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.

Malaysian Chicken Curry ala Beancounter

I’ve heard somewhere before that there is no such thing as “curry powder” in India. It is more an innovation to help cooks like me who are less astute in combining spices.

Curry powder usually includes coriander, turmeric, cumin, and fenugreek. Depending on the blend, additional ingredients such as ginger, garlic, fennel seed, cinnamon, clove, mustard seed, cardamom, mace, nutmeg, and all sorts of peppers may also be added.

I’ve named my recipe as such as I find the Malaysian Curry powder blend to suit my taste the best. The recipe below is a variation to my Beef Curry recipe which I blogged about months ago.

Using a whole free range chicken makes for a tastier curry than simply using chicken breast. But if you’re horrified at the thought of bones in your curry then use de-boned chicken meat by all means.

Malaysian Chicken Curry ala Beancounter

Ingredients
2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
6 slices of ginger
1 stalk of lemon grass sliced
1 red capsicum julienned
4-6 teaspoon Malaysian curry powder (more if you want it spicier)
1 whole free range chicken cut into pieces
1 can coconut cream (substitute coconut milk if you want a less creamy sauce)
Salt to taste
Potatoes quartered and fried
Carrots
A bit of oil for sautéing

Tip: It’s best to use heavy based pots.

Procedure
1. Marinate the chicken in a little of curry powder. Heat up a bit of oil using heavy based pot. Sear the chicken pieces in the pot (a few at a time) to seal in the juices. Remove from the pot and set aside.
2. Add a bit more oil if needed. Sauté the ginger first.
3. After about a minute or so add the garlic. Before it turns completely brown add the lemon grass.
4. After another minute add the onions and the capsicum (save about a quarter for garnishing later). Cook this for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the curry powder to the mix and cook for another minute.
6. Add the chicken and the carrots to the mixture.
7. Add the coconut cream and simmer for about 40 minutes.
8. Add the potatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Serve with roti parathas or jasmine rice.

Australia – The Food Icons – Tim Tams

If there is one Australian food icon that is easy to love it would have to be Arnott’s Tim Tams. The manufacturers are so confident about its appeal that they’ve bravely printed on every packet “The most irresistible chocolate biscuit” (with emphasis on the “biscuit” - this being Australian).

Tim Tams are made up of a chocolate cream filling sandwiched by two chocolate malt biscuits and the whole thing is coated in chocolate. It’s hard to go wrong with three types of chocolate in one biscuit.

Tim Tams first came out in 1964 and was named after the winning horse in the 1958 Kentucky Derby which Mr Ross Arnott attended.

The original Tim Tams are mainly milk chocolate. But in recent years Arnott’s have come up with more imaginative varieties to include Chewy Caramel, Creamy Truffle Temptation, Tia Maria, Black Forest Fantasy, Classic Dark (my favourite) and a whole lot more.

Devotees have what they call Tim Tam Slam. It is supposed to be the best way to enjoy Tim Tams. You basically bite the opposite corners of the biscuit then use it as a ‘straw’ to suck up your favourite beverage. I’ve never tried this (as I do not like soggy, wet biscuits) but you can see Hugh Jackman demonstrating this on Oprah when he was promoting the movie Australia.

Chunky Ham & Vegetable Soup ala Beancounter

I’m a firm believer in letting the season decide what you should serve on your table. Not only are the fruits and vegetables in season at their very best they’re also at their cheapest.

Parsnips, turnips, swedes and other root vegetables are plentiful throughout the cold months in Australia. That is why it is only during winter when I cook my chunky soup.

A friend who’s tried it (thanks Carla and the rest of the Evangelistas) actually requested I blog ‘bout it. They recently moved to Sydney and therefore lost “free” access to my soup.

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Chunky Ham & Vegetable Soup ala Beancounter

1 ham hock (discard the skin, chop the meat)
250g soup mix grains (lentils, split peas and barley)
1 turnip cubed
1 parsnip cubed
1 swede cubed
1 carrot cubed
1 desiree potato cubed
1 stick celery chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
Stock
Salt to taste
A little bit of oil

1. Using a stock pot heat up a bit of oil. Sauté the onion, garlic, celery and carrot for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the ham hock meat and cook for a minute.
3. Add the soup mix grains.
4. Add the vegetables.
5. Pour in enough stock to cover the vegetables plus about an inch more. You can add more stock if you want a more soupy consistency.
6. Simmer for about an hour then check for taste. Add more salt if necessary.
7. Serve steaming hot with some crusty sourdough baguette.

Thé De Chine (Tea Glass with Filter)

My lovely wife was at the shops one day when she stumbled upon this curious looking tea implement. First person she thought of was yours truly, of course. She purchased it and gave it to me just because… There was no special occasion but I certainly felt special.

My love of tea has caused me to “unintentionally” accumulate all sorts of apparatus to enhance my enjoyment of it. This latest addition would have to be the most exquisite and delicate of the bunch.

When given the option I’d rather have “loose leaf” rather than “tea bags”. But using loose leaf can be a messy affair if not done right or if you lack the right gadget. It is especially tricky if you’re only making it for one.

My new Thé De Chine is intended to be a personal infuser set. It makes brewing tea for one a lot less complicated. Simply add your loose leaf tea, pour in hot water, and let the tea steep to your taste. The lid acts as a trivet when you are done brewing.

So thanks once again sweetheart! I love you too!

Churros…not quite

I’m not a sweet tooth but one kind of dessert I almost find irresistible is “fried dough”. By this I mean donuts and its plethora of flavours and variations.

It’s no secret to people who know me well how much I love Krispy Kreme’s Original glazed. I used to request for flights that will stop in Sydney only so I’ll be able to bring home (at least) half a dozen boxes of these heavenly rings! They’re so high in sugar they freeze really well. A few seconds in the microwave and voila, it’s as good as fresh. Thank God they’ve opened shops in Brisbane I don’t need to go through so much trouble anymore.





Another favourite is the Spanish churros. The main point of difference from the traditional donut is the fact that this one is straight, has ridges and fried till almost crisp. It is then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. You usually eat this with a cup of thick hot chocolate.

Well, at 9pm on a wintry Friday night I was craving both but did not have access to either. What to do?!?!?!?! Whip something up, of course!

The recipe below is for choux pastry (commonly used to make profiteroles/cream puffs). I can’t remember where I got to idea to fry them. I don’t know if it was from TV or some magazine but I have been frying choux for years. Roll the fried choux in cinnamon sugar and voila (I should stop saying this..), it’s just as satisfying as churros if not more ‘cause I get to eat them hot and fresh!


Fried Choux Pastry with Cinnamon Sugar

1 cup water
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
4 eggs at room temperature
1 cup sugar
Cinnamon to taste
Oil for frying

1. Boil, water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan.
2. Add the flour in one full swoop.
3. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a tick, smooth ball that leaves the side of the pan clean, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until dough is shiny and smooth.
5. Heat up some oil in low to medium heat.
6. Use spoons, bare hands or a piping bag to make shapes you like and drop them straight to the hot oil. Looking at the photos you’ll see mine is a bit “free form”. I used two spoons. The piping bag with the right nozzle will give you the ridge effect like on the churros.
7. Fry until golden brown.
8. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle onto the fried pastry.
9. Eat fresh with your favourite hot beverage.

Binagoongan (Pork in Shrimp Paste)

It certainly wasn’t my intention to write a blog about binagoongan. Well, not last night, that is. But after all the trouble I’ve gone through to get this dish finished I think my binagoongan deserved to be blogged about!

I’m still not feeling 100%. I just wanted to get dinner over and done with (pretty sad huh…not the usual me). The last thing on my mind was to take photos of my cooking…so I didn’t.

About halfway through the process I realised I’ve got no bagoong. And no bagoong (Filipino shrimp paste) means no binagoongan. This essential ingredient just has no substitutes! Patis (Fish Sauce) won’t do. Salt is just not good enough. I’ve got belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste) in the pantry but I couldn’t see how that could work.

Knowing full well that the shops were already shut I’ve got no choice but to visit my closest Pinoy neighbour. By that I mean some 5kms drive away. So I rang them to announce my spur of the moment visit to borrow some shrimp paste. I brought my own ziplock bag to spare the couple further trouble (sad…really!)! But being the good and generous friends that they are they gave me half a jar rather than the few tablespoons I needed (or they probably just want to get rid of me ASAP!). Thanks to Patrick and Pilar for saving our dinner last night!

Binagoongan for me is normally a side dish to kare-kare (oxtail in peanut sauce). But in my condition I just wasn’t up to cooking kare-kare.

Some of you might find the thought of combining pork and shrimp paste horrifying. I say, don’t knock it back till you try it!

The best way to cook this dish is by pre-frying the pork before adding all the other ingredients.

Binagoongan ala Beancounter

500g pork belly diced
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
4 tablespoons bagoong (shrimp paste…Barrio Fiesta or Kamayan brand preferably)
1 teaspoon vinegar (optional)
Chillies (optional)
Oil

1. Heat up a pan. Add a bit of oil and fry the diced pork. Do this in batches to avoid steaming the meat. Set aside.
2. Remove excess oil from the pan. Fry the garlic (till golden brown).
3. Add the onion and cook till translucent.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the shrimp paste. You can add more than 4 tablespoons if you like. It’ll be more like a dipping sauce rather than a side dish if you do. Cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the pre-cooked pork. Simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add the vinegar and cook for another minute.
8. Serve with freshly cooked rice.

Simple Wonton Noodle Soup ala Beancounter

I haven’t been feeling great lately. This was brought about by the change in season (it is winter down under) plus over indulging during the last long weekend we had. As a consequence I haven’t ventured into our kitchen for a while. It was only tonight that I had enough energy and inspiration to start cooking again.

Wonton noodle soup definitely ticks all the boxes during times like this when I’m craving something hearty and comforting (now that my appetite has returned from a few days of absence).

My version of this dish is quite simple. By that I mean I use fewer ingredients than some other recipes. When I have more time and I have them available in my pantry I might add a few more ingredients like dried mushrooms, water chestnuts, prawns etc. But I am time poor and I haven’t been to the shops lately. Also, I think, the simplicity of my recipe makes it a lot more versatile. You can have it in a soup or fried like a spring roll (I did both tonight). Putting a few fried wontons to your noodle soup adds a bit more character to the dish with its crunchy texture.


Simple Wontons ala Beancounter

500g pork mince
1 carrot finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
1 stick of celery finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 egg
Wonton wrappers

Noodle Soup
Chicken stock seasoned to your liking
Your preferred noodle
Your choice of vegetables

1. Combine all the wonton ingredients (except for the wrappers, of course).
2. Wrap the mixture using the wonton wrappers and chill for about half an hour before cooking. I’ve done three types of wrapping (please refer to one of the photos). All of them seem to keep their shape well when fried, steamed or boiled.
3. Boil some water and cook the wontons a few at a time. They’ll start rising to the top when they are ready. I prefer pre-cooking them in water rather than cooking them in the soup stock. The soup comes out much clearer.
4. You can use bought chicken stock. Just “asianise” it by adding ginger, soy sauce, pepper and a bit of oyster sauce (or whatever you fancy).
5. As for the noodles, follow what the packet says.
6. Put together the noodles, cooked wonton and some vegetables in a bowl and pour the hot soup over it.