Hurricane Popcorn Marshmallow Treats

Sometimes an idea pops in my head and it sounds so good that I'm sure someone else must have thought of it already, but then a quick search of the internets results in nothing!  I was inspired to make these because the kind folks at Sanzo had sent me some microwave popcorn and furikake in their limited edition Turning Red lychee sparkling water treat box.  My first thought was to make some hurricane popcorn with it, but I was already thinking of making some Rice Krispies treats, and then I just thought, why not combine them?

If you're not familiar with hurricane popcorn, it's a Hawaiian snack that combines kettle corn, furikake, and mochi crunch (aka Japanese rice crackers or arare).  It's one of those sweet and salty snacks that quickly becomes addictive because you just need that next bite to balance out the sweetness or saltiness from the last bite (kind of like Chicago mix popcorn).

These treats amp up the sweetness and crunch factor by adding marshmallows and Rice Krispies but still remain irresistible.  I add a little soy sauce (another common ingredient in hurricane popcorn) for saltiness but if that is a little too weird for you, you can just substitute with salt to taste.  Also, I only used 3 tablespoons of furikake so it's not too overpowering, but you can add more if really like that flavor.

Hurricane Popcorn Marshmallow Treats
makes 24 pieces

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce (or substitute with salt, to taste)
3 tablespoons furikake, divided
10 oz. mini marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
2 cups popped popcorn (optional)*
1 cup Japanese rice crackers

Line a 9"x13" baking pan with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Once fully melted, turn the heat to low and add the soy sauce (or salt) and 2 tablespoons of the furikake and stir until combined.  Add the marshmallows and stir occasionally until fully melted.

Add the cereal, popcorn, and rice crackers and mix until combined.  Pour the mixture into the lined baking pan and press down with oiled hands (I like to save the butter wrapper to do this with) into an even layer.  Top with the remaining tablespoon of furikake.

Let cool, then remove from the pan using the parchment paper and slice into 24 pieces.  Enjoy!

*I made this again without popcorn and liked the texture even more!

Previously:  Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Updated)
Next:  Sourdough Discard Okonomiyaki Waffles

Lilikoi Malasadas (Portuguese Donuts filled with Passion Fruit Curd)

About a month ago, I got an e-mail from my brother with a link to a recipe for lilikoi malasadas. He asked if I thought they would be hard to make because he had had some in Hawaii and they were "amaaazing". I skimmed through the recipe quickly and replied, "Doesn't sound that hard as long as you can get me some unsweetened lilikoi (or passion fruit) concentrate and unsweetened guava concentrate. No idea where I'd even find that stuff.... Also, if you can get me a stand mixer with a dough hook, I'd be all set." And that was the end of that conversation.

Until last week when I announced on Facebook that I had finally caved in and bought a KitchenAid stand mixer. While most of my friends were congratulating me on the purchase, Timmy's only comment was "can you try making those lilikoi malasadas now?" Can you tell he's a younger brother?

There was still the issue of finding lilikoi concentrate and guava concentrate in the Boston area. I checked Shaws and Harvest and even Whole Foods with no luck. Then I looked on-line, and there were some suggestions of trying a local Brazilian grocery store, but then I saw some posts that mentioned I should be able to find it at Shaws in the frozen foods section where the Goya products are. So I went back to Shaws, and lo and behold, there was frozen passion fruit pulp! And when I went back to Harvest later on, I was able to find frozen guava pulp there!

Now that I had all the ingredients and equipment I needed (I actually had to borrow a stand mixer from Susan because mine hadn't come in yet; thanks, Susan!), I had no more excuses, so I spent this past Saturday making these beauties. Note: this recipe does take quite a bit of time what with making the dough, letting it rise, then chilling it for 2 hours, then shaping and letting it rise again, then frying it, and finally filling the malasadas with the passion fruit curd. But it's so, so worth it, especially if you don't live in Hawaii and can't just buy these at a local bakery whenever you want. Also, I did make the guava coulis from the original recipe, but I thought the resulting coulis was way too watery, so I'm not including it here. The malasadas were more than fine without it.

Lilikoi Malasadas (from here)
makes 50 donuts

Lilikoi Curd

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup thawed lilikoi (passion fruit) pulp
6 egg yolks, beaten

In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar, butter, lemon and lilikoi pulp; bring to a boil.

In a small mixing bowl, whip the eggs yolks with 1/4 of the hot lilikoi mixture; pour the yolk mixture back to the saucepan.

Simmer, uncovered, whisking continuously until thickened and starts to bubble. Do not allow the lilikoi curd to come to a to a full boil or the eggs will start curdling. Strain and chill.

Malasadas

3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
7 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups butter, softened to room temperature
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Sugar

In a large bowl of an electric mixer use the dough hook to mix together the flour, sugar, and yeast.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time to form a thick paste; continue to mix at medium speed for 15 more minutes, then add the salt. Add the softened butter, 1/2 cup at a time, while continuing to mix at medium speed.

Transfer dough to a large bowl, cover, and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk.

Refrigerate for 2 hours. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and allow it to rise once more at room temperature.

Heat oil to 375°F. Fry the dough until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Roll in sugar.

Fill the malasadas with the lilikoi curd using a pastry bag.

The lilikoi curd is seriously one of the best things I have tasted in a long time. It's tart and sweet and buttery and custardy all at the same time, and you just want to start spreading it on everything. Then I tried a freshly fried malasada, and I knew the lilikoi curd had met its match. The outside was crispy from the frying and crunchy from the granulated sugar while the inside was soft and chewy and slightly sweet. I only wish I had been able to pipe in more of the lilikoi curd because the little squirt I got in there just wasn't enough.

Kalua Pork

Nope, that's not a typo. This isn't pork made with Kahlua. This is kalua pork, the Hawaiian roasted pork served at luaus. Traditionally, a whole salted pig is put into a pit filled with hot rocks and banana leaves and covered so that it can cook all day. I got to go to Hawaii years and years ago for a family reunion (relatives from Taiwan and the US met halfway) and still remember loving this dish. The pork was moist, fall-off-the-bone tender, and had a depth of flavor that I thought could only be delivered via cooking in a pit for hours and hours.

Luckily for those of us who don't have easy access to whole pigs, pits, hot rocks, and banana leaves, you can make kalua pork in a slow cooker with only 2 ingredients: pork butt and smoked salt! The first you can get from almost any grocery store; just make sure it'll fit into your slow cooker. Apparently, pork butt is actually the same thing as pork shoulder, so either would work.

I found smoked Hawaiian sea salt at Narrin's Spice and Salt in Cleveland's West Side Market. I had actually bought this a couple of years ago but never figured out what to use it in until now. This particular product has a blend of Hawaiian black and pink salt along with regular white sea salt. If you can't find smoked sea salt, you can also use liquid smoke with regular sea salt.

Kalua Pork
makes about 6 servings

2.5 lbs. pork butt (or shoulder)
2 tablespoons smoked Hawaiian sea salt

Using a steak knife, poke the pork all over and then rub the salt all over.

Place the pork in a slow cooker and cook on low for 20 hours, turning once halfway through. Pork is done when it can be easily shredded with a fork.

That's it! With only two ingredients and two lines of instructions, you'll be surprised how flavorful the finished product is. During the slow cooking process, all the fat starts to render out of the meat so that at the end, it's cooking in its own juices, a sort of pork confit if you will. While I wouldn't consider the top half of the meat (that isn't sitting in the juices) to be dry, it is drier and less salty than the bottom half. I tried to turn the meat again when it was done to try to even it out, but the pork was so tender, I wasn't sure I could get it flipped without totally mangling it. If I had had more time, I would've shredded all the meat and served it with the reserved juices on the side for people to add if they wanted. Instead, I just brought the whole thing to a potluck and served it with some shredded cabbage sauteed with garlic and rice, letting people shred off as much as they wanted.

One year ago:  Mayonnaise Shrimp with Candied Walnuts, Char Siu Bao