Mahalo nui loa to the incredible community that showed up at Cool Fusion last Saturday! This year’s festival was filled with fun: noodles, live music, art activities, learning, and, of course, hand-crafted ceramic bowls. Mahalo to the team that worked diligently to plan this event and to everyone that helped bring it to life.
The Artist
Artist-in-Residence, Sam Chung, gave insightful pop-up lectures throughout the day for all attendees in the Artist’s Corner. We enjoyed having Sam at the Mill all week teaching a workshop and sharing his love of ceramics with this community.
The Bowls
Mahalo to the generous ceramic artists that made the bowls on display at Cool Fusion! This process allows for true artist collaboration, as bowls are passed from artist to artist during each phase of their creation.
The Sounds
Our campus was filled with incredible live music all day long thanks to talented local musicians Maka Gallinger, Charlie Chavez, and Pomai Brown along with a special and inspiring performance by Kona Dance and Performing Arts Youth Company!
The Volunteers
We 💙 Our Volunteers! This event was a success because of you. Mahalo nui for your dedication in support of the Donkey Mill. Volunteers kept the day running smoothly across the entire Mill campus with big smiles and helping hands. Thank you for your time, energy, and the wonderful spirit you infused into each part of the festival.
The Food
This year, in collaboration with the students from the Kealakehe High School Culinary Department, we served the cold-noodle dish-of-the-day: bibim guksu. 🍜 “Bibim guksu” is a traditional Korean-American noodle dish made fresh to order. Served with leafy greens, vegetables and topped with a tangy sauce, it’s the perfect summer snack.
Bibim Guksu Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package, (3 – 4) serving, dry buckwheat noodles, somen or rice noodles
- 4 soft-boiled egg, halved (optional, see recipe notes for directions)
- 1T toasted sesame seeds
Sauce
- 1med garlic
- 2 tsp ginger
- 1 T Agave
- 1 T Gochujang
- 1 T Miso (Red)
- 1 T Sesame oil
- 1 T Rice vinegar
- 1 C shiitake and shoyu dashi (or 2 Tb fishsauce and 1 cup water)
- Shiitake dashi: place 6-8 whole dried shiitake mushrooms in a jar with water and ½ cup shoyu overnight)
Toppings
- 1 cup kimchi, thinly sliced (Maangchi’s Kimchi Recipe)
- 1 cup cucumber, julienned
- 1 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 cup carrot, thinly peeled and sliced
- 1 cup green leaf lettuce, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup mint leaves, basil or parilla (shiso) thinly sliced
Instructions
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Cook the noodles in boiling water for about 4 minutes or according to the package instructions.
- Drain the noodles in a colander and run them under cold water until they are cooled. This will prevent them from overcooking and sticking together.
- To a bowl, add a serving of noodles, toppings, and sauce. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Notes
Soft-boiled egg:
- Add water to a saucepan (just enough to cover the egg by about an inch) and bring it to a boil.
- Get an egg straight from the refrigerator and carefully lower it into the boiling water. You can gently roll it around the sauce-pan in the first couple minutes so that the yolk will be centered.
- Let the egg cool for another 5 minutes.
- Transfer the egg to an ice bath and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Carefully peel the egg and cut it in half lengthwise.
Mahalo
Cool Fusion was presented by The Hiroaki, Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation with additional support from The Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and proudly sponsored by Kokua Roofing, Wasabi Tours, Spirited Cocktail Catering, Body Glove, and Hawaiʻi Island Humane Society.