The girlfriend told me she wanted ho'i'o to add into her stir fry tonight. Ho'i'o, or vegetable fern (Diplazium esculentum) is an edible fern found throughout Asia and Oceania (including Hawaii). It is one of the most commonly consumed fern, and is quite tasty, giving it the name "vegetable". It is used in many asian and pacific island recipes, and made into salads and added to stir frys.
I embarked on my hike about an hour and a half before dark. I ran up the 1 mile path and dropped down a steep ravine hanging on to guava trees and roots as I worked my way down a steep decline.
Soon I made my way down to the stream. It is a beautiful area with bamboo, coconut trees, mountain apples, wild fern and bananas.
I spent the last half hour of light collecting the tender fern shoots and letting my new blade earn its stripes. You want to pick the most tender newst shoots, that appear almost as if they were a type of succulent. They are a light green and glossy.
I had collected enough for me and my girlfriend and went looking for something to wrap it in.
I searched the wild banana trees looking for a particular type of leaf. Then I found it, I was searching for the very newest leaves, coiling out of the top of the tree. The base of the leaf is still chlorotic and tender and it holds it shape well when wrapped around things. The problem with the older banana leaf is that they crack when wrapped with vines. Then I found the nearest banyon tree and cut some of the smaller aerial vines dangling from the giant sprawling branches. this would wrap my package and also supply the carry handle.
We crock potted a boar that I shot last weekend, shredded it and added hoisin sauce. We also made a stir fry from carrots, onions, celery and wild picked ho'i'o. Dinner was great!
Forgive my dark photos...there wasn't that great of light underneath the thick overstory.
I embarked on my hike about an hour and a half before dark. I ran up the 1 mile path and dropped down a steep ravine hanging on to guava trees and roots as I worked my way down a steep decline.
Soon I made my way down to the stream. It is a beautiful area with bamboo, coconut trees, mountain apples, wild fern and bananas.
I spent the last half hour of light collecting the tender fern shoots and letting my new blade earn its stripes. You want to pick the most tender newst shoots, that appear almost as if they were a type of succulent. They are a light green and glossy.
I had collected enough for me and my girlfriend and went looking for something to wrap it in.
I searched the wild banana trees looking for a particular type of leaf. Then I found it, I was searching for the very newest leaves, coiling out of the top of the tree. The base of the leaf is still chlorotic and tender and it holds it shape well when wrapped around things. The problem with the older banana leaf is that they crack when wrapped with vines. Then I found the nearest banyon tree and cut some of the smaller aerial vines dangling from the giant sprawling branches. this would wrap my package and also supply the carry handle.
We crock potted a boar that I shot last weekend, shredded it and added hoisin sauce. We also made a stir fry from carrots, onions, celery and wild picked ho'i'o. Dinner was great!
Forgive my dark photos...there wasn't that great of light underneath the thick overstory.
I wish that was my backyard