Ono in Hawaii

Ono is our way of saying something is delicious here. If it is onolicious, it means it is super delicious, in a local kind of way. Here is a little bit of this week's ono at our house.

My neighbor is on the state's professional competitive skin diving team. He shares fish with us every now and then. This time he brought us what is known in Hawaii as Ulua. Since the fish was under twelve pounds it is called Papio even though it is the same fish. If it is over that then it is called Ulua. The Ulua fish is the most sought after shore catch.The fish has white fillets. Hubby breaded it here for us and it was definitely onolicious!
Hubby brought home a special treat for Son1. An island favorite with the kids is Choco Boy. It is actually a Korean snack in the shape of a mushroom, like Choco Boy. The stem is made of a shortbread cookie and the mushroom cap is made of chocolate.

Wishing for Fishing

Hubby picked up some brand spanking nice new fishing poles, tackle box, and gear at a yard sale. Ooohh Son1 thought these were the coolest. He begged to go fishing. Incidentally, he had been fighting naps, too. No, he is not outgrowing naps. He still naps for two and three hour stretches. When he doesn't nap he is a totally different child, one I can't recognize and care not to blog about. We told him if he napped for three days in a row, we would take him fishing. Sure enough, he napped three days in a row for two to three hours at a time. He was motivated! He knew when he woke up from his third nap it was time to go fishing! We packed up the kids, some snacks, and the gear, and headed for the fishing dock.We pulled into the dock around sunset. Every Hawaiian sunset is a winner. I held my breath for a few seconds, and marveled in the beauty. Son1 loves sunsets, too.

Read the top sign. Did we really want to catch anything?

We unloaded the snacks and set everyone up. Not one Farmer caught a fish. We did watch the folks next to us reel in a handful, and watched a puffer fish break their line. I wonder if they had better luck because they had better bait. Maybe these fish really just don't go for cheeseburger bait.

Fishing on Christmas Eve

Hubby and a group of guys from church went fishing on Christmas Eve. They arrived at the docks at 5:15am to hit the deep seas. After sunrise they had a view of Diamond Head in the distance.Hubby is fishing with Captain Sonny of Aikane Fishing. This is a 40 foot boat. It is the only deep sea fishing company on the island that allows you to keep what you catch. The boat was rocking and rolling on 4 to 5 foot seas. It was pretty rough. Almost the entire group of guys got sick overboard on multiple occasions. When they weren't fishing Captain Sonny suggested that they lay horizontal to feel better. Hubby was super queasy but was one of the only to not throw up. He decided not to touch any of the food he brought, so he was starving when he got home.

One of their catches was a twenty pound Mahimahi.

Captain Sonny raised the yellowfin tuna and mahimahi flags to symbolize what was caught.

Six yellowfin tuna and a mahimahi.

At the dock Captain Sonny filleted the fish for the guys. He also cut up some yellowfin and gave the guys some sashimi. Sashimi is the name for yellowfin tuna (also known as ahi) when it is served raw. Captain Sonny also gave the guys some ono (delicious in Hawaiian) secret recipes.

Hubby had a good time. He plans to go again, perhaps later in 2008 when the water temperature is more ideal and the fish are more plentiful.

So here I am with my appetizer for Christmas dinner...sashimi. I wasn't too sure about it, initally. But I have learned a lot about eating fresh fish here. It doesn't taste fishy. I don't know how to explain it...but it is like a whole different flavor. Hubby made the yellowfin for me three different ways: breaded, grilled, and raw.