Every ethnicity has an auntie. They all look a little different on the outside, but on the inside they’re all the same. That auntie is always your family, though not necessarily by blood. Portly and sweet, she cooks like a five-star chef but her plating and her palate speak in softer, more familiar tones. She's just a little better than your mom, which you would never EVER admit to your mom, and unlike your mom? her job isn't to keep you healthy; it’s to challenge the waistbands of all of the pants your mom just bought. She’ll spoil you just like a grandma but she’s a little younger and a little bit cooler, and she has a smile that can melt an iceberg and a glare that can turn bread to toast.
I don't know what Auntie Maile looks like, but I do know what she cooks like. She’s an auntie that will start your day right with a rock of a Loco Moco every time you spend the night. Little kid you couldn’t wait to peek under the cover of this over-easy egg, and adult you would gratefully half-heartedly stab at that baseball-sized beef patty beneath.
You’ve barely finished breakfast but she already has her mind on lunch. She fries you up some Chicken Katsu as a “light” option...until she douses that crisp panko-crumb concoction with a hearty helping of her homemade gravy.
Or you get Furikake Chicken, depending on what she wants to make. She always uses dark meat for a fiercer flavor, and the meatier qualities cluck through the furikake glaze. You get a mix of salty and sweet with a sprinkle of seaweed and sesame.
Her weekly Costco trips always include an industrial vat of furikake, and in her hands it’s more versatile that salt. She even uses it to make Poke, seasoning scarlet chunks of the other red meat.
Saiman Noodles are a taste of after school nostalgia, a bowl of bagged ramen noodles in clear broth. Made with whatever is in the fridge, this bowl is a chop suey of layered egg chunks, fish cake, and chashu. A couple guise and a bushel of bok choy sneak their way in as well.
Dinner get even more meaty, if that’s even possible. Kalbi Short Ribs are sliced super-thin so they soak through with sauce. You can peek between the web of marbled fat on these, but be prepared to chew as the connecting cartilage can be a little tough.
I prefer the Kalua Pig and Cabbage, with a pork is so soft and juicy it's like a soup inside the shredded meat. Smoky savor permeates the plate, subtle yet so very there.
Every order comes with a Macaroni Salad, and it’s the only thing that isn’t quite enough. Her recipe seems so simple with just salt, pepper, and an even coat of mayo, but every bite begets another.
You'll never go hungry in Auntie Maile's kitchen. The portions are generous, the ingredients are fresh, and the love in palpable with each delicious bite.
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