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Emme Tomimbang: Making Her Mark |
| The veteran television broadcaster talks frankly about her personal life and amazing career. |
Back to School |
| Serving as teachers’ aides in the classroom,
senior volunteers are making a big difference in the lives of Hawaii’s children. |
FEATURE:
The Choy of Sam
by Lynn Cook
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Hawaii knows Sam Choy as one of the greats in the world of chef-dom. He’s the host of “Sam Choy’s Kitchen,” the popular cooking show that airs Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. on KHNL-TV. He has two Honolulu restaurants (Sam Choy’s Diamond Head and Sam Choy’s Breakfast, Lunch & Crab), another in Guam and one in Japan. He has authored 11 best-selling cookbooks (a twelfth is coming out in the fall), is a James Beard/Gallo of Sonoma American Classics award winner and is the most requested speaker-chef on any Crystal Cruises voyage.
Choy, who’s in his mid-50s, was named one of the “50 Tastemakers” in 1999 by Nation’s Restaurant News (a weekly tabloid newspaper that serves America’s commercial and institutional food service industry), and has been spotlighted by every major food magazine and food television show nationwide. You could say that he is so well known outside Hawaii he is the “Don Ho” of the foodie set.
Now ask Choy who he is and he’ll answer, “I’m just a local boy who loves to cook.”
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As he tells it, “My Chinese dad, Hung Sam Choy, started me cleaning the vegetables. He showed me how to use a knife, how to get the slices of pepper or onion to be the same size. I was allowed to nibble between tasks. Carrots were like candy to me. When I ran out of veggies to chop I practiced on ti leaves and the backyard hedge. I got in real trouble, though, when I chopped the branches of a bush that had the texture of ginger. It was my mom’s favorite rose bush. I had to work extra hours and buy her a new one.”
Choy’s Hawaiian-German mom, Clairemoana, enrolled him in Kapiolani Community College’s culinary arts program, hoping he would stay out of her garden. He says he drove his folks crazy, asking a million questions. “When I mastered a new skill they smiled. That’s what we need to do with kids, we need to teach them, give them a task and praise them when they get it right.”
He talks about his “small-kid” days in Laie on the North Shore, helping his dad with the family’s restaurant, Hukilau Café, and with their Saturday tourist luau catering business. Choy says the first time he mixed poi “I was wearing it in my hair, on my face — I was just one big poi ball. I think I invented the first Hawaiian hairstyling gel. Then I got the onion brigade. Chop, chop, chop. My nose itched and I rubbed it and then rubbed my eyes. Mistake!”
Choy’s wife, Carol, has always been his cheerleader. Their two sons, Sam Jr. and Christopher, are professional fishermen and can be counted on to “pick something up” and create a fine meal. Their granddaughter, Samantha Pua Mohala “Tini” Choy, is the light of their lives.
Seven-year old Tini likes to surf, dance hula, swim and travel around the world with them on Crystal Cruises’ Harmony, Serenity or Symphony ships. What does she like best about being in the kitchen? “Mixing and tasting,” Choy says.
Sam-Size Your Life
Choy’s advice for a good life is “Cook with the kids and grandkids. If you don’t have any keiki, volunteer. My feeling is, if you can give, you should give. Not just money. Give time.”
That’s exactly what he’s been doing for Big Brothers/
Big Sisters in Hawaii. “For the past thirteen years Sam has
made ‘fund-raising magic’ for us,” says Dennis Brown,
president and CEO of BBBS.
Each spring Choy invites one of his cooking pals — Paul Prudhomme,
Ming Tsai, Iron Chef Masa Morimoto and Emeril Lagasse, all esteemed
names in the food world — to come to Hawaii to help prepare
BBBS’ “Gourmet Affair” dinner for 600 people. They
come for Choy and raise $140,000 for the cause.
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“Imagine,” says Brown, “watching Emeril cook for you!” At $200 a ticket, food lovers regard the event as a bargain. Choy brings in Kapiolani Community College students to assist and be inspired by the great chefs.
In June the Food Network filmed a luau challenge on the Big Island. Notable competitors came from as far away as Texas and New York to kalua goat and whole fish. The $10,000 prize went to Choy’s kalua pig.
The Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California recently presented Choy with the Kulia I Ka Nuu (Strive for the Summit) Award, which honors trailblazers, leaders and innovators who spread aloha. Each year he participates in a fund-raiser for Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, which provides legal, social and educational services to Asian and Pacific Islander communities in San Francisco and Oakland. Privately, he works one-on-one with at-risk youth.
Sam Tells Pig Tales One of my favorite stories about luau goes like this: When
we were in Louisiana doing Chef Paul Prudhomme’s big festival,
we did a luau with laulau, squid luau, lomilomi salmon, poke
and a few other standards. But the kalua pig was the star of
the show. It was a huge estate with a big swimming pool, water fountains, Colonial pillars, a manicured lawn. I thought, “We’re gonna dig an imu on this lawn?” It was like a putting green! But that’s exactly what happened. As soon as I started to say, “I don’t think so,” someone drove a backhoe out of the garage and they dug the imu right there. About 30 people sat around watching as we lit the imu. The rocks were hot. We got the pig into the imu, threw on ti leaves and banana stumps, then put burlap bags over everything. The backhoe dumped fresh dirt and covered the imu all up. I said, “Okay, the party’s at 7 p.m. Come back at 5 and we’ll unveil this imu.” Five o’clock came; the place was packed — 200-something people. Paul Prudhomme was on his electric cart, waiting. I started toward the imu, but they gave me a microphone and told me to narrate. “At 6 o’clock this morning,” I said, “we lit the imu and let it burn for two hours until it was real hot. Then we added the banana stumps.” I asked, “Any questions?” Everyone said, “Wow, an emu. I’ve never tasted an emu before.” I said, “Well, this isn’t an e-m-u. It’s an i-m-u. That flightless bird, the emu, must still be walking around somewhere.” I said, “I need a tester. Who’ll be my volunteer?” Three ladies raised their hands. I said, “Try a piece.” They pulled apart some meat and ate it. Next thing you know, all the hands were in there. They went, “This is great,” and they were pulling and ripping. It was falling off the bone. I tell you what, they LOVED it! That’s the big thing about food from Hawaii. It lights up people’s hearts and eyes. |
Take Small Bites
Choy’s motto used to be “Never Trust a Skinny Chef.” He says, “That may be good for a chuckle, but in truth, like anything else, we need to think moderation. It isn’t so much watching what you eat but rather how much you eat of any one thing. When they tell you to cut your calories in half that means eat only half the cream pie! Right? No, just kidding. Seriously, most of us enjoy a good cut of prime rib or a hamburger so juicy it runs off your chin, but you can’t eat that way every day.”
Cooking with Sam
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Choy’s
cookbooks run the gamut, from spiral-bound books to beautiful
coffee-table editions. They include recipes shared on his
TV show, the joy of poke, how to luau and wok cookery. His
newest book, Aloha Cuisine, published by Mutual Publishing,
will be released in the fall. It includes Choy’s “very
favorite” recipes and stories.Although Choy is known for his outrageous desserts, he also likes to serve a platter of sliced fresh fruit, beautifully presented with a light cottage cheese and honey lime dip that’s refreshing without being over the limit in calories and fat.
Say Poke — Po-kay
One thing Choy can’t resist is poke. His dad taught him early in life which fish were good for eating raw, and his restaurants serve a thousand pounds of poke every week. When Choy started cooking, he played around with flavors, discovering all the wonderful things that could be done with raw fish. He launched the annual Hawaiian Poke Contest in 1992 and spread the word.
“Now I am beginning to see poke in some of Napa’s trendy restaurants,” he says. “I tell you what, many hot food trends start in Hawaii.”
Glimpses of Sam Choy
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Favorite
pastime: Golfing and swimming with my granddaughterHe believes everyone can be creative and make poke at home. His dressings make it easy; they come in Wasabi, Spicy or Creamy Oriental, and other delicious flavors, and they are available at dozens of locations, from Costco to specialty shops both in Hawaii and on the Mainland.
Also winning rave reviews are Sam Choy’s Big Aloha Beers, brewed at the Big Aloha Brewery at his Breakfast, Lunch & Crab restaurant on Nimitz Highway. He directs brewmaster David Campbell to create beers with fresh, distinct flavors that enhance everything from Loco-Moco to Ginger Clams with Black Bean Sauce.
Choy describes his work and life in one word — fun. “One of my guests on ‘Sam Choy’s Kitchen’ asked me if I ever prepared Chicken De Loosa. I bit. I said, ‘No, is it a difficult recipe?’ He answered, ‘No, it is a bargain dish and very easy. You just go out to the cockfights. De Winna is expensive...you can get De Loosa for cheap!’ That’s a good example of the fun that happens in my kitchen. We don’t take it too seriously. We have fun with food.”
It’s a “Sam-ism”; take the challenge, be creative, have fun! Go to your cupboard and see what’s inside. Open the refrigerator. Make something out of what’s there. Make it for company or make it just for you. Get cooking.