Insects in the Kitchen

I visited Diane at Food, Fun and Life in The Charente. Saw her amazing collection of all sorts of creeping things. I showed the blog at home and they got excited about taking photographs of insects too and posting them. So we got busy Sunday afternoon and finished in the evening laughing and screaming too. We made anything with  everything in the fridge that day. I found out long ago how to make the children eat insects and enjoy them too. I mean vegetables, of course. Here are some of the selected ones we made.

Here ia a ferocious tarantula eying a red tomato!

Spotted a green frog and took the picture straightaway before it disappeared into the rainforest outside.

This is where someone screamed when the rhinoceros beetle was seen trying to carry away the sweet potato.

A candid shot of a pair of amorous slugs slithering away on the dining table.

A rare butterfly of pomegranate color perched on my favorite tea cup.

This tarantula is nocturnal and thought the ripe pomelo was the moon.

An albino caterpillar inching its way to the cupboard. It is as white as a daikon radish!

A more colorful one but never knowing which is the head or the tail with so many eyes!

A woodworm that looks like fresh turmeric trying in vain to chew on my olive wood chopping board.

This clever praying mantis is posing as a harmless radish!

Didn't want to serve you the insects so I carved these delicious apples for you. Enjoy!

Shredded Duck Salad

Here is a salad I remembered having in a hotel restaurant in Hong Kong some years ago. It was shredded  roast duck on a bed of Chinese cabbage, cucumber and carrots. I liked it a lot and took note of the dressing that was so flavorful. I make the salad every time I have some roast duck in the house. I think I make it almost the same way with just one change. I use romaine lettuce instead. Just love the crisp and fresh taste of it.
In the hotel, it was presented in a huge serving plater layered with the chopped cabbage first, the shredded cucumber, then the carrots. The strips of roast duck were arranged neatly on top. A pair of nice chopsticks are poised on the plater and the dressing is poured just before serving.

This is such a delicious salad and very easy to make. You chop the lettuce and shred the carrots and cucumber. Layer them and top with the shredded roast duck. The quantity of the ingredients really depends on how many servings you want. This one can be for four. At least 1/2 pound of duck should be perfect and add one more heart of romaine if you wish.

For the dressing you will need 2 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of prepared mustard, 1 1/2 tablespoon demerara sugar, 1 tablespoon of pure sesame oil and 1 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce. Mix well. The dressing is so tasty, I always double the ingredients in case the guests want more. 

Enjoy!

Lamb Biryani Sans Pain

Biryani is cooked with different meats like mutton, lamb, goat or chicken. Most popular is chicken. Other variation include vegetables only, fish or even eggs. The Biryani is by far one of the most popular dishes in India but many dread to make it for fear that the rice would not come out fluffy and the meat not really tender. I am one of them. I started by gathering some tips from experts and practiced making it. Here is another trial that is seemingly worthy to serve. Anyway, legend or history says that it originated in Persia and made its way to India. Based on the name "birian"in Farsi meaning, fried before cooking and the style of cooking (Dum) might have come from there too. I was also told that the Maharajahs when traveling long distance took an entourage of cooks on stops, cooked rice and meat together in one big pot thus created the dum method. Anyway here is a goofproof one I just tried.

Choose a thick bottom pot and a cast iron griddle to slow cook rice and meat to be sealed with flour dough to almost mimic pressure cooking.

Take out your spice box because you will need turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, green and black cardamom, cinnamon sticks cloves,bay leaves and coriander powder.

Meanwhile wash 4 cups of Basmati rice until water is clear and soak for 30 minutes.

These are the whole garam masala to be sauteed in oil with the ginger-garlic paste for a couple of minutes before adding the marinated meat: cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, green and black cardamom and cloves. You will need all minus one cinnamon stick.

 Fried crisp onions for garnishing and a bit added to the marinade. To make them crispy, dust  with flour before frying. They should not be too dark or they will taste bitter.

The black currants, golden raisins, toasted slivered almonds and cashews goes with the rice when cooked with the meat.

Now marinate 2 pounds of lean lamb cut into cubes with 1 cup of plain yogurt, 1 cup chopped cilantro and mint leaves combined , 1 or 2 green chilis chopped roughly, 1/4 cup ginger-garlic paste (ginger and garlic of equal amount chopped and pounded into a paste) and a handfull of crisp onions crushed. Then the spices, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 1 teaspoon of garam masala, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of coriander, 1 juice of lemon, salt to taste and some oil and mix well.

Sautee in oil the whole garam masala with just one cinnamon stick broken for a minute then add 1/4 cup of ginger-galic paste, stir for another minute or until fragrant. Now add the marinated meat and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Check seasoning at this point. Put the rice that has been soaking for thirty minutes in 6 cups of water nicely seasoned with salt. When the water starts to boil count one minute and drain the rice  then mix the nuts and raisins. Add all the rice on top of the meat.

Boil 1/2 cup of milk with a good pinch of saffron and stir. This is to be sprinkled on top of the rice before sealing the pot.

Top the rice with extra chopped mint and coriander leaves 1 teaspoon of garam masala and coriander powder. For last, sprinkle the saffron mixture over the rice. Note: I always start with 1 teaspoon of the spices but you can add more on whatever one you like to have more flavor.

Seal the pot with 2 cups of flour dough completely including the vent on the lid. Then put it on top of a pre-heated cast iron griddle on low flame for at least 20 minutes. The biryani should cook perfectly after that.

Remove the seal and fluff the rice then you can spoon the meat with it. The biryani is served with raita or dahi chutney, strained yogurt that is mixed with mint and onions.

Garnish with slivered almonds and crisp onions and serve.  Enjoy!

Mahjong Snacks: Sesame Sweet Potato Pongs

Most of what I make are requests from family and friends. These sweet potato balls are my mom's order but I suspect it is her mahjong buddies who egged her on to ask me for these. I know they love to eat them with their favorite tea. They also dip them in sweet peanut cream made with milk and sugar and slightly thickened with cornstarch. I let my mom make the cream the way they like it. I have observed that these are enjoyed best when eaten right away, even served hot as dessert. Easy to make with few ingredients. Here's how.

Mix 2 cups of boiled sweet potatoes, 1 cup sweet rice flour, 1 cup muscovado sugar into a smooth dough and form balls the size of ping pong or smaller.

Roll each ball in plenty of sesame seeds until well coated.

Fry in peanut oil until golden and drain on absorbent paper towels and serve.

Enjoy!

Paella from Valencia to my Kitchen

The paella is a regional dish from Valencia popular throughout Spain and around the world. This colorful delicacy is prepared in many ways  but the mainstay ingredient is saffron and rice.  Many non-Spaniards regard this as Spain's national dish really. A great favorite is the mixed one with chicken, seafood and vegetables. This is the one I chose too for you which I am sure you will like. This is home made and no exact measured ingredients I must add, just the same amount of rice as the broth to cook the whole paella.

For me, the garnish is as important. In Spain they do squeeze a bit of lemon juice on their plate of paella for more flavor and make decorative lemon wedges to place in the center and around the paellera.

Here's how. With a 20 inch diameter paella pan, sautee in extra virgin olive oil onions and diced bell peppers of all colors or just  red if the others are not available. The amount really depends on the size of the pan or taste. Stir in the sizzling pan until wilt and translucent.

At this point add chicken pieces slightly browned previously and sliced chorizos. Stir all around the pan to mix the flavor of each ingredient and  rotating the pan often for even cooking. For this size pan you really need two burners going.

Now add the rest of the vegetables such as French beans, green peas or even artichokes if available.

4 cups of arborio rice is just right for this size pan. Stir to coat every grain of rice with the flavorful mixture.

Grind the precious saffron and stir into the 4 cups of boiling clam juice and chicken broth to pour into the pan.

The broth would have already been seasoned properly with salt before mixing.

Add your seafood and arrange them the way you see nicely. You can put as many or as little as you like.

Let it boil until most of the liquid has evaporated and always rotating making sure that no spot burns in  the pan.

The rice is almost cooked at this point and to finish the cooking cover the pan with a fitting lid or aluminum foil if you don't have a huge one like this. Again rotating the pan in very low heat this time. It might take 15 minutes or less without opening it to have a perfectly cooked rice.

Garnish with strips of red bell pepper previously cooked and lemon wedges. You can arrange them in any way you like. Spain is really blest with a wide variety of crustacean that makes their paella immeasurably more attractive and all so inviting, even reflecting the colors of the Spanish flag, many have observed.

Serve the the paella from the stove to the table. You could even tie red napkins on both handles if you wish. Enjoy!