Category Archive

Top to bottom (or back to front): Ume Musubi, Pickled Cucumber, Maui’s Uradomo Farm’s Takuan (ichiban!), Kim Chee Sausage, Pastele Sausage and Chorizo Sausage

In spirit of the popular Portuguese Sausage Shootout, here’s a further spin on ethnic variety in the form of Kim Chee, Pastele and Chorizo Sausages! Who woulda’ thought? Yes, give a butcher some casings, ground meat and a bunch of ethnic flavorings and things like this do happen as we see here!

You can’t help but think to yourself when seeing something like this on the store shelves, “I wonder how those taste? Does the flavor actually resemble what it’s labeled as?” Well, those questions certainly crossed my mind, so nothing else to do but throw them in the cart and give ‘em a spin!

These three sausages are all made by Kukui Sausage Company in Honolulu, Hawaii. Here is each one in detail…

Kim Chee Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Water, Salt, Vinegar, Flavorings, Paprika, Sodium Nitrite, Chili Powder, Cabbage, Garlic, Scallion, Sugar, Fish Sauce, MSG

Pastele Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Bananas, Salt, Black Pepper, Tomato Paste, Achote Oil, Spices, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Nitrite

Chorizo Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Vinegar, Parika, Garlic, Chili Powder, Black Pepper, Spices, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Nitrite

As you can see, these are all pork-based sausages, and from there the flavor components completely take a different course.

Hawaii’s culinary scene is no stranger to these three flavors due to the contributions of our fellow Korean (Kim Chee), Puerto Rican (Pastele) and overall Latino (Chorizo) folks.

So how do they taste? First of all, notice that I accompany these rather heavy-hearted foods with my trusty Ume Musubi, Takuan and pickled cucumber. These help buffer the palate and also bring balance to an otherwise oily affair.

Right down to it, the Kim Chee and the Pastele both taste as advertised. The Kim Chee sausage taste like Kim Chee-flavored pork and the Pastele Sausage tastes like a “porky” pastele. That really is the best and only way I can explain it.

With the Kim Chee sausage, there’s actual slices of cabbage mixed in it, so the texture further reinforces and convinces you what it’s supposed to be. I would recommend they make this one a little more spicy-hot; not too hot, but more than what it is so that you really are convinced this IS Kim Chee sausage. Still, that flavor is there and you know it upon first bite.

Here you can see a slice of Kim Chee cabbage in the sausage…

I can see cutting this into cubes and adding it to the classic Kim Chee Fried Rice.

In truth, I didn’t like the Chorizo Sausage at all. It lacked quality in flavor, tasting mostly like a spicy porky “something”. Worst of all, it falls apart as it cooks, turning into basically a sauteed ground pork with a strangely-spiced flavor profile. There’s no way this even comes close to that good stuff in the green can.

My favorite, and certainly the one shining with the most character and most true to it’s labeled name is the Pastele Sausage. While I won’t say you can taste the bananas in it, there’s something about that ingredient that gives this sausage its signature flavor. It’s really hard for me to describe this, but it’s really good and taste, well, like Pastele Sausage! Shouldn’t it?

You can sort of see the complexity involved in this cross section of the Pastele Sausage…

This is certainly one you must pick and try if you like the flavor of Peurto Rican style Pasteles.

Any of these three would be a welcome addition to an ethnically-charged fried rice.

1st place: Pastele Sausage
2nd place: Kim Chee Sausage
3rd place: Chorizo Sausage

Once again, I highly recommend the Pastele Sausage if you like pasteles. This hits home.

Kukui Sausage Company
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
(80 841-8843

P.S. I’ve added Frank’s Foods (Hilo), Redondos (duh!) and Kukui brand Portuguese Sausage to “The Great Portuguese Sausage Shootout” entry.

Portuguese Sausage Shootout

Portuguese Bean Soup, with a spoonful of tender Portuguese Sausage, kidney beans, carrot, potato and macaroni. Yum!

Portuguese Bean Soup (Sopa de Feijao) is another Hawaii favorite that can often be found at local eateries as the soup of the day or as a regular menu item. This is comfort food at its best. With the surplus of leftover Portuguese Sausage I had in the refrigerator from the recent “Portuguese Sausage Shootout“, instead of freezing the remaining uncooked sausage, I took this opportunity to use it all up and make this dish.

The following recipe is my rendition, with references from Auntie Lynn and Reid over at Ono ‘Kine Grindz. Mahalo!

Portuguese Bean Soup
Serves approx. 10-12

Ingredients:
3 Smoked Ham Hocks (these are usually available in the meat freezer section. Make sure they’re SMOKED)
1 Large Portuguese Sausage (any brand), cut into bite-size pieces (I used MUCH more than 1 for this batch, since that’s how much I had)
1 bag of dry kidney beans
1-2 cups (uncooked) macaroni (add more or less at your discretion)
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 white round onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (save some extra unchopped for garnish)
2 bay leaves
1 six oz. can Tomato Paste (this will help to slightly thicken it)
1 fourteen oz. can Stewed Tomatoes
1 fourteen oz. can chicken stock
Salt and Pepper
Water
5 quart (or larger) pot or dutch oven
*Options: You can also add chopped celery and/or cabbage. I didn’t because there was no room for it. You can also substitute canned Kidney Beans for the uncooked type used here.

The most important part of this soup is the ham hock soup stock base it’s started with. This provides the dish with its “porky”, slightly smoky signature.

Ham Hocks & Cilantro (Chinese Parlsey)

Begin by placing the 3 ham hocks, 1 bay leaf and the chopped cilantro in the pot, then add the can of chicken stock and just just enough water to cover the ham hocks. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for approximately 2-1/2 hours, covered to prevent evaporation. Note that this is a stock-making process, so you don’t put all the ingredients in from the start, as they’ll obviously over-cook and become mush.

This will give you time to prepare the uncooked kidney beans. First wash and rinse them in a collander, then place in a pot of water, bring to boil for about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them sit in the heated water for about an hour, check for tenderness (bite-test one), then drain the now ready-to-use beans in the collander.

The uncooked kidney beans as they’re first placed in the pot with water

Prepare the cut-up Portuguese Sausage by frying them until slightly browned, then place on paper towel to drain oil…

After over 2 hours of simmering, the ham hock stock will look like this…

PBS stock made with ham hocks, cilantro, bay leaf, chicken stock and water

Notice the rich brown color and the porky aroma! Fish out the now-tender ham hocks and place them on a cutting board, let them cool, then remove the meat from bone with a fork and knife and discard the bone…

Tender, fully cooked ham hocks with meat removed

Now you begin throwing everything else into the pot. Add the ham hock meat, kidney beans, Portuguese Sausage, uncooked macaroni, potatoes, chopped onions, carrots, crushed garlic, the other bay leaf and stewed tomatoes (don’t add the tomato paste yet), then add enough water to cover, and let it simmer for about another hour, stirring occasionally.

The finished pot of Portuguese Bean Soup

Finish it by stirring in the tomato paste by spoonfuls until the soup reaches the desired thickness and taste. Some like it more “tomato-ey” than others. Up to you. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste, then ring the bell for dinner and enjoy!

Garnish each bowl with a sprig of Cilantro and serve with your favorite bread and butter (personally I like Safeway’s French Bread with plenty of margarine spread on it) or soda crackers.

Hot on the heels of the Portuguese Sausage Shootout comes another popular island favorite from the Portuguese, the Malasada. I work in an office where folks love to share food, and yesterday was no exception as one of our accountants brought us a box of Leonard’s Malasadas from their wagon located in Waikele Shopping Center.

Malasadas are essentially a doughnut shaped as shown (no hole in it), about the size of a racket ball, deep fried until GBD and dusted with a light coat of granulated sugar. Leonard’s also offers filled versions with custard, chocolate or Haupia (coconut cream). They’re 60 cents each or cheaper if purchased in larger quantities.

I haven’t had Malasadas for a while; the last time being from Champion Malasadas (Beretania st.), a formidable contender to Leonard’s. Well this batch was consistent to what I always remember Leonard’s to be… fluffy, slightly spongee, slightly chewy, with a nice change in texture from the deep-fried outer crust, complimented, but not overdone by the granulated sugar finish. What’s most important is that they’re not greasy, which is a testament that they have good management over proper oil temperature. Just a slight “slick” on the crust that helps the sugar stick to them and also provides a sort of buttery finish in texture if you will. They might even have some secret ingredient that helps prevent oil from penetrating into the dough as it cooks.

Reheating or eating them cold just isn’t an option. Just like anything else that’s deep-fried, Malasadas are something you MUST eat while it’s piping hot straight from the bakery or wagon.

I’m having evil thoughts about this. How about making a Malasada Dog? lol Heck, they did it with Andagi (Okinawan donuts), so why not the Malasada? O.K., one day after my arteries take a break perhaps I’ll try that.

This Leonard’s logo sticker they put on each box is a whimsical, yet accurate illustration of what their famous red and white striped Malasada wagon looks like…

They also have a bakery home base located on Kapahulu Avenue that’s been there for decades.

While their may be a few contenders out there, the first name that comes to mind when you mention Malasadas is Leonard’s… a household name in Hawaii that continues to this day with excellence.

www.LeonardsHawaii.com

Being half Portuguese, it’s fitting that I do a thorough job of covering one of Hawaii’s favorite ethnic foods, the Portuguese Sausage. Hawaii’s manufacturers mostly stick by a similar recipe that is unique to the islands, setting ours apart from those found on the mainland… or possibly even in Portugal.

The most popular way to eat it is for breakfast as simply Portuguese Sausage, Eggs and Rice. Comfort food at its best. Most Hawaii restaurants that serve breakfast have Portuguese sausage as an option to bacon, breakfast links or ham, including national chains such as McDonald’s and iHop.

What inspired me to have a Portuguese Sausage shootout is the wide selection of locally-made brands and varieties that fill our supermarket shelves today, commonly taking up to 4 feet of meat department refrigerator shelf space.

So let the battle begin!…

The players (top to bottom):

• Redondo’s Lisboa Portuguese Brand Sausage, 10 oz., $1.99 (sale price) from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, flavorings, sugar, sodium phosphate, monosodium glutamate, oleo-resin of parika, sodiumerythorbate, sodium nitrite, packed in collagen casing.
• Uncle Louie’s Fully Cooked Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage Stick, package of 3 at 48 oz. (3 lbs.) total, $10 from Costco.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, non-fat dry milk, paprika, vinegar, garlic, chili pepper, spice, sweetener (sucralose), sodium nitrite.
• Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage (Linguica). 10 oz., $1.99 from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, spices, garlic, paprika, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.
• Rego’s Purity of Hawaii Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage. 10 oz., $1.99 from Marukai Market Place.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, nonfat dry milk, salt, vinegar, sugar, flavorings, paprika, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, oleoresin of paprika, packed in collagen casing.
• Aloha Brand Portuguese Brand Sausage Hawaiian Style (distributed by Gouvea’s Inc.). 5 oz., $1.29 from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, dextrose, spices, hydrolyzed wheat protien, paprika, sodium phosphate, garlic, spice extractives, natural flavorings, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite and collagen casing.
• Pacific Sausage Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage (Linguica), 5 oz., 99 cents from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, vinegar, sugar, flavoring, spices, garlic, paprika, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, dextrose, sodium nitrite, sodium citrate.
• Hawaiian Sausage Company Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage (distributed by Rego’s Purity Food Co., Inc.), 5 oz., 99 cents from Marukai Market Place.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, nonfat dry milk, salt, vinegar, flavorings, paprika, sodium phosphate, smoke flavoring, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, oleoresin of paprika, packed in collagen casing.
• Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage Made with Pork and Chicken, 5 oz., $1.29 from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, mechanically separated chicken, water, salt, spices, garlic, paprika, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite and collagen casing.
• Redondo’s Mo’ono Sweet Hot Portuguese Brand Sausage, 5 oz., 99 cents from Marukai Market Place.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, soy sauce, sugar, salt, flavorings, sodium phosphate, monosodium glutamate, oleoresin of paprika, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, packed in collagen casing.
• Frank’s Foods Portuguese Brand Sausage (from Hilo), 12 oz., $2.49 (on sale) from Ward Marukai.
  Ingredients: Pork, beef, dextrose, salt, soy protein concentrate, paprika, sodium phosphate, flavorings, hydrolyzed soy protein, garlic powder, msg, smoke flavoring, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.
• Kukui Sausage Co, Inc. Portuguese Brand Sausage, 8 oz., $1.99 (on sale) from Ward Marukai..
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, sugar, flavorings, paprika, sodium phosphate, sodium nitrite, chili powder, sodium erythorbate.

With (now) 11 players on the “field”, I had to be careful in properly identifying each one for an accurate comparison. While they’re each slightly varied in color and size, for the most part, they all share the same DNA, so labeling was the only way to do it…

As you can see, they all have distinguishable marbeling; some more pronounced than others…

The newest player on the field is Uncle Louie’s, made in Kahului, Maui and available in a bulk pack of 3 HUGE (I mean HUGE) 1 pound sausages at Costco. On a side note to Costco, they also sell Redondo’s Portuguese Sausage in preformed “Spam Musubi” rectangular shapes. How cool is that!

Portuguese Sausage tastes best pan-fried for serving…

I cut 4 slices from each brand, about 3/8″ thick at a bias (diagonally) to provide more surface area.

The only way to give this shootout a fare shake was to accompany the taste test with its true companion, eggs and rice!…

Post edit additions, top to bottom (back to front): Ume Musubi, pickled cucumber, takuan (palate buffers), Frank’s Foods (Hilo), Redondo’s and Kukui brand Portuguese Sausage (uncooked left and cooked right)

Yes, call me crazy. I felt that way attempting to properly plate, sort and label this spread. But tell me that doesn’t look good! Notice I added a couple slices of Takuan, a Japanese picked turnip. I learned this from the mama sans at Tropic Fish and Vegetable market, who makes their Portuguese Sausage, eggs and rice breakfast bento with this. It adds balance, harmony and helps buffer the palate. Try it with Takuan. The best!

The results!..

1. Frank’s Foods Portuguese Brand Sausage:
   Pork, beefy, smoky and tight; not too fatty or greasy. You haven’t had local style Portuguese Sausage until you’ve had Franks!
   
2. Rego’s Purity of Hawaii Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage:
   Slightly sweet twang; mild spices; porky; soft casing; well-balanced overall.
   
3. Hawaiian Sausage Company Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage (distributed by Rego’s Purity Food Co., Inc.):
   Smokey!, mildly spicy, porky & moist. Even with the added smoke component, this one was also very well balanced and packed with flavor.
   
4. Redondo’s Mo’ono Sweet Hot Portuguese Brand Sausage:
   Tender; porky; moist; hot but spice influence is mild.
   
5. Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage (Linguica):
   Spicy, somewhat salty, semi-beefy, semi-porky (are those real terms?), pronounced marbeling, overall great flavor.
   
6. Redondo’s Lisboa Portuguese Brand Sausage:
   Redondo’s is great, but Gouvea’s slightly beefy profile gives it just a little more character than Redondo’s. Still, this is good, and even in 6th place, it’s still something I’ll put in the shopping cart on an impulse buy.
   
7. Uncle Louie’s Fully Cooked Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage Stick:
   Significant spicy flavor;
   pronounced marbeling gave it a really “fatty” character, for better or worse; somewhat salty; doesn’t taste porky, more beefy.
   
8. Uncle Louie’s Fully Cooked Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage Stick:
   Significant Paprika flavor;
   pronounced marbeling gave it a really “fatty” character, for better or worse; somewhat salty; doesn’t taste porky, more beefy.
   
9. Aloha Brand Portuguese Brand Sausage Hawaiian Style (distributed by Gouvea’s Inc.):
   More zesty; paprika too noticeable, yet still good; doesn’t taste like “traditional” Portuguease sausage.
   
10. Kukui Sausage Co, Inc. Portuguese Brand Sausage:
    Decent, but lacks character. It’ s just OK, still slightly better than the last place contender as follows.
    
11. Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage Made with Pork and Chicken:
    Suttle flavor, not much marbelization
    

Post edit: Frank’s Foods from Hilo is my favorite! The beef and the smoke flavoring, combined with the texture, which is tight and not to fatty make this one stand out. And allthough there’s beef in it, which is out of the norm from the rest of the pack, it still screams loud and proud, “I’m the best Portuguese Sausage!”

Rego’s Purity of Hawaii Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage was my overall favorite. With that, it’s still a close contender for first place, but I’ll hand that to Franks. The Purity won a blind taste test by four members in our household. I wouldn’t kick any one of these brands off the table, but if I could only choose one, Franks would be first, then Rego’s Purity. As for Purity, flavorful balance is the best way to describe it. It also caramelized nicely due its sugar component. My next choice also comes from Rego’s with their Hawaiian Sausage Company variety. The added smokiness really serves it well, and goes GREAT with those sunny-side up eggs. Excellent.

Whew. Let me tell you, that was alot of work. It wasn’t easy to try that much Portuguese Sausage in one sitting. After that, I didn’t eat for the rest of the day. That’s how full I was! The spices really give an aftertaste doesn’t go away for a long time. lol But it’s all good.

Next time you go grocery shopping, pick up a few brands of Portuguese Sausage and compare them yourself. You might find nuances in each that I couldn’t find, or a flavor preference that best suits you. Then after that, go on a diet for the rest of the week. I’m going vegetarian for the next 5 days after this. My blood is still boiling. lol

P.S.

Gouvea also makes this “Hot Dog”…

Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Hot Dogs

It may look like a hot dog on the outside, but bite into it and you know what? It’s pretty much a miniature Portuguese Sausage! Same paprika, vinegar, and garlic flavor, sans the chili pepper. Very porky, including the marbelized fat in it. It’s really ono!

Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Hot Dog, boiled and sliced in half

Next time I gotta’ try it in a hot dog bun. Maybe with just ketchup and chopped onions.

I also tried Redondo’s Arabiki Sausage…

Redondo’s ARABIKI course gournd sausage made with pork (Mo’ono selection), $2.99 from Marukai.

Per the instructions on the package, I boiled them for about 3 minutes…

They’re sort small, but they really pack flavor! Smokey, slightly sweet and savory in a shoyu-kind-of way, and moist inside. But the most important feature of these little babies is that SNAPPY CRUNCH of the casing. Nice! I’m not sure how I’d incorporate this in a recipe, but just alone as a pupu works for me. Pick some up and try.. I bet you’ll like it.