It’s not enough for Dan Nakasone to come up with good ideas; he has a compulsion to execute them as well. And Nakasone, 62, a marketing consultant and television producer, has lots of ideas, especially regarding his passions: Hawaii food, Hawaii farms and Hawaii’s multicultural community.

"If I have an idea, I like to implement it to get it off my chest. I want to see if it gets results," said the Wahiawa native and owner of Brainstorm Marketing Inc.

Big or small, Nakasone’s ideas are always rooted in his principles and values.

Take his enthusiasm for Banh Mi Bo Kho, or Vietnamese Beef Stew. It’s a recipe that caught his attention because of his desire to learn about other cultures through the flavors of their cuisine.

What drew in Nakasone were the fish sauce and star anise, two familiar ingredients brought together in one dish. His version utilizes local, grass-fed beef and carrots from his home garden. For spiciness, he replaces jalapeno with Sriracha. Then he puts everything in the slow cooker and revisits the pot hours later for a perfectly cooked stew.

Nakasone’s cultural culinary exploration is rooted in yet another of his ideas, brought to fruition several years ago in collaboration with local filmmaker Heather Giugni: the Emmy-winning food-travel series "Family Ingredients," the first Hawaii production to get picked up by PBS for its national prime-time lineup. The series runs this fall.

"Family Ingredients" tells stories of Hawaii’s food, community and culture with profiles of individuals who reflect our multicultural society. The pilot episode that garnered the Emmy traced chef Alan Wong’s culinary roots, venturing from Wahiawa to Japan to spotlight food producers and classic dishes.

"The overriding mission of that show is based on the idea that Hawaii’s multiculturalism is a model for the rest of the country and the world," said Nakasone. "We’re taking this opportunity to push that model, and we do it through food."

Nakasone’s keen interest in food and community developed through pivotal life experiences.

As a teen in the 1970s, Nakasone worked summers in the pineapple fields — "In Wahiawa, everyone worked pineapple" — and shared meals with workers who taught him firsthand about how food breaks down cultural barriers.

"We sat in a circle, and the men put all their top dishes (the top tier of the bento box, which holds the main dish) in the center of the circle, so I put mine in there, too. Then they just dove into my food, and I thought, ‘Holy smokes!’ But that’s how they ate. They shared. So I had to eat their food, too, out of respect.

"The food had a strong salty, fishy flavor. It was real home-cooked style; it couldn’t have been more authentic," he recalled. "After that I could eat any kind of Filipino food. I wasn’t afraid to try anything."

Decades later, in the midst of a highly successful marketing career, Nakasone felt the pull of the land.

"I had a midlife crisis. I had visited the Hira­baras (of Hira­bara Farms) in Wai­mea, and I loved their lifestyle," he said. "I found myself driving home in traffic, and I thought, ‘Is this it?’"

So in 2000, Nakasone and his wife, Linda, packed up and moved to the Big Island for seven months to farm in Glenwood, outside Hilo, on Hirabara land.

"That taught me what it takes to farm. It gave me new respect for farming," he said.

By the time Nakasone was approached by state Department of Agriculture officials in 2008, he was primed for the challenge they posed: help save Hawaii’s four local egg farms, imperiled by skyrocketing feed prices tied to soaring oil prices.

"Many regular customers who went directly to the farms to buy their eggs were low-income and senior citizens. So the farmers, in the true local style, couldn’t pass on the costs to their customers," he said.

Nakasone’s strategy was to drive the middle class to the farms.

"I thought, it’s a consumer experience. Lots of people have never bought products directly from the farm. They’ve never been to a farm. When you can hear the chickens and smell the smells, you’re getting an experience; you’re getting value."

With the help of Wanda Adams, then food editor of The Hono­lulu Advertiser, who wrote an article about the situation, the farms pulled through.

NAKASONE NEVER ceases to keep himself informed. Some of the latest data he’s culled, taken from a 2013 study by the state Department of Agriculture and University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agricul ture and Human Resources, indicate that only 11.6 percent of what we eat in Hawaii is sourced locally. The rest — 88.4 percent — is imported.

Numbers like these are why Nakasone uses as many local ingredients as possible and cooks local, grass-fed beef exclusively.

Furthermore, Nakasone says he can’t remember the last time he bought a single steak. Instead, he buys beef in bulk in lower-demand cuts, and cuts his own steaks and makes his own stew meat.

"I take advantage of the value, and there’s a lot of flavor, too," he said.

Nakasone does all the cooking at his house, usually five or six days a week. Though he says he doesn’t always feel like it, if veggies in the garden are ready to be picked or meat has been in the freezer for a while, he turns on the stove.

"If we want to raise the level of food security, more families must cook at home — using local ingredients," he said. "Local ingredients are fresher so they’re more nutritious, and you’re building a stronger community when you support local farmers."

Not only will the community be better off, Nakasone insists, supporting local makes you feel good inside.

"Eating good and doing good is cause for celebration, so pair your food with some wine! Sometimes my wife and I get so excited over something as simple as a hamburger," he said, laughing. "It tastes so good and it feels better.

"A meal of local beef without a glass of red wine? At my house? It’s not gonna happen."

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BANH MI BO KHO
(Vietnamese Beef Stew Nakasone style)

Adapted from a recipe by chef Chris Shepherd, Underbelly

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds grass-fed beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes 
2 onions, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices 
3 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tablespoon Sriracha 
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
3 cups low-sodium beef stock, divided 
4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt, to taste

Toasted and sliced baguette

In large pan over medium, heat butter. Working in batches, brown beef on all sides, about 15 minutes. Place cooked beef into crock of slow cooker. Add onions to pan and cook until softened, about 6 minutes.

Add star anise, cinnamon and Sriracha and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and cook, stirring until dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add fish sauce and cook, stirring and scraping bottom of pan using wooden spoon, about 1 minute. Pour 1 cup of beef stock into pan and scrap bottom of pan, then pour combined ingredients into crock. 

Add carrots and remaining stock into crock and add salt if necessary. Cover and cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. 

To serve, divide stew among 6 bowls and serve with baguette. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including salt to taste or baguette): 400 calories, 16 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,100 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 23 g sugar, 35 g protein

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Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., a nutritionist in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Science, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii-Manoa.