This is What a $10,000 sandwich looks like.
A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from a friend suggesting I apply for the King’s Hawaiian Culinary Explorer Dream Job. The prize – a trip to Hawaii to visit the markets, food purveyors, restaurants, and King’s Hawaiian and create three Hawaiian inspired recipes with King’s Hawaiian Bread. This is truly my dream job. It is perfect for me – I am perfect for it. I’m already inspired by King’s Hawaiian and the Aloha Spirit and even used that inspiration to win the 2013 World Sandwich Championship with my Macadamia Crusted Tilipia with a Pineapple Pomegranate Pico de Gallo on King’s Hawaiian. I submitted my video application and now I need the help of my supporters to get me into the running for consideration for this amazing opportunity.
You can view my application here and give me your support to be selected as King’s Hawaiian Culinary Explorer.
King’s Hawaiian Culinary Explorer Application for Jennifer Daskevich
Here is a recipe I’ve already created with the inspiration of Hawaii and King’s Hawaiian.
When creating a World Champion Sandwich one has to think long and hard about every choice – and I did. We were tasked with making a fish sandwich.
For starters – I was inspired by Hawaii and I chose the ever popular and delicious King’s Hawaiian for the bread and toasted it to perfection with a compound butter of jalapeno and lime and finished the toasted buns with a Himalayan pink salt. You can never go wrong with King’s Hawaiian.
Our choices for fish were Salmon, Ahi Tuna, Swordfish, and Tilapia. Salmon and Ahi, although incredibly delicious, are prone to much debate about the proper temperature to cook to. Some like them rare, some like them medium, and some like them well done. I prefer them rare – yes even the salmon. Swordfish I did not have a lot of experience with but knew it dried out easily. So I took the road less traveled and picked the tilapia and decided I would make the best fried fish sandwich in the world.
I thought about flavor at every level. I used a traditional three step method for breading but added in lots of Sriracha and lime into the egg step to infuse flavor into the fish. I used a combination of panko and macadamia nuts to get a great crispy texture for the sandwich and the macadamia nuts continued my Hawaiian theme. Then I used duck fat to fry the sandwich in. . .oh yeah!! Here I am in the heat of battle at the World Food Championships.
Finally – for the balance. I fresh pickled red onions and made a pomegranate, pineapple, and avocado pico de gallo and finished it off with some crumbled queso fresco cheese and fresh cilantro. See the full recipe below.
How good was this sandwich? $10,000 good.
Sriracha Lime Macadamia Crusted Tilapia with Pomegranate, Pineapple and
Avocado Pico De Gallo and Pickled Red Onions
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 cup Dole packaged pineapple rings choped
- 1 ripe avocado
- 3 limes
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 bunches cilantro
- 1 serrano & 2 jalapenos
- 6 tilpaia filets
- ½ cup flour
- 2 eggs & 2 tablespoons Sriracha
- 1 cup macadamia nuts & ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- ¾ cup duck fat
- Pickled Red Onions (See Recipe Here)
- 1/4 cup Queso Fresco
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 King’s Hawaiian Large Rolls
- Pink Himalayan Salt
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium bowl combine pineapple, pomegranate seeds, 1 minced garlic clove, zest and juice of one lime, ½ jalapeno seeded chopped fine, ½ Serrano seeded and chopped fine (add more if you like it spicy). Set aside.
- Dry tilapia completely and season lightly with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Put flour in one dish. Whisk egg and 2 tablespoons sriracha and 1 tablespoon lime zest in second dish. Put panko in third dish. Chop nuts to medium crumb and add to panko. Coat fish in flour and shake off excess. Dip in egg and allow excess to drip off. Place in nut crumbs and coat thoroughly pressing in to help crumbs adhere. Set aside on wire rack. Meanwhile: Pre-heat oven to 400. Melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add second half of jalapeno, zest of 1 lime, and 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro. Slice open King’s Hawaiian buns and brush with butter and toast in the oven.
- Heat duck fat in a non-stick skillet over medium-high. Lay 3 fish fillets gently in skillet; cook until deep golden brown and crisp on first side, about 2 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, flip fillets, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook 2 1/2 to 3 minutes longer. Place on wire rack. Repeat with remaining fish and place on wire rack to cool slightly.
- Chop fresh avocado into small cubes and chop ¼ cup cilantro and add to pomegranate salsa. Season to taste with kosher salt and add more lime juice if you like it tangier.
- To Assemble: Remove buns from oven. Place fish on bottom bun, top with pineapple avocado salsa and pickled onions, sprinkle with queso fresco cheese. Add top bun and sprinkle with Himalayan pink salt. Serve with lime wedges.
- ENJOY!!
