Food Of The Gods

This Just In......Young Culinary Genius Bryan Murray Wins Top Chef!!


Ok ok that might have been a little much but recently I did make the fanciest meal I've probably ever made and it turned out to be quite tasty as well. It was my attempt at completing task #72. Cook my mom’s Ahi recipe. The reason I put this on my list is because it is without a doubt the best thing my mom cooks for me when I go home. I'd say it is a diamond in the rough that is my mom's cooking haha. The dish is actually an adaptation from the Ahi dish at Roy's Restaurant in Maui, Hawaii that my family eats at every time we vacation there. It is known as Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine. Sounds fancy already right?? Since I either have to go home or all the way to Hawaii to eat this dish, I figured "why can't I just learn to make it myself??" And here we are. As I said, the meal did turn out pretty good in the end, but it was kind of a journey getting there...


Roy’s Original Blackened Island Ahi
Spicy Soy Mustard Sauce



Naturally, if my goal is to cook my mom's Ahi recipe, I need to....well....follow a recipe. It seemed pretty daunting at first but once I found out the ingredients I already had and what I needed to buy, I had a better grasp on things. However, the next step required going to the grocery store to get the ingredients I didn't already have at home. Let's just say the grocery store and I are not really friends...

A usual trip to the store for me includes roaming every aisle, spending way too much time deciding what the best deals are. What's worse is that after all this time and deliberation, I eventually come out with the exact same things I always get! I rarely stray from the tried and true groceries I've come to know and love (aka: doritos, chili, cereal, frozen pizza, and various other foodstuffs that aren't even remotely good for me). But this time I was on a mission!! I had a list and everything! Yeah, this optimism didn't last very long.

To sum up the disaster that was my trip to the grocery store, I'll tell you: 1) I got lost cuz I decided to be manly and not use my GPS to find the closest Albertson's, 2) once I finally found Albertson's, they did not have Ahi, 3) the unfamiliar Ralph's only had frozen Tuna instead of fresh Ahi, 4) I spent at least 30 minutes looking for some stupid mustard powder that was hiding behind a sale sticker, and 5) I ended up spending 2 hours from the time I left the apt to the time I got back. All for a stupid trip to the grocery store!!

But not to worry. After all was said and done, I did get all the goods I needed and the dinner was far from being a failure. I was ready to bust this Ahi out, Top Chef style! And here it is:


Thawed Ahi fillets and a flavorful spice rub...



A quick sear in a lightly oiled pan...



A unique look due to the blackened spices...



Sliced strips, served over white rice, and covered with a SPICY soy-mustard sauce...



And there you have it folks. Blackened Ahi with a spicy soy-mustard sauce. Tasted and looked like the original = success! Although the tuna was a tad expensive, it was well worth the effort in the end. And now that I've learned to order from the meat/seafood counter and come out of the grocery store with more interesting things than Doritos, I foresee many more culinary adventures in my future.....


#72. Cook my mom’s Ahi recipe