Sonia Tastes Hawaii

Liliko'i Rice Pudding

Photo: One of the many baskets full of liliko'i we have gathered this year so far... We have about this many every three or four days!

In Hawaii passionfruit is called Liliko'i.  I find it is one of the most versatile fruits to use as you can use it in so many ways.  We have several vines on the property that came up as volunteers.  So far this year they have produced 2 crops and I expect to have another one ready to harvest around the holidays.

You can find passionfruit juice sometimes on the mainland in frozen concentrate form  in Asian or Hispanic markets. South Americans call it Maracuya and you can also look for it under that name.

I wanted to experiment making rice pudding flavored with the taste of liliko'i and I also wanted to see if I could make it in the crockpot.  The results were delicious, but I hit a small snag.  When I added the liliko'i syrup to the milk in the crockpot, there was a bit of curdling.  It did not affect the taste, but I didn't like the looks of it so I put the rice pudding in the blender and made it smooth.  We liked the silky texture very much.

Photo: Liliko'i syrup in the little glass pitcher and fresh liliko'i blooms garnishing the pudding bowl.  A piece of the vine and fresh fruit completes the setting.  The back drop is a framed Chinese embroidered silk panel I got from my mom's house in NC during my recent trip.

Liliko'i Rice Pudding

1 cup rice (I had Calrose so that is what I used)
5 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
2 cups sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup liliko'i syrup (*)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook until it reaches the desired consistency. We like ours creamy, so I let it cook for 4 1/2 hours. Stir every once in a while during the cooking process.

The pudding is not your traditional completely snow white pudding as the passionfruit juice is yellow/orange and it colored the rice a bit.

(*) Taste it first before adding more to make sure you like it milder or stronger.

To make the liliko'i syrup
Pour passion fruit juice in a saucepan and add sugar to taste.  Cook until it reaches the desired syrupy consistency. Passionfruit is quite tart on its own so it needs quite a bit of sugar.

Bring to a slow boil and let it simmer until it reaches the syrupy stage you like best. Don't overcook or it will get too dense.

My crockpot is a 3 Qt West Bend and the temperature was set for High.

I used the blender to make it smooth.... More pudding-like

YIELD: Not sure yet how many portions but the 3 Qt crockpot is a bit over 3/4 full

SOURCE: Sonia's recipe

Other posts and recipes featuring liliko'i:

Demo at the Farmer's Market

Gifts from the Kitchen

A passion for liliko'i

Liliko'i...the passionate fruit and the Elizabeth Cake

Passion Fruit Hot Peper Jelly

Enjoy!

 

An anniversary

Today marks 14 years since I moved to Hawaii.  In some ways a lot has happened and it seems like it has been much longer and yet, other times it seems as if it was just yesterday that I landed on this beautiful island with the intention of making it my home forever and was welcomed with a very fragrant Awapuhi Ke'oke'o (White Ginger) lei by my son Anthony.

Photo: Awapuhi Ke'oke'o - the fragrant White Ginger

He chose a white ginger lei as it has a deeper meaning in our lives....the white ginger is the national flower of our birth country, Cuba.

Photo: I never tire of the welcoming view offered by Mauna Kea whenever I fly back home whether I've been away for months or just a day.

Photo: Experiencing the beauty of one of our rainbows - this one seen from our back lanai.

Regardless of how much time has passed, I still feel the allure and wonder of Hawaii and am forever touched by the Spirit of Aloha.

Photo: Or the view of one of our gorgeous sunsets - also seen from our back lanai.

What is there not to love about living here?

Photo: Being able to literally sit by Madame Pele's home.

Photo: Or take a hike at Akaka Falls State Park, just about 5 minutes drive from our front door...

Photo: Or to buy flowers in a Rainbow of colors at the Hilo Farmer's Market - where else can you buy a bouquet like these for $5?!

Photo: The peacefulness of Hakalau Bay just 2 miles north from where we live.

All throughout the day, I have been reminiscing off an on about both the happy and the sad things that have marked our lives on this island..and continue to pinch myself that I actually live here.

Photo: The simple beauty of the Umauma Stream up above the Old Mamalahoa Road

When doing an inventory of our lives since arriving on these shores...the happy times far outweigh the sadness and I feel blessed to have chosen to live here and of all the friends we have made since moving here.

Photo: Or enjoy the serenity and peacefulness of the ocean by Keaukaha off Kalanianaole Avenue in Hilo

My life is filled with an overabundance of blessings!

My cup literally runneth over! 

Mahalo Ke Akua ....lucky live Hawai'i!

A passion for liliko'i

Photo - Liliko'i blossom, bud and green fruit.

Known as liliko'i in Hawaii, the passionfruit is also known as Maracuya, Parcha or Parchita in many Central and South American countries.  If you can't find fresh passionfruit in your area, some Hispanic or Asian markets carry the frozen concentrated passionfruit juice.  In some parts of the mainland they are known as Maypops.

Lilliko'i vines all around us are producing like crazy... This is the second crop this year so far and we will probably have another sometime near or around the Christmas holidays.

For the last week or so, we have been making the rounds and gathering them off the ground as they ripen and fall.  Yesterday I juiced a bunch of them and today have another sackful to do.

Photo -  Liliko'i fruit, some green and some almost ripe and ready to pick.

Sometimes I just cut the fruit open, scoop out the seeds and pulp, pour it into freezer bags or plastic containers and freeze until I have enough to make a larger quantity of syrup or just to juice. 

Other times I will go ahead and strain out the seeds and save just the pulp and juice.  To do this, I use a large stainless steel mesh colander over a large bowl and try to squeeze as much juice and pulp out of them as I can with a large wooden spoon.

Photo - Straining through an SS mesh colander

Photo - This was the bunch of fruit I juiced yesterday

Photo - I got a little bit over 8 cups of juice, seeds and pulp out of a 3 day harvest.

I will be straining this batch to extract as much of the juice and pulp as possible and my son wants to scatter the seeds on another area of the yard to see if we can get more vines growing.

I like to use the juice for making dressings and vinaigrettes as gifts from my kitchen or to use as a 'drenching' syrup for a chocolate cake or even to mix in a cream cheese icing.

Another way we like to use the juice is in making a Liliko'i Cream Pie.  Use your favorite Key Lime pie recipe and substitute the lime with the juice of the liliko'i instead.  It is much better when made in an Oreo Cookie crumb pie shell.

Take a small bag of the mini Oreos and empty it into a ziplock bag.  Crush the cookies with a rolling pin or with a meat pounder.  Line a pie dish with the crumbs and pat in place with clean fingers or a hand covered with a plastic bag.  Be sure to go up the sides as far as you can.  The cream filling will help hold the crumbs together.

Pour the pie filling mix into the shell and then bake as you would any cream pie.  Top with homemade whipped cream.

You can also freeze the juice in ice cube trays.  Pop lose when frozen and store in freezer bags to use in drinks.  Try dropping a cube in a glass of Ginger Ale or iced tea!

More about liliko'i and recipes I've written can be found in the following articles I published at Gather sometime ago

Liliko'i...the passionate fruit and the Elizabeth Cake

Passion Fruit Hot Peper Jelly

Enjoy!