How many times have you caught a whiff of a dish or taken a first bite and been flooded with memories of childhood? Food is so much more than simple sustenance. It’s a doorway to our histories and a link to our cultures. For chef-instructor Grant Sato, Okinawan food represents no less than his rich relationship with his beloved grandmother, Jeanette Akamine.

Sato, a culinary instructor at Kapiolani Community College, says some of the best times with his grandmother have been in the kitchen. 

Akamine ran the Okinawan restaurant Myoga-ya with her father and stepmother, which they opened in 1940.

"Once Grandma started her own family, she didn’t have time to teach my mother, aunty or uncle to cook," he said. "As the oldest grandchild, she taught me — everything from recipes to cleaning pigs’ feet to pickling vegetables — after she retired."

Culled from all those lessons is "An Okinawan Kitchen" ($19.95, Mutual Publishing), the chef’s collection of 73 recipes that feature traditional Okinawan fare he grew up on as well as contemporary Okinawan dishes he created himself.

The book is the latest ethnic cookbook published by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in partnership with Mutual Publishing. It joins "A Korean Kitchen" by Joan Namkoong, released last year, and will be followed by "A Portuguese Kitchen" by Wanda Adams, to be published in the fall.

The book devotes chapters to basic Okinawan foods, goya (bitter melon), pork, fish, noodles, vegetables and salads, desserts and sweets, and contemporary dishes. It also includes cultural and historical information about Okinawa, as well as Sato’s family stories.

Sato says traditional Okinawan food includes two categories: gourmet cuisine that was prepared for the country’s royal court, and food for the common folk. Since Hawaii’s Okinawan immigrants were commoners, they introduced everyday cuisine to the isles.

In the days prior to refrigeration and electricity, Okinawan fare was primarily pickled or cooked with an abundance of seasonings. Both methods helped extend the shelf life of the food. Quintessential ingredients include sugar, soy sauce, miso, sea salt and awamori, used in marinades or sauces for braised dishes that could sit at room temperature for one or two days, sometimes even longer.

"Sugar and salt extract liquid from food, and once absorbed, they replace the liquid and alter the pH level in the food so that it doesn’t support bacterial growth," said Sato. "When combined with vinegars and other acidic items like citrus, they retard bacterial growth."

Okinawans in Hawaii improvised their recipes, since some traditional ingredients were unavailable here. Goya champuru, a classic stir-fry of bitter melon, tofu and eggs, for instance, is traditionally seasoned with soy sauce and sugar. But on the plantations of the 1920s, it was often seasoned with just salt and pepper because sugar and soy sauce were costly ingredients used only on special occasions.

Sato offers two champuru recipes: one based on the local-style preparation with the addition of pork belly, and a contemporary version that includes string beans, wood ear mushrooms, green onions and a sauce of dashi, soy sauce and oyster sauce.

The chapter on contemporary dishes features traditional foods presented in new ways. Mini Okinawan Soft Tacos, for instance, uses a traditional hirayachi, or chive crepe, as a wrapper for goya namashi (pickled bitter melon salad) and mimiga (marinated pig ear), tied with a blanched chive stalk.

Inari Uchinanchu features a trio of stuffed cone sushis. The inari cones are filled with sushi rice and either goya namashi, shiri- shiri (julienned vegetable stir-fry with egg) or shirae (crumbled tofu and crab).

The new presentations of the classic fare reflect not just Sato’s culinary sensibilities, but his artistic eye as well.

Sato studied art at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and paid his college bills by working in the culinary industry. He graduated with an art degree but struggled to make a decent living doing art. It was Akamine who persuaded him to turn his cooking skills into a career.

"My grandma convinced me I could be artistic in the culinary world," he said.

He earned a culinary degree from KCC and found out his grandmother was right. Today, he coaches KCC students in culinary competitions, teaches culinary classes for KCC’s noncredited course offerings and hosts the school’s television cooking show "What’s Cooking Hawaii?" that airs on KFVE.  

"The combination of my art background and culinary training is the reason I’m successful today," said Sato. "In culinary, we have to have a concept not only of flavors, but plating our dishes. Flavor finishes our eating experience. We eat with our eyes first and our palate second."

Sato, 43, was just 6 years old when his father died. Since his single mother worked long hours, he lived with his grandparents in Kaimuki, and Akamine raised him on Okinawan food.

His familiarity with the cuisine allowed him to breeze through developing the recipes for the cookbook. Sato says he’s actually been preparing some of his contemporary offerings for years.  

The book took more than a year in the making, and it was truly a labor of love for Sato. True to his artistic roots, he traveled to Okinawa and Japan and spent thousands of dollars on dishware and traditional art, all for the sake of beautiful presentations in the book. 

Sato put his heart into the project for a couple of reasons. One was to present the cuisine in the best light possible.

"Most people believe Okinawan food is street food. But I have so much pride in it, I want people to revere it," he said.

Then there’s Akamine, 90, for whom he took on the project.

"What I’m most happy for is the time I sat with my grandma and my family and relived good memories," he said of researching family stories he includes in the book. "I don’t know how many hours we talked and cried — and laughed, too. There were so many funny memories, too.

"I dedicated this book to my grandma. It’s her legacy, published, that will continue beyond her years."

Where to purchase ‘An Okinawan Kitchen’

>> Chef Grant Sato and his grandmother, Jeanette Akamine, will be signing books at the Okinawan Festival, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 30 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 31 at Kapiolani Park. Find them at the craft and the capital campaign booths throughout the festival. A portion of book sales will go to the Hawaii United Okinawa Association.

>> Look for a coupon in the Star-Advertiser starting Sept. 14 to order at a special price.

>> At Mutual Publishing, 1215 Center St., Suite 210, from Sept. 15. Call 732-1709 or visit mutualpublishing.com.

KUBU MAKI, SIMMERED KELP-WRAPPED PORK AND BURDOCK
8 8-inch pieces nishime konbu (braising kelp, found in Asian section of supermarkets)
1/2 pound pork belly,
cut into 8 1/2-by-3-inch strips
8 strips gobo (burdock root), cut into 1/2-by-3-inches pieces
8 pieces kampyo (dried gourd strips), 8 inches long
6 cups dashi broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 thin slice ginger

Place 1 nishime konbu strip on cutting board; place 1 piece of pork and 1 piece of gobo at one end. Roll until all of the konbu is used.

Wrap 1 piece kampyo around center of roll and tie in a knot. Repeat to make 8 rolls.

In medium pot, quickly boil dashi and add soy sauce, sugar and ginger. Reduce heat to simmer. Add pork and gobo rolls; simmer 30 to 45 minutes, making sure liquid does not evaporate entirely. Add more water if necessary, but do not add more seasonings. Makes 8 kubu maki rolls.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 200 calories, 15 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 700 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 4 g protein

KANDUBA JUSHI, GRANDMA JEANETTE AKAMINE’S OKINAWAN SWEET POTATO LEAF RICE GRUEL
8 cups dashi broth
2 cups day-old cooked rice
2 slices ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup kanduba (sweet potato leaves, found in Asian markets, Chinatown or farmers markets)
1/4 cup chopped takuan (pickled turnip)

In medium pot, bring broth to boil, then add rice and ginger. Stir well and continue to cook over medium heat until rice is soft and liquid is thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent rice from sticking to bottom of pot.

Season with soy sauce and add kanduba. Stir another 3 to 5 minutes until leaves are wilted.

Serve in bowl garnished with takuan. Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 70 calories, no fat or cholesterol, 450 mg sodium, 15 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 2 g protein

Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.