A peace offering…

“Are you alright? Haven’t seen any new posts for a while…” This earnest email popped into my email inbox a couple of days ago. The guilt that had been gnawing at me since my last post came bubbling up to the surface.

 

I am so sorry I disappeared without even a squeak. But I have a very legitimate excuse, several actually, really! It’s been a whirlwind of events these last two months.

 

First, my sister was getting married. Not only was I lady of honor (who knew there were so many responsibilities associated with the title, not to mention official skirt fluffer on the day of the wedding), I also spent several days baking 150 wedding cupcakes in three different flavors: strawberry, pandan, and chocolate in addition to entertaining overseas relatives and friends, and other miscellaneous sister-of-the-bride duties.

 

Second, we upped and moved from Seattle, Washington to Pacific Grove, California on the Monterey Peninsula. We now live in a little pink cottage with a gorgeous view of the bay from our deck! It’s smaller than our last place but downsizing and purging are great for one’s sanity. I’ve been pottering around my new kitchen and cooking some of the fabulous recipes I’ve gathered for my cookbook. The light-filled space is nice and open, and I was so happy to go from electric to gas, and oh, the stove is actually on an island!

 

And third, my manuscript was due. But the good news is, I finally handed in my manuscript last week. Woohoo! But I shan’t get too relaxed as edits will soon come round.  

 

Anyway, enough about me.

 

Here’s a delicious Vietnamese chicken recipe as a piece offering.

 

Caramelized Chicken with Lemongrass and Chilies (Ga Xao Sa Ot Cay)

 

The subtle, citrusy scent of lemongrass, the bittersweet flavor of caramel, and the heat of red chilies marry very well with chicken in this popular Vietnamese dish. Every Viet cook has his or her own recipe–this version comes from Huong Thu Nguyen. In her words, “It takes a while to make good caramel sauce without burning it,” so keep practicing! You may be tempted to use chicken breast instead of thighs as well as remove the skin. Please don’t. Thigh meat is juicier and more succulent and the skin has tons of flavor, all of which add to this delightful dish.

 

Time: 45 minutes

Makes: 4 servings as part of a multicourse family-style meal

 

4 plump stalks lemongrass

1 pound boneless chicken thighs with skin, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 4 to 5 thighs)
1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, plus more to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided (about 4 to 5 cloves)
1 large yellow onion, halved and cut into thin crescents along the grain

3 red Thai chilies, cut into rounds

2 teaspoons fish sauce, or to taste
Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

Chopped green onions for garnish

 

Trim the lemongrass and bruise the stems with a meat pounder or a large knife to release their aroma and oils. Cut into thin ringlets and whirl in a food processor until ground to confetti-sized flakes. Repeat with the remaining stalks. You will get about 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons).

 

In a medium bowl, season the chicken with salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and toss together with 3 tablespoons of lemongrass flakes. Set aside.

In a large skillet (if possible, use a pan with a light interior such as stainless steel so you can monitor changes in color), heat the oil over medium-high heat until it becomes runny and starts to shimmer. Add the sugar and stir continuously. After 1 to 2 minutes, the sugar will start to clump together then melt into syrup. After another 2 to 3 minutes, the clear syrup will thicken into a gooey caramel-brown liquid suspended in the oil. You will also smell a pleasant burnt sugar aroma. Watch the caramel closely during this process as it can burn very quickly. If the caramel starts to turn black and smell acrid, pull the skillet off the stove for a few seconds before continuing.

 

Don’t let the caramel sauce get any darker than this. 

 

Stir in the remaining lemongrass, onions, and 1 tablespoon garlic, and cook and stir until the ingredients turn golden brown and fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.

 

Add the chicken and raise the heat to high. Toss the chicken in the caramel sauce for about 1 1/2 minutes. If there isn’t enough sauce to evenly coat the chicken, carefully add water, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the mixture starts to sputter aggressively, pull the skillet off the stove until it ceases. Throw in the chilies and keep stirring until the chicken is no longer pink, about 2 to 3 minutes.

 

When the chicken is just cooked through, add the fish sauce and remaining garlic. Stir with a couple more flourishes to mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

 

Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and green onions. Serve with freshly steamed rice.

 

Grandma says:

“Add the fish sauce in at the last minutes and it won’t stink up your kitchen or your clothes.”

 

 

 

 

 

Radio Recipes

Welcome KUOW listeners! Here are the recipes I talked about on Sound Focus on June 11. Enjoy and feel free to look around my blog and email me!

Indonesian Cupcakes (Kue Mangkok)

The teacups we used are about the size of sake cups.

As a little girl, I would make these delightful steamed cupcakes with my mum. I couldn’t reach the kitchen counters yet so we’d sit on the flour mixing the batter. Then we’d pour the batter into dainty little teacups arranged in a steamer rack. We’ve always used metric measurements and they’re more accurate but I’ve also converted them into cups for convenience in the American kitchen. The  method used below is very traditional–feel free to use a wooden spoon or a beater to mix the batter. Instead of teacups, you can use a mini muffin tin. Just adjust the steaming time.

Makes: 40 cupcakes

1 teaspoon instant yeast
100ml (1/2 cup) warm water
1/2 cup (100g) rice flour
4 cups (750g) shaved palm sugar
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
3 1/3 cups (750 ml) coconut water (the liquid found within the husk, not the milk squeezed from the grated meat!)
3 1/2 cups (550g) rice flour
3/4 cup (125g) tapioca flour
1 1/3 cup (325 ml) coconut milk

Mix yeast, warm water and 1/2 cup rice flour until well combined. Leave for 15 minutes until the mixture foams and the starter is formed.

In a medium saucepan, bring the palm and granulated sugars and coconut water to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir until the sugars have dissolved. Strain and let cool a little.

When the starter is ready, mix it together with the remaining rice flour and tapioca flour. Pour warm sugar syrup into the mixture a little at a time and mix until smooth with your hands. Beat the mixture with your hands for about 30 minutes.

Pour in the coconut milk and mix well. Leave in a warm place (somewhere in the kitchen) for 3 hours until it rises.

Grease the moulds with vegetable oil and heat them in the steamer rack for 15 minutes until they are hot.

Pour batter into the moulds until almost full and steam over high heat until the cupcakes blossom, about 15 minutes. Don’t open the lid during steaming. Take off the stove and unmould the cup cakes when cool.

Quinoa Salad and Green Onion Oil

Gently infused green onion oil is such a versatile condiment. It traditionally accompanies Asian dishes such as Cantonese white poached chicken and Vietnamese grilled beef wrapped in wild betel leaves (Bò Lá Lốt). Or drizzle it over grilled corn, a roasted or grilled vegetable mélange, or mix it into this fresh salad made with quinoa and market-fresh vegetables.

Makes: 4 to 6 servings as a side salad

Green onion oil:
1/4 cup canola oil
5 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

Quinoa salad:
2 cups corn kernels (from 2 medium ears of corn)
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced (2 to 3 cups)
1 small onion, chopped finely
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Place green onions in a heatproof bowl.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until it starts to bubble gently, about 2 to 3 minutes. Don’t let it smoke. Remove saucepan from the heat and pour oil carefully over the green onions. It might sizzle and splatter so stand back. Sprinkle with salt and mix well.

Place in the refrigerator to cool and help preserve the green onions bright green color. Remove after 10 minutes and set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

In a large bowl, combine salad ingredients and mix toss with green onion oil. Serve warm or chilled.

For Gloria’s suman (coconut-soaked sticky rice bundles wrapped in banana leaves), please go here. 

Noodling Around the Kitchen

Auntie Rairat works in the kitchen at my family’s restaurant Julia’s Indonesian Kitchen. During meal breaks, she whips up some simple Thai dishes for the staff like this, pad see ew, a standard at Thai restaurants in North America. Auntie Rairat was kind enough to show me how to make it one day. So here it is!

 

Sweet and Savory Wide Rice Noodles (Pad See Ew)

 

 

Churairat Huyakorn used to own a Thai restaurant in Bremerton, WA, and this was one of her most popular dishes. She developed a system for standardizing every order: Per order, she would add 2 dashes fish sauce, 2 drops vinegar, etc. It was a fun task interpreting these amounts, and once that was done I realized this dish is easy to make and tastes fabulous–anyone can give it a whirl. Ideally, purchase fresh rice sheets available at Asian markets so you can cut them to the desired width. If not, the precut ones will do (they tend to be about 1/2-inch wide), and as a last resort, dried rice sticks work as well. Have all the sauces ready before you start cooking as things move very quickly once you get going.

 

Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 2 servings

 

1 pound fresh rice sheets, or 7 ounces dried wide rice noodles (it will say XL on the package)

8 ounces meat (chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp) cut into very thin 2- by 1-inch slices (1/2 cup)

1/2 pound Chinese broccoli             

1/4 cup canola or other neutral oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 large cloves)

2 eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce 

1 tablespoon oyster sauce                   

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons white distilled or rice vinegar          

White pepper to taste

 

Auntie Rairat separating rice noodles in the kitchen of Julia’s Indonesian Kitchen.

 

Cut rice sheets into 2-inch wide strands and separate them. If using dried noodles, soak them in boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes. You want them soft and pliable but not falling apart. Rinse in cold running water, drain and set aside.

 

Separate Chinese broccoli into leaf and stem pieces. Cut stems into 2-inch pieces and halve the thicker stems lengthwise as they take longer to cook. In a heatproof bowl, soak vegetables in boiling water for 30 seconds until wilted but not fully cooked. Rinse under cold running water and drain.

 

Preheat a 14-inch wok or 12-inch skillet over very high heat for about 30 seconds. Swirl in oil to coat the bottom of the wok and heat until smoking. Add the meat followed by garlic. Add 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce to flavor the meat. Stir and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 1 minute. Push meat to one side and crack the eggs in. Let eggs cook undisturbed for about 15 seconds until the whites start to turn opaque then stir to mix with the meat.

 

Here, the eggs went in after the meat. But if the wok is searing hot, Auntie Rairat prefers to throw in the eggs first. Somehow that day she couldn’t get the wok to heat up to her satisfaction.

 

Throw in noodles and stir to break them up. Toss to mix noodles with the meat and eggs. Try to spread the noodles around the bottom of the wok to make as much contact with the hot surface as possible. That’s how you get the nice charred noodle bits and the unmistakable “burnt flavor” peculiar to frying in a searing hot wok. Add more oil if noodles start to stick to the wok.

 

Add remaining fish sauce, sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar and use your spatula to spread seasonings over the noodles. Toss quickly to distribute evenly. 

 

Add Chinese broccoli and vinegar, and toss with a couple more flourishes until well mixed and vegetables are cooked through but the stems are still crunchy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Turn off the heat.

 

Divide noodles between 2 dinner plates and sprinkle with white pepper. Serve with fish sauce, vinegar, and crushed dried chilies.

To make more servings, rinse wok with hot water (no detergent required) and give it a quick scrub just to remove all the brown bits stuck at the bottom. Give it a quick wipe and set the wok back on the heat to dry completely before carrying on.

Pat’s notes:
For a vegetarian version, skip the meat and add firm tofu, or just have it with egg. One difference: Add the eggs first, then the garlic to prevent it from getting burnt in the ultra-hot wok.

 

Dark sweet soy sauce gives the noodles color while fish sauce and oyster sauce season the dish. If you can’t find sweet soy sauce, substitute with a mixture of 3 parts soy sauce plus one part brown sugar.

 

Grandma says:

Noodles will get broken if they’re not big enough and if you have a strong fire, the noodles don’t break.

Flim Flum Flan

Cardamom-studded Flan

One wouldn’t necessarily think of flan as an Indian dessert but this fusion recipe comes from someone with a fascinating provenance. Mumtaz Rahemtulla is of Indian origin (from the Western-most state of Gujarat) and a fourth generation Kenyan. Both she and her husband were born British nationals in Kenya. But when Kenya gained independence, they opted for Kenyan citizenship. In the 1970’s, she and her husband migrated to Canada where her children were born, before moving again to the U.S. Mumtaz usually steams her flan on the stove (over medium heat for about 30 minutes) but I have altered the recipe to bake in a water bath in the oven. Either way, you’ll be rewarded with a rich, creamy, melt-in-your mouth treat harboring a surprise in every bite–a heady shot of cardamom.

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes (20 minutes active)
Makes: 8 servings
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups 2-percent fresh milk
One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup sweetened condensed milk (about half of a 14-ounce can)
5 eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
Seeds from 6 green cardamom pods, ground with a mortar and pestle (about 1/4 teaspoon), plus more for garnish
Pinch saffron

In a small, heavy saucepan (cast iron or aluminum are ideal), melt sugar over medium heat undisturbed. The sugar will start to melt around the edges of the pan at the 5 to 7 minute mark. When a syrup starts to form, swirl the pan occasionally or stir with a wooden spoon to encourage the rest of the sugar to melt. The light golden color will shift from lighter to darker shades of amber. After about 15 minutes in total, the sugar will have completely melted into a thick, deep amber syrup. Don’t step away from the stove during this process, even for a minute. If at any time you need to stop the caramelizing process abruptly, pull the pan off the stove and carefully immerse the bottom of the pan into your sink filled with cool water.

Quickly pour caramel into a 10-inch pie plate and swirl to coat the bottom. If the caramel hardens before you’re done, microwave plate for 30 to 45 seconds until the caramel is runny again. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine fresh, evaporated, and condensed milks, eggs, vanilla, nutmeg, cardamom, and saffron. Whisk until smooth. Pour custard into the caramel-coated plate.

Place the pie plate in a baking pan. Fill the pan with water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the pie plate to create a water bath.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the flan crinkles at the edges and is speckled with light brown spots. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean.

Cool to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

When ready to serve, run a thin-bladed knife along the edge of the plate. Place a serving platter on top of the pie plate and turn over. The flan should release easily from the pie plate onto the platter. Cut into 8 slices and garnish with hand-crushed cardamom seeds.

Bibimbap Starring Oyster Kimchi

For everyone who has been waiting with bated breath for the oyster kimchi recipe, here it is! Enjoy it alone or in bibimbap.

Korean Mixed Rice (Bibimbap)

This homestyle Korean dish literally means to stir (bibim) cooked rice (bap). There are two different ways to serve bibimbap. In restaurants, bibimbap is sometimes served in a dolsot or stone bowl heated over a burner so that a layer of crispy, burnt rice forms at the bottom. Yangja Im makes a simpler version topped with any vegetable panchan (side dishes) she may have on hand and eats it warm or at room temperature. You can use just about any meat or vegetable dish: everything from kimchi, namul (try Yangja’s hobak namul recipe), steamed vegetables, deep fried tofu, or even gyoza and japchae (cellophane noodles). It’s a great way to use up the leftovers and with the numerous combinations you’ll never make it the same way twice.

Time: 5 minutes
Makes: 1 serving

1 1/2 cups cooked Japanese rice
1/4 cup kimchi 
1/4 cup oyster kimchi 
1/4 cup soybean sprout salad 
1 fried egg cooked over easy
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Korean red pepper paste (kochujang), or to taste

Scoop rice into a big, wide bowl.

Arrange vegetables in neat piles on top of rice. Top with a fried egg and spoon sesame oil and red pepper paste over.

Mix well and enjoy!
Spicy Korean Oyster Salad (Kul Kimchi)

A kimchi is being invented as we speak. Yes, they are that prolific and every Korean cook has their own version. Jean Lee’s uses freshly-shucked oysters and romaine lettuce. You can buy oysters from your favorite fishmonger or in quart-sized jars at supermarkets. The romaine lettuce leaves may seem large, even after cutting, but they will wilt and shrink to about 4 to 5 inches. This dish will keep for about 2 to 3 days, depending on freshness of oysters. It should be refrigerated any time it’s not being immediately served.

Time: 20 minutes plus marinating time
Makes: 6 to 8 servings as a side dish

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup Korean chili pepper flakes
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 5 to 6 cloves)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
2 heads romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise (for particularly large leaves, halve crosswise as well)
5 green onions, cut into thin rings
1/2 red pepper, cut into thin rings
3 cups freshly-shucked raw oysters, rinsed in salt water to remove any grit, and drained

In a large non-reactive bowl, combine brown sugar, chili pepper flakes, garlic, fish sauce, rice vinegar and mix well. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and mix to form a coarse paste.

Add lettuce, green onions, and red pepper to the chili mixture in the bowl and toss until leaves are well-coated. Add oysters and mix gently. Let kimchi sit for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.

Just before serving, stir the kimchi. Serve with steamed short-grain (Japanese) rice and a main dish like kalbi or in bibimbap.

Pat’s notes:
If you don’t have a bowl big enough to contain all the ingredients, divide ingredients equally into two of your biggest bowls. As the lettuce shrinks, combine everything in one bowl and mix well to combine.

 

 

 

Tickle Me With Pickles

I never thought I had it in me. I buy kimchi. I eat kimchi. But I never imagined I would one day make kimchi. Not only did I make kimchi, I made 2 different types of kimchi-this one with Chinese cabbage and another with oysters (recipe coming)!

If you’re a kimchi novice just like I was, I highly recommend trying this simple recipe courtesy of Yangja Im. All it takes is patience and a love of kimchi–yes, you have to want to eat it.

Korean Pickled Vegetables a.k.a. Kimchi

Sour-sweet and spicy with nutty overtones, kimchi is a delightful explosion of tastes and textures in the mouth. The methods of making are just as varied as the ingredients that go into them–Chinese cabbage is the most common. Kimchi isn’t all that difficult to make as Yangja Im’s recipe demonstrates. In fact, Yangja makes it almost every week. She calls it a “not so traditional” kimchi recipe but to non-connoisseurs (like me), it tastes pretty authentic. For those who are interested, she does tack on some optional ingredients to make it more traditional.

Time: 30 minutes, plus salting and fermenting time
Makes: 1 gallon of kimchi

1 (about 3 pounds) firm Chinese cabbage
3 Kirby cucumbers, or 2 lean Korean cucumbers, trimmed and quartered lengthwise (or cut into bite-sized pieces, if you prefer)
1 small (about 2 to 3 cups) Asian radish (daikon), peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (1-inch cubes or similarly-sized half moons are fine)
2 tablespoons coarse sea or kosher salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 one-inch knob fresh ginger, grated
1 green onion, white and green parts, cut into 1/2 inch lengths
2 long hot green or red peppers, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick rings
2 tablespoons Korean red pepper powder (koch’u karu)
1 tablespoon sugar

Optional ingredients:
1 large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon Korean salted shrimp or fish sauce
2 tablespoons water

Wash the cabbage thoroughly and cut the stem out with a V-notch. Halve the cabbage lengthwise and then cut into 1- by 1 1/2-inch pieces.

In a 6-quart non-reactive bowl, combine the cabbage, cucumber, and radish and sprinkle evenly with salt. Let the salted vegetables sit for 3 hours and toss every half hour. The salt will draw out water from the vegetables and they will shrink.

Add the garlic, ginger, green onion, hot peppers, red pepper powder and sugar to the salted vegetables. Mix well with your hands (be sure to wear rubber gloves to avoid chili burn).

OR

In a blender, combine the ginger, green onion, hot peppers, red pepper powder, and sugar with optional ingredients (bell pepper, onion, salted shrimp, and water) and purée until it becomes a thick liquid. Add to the salted vegetables and mix well with your hands (be sure to wear rubber gloves to avoid chili burn).

Transfer pickled vegetables into a 1-gallon jar or divide among 4 one-quart jars, pressing down firmly to remove any air bubbles and so the vegetables are covered with as much juice as possible. Leave about 2 inches at the top to give vegetables room to breathe.

Wrap the mouth of the jar with plastic wrap before screwing on the lid to prevent odors. Let stand at room temperature overnight, then refrigerate for up to one week.

Serve well-chilled as a side dish or in Bi-bim-bap.

Pat’s notes:

Use non-reactive materials (glass, stainless steel or ceramic) for all cooking utensils, measuring spoons, bowls and containers. Don’t use plastic as it picks up color. To store, use sterilized wide mouth glass or ceramic jars with screw-top lids.  

Quack … Quack …

I love duck! But I don’t like the changes they’ve made on the WordPress dashboard at all :(. I’ve had to re-acquaint myself with all the buttons and it’s taking me that much longer to post. That and the fact that my manuscript deadline is looming. I know I haven’t been posting as often but please be patient with me. The end is near!

Anyway, let me leave you with this very simple and very tasty Asian version of coq au vin. Well, not quite, but duck is also considered poultry, and if you think of soy sauce as wine … oh, and it’s braised in my very French Staub Dutch/French oven too! It comes from my good friend Angie’s mum, Aunty Rose, who hails from Singapore.

Teochew Braised Duck (Lo Ack)

As a newly-wed, Rosalind Yeo learned how to make this dish from her mother-in-law using a Chinese rice bowl as a measuring implement. The recipe is now a family favorite, often served at Chinese New Year as well as for everyday meals. While it originates in Chaozhou province, China, the addition of lemongrass and galangal is very Southeast Asian. The sweetness of the duck is contrasted sharply by the tart dipping sauce and you get a tingly sweet sour sensation in your mouth. You can also add fried tofu or hard boiled eggs 20 minutes before the duck is done. Or jazz up the meat a little with a medley of intestines, duck liver, or gizzards. Do I hear “yum?”

Time: 1 1/2 to 2 hours
Makes: 4 to 6 servings as part of a family-style meal

One 4- to 5-pound duck, rinsed, and patted dry with paper towels
1 to 2 tablespoons coarse salt
4 whole cloves
4 whole pieces star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed (cut off bottom root end and 4 to 5 inches at the top woody end where the green meets the yellow, peel off loose outer layer), bruised and halved
One 1-inch-thick slice galangal, smashed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, or to taste
1/2 cup dark soy sauce
Chili-lime dipping sauce (recipe follows)

Sprinkle salt on the duck skin and in its cavity.

In a 14-inch wok or 6-quart Dutch oven (or any vessel large enough to hold the whole duck), combine 2 cups water, cloves, star anise, cinnamon, lemongrass, galangal, sugar, peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Gently lower duck into the wok. There should be enough liquid to reach halfway up the duck. Top it up with water, if necessary. Baste the duck every 5 minutes or so for the first 20 minutes so that it colors evenly. Cover and simmer for another 40 minutes to 1 hour until duck is tender and the meat is falling off the bones. Halfway through the cooking process, flip the duck. If the sauce looks like it’s drying up, add more water.

To check for doneness, poke duck in the thigh with a chopstick. If the juices run clear, the duck is cooked. Or, use a meat thermometer to check if the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees F.

Turn off the heat and leave the duck immersed in the sauce for another hour if desired.

Cut the duck into serving pieces and serve with rice and chili-lime dipping sauce.

Chili-Lime Dipping Sauce

1 to 2 cloves garlic
1 long fresh red chili (like Holland, Fresno or cayenne), or 1 tablespoon bottled chili paste (sambal oelek)
3 tablespoons lime juice (3 key limes)

Pound the garlic and chilies in a mortar and pestle, or pulse in a small food processor, until a coarse paste forms. Add lime juice and mix well.

 

Rolling with Lola

“I’ll be making suman for my grandchildren tomorrow and I’ll save some ingredients to show you next week when you come,” Gloria Santos’s cheerful voice came through with a gentle lilt over the phone. Suman (sweet rice cakes rolled in banana leaves) are Gloria’s specialty, beloved by her grandchildren and her friends at her weekly prayer meetings.

Showing me into her tidy kitchen, Gloria went straight to business. She quickly set me to task, “You’ll help me stir the rice, ok?”

As Gloria wiped and snipped banana leaves down to size, I stood in front of the stove stirring the rice and coconut mixture, no skill required. Every once in awhile Gloria would peer over my shoulder and examine the rice mixture to see if it was done.

 

One the rice attained the right texture, it was time to start rolling.

 

Gloria laid out a banana leaf parallel to her body, scooped a tablespoon of mixture onto the leaf and her dexterous fingers started rolling. In the blink of an eye the rice was neatly bundled in the banana leaf and she was on to the next one. “So easy, no?” After years of experience I’m sure it is, but my inexperienced fingers were not as nimble. Many torn leaves and misshapen bundles later, we were done. It was easy to tell my suman apart from Gloria’s. 

 

Can you tell which suman are mine?

 

Gloria was born in 1923 in the Manila suburb of Mandaluyong, and her youthful countenance and feisty spirit belie her several decades on this earth.

Growing up in the Philippines in the 1930s, Gloria never cooked–nor did any housework for that matter–at home. Like many middle class families of the time, maids did most of the work. “I just looked at what my grandma was doing. I didn’t know anything.”

During World War II, things changed drastically. Gone were the hired help and Gloria, aged 16, was the one doing the cooking. With wartime rationing, food was hard to come by. She remembers congee (rice porridge) being on the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And it wasn’t always made with rice. “Rice was very expensive and we used any substitute we could find. We even used corn and ground it.”

This was also when, out of necessity, Gloria learned how to make her signature sweet. “I made suman and sold it to people because of the hardship.”

Soon after the war, Gloria graduated from college with a degree in education, met her husband, Benjamin, and got married. She started teaching at the age of 22, and between her growing family and her budding career, she had no time to cook. “I would give the maid money to go marketing and when I came home from work, the food was ready.”

In 1968, Gloria and her husband, with their three teenage children in tow, moved to the U.S. to escape civil unrest in the Philippines. Here, she had to juggle a job outside the home–first devising patient menus at the University of Washington Medical Center, and then teaching English as Second Language (ESL) to newly arrived Asian immigrant students in public schools–and feeding her husband and three children. Fortunately for her, it wasn’t too difficult to recall the cuisine she grew up with. “I asked my friends how to cook this and that, and I remembered from watching my grandma. I put the two together and I knew what to do.” Of course, Gloria is now a pro at cooking traditional Filipino dishes like adobo, kare kare and chicken tinola.

To this day, Gloria still cooks family feasts at Thanksgiving and Christmas. She spends a week cooking and preparing enough food to feed close to 40 people. Although she acknowledges it’s a lot of work, she’s unwilling to leave the important task to anyone else. “If other people bring the food, they’ll be late and we’ll all be hungry!”

Gloria also loves to bake, and has amassed an entire store room of cake pans and decorating tools in her Kirkland, WA home. In fact, she’s been busy baking from the day her first grandson, BJ, was born. “For 34 years, I made cakes for BJ. I made him Mickey Mouse, and many others.” She has baked a cake for every one of her five grandchildren’s birthdays, and now she intends to continue that tradition with her great-grand-daughter. She never strays from her favorite recipe: mocha chiffon cake with butter cream icing “If I change the recipe, people are not happy.”

Sadly, none of her children or grandchildren are interested in baking or learning how to cook Filipino dishes. “They only want to eat!” Gloria declares with a sigh. “Lola (grandmother), lola, I want to eat!” they always say when they visit, usually demanding dishes like pork chops and hamburgers. She likes to tease them. “I ask them, ‘You want some tongue (beef or pork tongue is considered a Filipino delicacy)?’” she says, with a playful glint in her eye. Their response? “‘Eew,’ they say.”

Gloria’s Sweet Rice Rolls Wrapped in Banana Leaves (Suman Sa Gata)

Suman refers to any cake that’s wrapped in banana or coconut leaves, whether made from rice, grain, or root. The ingredients are few and the method simple, but it is one of the oldest and most popular Filipino snacks. In Gloria Santos’s version, the banana leaves imbue a sweet, tropical fragrance and flavor to the coconut-soaked glutinous rice, or malagkit as it is called in Tagalog. Wrapping suman is a skill in itself and takes years of practice as Gloria can attest to–she’s been making them for decades. Today, her family and friends always look forward to unwrapping these neatly-bound bundles and biting into the moist mound of sweet goodness lying within. Don’t be discouraged if yours take a while to perfect.

Time: 2 hours (1 hour active)
Makes: 30 rolls

2 cups white glutinous rice
One and one-half 13.5-ounce cans coconut milk (2 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 banana leaves, fresh or frozen

Rinse rice 3 to 4 times until water runs clear. Drain.

In a 14-inch wok or 4-quart heavy bottomed pot, combine rice with remaining ingredients except banana leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to medium. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring constantly especially during the last 15 minutes of cooking. You don’t want rice to stick to the bottom of the pan and scorch. Reduce heat if rice mixture starts to burn at any point.

After about 20 minutes, expect the oil from the coconut milk to separate from rice mixture and coat wok with a thin film. The rice mixture will pull away easily from the sides of the pan. When done, rice mixture is shiny, almost dry and very sticky, like risotto. Let cool in the wok.

Wipe away any white residue on leaves with a damp cloth. Remove spine and trim to 4- by 7-inch rectangles with the longer edge going along the grain.

Place a banana leaf rectangle on a dry work surface with the smooth, matt side up (the shiny side has faint ridges) and longer edge parallel to your body. Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons of rice mixture in the middle of the leaf. Mold rice into a mound about 4- by 1 1/2-inches. Take the leaf edge closest to you and fold it over rice. Using both sets of fingers, tuck leaf edge under the rice and roll to enclose filling completely. Roll as tightly as possible into a compact cylinder. With the seam-side down, smooth your fingers across the cylinder to gently flatten and fold both ends under to form a snug packet. Place seam-side down directly in a steamer basket. Repeat until rice mixture is finished, layering packets neatly in a single layer and one on top of the other if necessary.

Set up your steamer.

Fill steamer bottom with a generous amount of water, about 2 to 3 inches, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high.

Place basket with rice rolls above. Cover and steam over medium-high heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You should see steam escaping from underneath the lid.

Cook’s tip: As steam circulates underneath the lid, water will condense and collect around the circumference of the basket. Drape a kitchen towel over the basket before covering with lid to prevent water from dripping onto the food.

Halfway through the cooking process, reduce heat to low and carefully take a peek at the water level and replenish, if necessary, with boiling water. Raise heat back to medium-high.

When done, turn off heat and wait for steam to subside before lifting lid. Lift it away from you to prevent condensation from dripping onto rice rolls or scalding yourself.

Carefully remove steamer basket and cool on a rack before removing rice rolls.

Cook’s note:

Banana leaves are available frozen in 1-pound packages (and sometimes fresh) at Asian or Latin markets. Partially thaw frozen packages first before prying the leaves open. Using a pair of scissors, remove what you need and refreeze the unused portion. Always remove dark brown edges and the tough spine. Before using, rinse under hot running water or dip into boiling water for 20 to 30 seconds to soften and make pliable.

Instead of folding the ends under, you can also tie the ends with kitchen twine or banana leaf threads torn along the grain to make a “sweet.”

The rice rolls keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Do not refrigerate or they will harden.

You can find rice labeled “malagkit” at Asian markets, or substitute with mochi rice (Japanese sweet rice) if in a pinch.

Grandma says:
If the banana leaf tears while you’re rolling the packet, place another layer on the inside to “patch” the hole.

In search of perfect Thai basil pork

Several years ago, when I was a grad student studying in Boston, a Thai friend took several of us to her favorite Thai restaurant. She ordered in a flurry of Thai without so much as a glance at the menu and out came a succession of delicious dishes to our table that evening. And pad gkaprow mu or Thai basil pork was one of them. It had never tasted so good–the heady fragrance of basil and the earthy flavor of pork, rounded up togther with sweet, salty and spicy notes–and it hasn’t since.  This recipe comes pretty close although I’m sure even taste buds can lose their memory.

If you know of the perfect recipe, do drop me a comment! 

Thai Basil Pork (Pad gkaprow mu) 

 

This versatile recipe is a Thai favorite. Ground pork is usually paired with holy basil (bai gkaprow). However, Thai sweet basil (bai horapa) is much easier to find in Asian markets in America and makes a worthy stand-in. If all else fails, substitute with any basil or a mixture of basil and mint for a bright, refreshing flavor. Ground chicken or turkey also work well in this dish, as well as fresh seafood: Shrimp, scallops, mussels and firm-flesh fish like salmon or halibut.

Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 4 to 6 servings as part of a family-style meal

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 1/2 cups packed fresh holy basil or Thai basil leaves
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 small shallots (or 1/2 small onion), cut into thin slices (1/2 cup)
6 red Thai chilies, cut into rounds (or to taste)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Dash white pepper or freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preheat a 14-inch wok or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in oil to coat the bottom of the wok and heat for 10 to 15 seconds until oil thins out and starts to shimmer. Stir in garlic and shallots. Stir 15 to 20 seconds, until garlic is light golden and fragrant.

Add pork, breaking it up with the edge of your spatula. Stir-fry until meat has just lost its blush, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium. Throw in chilies. Sprinkle oyster, fish and soy sauces and sugar, and toss to mix well. Add basil and stir until leaves are wilted and pork is cooked through, about half to 1 minute. Don’t overcook the pork.

Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with pepper. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Note:
If you can’t find Thai chilies, substitute with 4 to 6 serranos or jalapeños, cut into large slivers.

Marie Tran tested this recipe for me, check out her blog for her results. Thanks, Marie!

How meatloaf saved the day

hungry_hobbit, a.k.a. my husband, has been lamenting that all we’ve been having at home is Asian food (now c’mon, would you complain?). Well, with all the recipe testing that’s been going on, it’s not like I can help it.  

Then it came time to try Leah Tolosa’s Filipino-style meatloaf recipe, embutido.

hungry_hobbit stopped asking me what’s for dinner months ago but I volunteered the evening’s menu anyway. “Honey, we’re having meatloaf, but with a Filipino twist.” 

Ding! His eyes lit up! 

That evening, hungry_hobbit dined with a smile. The next day, he brought embutido to work for lunch and he ate it again for dinner! 

Thank you, Leah, your meatloaf saved the day!

Filipino-style meatloaf (Embutido)

I read online somewhere that embutido is traditionally wrapped with the skin of pig’s intestines. Does anyone have any input?

All I can say is that I’m thankful modern-day versions like Leah Tolosa’s are wrapped with aluminum foil. Embutido can also be served as a ”cold cut.” Lightly pan-fry slices or deep-fry the whole log then slice. However, you choose to serve it, it’s delicious dipped in banana ketchup or Thai sweet chili sauce.

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (30 minutes active)
Makes: 4 to 6 servings

2 slices white bread, cut into cubes (2 cups)
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped (3/4 cup)
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated (1/2 cup)
1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 pounds ground meat of choice (chicken, turkey, pork, veal or beef) (2 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup sweet relish
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
3 hard boiled eggs, each halved

Three (12- by 12-inch) square sheets of aluminum foil

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, soak bread cubes in milk until soft, about 5 minutes.  Mix in beaten eggs.

In an 8-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and onion and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent. Add carrots and bell pepper. Cook another 1 to 2 minutes until heated through. Cool veggie mixture slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add veggie mixture to bread mixture in the bowl followed by remaining ingredients except hard boiled eggs. Mix well.

To assemble embutido, lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the counter. Scoop one third of the meat mixture (about 2 cups) onto the center of foil. Shape into a 9- by 5-inch rectangle.

Lay 2 egg halves, cut-side down, on top of meat mound.

 

Lifting the 2 longer sides of foil, shape meat mixture into a log around the eggs and hide them in the center.

Wrap completely with foil, rolling back and forth into a tightly packed log about 2- to 3-inches in diameter. Secure by twisting ends shut. Repeat with remaining meat mixture and eggs to form 2 more logs.

Place wrapped logs on a baking sheet or pan and bake for 1 hour.

Cool embudito completely before serving. To serve, unwrap aluminum foil and cut embutido into half-inch-thick slices. Arrange at an angle on the platter to show off hard-boiled egg in the center.