‘Cause I Watch Shark Week

Last summer my boyfriend and his friends attempted hiking/camping through the Appalachians for a week, and due to unforeseen circumstances (okay, really they probably could have planned for them) they were not able to complete the trek and ended up at my apartment one night. Letting them stay the night (since there was a bet going on to see how many nights they would actually be gone), I let them freshen up with warm running water and good old electricity. And since I was pretty sure they were tired of eating energy bars or jerky or whatever dried non-perishable, high calorie/energy foods, I took them to a local taco joint. Even though it is no longer in town, I swear they had the largest portion of nachos for about five bucks (USD). Regardless everyone was happy, and I figured they were ready to wind down from the days hiking plus the drive time from the Appalachians to Gainesville. While pumping gas, lo and behold – a redbox – and that’s how we ended up with Springbreakers; the movie starring James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, and other people. I’m not going to talk too much about it, but before watching that movie…we found ourselves watching Sharknado first. SPOILER ALERT!!

For some strange reason, Sharknado has left a soft spot in all of our hearts. Whether it be Tara Reid, the concept of a “sharknado,” or the fact that in that world, chainsaws rule – my group of friends and I cannot seem to stop talking about it. It seems to me that all of my favorite parts of the movies involve a chainsaw and Fin pulling out a body/body part out of a live shark. I call dibs that the next movie takes place in a honeymoon venue – Hawaii or Florida anyone?? Anyway, thank you Syfy channel for creating this now trilogy because it brings all of us together at least once a year!! In honor of this great trilogy and the beginning of shark week I carved this watermelon for our party.

Watermelon Shark

1. Place watermelon on flat surface (set it on the side it naturally sits on during growth). I used two knives to create my shark – a paring knife and larger knife to make slices.

2. On the opposite end of the watermelon – the end where there is no vine stump, slice the melon at a 35-45 degree angle about an inch from the edge to create the bottom of the shark. This should expose the red flesh of the melon.

3. Setting the melon on the newly exposed side, on the opposite end of the melon cut a “pie slice” shape creating a gaping mouth. Depending on the size of the melon you want to cut it a little smaller than you want it because you will later add teeth. I did mine about two inches at the apex.

4. Remove the piece you sliced and from the edges of the mouth, use the paring knife to create an outer lip about 1 – 1.5 inches. Make sure not to cut all the way through. Use the paring knife to expose the white flesh only.

5. Remove the rest of the red flesh of the watermelon from the inside. Note: you will be putting it back into the shark afterwards. I used a melon baller.

6.Now that the you have an empty watermelon rind, you can cut little triangles into the white exposed flesh (near the mouth) to create teeth. You want to give the teeth varying sizes from the back to the front of the mouth.

7. The shark is essentially complete at this point, but some people like to add a dorsal fin. Using the pie slice from earlier, cut it in half with a curved edge to fit the shape of the watermelon, and use toothpicks to attach it to the back of the shark.

8. I also added eyes using a paring knife to mark spots for grapes/blueberries as eyes (attached with half toothpicks). Lastly since I had grapes still – my mom thought of the idea of using the grapes as decorative kelp or coral that surrounds the sharks body on the tray. Don’t forget to fill him back up with the watermelon pieces and other fruit!

Tip! You should refrigerate the watermelon pieces separately from the rind for ease of travel and storage. Watermelon tastes sweeter to me when cold 🙂

And since man cannot live on watermelon alone, I also made a variation of Paula Deen’s creamy crock pot macaroni and cheese that does not use a crock pot. This truly is super creamy, cheesy, and my lactose intolerant friend ate it anyway and lived.

Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 box of rotini (pasta)
• Water for cooking pasta
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 can condensed cheese soup
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder

1. Cook pasta in boiling water or according to box directions until al dente. I cooked mine for about 7 minutes.

2. Remove pasta to a colander and return empty pot to stove on medium heat. Melt the butter and cheese in the pot and then add the rest of the ingredients (except the pasta) and stir well.

3. Add pasta into the pot and toss well. Cover with lid and keep on lowest setting for one and half to two hours stirring occasionally.

It’s best served when hot!!

See you all in 2015 for the next addition to the trilogy/ten year reunion of us meeting for the first time!!

❤ The Food Scientist

Had a Bad Day

(Sing this to the tune “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter)

“Cause you had a bad day

You seek Alton Brown

You make some cream puffs just to turn it around

You say you don’t know

You tell me to try

You work at a smile and you’re so surprised

Not such a bad day

Not such a bad day”

Besides talking to Boyfriend, whose lips are sealed tighter than the highest security vault and whose ears are never sickened by my perpetual word vomit, I resort to cooking as my stress therapy, especially when he is busy 😛

Another default feel good food are creamy buttery pastries of French descent known as cream puffs or profiteroles. When I was younger my family would go to these Filipino parties, and there would be Titos throwing back beers or smoking and Titas gossiping (chismosas) and trying to sell each other cubic zirconia jewelry pieces. Even though I would enjoy going to these parties because all of the kids would separate into our little groups and go on pretend adventures or play tag or hide and go seek or babysit the younger kids so their parents could eat, I always looked forward to what food would be at the party. Typically Filipino desserts were present – cassava cake, leche flan, puto, kutsinta,- but sometimes, there were these little heavenly puffs of cream inside an eggy-crunchy-sweet husk drizzled with chocolate. I liked those. A lot. I even asked my mom to invite the lady who made them to my birthday party every year just to ensure I would get to eat them at least once.

Who knew they were relatively simple to make?  Not me! Oh yeah, I threw in some purple Asiasn flavor for that extra comfort feeling 🙂 Also according to something somewhere, today is national cheesecake day. I didn’t actually make these mini cheesecakes today, but I will include them in this post to commemorate!

Mini Cheesecakes

Crust

• 1 cup crumbled cookies (crumbs)
• 2 tbsp butter (melted)
• 1/8 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients together and use your fingers to push the crust into your pie plate or mini springform pan(s).

Filling

• 2 packages of cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp ube extract (or other flavor)

Cream the first two ingredients together until smooth and then add the eggs one at time. Add the extract last and mix well. Fill your crust about 3/4 of the way full with filling. Make sure to smooth out the top of the cheesecake to ensure a level product. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-30 minutes or just until set. Let it cool to room temperature. Note: it is normal for the entire cheesecake to rise and fall after cooling. If the middle sinks in, the cheesecake was not finished baking.

Topping

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/8 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp macapuno syrup (sweet coconut)
• macapuno balls

Whip the first three ingredients together until stiff peaks form. Place into piping bag and decorate your cheesecakes (once cooled). I used the macapuno balls for extra coconut flavor and texture variety. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

Cream Puffs

Choux Pastry

• 1 cup water
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup and 3 tbsp flour
• 4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Bring water, butter, and salt together to a boil in a pot. Add the flour and remove the pot from the heat. Mix the ingredients until a dough is formed. Return to the heat until a ball of dough is formed. Place ball of dough into a bowl to rest/cool for 3-4 minutes.

3. Using dough hooks, add an egg, one at a time, until fully incorporated into the dough. The dough may appear too runny at times, but before adding the next egg, make sure the dough comes together again.

4. Once smooth, transfer the dough into a piping bag. I found that no tip worked well. Pipe mounds of the dough onto parchment paper (whatever size you prefer – I did about a little smaller than a golf ball.)

5. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F an bake for 10 minutes again.

6. Alton says to pierce each pastry immediately after baking to let out steam, but I did/didn’t, and they all turned out perfect!

Creme

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp ube extract (or any flavor extract)

Whip all creme ingredients together until less than stiff peaks form. I recommend whipping the cream cheese and sugar first, and then adding the other ingredient to ensure a smooth cream.

Fill a pastry bag with a star tip (or no tip) with the creme and fill each pastry with creme. You can also slice the pastry in half (horizontally) leaving a hinge to connect the top and bottom pieces and fill with creme.

Not such a bad day 🙂

❤ The Food Scientist

Back to December

Last December seems so long ago. Last December I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition. Last December was filled with the archetypal milestones of a college kid. Last December I had no idea what was next. Last December a local dim sum restaurant opened. Last December I ate turnip cake.

Just the Beginning

The day before my graduation, my HD planned a lunch with me at the new dim sum place. I’m not sure if anyone had been there yet, but rumor had it that it got packed pretty fast, had a small parking lot, and had customer’s cars towed when parked next door. So many logistics went into one lunch. The majority of them lived on my side of town and we planned to drive together, and the other one who lives closer to the restaurant was going to get there early to grab a table. Now this restaurant typically has a line at the door even before it opens, and dim sum is only served at lunch time.

Let me explain something first – dim sum is a Cantonese Chinese term used to describe bite-sized portions of different foods carried in small steamers and pushed around a cart.

In the Middle of the Street

But of course knowing the Etas, silly things were bound to happen. One of them (who didn’t drive a car) would always wait 5 minutes before the meet up time to ask someone (who would already be there) to pick her up. One didn’t wake up to her alarm and had to meet us there. The girl who went to save a table, grabbed the family style table at open, sat there by herself for a good 30 minutes while other families would glare and give her dirty looks for saving it. The rumors weren’t rumors – it was teeming!! Where were the rest of us? Looking for parking. Lo and behold the tiny parking lot was full and we parked across the street. Selfie while crossing the street!

Quickly we all took a seat while calming down the slightly panicked one and then the carts came. Grabbing dishes and dishes of char siu bao (pork stuffed buns), ha gao (shrimp dumplings), phoenix claws, shaomai, and spareribs, we feasted. One of them goes, is that a peanut in the fried rice? It was a peanut, and her lip swole. Then all of a sudden, this small plate with three speckled white squares with a golden brown coating lands on our table. “Turnip cake!” someone said.

I split mine with the girl next to me, and I wished I hadn’t.

Daikon, not Chinese Radish

Turnip Cake

• 2 ½ pounds shredded daikon
• water (enough to cover daikon in pot)
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp dried shrimp
• 3 whole shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tsp garlic
• 4 oz. ground turkey (traditionally Chinese sausage is used)
• 1 tbsp white pepper
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 ¼ cups rice flour

1. Place the dried shrimp and shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of water to rehydrate for at least 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile peel the daikon and use a food processor, mandolin, or (as I did) a grater to shred the daikon into matchsticks.
3. Put the daikon in a large pot and fill with enough water to submerge the daikon. Heat the pot to medium to high heat for 15 minutes – daikon should soften.
4. As the daikon cooks, remove the shrimp and shiitake mushroom from the water. Remove the stems of the mushrooms and mince the caps and shrimps together.
5. Saute the garlic, ground turkey, minced shiitake, and shrimp together in a large pan with a splash of oil until the turkey is cooked (or Chinese sausage). Add the white pepper and soy sauce into the pan.
6. Drain the daikon and reserve at least 1 cup of the water. Place the daikon and cooked mixture in a separate bowl. Add rice flour and stir – you can add water if a paste does not begin to form. The mixture should be thick and is ready when it no longer falls off the spoon.
   

   Bain-marie

7. Fill a 9 inch loaf pan with this mixture and place in a bain-marie for 45 minutes. Bain-marie = place loaf pan in a pot larger and fill large pot with water 1 inch high. Heat to medium heat.
8. Once turnip cake is done, remove from bain-marie and cool to room temperature.
9. At this point, you can eat the turnip cake, but a lot of people refrigerate it overnight and pan fry ½ inch slices the next day.

The Food Scientist ❤ HD

At graduation

Rub a Dub Dub

Let’s cook food in a tub! Or bath, a bain-marie. “Ban-Mar-ee” pronounced in English translates from French into “Bath of Maria,” and is simply a cooking term meaning water bath. Basically a ‘bath’ of water is heated and another pot or pan is placed inside the bath in which food is cooked due to a combination of insulation and steam. Usually water is filled halfway up the side of the pan inside the bath and the entire unit is closed off with a lid to keep the heat in. This method of cooking is useful for cheesecake and custard makers to prevent cracks from forming and to keep them moist and silky.

So originally I wanted to make leche flan – a Filipino caramel custard dessert ( in my family made for birthday parties and holidays) – for the local SASE chapter’s 4^th birthday party, to commemorate how we all came together in the first place – looking for our own organization to call “home.” At our university we had the National Society for Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, etc. all established, and yet, there wasn’t an organization for Asian Engineers.

Let our powers combine. Materials! Electricity! Environment! Chemistry! Science! Go SASE! By your powers combined, I am UF SASE! And that’s how it happened…Happy 4^th Birthday Florida SASE Chapter!! ❤

Half-peeled

But really, I went grocery shopping for cream cheese and ended up at the local Asian market. I went on purpose to buy Asian eggplants for my tortang talong, and came home with a large daikon  and a purple sweet potato as well. Okay, okay, I actually went to the market twice to pick up the daikon later after taking an interest in “pseudo-steaming.” My mom always made leche flan in 9 inch loaf pans in a bain-marie, and I thought to myself, “Isn’t it kind of like steaming food?” So what else could I “steam” next?

Actually I didn’t even know I had a purple sweet potato until I cut it open. Look how purple it was! I ended up googling recipes that used them and half of them had to be translated – which I nixed. At this point I wasn’t sure if I made enough flan for the party, so I found another Asian dessert that happened to be steamed and could hopefully use this tuber. Kuih talam – I don’t know exactly what it means, but it looks like a steamed rice cake, a dessert or snack, and it’s a general term for a two-layered rice cake in areas such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and parts of China. It sort of looked like the Filipino sweet sapin-sapin. I tried my luck with the sweet potato and the bain-marie…Eureka!!

Buko Pandan Leche Flan

• 6 eggs
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 can evaporated milk
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp buko-pandan extract
• ½ cup of sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place pan (that you plan to bake it in) directly on top of the stove grill. Place the ½ cup of sugar in one layer in the pan so that it is evenly spread out. I used an 8-inch round pan or 12-tin muffin pan. If using a muffin tin, see note.
3. Using oven mitts, turn the stove on high for 1-2 minutes as the sugar caramelizes in the pan. Use a spoon to get rid of the chunks of sugar, and once completely melted, remove from heat and rotate the pan to make sure the bottom of the pan is coated with caramel.

Note: If you are using muffin tins, I would advise you to heat the sugar in a pan separately first to create the caramel coating and pour it into the separate molds. You should quickly move each mold around to coat the bottoms before the sugar hardens! J

4. Let this cool for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
5. Blend the rest of the ingredients together in a blender until no lumps are present.
6. Pour filling directly into the pan and place pan in another (larger) heat safe pan or container. Fill the outside container with water, about an inch high – this forms the bain-marie. Cover the whole unit with aluminum foil.
7. Place the whole unit inside the oven for 45 minutes to an hour until set.
8. Let it cool to room temperature before serving or placing in the fridge before serving.
9. To serve – use a knife to release the edges from the pan. Turn the pan over onto the serving platter. The flan should come out in one piece!

Purple Sweet Potato Kuih Talam

Special Equipment

• strainer

Purple Layer (A)

• 1 cup mashed purple yam
• ½ cup sugar
• 10 fl oz coconut milk
• ¼ cup rice flour
• ¼ cup tapioca flour

White Layer (B)

• 8 fl oz coconut milk
• 2 tbsp rice flour
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour
• a pinch salt

1. Prepare a bain-marie on the stove top. Find a pot or pan large enough to hold your heat proof molds for your kuih talam.
2. Peel and dice the sweet potato into cubes and place them into a pot of water to boil. Mash them in a bowl when cooked about 15 minutes if chopped into small cubes.
3. Mix all of the purple layer ingredients together in a bowl. Strain the mixture through a strainer before pouring into molds. Fill molds ¾ of the way up with this layer.
4. Place molds in bain-marie and fill the larger pan with water about an inch high. Heat on stove (with lid on) at medium heat for 10-15 minutes or firm to the touch. Remove from heat.
5. Mix all of the ingredients for the white layer in another bowl and strain through a strainer as well before filling up the rest of the molds.
6. Place in bain-marie for 10-15 minutes again or until firm. Follow same directions as step 3.
7. After cooling to room temperature, you can pop the kuih out of their molds and serve. They can be stored at room temperature.

Full steam ahead!

❤ The Food Scientist

Jalebi Not Jollibee

Beignets at Cafe Du Monde

I love funnel cakes. Period. Elephant ears? Beignets? Churros? Zeppole? Whatever you call them, I can promise you one thing – if you needed to get rid of them (fast), I’m your girl! If you think about it, fried dough on its own is genius, but fried dough plus sugar? Englightenment. There’s something about that mouth feel to it; the combination of the fresh crispy golden brown outside (also for the eyes) and the soft, chewy, warm melt-in-your-mouth inside – all laced with sugar.

The American “funnel cake” is associated with carnivals, fairs, seaside escapes, and I am not one to disagree with that. Growing up I am almost 100% sure I only agreed to go to the strawberry festival or citrus festival to eat elephant ears sold by “carnies” (and sometimes strawberry shortcake). Or the occasional zeppole my sister would bribe me with (from a local Italian pizza joint called Pasquale’s) so not to get in trouble for going out with her boyfriend. The summer before college started my mother bought us summer passes for Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, and even though purchasing food or drinks at theme parks are essentially ripoffs, I did it anyway. They topped theirs with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! What can I say? I’m a sucker for things like that.

Spaghetti, Burgers, Milkshakes at Jollibee

Delving deeper into the Indian cuisine, I decided to follow my sweet tooth. While a lot of Indian desserts stem from milk/powdered milk, sugar (jaggery), and what seems to be coconut, I found one that I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen…and actually was selected because it was described as the Indian funnel cake, but better. Jalebi. Jalebi are made by deep frying a wheat based dough in concentric circles which are then coated in a sugar syrup. How to pronounce? I’ve heard JAH-lee-bee which to my people (Filipinos) immediately think of this popular fast food restaurant in the Philippines that serves a Filipino take on American foods. Perhaps you’ve heard of it; the mascot is large yellow and red bee wearing a white chef’s hat. (Can you see where he’s hiding in the photo?)

As I’ve learned with other Indian recipes, a lot of their them take time and patience in waiting. Traditional jalebi also requires a few hours of fermentation, but these are not completely traditional jalebi. Let’s call these Instant Jalebi with a modern spin!

Instant Jalebi

• ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• ¼ cup Greek yogurt (vanilla or plain or even not Greek)
• 1/4 cup of water
• Pinch of baking soda
• Drop of orange food coloring
• ¼ tsp of rapid rise yeast

1. Mix the first two ingredients together in a bowl. Then add the yogurt and water and mix (with a spoon) til the batter is ribbon-like. [To be completely honest I continued to add more water, a teaspoon at a time, until it achieved the right consistency. According to some sources it should be as thick as vada batter.]

2. Then add pinch of baking soda and a drop of orange food coloring and continue stirring. [Remember the batter needs to be able to flow continuously through a cut plastic bag (ziploc or piping bag) or else there will be discontinuous jalebi formation.]

3. Place the bowl in an unused oven for 30 minutes to allow fermentation to occur. Then add the yeast and stir again. You are ready to place the batter into a piping bag.

4. You can use a piping bag with a tip or just cut off the corner of a sandwich bag after filling with batter. [Note: if using a tip with a piping bag, I used a Wilton #18 Star Tip. Using a tip meant for writing letters will produce very thin circles.]

Syrup: Traditionally this syrup uses flavors such as cardamom and saffron or rosewater to give the jalebi color and a distinct taste, but I omitted them because our kitchen lacks those things and replaced them with vanilla extract and orange/yellow food coloring.

• ¾ cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 drops orange food coloring
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat on medium until boiling.

2. Reduce the heat to low and add the vanilla extract and food coloring. Heat it for about 15 minutes with some stirring until it is one thread consistency. [One thread consistency means when the syrup is placed between your thumb and forefinger and you pull them apart, one thread should form between your fingers.]

3. The syrup should be thinner rather than thick like honey, and in case you have passed this point, I just added more water to decrease the viscosity of the syrup.

4. Keep this on low heat once one thread consistency is achieved.

Frying

1.  Heat a small saucepan on medium filled half way with oil. Depending on the size of your saucepan, use the piping bag filled with batter and 3-4 co-centric circles or a swirl shape, making sure the end of each jalebi formed overlaps with the main body. [Basically to close to circle.]

2. Fry until light gold and crisp on both sides. Then place directly into the sugar syrup or onto a plate to let drip excess oil.

Dipping

1. Place cooked jalebis into the syrup and coat both sides. Then set them on drying/dripping racks to rid excess syrup.

2. Enjoy hot!

A couple years ago I won this superlative: Most Likely to Move to India. I haven’t yet, but I guess I would if there would be jalebis! 😀

❤ The Food Scientist

A-Vada Kedavra

A couple of nights ago, sitting at our dining table/laptop desk/circuit shop (like woodshop but with circuitry), I was telling μChip that I was beginning to think our random ingredient generator idea was becoming stale because it seemed to be generating the same ingredients every other week. I mean given that it probably works based off some algorithm there is a high probability that was bound to happen sooner or later. So I said to her (jokingly), “I think I’ll google random country generator (hoping that it wouldn’t result in one of those make-up-your-country’s-name generators, rather one that came up with real countries) and cook something from their culture.” I was looking for new foods to taste and new methods to learn. Without questioning me, we both googled “random country generator” and tried our luck at the first hit.

Interesting, right? I didn’t even know #3 was a country (on its own), and #2 seemed like the easy default in case nothing else worked out. Easy way or the high way? I took the high way, and as a result I chose Suriname. Looking up recipes I found out Suriname is kind of a melting pot just like America – a variety of Asian, European, and African influences. Staying away from desserts (since I dig the umami :P) I came across this Surinamese snack called “bara” which reminded me of one of my boyfriend’s favorite food by description. Huh, I thought. Due to much Indian influence, it turns out they are the same exact thing as my boyfriend’s favorite food, “vada.”

Flashback! So my brother used to work as a body removal specialist for part of the Southeast United States. Basically he would remove dead bodies from crime scenes, suicides, or less exciting nursing homes (he worked for a funeral home). And I used to work in a gross (meaning macroscopic body parts) pathology lab where excised tissue would be analyzed, and my sister, well she thought that maybe she, too, should work in something death related (soon to study nursing) so we could all cross paths. I suppose this seemed kind of eerie or creepy if our parents were to ever discuss with other people what their children were doing. Through my brother I learned that my favorite flower, lilies, are the most commonly associated flower with funeral services. While jokingly teasing at my boyfriend to take me to funeral homes to see them, he mentioned that he, too, would sort of enjoy it because his favorite food is only served at “death celebrations”. What a match! 🙂

Vada in short are savoury lentil doughnuts and can be for breakfast, a snack, or part of another meal. In southern India, at least in his region, they are doughnut shaped with a hole in the middle; while in other areas they are just round saucer shaped. He likes to eat his with green and coconut chutneys, but he’s not here, so I only made coconut 😛

Let me make a disclaimer: This is the first time I have ever made an authentic Indian food, ever. Some people think I make/eat Indian food all the time – I eat it when I get the chance, but that’s about it. One time I made butter chicken in a crock pot, but my boyfriend says that doesn’t count because butter chicken is essentially American. Oh. Lol.

Vada

• 1 cup urad dal (split and skinned black gram lentil)
• Water
• salt
• oil for frying

These following items I added for flavor, but the first three ingredients are the main components technically.

• ½ bird’s eye chili (chopped) – (more for more heat!)
• 1 small diced onion
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 3 tbsp cilantro (roughly chopped) – I ❤ cilantro
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp coriander (dried)
• a pinch of asafetida (hing)

Method

1. Soak urad dal for at least 3-5 hours or overnight. Drain the dal but reserve the water in another bowl.
2. Place the dal in a food processor (though other recipes recommend a wet grinder) to form a thick paste. You can add a few tablespoons of water – one at at time – to help form the paste. CAUTION: You do not want this to be thin and runny. Minimal water is best 🙂
3. Once paste is formed, empty paste into a bowl and add your mixins for flavoring, or just the salt to taste.

Shaping – This is supposed to be the most difficult part of the recipe, but I found making the paste the hardest. This was my favorite part!! (next to eating)

1. Wet your left palm (if you are right-handed) to leave a thin film of water on it, and place a tbsp. of the thick batter on your palm.
2. Using your other hand, wet one finger to form a hole in the middle of the dollop to form the doughnut shape.
3. Use your wet fingertips or a butter knife to slip the newly formed vada into hot oil. CAUTION: the oil may splash due to its reaction with the water.

Note: Some sources recommend using parchment paper or plastic wrap with a thin film of water to start.

Frying

1. Heat up oil in a small pot to medium heat. Drop vada into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.

Eating – Piping hot vada with coconut chutney? I think yes!!

❤ The Food Scientist

No Cups, No Straws, No Problem

Due to the fact that our freezer is stuffed with actual food products, I am no longer able to house a 20 pound bag of ice. And since our refrigerator/freezer unit does not have an ice maker machine (and me manually filing the two ice trays doesn’t count), I will be putting a “freeze” on #icecreammakerwednesdays until space becomes available 😦 [By the way, this photo was taken after we disposed of some items allegedly owned by southern belle…she moved out three years ago D:]

Loose Thai Tea Leaves

Raw Tapiocal Pearls

Don’t fret though! In lieu of ice cream making, I will (hopefully) be making more interesting popsicle creations 😀 This week’s Flavor of the Weak is…Thai Tea with Boba! Currently I work part time at a local pan-Asian restaurant that not only serves hot food and sushi, but also whips up their own version of bubble or boba tea. Boba tea originates from Taiwan and is a combination of milk tea and “boba.” What is boba? Usually they are chewy, round, black, sweetened tapioca balls with a ½ inch diameter and can be found at the bottom of the drink. Boba tea is served with extra wide straws (compared to the normal soda straws) to allow for optimal drinkage. I wish I had some to photograph for you all, but unfortunately I ran out – which is how I ended up in this predicament…or should I say blessing in disguise 🙂

Besides taro milk tea, one of the most popular flavors of tea served at the restaurant I work at is Thai Tea. We use condensed milk in our creation, but some other cafés use half and half and sugar. Without sweetener or cream, thai tea is a black tea (that appears orange due to coloring) and tastes rather woody. I prefer Thai tea served cold, though it can be served hot, too, plus the added bonus, boba! At home, I don’t have any fancy cups or straws (anymore) to make my own tea, so I wanted to try making it without them but still be able to enjoy the refreshing flavor with boba!

Thai Tea Popsicles with Boba (makes 4 popsicles)

• water
• Thai tea leaves (loose)
• condensed milk
• fine mesh strainer
• white sugar
• brown sugar
• dry tapioca pearls

1. To make the tea, bring two cups of water to a boil in a small pot. Add 4 tablespoons of loose thai tea leaves into the pot, and let it steep for 10 minutes (off the heat).

2. Transfer the tea+leaves into a bowl using a fine mesh strainer to separate the tea from the leaves. You can discard the leaves at this point, and all the tea to cool to room temperature.

3. If you want to sweeten the tea (like I do,) add two tablespoons of condensed milk to the tea and stir until combined. You can add to taste.

Pre-Frozen

4. Meanwhile bring another pot of 3 cups of water to boil. Once the water comes to a boil, add a 1/3 cup of dry tapioca pearls. (I’m not really sure if there is a ratio, but you want to have space for the pearls to float on the surface.)

5. Once all of the pearls rise to the surface, reduce the heat to low-medium and cover the pot (slightly ajar) for 20 minutes – stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes is over, place the lid on the pot completely, remove from heat, and let stand for 30 minutes.

6. While your pearls are sitting off the heat, prepare the syrup – you can skip this step if you do not want to sweeten your boba. In a ratio of 2:1:1 (water:white sugar:brown sugar), create a simple syrup in a bowl. I used a microwave to ease the solubility.

7. Once your boba is done cooking completely, drain the water from the pot, and add them to the syrup. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes.

8. To make the popsicles, I added 2 tablespoons (or however much you’d like) of the pearls into each mold. Then I filled the rest of the mold with tea, and froze over night.

Look the pearls are still soft and chewy even after freezing over night!

❤ The Food Scientist

Jiaozi From Another Mother

This week’s ingredient roulette: peppers, cheese, turkey, and mushroom! Luckily for me, I had bought ground turkey on BOGO (buy one get one) last week…which is the same instance that I bought too much meat, and ended up making this: surf ‘n’ turf pizza. It’s not really too post worthy since I didn’t make the crust, but I did make the sauce and seared my own steak (brownie points, right?) 😀

I wasn’t really craving anything, but I needed to use at least one package of the ground turkey soon – I had already thawed it -_- And since burgers/tacos/spaghetti/other-recipe-that-uses-ground-beef-typically required too many props I did not have (eg. buns, tortillas, pasta), I remembered something really quick and easy to make, which some may find daunting – jiaozi AKA dumplings.

Last summer I studied abroad in China, and one of the staple foods that everyone ate, could be found anywhere, and everyone seemed to know how to make since they were in the womb were jiaozi. Jiaozi are steamed, pan fried, or boiled with a traditional pork and shredded cabbage filling and served with a vinegar-soy dipping sauce on the side. The correct pronunciation by the way does NOT rhyme with title completely, but it does kind of if you say it fast, and read it like, “Gee-yao-zuh From Uh-nuh-thuh Muh-thuh.”

Dumpling Making with Students

Anyway we attended some classes at Jiangnan University in Wuxi, an hour outside of Shanghai, and one day was purely a cultural lecture. And given we were on the trip under a functional food grant, there was food to be had! Hands on learning at its finest: the first time we were given the wrappers and the filling pre-made by other students, and they just taught us how to wrap them – shaped like suns, moons, “wontons”, triangles, coins, and the traditional dumpling shape served at most restaurants. Rumor had it that the more folds you could fold on a jiaozi, the more marketable you are for marriage! (I can do 8 – 10 folds D:) The second time we made the filling ourselves, and from there I wanted to go pro! Okay, not really, but I became a little obsessed with making them when I got back to the States. Also another life-changing decision occurred after returning from China – I wanted to attend graduate school for Food Science.

Back to the present! I had a lot of turkey, no wrappers, and an indecisive mind for the filling, so I made three different fillings and my own wrappers. Note: recently, three-way (fill in food item here) have been trending in our kitchen, so don’t be surprised if Microchip also posts a three way (She prefers the term (fill in food item here) roulette, though).

Wrapper (makes 12-16)

• 1 cup of flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup of water

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Slowly add the cup of water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing with a spoon/hand until a soft, NOT sticky, dough starts to form. You do not need to add all the water. Knead dough into a smooth ball, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
2. Roll the dough out into a coil about ½ inch thick and cut it into 12-16 pieces. Form each piece into a ball and use a rolling pin to roll it into a round shape about 3 inches in diameter. If not using immediately, use squares of wax or freezer paper to separate the wrappers.

I doubled this wrapper recipe to use all of the filling below by the way.

Filling I (Asian inspired)

• 1/3 of a 20 oz package of ground turkey
• 1 cup kale leaves (stems removed, roughly chopped)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• ¼ cup diced onions
• 2 tsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• ½ tsp of sesame oil
• salt&pepper

Filling II (Tex-Mex inspired) #ingredientroulettefulfilled

• 1/3 of a 20 oz package of ground turkey
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• 1/3 cup of shredded monterey jack cheese
• ¼ cup diced tomatoes
• salt&pepper

Filling III (Indian inspired)

• 1/3 of a 20 oz package of ground turkey
• 1/3 cup boiled potatoes (diced)
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• 1/3 cup diced onions
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp asafoetida
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt&pepper

For all the fillings, just mix the respective ingredients together in a separate bowls per filling. You can make up your own, too! That’s the best part!

Folding:

I don’t know how to explain this well in words, and I didn’t shoot a video. I also don’t think I’m an expert at folding jiaozi. But here’s the idea: In the middle of one wrapper, place about a teaspoon or two teaspoons of filling in the middle. Fold the wrapper over, thus creating a half moon shape, and pinch the dough at the apex (the middle of the semi-circle). From each side you can start folding inwards creating a fan like shape. Start with one or two folds per side.

Other shaped dumplings you can make – place filling in the center of the wrapper. Gather the excess wrapper, creating a knapsack shape (like one you would attach to stick if you were running away from home when you were six) and pinch at the top.

Empanada shape – Fold over half -moon style and use a fork to create the creases along the semi-circle edge.

There are so many ways to folding the dumpling, so have fun!!

Cooking Method: I fried/steamed mine which resulted in the pot sticker effect.

1. Heat a pan to medium heat and add enough oil to just cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Sit the jiaozi in the pan with the skirt and bump side touching the oil (these are made up terms – see photo for details).
3. After the edge starts to brown, grab the lid, add a 1/3 cup of water (depending on the size of the pan – mine is a 9 inch skillet) and close the lid quickly – so not to burn yourself.
4. Keep the lid on, and continue cooking until the noise/steam dies down, about 3-4 minutes, and remove them from the pan. (They might stick to the pan, hence pot stickers, but you can use a spatula to ease them off without breaking the dumpling.)

I’m thinking about Italian inspired next time with a pesto or marinara dipping sauce! Wait, isn’t that called ravioli?!

❤ The Food Scientist

Got Goat?

Last month I was at a conference, the IFT (Institute of Food Technologists) Annual Meeting – my first one, might I add – and it was probably one of the most overwhelming yet fulfilling (literally filling because of all the food samples which exhibited new products or ingredients taking the world by storm) experiences of the food science realm so far. Imagine being Charlie, going on Willy Wonka’s Factory Tour, where the tour covered an area one mile long by half of a mile wide, with gastronomic innovation, professionals, and science everywhere you glanced (versus just candy). It’s no wonder photos are not “allowed” inside the exhibit area – you’d have to come experience it for yourself!

On the last day of the conference I attended a presentation about the miracle berry. Ever heard of it? The miracle berry originated from Africa and contains a protein – miraculin that essentially renders your bitter/sour taste buds inert for a certain amount of time leaving your sweet buds at work! We were instructed to take this pill that melted on your tongue to release the miraculin on the tongue, and then…suck on a lemon. Now that might not seem too crazy, especially if you like lemons, but I absolutely despise the taste of just lemon. My strength of dislike for it is so strong that I will send back my water at restaurants if there is a lemon in it; Yes, I could remove the lemon from my water, but the flavor is so potent. Anyway there I was, sucking on a lemon slice. It tasted like lemonade. How wild?! At the end of the presentation we were given a list of other items to taste while under the miraculin spell as well as sample tablets to take home. First thing I thought of – date night!

So a couple of nights ago, I had the chance to spend some time with my boyfriend #LDRlife, and I said, “Babe! We have got to try this! It’ll be fun!” Later that day we went grocery shopping to get some of the stuff on the list to try – dark stout (supposed to taste like chocolate milk), hot sauce, pickles (I hate pickles >.<), a variety of fruits and vegetables, goat cheese, and a few other things. By the time we got back from this party and after the Judd Apatow movie marathon…we were too sleepy to get into it. That’s how I ended up with goat cheese.

I’ve never used goat cheese before. I always thought it would be too…gamey. But after trying this out, I really like it! It has a mild flavor (at least the kind I have) and works well with other savory foods as well as complementing sweet/tart flavors.

Goat Cheese Tartlets Three Ways (makes about 12 tartlets)

Crust (adapted from foododelmundo.com)

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp flour (sifted)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter (cold)
• 5 tbsp milk

1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into cubes and using an electric beater, and cut the butter into the flour mixture until there are pea-sized pieces of butter or smaller.
2. Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, fully incorporating it into the flour. (Note – pie crusts do not appear “sticky” like cookie dough.) Use your hands to gently mix the dough in the bowl. At this point if the butter is beginning to melt, place the dough into the fridge for an hour – this will maintain the buttery flaky goodness of pie crusts!
3. Place the dough on a heavily floured surface and use a rolling pin to flatten it out ~ ¼ of an inch thick. Since we are making tartlets, I used a round cookie cutter (or cup rim) slightly larger than your pan to form the crusts. Before placing crusts in the pan, make sure to grease them first.
4. Before baking I would advise you to poke some holes with a fork to prevent the crust form puffing up. Depending on what you’re making you can bake this crust ahead of time – for fillings that are already edible or only need to “melt,” no real cooking time necessary. For that I would estimate about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees F or until light brown.

Custard

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp half & half

Simply whip these two ingredients together in a bowl.

Spinach & Caramelized Onion

• goat cheese
• spinach (chopped)
• caramelized onions
• parmesan

 

Tomato & Basil

• goat cheese
• tomatoes (sliced or diced)
• dried basil
• dried parsley
• parmesan

Apple & Honey

• goat cheese
• apples (sliced)
• crushed almonds
• honey

 

This part is pretty simple and flexible – which I love! Basically I started with the base as some goat cheese (I have the crumbled kind), and then layered the other toppings on top. Any of the spices condiments or spices I would layer last and sprinkle them on top. But you can do whatever works for you! Once your toppings are stacked, spoon on top about 1 tsbp of the custard mixture into each tartlet. Bake these at 350 degrees F for 20 – 25 minutes, making sure the custard is cooked through!

Feel free to share your own filling ideas!

❤ The Food Scientist

Strawberry-Go-Round

Boy do I love summer!! Maybe it’s the memories of being on vacation from school: going to sleepovers to stay up late past your “bed” time and watch late night movies, or playing the mini games in Pokemon Stadium on the N64 non-stop (Lickitung Sushi-Go-Round fans anyone? Don’t worry we were all frustrated with Clefairy Says :P), or drinking halo-halo (halo halo is a Filipino shaved iced treat topped with custard, ube halaya, ice cream, an assortment of fruits, sweet beans, and jellies) with friends by the pool until dinner time that make me always look forward to summer.

One summer was different though – I wanted to work. Mind you…that year I was turning 8. I guess I thought working was cool, my mom and dad did it. Actually I’m not sure that was the real reason why I worked that summer; it was probably more like I didn’t have a babysitter, so I would sit in my dad’s office waiting for the time to pass. And somehow I ended up filing things – for fun. I found opening mail with a mail opener exciting and making copies using a copier that was just the same height as me as a game. I liked games.

My dad’s business was located in the downtown area of my hometown, and that is probably the more historic district, if you will, with little boutiques that sold unique trinkets, the only post office I knew of at the time, and a few mom and pop bakeries. On my birthday one of my dad’s employees (that basically watched me all day), told me that I could accompany her on some errands. And one of those errands was to pick up a cheesecake from Provisions – a local bakery almost across the street with a hunter green awning and a fancy cursive logo printed in white. It was my first time eating strawberry cheesecake. And it was all mine ❤

I’m not really sure if I was paid exactly, but both my sister and I were there that summer. And somehow, somehow, we ended up buying a new television for our room that we shared when August came. When I say new television I mean a 13 inch Panasonic TV with a built in VCR and radio. Imagine a black box measuring (according to amazon.com) 14.6 x 15.2 x 15.1 inches and weighing 26.4 pounds with colored moving pictures on one face. At the time, it was totally worth it, plus there was more cheesecake! 😀

This is actually one of my weekly ice cream posts, but the past few weeks I’ve been out of town and away from my precious ice cream maker. Flavor of the Weak: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

• 1 ½ cup Half & Half
• ½ cup milk
• 6 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 3 egg yolks
• ¾ cup sugar
• 5 large strawberries (pureed)
• 3 large strawberries (chopped into chunks)
• 3 honey graham crackers (crushed into crumbs)
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

1. Scald the milk and half & half in a saucepan on medium heat. (You can tell it’s scalded when bubbles start forming around the edges of the pan.) Remove from heat once scalded.

2. Cream together the yolk, sugar, and cream cheese in a separate bowl. Temper this mixture by adding one tablespoon of the milk mixture into the egg mix at a time until combined – making sure they are well incorporated into one mixture.

3. Place the combined mixture back into a saucepan and heat at a low to medium temperature with constant stirring. Remove from heat when you can trace a line with your finger on the back of a spoon and it leaves a path. (See photo)

4. Once cooled, pour the thickened custard into a storage container that is fridge safe and add the the vanilla extract and strawberry puree. Stir well.

5. Chill for 3 hours or more in the fridge and follow your machine instructions for making ice cream. This particular recipe churned for about 30 minutes, and at the 25 minute mark I added the graham cracker crumbs and strawberry chunks to be scattered throughout.

6. Store the freshly churned ice cream in the freezer for a few hours to let it harden and be scoopable – unless you want soft serve!

I think you could do this recipe with about any kind of mix-ins to make your own _______ Cheesecake Ice Cream!! (or Frozen Custard because of the eggs.)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh summer!! ❤ The Food Scientist