Mochi & Mache

Sweet mochi is one of our favorite snacks/desserts specially ice cream mochi and the ones filled with sweet azuki bean paste. I have tried making them once before, about 4 years ago, but was unsuccesful. Thankfully, several good recipes have been popping up online using mochiko (glutinous rice flour) and canned Japanese sweet azuki beans, which are readily available from Asian stores. Tip: Buy only the Japanese beans. I do not recommend the Korean or Chinese, both are too watery and you will have to cook it further until it has the right consistency, it's a waste of time, in my opinion.

Mochi with Sweet Azuki Beans
1 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko)
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
a bit of pink food coloring, optional
1 can Japanese sweet bean paste
1 cup toasted soybean or rice flour for dusting

• Transfer beans into a bowl, stir until smooth, store in freezer for 30 minutes while preparing mochi. In a medium bowl mix together rice, water and sugar. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir thoroughly, microwave again and stir, 4 more times until smooth and gluey. Cover with a damp towel to keep it warm while shaping/filling. Have the bowl of toasted flour near your work area. Sprinkle the work surface liberally with toasted rice, dip hands on bowl. Scoop a golf ball size of cooked mochi and drop on the toasted rice, form into a round shape, flatten to about 3 inches, fill with a tsp of sweet beans. Gather edges to cover beans, all the while pinching and form into a ball. Place on a container seam side down. Refrigerate leftovers.

Mache is the Filipino/Chinese cousin of mochi, they have a common ingredient, sweet rice flour, and both of them are filled with sweet stuff. The difference is the filling, mache has sugar and toasted sesame seeds. This is the first time I made mache, I have no idea how to cook them, I just guessed and steamed them. They turned out sooo good. I will use toasted black sesame and boil them (like palitaw) next time I make them.

Mache
1 cup sweet rice flour
¼ cup water + 1-2 tablespoon, if needed
sugar
toasted sesame seeds
toasted rice flour

• In a small bowl mix water gradually into the rice, adding more water if necessary until it has the consistency of galapong. Mix the sugar and sesame seeds in another bowl. Scoop out 1 ½ T of rice mixture, form into a ball, flatten, raise edges and put 1 tsp sugar & sesame seeds in the middle. Pinch edges together and form into an oval. Steam on a parchment-lined bamboo steamer for 10 minutes. Roll in toasted rice powder.

the sugar has melted inside the mache, so sweet, so good

Chicken Adobo Sandwich

Last week I read in the newspaper a very pretty lobster sandwich in a bun. What made it interesting for me is the layer of potato crisps. I made my version of the sandwich with chicken adobo flakes on sliced bread. The potato crisps add texture and wonderful flavor to the already very tasty chicken adobo. What can I say, it's super crunchy, yummy, and...excuse me but I have to go and eat one more. Yay, carbs!

To make: Spread a thin layer of mayo on toasted bread, layer salad greens, sliced tomatoes, adobo flakes and plenty of potato crisps.

Singaporean Mee-sua

This Singaporean mee-sua is similar to the misua soup with patola I made 2 weeks ago, it is also served with boiled eggs but the similarities end there. This soup is spicy and has lots of flavoring like prawns and fishballs. I also love it. I bought Japanese or Korean (?) pre-cooked fish balls and sticks because these are very tasty and have the "rubbery" consistency that I love. Also, I don't have the patience to make fish balls.

Mee-sua

1 pound prawns, shelled and deveined
4 ounces pre-cooked fish balls
1 tablespoon oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 candlenuts (I used raw macadamia nuts), finely chopped
1 - 2 red hot chilis, seeded and finely minced, reserve half for garnish
5 cups fish or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon fish extract
2 fresh loofah, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces
3 bundles misua, cut in half
sliced green onions, for garnish
salt to taste
boiled quail eggs, if available or sliced boiled eggs

• In a large pot, heat the oil, add garlic and nuts, fry until fragrant, then add chilis, stir fry for 1 minute. Add broth and fish extract, let boil for 3 minutes. Add fish balls, prawns and loofah, boil for 2 minutes until prawns are cooked. Put in misua and let boil for 1 minute. Sprinkle each serving with sliced chili and green onions, and egg slices.

Dino Nuggets!

I bought a bag of dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets by mistake. That's okay, I'm fast approaching my second childhood anyway, so no big deal. I also have plenty of fuji apples which I made into Waldorf salad which is usually served with broiled chicken breast, the dino nuggets are fine. My daughter and I posed them as if they're dining on the salad, just for fun.:D

Waldorf Salad
3 fuji apples, skinned, cored and diced
3 celery sticks, sliced
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped walnuts
broiled chicken breast, sliced (or chicken nuggets, if preferred)

• Mix apples, celery and mayonnaise. Sprinkle with walnuts. Serve with chicken slices. I had the nuggets with honey-mustard-mayo sauce.

Also, I want to share this with my Filipino readers who like kiamoy. About a month ago, I read from one of the blogs I visit often, apple slices sprinkled with plum powder which she had in Malaysia on her recent trip. She told me to grate kiamoy over the sliced apples if I'm not able to find plum powder. I can't explain it, but the combination of super salty & sweet kiamoy and sweet & tart crunchy apple is just excellent, I love it! The apple slices have to be eaten immediately because the color and salty flavor become more intense after several minutes, or you can sprinkle the grated kiamoy right before eating.