Indonesian Peruvian Fusion

Any recipe, including the ones I post here, should be used as a guide.  A recipe is not a holy document that you must follow religiously.  It is a guide and then you can make any changes, either because of personal preferences or what you have on hand.  Learning how to cook is not following a recipe, but learning how to adapt a recipe.


In the mood for Indonesian-style stew chicken, but there was no Sambal Olek (chili paste) on hand.  What to do?  I had a bunch of ingredients left over from a Peruvian themed dinner.  Peru is one of the spiciest of Latin American cuisines, using various chili pastes, so this was a good alternative.  Using leftover Peruvian ingredients with Indonesian Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce), I came up with this delicious stew chicken recipe.


Indonesian-Peruvian Stew Chicken

Ingredients

3 tablespoons oil
1 large shallot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Chinese dried sausage, sliced
4 chicken thighs, skin removed
2 cups grane corn
3/4 cup Kecap Manis
2 cups water
2 tablespoons Rocota pepper paste
2 tablespoons fried shallots (available at Asian markets)
salt, to taste
Method:
1 - Remove the skin from the chicken but leave the little bit of fat that is usually on the edges.  Fat is flavor.  Season the chicken with a little salt
2 - In a large pot, heat the oil, add the shallot, garlic and Chinese sausage.  Saute for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.
3 - Add the chicken and brown on both sides, approximately 4-5 minutes on each side.
4 - Add the Kecap Manis, pepper paste, water and corn.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer.  Cook for about 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

5 - Serve with white rice and garnish with fried shallots.

  

Chef Mireille

facebook.com/GlobalTastes

twitter.com/GlobalTastes

http://digg.com/scribingchef

Rice to Riches

Cheesecake with Toasted Coconut and Roasted Cherries

Do cold winter mornings inspire you to whip up a pot of that quintessential bowl of creamy goodness, sprinkled with cinnamon?  Do feelings of nostalgia come over you and you think of your mom wherever she may be, as the warm, milky substance warms your insides with each swallow?  If you are a rice pudding fan, you have to make a visit to Rice to Riches.

I was on Yelp a few days ago, looking at some of the feedback for this Rice Pudding Heaven I discovered a few years ago & I was amazed that some people actually do not like rice pudding.  I will not disparage those who simply cannot appreciate a bowl of simple ingredients - milk, rice, sugar - and how this marriage of flavors comes together to create perfection.  Each to his own, I guess.  However, the lactose-intolerant low fat vegans I have a problem with.  Rice to Riches does not claim to be a vegan establishment, nor do they claim to be good for your waistline. In fact, they do the opposite with kitschy signs that proclaim "No Skinny Bitches" and "Big is Beautiful".  I don't know when the vegans decided every eating establishment must accommodate their selective eating choices.  I am allergic to nuts, but I don't expect to find nut-free carrot cake, unless I make it myself.  If you are watching your weight, there is no point in visiting Rice to Riches with their rich rice pudding formula - made with eggs and cream, in addition to the basics.

There is no other word but kitschy to describe the variety of signs proclaiming the attributes of rice pudding, over the ridiculous notion of being fat conscious in a place, devoted to rice pudding, made with full fat milk and cream.  The kitschiness (is that a word?) adds to the nostalgic feelings of yesteryear, with cartoon character signs in every available space.  It adds to the experience to all those devoted to rice pudding.

Now to the most important part - the rice pudding.  Rice pudding purists may have a problem with this modern twist on 20+ flavors of rice pudding, however most of them had hints of cinnamon and vanilla, so that Save Me From Cannoli, Fluent in French Toast, Hit & Run Custard and Cinnamon Sling are not too far removed from the original.  Sampling is allowed, so you can keep trying until you find the flavor you love.  The only flavor I had a problem with was the Raspberry Statement.  The fruit overpowered the simple flavors of milk and rice and it also lost its texture.  I thought I was eating a raspberry yogurt.

Original with Spiced Nuts and Espresso Crumble

French Toast with Toasted Coconut

 In addition to the 20 plus flavors, you also have a selection of 10 toppings, making customization a difficult decision if you are one of those who can't figure out that ordering a medium sized Caramel Macchiato with skim milk and an extra shot of expresso from Starbucks is a Grande Triple Skim Caramel Macchiato.  However, if you are one of those that love the variety and options, like me, you can appreciate Rice to Riches.  Everything from toasted coconut to roasted cherries and jelly is available.  Although I did not like the raspberry, the roasted fruit topping complemented the rice pudding wonderfully.  It was similar to eating a cobbler or a crisp.  The jelly topping I was not brave enough to try.  I could be wrong, but I don't think that is something my taste buds are going to approve of.

Served at the perfect temperature for the weather, it was served with just a little chill, but not refrigerator cold.  In the winter, it is served warm.

It is bit on the pricey side, but the kitschiness make it an attraction and it is NYC, after all.  You do get a neat bowl and spoon, that you can keep and reuse.  It is very filling and will keep you for a few hours, so worth the indulgence.

If you can appreciate a good bowl of rice pudding, you won't be disappointed from a visit to Rice to Riches.

 

Chef Mireille
facebook.com/GlobalTastes
twitter.com/GlobalTastes
digg.com/ScribingChef
Mireille the Scribe

Coffeehouses to Banquet Halls

The Museum of Chinese in America is rarely included on the must-see list of places to see for tourists.  Unless you are Chinese/Chinese American, it is more than likely you never bothered to visit here, even as a native New Yorker.  You've been to MOMA and the Guggenheim, but not MOCA.  Sure, you probably walked by it more times than you can count on your way to buy fresh fish or find that knock off LV bag to buy your sister for Christmas, but you've never walked inside, have you?

Well, you are missing a part of American history.  This museum is a tribute not just to the Chinese in America, but to any minority group who have struggled for civil rights in America.  This museum highlights the struggles from the first Chinese who arrived here, as well as the accomplishments of Chinese Americans.  There is a wall each dedicated to two industries that the Chinese have excelled at here in America - laundromats and restaurants. You will see restaurant menus from long ago that look very different to the ones we see today.  Today, we get greasy, MSG laden food, that no Chinese would actually eat themselves.  These older menus are closer to real Chinese food and in the American section of these menus, you could actually get salads.  We need to go back to these healthier menus, instead of the deep fried chicken wings and oily lo-mein we eat today.  The House of Chan was one of these first dining establishments here in NY and you can purchase the House of Chan cookbook here.

The museum has been around for a few decades, but it had previously been housed in a classroom of a school.  They just celebrated their one year anniversary at their brand new location.  I am by no means a videographer and the museum is a bit dark, but take a look at the video for a little perusal of the museum.

In addition to the museum, MOCA also conducts various walking tours.  One of these tours, Coffeehouses to Banquet Halls illustrated the contributions the Chinese have made to the culinary diaspora of New York City, as well as the history of Chinatown.  You will see where Chinatown began on Doyers Street, learn about the first immigrants from the village of Toisan,  learn about the Tong Wars, see the first Dim Sum restaurant, which is still open today.  Opened in 1920, it survived the Depression and the post 9/11 Chinatown business decline. 

Nam Wah Tea Parlor, first Dim Sum Restaurant

You will also see some more recent long standing establishments, like the Chinatown Ice Cream Parlor, which serves unique flavors like sesame and lychee and the history of Bubble Tea and Joe's Ginger, which serves Shanghai dumplings, which are filled with soup.

My one complaint is the organization of the tour.  The tour occurs the last Saturday of every month at 1pm.  This is the peak of Chinatown shopping and crowds.  Crossing Canal Street with a group of 15 or more people, some of whom are tourists and have no familiarity with downtown NY, needs more guidance.  With only one guide, two people got lost in the crowds on yesterday's tour.  They should have two guides with every group, one at the front and one at the back, being sure to keep count, to ensure nobody is lost along the way.

Secondly, to improve the tour, they need to include tastings.  Most NYC food tours, include at least one tasting.  Whetting our appetite by explaining the soup filled Shangai dumplings, the uniqueness of a Szechuan peppercorn and the unusual ice cream flavors and then leaving us hanging is mean, even though I am sure that is not their intention.  You stand outside as the tour guide explained the foods available.  We were not given the opportunity to see or taste the food.  The tour is only $15. They should charge a little more and include tastings.  It would make the experience more enjoyable and appeal to the many die-hard NY foodies who would come to take this tour, en masse.


This was only the second month doing the tour, so hopefully they will get better at it.  Regardless, for a little piece of NY history, it is worth visiting.

Chef Mireille
facebook.com/GlobalTastes
twitter.com/GlobalTastes
digg.com/scribingchef
global.tastes.travels@gmail.com

This Week in NYC Foodie History

This has been a great week for foodies in NYC.

The first annual (I hope) Malaysian Hawker Cuisine night.  NYC Malaysian restaurants set up street food stalls.  Some of the restaurants that were there included Fatty Crab, Betel, Cafe Asean, Laut and my favorite, Nyonya.  Betel's Shrimp and Picked Mango Popiah with Jicama was delicious.  For $7, you received the popiah and a juice mixer made with yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit. The fried rice from New Malaysia was bursting with lemongrass flavor and the curried potato rolls were also filled with several layers of flavor and spice.

New Malaysia's Lemongrass Fried Rice

While this was a great event to bring to my hometown, some better planning needs to be made for next year's event.  The crowds were unbearable, making it difficult to enjoy the delicious food.  I wanted to try the curry from Laut, but the line was about 50 people deep.  For a few bites of food, it was not worth the wait.  There were a number of people who came and left within just a few minutes, because the crowds were claustrophobic.  Many of the stalls were running out of food at just 1 hour into the event.  The Malaysian performances that were promised was one female dance and one male dance about an hour into the event, totaling about 10 minutes (if that) and then hip-hop music was played afterwards.

Next year's event needs to take place in a larger area then the 9th ave/14th. st island and the restaurants need to prepare more food.  The traditional music/dance should be continuous to continue with the Malaysian theme of the evening.

The second event I attended this week was the 8th annual Taste of the Village, a wonderful food and wine tasting event, featuring food and wine from some of the area's best restaurants and vineyards.  This event took place under a large tent in Washington Square Park.  While the event had a large turnout with crowds, there was space for you to stand or sit and eat.  There was breathing room and mobility; a more pleasurable experience than Malaysian Night.

Sushi Samba's Lemongrass Tiradito

Amber's Sushi & Dumplings

The worst mac&cheese and some of the best sushi was featured at this event.  A wonderful lemongrass tiradito with jalapeno was perfectly balanced with the freshness of the lemongrass and the mild heat of the jalapeno from Sushi Samba.  Very flavorful sushi and dumplings were also featured at Amber.  These two restaurants must be added to my list of restaurants to visit and review.

Alma II featured both chicken and beef empanadas as well as sirloin steak skewers.  The empanadas were the perfect consistency with crispy outsides and moist fillings, but the chicken filling was quite bland.  Eaten with chimichurri sauce and/or mango/pineapple salsa made it delicious.  The beef empanada was more flavorful.

Chicken Empanada with Chimichurri & Mango/Pineapple Salsa

These types of events are essential to NYC's culinary culture.  It gives you a brief glimpse of the experience you can get at many establishments, giving you insight into which restaurants you will then patronize.  With so much competition and so many restaurants to choose from in this city, these are great events to help you make informed dining choices.


Chef Mireille

Picarones

Picarones is a classical dessert found in almost any Peruvian eatery.  They are wonderful donuts made with sweet potatoes and pumpkin. They have no sugar.  They are generally served with syrup, which provides the sweetness, so you can gauge how much sugar you eat it with making this a low sugar, high fiber, vitamin rich dessert.  I think they are also delicious, on their own!

1/2 pound calabaza  pumpkin
1/2 pound orange sweet potatoes aka yams
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground aniseseed
4 cups flour
1 envelope yeast

Fill a large pot with water to cover and the pumpkin and sweet potato. Cook until they are tender. Drain the vegetables and mash them until very smooth. Mix in the salt, aniseed, and flour.

Soften the yeast in 1/4 cup of lukewarm water for about 10 minutes. Mix the yeast with the flour, mashed vegetables, aniseseed and salt to make a firm dough, adding more water if necessary.  Knead the dough until it is smooth and satiny, about 5 minutes. Place it in a bowl, cover with a cloth, and allow to stand in a warm place for 2 or 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.



Dough after it has risen

 With floured hands, pull off pieces of dough by tablespoons and shape them into rings. Deep fry them in hot oil until they are golden brown on both sides. 

 To make syrup:

2 cups piloncillo (used in Latin America and in India it is called jaggery.  It is a concentrated sugar made from pure sugar cane), chopped (alternatively, you can use brown sugar)

Frying Picarones

1 cup water

1 piece of orange peel

1 piece of lemon peel

Boil until sugar is dissolved and liquid has thickened to syrup consistency.  Remove citrus peels.

Drain donuts and serve hot with syrup.

Chef Mireille

Adobong Manok (cookbook recipes)

Adobo is a popular style of cooking in the Philippines.  It basically consists of meat or a vegetable (in vegetarian versions, eggplant or jackfruit is popular) stewed in vinegar and seasonings.  You will find everything cooked Adobo - chicken, fish, pork,eggplant etc.  There are different varieties of Adobo, depending what part of the Philippines you are in.  In some regions, coconut milk is also added.

This recipe is the most common form of Adobo you will find in most Filipino restaurants, both in the Philippines and here in the US.

This recipe was taken from Corinne Trang's Essentials of Asian Cuisine.  Corinne Trang is an author of French and Cambodian-Chinese decent.  This comprehensive 500+ page cookbook includes recipes from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines.  I have used this cookbook several times and her recipes have never steered me wrong - and it did not fail me this time either!

Filipino Chicken Adobo

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used safflower oil)
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and crushed (original recipe said it was not necessary to peel it, but since I don't know anyone who enjoys eating garlic skins, it is best to remove it)
2 ounces ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (again, original recipe said it was not necessary to peel it, but I would peel it unless you have very young ginger)
5 scallions, roots removed and bottoms trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces (original recipe only used the white parts, but I like the flavor of the green parts also)
6 boneless and skinless chicken thighs (original recipe used drumsticks)
1/2 cup coconut vinegar (you can use white vinegar if coconut vinegar is unavailable)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.  Stir-fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant and golden, about 5 minutes.  Add the chicken, vinegar, soy sauce, scallions, peppercorns, bay leaves and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 30-40 minutes.

It makes a delicious meal, served with white rice and a steamed Asian vegetable, like bok choy.

This was a wonderful recipe.  Usually, when recipes call for whole peppercorns, I usually remove them afterwards because biting into them accidentally (as in some Indian curries and biryanis) is a bitter, unpleasant experience.  This is not in the case in this Adobo.  The vinegar tenderizes the peppercorns, so that biting into them is a pleasant burst of a little spice and the same goes for the ginger slices and the garlic.  The flavors are mellowed by the tartness of the vinegar and the blandness of the rice, which is the usual accompaniment.

This is a recipe I would definitely use repeatedly.

Chef Mireille

Bahn Mi Saigon

My quest continues and I try Bahn Mi Saigon, which has some of the best online reviews.  Located on the same block as my favorite Malaysian restaurant, Nyonya, I have probably walked by this place dozens of times and never noticed it on Grand Street.

This is definitely more of a take out place, eventhough they do have a few stools. The sandwiches are pre-made so service is very fast.  However, of all the ones I have tried so far, I liked this sandwich the least.  I ordered the classic again, but the ground pork was hard, either from being overcooked or from air exposure since these sandwiches are made long before you oder them. The bread was also too soft. This place had Thai Iced Tea and other Milk Teas, but no Bubble Tea, which was sorely lacking in my Bahn Mi meal.

Very good prices at only $3.50, but I will pay the extra two bucks, for the better sandwich at Hanco's. Bahn Mi Saigon did not live up to it's reputation, at all!!!

Chef Mireille

-- Sent from my Palm Pre