Recipe: Yakisoba

Yakisoba

Ingredients:

Chowmein noodles
Nappa Cabbage
Carrots sliced thinly
Onion, chopped
Mushrooms (optional)
Green bell peppers (optional)
Green onion
Pork, thin cut into strips
Shrimp
Laver / seaweed powder

Yakisoba Sauce:
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
2 one-inch slivers Ginger
1/2 a medium Onion, chopped
1/4 c Tomato sauce
1 tsp Rice vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Soy sauce
2 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tsp Mirin
1 tbsp Corn syrup
1/2 tsp Bonito powder
2 tbsp grated Apple
2 tsp Peach jam
1 tbsp Orange jam
1 tsp chopped Dates
2 tbsp water
2 tsp Sake
cornstarch slurry


Procedure: Put all sauce ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes. Thicken slightly with cornstarch slurry. Set aside. Soften chowmein noodles with boiling water. Drain until slightly dry. In a pan heat some oil until very hot then stirfry the noodles for 2 minutes. Set aside. Stirfry the rest of the ingredients except laver until almost cooked. Add noodles and sauce (to taste) and stir fry for an additional one and a half minutes. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle laver on top.

Note: Instead of peach and orange jam, fresh orange and peach can be used. Just grate them. Adjust sweetness with additional sugar or mirin if needed.

Recipe: Pandesal

Pandesal is a very simple bread, but oftentimes the simplest things are the hardest to make. This recipe has few ingredients, as it should, and also uses a folding technique that strengthens the gluten structure of the dough and redistributes air. This trade secret is rarely done by home bakers because they're never told about it.

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Pandesal

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c bread flour
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 c + 3 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp margarine, softened
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast
breadcrumbs

Procedure:
Bloom / activate yeast in warm water and 1 tsp of the sugar (about 5 minutes or until frothy). Warm milk together with remaining sugar. Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add liquids to the flour and mix together. Add margarine. Knead by hand or in a machine for 8 to 10 minutes on medium setting. Transfer to a greased bowl or plastic tub, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, take one side of the dough, stretch slightly and fold over the other half of the dough. Do the same for the opposite side, then again for an adjacent side. Turn dough over and let rise for an additional 45 minutes. On an oiled work surface form dough into a log about 14 inches long. Roll in bread crumbs. Divide and cut equally into 16 pieces and lay each piece cut side down. Pat bottoms of pieces with breadcrumbs then place in a pan 1 cm apart. Let rise 1 1/2 hours. Sprinkle tops with bread crumbs then bake in a 420 F oven for 10 minutes or until tops are browned.

notes:
- We mix together the liquids and flour first before the margarine so that the flour absorbs the liquid better. Fats like margarine create a natural barrier which makes it difficult for the flour to fully absorb the liquid.
- The folding of the dough halfway into the first rise is done to strengthen the gluten structure and redistribute air within the dough.

Recipe: Kalbi jjim

Kalbi jjim is literally steamed beef ribs ("jjim" means"to steam"). To most, it is a braised dish, which is also true, but the idea behind the cooking of the ribs, is that it is "steamed" in the pot. This may sound a bit weird, but it's no different from when you cook steamed mussels in white wine, wherein you add the white wine then cover the pot in order to steam the mussels. The idea is the same here. When you braise the beef ribs, you also steam it inside the pot. Thus, when adding the liquid/sauce/marinade into the pot, it shouldn't cover the meat. While cooking, the meat will render its fat, gelatin, and juices into the sauce, and the sauce will also flavor the meat. The end result should be a slightly thick and syrupy rich sauce. A crucial ingredient in this dish and many Korean dishes is pear juice. Pear juice, preferably from Korean or Asian pear, is used to tenderize the meat and give it that subtle sweet flavor that is common in such dishes as Kalbi kui and Bulgogi. This is a basic version of Kalbi jjim. Other versions may include mushrooms, Korean red dates, jujubes, and water chestnuts.

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Kalbi jjim

Ingredients:

Beef ribs
Pear juice (preferebly Korean or Asian pear)
Rice wine

Sauce and marinade:
7 tbsp pear juice
7 tbsp soy sauce (do not use Kikkoman)
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 inch piece of ginger

1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium potato, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 medium daikon radish, chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
sesame seeds
korean red pepper powder
1 tsp green onion, minced

Procedure:

Score ribs on both sides. Soak in cold water for at least 2 hours to remove blood. Drain and rinse well. Cover in pear juice and a few tablespoons of rice wine and let sit in the refrigerator at least overnight. Combine ingredients for marinade and marinate beef ribs at least overnight. Take beef ribs and place in a pot with a tight fitting lid. Add 4 tbsp of water to the marinade and pour to just a little over halfway of the beef ribs. Cover tightly with lid, bring to a very low simmer, lower heat to lowest setting, and cook for at least 3 hours. Skim off a bit of the fat. Add carrots, potato, onion, and daikon then cover pot and continue cooking until they are tender. If sauce is too thin, remove cover, bring to a boil and reduce until sauce is slightly thick or syrupy. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Done.

Sides

Every once in a while I have these phases, where I get this incredible urge to cook a certain style of cuisine or type of food. I just had my Korean phase where I've made Korean dishes for the past week or so. How and why did I enter this phase? Well, Na Sang Shil can tell you.

An integral part of a Korean meal are little side dishes that function to refresh the palate. These are some sides that I've made in the past, mostly Asian inspired. I didn't bother to list measurements but the ingredients and method is written down. It's a good source for ideas nonetheless.

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Kimchi - salt nappa cabbage and let sit for 2 hours. wash with cold water and drain thoroughly. make sweet rice paste by boiling water, glutinous rice flour and sugar until thickened. mince garlic, onions and a little ginger. chop green onions and daikon radish. in a bowl, combine sweet rice paste, garlic, onions, green onions, ginger and daikon. add fish sauce to taste. add korean red pepper powder. mix well. rub the nappa cabbage with paste mixture then store in a glass container in refrigerator to ferment however long you want it to ferment.


Korean spinach - boil spinach in salted water for about 30 seconds. drain, squeeze out water, and chop once or twice only. mince garlic and blanch for about 15 seconds. drain, add to spinach. dress with sesame oil and a little sugar.


Korean bean sprouts - boil bean sprouts in salted water for about 1 minute. drain well. mince garlic and blanch for about 15 seconds. drain, add to spinach. dress with sesame oil and a little sugar. sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.


Korean radish - cut radish into long strips or strands. salt and let stand for at least 5 minutes (or longer to get excess liquid out). wash with cold water to remove excess salt. drain and squeeze. add red pepper powder, some rice vinegar and sugar. mix well.


Korean Dried Anchovies - deep fry dried anchovies until crispy. set aside. in a saucepan, combine soy sauce, sugar, mirin, korean corn syrup, and a little kochujang (red pepper paste). boil until you get a syrupy consistency. cool to room temp and dress anchovies with this mixture. sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.


Radish and Cucumber - boil a 2:1 ratio of vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves. let cool. cut radish and cucumber into strips, matchsticks, or into thin half-moons. dress lightly with sugar-vinegar mixture.


Basic japanese style salad - in a bowl, grate carrots, apple, onion, and a little ginger. add some miso, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. set aside as a dressing. rough chop some lettuce and thinly chop some daikon radish. Mix together and dress with the dressing.


Mayonnaise-miso japanese style salad - in a bowl, mix together some mayonnaise, miso, sugar, and a small squeeze of lemon. thinly chop some apple and rough chop some lettuce. dress with mayo-miso dressing.


Soy simmered potatoes, eggplant and zucchini - Dice some potato, eggplant and zuchinni. In a saucepan, combine soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Simmer potato, eggplant , and zuchinni until cooked. Remove from saucepan and serve at room temperature.


Carrots and mayo - slice carrot into long thin strands or strips. blanch in salted water until slightly cooked. drain and let cool. add mayonnaise.


Atchara - in a saucepan, combine native vinegar and sugar in a 2:1 ratio and add salt. grate green papaya and carrots into semi long strips. mince some red pepper and add to green papaya and carrots. boil sugar and vinegar mixture until sugar is dissolved. add to green papaya, carrots and red pepper.


Battered fried spinach - in a bowl, combine some salt and rice flour (or cake flour and baking soda). add very cold water and mix well until you get a slightly thin batter. dip spinach leaves individually in batter and deep fry in oil.


Korean pancake - in a bowl, combine egg (optional), flour, salt, water and a few drops of sesame seed oil and mix well into a batter. slice green onion, onion, and carrots into thin strips. slice some shrimp. add to batter then pan fry until both sides are golden and crispy. can also add kimchi into batter if desired.


Spicy enoki mushrooms - in a pan, heat up some oil. mince some green onions. pan fry enoki mushrooms and green onions. add a splash of soy sauce. add sugar and red pepper powder.


Vietnamese style radish and carrots - cut daikon radish and carrots into 2 inch, 1/4 inch thick matchsticks. salt daikon and let stand for at least 20 minutes. blanch carrots until slightly cooked then cool. in a sauce pan, boil some vinegar and sugar in a 2:1 ratio. add a pinch of salt then let cool. drain radish, rince with cold water then pat dry. combine carrots and radish and dress lightly with vinegar mixture.


Bagoong and zucchini - chop zuchinni into half moon slices about 1/4 inch thick. in a pan, heat some oil and saute some bagooing. add zuchinni and continue to saute until zuchinni softens. add a squeeze of lemon or calamansi if desired.


Vietnamese style cabbage and chicken salad - chop finely some skinless cooked chicken. in a bowl, combine minced garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and a little chicken stock. finely chop some cabbage and blanch until slightly cooked. cool. finely slice some onions and place in a bowl. add rice vinegar and salt and let stand for at least 20 minutes. drain. mince some green onion. combine cabbage, chicken, onions and green onions. dress generously with lime juice mixture. sprinkle with ground peanuts.

Recipe: Gyoza

Homemade gyoza isn't actually that difficult. The gyoza skins are made of a hot water dough that is common in Chinese cuisine for making dumplings.

Ingredients:

Filling:

1/2 c Ground Pork
1/2 c Ground Shrimp
1 1/2 tbsp Soy sauce (Kikkoman)
1 tbsp White miso
1/2 Onion, minced
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 stalks Green onion, minced
1/4 tsp Grated Ginger
2 tsp Grated Carrot
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
Cornstarch slurry (1 tsp cornstarch plus 2 tsp water)

Gyoza Wrapper / Skins:

2 c flour
3/4 c very hot water
1/4 tsp salt

Procedure:

Mix all filling ingredients and set aside in refrigerator. For gyoza skins, mix all ingredients vigorously with a fork, bring together, then knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out into a long cylinder then divide evenly into 32 pieces. Roll out each piece thinly into circles (as thin as wonton wrappers). While rolling out each piece, keep the others from drying out by placing a moist towel over them. Fill each skin with filling and seal edges with water. You can crimp the edges (tuck and fold) to get the traditional gyoza look. Put in freezer before cooking. To cook, heat a non-stick pan with some oil. When hot, line the pan with the gyoza, and pan fry until bottoms are slightly browned. Fill the pan halfway to the sides of the gyoza with water, cover and allow to steam until all the water has evaporated. Add a little more oil and continue to pan fry until bottoms are golden brown and crisp. Done!

Recipe: Cinnabon style Cinnamon Rolls

This is a recipe I've found to be closest in taste and texture to Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. It came from this website (http://www.gordonfamily.com/Recipes/cinnabon.htm). As mentioned in the site, it is absolutely critical that you use high quality cinnamon. That's what makes the difference. Personally, I like the cinnamon taste of Saint Cinnamon rolls, but I prefer the texture of Cinnabon. When I tested this recipe, I couldn't get a hold of Korintje Grade AA cinnamon but the end product was still great. Just make sure that the cinnamon you use isn't old.

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Cinnabon Style Cinnamon Rolls


Dough:

1/4 Cup Water (2 oz)
1 Cup Whole Milk (8 oz)
1/2 Cup Butter, unsalted sweet cream, melted (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)
1 1/4 ea Egg, Large Grade AA, well beaten
1 tsp Vanilla Flavor (preferably alcohol free)
1/2 tsp Salt (0.0075 lb)
1/2 Cup Sugar, preferably Superfine Granulated (0.224 lb)
4 1/2 Cup Unbleached White Bread Flour (1 1/4 lb)
1 Tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten (0.021 lb)
1/4 oz SAF Perfect Rise® Gourmet Yeast (1 envelope, 7 g)

Remove a large egg from the refrigerator and permit it to reach room temperature. Gently melt the butter. Add the Water and Whole Milk. The resulting liquid mixture should be permitted to cool so that it is between 75°F (24°C) and 85°F (30°C) before proceeding further. Then add the remaining ingredients, in the order listed above, to the bread machine and prepare using the dough setting. (Follow your bread machine instructions for dough preparation.)

To help you achieve the very best results, see also our additional notes on ingredients and preparation.


Filling:

1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed (0.4255 lb)
5 Tbsp Cinnamon, Korintje Grade AA (0.0745 lb)
1/2 Cup Margarine (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)

Remove the margarine from the refrigerator once you've started the dough cycle and allow it to reach room temperature. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.

After the dough cycle has completed, roll and stretch the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 15" by 24" (38 cm by 61 cm) rectangle.

Mark off 1" along the 24" edge of the dough, closest to you. You will not spread any Margarine or Sugar-Cinnamon mixture on this edge so that you can seal the roll. Spread the softened Margarine over the dough with a rubber spatula and then evenly distribute the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture. Be careful to leave your 1" edge clean. As a final step, use your rolling pin to lightly roll the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture.

Starting at the far edge of the dough, roll it up tightly. Begin at the far edge and roll up the dough toward the 1" clean edge. The clean 1" edge is used to seal the finished roll. Trim the left and right ends of the roll. The result will be a 24" roll. Trim off the left and right ends of the roll so that you have a flush end at each end of the roll. Then mark the roll every 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm). Cut the roll into 1 1/2" long portions. This may be done with a knife, as they do at the store. However we've found it easier to use dental floss. (We use cinnamon flavored dental floss just for dramatic effect!) Cut the roll by placing the thread under the roll at your mark, crisscross over and pull it to cut. You should get 15 rolls.

Line your baking pans with parchment paper. Place 5 rolls into 8" square baking pans 1" apart. (One roll in each corner, and one in the center.) Cover with a lint free cloth and let rise in a warm, draft free place until almost double, approximately 1 hour. After rising, rolls should be touching each other and the sides of the pan. This is important for best results. This gives the resulting rolls the soft, moist outer edge that most people prefer.

After rising, bake in a convection oven at 310°F for 15 minutes. If you are using a conventional oven, bake at 335°F for 20 minutes. The resulting rolls should be only lightly browned. We bake only one 8 inch square pan of rolls at a time to obtain uniform results.


Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz Cream Cheese (0.25 lb)
1/2 Cup Margarine (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)
1 3/4 Cup 10x Powdered Sugar (or Sugar Fondant) (1/2 lb)
1 tsp Vanilla Flavor (preferably Alcohol Free)
1/8 tsp Lemon Flavor (preferably Alcohol Free)

There are several steps involved in the preparation of the frosting. But it is not difficult, and you'll be surprised at the wonderful results you achieve. For the fluffiest frosting, use Vanilla and Lemon flavors that do not contain alcohol. A total of 50 minutes is required to prepare the frosting, from start to finish. We normally prepare the frosting while the rolls are rising.

Generally, we use 10x Powdered Sugar. However, Sugar Fondant yields a smoother frosting. Please refer to our notes.

Remove the cream cheese and margarine from the refrigerator and place it into the mixing bowl. Leave it for about half an hour so that it will not be too cold.

Use the Flat Beater (or Paddle) to blend the cream cheese and margarine for 6 minutes. Use a speed of 65 RPM, or the "slow mixing" speed on your machine. We use setting #2 on our KitchenAid Mixer.

Switch to the Stainless Steel Whip and whip the cream cheese and margarine mixture for 10 minutes. Use a speed of 150 RPM, or the "medium fast whipping" speed on your machine. We use setting #6 on our KitchenAid Mixer.

Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and mix for 1 minute using the Stainless Steel Whip at 65 RPM. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of powdered sugar and mix for an additional minute.

Lastly, add the Vanilla Flavor and Lemon Flavor and whip for 1 minute using the Stainless Steel Whip at 150 RPM.

Here's an easy to follow table for the preparation of the frosting:

Add Cream Cheese and Margarine to mixing bowl and let stand for 30 minutes.
Mix using Paddle at 65 RPM for 6 minutes
Use Stainless Steel Whip at 150 RPM for 10 minutes
Add 1 Cup Powdered Sugar.
Use Stainless Steel Whip at 65 RPM for 1 minute
Add 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar.
Use Stainless Steel Whip at 65 RPM for 1 minute
Add Vanilla and Lemon flavors.
Use Stainless Steel Whip at 150 RPM for 1 minute

Transfer the finished frosting to a convenient covered container and refrigerate it. Once the rolls are finished baking, frost them while they're still very warm and serve them immediately. Yum, yum!

Recipe: Calasiao style Puto

I finally figured out how to make puto that closely approximates the puto of Calasiao. This is a traditional recipe, in that it does not make use of baking powder or pre-processed flour and has only 3 ingredients: rice, water, and sugar. It takes about 5 days to make a small batch of puto, but in no way is it a difficult process. It takes patience though, but the end product is worth it.


Calasiao-style Puto

Ingredients:

Before fermentation:
1 c medium grain rice
1 c water, or enough to fully submerge rice
1 1/2 tbsp cooked rice
1 1/2 tsp sugar

After fermentation:
1/2 c sugar for every cup of fermented mixture
pinch salt (optional)


Procedure:

Combine rice and water and allow rice to soak for 2 days. Drain saving some of the water and blend rice with cooked rice and 1 1/2 tsp of sugar in a blender adding water as needed until fine and the consistency of thick pancake batter. Put blended mixture in jar or untreated clay pot. Cover loosely to allow some air to circulate. Set aside in a warm place and allow to ferment for 3 days. When fermentation is finished, the mixture must be the consistency of poi, ube halaya or mashed potatoes. Take 1 cup of the fermented mixture and combine with 1/2 c sugar and a pinch of salt. Fold gently to combine. Pour into greased puto molds and steam on high for 15 minutes. Unmold and serve. Yum!


Notes:
- Do not ferment in a metallic container.
- Make sure that there is as little condensation as possible while steaming, otherwise the puto will have difficulty rising.
- Use unchlorinated water.
- Do not use distilled water. Distilled water has very little oxygen which retards fermentation.
- Steaming on high will result in a cracked top. If a smooth, rounded top is desired, steam on medium to medium high heat.