Steamed red
(the color of luck)
snapper under a
thatch of aromatics.creamy opah (moonfi sh); delicate, whis-
kered moi (threadfi n), once reserved for
royalty; lean, long-bodied ono (wahoo)
that races, jags and dives, tormenting its
hunters; and the hierarchy of snappers,
from ehu to opakapaka and, above all,
onaga, with its ruby sheen.
It is onaga that I look forward to all year,
that is the centerpiece at the Christmas Eve
potluck next door, to which Stella Chang,In Hawaii, I grew up on a street named
after a fi sh — ulua, the biggest of the
jacks, a blunt-headed silver bruiser,
sometimes weighing more than a hun-
dred pounds, that glowers along the
reef. It is caught with tall poles anchored
in the sea cliff s and baited with eels or
octopus sewed to the hooks. Mahimahi,
a neon blur in the deep, was the next
street over.
We were surrounded by ocean, yet my
family ate seafood only under duress, as
dutiful Catholics on Fridays during Lent,
tidy golden-battered fi llets of perch — a
fi sh of the mainland — from the freezers
at Safeway. I had my education in local
waters later in life, as a hostess at a restau-
rant, eavesdropping on the servers who
patiently described to tourists the species
on the menu: meaty ahi (yellowfi n tuna);Fish On: A prized whole snapper is a beautiful
centerpiece for a festive meal.
Eat By Ligaya Mishan
16 1.23.22 Photograph by Linda Xiao Food stylist: Sue Li. Prop stylist: Pamela Duncan Silver.