Midin, not to be confused with Paku, is a local fern that, according to my Sarawakian friends, is only found in Sarawak (but that I have not yet verified for sure). When we first got to Kuching, we were invited to a friend’s house for dinner and we had our first taste of Paku. It was delicious! But my friend said, “If you like this, you really have to try Midin, it is much tastier.” She then proceeded to buy us a bunch the next time we saw them.
I took home that bunch and put it in the fridge to cook the next day (ferns are best cooked the day it is bought but if you cannot, it will keep an extra day but it won’t taste as good). Never having cooked with any type of fern, I had asked some questions before leaving my friends the day before. Armed with some idea of how to cook them, I set to work on them the next day.
This Ahi Limu Poke dish was part of our Ultimate Backyard Lu’au that we threw a few weeks back. Ahi or yellowfin tuna, is one of Hawai’i’s favorite fishes to eat. We like them in sashimi (especially around New Years), smoked, or in poke (“POH-kay”). Limu is the Hawaiian word for algae or seaweed. Poke simply means “cut into small pieces” in Hawaiian. Ahi Limu Poke, then, calls for ahi to be cut into small pieces, then mixed with seaweed and other seasonings.
I don’t understand what all the fuss is about brussels sprouts.
I’ve never had brussels sprouts until Annie cooked them for us recently. But all I heard about brussels sprouts before then was how much people hated them. I wondered why, since it seemed to me that they were just a strange looking little cabbage ball that grows on a stalk. What’s not to love?
The other day, Annie picked up a stalk of brussels sprouts at the farmer’s market and brought it home. First she cut the sprouts off the stalk. She then cut each sprout in half and washed them.
