Lemon Grass and Ginger Pears

Ingredients:

1½ cup (375g) sugar
1 tbsp finely shredded fresh ginger
1 stem lemon grass (white part only), bruised and cut into 5cm length
4 firm ripe beurre bosc pears, peeled mint leaves, to garnish

Method:

• Place the sugar and 2 cups (500ml) water in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the ginger and lemon grass, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Gently lower the pears into the syrup and poach over low heat for 10 minutes, or until tender, turning occasionally. Remove the lemon grass.
• Transfer the pears to a serving dish and spoon a little syrup over them. Garnish with mint and serve with lemon sorbet.

Caramel-glazed Figs

Ingredients:

60g butter
¼ cup (45g) soft brown sugar
6 fresh figs, halved

Method:

• To make the caramel sauce, place the butter and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
• Brush some of the caramel sauce over the cut-side of the fig halves, then grill the figs for 3-5 minutes, or until soft, brushing with extra caramel sauce during cooking. Serve with the remaining sauce and some ice cream or thick cream, if desired.

Malaysian Rojak

Serves 8-10


Ingredients:

4 yellow beancake, fried crisp & sliced
125g long beans, cut & blanched
250g kangkung (water convolvulus
1 large cucumber, sliced into thin strips
1 turnip, sliced into thin strips
4 fermented soya-bean cake, fried & sliced
125g bean sprouts, tailed & blanched
250g half-ripe papaya, thinly sliced
4 eggs, hardboiled, shelled & sliced

Prawn-cake:
250g fresh prawns, shelled, deveined & chopped
90g wheat flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
1 tsp salt, sifted
90g rice flour, sifted
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup (250ml) coconut milk
cooking oil for deep-frying

Gravy:
250g groundnuts, fried, skinned & ground
10 dried chillies, fried crisp, ground
2.5cm piece shrimp paste, dry-fried, ground
3 cloves garlic, ground
6 shallots or small onions, ground
salt to taste
1 cup (250ml) coconut milk
2 cups (500ml) tamarind juice
2 dsp brown sugar


Method:

1. Pick kangkung leaves and blanch in some bicarbonated water. Plunge in cold water then roll up neatly. Arrange all rojak ingredients separately on a large platter.
2. To prepare prawn-cake: Mix together all the ingredients except coconut milk and oil. Then add coconut milk gradually, stirring to obtain a smooth thick batter. Heat oil and deep-fry by spoonfuls till crisp and brown. Remove and drain. Arrange with other ingredients.
3. To prepare gravy: Mix together all the ingredients. Stir on medium heat till well-cooked and thick. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat. Dish up.
4. Serve rojak with the gravy.

Korean Pancake - Pa Jeon/Pa Jun

updated from archives

A few years ago when I was visiting Steven's parents, his mom made some Korean pancakes for us. They were so good, I just had to ask her for the recipe. Then I was shocked to see her pull out a packaged mix from the pantry. I always thought that homemade always trumps convenience but that may not be the case with pajeon. After looking at the ingredients in the package, which was mainly flour, I thought I could go home and recreate it. But Steven's mom warned me that she's tried doing that too and the pancakes didn't taste the same. Well, she was right, and with my first attempt, my pancakes were dense and gummy.

After my original post over a year ago, I asked readers to share their pe jeon secrets and you guys offered some pretty good suggestions. I decreased the number of eggs from 2 to 1 and substituted some rice flour for all purpose flour. The resulting pancakes were excellent and the closest I've come to replicating the ones made from a package. But if you have access to an Asian market, I would go for the mix because it's easy and the results are consistent.

Unlike American pancakes, which are fluffy and usually topped with fruit or syrup, Korean pancakes are crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, and packed with delicious morsels of seafood and vegetables. The pancake we ordered at the Korean BBQ restaurant in LA was probably 75% seafood. I used a seafood mix I got from a local Asian market that was a mix of imitation crab meat, octopus, squid, shrimp, and cooked oysters. Trader Joe's carries a seafood mix of squid, scallops, and shrimp or feel free to use only shrimp if that's what's available to you. Omit the seafood entirely and up the veggies for a vegetarian version. A lot of readers also suggested adding kimchi juice for added flavor but I rarely have kimchi around.

Pa Jeon/Pa Jun - Korean Pancake with Seafood and Vegetables
makes 3 10 inch pancakes

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C rice flour (not glutinous rice flour)
2 C water
1 egg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
8 oz chopped seafood mix or shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
3 green onions, thinly sliced
or substitute a handful of Chinese chives cut into 2 inches

In a large bowl add the all-purpose flour, rice flour, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the egg and start with 1 1/2 cups of water. Whisk until smooth. If the batter is looking too thick, add a little more water. The consistency should be like heavy cream, not too watery. Add in the chopped seafood (if using), grated vegetables, and green onions or chives.

Heat a tablespoon and half of vegetable oil in a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Use plenty of oil, enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, for a crispy pancake. Ladle one third of the mixture into the pan and spread it evenly in the pan. Cook until the bottom is crisp and golden brown. Flip and cook on the second side until crisp and golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Cut the pancakes into 8 wedges and serve with dipping sauce.

For the spicy dipping sauce, I mix equal parts chili sauce (sambal oelek) with soy paste which is like a thickened soy sauce, Kim Lan makes our favorite. A more appropriate chili sauce would be gochujang (Korean chili bean paste, the Chinese equivalent is dou ban jiang). Adjust the spiciness according to your own tastes.

Apple Crumble

Serves 6


Ingredients:

780g can pie apples
2 tbsp caster sugar
75g butter, melted
¾ cup (75g) rolled oats
½ cup (95g) soft brown sugar
⅓ cup (40g) slivered almonds
¼ cup (25g) desiccated coconut
2 tbsp plain flour
½ tsp ground cardamom


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 190°C (375°F). Lightly grease a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish. Toss the apples and caster sugar together and spread the apples out in the prepared dish.
2. Put the butter, oats, brown sugar, almonds, desiccated coconut, flour and cardamom in a bowl and mix together, then spoon evenly over the apples.
3. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden - watch carefully to prevent burning. Serve warm.

Chapati

Ingredients:

450g fine wholemeal flour
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup water mixed with 1 tsp salt


Method:

• Sieve flour into a bowl. Make a hollow in the centre and pour oil into it. Rub oil into flour then add half the amount of water. Knead well for 10 minutes to form a soft dough.
• Add the rest of the water gradually. Knead for another 10 minutes then cover with damp cloth and leave to stand for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Divide dough into balls the size of walnuts, and roll each on lightly floured board into thin, round pancakes.
• Heat griddle or a heavy-based frying pan. When very hot, put one chapati on it. When small blisters appear on the surface, cook other side. Leave for a second then press lightly with a folded tea towel so that bubbles appear and when lightly brown, remove and wrap in a tea towel till ready to serve.
• Brush a little ghee or oil on one side before serving (optional).

Note: Leaving the dough to stand before rolling, and pressing chapatis with a tea towel while cooking make the chapatis light.

Pea butter mashed potatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

200g potaotes

100g green peas , cooked, then pureed

10g fresh herbs, chopped

20g unsalted butter

35g thickedned cream

pinch of salt and pepper

For garnish:

20g cooked green peas

Method:

1. In a pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes for 5-7 minutes or till it is fork-tender.
2. Drain off the excess water, mash the potatoes till fine.
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
4. Garnish and serve.

Ginger Pickle

Ingredients: 

150g young ginger, peel and slice paper thin
3 tbsp granulated sugar
½ cup vinegar

Method:

• Either mix all ingredients and leave to stand for at least one day before using, or boil vinegar and sugar, cool then add ginger slices.
• Store in a glass jar.
• Serve with century egg.

Carrot Pickle

Ingredients:

2 cups carrot,  finely cut or minced 

2 tb. Sp. masala,  finaly cut green masala 

2 tb. Sp.  pickle masala powder

1/2 cup  vinegar

1 cup  oil

salt to taste

Method:

Salt the minced carrot and keep for a day. Squeeze the mince out of the water and keep in mixing bowl. Heat oil in a pan, and fry the green masala lightly. Remove from fire, add vinegar, masala powder and pour over mince. Mix well and bottle.

Fruit Combo

Ingredients:

2 x 200g packets dried fruit salad mix
8 dried whole figs
2 cups (500ml) apple juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 cinnamon stick
2 large strips lemon peel
1/4 cup (35g) shelled pistachios, roughly chopped


Method:

• Remove the stones from the prunes in the fruit salad mix. Place the fruit salad mix, figs, apple juice, honey, cinnamon stick, lemon peel and 1 cup (250ml) water in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, or until the fruit is plump and the juice has reduced by about half.
• Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Sprinkle on the pistachios and serve warm with thick yoghurt, if desired.
  
  

Lemon Pickle

Ingredients:

2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
A small handful curry leaves, optional
1 teaspoon urad dhal/skinned and split black lentils, optional
1 teaspoon chilli powder
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 medium lemons, washed, deseeded, and chopped


Method:

Fry the mustard seeds in the hot oil. As they begin to pop, add the curry leaves and urad dhal. Lower the heat and add the chilli powder; cook until brown, then add the vinegar. Stir in the lemon, remove from the heat and leave to cool. Can be stored in the refrigerator for a week.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Makes about 20


Ingredients:

100g dried mung bean vermicelli (cellophane noodles)
20-25 rice paper wrappers, about 16cm round
40 fresh mint leaves
20 large cooked prawns, cut in half horizontally
10 garlic chives, halved

Dipping Sauce:
2 tbsp satay sauce
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
1 tbsp lemon juice


Method:

1. Soak the cellophane noodles for 5 minutes in enough hot water to cover. Drain well and use scissors to roughly chop the noodles into shorter lengths.
2. Using a pastry brush, brush both sides of each rice paper wrapper with water. Leave for about 2 minutes, or until the wrappers become soft and pliable. Stack the wrappers on top of each other and sprinkle lightly with water to prevent them sticking together and drying out. Be careful as the wrappers can tear easily when softened.
3. Place 1 softened wrapper on a work surface and spoon about 1 tablespoon of the noodles along the bottom third of the wrapper, leaving enough space at the sides to fold the wrapper over. Top with a few mint leaves, 2 prawn halves and ½ a garlic chive. Fold in the sides towards each other and firmly roll up the wrapper, allowing the garlic chive to point out of one side. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and ingredients and place the spring rolls, seam-side-down, on a serving plate.
4. To make the dipping sauce, combine the satay sauce, hoisin sauce, red chilli, peanuts and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Serve with the spring rolls.

Caramel Figs

Serves 4


Ingredients:

60g butter
¼ cup (45g) soft brown sugar
6 fresh figs, halved

Method:

1. To make the caramel sauce, place the butter and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
2. Brush some of the caramel sauce over the cut-side of the fig halves, then grill the figs for 3-5 minutes, or until soft, brushing with extra caramel sauce during cooking. Serve with the remaining sauce and some ice cream or thick cream, if desired.
   

Herb, Citrus and Olive Salad

Serves 4


Ingredients:

1 thin-skinned lemon
1 orange
100g rocket (arugula) leaves, washed and dried
50g flat-leaf parsley, washed and dried
½ red onion, thinly sliced
125g black or purple olives

Dressing:
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper


Method:

• To make dressing, whisk all ingredients together until blended and set aside.
• With a small sharp knife, slice off all the skin and white pith of the lemon and orange. Dice flesh into small pieces, removing any thick membranes as you go.
• Combine lemon, orange, rocket, parsley, onion and olives in a serving bowl and toss lightly. Drizzle dressing over and toss again. Serve immediately.
  

Carrot Soup with Cumin and Sour Cream

Serves 6

Ingredients:

3 tablespoon olive oil

2 large brown onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

1kg carrots, cut into slices

1.5 litres water

1 packet sour cream

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Heat up a saucepan with oil. Sweat onions and garlic.
• Add cumin seeds followed by carrots and water. Season.
• Cook until carrots become soft.
• Puree and serve with sour cream and parsley.
  

Minced Meat with Harissa Mayo

Serves 6


Ingredients:

4 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
500g minced beef
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
125ml water
2 tablespoon cider or white wine vinegar
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoon very finely choppe parsley
10 sheets frozen filo pastry
75g butter, melted
1 egg yolk
6 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoon harissa


Method:

• Heat half the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When very hot, add onion and garlic, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add meat, salt and all spices except pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add water and vinegar, bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Let cool, then pulse meat in a food processor until ground fine. Stir in pepper and half the parsley.
• Mix remaining olive oil with butter. Cut filo pastry sheets into approximately 25cm squares and brush liberally with oil-butter mixture. Spoon 2 tablespoon of filling along one short side of a filo piece, then roll it up as you would a spring roll to make a slim cigar shape. Make remaining cigars likewise. Lay cigars on a baking sheet.
• Beat egg yolk into any remaining oil-butter mixture, and brush over cigars. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Meanwhile, make dip by mixing mayonnaise, harissa and remaining parsley together. Serve cigars warm with dip.
  

Citrus Salad

Serves 4-6


Ingredients:

3 ruby grapefruits
3 large oranges
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3 tbsp whole fresh mint leaves

Method:

1. Remove the peel and pith from the grapefruit. Cut in towards the middle of the fruit alongside one of the membranes (do not cut the membrane). Cut on the other side of the segment in the same way, then ease out the segment. Use this technique to work your way around the fruit. Repeat with the other fruits and combine the segments in a bowl.
2. Place the sugar, cinnamon stick and mint in a small saucepan with 3 tablespoons water and stir over low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the cinnamon and drizzle the syrup over the fruit.
   

Banana and Chocolate Mousse

Serves 4


Ingredients:

250g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped into even-sized pieces
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs, separated
1 cup (250ml) cream
2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds


Method:

1. Place four 1 cup (250ml) ramekins in the freezer to chill until needed. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, then remove from the heat. Sit the bowl over the saucepan, making sure the base of the bowl does not sit in the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted, then remove from the saucepan and keep stirring until the chocolate has cooled slightly but not set.
   
2. Put the bananas in a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher until they are smooth and lump free. Lightly beat the egg yolks, then add to the banana mixture. Stir in the melted chocolate and mix together well. Pour the cream into a bowl and beat with electric beaters or a whisk until soft peaks form, then fold into the chocolate and banana mixture.
   
3. Using electric beaters, whisk the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form. Fold half the egg whites into the mousse with a metal spoon, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined.
   
4. Spoon the mousse into the chilled ramekins and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with almonds and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Rhubarb Meringue

Serves 4


Ingredients:

1kg rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
⅓ cup (90g) caster sugar, or to taste
3 egg whites
⅓ cup (90g) caster sugar, extra
2 tbsp flaked almonds


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C (400°F). Place the rhubarb, sugar and 2 tbsp water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is tender. Transfer to a deep 2 litre round ovenproof dish.
2. Using electric beaters, whisk the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the extra sugar, beating well after each addition until stiff and glossy peaks form.
3. Cover the fruit with the egg whites, then scatter the almonds over the top and bake for 10 minutes, or until the meringue is lightly golden. Serve warm.
   

Fruits Combo

Serves 4-6


Ingredients:

2 x 200g packets dried fruit salad mix
8 dried whole figs
2 cups (500ml) apple juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 cinnamon stick
2 large strips lemon peel
1/4 cup (35g) shelled pistachios, roughly chopped


Method:

1. Remove the stones from the prunes in the fruit salad mix. Place the fruit salad mix, figs, apple juice, honey, cinnamon stick, lemon peel and 1 cup (250ml) water in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, or until the fruit is plump and the juice has reduced by about half.
2. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Sprinkle on the pistachios and serve warm with thick yoghurt, if desired.