Of Woks, Pancit and Stir-Fry
I can't believe how we haven't had any post on any kind of pancit here.
Pancit is how Filipinos have assimilated stir-fry noodles. If you trust Wikipedia, the word is an abbreviated version of a Fukienese or Hokkienese (dominant language in Southern China) phrase that means 'to be cooked conveniently'--or the basic premise of the underrated culinary art called stir-frying. But before we get to the pancit part, let me rant first about stir-frying and woks.
Most tend to think it's easy but it isn't. Stir-frying is fast, and the really great stir-fry dishes are cooked (1) in a wok, (2) under strong flames and (3) in a couple of minutes. Cook them longer and most of the ingredients, especially the veggies, lose their freshness and their crunch. The wok is an absolute must as its shape allows a number of marvelous things to happen such as distributing, concentrating and packing in heat; moving ingredients from the center to the sides and controlling splatter. I secretly raise an eyebrow on a lot of folks who would 'stir-fry' using a frying pan or a griddle. The magic of cooking in a wok is summed up in "wok hei" which in contemporary idiom would be the charred and caramelized flavor of food seared in really high heat. The skill imparted in this manner of cooking entails really delicate precision from timing when to put the ingredients in, to smelling what's being cooked ensuring that balance of flavors and aromas are right in every step of the way, all while you constantly employ your arms to stir.
I miss cooking with woks. It's hard to find a real one where I am. You get things that resemble woks but are flat on the base and don't have those pinched or ribbed edges of traditional woks that hold food up (see photo above). Even these more expensive woks can't really live up to the pressures of high flames as evidenced by the burn marks on the stainless steel one. One of the things I miss cooking with a wok the most is pancit, especially pancit canton. There are a million pancit or stir-fry dishes out there, and there is no one singular recipe to it. For me, you can basically put anything on pancit: from soy sauce to mayonnaise (yes, I saw it in China no less), from chicken to squid, from coriander to star anise. It's not really a question of what ingredients are used, but as to how they are cooked. And stir-frying pancit is the best way to go. My fundamental stir-fry belief consists of the trinity of garlic, onion and ginger.
Add chicken, peas, carrots, corn, basil, oyster sauce, fish sauce and lime juice to egg noodles and you have something like this:
Just remember, if you are using a wok, be quick about it. Keep the flame high, chop or dice your meat and veggies into really small portions, keep stirring and never settle for anything less than a steamy oil-splattering sizzle.
Add chicken, peas, carrots, corn, basil, oyster sauce, fish sauce and lime juice to egg noodles and you have something like this:
Or chicken, carrots, celery, shiitake mushrooms, chili flakes, sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, lime and coriander to spaghetti (which is cheaper here than egg or rice noodles), you have (and do excuse the orientalized term) 'Asian' style pasta sauce:
Just remember, if you are using a wok, be quick about it. Keep the flame high, chop or dice your meat and veggies into really small portions, keep stirring and never settle for anything less than a steamy oil-splattering sizzle.
Gout-Friendly Unsalted Summer Spaghetti
My gout has left me imprisoned at home for almost a week, and so I was forced to make do with a lot of saltless, purine-less and basically, tasteless fare. If you read the literature about gout, especially coming from the internet, it can be confusing. Some say you can eat broccoli, some say you can't. Others say to avoid strawberries, others say its a good remedy. Others say apples work wonders, others say it doesn't do anything. Caffeine is bad especially in coffee, but a lot take the side of tea.
So to be on the safe side, I follow a strict regimen of apples, pears, carrot and celery sticks, ginger, garlic, toasted white bread and cranberry juice. I would go for fresh berries (except strawberry) if they're available since a majority of people agree that it does wonders not just for gout, but for the kidneys as well. These seem to be consistently on the list of what can be eaten if you have gout. Everything else I avoid, especially salt.
But I can't munch on carrot sticks for an entire week. So when it wasn't too painful to stand up for extended periods of time, I went to the kitchen and made what I call my Unsalted Summer Spaghetti which, surprisingly, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The secret is to layer in lots of flavors like the zing of ginger, the tang of lime, and the crisp balmy flavor of mint to make it work. The gout-friendliness doesn't only come from the ingredients used, but also it was meant to be cooked for the least amount of time possible standing up!
For about 150 grams of spaghetti, I used:
3/4 teaspoon of shredded ginger
1 clove garlic chopped
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small carrot, shaved and coarsely shredded
1 small lime, before slicing it up, grate the rinds for about 1/2 teaspoon of zest
4 medium mint leaves, julienned
roughly 1 teaspoon cracked peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
some shaved parmesan cheese
Cook noodles according to package instructions (except for the part when they tell you to add salt to the water) and set aside.
In a sauce pan over low heat, add olive oil and saute the ginger enough so that it fuses with the oil. Add the lime zest and garlic and before the garlic turns yellow to light brown, place the carrots in and stir for about two minutes or until they cook. Stir in the pepper, thyme, nutmeg and lime juice. Give it a good stir and let sit for a minute before adding the pasta to coat with the mixture.
Top with shaved parmesan cheese for a little indulgence. Some say its bad, I say a little under half of what you normally eat is fine.
Chicken Satay Stir-Fry
I'm without skewers so this chicken satay had to be stir-fried. The satay gets its distinct taste from the use of peanuts. It's a dish that has different interpretations across Southeast Asia, and is believed to be an incarnation of the Mid-eastern kebab. Indonesians love it with kecap manis, so theirs is sweeter. Thais put coconut milk in theirs so it's a bit more indulgent and creamier. I decided to use both, and this is how it turned out:
Marinade 1/2 kg of chicken strips or cubes (deboned, and skin peeled) overnight in a mixture consisting of:
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 medium stalk of lemon grass, crushed
6 shallots
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
4 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons kecap manis
juice from half of a lime
After marinading this overnight, fry in a skillet or wok in high heat until chicken turns white. Make sure to include the marinade in the wok. Stir in about 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1/4 cup of coconut cream, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and another half of a lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives or spring onions and chili.
I really need to learn how to present a dish.
You can slice some bell peppers, mushrooms, young corn, carrots and other vegetables and stir them in. I just used mushrooms for this one.
I'm going to get killed for saying this but it would be better if you add more kecap manis and sambal sauce to it. Indulgent, plus good for inducing gout. And you know my belief: anything that gives you gout is definitely worth eating.
Poached Bosc Pears with Mascarpone Cheese
I haven't blogged in a while. I missed this blog's first year anniversary and I have no excuses for it. To commemorate the first birthday and to celebrate our steadily rising readership, Recados Filipinos is now a dot com! So, avid reader, make sure to change your bookmarks to http://www.recadosfilipinos.com.
I think the honeymoon phase of my move to Melbourne has ended, and surprisingly I am not as excitable as I was a few years ago to live in a new place. And then all the work came in and suddenly I haven't generated as much pleasure and nostalgia for the place because it is nullified by the constancy of work. So work, work, work it was. In between are a dozen or so horrible restaurants, a dozen more mishaps in the kitchen, and a few experiments that have worked wonders. On top of my list, surprisingly, is dessert: Poached Bosc Pears with Mascarpone Cheese. The one good thing out of this move is a sustained fascination with new ingredients. This time it's with the so-called king of pears.
INGREDIENTS:
3 Bosc Pears, but any kind will do
500 ml. Red Wine, I highly recommend Yalumba's Shiraz
1/2 cup of sugar
juice of half a lemon
1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
2 cinnamon sticks
a couple of large mint leaves, chopped
a dash of nutmeg
a pinch of salt
6 tablespoons of Mascarpone
Slice the pairs in half, lengthwise, and scoop out part of the center where the seeds are. In a saucepan over low heat, combine wine, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, vanilla, nutmeg, salt and mint. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.
Add the pairs in, sliced portion down and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Turn it over to let the other side cook, and simmer for about 5 minutes more or until the wine and sugar mixture has reduced and thickened into a syrup. Turn off from heat and place each of the poached pears on a small plate, sliced portion facing up. Put a tablespoon of Mascarpone cheese on the scooped out portion of the pear and drizzle syrup on top. I'm not sure if this is the best way to plate it but who cares? I ate all three pears in one sitting.
I first used cream cheese before Mascarpone and it works well too. You can substitute other fruits for this--kiwis, strawberries, apples and peaches all seem great.
Chicken Afritada Curry Surprise!
Apparently the idiom, too many cooks spoil the broth, is true. In this case there were just two. I was supposed to cook Chicken Afritada and went through the motions of preparing everything. I was nearly done, and was just simmering the pot when I decided to enter my room to sit out the five minutes of waiting in there when another housemate comes in to the kitchen, opens the pot, gets a whiff of the tomato and chicken broth, and next thing you know we were eating some malevolent form of curry.
The basic afritada recipe is simple: For every kilo of chicken, you would need about 1/4 kilo of peeled potatoes, 1 medium onion, 8-10 cloves of minced garlic, 1 red bell pepper, a medium carrot, about 1 and 1/2 cups of water, and 250 ml of tomato sauce. In a big pot, heat about two tablespoons of vegetable oil and saute the onions and garlic before adding the chicken. It would be best to use a whole chicken that's been cut into serving portions. I used diced skinless chicken breasts for this one and it turned out ok. Add the water once the chicken turns white to light brown, bring it to a boil and allow to simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. You can also use chicken stock for more of that brothy chicken taste. Add the tomato sauce, potatoes and carrots, and let it simmer again for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the bell pepper, and season with salt, pepper and fish sauce.
That was supposed to be afritada. But since it was lavished with a handfull of mushrooms, a generous dose of curry powder, coconut milk, lime, chili, parsely and cinnamon, we had to say goodbye to the afritada.
Fortunately, this proved to be a wonderful surprise! Hence the name: Chicken Afritada Curry Surprise! And another thing to laugh about in the house where constant renegotiations about taste and culture are apparent. Of course they don't call it that name, they call it Philippine Curry.
Four-Cheese Spinach Cannelloni
I obsessed over cannelloni for days. I ate quiche a few days ago from one of the cafeterias in school and it sucked. So I decided to respond to my own spinach and feta cravings by tinking about stuff like cannelloni and lasagna. So the plan set: what better day to do it then on a lazy Saturday. And did I look forward to Saturday.
And here, Saturday. I woke up to really bad weather today. It was cloudy and windy and I dreaded braving the 20-minute walk from where I live to the nearest grocery since walking in the rain with galebursts have rendered my big umbrella useless and the cold harsh and even colder. Against my better judgment, I finally decided to put on my jeans and jacket because I am craving spinach and feta cheese. At eleven in the morning, I was on my way to Coles. I was back around 1:30 in the afternoon all drenched with a recipe in mind that will turn the humble spinach and feta combination into an ambitious mix with four kinds of cheese (last minute revisions always happen in the market):
250 g. ricotta cheese
150 g. feta cheese, crushed
75 g. pecorino romano, grated
75 g. goat's cheese, crushed
500 g. spinach leaves (fresh or frozen, just make sure you thaw it first)
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 cloves of garlic
3 cups of your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
400 grams of dried cannelloni
salt and pepper to taste
grated mozarella cheese
aluminium foil
Pre-heat oven to about 150 degrees celsius.
In a big pot or in a wok, heat the olive oil and let the garlic simmer for about 15-20 seconds so as not to burn. Add in the butter and then the spinach. It's bound to make a big pile at first but will reduce eventually when the leaves wilt. Stir the leaves so as to distribute the oil and garlic through it. Mix in some salt and pepper in the process.
Once the leaves have wilted, add the feta, pecorino, goat's cheese and the ricotta and stir like there's no tomorrow to distribute them evenly over the spinach. Add nutmeg and salt and pepper as you go along.
Wait for the mixture to cool down a bit and then stuff them in your cannellonis. A piping bag with a big opening helps a lot. I didn't have a piping bag with me so I made a big mess even if I stuffed them on top of the same pot I used for cooking. Holding the cannelloni shell upright, I used a teaspoon to put the spinach on one end and pushed it down with the other end of the spoon. It was messy but it worked. Make sure your hands are clean.
Pour in 1/4 of the tomato sauce on a baking dish and lay your cannellonis in allowing at least 1 cm. gaps in between as they are bound to expand. Once every cannelloni's in place, pour the rest of the sauce on top of them. Top with a generous amount of mozarella. Cover the baking dish with foil and place in the oven for about 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, remove the foil to allow the mozarella to char a little, and leave inside the oven for another 10 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it set for about 5 minutes more and serve.
It took me about two hours to do this. My biggest mistake was the tomato sauce. I used store-bought tomato sauce and it was too sour so it somewhat drowned the tanginess of the cheese. I also ran out of mozarella. Not perfect but good enough for a cold and rainy Saturday fix. There's always next time. Or is there?
Will I do it again? I definitely won't brave bad weather for it again. Infact, I probably will not make cannelloni ever again as its just too time consuming. Next time I crave for spinach and feta cheese, I will make lasagna.
Wild Yak Tibetan Restaurant
Walking around the Northcote end of High Street and stumbled upon the Wild Yak Tibetan restaurant and thought why not?
The inside interior was a bit too campy and would baffle the likes of Edward Said. It's Tibetan orientalia trying to accommodate the flourishes of Western dining: fan-folded paper napkins, plastic laminates for tabletops, poorly placed dim lights, and a menu that's structured according to the logic of soups, entrees, main dishes further divided into categories of beef, chicken, vegan, etc. Ordered two dishes whose names I cannot recall. One was mixed vegetables sauted in ginger and garlic, the other was chicken in a tomato-based sauce infused with lemons and an assortment of wonderful herbs.
The mixed vegetables is pretty stadard East Asian and Southeast Asian fare. And I thought of it immediately as the inevitable intersection in understanding Tibetan cuisine. I would have wanted more ginger in mine, but this works just right.
The real surprise is the chicken in tomato sauce. The sauce is just heavenly and while its flavor is distinctly Asian (sweet-sour, and then some), the combination of herbs placed in it is magical. I can only guess a couple: coriander seeds and some nutmeg I think. You get sweet and sour sauces anywhere in the region, but nothing tastes like this.
I wish I did my research before going to Wild Yak. I'm a virgin when it comes to Tibetan food. Never had it before, and I simply wasn't able to imagine what it's going to be like given Tibet is, or was, isolated pretty much by geographic constraints. What grows there? A quick survey of googled information reveals barley to be the staple crop, and the altitude is so high that it's impossible to grow stuff like rice while there. My eyes roled when I kept reading cheese on some of the menu items only to find out eventually that cheese is an important staple. The Tibetan dumplings are also a sharp contrast to that of its neighboring countries (am I allowed to say that?), and I am curious to see how such traditions translate into the cooking of something not really Tibetan as squid or calamari, which is on the menu. This place deserves another visit.
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