Food Friday: Watermelon Cooler

It's starting to get cold in the early morning and I'm trying to enjoy watermelon these last few weeks of summer. I usually prefer just taking large bites of chilled watermelon slices or pre-cut into large chunks but steeping  lemon rinds and mint leaves in watermelon juice for several hours in the refrigerator makes a really cool watermelon drink. I don't add sugar or honey to the clear juice which I prepare by blending chunks in the blender and straining the pulp over a fine mesh lined with coffee filter. I fill a glass with a little crushed ice, then add 1/3 part soda, seltzer, or sparkling water [or lambanog/vodka] to 2/3 part clear juice. It's so refreshing, a little minty with just a hint of lemon.

Watermelon Cooler

6 cups watermelon chunks

4 strips lemon zest

a small bunch fresh mint

crushed ice

Perrier sparkling water

lemon slices or mint leaves for garnish

• Place a sieve over a bowl; line sieve with round coffee filter. 
• Blend watermelon in a blender. Pour into the lined sieve. Discard pulp. 
• Place mint in a quart Mason jar. Bruise mint leaves with a wooden spoon. Add the lemon zest and the watermelon juice. Chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours. 
• To serve: In a tall glass, add a quarter full of crushed ice. Stir in watermelon juice and a quarter cup of Perrier. Garnish with mint leaves or lemon slice.

I ♥ Korean

lunch today: store-bought vegetables and noodles wrapped in thin fish cakes, 

homemade rolled omelet, a bottle of soju

I've always loved Korean food; I cook it as often as I could. When my family and I lived in Hong Kong in the late 80s, we used to go to Korean restaurants on Sundays but haven't been to one that serves authentic Korean food for many years now because they are too far from our house. Yesterday, we drove to the nearest and had buffet lunch but I was only able to take a few blurry photos to be able to concentrate on the great food.

buffet lunch yesterday at Il Mee in Annandale VA

I'm also loving their movies and TV dramas too. A few years ago I started getting hooked on Korean movies and very recently Korean TV dramas AKA Kdramas. Although I've watched Korean, Chinese period series, and Japanese dramas more than 22 years ago, I barely understood what was going on because of the lack of English subtitles [but I still watched them].

When I saw the first episode of my first Kdrama, Boys Over Flowers, streamed from Netflix, I didn't know I was going to be addicted. Boys Over Flowers has 25 hour-long episodes which I finished in 3 days, that's over 8 hours a night of marathon viewing, but I can't seem to stop clicking on the next episode once the previous one ended. I have since watched 6 more Kdramas, plus the earlier Japanese Boys Over Flowers version and its full-length movie for a total of approximately 140 hours of TV and laptop viewing in 5 weeks, my eyeballs are hurting already.

All the Korean F4 boys are so cute, but I love the "leader", Gu Jun Pyo, croissant hair and all, played by Lee Min-ho.

Jun Pyo eating fish cake on a stick

Move over, Asano Tadanobu, Sakaguchi Tak, and Kaneshiro Takeshi, I have a new flavor of the year, Lee Minho.

in City Hunter 

in his tight pink pants (City Hunter)

a fan's drawing of Minho

Food Friday: Batchoy

Luna Miranda's Food Friday entry last Friday inspired me to make batchoy which I haven't had for over 20 years and this is the first time I made the dish. I topped the egg noodle soup with strips of precooked beef, pork, chicharron, lechon kawali, fried shallots, fried garlic, chopped chives, and calamansi juice. Sarap!

Batchoy
fresh egg noodles
water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 shallot, finely minced
4 cups clarified well seasoned beef and pork stock
sea salt, to taste
strips of cooked beef and pork, keep warm
chicharron strips
crispy fried shaved garlic
crispy fried shallots
chopped chives or scallions
calamansi or lemon juice

• In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and saute garlic and onion over medium heat. Add stock, add salt if necessary, and let simmer on low heat until ready to use. Boil water in another saucepan and cook egg noodles. Portion noodles in individual bowls, top with desired toppings except calamansi, ladle hot stock to cover, and serve immediately with calamansi or lemon juice.

If you cannot find fresh miki (fat-ish egg noodles), it's easy to make and you don't really need a pasta machine although it helps a lot if you have one.

Egg Noodles

2¼ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for rolling

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

3 eggs

¼ cup light olive oil

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs and oil and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Transfer on kitchen counter and knead a few times until soft and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes. Divide into 4 portions. Roll one portion into a 1/8-inch thick rectangle, about 16 inches long, dusting with flour if sticky. With a pizza cutter, cut into ¼ inch strips. Dust with flour to separate strips. Cook immediately or place on a lightly floured sheet pan while rolling and slicing the rest of the dough.

Capuchinos

While browsing one of my Filipino cookbooks, RECIPES OF THE PHILIPPINES, compiled by Enriqueta David-Perez, I found these unfamiliar small cakes called Capuchinos. I have never heard of these tiny airy cakes made with lots of eggs. The cakes which are Spanish in origin are dipped for half a second in thin syrup before serving. I thought at first that they are coffee flavored because of the name. Researching online for its origin was frustrating. Entries for the cakes are scarce but I was able to find one or two articles and a recipe from a Miami (Cuban) restaurant. Both the cakes and capuccino coffee come from the Capuchin monk's habit; capuchino cakes from the pointed cowls and the coffee, its dark brown color and also the pointed cowl.  

light airy eggy capuchino and a cup of capuccino 

The recipe from the Filipino cookbook has flour, butter, sugar, and brandy and they are baked in small muffin cups which in my opinion is similar to chiffon cake or mamonalthough it has baking powder; the one from Miami has very little sugar and cornstarch added to the batter. I chose to make the one from Miami because I love airy light cakes. I made cones out of parchment paper and baked them on ice cream cone servers but these can be baked in lined muffin cups.

Capuchinos 1
cake
5 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
syrup
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
peel and juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla

• Cakes: Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Beat egg yolks and sugar for 15 minutes until thick. Sift cornstarch over egg mixture and gently fold  until mixed. Transfer into a pastry bag, snip the tip of the bag and fill paper cones or paper liners 2/3 full. Bake for about 12 minutes or until tops are rounded and golden.When done, peel off the paper cones and pour syrup over them. 
• Syrup: Put sugar, water, lemon peel, and¼ teaspoon lemon juice to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Add brandy and vanilla. Cool completely before using.

Here is the recipe in its entirety from RECIPES OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

Capuchinos 2 

5 well-beaten eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup melted fat

1 cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons brandy

• Beat the eggs and sugar well. Add the melted fat then add the dry ingredients. Add brandy. Place in greased muffin pans and bake in hot oven. Before serving, dip in thin syrup for half a second. Set in a cool place to dry.