Goto Kind of Day

It’s a goto kind of day. By that I mean I’m indoors. Let me further qualify that. Apart from the occasional heavy lifting (move the washing machine on higher ground and keep it above water, for example) it’s the sort of day you’re stuck in the house. It’s an opportune time to get back into blogging. It’s nearly 10 months since my last post after all.

Queensland is experiencing another major summer storm right this very moment. It been raining non-stop for a week now. People are on the edge but hopeful the events of 2011 won’t be repeated.  We’re pretty blessed to be near the top of the hill but still a sudden surge of water causes our basement to flood.

Goto is the Tagalog word for tripe. It is also the street name for the Pinoy tripe congee (rice porridge with tripe). It’s perfect for a day like today...for me anyway.

I realise that not everyone is a fan of tripe. It’s probably safe to assume that there are lots more haters than lovers of this divisive ingredient. It’s synonymous to rubbish in the English language for a reason.

No matter how much you try tripe is tripe. It will never taste like chicken. But everybody loves chicken. To get around the dilemma of being the solo tripe lover in my household I make a chicken arroz caldo (chicken rice porridge) as a base for my goto. The goto then becomes more like a side dish/a topping/a condiment rather than being the main event....everybody happy.

The recipe below is basically how to make chicken congee and a side dish of tripe.

There are at least 3 types of tripe I’m aware of. There’s the ‘honeycomb’, the ‘towel’ and the ‘book’ descriptive of how they each look like. Be mindful of what you buy as it would determine how long you’re going to cook it for. I used the ‘towel’ for this dish. It’s meatier than the ‘book’ and texturally better than the ‘honeycomb’.

I highly recommend using a pressure cooker (for the tripe – to at least halve the cooking time) and a thick based pot (for the porridge – to avoid sticking to the bottom) for this dish.

I usually make my congee as basic as possible. I allow the diner to finish the dish by dressing it up to suit his/her taste. Apart from goto there are plenty of other additions to the Pinoy congee:

Tokwa’t baboy (deep fried tofu and pork)

Chicharon (deep fried pork rind)

Egg (hard boiled or soft boiled or even fresh)

Century egg

Spring onions

Coriander

Calamansi/lemon/lime

Cooked garlic in oil

Fish sauce

Soy sauce

White pepper/black pepper

Chillies

And a lot more…

The possibilities are limitless (almost).

Chicken Congee ala Beancounter

2 cups of jasmine rice

1 teaspoon salt

Slivers of ginger

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 medium sized onion chopped

1 dozen chicken wingettes

Peanut oil

At least 6 cups of Chicken stock (more if you want thinner congee)

1. First wash the rice. Mix in the salt and about 1 tablespoon of oil after washing. Straing to get rid of excess water. From experience this helps in breaking down the rice quicker to reach my preferred consistency.

2. In a large stockpot with a thick base (this prevents the rice from sticking and burning quickly) heat up a bit of oil.

3. Sauté the ginger first then the garlic and then the onion.

4. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes.

5. Add the rice and stir continuously for about 2 minutes. (If the base of your pot is not thick enough the rice will be sticking to the bottom like crazy. So invest in good pots and pans.)

6. Add half the stock. You’ll notice that as the rice cooks it will absorb the stock. You’ll need to keep adding more stock to achieve the consistency that you like. The rice will soon have enough and will start breaking down. I like my congee almost soup like not overcooked rice. There’s nothing worse than congee with still recognisable rice grains

7. Serve steaming hot with your preferred condiments and the goto of course!

Goto

500g tripe (towel/blanket)

Slivers of ginger

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 medium sized onion chopped

Black pepper to taste

Fish sauce to taste

Peanut oil

Water

1. Heat up a bit of oil using a a pressure cooker.

2. Sauté the ginger first then the garlic and then the onion.

3. Add the tripe and cook for a couple of minutes. Add fish sauce and black pepper to taste.

4. Add just enough water to cover the tripe. Pressure cook for about half an hour.

5. Set aside while you finish off cooking the congee.

Adobo – The Vegetarian Antidote

As a child I had a funny relationship with food. I went through various aversions/liking to certain food groups. At one stage I would only eat fat. Yes, just fat. Yes, just pork fat! One thing I do not remember though is loving just vegetables.

Hence, it really bothered me when one of my kids started exhibiting troubling signs of vegetarianism. I don’t get it. If there’s one thing a foodie dad dreads it’s a vegetarian for a child. For some time I was totally convinced I spawned one. My eyes were probably closed when it happened…

That fear was not totally unsubstantiated. On burger nights my 3^rd child, Yaya, would have what we now call Elishah’s (her real name) burger. It’s basically rabbit food in a bun. She would only eat the outside of spring rolls. She would remove any trace of meat on her spaghetti. She loves Hainanese chicken rice though… without the chicken. It is worrying as she’s barely 7 years old.

Maybe my comments about how I love cats…deep fried…has something to do with it but I’m still unsure about what brought this “not eating meat” habit on. Regardless, I was determined to nip it in the bud.

I’ve tried all sorts of techniques. Initially she would give in but then quickly revert back to her veggie fix. I felt helpless.

And then one day I cooked adobo for the following week’s packed lunches. The savoury aroma wafting throughout the house began to weaken Yaya’s resolve. Her curiosity got the better of her and asked for a taste. From then on she was cured. And we all lived happily ever after…

Adobo, after all, is the great vegetarian antidote. Now I know…

Pork Adobo ala Beancounter

1kg pork belly cut in fairly large chunks

60ml coconut vinegar

60ml Filipino soy sauce

1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

Black pepper

1 head of garlic chopped finely

1 large onion chopped

Water (just enough to cover the meat)

1 Bay leaf

A bit of oil for sautéing

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot but set aside a quarter of the garlic and onion for sautéing later.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or so or until desired tenderness of the meat is achieved.

3. Remove everything from the pot but separate the meat from the sauce.

4. Heat up a bit of oil in the same pot. Sauté the garlic then the onion.

5. Add the meat pieces back in and fry for a couple of minutes. If you prefer a “crispier” adobo fry it a bit longer.

6. Add the sauce back in and simmer for another five minutes.

7. Serve with steaming hot jasmine rice.

Yorkshire Pudding 2.0

If you’ve been following this blog you probably have some idea why there’s a 2.0 in the title. Or should it be 1.1?

My first attempt at making Yorkshire pudding wasn’t a great success. But judging from my son polishing off that first batch like there’s no tomorrow, it wasn’t a complete failure either. I have since tried various other recipes and have finally found one I am happy with.

Give honour to where honour is due. The recipe below was inspired by the English episode of SBS’s Food Safari. I’ve tweaked it slightly for a “lighter” version. Instead of using duck/goose fat or drippings I substituted sunflower oil. I also found the 10g of salt on the original recipe a bit much. You decide how much salt to put in. You can even add sugar if you’re so inclined for a sweet kind of pud. Instead of gravy, pour cream or ice cream for a decadent dessert. It’s not so out there come to think of it as the ingredients for this are not that dissimilar to pancakes.

It’s the cooking technique that makes all the difference. The oven must be really hot. The fat in the muffin tins must also be smoking hot. The batter needs that constant high temperature hit until it’s done. Otherwise you would not get that characteristic crater in the middle of this pudding.

Yorkshire Pudding ala Beancounter 2.0
4 eggs
200g plain flour
450ml full cream milk
A bit of salt
Sunflower oil

1. Place your muffin tins in an 180C oven to warm through.

2. Mix together the flour and the salt and make a well in the centre.

3. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and milk together. Pour about a third of the liquid into the centre of the flour well and whisk until all absorbed. Add another third of the liquid and so on. Set aside your batter.

4. Turn the heat up to 220C. Take the muffin tins out and pour about 1 cm of oil in each tin and place back in the oven until the oil is smoking hot.

5. Remove the muffin tray once more and pour the batter into each tin until three quarters full. Return to the oven and cook for 15 -20 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Serve hot with your roast beef.

Nanay Pinay’s Gulay na Mais (Grandma Josephine’s Corn Soup)

My grandma (Nanay Pinay [read as Peeenay]/Josephine) from Laguna taught me this simple yet very comforting soup. Aside from the corn cooked in their husks this soup is what she serves us to get an appreciation of the corn harvest season.

I don’t know what it is called but the ideal variety for this recipe is the white kernelled corn rather than the more common yellow sweet corn.

“White” corn is less fibrous but more starchy and just perfect for this dish. It gives the finished soup a creamy consistency sans the fatty cream.

But there was no white corn to be found. I had to settle for what’s available…

Like the Tinola we use ‘chilli leaves’ to finish this dish. The leaves might come from the chilli plant but they’re by no means spicy. Actually, chilli leaves have no taste at all. Spinach is probably a good substitute.

It doesn’t require a lot of ingredients but if you want to make it heartier just add minced chicken or even seafood.

Nanay Pinay’s Gulay na Mais (Grandma Josephine’s Corn Soup)

3 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut from cobs
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 bunch of chilli leaves
3-4 cups stock or water
Salt/fish sauce to taste
A bit of oil

1. Heat up a bit of oil in a pan. Sauté the garlic until golden brown.
2. Add the corn and cook for about a minute
3. Add the stock/water. Let it boil and then simmer for about half an hour. Just adjust the amount of stock to your liking.
4. Adjust the taste by adding fish sauce or salt.
5. Throw in the chilli leaves just before serving.

Congee/Arroz Caldo/Rice Porridge ala Beancounter

Yaya, among my kids, is the most adventurous when it comes to food. There’s no such thing as “adult food” in her vocabulary. The more “adult” it is the more she’ll be willing to try. But a few nights ago she was not feeling her best. She’s lost her usual voracious appetite. And during times like these she’ll only eat “rice soup”/Arroz Caldo (Spanish for Rice Broth).

Arroz Caldo, the Filipino version of Congee, is usually chicken based unlike its Chinese counterpart which has a very subtle almost neutral flavour. It would have to be the ultimate Asian comfort food to a point that in the Philippines it has been unfairly associated with the infirmed.

I usually make my Arroz Caldo as basic as possible. This is so Filipino in that we allow the diner to finish the dish by dressing up his/her arroz caldo to suit his/her taste. There are plenty of condiments to the Pinoy congee:

Tokwa’t baboy (deep fried tofu and pork)
Chicharon (deep fried pork rind)
Egg (hard boiled or soft boiled or even fresh)
Century egg
Spring onions
Coriander
Calamansi/lemon/lime
Cooked garlic in oil
Fish sauce
Soy sauce
White pepper/black pepper
Cooked tripe and other innards
Chillies
And a lot more…

The possibilities are limitless (almost).

grains still whole, not yet ready in my book

Anyhoo, close to midnight my wife gently nudged me into preparing Arroz Caldo for Yaya.

consistency almost soupp like, now this is is ready

Arroz Caldo ala Beancounter

2 cups of jasmine rice
1 teaspoon salt
Slivers of ginger
2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 medium sized onion chopped
1 dozen chicken wingettes
Oil
Chicken stock (I purposely did not put the amount as I do not know exactly how much I’ve used. You need plenty to get a similar consistency to mine)

1. First wash the rice. Mix in the salt and about 1 tablespoon of oil after washing. Put in a strainer to get rid of excess water. From experience I think this helps in breaking down the rice quicker to reach my preferred consistency.
2. In a large stockpot with a thick base (this prevents the rice from sticking and burning quickly) heat up a bit of oil.
3. Sauté the ginger first then the garlic and then the onions. Pinoy dishes usually require you to wait for the garlic to turn golden brown as opposed to the European way.
4. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes.
5. Add the rice and stir continuously for about 2 minutes. (If the base of your pot is not thick enough the rice will be sticking to the bottom like crazy. So invest in good pots and pans.)
6. Add the stock. You’ll notice that as the rice cooks it will absorb the stock. You’ll need to keep adding more stock to achieve the consistency that you like. The rice will soon have enough and will start breaking down. I like my congee almost soup like not overcooked rice. For me, there’s nothing worse than seeing the grains still whole.
7. It is then up to you to fully season your arroz caldo or leave it as bland as possible to and let the diner decide for himself using the condiments.
8. Serve steaming hot with your preferred condiments!