Chef Alan Wong was the guest judge on last week's episode of Top Chef and during the show, he prepared food from a traditional Hawaiian luau for the contestants to try. It was the first time that some of them had had Hawaiian food and they certainly got to taste the creations of a master chef. Chef Wong has one of the best restaurants in Hawaii and was the recipient of a James Beard Award a few years back. He specialiazes not only in Hawaiian cooking and flavors, but on fusing those traditions with the techniques and ingredients from Asia, Europe and Latin America.
Alan Wong's New Wave Luau: Recipes from Honolulu's Award-Winning Chef has a large collection of many of his top dishes, both traditional and innovative. The recipes, as they are the work of a very experienced chef, can be complex, but many are very accessible to the home chef (particularly some of the appetizers and desserts) and there are plenty of beautiful photographs to keep you motivated to work. When followed through, the results are well worth it and you can get an idea of what the would-be Top Chefs experienced on their island lunch before the finale. Dishes include Kalua Pig (pit-roasted!), Li Hing Mui Chutney, Five Spice Risotto, Curried Chicken Lumpia with Mango Salad, Grilled Lamb Chops with Coconut Macadamia Crust, Guava Sorbet and Lilikoi Brulee.
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