Above: Walu, Hawaiian butterfish, grilled with a key lime, rosemary, parsley, Hawaii Island honey glaze. On top of sauteed Ho Farms long beans, mung bean sprouts, Hawaiian ginger.Walu is a fatty, oily fish, almost like Chilean sea bass, that Hawaiian fishermen call the Ex-Lax fish. Because of its high oil content, if you eat too much, well...you know. I usually eat 6oz or less, and I've never had a problem. It amuses me, though, that on the mainland it's usually served at high end restaurants for a high price under the name escolar. At Foodland today, walu was $4.99/lb and aku was $6.99/lb. Walu cheaper than aku, a "junk" fish to people on the mainland!
With mesclun from our backyard, dressed with a Meyer lemon-ginger vinaigrette, our little "fancy" local dinner tonight was just $10.
6 comments:
Thank you for the post. I always wanted to see it. It is very delicious. King Kamehameha is said to have liked it very much. Not to much or Oops. Mahalo
My husband and I ate at an upscale restaurant last eve. where I ordered the Walu - never had heard of it here in the midwest. He cautioned me that it is very oile causing you-know-what....smile. It is now 3:20 am and I have been nausious for hours! feeling that I SHOULD expel what is in my stomach! but how I hate that! I could never be anorexic for that reason. I Googled Walu, and have read many articles where WaLu was/is banned in the US for awhile, in Japan, Australia. Some of the articles somewhat scary. You make no mention of it here. Is it now safe?????
I'm not an expert on walu...you can read more about it here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2D7113FF933A25750C0A96F958260&sec=travel&pagewanted=all#
So whether it's "safe" or not, I think depends on the person. For me, I've never had a problem. I stick to 6 oz or less. We also serve it at the restaurant I work at, and I haven't heard of complaints (not that there might not be any).
I used to eat butterfish (as we called it in Hawaii and California) all the time and couldn't find it here in Pittsburgh. Normally, we steamed it with dau see (preserved fermented black beans) and it was excellent. I never had any problems with it, and I was unaware it had such effects on people. Maybe it was because of how we prepared it, I don't know. Anyway, it's hard to get and I miss it, though I've taken to steaming catfish instead (you really need a fairly rich or oiling fish for steaming)
I just had Walu at the Cafe 140 in Pasadena, Ca. The waitress was selling the special to everyone. It was wonderful, succulent and very mild. I also had "white Tuna" or Escolar in Hawaii at SanSei Sushi in the Marriott, Waikiki. I have asked everytime, what is white tuna etc, because it is meaty and mild. Now I have my answer. I feel fine, but I ate it 2 hours ago. I have loved it as sushi, so hopefully this will continue to gain popularity, with moderation.
I just stumbled on this discussion when searching for 'walu,' described to me as Hawaiian Escolar at a high-priced restaurant here in St. Louis. While in Hawaii a month ago, I had Lau Lau and didn't like the greasy texture of the butterfish in it. The butterfish I had Thursday was perfectly seared on the outside and rare on the inside. I'd prefer it a little more cooked as the less rare parts had more flavor. Nonetheless, I escaped the aftereffects. Interesting to discover that escolar is butterfish.
Post a Comment