Tempura

Every once in awhile I go through a phase where all I crave is deep fried foods. To satisfy my latest craving I decided to make tempura. Tempura is a classic Japanese deep fried batter dish consisting mostly of vegetables and seafood. It can be found in just about any Japanese restaurant in the States and abroad. I first tried tempura when I was in Bangkok at a Thai friend’s house who was taking Japanese with me. The most ubiquitous tempura is shrimp and various vegetables, though you may also use just about type of seafood. The thing I love most about tempura is that the batter is lighter than most deep fried dishes found here in the States. Since it’s so light I can pretend that it’s not THAT bad for me.



Don't be scared to try at home it may be a little messy but, it's worth it. I cheat and use a pre-mixed box of tempura flour you can find in your Asian section of the supermarket(I found mine at Supertarget). Make sure your water is ice cold and don't overmix the batter. Keep the vegetables thin or bite-sized and peel and devein the shrimp; I left the tail on for presentation but you can peel the whole if you like. The trick to keeping your shrimp from curling up, if it matters to you, is to make small cuts at the bottom of the shrimp and press down so that the shrimp is flat.



I fried my tempura in a wok, you could use a deep fryer if you like. The ingredients I chose, shrimp, sweet potato, Japanese eggplant, and onion, didn't need long frying times. Most tempura will take between 2-4 minutes. Remember you are not looking for a golden color like most batter fried foods.



I drained my tempura on paper towels prior to platting. Serve with a bowl of rice and some tentsuyu (tempura sauce made from mirin, soy sauce, and dashi) makes this a very delicious meal. Or just sprinkle it with a little bit of sea salt and eat like popcorn. Yum!

Enjoy.

**Pardon the blurriness of the photos I must have been having a blurry day!**

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Happy Chinese New Years to all my Chinese friends and readers! Hope you all have fortune, happiness, and many red envelopes! Let's welcome in the year of the Dog with much noise, fun, and feasting.



For anyone interested the picture above is from the Iowa Animal Rescue League and Laddy is currently up for adoption. Please see their website for his information and information on other wonderful pets needing a loving home.

Iowa Animal Rescue League

Tea Time Thursdays III - Mediterranean Chamomile

Welcome to the third edition of Tea Time Thursday. I have to admit that I was considering not posting this today as the past week as been a bit hectic. Two of my faithful readers, BAM and Emily of Knittripps, kindly reminding me tonight at our knitting group meeting that they were waiting for my post made me reconsider. Well, that and the threat to life or limbs did make me think twice about not posting. Just kidding!

For those of you new to the blog, Tea Time Thursdays are days where I will blog about my latest foray into gourmet teas, things made with tea, and things that go well with tea. Today I’d like to feature a tea that might not get much recognition in the tea world, a chamomile tea. I’m not that fond of herbal teas but a good chamomile tea is a needed item in any pantry. If your tummy is feeling delicate or you’re having trouble sleeping this is the tea for you. You can pick up chamomile tea anywhere but, I had the chance to try Gong Fu Tea’s Mediterranean Chamomile when I was over at Emily’s and I knew I just had to pick some up for myself.


The tea is normally a golden color but the light was a little wierd when I took this picture.

Gong Fu Tea’s Mediterranean Chamomile is the best chamomile tea Emily and I have had the pleasure of drinking. This humble herbal tea may not be something one considers when thinking of gourmet teas, but once again the gentlemen at Gong Fu Tea store have surprised me. What make this tea different from your normal supermarket brand is the quality of the chamomile and the blend. Mike and Rusty have chosen a unique blend I’ve not encountered before with a chamomile tea. Their Mediterranean Chamomile is a wonderful blend of chamomile, hibiscus, and orange that makes this tea a bit sweeter than most chamomiles on the market. I love the taste of this while I’m getting ready for bed, it’s like drinking a cup of warm sunlight. It makes me want to sing, “the hills are alive with the sounds of music....” while traipsing through wildflower . Ok, it would make me want to go traipsing if I weren’t so darn tired. *yawn* Excuse me, I really need to get some slee......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Enjoy!

***You may not want to drink this tea early in the day as it may cause the need for an afternoon nap! I found this out via a very scientific research project when I tried this tea during the morning hours. I was confused as to why I suddenly needed a nap but then remembered why a lot of people drink chamomile tea in the first place. Oops!***

Choux à la Crème Pâtissière part Deux

“Mon Dieu! Sacred Bleu! What have you done? No, no, non. Le amatuer!” says the pastry chef as he watches me make cream puffs for the first time. In my previous post for Tea Time Thursdays I decided to make cream puffs or Choux à la Crème Pâtissière as Chez Ptipois was so kind enough to translate for me so I can seem sophisticated on my blog. *Ahem* Hush! The first thing I made was the pastry cream. I learned a few valuable lessons as I made it and would like to share them with you.

Le Lesson number 1. Do not leave ingredients on stove unattended while reading eGullet. May cause over-boiling of milk and possible burning of pastry cream.



Le Lesson number 2. While making pastry cream it is a good idea to have an ice bath nearby in case of making a mistake by not following lesson number one.



Le Lesson number 3. It really is not that hard. But for a few minor mishaps, that I was able to save, I don’t think I did too bad for my first attempt.

So the pastry cream was done a few mishaps and into the fridge it went to cool as I made me pate choux. Lesson learned on pate choux?




Le Lesson number 4. Strength train prior to making dough as wimpy arms are not a good thing. Man, pastry chefs must be buff!



Le Lesson number 5. Do not try pate choux when straight from oven as it is impossible to consume only one. Where you will have to make more. Hrm.. I don’t know about this one. MORE cream puffs aren’t a bad thing.



Le Lesson number 6: Not only were these easy to make, they were tasty too! And the best part? I have LOTS of them.



Enjoyed with a nice cuppa of Earl Grey these really hit the spot in the late afternoon.

Tea Time Thursdays II - Choux à la Crème Pâtissière

Welcome to the second edition of Tea Time Thursdays. This week has gone by so amazingly fast that I’ve kind of got myself in a bind. You see, I just managed to sneak to off to my favorite Des Moines tea store, Gong Fu Tea, and pick up some new teas and I haven’t had a chance to really try them yet. I will usually try a tea for a week or so during different times of the day to get a better feel and taste of that tea before I post about it. So without a tea to post about my mind has really be racing trying to find something for my second Tea Time Thursday.

Onigiri: Hrm... What to blog, what to blog?

Voice in my head: Well.. how about something made with tea?

Onigiri: Erm.. there is a recipe I want to try out but I’m missing the ramekins to make it in. BAM is letting me borrow her set but I won’t see her until next Thursday at our semi-monthly knitting get-together.

Voice in my head: Ok. Well how about something to eat while drinking tea?

Onigiri: Oh, what a good idea! Um.. Ok, well what DO you eat while drinking tea?

Voice in my head: Oh, Good grief! Listen, dummy, what’s your favorite dessert? What have you been wanting to try making after you made your New Year’s resolutions? Hello.... earth to Onigiri!

Onigiri: Oh yeah! Cream Puffs! I love cream puffs! Ok, that’s what I’ll do. Er..how do you make cream puffs?

Voice in my head: You’re on your own for this one, chick-a-dee. I’m outta here.

Ok, so besides showing you all that I’m a tad bit insane because I listen to the voices in my head, that little brainstorming session did give me a wonderful idea. I’ve always loved cream puffs but have heard they are hard to make and easy to screw up on. So I’ve avoided making them because of that reason.
I did consider popping down to my local patisserie and buying some of their beautiful cream puffs but, another voice (yes I have a few) whispered, “Why not give it a try. The worse that could happen is you throw them out.”

Come join me while I make my first batch of cream puffs. Since the voices in my head weren’t that helpful (they never are), I scoured the internet and my various cookbooks looking for a recipe. In the end I decided on Pichet Ong’s Pate Choux recipe on eGullet and a pastry cream from Cooks.com. What will I be drinking with my cream puffs? Earl Grey Darjeeling from Gong Fu Tea, of course. I like mine with two lump and milk, please.

Since this will be a long post I'm breaking it up into two. Please check back for my post about making choux à la crème pâtissière.

**French translations provided my wonderful fellow blogger Chez Ptipois**

Phad Thai

Well Battle Khao Soi has come and gone and this Thai girl is so ashamed. Even though only 3 judges voted it looks like the farang (foreigner) is winning. Austin, the wonderful person he is, crowed and then left for the southern part of Thailand. Alas if only I had made my own curry paste like he did. In my defence, I really hoped by showing my blog readers a simpler version using store bought curry paste you would be more likely to try making it yourself. Go figure, eGulleters would take that into account. Just you wait Austin, I'm not giving up! We WILL battle again! There's one more fellow eGulleter that has yet to weigh in. So we shall see, we shall see. Mayhaps the girl from France will have us BOTH beat. Go Ptipois!

Well to comfort myself I decided to make some Phad Thai. Why? Because it doesn't require any curry paste! Yes, I'm a wee bit upset. But like a good Thai I will just shrug my shoulders and say, "Mai pen rai". (It's no problem.) On to other things I say, namely Phad Thai. I don't know many people who haven't heard of this dish. It's fairly easy and should only require a trip to the Asian market for the tamarind. You don't have to use tamarind, but I think it makes a huge difference.



From clockwise: banana blossom, bean sprouts, tofu, minced shallots and garlic, chili powder, tamarind. On the side: vegetable oil, fish sauce. Not pictured: sugar, egg, and rice noodles soaking in water.



Heat wok on high heat. Add oil. Add shallots, garlic, and tofu. Stir-fry until tofu begins to golden.



Add noodles, stir-fry. Add fish sauce, tamarind, chili powder, and sugar. Stir-fry quickly for a few minutes on high heat. Add half of bean sprouts, stir-fry. Push noodles to side, crack an egg into work, scramble for a few minutes. Stir-fry noodles into eggs.



Plate and garnish with green onions, remaining bean sprouts. On the side is a quarter of the banana blossom, sugar, and chili powder. Not shown half of lime.

To eat I squeeze some lime juice on the phad thai, mixed in some extra sugar and chili powder and stirred it all together. This how phad Thai is served in Thailand.

Recipe adapted from ThaiTable.com

1/2 of a lime
1 egg
4 tsp fish sauce, or to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp oil
1 shallot, minced
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp tamarind (substitute white vinegar if needed)
1/2 package Thai rice noodles, soaked in lukewarm water for 10 minutes
1 package extra-firm tofu
3 green onions, sliced into 2-inch pieces
1 cup bean sprouts

Enjoy!

Battle Khao Soi; the heat is on!

Battle Khao Soi has begun and Onigiri, whose reputation is on the line, tries to defend the honor of all Thais as she prepares to make khao soi. I, your host, Alton Brown will be interviewing and observing Ms. Onigiri as she prepares this famous Northern Thai dish.

Alton:
So Ms. Onigiri could you tell me a little about what your going to
be doing today?
Onigiri:
Yes, I would be happy to. I’ll be making khao soi using Chez Pim’s
recipe as posted on her blog. After some research, I found her
recipe to be the easiest one to re-create in an American kitchen as
there were only two items I needed from the Asian market, fresh,
flat, Chinese egg noodles and pickled, sour mustard greens. The rest of
the ingredients were easily obtained at my normal Iowan supermarket, Hy-vee.
Alton:
Were there any deviations from her recipe?
Onigiri:
Not much. Khun Pim’s recipes is quite good but I ended up only using
deboned pieces of thigh meat and chicken legs instead of breast meat, since I prefer dark meat. Other than that I think I put a bit more water in mine as I like my khao soi more soupy.
Alton Brown:
Well, there seems to be some a few people highly interested in this battle between yourself and Austin of RealThai. I would like to send you off with some of your own words, “A lot of talk, but no khao soi yet, my friend.” So I suggest you to get in the kitchen. With that, I will now leave you to your cooking. Good luck and Allez cuisine!
Onigiri:
Thank you, Alton. I would like to say on behalf of all my Thai
"This Thai girl will make you all proud and be the champion of
this battle! Su thigh kha! [Translation: I will fight to
the death!]

Garnishes clockwise from top limes pieces, cilantro, sliced shallots, pickled mustard greens, and chili powder in oil.



Stir fry Thai red curry paste, curry powder, and turmeric powder.



Add chicken and stir fry to coat.



After adding all the coconut milk and water, simmer. Season well.



Boil and drain flat Chinese egg noodles.



Top drained noodles with khao soi curry sauce, then garnish as desire.



Alton:
Wow, that looks tasty. Any last words for our audience?

Onigiri:
I'm so glad you think so, Alton. I hope the judges will agree. I really enjoyed this competition and I hope Austin did too. For all the ribbing and joshing around in the end it's still all about the food. So I hope by this challenge we have demonstrated how easy it is to make this dish, whether your in Thailand or in Iowa. Enjoy na kha!

*** Disclaimer: This interview is a parody of Iron Chef America (tm) and only took place in this blog writers imagination.***

Iron Bloggers: Battle Khao Soi

Austin vs. Onigiri


Well, now I've done it! I opened my mouth and sassed the wrong person.

Austin of RealThai, a wonderful food blogger located in Bangkok, Thailand, started a thread on eGullet about two famous Thai noodle dishes; phad thai and khao soi. He explains the dishes and has some great pictures on his blog also. The discussion on eGullet led to some private emailing between the two of us where I just happened *cough* to mention that I didn't think a White guy (even if he lived in Thailand) could make khao soi better than a Thai girl (even if she lived in po-dunk Iowa, USA). There was no trash talking involved, I mean come on... Moi trash talk? Phulease.

To settle this mild dispute a war is brewing! Or, at least, gently simmering as we two food bloggers decided to duke this one out by having a khao soi cooking contest. We have chosen Sunday as our day of battle cooking and will each post about it that evening. I'm sure everyone will agree that a Thai girl will win hands down over some White guy. Just remember, even if he is a professional food photographer, it's taste that matters the most! In this, I am certainly a shoe-in to winning. So be sure to be extra nice to Austin on Monday as he may be a bit sore about losing to little ole me.

Tea Time Thursdays

I'm starting a new tradition on this blog, in the style of Sugar High Fridays, except I would like to feature all things tea. Thursdays will be my day to feature gourmet teas, food made with tea, or nibbles that will go well with tea. I hope everyone will enjoy this as much as I will and if you wish to join me please email me at onigirifb(at)yahoo.com.

For my first Tea Time Thursday I thought I would write about the lastest tea I'm addicted to Wu Yi Shan Ti Kwan Yin, an Oolong tea, that I purchased at my favorite Des Moines tea store Gong Fu.



Oolong teas are in the middle between black teas and greens teas. They have a light floral taste with a bit of a bitter aftertaste. I've found that this is a great all-around tea that goes well with most of my Asian dishes.



As you can see in the picture above the color of this tea is a little darker than that of green tea. According to Mike, the kind part-owner of Gong Fu who is nice enough to put up with me, Wu Yi Shan Ti Kwan Yin is a good oolong that embodies what an Oolong tea should be.



I found this interesting information on Gong Fu's website:

"Our finest Ti Kwan Yin comes from Wuyi Mountain – the legendary home to Ti Kwan Yin (the Buddhist Iron Goddess of Mercy). It is one of the most oxidized of the Oolongs, and yields a heavy aroma and fruity fragrance. It can be steeped many times without becoming bitter. The classic choice for a Gong Fu Ceremony."

If you look on the plate next to the tea cup I took some of the brewed tea leaves out of it's pot so you can see what it looks like. Once again the gentlemen at Gong Fu have astounded me with how wonderful their products are. You can see that all the brewed tea leaves are actually whole tea leaves. This is a sign of good quality. Kudos to Mike and Rusty for once again providing me with a wonderful new tea to be addicted to.

Well, folks, that's it for this inaugural post on Tea Time Thursdays. I hope you all try Wi Yi Shan Ti Kwan Yin, it's my current favorite. I'm sure I'll have lots more to share with you in the coming thurdays and I'll be down hunting for the lastest tea once Emily un-bans me from going to the tea store!

Ma Po Tofu

I would love to say that I have eaten this dish all my life, but in actuality I came across this dish in an Asian market here in town. I have no idea why, but for some reason every few months or so the only thing that sounds good is some tofu. When one of these cravings hits the only thing I can do is take myself off to the Asian market and get some. While racking my brain on how to prepare the tofu I happened across a packet of pre-made sauce for a dish called Ma Po Tofu. I had heard of this dish but had never had it before. After reading the ingredients were only minced pork, scallions, and tofu I figured it would be an easy dish to make. So I tried it out and after that first plate I was hooked. The following year, when I was in Los Angeles, Islaine’s mother took us out to an authentic Chinese restaurant. I asked for this dish and realized that the package stuff I had been eating was no where near as good as the real stuff. Since I am not the worlds greatest Chinese cuisine cook I had problems recreating this dish without the packaged pre-made sauce. Just looking at the ingredients list makes you want to cry out "ai ya" (the Chinese equivalent of the Jewish "oy vey")and give up.



But then I found a thread on eGullet that showed me step by step instructions on how to make this Ma Po Tofu. It looks so easy I knew I had to try it out, so after a trip to the Asian market, I did and boy am I happy now. Never again will I have to use the pre-made sauce. Give it a try, if you can stir-fry you can do this dish. Ah Leung even includes step by step pictures. I will always be grateful for eGullet and Ah Leung who showed me how to make Ma Po Tofu. The recipes make quite a bit but don’t worry you’ll be loving your leftovers, I know I did!

Hzrt8w's (Ah Leung) Ma Po Tofu recipe

Enjoy.

Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce

Since it seems the food blogging world is all about healthy foods this month I thought I would post about some of the healthy dishes I did between Thanksgiving and Christmas to try and stave off those unwanted pounds. One of my favorite ways to eat healthy is to incorporate more vegetables and protein in my diet instead of those heavy carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta, and bread. Ok, well, not rice. Asking a Thai girl to give up rice is nigh impossible. I also try to avoid anything high in sugar. So toss out those bags of cookies and candies you may have leftover from the holidays and try some healthy food with me.

On my annual trip out to Los Angeles one of the restaurants I must eat in is the Empress Pavilion. This is the best dim sum restaurant and the first restaurant we hit after my plane arrives. My foodie friend, Islaine, out there knows that if I’m not taken for dim sum there will be hell to pay. Usually, in the form of me whining for however long I’m out there! Well to combat all those delicious dumplings and oily treats I always request this item from the carts that wander around.



This is gai lan (Chinese broccoli) blanch and served with an oyster/sesame oil sauce. It is very easy to make at home and you can substitue baby bok choy, broccoli, broccolini, asparagus, or sugar snap peas. All you do is blanch your vegetables for a 5 to 7 minutes and then put them in an ice water bath to keep them pretty. The vegetables should be tender-crisp.

Recipe for sauce:

1 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 Tbsp of water.

In a small saucepan, mix all ingredients except cornstarch. Heat gentle for about a minute then add cornstarch mixture to thicken. Cook for about 30 seconds longer. Toss sauce with drained greens or pour over top. Yum!

Enjoy.

**Recipe from Dim Sum The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch by Ellen Leong Blonder**

Moo Satay

Now that I’ve had a chance to mostly recover from my food and alcohol laden New Year’s Eve I thought I’d write about the food Emily of Knittripps and I made for her wonderful, fun, and crazy party. After much discussion and ogling over various recipes we decided we would make the Blue Cheese Grapes we had tried at Mosaix on my birthday and a Thai appetizer called Moo Satay.

Like buffalo wings in America, Moo Satay is an appetizer found all over Thailand and Malaysia. They go well with beer and alcoholic drinks and are a must have at any Thai party. The most common version is pork that is marinated in a combination of curry powder and coconut milk, skewered, then grilled. Moo Satay is always served with a peanut/curry dipping sauce and a cucumber salad making this a hearty appetizer that can also be a light meal. I’m proud to say they were very well received at Emily’s party.

Sorry about the quality of the pictures I was so busy eating Emily had to remind to take a picture!



Moo Satay recipe from Thai Table.

Click on the link for the recipe I used if you would like to give this a try.

Enjoy.