Lomi Lomi Salmon

A Hawaiian luau is not complete without lomi salmon & poi! It is not safe to use fresh, raw salmon for lomi salmon or sashimi unless it has been cured first with salt. That's why lomi salmon recipes always call for SALTED SALMON. If you cannot obtain salted salmon, get a fresh salmon fillet, about 1 inch or less in thickness. If the salmon fillet is thicker than 1 inch, cut it in half to make it thinner (if it's too thick, it will take longer to cure). Pour about 1/4 cup of table salt over the fillet and gently rub in the salt; cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days; excess liquid will come out of the salmon as it cures. (Do not use iodized salt...it doesn't always dissolve completely; if available, use Hawaiian rock salt; be generous with the salt...it's better to use too much rather than too little.)

1/4 lb. (or a bit more) Salted Salmon

3 or 4 Fresh Tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 of a Round Onion (preferably sweet), minced

2 or 3 stalks of Green Onion, minced

Soak the salted salmon in cold water for 3 to 4 hours, (changing the water several times [this is to remove a lot of the salt from the salmon). Drain the salmon and remove the skin, bones, and white strings. The traditional Hawaiian method is to shred the salmon into small pieces using your fingers, but you may find it easier to use a spoon; use a knife to shred the salmon if you don't like the traditional method. (*Hint: I like to use latex gloves when doing a large batch of salted salmon; otherwise your fingers end up getting "wrinkled" from all the salt) Place the shredded salmon pieces in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and chill. Serves 4 to 5. Serve with POI.

NOTE: If you're in a hurry, first remove the skin from the salmon, cut the salmon into 2 or 3 smaller pieces, and put them in a bowl under slow running water. This method will remove the salt from the salmon much faster...so fast sometimes, that if you leave the salmon under running water for too long, you may return to find almost all of the salt gone; then you'll end up having to add salt back in to get the taste right! Therefore, if you choose this quick method, be sure to occasionally cut a small piece of salmon off to check for taste.