Ti Baked `Ehu

The exact ingredients for this recipe aren't vital, but the technique is a solid addition to your repertoire. The ti leaves trap the juices inside, steaming the fish as it bakes. When you cut them open at the end to reveal the whole fish, your guests are sure to be impressed.

• 1.5 lb whole `ehu, or whatever fish catches your eye
• Hawaiian salt or sea salt
• scant 1/4 c. mayonnaise
• 1/4 c. crab meat (optional)
• thumb-sized knob of ginger, cut into matchsticks
• 4-5 garlic chive flowers, or substitute scallions, cut into 1 inch lengths
• 4 ti leaves

The original inspiration for this recipe is "Baked Local Boy Mahimahi In Ti Leaves" found in Sam Choy: Cooking from the Heart. I've changed just about everything though, including many of the ingredients, the method of ti leaf wrapping and the fish itself. Feel free to improvise as well. The recipe above serves 2-3 people.

Let's get down to business. Clean and wash your fish thoroughly, then pat dry with paper towels. Rub the fish inside and out with the salt, then coat the outside of the fish with the mayonnaise. (This helps make it moist.)

Lay a single ti leaf down on your work surface, with the stem pointing to your right. Lay the mayo smeared fish on the leaf, then distribute the shredded crab across the top. Scatter the ginger and chives on top of the crab.

Take a second leaf and lay it over the fish in the opposite orientation, with the stem pointing to your left.

Take a third leaf and wrap it like a corkscrew around the fish, curling the first two leaves around the fish as you do, so that they trap any liquids as it cooks.

Take the final leaf and corkscrew it around in the opposite direction. You shouldn't see any gaps between the leaves. Use an additional leaf or two if your fish is large. Finally, use the stems to cinch the ends tight, wrapping them around and tying them off.

Place the ti leaf bundle on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the fish has just barely lost its translucence. I realize that's impossible to check while the fish is wrapped, so start at thirty minutes and just verify that it's cooked when you pull it out.

To serve, cut open the ti leaves and allow your guests to pull directly from the whole fish. The ti leaf bundle looks great, and they make it easier to flip the fish when the top side has had most of the meat removed.