In thinking about how to use sea asparagus, think slim, young stalks of asparagus, or think sweet, crunchy cucumber. You can roughly chop sea asparagus sprigs and toss them into a salad, or you can saute them in butter with shallots or minced onions and sprinkle them with lemon juice. Or make cucumber and sea asparagus sandwiches with unsalted butter. Or for a pupu, make aioli (garlic mayonnaise) or other flavored mayonnaise and dip the sea asparagus into the mixture.

However you use sea asparagus, the first step is to wash the green sprigs in cold running water. Afterward, to reduce saltiness, either immerse the sprigs in cold water for an hour, or blanch them very briefly in briskly boiling water.

For a celebration honoring Doc Lum of the North Shore Cattle Co. a couple of weeks ago, Alan Wong made a poi stew that transported me back to small-kid time at the first bite. In the same way that old-time Hawaiians liked to add crunchy fern shoots to stews as a garnish, he laced the stew with crisp sprigs of sea asparagus. This delicious stew is very simple to make; all it takes is time for the beef to become tender and the tomatoes to melt into the broth. When I begged, Wong sent me the broad outlines of the recipe, and I tested it at home.

This makes a rather thin stew, so I tried dredging the beef in flour, but that was a mistake; the stew became too thick and the delicate poi flavor was masked. (I should have known I couldn't do better than Alan Wong!). Eryngii mushrooms, aka ali'i oyster mushrooms, are sold under the Hamakua Mushroom Fungal Jungle brand; their firm texture stands up to long simmering. Remember to taste and adjust seasonings, but be aware that the sea asparagus adds salty flavor. This stew gets better by the day.

ALAN WONG'S POI STEW WITH SEA ASPARAGUS