Exotic Wedding Recipes

If you’re looking to get married in a beautiful place, where you can start your “happily ever after” in a dreamy location, look no further than Hawai‘i Island. Tropical breezes, stunning sunsets, lush, green rainforests, waterfalls, beaches, and mountain backdrops…Hawai‘i has it all, and you’re already at the world’s most desirable honeymoon location!
Hanging loose in Hawai‘i for your wedding can also have another unexpected advantage: your reception can be a relaxed affair with “free-for-the-gathering” tropical greenery, a riot of farmers’ market flowers, and fresh-from-the-farm food instead of a rigid dinner menu set by old-fashioned protocol. When planning your menu, forget your typical reception offerings. Think outside the box and consider a locally sourced, tropical menu.
Hawai‘i Island is a cornucopia of food, with such an amazing range that it would take a whole book to do it justice. There are so many wonderful tastes to experience!
I hope the following ideas, from pūpū to dessert, can be of help in making your reception, bridal shower, or rehearsal dinner one that neither you nor your guests will ever forget. There are many farmers’ markets able to supply your reception, or any wedding-related party, with the best and freshest ingredients.

 

Mangoes

Mangoes are the kings of tropical fruit, in my opinion. They can be eaten out of hand or can make a statement enhancing any dish from appetizers to desserts.
Pūpū (Appetizer): Mango Sushi Roll with Coconut and Mint

This recipe created by Brenda Cloutier was the “Best of Show” winner in the Big Island 6th Annual Mango Cooking Contest (2014).

Yield: 4 rolls (32 pieces)
For the rolls:

1 Mango (about 1 pound, seeded and peeled)

Cut into 8–1/2 x 1/2 inch sticks. Save trim for sauce.

1-1/3 cup white rice, dry

1/2 cup coconut, organic shredded

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons rice vinegar
For the sauce:

1/2 cup mango, chopped (trim leftover from mango)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon rice vinegar or to taste

4 square rice paper summer roll wrappers

Spearmint or basil leaves, 4 per roll, plus garnish, cut in half lengthwise
Prepare the rice in a rice cooker. First, wash the rice. Fill the rice cooker to the appropriate line with cold water. Add grated coconut, coconut milk, sugar and salt.

Reserve vinegar for mixing with the cooked rice. Spoon the cooked rice into a bowl and stir in the vinegar. Mix well. Allow to cool.
Prepare mango sauce: in a small saucepan, combine chopped mango, sugar, and water, then simmer on low until translucent—about 40 minutes. Add vinegar and blend until smooth. Adjust sugar and vinegar to taste. Chill. Put this in a squeeze bottle for easy application.
Assembling the sushi:
Rice wrappers—prepare one at a time.

Wet 2 clean kitchen towels, then gently squeeze out most of the water. Fold in half. Lay rice wrapper on one towel and cover with the other. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or until pliable.
On a plastic covered sushi mat, spread sushi rice across mat, about 3 inches wide. Add a thin line of mango sauce down center; add mango sticks end-to-end (should need 2 or 2 plus a small piece. Roll. Lay spearmint or basil leaf pieces on softened rice paper and then carefully transfer sushi to wrapper, and then roll. Cut the wrapper leaving 1/2 to overlap. Cut into 8 segments.
Cover with damp towel until ready to cut and serve. If storing, wrap in waxed paper. Serve sprinkled with toasted coconut (optional) and a small side of sauce. Garnish plate with sauce and spearmint or basil leaves.

Warabi

Warabi is the Japanese name for a tropical type of fiddlehead fern. Warabi or Hō‘i‘o, as it is called in Hawaiian, can be used in salads, soups or incorporated into an entrée. The taste is a combination of fresh asparagus and okra.
Salad: Warabi and Shrimp

This salad is beautifully served in glass bowls. Yield: 4 to 6 as a side dish.
1 bundle fiddlehead ferns

1 medium Maui onion, chopped in large pieces

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

1–pound shrimp

Wash and snap the stalks at the breaking point and cut into 1-½ inch pieces, including the slightly unfurled frond tips. Boil in rapidly boiling water for about 3–5 minutes. Drain and cool.
Assemble the blanched warabi, chopped onion, cherry tomato halves and the cooked, shelled and deveined shrimp in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and serve.
Dressing: (Amounts to taste)

Aloha Shoyu (local brand soy sauce)

Honey (or sugar, if you prefer)

Chile pepper water*

Grated fresh ginger

Sesame oil
*Chile Pepper Water

The locals call it, “chile peppa wattah,” made with rice vinegar, Hawaiian sea salt, and the tiny, red hot Hawaiian chile peppers. One might also add a few crushed garlic cloves.

Avocados

The avocado is a versatile tropical fruit that is usually treated as a vegetable. Wonderful served plain with a bit of salt and lemon juice, as the ultimate dip in guacamole, or the perfect refreshing soup.
Soup: Chilled Avocado Soup

Ideal to serve as an amuse-bouche (appetizer) when served in small glasses. Yield: 4–6 servings in a regular sized soup bowl, or 25 or more if served as small amuse-bouche portions.
2 avocados, pitted and peeled

1 small sweet onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 small red Hawaiian chile pepper, seeded and deveined

1 cup chicken (or vegetable stock)

1 cup thick yogurt, cream or half & half

Sea salt to taste

Powdered cumin, to taste (optional, enhances flavor)

3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

1 teaspoon lemon or lime zest—for garnish
Place all ingredients except for the zest in a food processor or blender. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Serve in bowls, stemmed glasses or shot glasses as an amuse-bouche. Garnish with the zest if desired or use your own favorite garnishes.
Local Hawaiian Fish

A fun way to serve fish is wrapped in leaves and baked or steamed. For this dish, you will need one that will keep its shape and not come apart when cooked, like ‘Ōpakapaka (pink snapper), a delicately flavored fish. If not available, any other firm, white fish works well, as long as it’s not too fatty. The best leaves to use would be ti, banana, or taro. Neither ti nor banana leaves can be eaten, but taro leaves are edible. Using banana leaves cut in squares works well as a wrap.
Entree: ‘Ōpakapaka and Vegetable Laulau

‘Ōpakapaka filet (1 per person)

Maui sweet onion slices (2–3 per serving)

Slightly wilted fresh baby spinach

Carrot, very thinly julienned

Fresh ginger, minced

Fresh garlic, minced

Lime juice

Hawaiian sea salt

White peppercorns, freshly ground

Lime, thinly sliced (2–3 per serving)

Fresh dill sprigs (1 per serving)

Taro, banana or ti leaves
Prepare the leaves by getting rid of the spine or stalk first, then trim, if needed. If using banana leaves, cut to size needed and trim into a square or rectangle. Place the sections of banana leaves in the oven at 350°F for just one minute to make them pliable. Instead of cutting the carrot into julienne slices, “shave” the slices with a vegetable peeler.
Place the leaf or leaves on counter and place 2 or 3 overlapping onion slices in the middle; add the slightly wilted spinach and the julienned carrots and top with the fish filet. Sprinkle with the minced ginger and garlic, squirt with lime juice, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, then top with lime slices and the dill sprig.
Wrap the bundle well leaving no openings, then tie with a kitchen string or pin together with toothpicks or thin bamboo skewers. Place in bamboo steamer over boiling water and cook for about 15–20 minutes or on tray in the oven at 350°F for about 20–30 minutes; depends on thickness of the fish filet.
Serve with Tropical Salsa. Other side dishes that go well with the fish are a rice medley, seaweed salad, and a couple of slices of sweet pickled Buddha fingers.
Tropical Fruit Salsa

Peel, seed, or core and chop fresh mango, papaya, pineapple, sweet Maui onion, minced young ginger, chopped red-hot Hawaiian chile peppers, and red and green bell peppers in ¼ inch pieces; add fresh squeezed lime juice, sea salt, a smidgen of sugar, and the juice from a liliko‘i; chopped fresh mint leaves and/or fresh chopped cilantro (optional). Mix and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Liliko’i (passionfruit)

One of the most exquisite tastes to experience is that of the liliko‘i, which can be incorporated into any dish in your menu from appetizers to desserts. Shrimp marinated in liliko‘i juice, then grilled on skewers, can be served as appetizers. Liliko‘i juice can also be added into a vinaigrette for salads, infused into a decadent dessert.
Dessert: Liliko‘i Crème Brûlée

A classic Crème Brûlée is delicious on its own, but when paired with liliko‘i juice, it can reach a level that is pure heaven.

Yield: 4–6 servings (depends on size of ramekins).
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup passionfruit juice (about 6)
Dissolve the sugar in the juice over medium heat and continue to cook until you achieve a thick syrup, but before it caramelizes. Spoon at least a tablespoonful into each ramekin and set aside.
1 vanilla bean pod or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup cream

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup of passionfruit pulp (about 6)

Chopped candied ginger or crushed ginger cookies for garnish (or both!)
Preheat oven to 350°F

Mix vanilla extract, milk, cream, eggs and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk gently (you don’t want to create froth) over heat until well combined and the mixture is hot (about 5 minutes, do not boil).
Add the passionfruit pulp and cook for about 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Fill each ramekin with the mixture.
Fill a roasting pan with hot water (about halfway up the ramekins) and place ramekins carefully in the water pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until there is a slight wobble in the middle of the custard. Allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle with chopped candied ginger or crushed ginger cookies and a small drizzle of the leftover syrup (optional).

Wedding or Shower Favors

When thinking of favors for your guests, think small gift bags made with tropical printed fabrics, or small lauhala baskets filled with an assortment of food items. Small jars of locally-sourced honeys, tropical fruit-infused vinegars, fruit butters, tropical fruit-flavored marshmallows, fruit or flower-shaped mochi (small Japanese cakes made from pounded glutinous rice), or beautifully decorated tropicalcookies are welcome favors.