REVIEW - Pupus, An Island Tradition

 

 

 

Book Title: Pupus - An Island Tradition
Author: Sachi Fukuda
Category: Appetizers
ISBN: 1-57306-019-4
Publisher: Bess Press - Honolulu, HI
Date published: 1995
Description: Paperback

 

Sachi Fukuda is a natural foodie who was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii and worked as secretary to the chief at the Hawaii Police Department for 35 years before retiring in 1987. She says she didn't know how to cook when she got married 40 some years ago. She used cookbooks, followed recipes faithfully and gradually developed an interest in collecting pupu (appetizers) recipes for frequent potluck gathering of family and friends.

This interest grew into doing cooking demonstrations and calls from friends to publish a cookbook, which naturally turned out to be on pupus. "Pupus...Island Adaptations" was published in 1983, followed in 1989 by "Pupus...Again". These books were compiled into one book and published by Bess Press as "Pupus...An Island Tradition" (*) in 1995 and still available today.

Sachi modestly comments about her success: "I survived all these years because of their (family and friends) kindness. I am not a good cook; I just enjoy cooking."

I'm fortunate to know Sachi and my copy of her book is personalized and signed.

The book is divided into the following sections
Dips and Spreads
Breads and Cheese Pastry
Mushrooms
Vegetables
Chicken
Seafoods
Meats
Healthy Pupus
Miscellaneous

There are 170 pages some with only one recipe per page and some with two per page. None of the recipes spill into another page, making it easy to follow a recipe with the book propped in front of you.

My only complaint about Sachi's books is that there are no stories or annecdotes to tell about the recipes origin or how she came to select each recipe for her book.  This little book does not contain any photos.

(*) This cookbook was featured as one of Hawaii's Best of the Best Hawaii Cookbooks in the 2004 release of the Quail Ridge Press BOB series.

Because of requests for recipes other than pupus over the years in early 2005 her latest book "Pupus...Plus" was recently published. - Reviewed next

(c)  Sonia R. Martinez
Check out my food & garden blog at
www.soniatasteshawaii.com
and keep up with some of my other writing at
http://foodiesleuth.gather.com