FEBRUARY 2017: Vegetable Manchurian Hakka Style

photoed by A. Rajan

My Chinese taste buds are so developed now experiencing different regional Chinese food. But I have always been a fan of Indian Style Hakka Chinese food.

One of my very favorite is hot and tangy Vegetable Manchurian. Deep fried golden goodness resembling meat balls in delicious Chinese style sauce.

Recipe is pretty simple; provided that you have all the ingredients or some of them and you are not lazy to grate the vegetables. (It is served with either rice or noodles. Take your pick.)

For the recipe you will need (My version):

• 1 cup of cabbage, grated 
• 1 cup of carrots, grated
• 1-2 Tbsp of scallions, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• About 4 Tbsp of cornflour

1. Grate the vegetables, 

squeeze the juices from the vegetables in a cup and 

keep it aside. 

Stir in about half a spoon of cornflour in it and 

set it aside to use it later for the sauce.

2. After squeezing out the water, 

add salt, pepper, and corn flour to the veggies and 

knead the mixture. 

Make small balls and then 

photoed by A. Rajan

deep fry or shallow fry them.

photoed by A. Rajan

To make the sauce :

-------------------  

photoed by A. Rajan

• 1 Tbsp of ginger and garlic, each finely chopped
• spring onions, finely chopped 
• 1 Tbsp of tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp of chilli sauce (I used sriracha)
• 1 Tbsp of soy sauce
• a bit of green onions (the green part), finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

1. In a heated wok on a medium flame, 

add oil.

2. And then add ginger, garlic and spring onion to it. Then 

saute continuously.

3. Add the ketchup and sriracha to this.

4. And then add the fried vegetable balls in the wok and 

keep sauteing as it gets coated with ginger-garlic goodness.

photoed by A. Rajan

5. Add a little water to this and the saved cornflour mixture to thicken the sauce.

  

6. Add the soy sauce and 

stir till the sauce is thick.

7. Garnish it with green onions and some cilantro, 

Serve with rice or 

stir in noodles.

Very yummy and easy. :-)

Enjoy!

--A.R.

JANUARY 2017: Laksa

photoed by D. Liongson

Ever tried Laksa?

If you have no clue what it is, click and have a good read at this link.

Since it is found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, quite surprising it was for me to find it in a Vietnamese resto.  Feast your eyes with its menu from "A Taste of Vietnam".

There were choices of Laksa. You may order it Large or Small, with a choice of Seafood, Beef, Chicken, or Combination. I picked Seafood since I am on a seafood diet-- when I Seafood, I eat. Hee hee...

I explored different flavors and textures in this noodle soup. The creamy effect of coconut milk, taste of curry with a hint of chilli, slippery noodles, firm to the bite seafood (mine had squid balls, crab stick, fish cake, and prawns), refreshing bits of herbs and vegetables.

Best eaten warm.  IMHO, it is a bummer to eat when cold-y oldy or hot-cha potcha. But then there will be those who love to eat this fresh from the chilly fridge or fresh from the scorching pot. If you wish to take home this soup, you might want to eat this on a have-it-your-way style.

This soup is perfect on a chilly day (or in a freezing room during a hot day). May you keep warm slurp by slurp.
--D.L.

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D'HAIKU

This Laksa is more 
than just a hot soup. It's a
hot and yummy soup!
--D.L.

DECEMBER 2016: Sheera

This is my go to (for desserts) if I run out of options for sweets.

photoed by A. Rajan

Ingredients

------------
1/2 cup clarified butter or ghee
1 cup cream of wheat / semolina
1 1/2 cup of milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp of cardamom, powdered
Dried fruits/nuts, chopped (such as raisins, cashews, slivered almonds)

photoed by A. Rajan

How to make it

---------------

1. First, in a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee. And once it melts, throw in the cream of wheat. Roast it to remove its rawness. I go for dull gold color as I roast it.

2. In a separate saucepan, heat milk and sugar together until the sugar melts. Set aside.

3. Once the cream of wheat is roasted, add this milk-and-sugar mixture to it. (You can add mashed banana into the mixture too, if you like.)

4. Add the cardamom and fruits/nuts and stir it.

5. Cook till the ghee separates a little.

6. Serve hot, with a garnish of slivered almonds.

Love it! :-)

--A.R.

NOVEMBER 2016: Set Meal at Maruya

photoed by D. Liongson

Here is set meal ordered at Maruya Japanese Restaurant at Southport, QLD. 

What you see in this photo is a set meal of my choice: 

Soba + Sushi + Tempura

Most of us are acquainted with hot noodle soup.  This Soba I ordered had cold buckwheat noodles with cold soup.  Simply pick up some noodles with chopsticks, dip in the soup (and don't let go of the noodles), and eat the dipped noodles. Perfect to comfort me from a hot day. 

My sushi had vinegared rice with salmon sashimi pieces, (it slipped my mind what the white sashimi piece on one of the sushi is-- fish or squid?), and a tofu pouch stuffed with the same rice. You may enjoy eating these with dipping it in soy sauce, or add wasabi to your sauce, or eat them together with the pickles on the side. By the way, I figured out that "sushi" is a mass noun (which is uncountable) such that its plural form is still sushi.

The tempura bundle had two large prawns and one slice of sweet potato. The tempura set (of this set meal) of one day may be different on another day. Whatever combination they come up with, it is still all good! All of them are battered up and fried to perfection. Not battered up by goons (hee hee) but by dipping in semi-liquid mixture that makes magic when fried in cooking oil. Not only the prawns are a delight when dipped in its matching sauce and eaten, so does the sweet potato slice. Feel their crisp and their warmth and their yummm.

This set meal has a choice of Soba or Udon.  If my pick was Soba, what is Udon like?

According to the take-away menu, Udon is "thick wheat noodles with shallots, seaweed, crabstick in hot soup". This choice is great to keep warm on a cold day. 

photoed by D. Liongson

So do I. 
D'you know why?
Come and try! :-)

--D.L.

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D'HAIKU

Eat buckwheat soba
and some sushi on the side
with crisp tempura.
--D.L.

OCTOBER 2016: Spiced and Buttered Salmon

photoed by A. Rajan

Few days back, we were invited for dinner at friend’s place and she made some yummy salmon with dill recipe. It was so perfect in texture, flaky and moist. I wanted more, so I decided to try the same, a little differently.

Ingredients:

------------

350-400 grams of skinless salmon fillet

handful of dill leaves

ginger-garlic-green chilli paste – 1 teaspoon (tsp)

1 tsp of softened butter

salt and pepper (according to taste)

some lemon slices

carrots 

How to?

--------

1) Preheat the Oven on 400 degrees.

2) Add the ginger garlic chilli paste along with chopped dill leaves in softened butter. 

Smear it on both sides of salmon and sprinkle salt and pepper on top of it. 

Place it in the baking dish along with some carrots or veggies of your choice.

3)Place it in the oven, for about 20 minutes and then let it rest. 

Check with the fork, to see whether its done to your liking and not raw inside. 

For this recipe, 20 minutes is all it took for a perfectly moist, flaky fish. Went very well with my dal and rice as well and baked carrots were crunchy with extra caramelised sweetness. 

Easy healthy salmon, just the way I like it!

--A.R.

SEPTEMBER 2016: Squid Bulgogi

photoed by D. Liongson

Squid bulgogi! This is one of my favorites from this resto-- Korea Garden.

I've heard of bulgogi in beef, chicken, or squid. Perhaps it's a cooking process that they are called bulgogi.

I was informed that bulgogi means  "meat cooking using fire" which explains the use of a grill. According to The Free Dictionary, the etymology of bulgogi are the Korean words bul=fire gogi=meat. It seems that meat also includes seafood. I'm not missing out. Yay!

Hold your horses. With this dish in a hot grilling plate and bearing some chilli, it helps to wait for the dish to cool before digging in. Simply eat it at its warm status. This is a whole lot better than in room temperature mode.

In a grilling plate of squid bulgogi, expect some squid pieces, onion pieces, sesame seeds, and in flavorful sauce. The onions are just as delish! Skip them and you'll be missing out. Either it is caramelized or it was also flavored with that special bulgogi sauce.

Enjoy the chewy effect while letting the bulgogi roll in the mouth with a spoonful of rice. Blended flavors of salty, sweet, and spicy plus a bit of heat from the sizzling plate and the chilli. Perhaps the chilli heat may be adjusted to the preference of the diner who will savor this dish to the last bite.

Spread the flavors with a bowl of plain rice. This may be feasted as lunch for one or a snack for two people. Just add a bowl of rice per person.

May be eaten with chopsticks or a fork and spoon set. Quite rare for a customer to use a fork and knife set. If necessary, it may help to ask for a fork and knife set to eat the meals with.

This is from Korea Garden Restaurant. If you're from Makati, why not give it a go? If resto tripping is part of your bucket list, add this resto too! Their Facebook page has fantastic food photos. If their cute cover photo is still there, it shares a tip on a very simple way to run a restaurant.

Be it mildly hot or beyond mildly hot, it's all good!
--D.L.

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D'HAIKU

If bul is to fire 
and gogi is to meat then
bulgogi is hot!
--D.L.

AUGUST 2016: Cherry Clafoutis

photoed by A. Rajan

I love to go to restaurants which has dessert menu for caramel custard and creme brulee. I'm more impressed of them than cheesecakes or cakes. But that's just me. 

So, when I came across this French dessert online in my Google search (ranging from Julia Child, Jamie Oliver and other recipes), I decided to try making it while remembering what I could. And then, prepare the version which was quick, simple and easy.

It was custard based, hence I was more interested in trying it out. Guess, it didn't turn out that bad, as my guests relished it enough leaving zero leftovers. It looked fancy enough to impress. The dessert's French name "Clafoutis" felt very chic and fancy to me. (Nudge & winks.)

Now let's get serious about the Cherry Clafoutis recipe.

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cup pitted cherries (enough to cover the baking dish)

1/4 cup melted unsalted butter (I used unsalted because I didn't have regular butter handy... Guess it still turned out okay.)

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar 

1 Tbsp of vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

How to make it?

1)First, arrange your pitted cherries in a lightly buttered baking dish.

photoed by A. Rajan

2)In a deep bowl, throw in melted butter and flour. Mix well.

3)Add eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, milk into the mixture. Beat with a wire whisk to ensure the mixture isn't lumpy but smooth.

photoed by A. Rajan

4)Pour this custard mix on top of cherries.

photoed by A. Rajan

5)Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. You'll see Clafouti had risen like soufflé. It has a golden brown crust.

photoed by A. Rajan

6)Allow to cool. 

7)Serve with little dusting of powdered sugar and whipped cream (to add pizzazz to this beautiful elegant dessert).

The internet taught me a lot. I'm grateful for all the info I get there so that I may practice by myself. Creating this dessert failed to disappoint my guests and I. No doubt, it's a winner indeed!

Enjoy! :-) 

--A.R.