FAMILY RECIPES WITH Hawaiian
Celebrity chef Sheldon Simeon brings home tropical dishes
We first became enamored with Sheldon Simeon on “Top Chef: Seattle” in season 10, when the Hilo-born celebrity chef emerged not only as a finalist but with the coveted “fan favorite” title to boot. Since then, he's collected accolades — including Food & Wine magazine's top new chefs of 2014 and a second “Top Chef” finalist/fan favorite nod — as well as restaurant credits.
Now Simeon has gathered all his beloved family recipes — including how-tos for such favorites as the Mochiko Fried Chicken he serves at Maui's casual Tin Roof — into one volume, “Cook Real Hawaii” (Clarkson Potter, $35). The book came out in 2021, offering tropical flavors and more than a dash of escapism in the form of poke, garlic shrimp and malasadas in the midst of the pandemic.
Co-written with Garrett Snyder and photographed by Kevin J. Miyazaki, the book showcases the food he feeds his `ohana — his family and friends — which combines Hawaiian, Filipino, Korean, Portuguese and Japanese inspiration. Take mochiko chicken, for example, which echoes Japanese karaage, Korean dak kang jung and, of course, a little U.S. Southern flair, too. It's the most popular item on the Tin Roof menu, Simeon says,
What began as “a stripped-down version like what locals bring to parties and potlucks,” Simeon says, soon evolved into “the maximalist, ultimate, supreme version you see here, drizzled with two finishing sauces and showered with fried garlic, furikake and mochi crunch.” He serves it over rice, with salt-pickled cabbage on the side. Here's a taste: