOU doin’?”. Mahalo my friends.

Crispy Fried Whole Fish

1 whole fish cleaned and scaled; about one to two pounds (I used Pompano)

1 /4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 cup sesame oil for frying

1/4 cup peanut oil for frying

salt and finely ground Szechuan peppercorns

1/4 to 1/2 cup coarsely chopped scallion and another 1/4 c finely chopped for garnish

Szechuan Sauce;

5-6 cloves of garlic chopped

2 tbls chopped ginger

1/2 cup cooking sherry

5 small dried red chilies such as Arbol

1 tbls Sesame oil

2 tbls low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbls cornstarch

Heat the oil in a wok or sauce pan. Add the chilies, garlic, ginger and sauté vigorously until you can smell their aroma, about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients except the stock and cornstarch. Reduce by half. At this point you can make a slurry by mixing the cornstarch with the chicken stock and adding to the sauce. Bring to a full boil to thicken. Remove from heat.

Score the fish on both sides with a knife three time across the body in one direction, and then across in the opposite to form a diamond pattern.

Pat dry all the moisture with a paper towel. Mix the flour and cornstarch together and season with salt and a few pinches of the ground peppercorns. Transfer to a plate and dredge the fish into the flour on both sides. Heat a wok or flat pan just large enough for the fish to sit in. Heat the oil to the point a piece of bread sizzles immediately and turns brown in just a few seconds. Shake off the excess flour and carefully drop the fish in the oil away from you. Cook until the skin gets golden brown, then carefully flip with a large spatula. Add the coarsely chopped scallions. Cook until brown on both sides and transfer to a plate covered with paper towel.

Plate the fish with the fried scallions and some white rice (I used cilantro lime rice) and spoon the sauce over the fish just before serving, making sure to get the garlic and ginger onto the fish with the sauce.

Here is a link to He-eia-kea General Store and Deli. http://www.dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com/he-eia-kea-pier-general-store-and-deli-hawaii.html