It's getting wet! As we near Makahiki - the Hawaiian New Year - the tropical rains increase in frequency. Mornings are now hot and humid. By early afternoon thunder is rolling down from the mountains, and then the drenching rains pour from the resolutely grey sky.

Summer view from my lanai

Makahiki view from my lanai

It's days like these which get me dragging out the big old pots to make a batch of pipi (beef) stew.

One of my favorites is Hawaiian Stew. We ate a lot of it when I was growing up, as we raised pipi (beef). As Aunty N. says, to be REAL Hawaiian stew, it has to be thickened with poi. How fresh or sour is entirely up to you.
The condiments for Hawaiian stew are limu kohu and chili pepper water.

Add oil to a large stew pot and while it is heating drop in some cracked pepper. How much? Oh, I like enough to coat the pan. Other people often like quite a bit less. Peel the onion and quarter it, then cut the quarters crosswise. Add them to the pepper. Mash the garlic with the flat of your knife and remove the peels. Drop the mashed teeth into the pot. Add the minced peppers. Stir it up well and shove to the side of the pot. Add in the meat and allow it to braise.

While the meat is browning, cut the carrots and celery into inch long chunks and add them to the pot. Then quarter the potatoes, cut the quarters into two inch chunks, and add them to the pot. Quarter and cut the tomatoes crosswise and add them to the pot as well.

Slowly simmer the stew, covered, for at least a couple of hours. Once everything is browned, you can actually do this in a crock pot. If the juices do not cover the ingredients, add water and beef bouillon. Sometimes, instead of beef bouillon, my Nana would add a packet of onion soup mix.

Once the meat is tender, remove some of the liquid and let it cool. Stir it gradually into the poi. Once the poi is smooth and liquid, add it slowly to the stew, stirring constantly. Let simmer at least two or three more hours. The stew will be even better if you have the time and space to refrigerate it overnight and re-heat.

Serve with a bowl of poi, over rice, or over saloon pilot crackers, and with limu kohu and chili pepper water. Serves 6-8.

Limu Kohu formed into balls for storage

Our paniolo, Hawaiian cowboys, have a wonderful cuisine of their own. Blending Hawaiian, Spanish, Mexican, and many other culinary traditions with the ranching lifestyle, their food is hearty and wholesome. As my Nana would say, "Good stick-to-your-ribs cooking."

My Dad taught me a lot about cooking,
and makes some of the best stews
I have ever eaten.

This forms the basis of the stew. But other things, such as scraps from game fowl, leftover bits of meat, pork and beans, or whatever else might add to the richness may go in as well.

Pour oil in the bottom of the pan and add the pepper. When the oil is hot, add the bones and brown them, then add the chunks of meat. While they are braising, roughly chop the remaining  ingredients. Add them in and stir them around to brown as well.

Once browned, add the beer or water. Simmer until the meat is tender. Shake the marrow from the bones into the stew and stir in well. Give the bones to the dog. Thin the poi with water and add it to the stew. There should be liquid enough to cover the ingredients. Serves at least 6, unless they have been working hard all day. But more beer or water and poi can always be added to stretch it out.

Serve with poi, rice, or saloon pilot crackers. Unless folks are very hungry, then serve all three. Cornbread also goes well, as do dumplings.

Pour oil in stew pot to coat bottom. Sprinkle with cracked or ground pepper. Add stew meat and braise. While the meat is browning, scrub and cut up the carrot into 1" chunks. Add it to the pot. Do the same with the celery, then the onion. Mash and peel the garlic and toss it in as well. When the meat is browned add the remaining ingredients. Be sure to include the liquid from the cans. Simmer until the meat is tender enough to suit your taste. Serves about six.

So, how did potatoes get to be such a prominent part of Hawai`i's ranch food? Well, back in 1849, when the California Gold Rush hit, all those miners needed food. Hawai`i-grown Irish and sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkins, oranges, molasses, and coffee were shipped to the West Coast, along with live cattle, hides, barrels of salt beef, salt pork, and other goods. Miles and miles of hau rope, said to be "as good as good Manila hemp" rope rigged whaling and trading ships throughout the Pacific Basin. Our little islands were a major trade center and truly earned their title, "Crossroad of the Pacific."

A decade later, sugar plantations started to grow, and with the reciprocity treaty between the Kingdom of Hawai`i and the USA in 1876, sugar was poised to become the king of Hawaiian agriculture, supplanting most other crops.

By the time I was born, locally grown potatoes were a rarity, and the shriveled viney things that came by barge from the Mainland were what I knew. Onions suffered a similar fate. I remember dire predictions when Maui started growing onions again during my childhood years, and how "Maui Sweet Onions" soon commanded the very highest prices in the market!
HawaiiAg.Org has a nice timeline of our agricultural industry here: http://www.hawaiiag.org/history.htm.

Since chili pepper water is a MUST have with stew, here is a recipe:

Finely mince five of the peppers. Put them in the bottle. Add the salt and the remaining peppers. Boil water and add it immediately to the bottle, leaving about 1 inch head space. May be used immediately, but better if first refrigerated for a couple of days.

Hawaiian chili peppers

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