Sardine Pupu
Pau Hana: The Friday Transition
The pull-tab snaps on a tin of Ligo sardines, the fish hits a spitting skillet, and a splash of Aloha shoyu sizzles into the oil. Ten minutes at the stove turns the oily fillets into a tangy, garlic-laced bar snack. The grandmother trick here is shocking paper-thin onions in ice water to strip their harsh sulfur bite, leaving sweet, crunchy ribbons to cut the oily richness. Crack a cold beer, grab your chopsticks, rip open a sleeve of saltines, and dig into the sharp contrast of cold onions against hot, oily fish.
Before you start
Prepare the Hawaiian chili pepper water.
In a glass jar, combine 1 cup warm water, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp coarse sea salt, 2 smashed garlic cloves, and 2 to 4 halved spicy chilies (like Thai bird's eye or Habanero). Shake well to dissolve the salt and let it sit on the counter overnight to infuse.
Ingredients
- sweet onion1/2 med
- ice water2 cup
- whole sardines in olive oil2 tin
- garlic3 med clove
- gochugaru1 tsp
- shoyu2 tsp
- apple cider vinegar2 tsp
- lemon1/2 med
- Hawaiian chili pepper water1 tbsp
- black pepper1/4 tsp
Method
- 01
Shock the onions.
Submerge the thinly sliced sweet onion in a bowl of ice water for at least 5 minutes to strip its harsh bite, then drain and pat dry.
- 02
Extract the tin oil.
Carefully open the sardine tins, hold back the fish, and pour the infused olive oil directly into a small skillet over medium heat.
- 03
Bloom the aromatics.
Add the sliced garlic and gochugaru to the warm oil, sautéing for about 2 minutes until the garlic turns golden brown.
- 04
Warm the fish.
Gently slide the whole sardines into the skillet, keeping them intact, and warm them in the garlic-chili oil for 60 to 90 seconds.
- 05
Deglaze with the adobo mix.
Pour the shoyu and apple cider vinegar directly into the pan, gently basting the fish with the bubbling liquid for another minute until it creates a shiny glaze.
- 06
Plate and garnish.
Transfer the sardines and all the pan sauce to a serving plate, top with a high pile of the ice-cold onions, a squeeze of lemon juice, cracked black pepper, and a heavy splash of chili pepper water.
Notes
The right sardines.
Seek out high-quality whole, skin-on, bone-in pilchards packed in olive oil (like Nuri, King Oscar, or Brunswick). Avoid sprats or fish packed in water or tomato sauce for this preparation.
Onion substitutions.
Maui onions are the island standard, but Vidalia or Walla Walla sweet onions are perfect 1:1 mainland substitutes.
From Cook Hawaiian in America.