Kuchinta

One of the most requested recipes by my readers is Kuchinta. These cakes are a combination of finely ground regular and a small amount of glutinous rice then steamed in small plastic cups. They are best eaten with freshly grated coconut. Food grade lye water is added to the mixture although I'm not sure if it adds to the flavor or texture. If you are concerned about using lye water, clear pandan extract would be a good substitute but the flavor won't be the same.

The lye water (lihia) Filipinos use is watered-down potassium hydroxide made from wood ash. It is not the same as sodium hydroxide which is caustic and thus called caustic soda. In case you're curious or want to make your own lye water, the process is here. Actually, I've seen how it's made. When I was about 10 or 12 years old, I used to watch a neighbor's grandma make lye water with the burnt wood she used for cooking. She gathered the ashes into a gallon jar and added water. Of course, at the time I didn't know it was lye water and what it was used for.
Kuchinta
1¼ cups regular rice
2 tablespoons glutinous rice
2½ cups water
¾ cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons cooked regular rice
1½ tablespoons lye water
2 tablespoons achuete/achiote water

• Soak both rice in water overnight. Blend with the soaking water together with the cooked rice in a blender until very smooth. Transfer into a measuring cup and add sugar, achuete, and lye water. Stir until well blended. Fill lightly greased puto/kuchinta cups ¾ full. Place in a steamer, cover, and cook over rapidly boiling water for 15 minutes. Let cool before removing from molds. Serve with grated coconut.

Buttermilk Yeast Waffles

I had homemade buttermilk that had been sitting in the refrigerator for a week and I was not too sure how long it will keep before it gets bad. I didn't want it to get spoiled so I used it in place of regular milk to make yeast waffles. Wow, these buttermilk yeast waffles are very fluffy, airy, and crispy and have a slight very nice tang that I really love. They are simply delicious and way better in flavor and texture than baking powder waffles. And I prefer them without butter and syrup. They are so good just with a dusting of powdered sugar along with some fresh fruits. The recipe has to be mixed the day before baking and needs to rest and rise in the refrigerator overnight, but the wait is worth it. If you don't have a waffle maker, this dough also makes very good griddle cakes or pancakes.

Buttermilk Yeast Waffles

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ tablespoon instant yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup water

6 tablespoons light olive or grapeseed oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Mix in all the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Preheat waffle maker and bake according to manufacturer's directions.

Food Friday: Chicken Binakol

chicken soup cooked in young coconut water

Chicken Binakol
adapted from KULINARYA guidebook

2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
1 pound whole chicken breast, bone-in
2 stalks lemon grass, white parts only, pounded
4 whole black peppercorns
¼ cup fish extract
2 cups buco (young coconut) water
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup buco meat, cut into 2 x 1-inch strips
4 scallions, chopped
pepper leaves for garnish, optional

• In a large pot, heat the oil and add garlic, ginger, and onion. Add the chicken breast, lemon grass, and peppercorns. Add the fish extract, buco water, and chicken broth. When it begins to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
• Remove chicken from bone and slice into strips.
• Strain broth and remove fat with a fat separator if desired. Return broth to the pot and bring back to a boil. Add the chicken strips and buco meat and simmer until heated through. Serve topped with chopped scallions and pepper leaves.

For those who reside outside the Philippines, you can order KULINARYA guidebook from http://www.philippineexpressionsbookshop.com/ or send email to linda_nietes@sbcglobal.net

The Oscars

let's toast the Oscar winners with chocolate martini (creme de cacao, vanilla vodka, and Bailey's Irish cream)
It's that time of year again, folks. Yes, my own annual Academy Awards rant night and my choice for best picture is Toy Story 3 because in my humble opinion IT IS THE BEST PICTURE of 2010. I've seen some of the nominated films and 2 of them are my worst films of 2010, the highly overrated Inception and the odious and misogynistic The Social Network. And what's up with the Academy's obsession with awarding actors playing people with disability. This year it's Colin Firth's turn in The King's Speech. Didn't the Oscars already honor lead actors for My Left Foot, Rain Man, I Am Sam, Shine, A Beautiful Mind, and the gawd awful Forrest Gump? Give me a break! Woody, Barbie, or Mr. Potato Head should win. Oh, they're not nominated. Well, they should have been.

MY best pictures of 2010

Toy Story 3
Ken and Barbie meeting for the first time is priceless. Ken: "I like your leg warmers", Barbie: "Nice ascot".

The Book of Eli
What's not to like? A machete wielding Zatoichi-like character chopping off body parts of unsavory characters trying to steal The Book he has been carrying and reading from for over 30 years. Not even the prune-faced boss (Gary Oldman) and his thugs will be able to stop Eli from fulfilling his mission.

Kick-Ass
Based on a comic book. A high school boy wants to be a superhero and becomes Kick-Ass. Without any training, he is bound to get beaten up and he is, twice. He is rescued by a team of masked father and daughter superheroes, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. They don't have superpowers like Superman but they train in weapons and martial arts. On her 11th birthday she gets a balisong (Philippine fan knife) from her Dad who trains and home-schools her (one of her assignments is reading comic books). This movie is not for everyone and specially offensive to the politically correct crowd as the little girl swears like a sailor although her father doesn't. The best comedy action movie of 2010.

Let Me In
A sort of love story between a young girl vampire and her new friend who is being bullied at school. This film is a brilliant remake of Let The Right One In, a movie from Sweden. I saw both films and I like the American version better. Incidentally the heroine, Hit-Girl, on Kick Ass and the vampire on this movie are played by the same child actress, Chloë Moretz. She's very good.

Tron Legacy
A feast for the eyes and ears. Daft Punk's music is perfect with the visuals. I can't believe that 2 of my top favorites are Walt Disney productions.

Since this is a food blog, I recommend these 2 documentaries that are worth watching

Kings of Pastry
I was craving for small cakes after watching the judges in the tasting room.

Blood Into Wine
THE rock star, Maynard James Keenan, becomes a winemaker. He is the lead singer of the bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. This is not purely documentary on wine-making. It has a little bit of his story, his cult followers, and wine tasting, with some comedic scenes too. My favorite line from Maynard: "I'm in my 40s, I can't scream forever."

A sample of Tool's music, The Pot, from the album 10,000 Days. The pot he refers to here is the pot calling the kettle black, you know, hypocrites. This video which is just the song and lyrics is dedicated to all the hypocrites out there. Enjoy!:D