By Misty I.

I love hekka! Originally, this recipe was a chicken hekka recipe, but using chopped pork makes it faster making it “only easy!” The Honolulu Star Bulletin says “hekka is a sukiyaki-type dish of plantation origin that consists of chicken and vegetables.” I remember eating hekka for the first time at my Grandma’s house in Honoka’a that my Aunty Violet had made. It was delicious and I have loved it ever since. This isn’t Aunty Violet’s recipe, but my family likes it. My mother-in-law does too, so I often deliver it to her when I make it.

Misty’s 20-Minute Pork Hekka

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. chopped pork
2 medium onions, sliced (pole to pole)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 pkgs. clear vermicelli noodle, soaked for 10 minutes (I like these thin noodles better than long rice)
10 small pieces of shiitake, rehydrated and chopped (optional)
1 small can of mushroom “stems & pieces”
1 can bamboo shoots, soaked for 10 minutes
1 pkg aburage, chopped into ½ inch slivers
1 bunch watercress, washed and chopped (use the entire bunch, it’s not much)

SAUCE:

1 ½ C shoyu (Club Brand— Read about Club Shoyu’s history here)
1 C sugar
½ C mirin (optional, I often omit it as it’s sweet)
½ C water
2 tsp. salt

Method:

1. Soak noodles, bamboo shoots and shiitake in separate bowls and drain water several times.
2. In a large pot, fry pork and onions for 5 minutes.
3. Make sauce and add to pork onion mixture. Add can of mushrooms and simmer for 5 more minutes.
4. Add noodles and bamboo shoots. Continue to simmer.
5. Lastly, chop watercress and aburage and add to the pot. Serve with hot rice.

Soak noodles, bamboo shoots and noodles in separate bowls and drain water several times.In a large pot, fry pork and onions for 5 minutes.

Make sauce and add to pork onion mixture. Add can of mushrooms and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Add noodles and bamboo shoots. Continue to simmer.

Lastly, chop watercress and aburage and add to the pot. Serve with hot rice.

That’s it, only easy!