Sweetcorn Soup

I'm not too fond of soups because it fills me up quickly which means less room for the main course and that would be a tragedy.

Occassionally when the weather is chilly you need all the help you can get to warm up. One of my favourites is this Chinese restaurant standard - sweet corn soup. It can have a variety of meat in it but the popular ones are either chicken or crab.

Before trying to cook this I didn't know that it is this easy to make. It is basically creamed corn (usually canned variety) cooked in stock then a diluted beaten egg or eggwhite is stirred in. And that is it! Of course you can prettify it with some chopped green herbs sprinkled on top but other than that it is really a doddle to make. This recipe is a hybrid from the ones in The Food of China and Deh Ta Hsiung's Taste of China.

Sweetcorn Soup

250 g  minced pork or chicken or shredded crabmeat
5 cups chicken stock
3 Tbsp rice wine or cooking wine
400 g  can of creamed corn
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 egg whites or 1 large egg
1/2 tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper to
chopped green onions

1. Mix the meat with 1 Tbsp of rice wine. Set aside.
2. Mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Set aside.
3. Whisk the egg whites or whole egg until frothy. Stir in the cornstarch mixture until smooth.
4. Combine the stock with the creamed corn and remaining rice wine in a saucepan and bring to boil.
5. Add the meat and marinade. Stir to separate the meat.
6. Lower heat and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
7. Bring the heat to medium and then slowly stir in the egg mixture in a thin stream to the soup until well blended.
8. Stir in sesame oil.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning with extra salt and pepper if needed.
10. Serve garnished with chopped green onions on top.

*Note: The meat is entirely optional.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Walnuts & Goat's Cheese

I have to break my blog's long streak of baked desserts with this wonderful dish which can either be a vegetarian main meal (without the bacon of course) or an appetiser. Adapted from next month's edition (Nov 2006) of the BBC GoodFood magazine, walnuts are in season now so I thought of doing this while these nuts are still relatively cheap. I was already preparing to dislike it when the bacon began to unravel and spill out the contents in 2 of the mushrooms. But I was pleasantly surprised with its yumminess - the bland mushroom going well with the creamy goat's cheese, the crunch of the walnuts and the smoky saltiness of the bacon. Lovely eaten with some leafy salad on the side.

The original recipe called for the bacon to be tied around the mushroom. But either my mushrooms were too big or the bacon rashers were too short that it didn't have much to give to tie it. So I put it in place with toothpicks and just removed them before serving. Another deviation I made is with the mushrooms. It was supposed to be open cup but I can't find any so I got the next best thing - big closed cup ones which I just sliced off the stem and the part around it making it effectively 'open cup'. It worked well if I may say so. :)




Stuffed Mushrooms with Walnuts & Goat's Cheese

6-8 open cup mushrooms, stalks removed
2 Tbsp oil
2 shallots or 1 small onion - chopped
1 garlic clove - finely minced
80 g  [1/2 cups] chopped walnuts
2 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves or 1 tsp dried
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
175 g  firm goat's cheese - sliced into 6-8 pieces
6-8 thin rashers streaky bacon

1. Preheat oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet and place mushrooms stem side up on it.
3. Fry the onion in oil until soft.
4. Add garlic, herbs, chopped walnuts, and seasonings (salt/pepper). Remove from heat.
5. Spoon the walnut mixture in the mushrooms. Top with a slice of goat's cheese.
6. Tie a rasher of bacon around each mushroom (tied at the top). If the rashers are not long enough for tying, secure on the mushrooms with toothpicks.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and the bacon crisp.
8. Remove toothpicks (if using) before serving.

Blog Party 5: Smoked Salmon-Cucumber Skewers

I was aimlessly wandering around among my bookmarked food blogs when I came to Johanna's lovely post about some noodle nibbles she made as an entry to the Stephanie's blog party. Why haven't I known this before?! Anyway that's how I came upon this blogging event which I think is a great excuse to party every month. ;)

Thursday last week was the 15th anniversary of our church wedding so I thought why not have just nibbles and drinks for a change and totally indulge ourselves while we all sat in our sofa watching Madagascar. The two things that entered my mind when Stephanie mentioned 'indulgence' are smoked salmon and parma ham. Loved them a lot but as you can imagine because of the steep prices of these premium delicacies that I possibly cannot have it every week or even every month. But since it's our anniversary so ... la-di-dah.


I found this great looking hors d'oeuvre (I can never get the spelling of that right - horse divers? horror dervs?) on sticks in the latest Olive magazine issue. The green grapes were added to put some sweetness in it. I simply love the way the cucumber refreshingly cuts through the saltiness of the smoked salmon. Then to save time I just bought some ready made cream cheese appetizers with some herbs on top which I wrapped in slivers of parma ham. Plus I bought some ready made crostinis in which I spread some olive tapenade (gift from the lovely Sha) and topped with slices of parma ham or smoked salmon. Leftover bite-sized chorizos from Brindisa was also made to good use. I had ready made dips, some crisps (potato chips), carrot batons, and mixed nuts. For the kids I made extra finger foods - sausage rolls, chips, some chicken wings, garlic bread, green grapes and we were ready to go. Oh yeah, for dessert I've got Belgian chocolates and option of ice cream.


Since it's a celebratory do, I bought a bottle of Cava for me and the hubster while the kids have fruit juices. My kids loved the change from our usual dinner and we toasted enthusiastically for more years of family bliss.



Smoked Salmon-Cucumber Skewers

smoked salmon - cut into strips
cucumber
cherry tomatoes
green grapes

1. Wash and dry the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and grapes.
2. Using a potato peeler, cut cucumber into strips. Cut the strips into about 6-inches in length.
3. Lay a smoked salmon strip on top of a cucumber strip. Thread this in a short bamboo stick in a zigzag manner.
4. Next pierce a cherry tomatoes through then repeat smoked salmon and cucumbers. Top with a green grapes.
5. Serve with slices of lemon and dip.

Mayo-Creme Fraiche Dip

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup creme fraiche or Greek-style yoghurt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, dill, or parsley

• Combine and mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Blog Party

Prosciutto Quail Egg Rolls

One of the finger foods that I prepared for my aborted participation in the last London Food Blogger's picnic at the Henley Regatta is this scrumptious quail eggs wrapped in prosciutto. Lovely melding of flavours with the spiky tang of the lime zest contrasting with the creamy and a bit salty cream/smoked cheese mixture serving a nice foil to the blandness of the quail eggs while the chewy-citrusy prosciutto completes the melange of flavour. This was a lovely surprise and one that I will definitely make again. Next time I will try it without the smoked cheese or probably choose one that's not too salty.

I love air dried hams such as the Prociutto di Parma or the Spanish Jamon Iberico or Jamon Serrano. They are just so yummy to have very thinly sliced on sandwiches, cheese or just eaten on their own. Steep prices of these is the only thing stopping me from having them all the time.


Prosciutto Quail Egg Rolls

12 quail eggs
40 g  cream cheese
2 Tbsp finely grated smoked cheese
1/4 tsp grated lime zest
1 tsp chopped fresh basil
6 slices prosciutto di parma (parma ham)

1. Hard boil quail eggs by lowering in a gently simmering pan of water. Cook for 4 minutes. Drain and cool immediately by plunging into cold tap water. Peel and cut in half lengthwise.
2. Combine cream cheese, smoked cheese, lime zest, chopped basil in a bowl. Mix well.
3. Cut prosciutto in half lengthwise then cut in half again crosswise making 24 pieces.
4. Spread cream cheese mixture in each strip then wrap each of the quail egg halves in it. This can be made about 6 hours in advance.

London Food Bloggers' EB

In case you don't know, EB stands for eyeballing, which means a meeting - you know meeting eye to eye. I got that from other blogging friends who were great bonuses with this obsession called blogging.

Last Saturday, I had a wonderful chance of finally meeting some of these 'bonuses' - 6 foodie bloggers from the London area (well all over UK actually). Johanna of The Passionate Cook was kind enough to provide her kitchen and her house for our gathering. I certainly enjoyed the company, the conversation and of course the food. Not to mention the choice wines which were provided by our lone male member, Andrew of Spitoon. He was gracious enough to educate us on the fine points of wine drinking even of the origins, nuances, and type of food that goes with them. Very educational, indeed. A favourite by everyone was the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. While I also loved the Cava and the sweet dessert wines Johanna provided. For the complete list of what wines we imbibed, please see Andrew's blog.

On to the food, the theme was tapas and antipasti for ease of serving and minimum prep time. In the picture above from upper left to right, top to bottom:

• shaved courgettes antipasti - brought by Jeanne of Cook Sister (I forgot to take a picture of her mushroom ones). They were very nice and refreshing to eat on that sunny day.
• goat's cheese torta - by moi
• chocolate mousse with praline - one of the 3 gorgeous desserts from Keiko of Nordljus
• creme brulee - from Keiko which is probably the best I have ever tasted. It had that right balance of eggyness, creaminess, and sweetness. Truly heavenly.
• cherry tomatoes and mushrooms - by Johanna; great salads on sticks
• pork-chicken emapanada - from me again (will post recipe later)
• tuna-chickpea salad - by Jenny of Pertelote; really yummy one with that great smoky tinge from the paprika
• asparagus wrapped in parma ham with parmesan - from Johanna as well; delightful combination of flavours
• tiramisu - from Keiko again. Love that creamy confection with the Kahlua soaked sponge layer instead of the usual lady fingers

Our food diva from Dublin, Meg of Though Small, It Is Tasty, (since she was just visiting) supplied us with an array of carefully selected breads.

We were quite a varied lot, me from the Philippines, Johanna from Austria, Jeanne from South Africa, Keiko from Japan, Andrew and Jenny the natives :), and Meg from Australia (or is it New Zealand?). I must say I did enjoy meeting them all and (for most of them) being able to put faces to the blogs I read. Thank you all for the food and company and special thank you again to Johanna and her family for putting up with us. As we were leaving there were talks of having another EB this time a picnic probably in the Henley area - Andrew's turf.

Meanwhile, let me post the bread spread I brought. This was an oft requested recipe in the rec.food.cooking usenet group way back when I was a lurker years ago. My interest was piqued enough for me to try it. It was a doddle to make for a really tasty treat for breads and biscuits. Unfortunately, the talented lady who thought up this recipe died a few years ago. Wherever you are Susan Hattie Steinsapir, thank you for sharing this. You have made a lot of people happy and full. :)


Goat Cheese Torta

170 g  goat cheese
115 g  cream cheese
2 Tbsp minced or mashed garlic (at least)
1/2 cup pesto
1/2 cup finely chopped oil-packed sundried tomatoes
salt and freshly ground pepper [optional]

1. Remove rind of goat cheese and mash it. Mix well with cream cheese and garlic. Taste and add salt and ground pepper if preferred.
2. Line a small rounded bowl (about 2-3 cups size) with plastic cling film. Put about 1/3 of the goat cheese mixture into the bowl, pat level.
3. Tip the pesto on top, pat level.
4. Put another 1/3 of the goat cheese mixture on top of the pesto, try to pat level as best you can without mixing it in with the pesto.
5. Put the sundried tomato on top of this, spread evenly.
6. Finally top with the last 1/3 of the goat cheese mixture and pat level again.
7. Cover with another piece of cling film. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).
8. To serve, remove the cling film on top and invert onto a serving platter. Carefully remove the other cling film lining its bottom. Decorate with herbs and serve with sliced baguettes or other breads.

Dippity Doo Dah

Here's a dip recipe in time for your Thanksgiving celebrations. My husband was waxing lyrical about a very simple but very delicious dip he had when he flew to Switzerland. And very simple, indeed, with just two ingredients. This is especially great for vegetable batons or biscuits for cheese. Thanks to Yvonne and Allan in Switzerland for this great dip recipe.


Chilli Cream Dip

100 g  Philadelphia cream cheese
4 Tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce

• Mix thoroughly with fork in a bowl until well combined and uniform.
• Serve with carrots, cucumber, and celery batons or other veggies. Also suitable with biscuits for cheese.

Let Me Roll It, Let Me Roll It To 'Ya

This post is for Yvonne in Switzerland. She was asking for a recipe of our Lumpiang Shanghai (Pork Spring Roll). The 'How to wrap a Spring Roll' section is for my children who might otherwise forget on how to do it. In my haste in doing this I forgot to take a picture of the final fried product. Oh well, I guess I will upload that later. So apologies if this is post is picture heavy; but let's roll on ...

ingredients

Lumpiang Shanghai
(Pork Spring Roll)

500 g  minced pork
250 g  minced shrimps or prawns
1/2 cup finely chopped apulid (water chestnuts)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic - mashed and finely minced
2 eggs - beaten
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp rock salt
1 tsp sugar
freshly ground black pepper
lumpia (spring roll) wrappers
oil for frying

1. Mix beaten eggs with the salt, sugar, soy sauce, pepper, and garlic. Making sure that the salt and sugar are dissolved in the liquid.
2. Mix in all the other ingredients thoroughly.
3. Wrap tightly in spring roll wrappers (for the 'how to' see below or click here for the proper way of wrapping and here for the lazy way).
4. Deep fry in hot oil for about 4 minutes or until the wrapper is golden brown and crunchy and the pork filling is cooked.
5. Serve with sweet and sour sauce or Thai sweet chili sauce.

*Note: If shrimps and water chestnuts are not available you can omit these then adjust recipe by reducing the garlic and egg to just one each and halving the measurements for salt, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper.

fried lumpiang shanghai

How To Wrap Spring Rolls
(The Proper Way)

First, you need spring roll wrappers of about about 5 x 5 inch square. If it's not available, buy the large one (about 10 x 10 inch square) and then cut them to size.

Secondly, make the flour 'glue' that you need to secure the spring roll wrapper. Mix 2 Tbsp flour with 2 Tbsp water; combine it thoroughly to make a very thick paste.

spring roll wrappers

Step 1: Take a wrapper and position it so that one of the corners is pointing towards you.











Step 2: Put around 2 teaspoonfuls of the pork mixture and shape them like a log horizontally at the lower half of the wrapper.










Step 3: Take the edge pointing towards you over the pork mixture. Press the wrapper over the mixture, making sure it is snugly wrapped.









Step 4: Fold the left and right edges of the wrapper over to the centre forming something like an envelope.











Step 5: Roll the wrapped pork mixture like a log in a direction away from you. Make sure to roll it tightly or else it might break open when you fry it.









Step 6: Put some flour 'glue' at the remaining edge and roll it all the way through.












Your spring rolls should look like these.
















How To Wrap Spring Rolls II
(The Lazy Way)

Step 1: Take a sheet of a large spring roll wrapper (about 10 x 10 inches square) and cut it in half.











Step 2: Get one of the halves and put about 3 tablespoonfuls of pork mixture and form it into a log at the lower end of the wrapper.









Step 3: Roll the meat mixture in the wrapper in the direction away from you making sure that it is rolled tightly. Spread some flour 'glue' all along the far end of the wrapper.









Step 4: Roll the mixture in wrapper all the way through securing with the flour 'glue'.












Step 5: Cut the finished log with a knife or scissors at about 3 inches long in each section.