Though each approach was distinct, each style unique, the dishes of three renowned U.S. chefs all did what good cuisine must do: present food in its best light.
That food was tilapia, and the three chefs — Neal Fraser of Redbird in Los Angeles, Jason Fox of Commonwealth in San Francisco and Colin Hazama of the Royal Hawaiian — whipped up their best recipes for the fish Friday morning in a friendly competition as part of the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival.
The men used Kohala Mountain Sunfish, a Mozambique tilapia hatched and farmed sustainably with mountain spring water in Kapaau on Hawaii island. The fish are non-GMO and raised without use of hormones. The chefs all agreed that the tilapia is subtle, sweet and clean in flavor, with a delicate, slightly fatty flesh.
The contest was modeled after a competition at the 2014 festival that centered on premium azuki beans from Tokachi, Japan, which the country was hoping would generate interest among chefs. State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, who led planning and development of the Whitmore Project, a diversified-farming endeavor in Central Oahu, sought to replicate the 2014 contest to promote products from Hawaii farms with visiting festival chefs.
“We tried to find an emerging crop and decided on this tilapia,” said Denise Yamaguchi, executive director of the festival. Kohala Mountain Fish Co. is hoping to increase tilapia production to 3 million to 4 million pounds annually, the majority of which would be exported.
Dave Wicker, Dela Cruz’s chief of staff, said the contest supported goals to expand agriculture in Hawaii.
“As Hawaii starts to diversify, it will need a venue to help promote Hawaii crops, and the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival is the venue to do it. We will hopefully continue this emerging-crop challenge each year,” Wicker said.
The contest may already be working. Fraser instantly fell in love with the fish and said he would consider such a product for his restaurant.
“We get our fish from all over the world,” he said, “and it’s nice to support a local economy with stuff that has a good message.”
Yamaguchi said the contest is a perfect fit for the festival’s mission.
“From the start our mission has been to put a spotlight on Hawaii farmers and promote sustainability in the islands,” she said. “This tilapia is a sustainable fish raised in the islands. Kohala Mountain Fish Co. is looking at it for an export market, but we hope it also becomes a product local chefs will use.”
3 TAKES ON TILAPIA
Three chefs presented their dishes at the brand-new Culinary Institute of the Pacific to judges Alan Wong; Roy Yamaguchi; Lauren Tamamoto, institute research chef and instructor; legislative aide Dave Wicker; and Brooks Takenaka, manager of the United Fishing Agency. In the end, Hawaii-born Colin Hazama showed his proficiency with the longtime local fish. Here’s what the contestants delivered and how judges responded:
Jason Fox
Fox used all parts of the fish in a plate of steamed tilapia fillet stuffed with shrimp mousse and wrapped in romaine lettuce. He served it with hearts of palm, popcorn cream and a seaweed and dashi butter emulsion. Fox made his own dashi stock with tilapia bones, and dehydrated and fried the skin for a chicharron topping. Finger lime offered “a burst of acid,” Fox said, while the popcorn cream (popcorn blended with butter and cream) added richness to the subtle tilapia.
Why popcorn cream? Wong had his own theory: “Popcorn evokes a memory, an emotion, the idea of entertainment. Do you know Disney World blows popcorn air into the Magic Kingdom? This was a creative way of adding fat into the dish.”
Takenaka agreed. “Tilapia is mild tasting, so you’ve got to be careful how you season it.”
Both judges agreed the popcorn added a nuanced nuttiness, referencing the classic pairing of fish with nuts, a la fish almondine or macadamia nut-crusted fish.
Neal Fraser
When Fraser tasted this product for the first time, he tried it raw. To say he was pleased by it is a bit of an understatement.
“It’s one of those guilty things, how much I liked it,” he admitted.
His dish — a sashimi-sliced preparation seasoned with Hawaiian salt and served crudo style with coconut vinaigrette and toppings of pickled kumquats, pickled Fresno chilies and crisped shallots — played to the freshness, delicate flavor and firm texture of the fish.
“It’s perfect raw. It’s surprising when you eat something raw that you’ve had cooked all your life. The greatest part of being a chef is continuing to learn,” he said.
Yamaguchi thought Fraser’s decision to go raw was “awesome.”
“This has got great balance — the sweetness, the acidity, and the fish is refreshing,” he said. “I like that he used Hawaiian salt. I’m a firm believer in salting fish for crudo. It brought out the sweetness of the fish.”
Colin Hazama
Sure, tilapia was the centerpiece of Hazama’s dish, but he went all-out to include as many local ingredients as he could. The list is long: tomatoes, radish, watercress, ulu, heart of palm, abalone and sea asparagus.
Like Fox, he utilized the whole fish. With the head and bones, he made a jus by first smoking the pieces, then cooking them to make a dashi and then reducing it. The skin was dehydrated to make chicharron.
The fish itself was marinated in a mixture that included ground jasmine tea pearls, sugar and salt, then seared and basted with butter.
Other accompaniments: a Kona abalone, sea asparagus and tomato relish; a watercress and ginger pesto; and an ulu-heart of palm puree.
“I’ve never had tilapia that tasted this good,” said Tamamoto. “It was balanced, moist and well seasoned. There were so many textures, and I like that he incorporated so many local ingredients.”
Wong put it this way: “Local guy, local flavors.”
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TILAPIA TIPS
Colin Hazama’s winning tilapia recipe had a long list of preparations that included smoking the fish head and bones and making an abalone relish. But at its core, he said, preparing the tilapia fillet is simple. He shared how to do that plus a few more suggestions for a delicious meal.
Try this at home:
Sear the fish: In pan, heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil on high. Season tilapia fillet with salt and dust with potato starch (Japanese katakuriko, found in the Asian aisle in supermarkets). Place fish in pan. When it’s crisp on one side, lower heat to medium, turn fillet and fry until outer edges are cooked. Turn off heat, flip fish again and baste with butter. After 1 minute, remove from pan.
Ideas for sides: Slice tomatoes, ogo and onions, and mix into a dashi broth. Use it to top the fish. Or make a quick watercress and tomato salad.
Eat with rice or chazuke.
Just remember: “Don’t overpower the dish with strong flavors. Tilapia is a delicate fish,” Hazama advised.
