Coconut Rice Pudding with Caramelised Sweet Potato

A challenge has been set. " #TaytoRiCo. Thinking outside the box."  What is that, you ask?  @Jmfield, @TangledNoodle and @Dailyspud have created a challenge to come up with a dish that includes potato (Tayto), rice (Ri) and coconut (Co).  

The dish can come in any form and whatever derivative of the 3 main ingredients.  I had so many ideas and didn't know what to make.  I became inspired by the Autumn weather we are now having. Something warm and comforting.  Unfortunately, the day I decided to make this, the day was sunny and warm.  Oh well, it was delicious to eat, nonetheless.

I decided to make a rice pudding and give it a Asian/Filipino twist.  I had joked around with my twitter friends that it's not so much of  an "out of the box" idea but more of "sitting on the edge" of it.  

I substituted some of the milk with coconut milk and served with a caramelised sweet potato.  I've seen similar rice puddings but have never made it myself before.  The idea of the sweet potato came to me when my mum made kamote cue.  This is a popular Filipino snack where sweet potato is deep fried then caramelised with brown sugar.  I did a healthier version where I simmered in water then caramelised it.  It didn't come out crunchy and crispy like the original version but I wanted to get a softer texture to go with the rice pudding.

Rice Pudding recipe
1 cup pudding rice (or aborio rice)
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups full fat milk
1 tsp vanilla paste
5 tbs of caster sugar

Caramelised Sweet Potato
1 medium sweet potato, halved then thinly sliced
1 large knob of butter
3 tbs brown sugar


1.  Preheat oven to 170degC (150degC fanforced)
2.  In a 1.5liter capacity oven dish, place all the ingredients for the rice pudding.
3.  Cover dish with foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for a further 35-40 minutes
4.  To make the caramelised sweet potato, pour water into a large frying pan, about 3-5 cm deep.
5.  Simmer the sweet potato until all water has evaporated or until the potato is tender.  If not yet tender, add more water
6.  Add the butter and brown sugar to the potato.
7.  Cook until the sugar has melted and has covered the potato all over.

To serve, place the rice pudding in serving bowls and top with the sweet potato.  Drizzle some of the caramel over the rice.  The rice pudding can be eaten hot or cold.   Hubby suggested cold rice pudding can be eaten with a dollop of your favourite jam.

Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

Hot Dog Cakes. An International Incident.

So this is our first International Incident Party for 2011 and I'm pretty excited.  This month's theme is Hot dog. Penny from Jeroxie Blog, is again hosting this great monthly event.  If you would like to join, please visit our forum.

I've had this vision to create a cake that looks like a hot dog after making my hamburger cupcakes.  I thought that this was the perfect opportunity.  This also ticks off another challenge I set myself that I will conquer all dishes that have intimidated me.  I have always been afraid of making choux pastries.  I love to eat it, Yes.  But to make it, I have been too afraid to just think about it.  I don't know why I was so afraid of it.  I was quite easy, actually.

Devil's Food Cake
(I only used one of the cakes.  I froze the other one for use another time)
185g softened butter
1 3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3 tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 tsp red food colouring
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk

1.  Preheat oven to 180degC (160 fan forced).  Grease and line two deep 18cm round cake pans.
2.  Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Fold in sifted flours, soda, cocoa and coffee.  Combine the colouring, water and milk and pour into dry ingredients.
3. Bake about 25-30mins.  Turn cakes out onto racks to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

45g cream cheese

45g butter, softened

1/2 cup icing sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a small bowl until as white as possible.  Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar.

To make the sausages, crumb one of the cakes and add the cream cheese frosting.  Mix thorough till well combined.  Take about 1 heaped tablespoon and shape like a sausage.  Let it sit in refrigerator for an hour to set.

Choux Pastry Buns
80g butter
1 cup water
1 cup plain flour
3 eggs

1.  Preheat oven to 220degC (200 Fan forced).  Prepare two oven trays.
2.  Combine butter with the water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.  Add flour and beat with a wooden spoon over the heat until the mixture comes away from the sides of pan and forms a ball.  Transfer to a small bowl and the beat in the egg with a electric mixer until it becomes glossy.
3.  Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with 1cm plain tube.  Pipe 10cm lengths of the mixture 3cm apart on to the trays.  Bake for 12 mins.  Reduce the temperature to 180degC (160 fan forced) and bake another 10 mins or until they are browned lightly and crisp.  Carefully cut the "buns" in half and remove any soft center.  Bake for another 5 mins or until eclairs are dried out.  Leave to cool.

Pastry Creme Recipe
2 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, split
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup caster sugar
4 tablespoons cornflour

1. Bring milk & vanilla bean to the boil in small saucepan.
2. Discard vanilla.
3. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks, sugar & cornflour in small bowl with electric mixer until thick.
4. With motor operating, gradually bet in hot milk mixture.
5. Return custard mixture to saucepan; stir over heat until mixture boils & thickens.

 To assemble the hot dog, pipe the pastry cream into both halves of the choux pastry.  Take the sausage and sandwich in between the choux pastry buns.  For the ketchup and mustard, I used red and yellow writing gel.

Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

Please check out what everyone else brought to the Hot dog party

Breakfast Taco - An International Incident

This month Penny from Jeroxie - Addictive and Consuming Blog is hosting another International Incident Party.  This time it's a Tacos Party.  I was excited to hear what this month's theme was.  I love tacos but I have never made the tortilla from scratch.

 

I decided  to go for a breakfast taco (though we had it for dinner).  Naturally, egg and bacon went into it.  Hubby made his chilli con carne to go inside the taco.  He makes a large batch and freezes in separate containers.  I've included his recipe below.  Hubby also suggested to add Potato Gems in the breakfast taco for the potato element.    I was a bit apprehensive about adding it but I think it works.  It mellows out the spiciness of the chilli.  You can leave this out if you like.  For  freshness, I added a salsa of diced tomato, red capsicum, red onion and cucumber.

I did a bit of research on the web and was surprised how easy it is to make.  Or so I thought...  If you don't have the right tools, it can be hard work to try to get the dough nice and thin.  I had to use a lot of muscle to get the tortillas thin.

1 cup of masa flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 to 1 cup water

In a bowl, add all the ingredients and mix together until the dough turns into a ball.  Divide into 6 equal size balls, then form into a slightly flat ball

Using a clean plastic bag, place the dough inside and using a rolling pin, flatten as thin as possible.  When it's as thin as you can get it, carefully remove from the plastic and place in a dry skillet until it bubbles and colours a little on both sides.  Set aside until needed.

When ready to assemble the taco, you need to soft fry the tortilla.  In a pan, add about 2 cups of oil and heat on a medium heat.  Quickly pan fry for 5 seconds on each side.   

Ingredients

·         Onions - 2 chopped into large chunks

·         Garlic – 4 cloves chopped finely

·         Beef mince - 500 – 1000g

·         Salt & Pepper

·         Celery - 4 sticks chopped into large chunks

·         Pepper - 1 chopped into large chunks

·         Carrots – 1 chopped into large chunks

·         Beef Stock – 2 cups

·         Bay Leaves – 4

·         Tomatoes – 1 can

·         Guinness - 1 can

·         HP Sauce – large dollop

·         Tomato Paste – 2 tablespoons

·         Hot Sauce – large dollop

·         Worcestershire Sauce – large dollop

·         Mixed beans – 1 can

·         Mustard Powder – 1 heaped teaspoon

·         Tomatoes - 2 fresh chopped into large chunks

·         Bacon – 2 rashers chopped into large chunks

·         Sausages – chorizo, pork, and/or frankfurters or all, chopped into large chunks

·         Mixed herbs – fresh & dry

·         Brown Sugar – 2 heaped table spoons

·         Paprika – big shake

·         Ground cumin -  big shake

·         Chilli flakes – big shake

·         Fresh Chilli – as much as you can take

Recipe

1.       Cook bacon & sausages in oven, Whilst cooking…

2.       Fry onions & garlic in a little oil in large pot.

3.       Add mince & cook until brown. Add S&P whilst browning.

4.       Add carrots, celery & pepper. Cook for few mins.

5.       Add liquids: beef stock, Worcestershire, Guinness, tomato paste, hot sauce, HP sauce & canned tomatoes. Add beans & bring to boil then simmer for 10 mins stirring occasionally.

6.       Add mustard powder, fresh tomatoes & cooked sausages & bacon. Stir.

7.       Add herbs, chilli flakes, paprika, cumin seeds, fresh chilli & brown sugar. Stir.

8.       Cook for around 2 hours stirring every 10 minutes or so. Aiming for mixture where only little bit of liquid left.

9.       Can freeze and reheat. Add little more of the liquids & spices when reheating.

To assemble the breakfast taco, spread some of the chilli onto the taco.  Add a runny egg, crispy bacon, potato gems, grated cheese and salsa.

Enjoy!

Other Party People who joined us this month...

Kulinarya Cooking Club June 2010 : Pinoy BBQ three ways

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with our family recipes.  By sharing these recipes we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.

This month's theme is Pinoy BBQ!

Filipino's love BBQ. In Philippines, when walking down the small streets in my Auntie's subdivision, people are barbecuing all sorts of meat in front of their homes to sell.  Some meats I know, some... hmmm, I don't want to know.  But, no matter what is cooking on their barbecues, it always smell so enticing.  The smell of barbecues gets me drooling all the time.

Barbecue is another one of those foods that are always present at a Filipino gathering. It is also found at all Filipino Fiestas. Most especially, barbecue pork on skewers.

Here's what I barbecued.

Whole Squid stuffed with raw sugar,then 

head and tentacles secured by 

toothpick

Pork chops marinated in salt, vinegar and garlic

Pork skewers marinated in Filipino BBQ sauce

Marinade for the pork skewers is very simple.  I don't usually measure out the ingredients but play it by feel.  The main ingredients I always include is lemonade, tomato sauce, pineapple juice, sugar, salt and pepper.  The marinade needs to be thick so it can coat the meat.  Sometimes, if I find that the marinade is a little thin after marinading the meat, I place in a small pot and reduce it.  I then baste the meat with the thickened marinade.

It is currently Winter down here in Melbourne, so it was very cold when we were barbecueing (or should I say, Hubby and my dad, were barbecuing).  However, no matter the temperature or weather outside, barbecues are always welcomed at meal times.

Other members of the Kulinarya Cooking Club:

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/
Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/
Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/
Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/
Caroline - http://whenadobometfeijoada.blogspot.com/
Ninette - http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/
Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/
Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/
Asha - http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/
Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/
Cherrie - http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/
Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/
Valerie - http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/
Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/
Divina - http://www.sense-serendipity.com/
Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/
Dahlia - http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/
Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/
Maribel - http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/
Tressa
Jen - http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/
Pia - http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/

Malaka - http://thegrandinternational.com.
Mimi - http://lapinchecocinera.blogspot.com
Erika - http://ivoryhut.com/
Kat - http://www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk/default.aspx

Coconut Noodles with Honey Glazed Pork Belly : An International Incident

I was really excited about this month's theme for the International Incident. It is Noodles!  This month I really wanted to cook something I would have never tried if it wasn't for this challenge.  I also wanted to try something a little different.

I decided to replicate a dish I had at Fenix in Richmond, Victoria from memory.  Fenix has since changed from a fine dining restaurant to a Wedding and Function centre.  It is owned by Raymond Capaldi and Gary Mehigan (from Masterchef Australia).  When it was a restaurant, Hubby and I used dine there often.  In fact, it was Hubby's favourite restaurant.

My favourite entree dish that I always had was the coconut noodles with caramalised pork belly in a Laksa style sauce.  This is the dish I made for the Noodles Party.

The first part of the dish was to make the coconut noodles.  It basically is coconut milk and agar agar.

agar agar

Coconut Jelly 

400ml can coconut milk

200ml water

50g agar agar strands

Place all the ingredinets in a pot on medium heat

Stir constantly till agar agar dissolves

Pour through a sieve into a dish

Refrigerate until set

When the coconut jelly is set, cut into into long noodles

The dish is served with pork belly.  I used a honey glaze on my pork belly. 

honey glazed pork belly

Honey Glaze:

1/2 cup honey

2 tbl dark soy sauce

1 tsp five spice powder

1 tsp ground ginger

Place all the ingredients in a small pot and cook over a low heat for 5-7 minutes.  Strain and reserve until needed.

800g pork belly

6 cups hot chicken stock

2 medium onions quartered

Placed the pork belly in a large pot or casserole dish and pour over the hot chicken stock and add the onions.  Place in the oven covered and cook for 2-3 hours or until the pork is tender.

Once the pork is cooked, remove from the oven and place on a baking tray with another tray on top and a weight (for example, 2 cans of beans) to help weigh down the pork.  Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.  Overnight is preferable.

Preheat the oven to 180degC

Once the pork has been pressed, remove the trays and cut into portions about 5cm wide.  Place the pork skinn side down in a cold, non-stick pan with a little olive oil and begin to crisp the skin over a low-medium heat.  Spoon half of the honey glaze over the pork.

Place the pan into the hot oven and colour all the sides of the pork, spooning over the rest of the honey glazw.  Keep a close eye on the pork as it can burn easily.

Once it's coloured and crispy, remove fro  the oven, cut in small slices and set aside till ready to use in the dish.

Laksa Style Sauce:

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp ground almond

1 lemongrass stalked finely sliced

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp tumeric

2 tsp ground coriander

Place all ingredients in a mortar and pestle and pound until it forms into a paste.  Vegetable oil may be needed to blend easier.

To make the sauce, place tthe paste in a small pan and sauté gently until fragrant.  Add 250ml coconut milk.  Simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes

 To dish up, place the coconut noodles in a circle in a bowl, place the pork belly scattered around.  Pour a little of the laksa sauce into the bowl.  To garnish, add blanched snow peas and finely sliced chilli.

Fellow Party People:

• Penny – Jeroxie (Addictive & Consuming) – Homemade ban mian with minced pork and mushrooms
• Christine – Christine’s Recipes – Spicy Pork Mince and Noodles in Crisp Lettuce Cups
• Mardi – Eat, Live, Travel, Write – Ginger scallion & Butter noodles
• Conor - Hold the Beef – As Above
• Shirley – Enriching your kid – Vermicilli Biryani with Tahini
• Natasha – 5 Star Foodie – Homemade Soba Noodles
• Anges – Off the spork – Handpulled noodles at home
• Joanne – Second Helpin
• Tracey - Tangled Noodle
• Evelyne - Cheap Ethnic Eatz – Incidental Noodles
• Ms Baklover - Footscray Food Blog – Zha Jiang Mian
• Casey – Eating, Gardening & Living in Bulgari
• Tamar – Koreanfornian Cooking – Tteokbokki
• Billy – Half-Eaten – Pumpkin Miso Noodles in Shitake Dashi Broth
• Nina – Consumed Food Love – Vietnamese Noodle Salad
• Suresh – 3 hungry tummies – Twice cooked pork with rice noodles
• Anh – A food Lover’s Journey – Taco Soba Noodle

 Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

Filipino Dumpling Soup and Deep Fried Dumplings. An International Incident.

Another International Incident Party and this time, it's a dumplings party.  If you follow me on twitter, you will know that I was stressed about my dumplings however I had plenty of help from Penny from Jeroxie - Addictive & Consuming blog and she reminded me that this party was  meant to be fun and not stressful.  After finally deciding what I was going to make, it started to be fun. 

I decided to make two versions.  I wanted my first dumplings to be traditional so I decided to make a Filipino version and did a little research and found Pancit Molo.  

Filipino Dumpling Soup or Pancit Molo looks and tastes a lot  like a Chinese Dumpling Soup, simply because it is.  The Chinese in the Philippines have influenced not only some of our culture but, of course, our food.  This dish was named after a district in the province, Iloilo and unlike other pancit (noodle) dishes, this is a wet dish and there's no actual noodles.  The wonton is considered to be the noodle.

To make mine that extra special, I made the chicken stock from scratch.  I was able to control the flavour and balance of the broth.

For my other version, I also decided to deep fry a few of the dumplings.  I knew my daughter, would love these.  She is, after all, my toughest critic.  I am happy to say, she loved it.  "Mummy, I love the texture.  It's so light"  Hahaha!  She has been watching Masterchef Australia with me

I have never made dumplings before so I had many questions. Most of them about the wrapper.  I wanted to make my own wrappers and I was given a couple of different good recipes.  However, after doing a bit of research and asking questions, I opted to buy my wonton wrappers

The filling is definitely Chinese inspired with the classic mixture of pork and prawn.  I did not finely mince the prawn as I wanted a little more texture with the mixture.   

To wrap the dumplings, I felt the most stressed.  However, I was guided to a great website http://www.asiandumplingtips.com  Andrea Nguyen has great tips and instructional videos on all thing dumplings.  I was able to easily follow her instructions and got into a routine and made plenty of dumplings in no time.

• CHICKEN STOCK
• 1kg chicken bones
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 carrot chopped
• salt
• pepper corns
• 4 bay leaves
• .
• DUMPLINGS
• 220g fresh prawns, deveined and minced
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 200g mince pork
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 ground black pepper
• wonton wrappers
• .
• Spring onions
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbl oil

1. In a large pot, add all the ingredients for the stock. Add enough water to cover. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
2. In a bowl, mix the pork, prawn and half the onions. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Take one wonton wrapper. Place 1 tsp of the mixture in the center and fold over to create a triangle. Seal with water. Take the corners on the left and right sides, dab with water and bring the sides together and press together. Repeat for all the dumplings
4. In a pot add the rest of the chopped onions and garlic. Sauté till lightly browned.
5. Pour 6 cups of stock into the pot and let it come to a gentle simmer.
6. Add the dumplings and poached. It will rise to the top when cooked. This will take about 5 minutes.
7. Add the spring onions and cook for a further 2-3 minutes
8. Serve immediately and garnish with a spring onion stem.

Filipino Dumpling Soup Pancit Molo @ Group Recipes

Now that I've finally made my dumplings, I am very happy with the way it turned out.  I'm extremely happy that my family loved it as much as I did.  I am not scared about making my own dumplings anymore but I think I want to try my hand at making fresh wrappers.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie