Family Ingredients

-As a chef, someone gifts you a bag of Hanapepe salt, it's like a bag of gold.

-Yeah.

So I have, you know, a nice, strong connection to pa'akai.

-We don't own the 'aina, it's obvious, but we will do our best to ensure that the future generation can farm, can eat.

-Every dish has a story.

Food brings people together and has the power to conjure up cherished memories.

- There's no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard -So happy to be here.

Hungry.

-Hungry.

Right.

-I was born and raised in the Hawaiian Islands, one of the most diverse communities in the world.

- I'll tell you one thing, we're better together -In this show, we'll meet a guest from Hawaii, learn about their favorite dish, and have some fun along the way.

- So much better when we're together -Kaua'i is one of the last islands to join Kamehameha's kingdom.

And for the people of Kaua'i, they wear that badge proudly.

For "Family Ingredients," this is our third time returning to Kaua'i, and we realize that her story is not yet complete.

Kaua'i keeps calling us back.

This time we are traveling with Grammy-nominated musician Raiatea Helm.

-[ Singing in Hawaiian ] -I remember when she first came on the scene.

She stood out because what she was doing was a very traditional style of falsetto Hawaiian, singing the old standards.

And why that meant so much to me is because it comes from the same era that my parents were performers in Hawaii.

My parents have entertained audiences for years, and there are so many memories about them that I will never forget.

My father's family is from the island of Kaua'i, and I was once given a book of my family's genealogy.

Each time I return to the island, more of these names on a page suddenly come to life.

This is a gift that I'm grateful to be able to share with my kids.

In our last episode, we traveled with Raiatea to the island of Moloka'i.

-Moloka'i style, so... -Yeah, looking forward to it.

There we feasted on modern and traditional preparations of poke.

Now we're back on Kaua'i to dive deep into her mother's genealogy and to learn more about her favorite dish.

[ Roosters clucking ] You know how you know you're in Kaua'i?

You can hear the roosters.

-As soon as you get out of the airport, it's -- yeah, they're there, but... -So your family has been here forever, generations?

-Yes, they've been here since the 1800s.

Hanapepe is very special to me.

It's where my grandmother grew up.

-When I think of Hanapepe, I think of the salt ponds.

As a chef, someone gifts you a bag of Hanapepe salt, it's like a bag of gold.

-Yeah.

So I have, you know, a nice, strong connection to pa'akai.

-You know what's interesting is that pa'akai is a key element of poke.

-It sure is.

You got to have it.

-You got to have it.

-Yeah.

Growing up, fresh fish was always around in my family.

A childhood favorite, and you have the certain limu and the 'inamona and pa'akai.

Simple.

And now they get all fancy, yeah?

-Poke is the world's favorite Hawaiian dish.

Over time, other influences have made it into the mix, like soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions.

And just like Hawaii, today this dish continues to evolve.

But the rise in poke's popularity has placed a severe strain on the world's tuna stocks.

In the past, Hawaiians had a kapu system that would forbid harvesting of certain fish during specific times of the year, which would allow stocks to replenish and grow.

You can use almost anything in poke, like salmon, octopus, breadfruit.

But for "Family Ingredients," we are in search of the truly unexpected.

We proceeded all the way out to Kekaha, which is almost the end of the road, to Kaua'i Shrimp.

It is a shrimp farm.

Robert Kanna is the farm manager.

He's actually been there through three separate ownerships.

-Born and raised west side, so I love it over here.

-And this is where they're grown, in just these -- these large pens.

-So they're grown in what we call round ponds so that we can create a current.

The waste material is then moved to the center, and when there's a buildup, we open up the drain and flush it out so that our pond is always clean.

-You see these big pens that have flowing, circulating water, and I'm just struggling to see shrimp.

He grabs a throw net, and then all of a sudden the whole pond seems to come alive with just activity.

And there was probably, in one throw, I'd say 10 or 12 pounds of fresh jumbo shrimp.

-It's all saltwater, yes?

-Yes.

The species we grow is Litopenaeus vannamei.

-It was difficult for me to want to go to a shrimp farm, just knowing that shrimp is traditionally looked at as one of the environmental nightmares of the modern-day food system.

Okay, I got to ask.

Shrimp raised from oftentimes developing nations kind of has this really negative stigma.

What's done differently here from what -- than what's done in these developing nations?

-One thing we -- we really don't do is we don't use any chemicals at all.

-Following along with Hawaii and the importance of aloha 'aina, I should have known they're growing shrimp in probably the most sustainable pono manner.

They're pumping up ocean water from thousands of depth that is pristine, crystal clean.

There is complete absence of disease, parasites, any other sort of microorganisms.

So these shrimp are actually being raised in an incredibly clean environment.

For the most part, we've always been discouraged from eating shellfish raw because of Board of Health reasons.

But he said that's his favorite way to eat it.

And we're looking forward to preparing fresh shrimp poke.

Over the past couple of years, the phrase "aloha 'aina" has become a common saying here in Hawaii.

I asked Raiatea what it means to her, and she said we needed to go down and visit a friend.

-[ Speaks Hawaiian ] -Kaina Makua, yet another young Hawaiian that has dedicated his life to perpetuating this culture.

He was a Hawaiian language teacher.

He's still coaching canoe paddling, and his most recent venture is Aloha Aina Poi Company.

You're always in this spot?

-No, you know, actually -- -He took them away from us.

-We learned from this guy right here.

[ Laughter ] -The two products that they produce -- poi and kulolo.

Kulolo is like a taro pudding that's been baked with, really simple, coconut milk and sugar.

-Oh, I started kulolo.

-It's okay.

Not as good as yours.

-[ Speaks indistinctly ] [ Laughter ] -It pretty much started from Uncle Tama.

-Well, I was from...

He order taro from us, so when I would deliver it, he told me, "You know, Tama, you come over here.

I teach you, 'cause I look at my sons.

I don't think they're gonna do it."

So, and that's what he did.

He gave me the recipe, and then I try.

-Looks so good.

-Mm-hmm.

-Real caramelized.

It was so caramelized.

It had this really, really deep molasses flavor.

-'Ono.

So, brother, can you expand on why you chose Aloha Aina?

-Our name, Aloha Aina Poi Company -- I started reading the nupepa Aloha Aina -- Ke Aloha Aina.

To keep it simple, aloha, you know, is that compassion.

And really the stance of taking compassion to another level, especially for 'aina, the 'aina that we live, 'cause we don't own the 'aina, it's obvious, but we will do our best to ensure that the future generation can farm, can eat.

To love our land is not just one saying.

Like, we'd probably give up our life to make sure that it stays the way it is today for the future generations.

-You know, Hawaii was always a part of my childhood.

It has such special significance to who I am and who I strive to be.

What's so beautiful about this island is that there's so much rich history and culture, and a lot of it is connected to my kupuna, my family over in Hanapepe.

-Three terms come to mind when I think of this adventure with Raiatea -- first off being aloha 'aina, ike kupuna, which is the ancient knowledge that's been passed down from generation to generation, and poke, which actually got us here in the first place.

And you cannot make chopped raw fish without pa'akai.

You would think making salt -- oh, easy.

You just get salt water, put it out under the sun, let the water evaporate, you have salt.

It's a much deeper labored process.

Malia Nobrega-Olivera, she actually broke it down for us.

-We're here at Waimaka o Hi'iaka.

-The eye of Hi'iaka -- the water eye.

-Yeah, or the tears of Hi'iaka.

-The tears of Hi'iaka, okay.

-Yeah, the waimaka.

-Yeah, waimaka.

-22 'ohana continue to make pa'akai here and have a connection here.

-It's obviously not salt-making time.

I'm trying to envision this place, what it looks like.

The puna is where the water flows in.

-Yes, so this is the cleaning of the puna.

Part of the mo'olelo of what Grandpa shared with us of what makes this part of our 'aina special, one, there's different layers.

You know, there's the basalt and all different layers of our earth.

Well, we have a salt layer, a salt shelf.

So if you were to test the salinity of the water right here in the ocean and test the salinity of the water here in the puna, big difference.

-'Cause it flows through the salt to get here.

-Because it's coming through that salt shelf, yes.

-So the water fills the wells of the puna, which are then poured into the waiku, and there they will dry for days to create pa'akai, or salt.

This just looks like really rich black soil.

-It's not soil, it's clay.

And that's the second amazing thing.

There are certain elements in the earth, in the 'aina, that makes us connected to here and allows us to produce.

-Yeah, this is why it's here in the first place.

-Exactly.

-This is your grandparents?

-Yeah, so this is from my mom's side of the family.

We can see a harvest, or what we call a pu'u pa'akai.

-So this little mound of salt.

-Yeah, that's not little.

-Yeah.

[ Laughs ] This would be a normal site here.

But, you know, with all of these impacts that we're experiencing and then the flooding happening for our family, six years in a row, we've gone from the 55-gallon-bucket harvest to zero.

It's very alarming.

That's what keeps me trying to find solutions.

Even around the talks about climate change and interacting with climate scientists, it's like, "What kind of solutions?

What can we do," you know?

I'm also a specialist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Part of my research is in climate change and how it has an impact on traditional and customary practices.

For one, right now, we're using our Kaulana Mahina methodology to at least document and see what these correlations are, and can we come up with some solutions.

-Sorry, I'm still stuck on six years.

-Six years of zero production.

-Phew!

-It's such an important part not just for people here on Kaua'i.

I mean, salt making reaches many practitioners in all different ways.

And I think, you know, whether you're cooking or you're a la'au lapa'au practitioner making medicine or blessing a home, I mean, everyone uses salt... -Pa'akai, right.

-...pa'akai from Hanapepe.

-Yeah.

-A lot of the craze in poke is like the spicy ahi.

You get all these other add-ons.

And then we come with Chef Guy, he makes something so simple, and it's so authentic.

-Chef Guy Higa at the Kaua'i Marriott.

What a character.

I was really looking forward to his rendition of poke.

So, he created two types of poke for us.

This is Kalapaki Beach, it's called.

-Correct, Kaua'i Marriott on Kalapaki Beach.

-I'm connecting the dots here.

And then your family, your dad's -- your mom's -- You tell me.

[ Laughter ] She has family everywhere.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, so my kupuna on my mom's father's side came from Mokule'ia, Waialua, O'ahu, and brought with them here the name Lihu'e, and also connected to my Tahitian side, my kupuna lived here, as well, in Kalapaki.

So a lot of connections.

Beautiful.

And I'm still learning, but I'm so happy to be here.

Hungry.

-Hungry.

Alright.

-He used the shrimp that we had harvested and made a Filipino-inspired dish.

-So first of all, let's make the marinade.

I use...shoyu.

It's a Filipino-style shoyu, a little bit thicker.

-Is it sweet?

-That is salty.

-Yeah, it really isn't.

-And I cook without measuring, so don't mind me.

Then I made this chili pepper water.

-Ooh.

-So these little nioi, they get fire.

-Oh, man.

-Really hot.

-Way more hot than jalapeo.

-I actually got to wear a mask to make it.

So this is just roasted garlic I put in the oven to make it more milder.

This is calamansi.

-Calamansi.

-Yes, Filipino citrus.

And then this is the Kaua'i shrimp, beautiful shrimp, fresh.

-Fresh out of the water.

-Fresh.

And then we just toss this together.

-Ooh.

-A little seasoning here with the salt.

So you can see the shrimp is starting to cook already.

-Sort of like a ceviche, the citrus.

-Exactly.

Okay.

And then it's very simple.

I don't try to make difficult things.

So this is fern shoots.

Just some tomatoes in here, some red onion, and just mix them up.

-Oh, my goodness.

I could eat that every day.

-So you take a look, it's got all different influence inside.

-That's finished product, and best to let it sit for a while, maybe about a half-hour or so, let it cook a little bit more.

-Let's let it sit for a little bit, and then we'll make the other one, and then we'll come back.

-Okay.

Sounds good.

-Or I can just... -Or you can just eat that.

-...go right now.

-Yeah.

Okay.

[ Laughter ] -Sorry.

I can't wait.

-Share.

-That roasted garlic gives it a real savory -- -Yeah.

-Oh, my goodness.

-Yeah, it's not real bitter because it's cooked.

Doesn't have the bite of the garlic in there.

Okay, so next one we're making is the basic old-style Hawaiian poke.

Not too many people use aku nowadays, but I remember growing up, and a lot of the poke places always used to have aku poke, but very rare now.

-I'd much rather have aku.

I think people get scared 'cause it has a strong flavor.

-Yeah, it's more fishy.

-Yeah, yeah.

-More blood.

-Yes, that's right.

-I like to use the 'alaea for this one.

The limu kohu.

And then this is just ogo.

I blanch it real quick, cool them down, and then just chop them up.

The 'inamona, roasted kukui nut.

-To me, this looks like traditional.

-Mm-hmm.

-This is the basic real poke.

Yeah, now you got spicy poke.

-Yeah, they get fancy nowadays.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

All we need is a little bit of sour poi, and we're ready.

-Yeah.

Look at that.

This is about as traditional as a poke gets.

Didn't even have sesame oil, which seems to be the ubiquitous ingredient in poke.

The two different kind limu.

-Mmm!

Beautiful.

-They both add a different element, right?

-Yeah, texture and taste, yeah.

-Yeah.

-This one -- limu kohu you don't see very much.

-Kaua'i, we're kind of fortunate to have -- we have some.

You know, you can still kind of go to shorelines.

I'm not gonna tell you where, but... [ Laughter ] -Favorite part for me is that he used aku.

They are abundant.

They're plentiful.

You can eat them guilt-free because they are not at risk of being overfished.

Completely sustainable fish.

-I'm sorry, but this my favorite.

Mmm!

That is so 'ono.

So if you use, like, regular lime, how different would the taste be?

-If I would do lime instead of the calamansi, I would -- I would add a little sweetener, like a little bit of honey or sugar, just a touch just to balance the tartness.

-It almost has a little, like, tangerine flavor.

-Ooh!

-Like a sour tangerine.

-I would put some li hing mui on there.

[ Laughter ] -As far as the salt goes, so we get it as kind of a trade-off with one of my associates.

-So mahalo to my Aunty Nicole for the pa'akai.

Yeah, so I didn't realize that Chef Guy has pa'akai from my 'ohana who works with him.

And then you make another connection.

Ed, this is my 'ohana.

-Hey.

Hey, guys.

Aloha.

-Genealogy is a way that I can understand who I am.

Keanolani, she was raised at Ukula, where Salt Pond is, where the pa'akai is made over in Hanapepe.

Raiatea's great-great-great-grandmother was Keanolani, and her family's story was almost erased from the history books.

Keanolani's mother was Abigail Maheha.

As a young child, Abigail attended the Chiefs' Children's School.

It was a boarding school reserved for the children of Hawaiian royalty.

The school was run by Calvinist missionaries, and like many institutions in the world at the time, the instructors were tasked with civilizing these young indigenous children.

Abigail had a relationship with one of her classmates and became pregnant.

The classmate was Lot Kapuaiwa, who many years later became King Kamehameha V. Instead of celebrating the birth of a new child of royal lineage, her missionary instructors punished the 14-year-old Abigail.

They expelled her from the school, sent her to Kaua'i, and married her off in secrecy.

But her legacy continued, and they have been preserved in the salt ponds of Ukula.

Raiatea and her family are still learning about their ancestors.

But what they do know are the salt-gathering traditions.

For Hawaiians, salt is sacred, and it is used in many ceremonies.

Your family's been tending the salt beds for how long?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Generations.

-Generations.

My dad, Albert Liholiho Kali, that was his kuleana, to take care of the salt-making area.

-I've been told you can only receive it as a gift, though, right?

It's not commercial.

-Yeah.

-Salt beds.

No one sells it.

-Pretty much like that.

When we give, we give from our heart.

We no expect nothing back.

This is like the basic three colors that you can find.

So we get the white kind, you know, we use for the house.

This pink one over here we usually give to the... the hunters.

We use it for everything, you know, doesn't matter.

But this 'alaea one right here, this red one, it's the one we use for mostly for medicine.

-How you get the different colors, Joe.

-Well, the white one, this white one is usually the top layers.

-Do you have to clean it?

Or it just comes out like -- you scrape it out like this?

-Pretty much comes out white like that, and you just rinse them off.

-It's not processed.

Zero process.

-Can I try it?

-Oh, help yourself, bro.

-Got big flakes, huh?

-Nice crystals.

-Yeah.

And just, like, a little crunchiness.

Anything.

-Yeah.

A lot of guys like the white salt.

I just prefer the pink salt.

-This one.

I'm gonna try the drastic-change one.

-These two salts come out of the bed like this.

That salt is made to that color.

-Can you tell the difference?

You know, there's chefs now that they turn into salt snobs.

-Yeah.

Salt's a thing.

-No, actually, this one has a more savory flavor.

-Yeah, it does.

-Little sweet, even.

-A little sweet.

-Sweet.

-'Cause of the 'alaea.

-'Alaea.

-Sweet, yeah.

-This is the 'alaea right here.

Try this one.

-I'm eating red dirt.

-Eating the earth.

-Yeah.

-Eating the 'aina right now.

-Oh, man.

I'm trying to wrap my mind around it.

It's edible.

It tastes like butter.

-Yeah, it's crazy, yeah.

-Or something.

You got to try this.

[ Laughter ] -What?

-You got to.

-Making me eat dirt.

Wow.

-It's so good, though.

It's so good.

Might as well.

-It is.

-Tastes a little -- -It tastes buttery or something.

-I can sense it's, like, medicinal.

-You don't have to eat all that.

-Roll them through your tongue, you know, get the flavor in there.

-I want to use this to season something.

-Interesting.

-In ancient times, there was a family member whose sole responsibility was to remember the family's genealogy.

They were a living history book.

But after generations, this treasured knowledge is slowly being erased.

When "Family Ingredients" first started, it was special for me to include my parents in the show.

Since then, both of my parents have passed on.

I cannot imagine a world where my children or grandchildren would not know the stories of their ancestors.

When we start a new episode of "Family Ingredients," we usually never know where the story will take us.

It all starts with a beloved family dish, and from there, we just gather stories.

We collect stories about people and places, and slowly the episode takes shape like lines of a chant.

These are the genealogies of communities, neighborhoods, families.

These people are the salt of the earth.

And by sharing their stories, we vow that their memory will continue to live on.

[ Ukulele playing ] -[ Singing in Hawaiian ]