Matcha White Hot Chocolate

There are some flavors that just seem destined to be paired together.  Salt and pepper.  Ginger and scallion.  Chocolate and peanut butter.  To that exalted list of flavor pairings, I 'd like to nominate matcha green tea and white chocolate.

I was craving something warm, sweet, and comforting, and for some reason my mind came up with matcha and hot chocolate.  But not regular hot chocolate, a white hot chocolate.  A quick google showed me I wasn't the first one with this idea.  I followed Love & Lemons' recipe which was super simple:  melt some white chocolate chips in some milk, whisk some matcha green tea powder in some hot water, combine the two, and voila!  Matcha white hot chocolate!

I love how the two flavors interact with each other.  By itself, matcha can be bitter and unpleasant while white chocolate can be too sickly sweet.  But paired up, they temper each other's extremes to give you a creamy, herbaceous concoction.  For the milk, I used vanilla soy milk, which adds just a hint of sweetness.  If you're looking for a thick, decadent hot chocolate, this is not the right recipe.  But if you're looking for a perfectly balanced, subtly flavored hot chocolate that you can drink without feeling too guilty, it doesn't get any better than this.

Matcha White Hot Chocolate (adapted from Love & Lemons)
makes 1 cup

3 tablespoons white chocolate chips
3/4 cups vanilla soy milk
1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
1/2 cup hot water

Melt the white chocolate chips in 1/4 cup of the soy milk by microwaving on high for 30 seconds.  Stir until combined.  Heat the rest of the soy milk and mix together.

Whisk the match into the hot water.  Combine with the soy milk mixture and serve.

Next:  Heart-Shaped Tamgaoyaki
Previously:  Burmese Coconut Noodles with Tofu
Two Years Ago:  Passion Fruit Marshmallows
Five Years Ago:  Nutella Ice Cream
Six Years Ago:  Tomato and Eggs over Rice

Burmese Coconut Noodles with Tofu

I'm going to admit right off that I've never been to Burma, and I don't think I've even had these noodles at a restaurant before so I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to taste like, but when I saw this recipe for Burmese Noodle Bowl on Food52, I knew I had to try it.  From my one experience with Burmese noodles (made by my friend Alvin), the flavor profile seems pretty authentic:  lots of aromatics like onions and a mineral earthiness from turmeric.

The first step to making the curry sauce is to make a paste with onions, garlic, and ginger.  I used my food processor to do this since I didn't want my precious Vitamix smelling like onions.  The food processor worked pretty well, but every time I opened the lid to scrape down the sides, a pungent flume of onion vapors would be released.  So if you're the type of person that cries easily when cutting onions, you're probably going to have a bad time with this.

Since I try not to cook too much meat anymore, I decided to use tofu as the protein and add some of the chicken flavor back in with chicken broth.  You can buy fried tofu from a Asian grocery store or just slice and pan fry firm tofu yourself.  You can also buy fried shallots (red onions) from an Asian grocery story or slice and fry them up yourself.  Since I didn't have any shrimp paste, I substituted a tablespoon of fish sauce and some chickpea flour to thicken the sauce.  I decided to use yellow Chinese noodles instead of rice noodles, but I think you could also use ramen noodles or even udon noodles if you wanted.  Lastly, I omitted the cilantro topping since I consider it the devil's weed, but if you like that sort of thing, you should definitely add it.

Burmese Coconut Noodles with Tofu (adapted from Food52)
serves 3-4

2 medium onions
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
14 oz. chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
1 tablespoon chickpea flour (optional)
14 oz. can coconut milk
12 oz. noodles
Fried tofu
Fried shallots
3 eggs, boiled and chopped
Kosher salt and chili powder, to taste
1 lime, quartered

Peel and roughly chop the onions and garlic.  Add the onions, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce to a food processor and process into a paste.

Add the canola and sesame oil to a large pot and heat over medium heat.  Add the paste and cook for several minutes until it starts to get dry and the rawness of the onion is gone.  Add the turmeric and chili powder and mix.

Whisk the chickpea flour, if using, into the chicken broth.  Add the broth and coconut milk to the pot and mix.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the noodles according to the manufacturer's instructions, and prepare the rest of the toppings.  Taste the curry sauce and add salt and/or chili powder, to taste.

Divide the noodles into 3 bowls, ladle the curry sauce over the noodles, and top with tofu, fried shallots, and the egg.  Serve with the lime slices, cilantro, and additional fish sauce and chili powder, if you like.

Next:  Matcha White Hot Chocolate
Previously:  San Bei (Taiwanese Three Cup) Tofu and Ramen
Last Year:  Homemade Tagliatelle with Shaved Truffles
Two Years Ago:  Vanilla and Cinnamon Marshmallows
Five Years Ago:  Lemon Pudding Cake
Six Years Ago:  Toasted Coconut Ice Cream with Sesame Brittle and Crystallized Ginger

San Bei (Taiwanese Three Cup) Tofu and Ramen

Hope you all survived the blizzard of 2015!  I was lucky enough to work from home for the first time in a long time which meant a homemade, non-leftover hot lunch!  I wanted to try to make a traditional Taiwanese dish called san bei ji but with tofu instead of chicken.  San bei translates to "three cup" (ji means chicken), which describes the three main ingredients in the sauce:  equal amounts of sesame oil, soy sauce, and cooking wine.

I followed this recipe, but since I didn't have a clay pot, I just used a medium shallow pan, which also meant this was a one pot dish.  If you don't have rock sugar, you can probably substitute raw sugar, or in a pinch, plain white sugar.

If you can believe it, this is my first time pan-frying tofu without a coating, and I really liked how it turned out!  The inside is still soft and custardy while the outside is just a little firmer.  Best of all, it keeps this texture while braising in the san bei sauce and gains a whole boatload of flavor at the same time.

San Bei (Taiwanese Three Cup) Tofu (adapted from Kitty's Home Cooking)
serves 1-2

12 oz. package extra firm silken tofu
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 slices of fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves, smashed
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
1 tablespoon rock sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon corn starch
A large handful of Thai basil leaves

Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towels.  Carefully slice into thick slices.

Heat a medium pan on medium high and add the vegetable oil.  Pan fry the tofu slices for several minutes on each side until golden brown.  Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and let drain.

Remove any excess oil in the pan and then add the sesame oil.  Stir fry the ginger and garlic over low heat until fragrant.  Add the soy sauce, cooking wine, rock sugar, water, and the tofu slices.  Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, simmering for about 7 minutes.

Mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and add to the pan.  Bring the sauce to a boil again and stir until thickened.  Add the Thai basil leaves and cook for another minute until wilted.  Serve with white rice.

When I make this dish again, I'll probably reduce the amount of water or increase the amount of tofu because it made a lot more sauce than I really needed.  But since the sauce was so yummy, I decided not to waste it and experimented by adding it to some ramen noodles and a soft-cooked egg.  The result was so much better than I could have hoped for, and I will most definitely be experimenting with san bei ramen again!

Next:  Burmese Coconut Noodles with Tofu
Previously:  Peanut Butter Noodles
Last Year:  Grilled Cheese Egg in a Hole
Two Years Ago:  Bagel Bombs, Homemade Bagels
Five Years Ago:  Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter
Six Years Ago:  Xiao Long Bao, Dutch Babies

Peanut Butter Noodles

Recently my friends (and even my mom!) have been telling me that the recipes I've been posting have become too complicated.  So here's one of the simplest recipes I know; it was actually one of the first things I learned how to make when I started cooking in college.

The recipe comes from my friend, Jaleen, who, if I recall correctly, got it from her family.  You probably have all the main ingredients in your pantry already:  peanut butter, pasta, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar.  You literally don't even need measuring spoons for this; the sauce is made up of 3 parts peanut butter, 3 parts soy sauce, 1 part vinegar, 1 part sesame oil, and a pinch of sugar.  If I'm just making enough for myself, I use a small spoon, and if I want to make more than one serving, I'll grab a large spoon to measure.  I prefer to use smooth peanut butter, but this works just as well with chunky.  For the vinegar, rice wine vinegar is suggested, but regular white vinegar or cider vinegar would do in a pinch.

Depending on what else you have on hand, you can add a plethora of toppings:  toasted sesame seeds, sliced almonds, chopped scallions, shredded chicken, baked tofu, and shredded cucumbers are just a few ideas.  You can serve this dish cold or at room temperature so it's easily packable for lunch, picnic, or potluck.  See, I told you it was easy!  The hardest part about this recipe might be trying to mix the peanut butter into the other liquids without splashing, but if you stir carefully and long enough, you'll end up with a smooth, homogenous peanut sauce.

Peanut Butter Noodles
serves as many as you want

3 parts peanut butter
3 parts soy sauce
1 part sesame oil
1 part vinegar (rice wine vinegar preferred)
A pinch of sugar
Cooked noodles

Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, and sugar together until the sauce becomes smooth and creamy.

Toss with the cooked noodles, adding some of the pasta water if you want to thin out the sauce.  Serve with  toasted sesame seeds, sliced almonds, chopped scallions, shredded chicken, baked tofu, and/or shredded cucumbers if you like.

Next:  San Bei (Taiwanese Three Cup) Tofu and Ramen
Previously:  Zuppa Toscana
Last Year:  Flower Pavlovas, Banoffee Pie
Two Years Ago:  Spicy Tuna with Crispy Sushi Rice, Traditional Croissants
Five Years Ago:  Banana Bread Yeasted Waffles
Six Years Ago:  Nian Gao (Mochi Cake), Mayonnaise Shrimp with Candied Walnuts

Zuppa Toscana

I live in one of those rare regions of the United States that isn't big on chain restaurants, other than Dunkin' Donuts.  To explain how drastic it is, I'm pretty sure there isn't a single McDonalds located in the city I live in (population > 50,000)!  I don't really mind that much, but it means that going to restaurants like Olive Garden are actually a special occurrence to me, especially when I find myself in a town like Morgantown, West Virginia on a business trip and have no clue where to eat (true story).

I am easily satisfied with their endless soup, salad, and breadsticks and always get the Zuppa Toscana.  I have no idea if it's an authentic soup to Tuscany, but I don't care.  It's frickin' amazing.  Now that I'm back home, I looked for copycat recipes on-line, and there are like hundreds of them, even vegetarian and vegan ones!  I ended up just following the first hit that came up except I used vegan Italian "sausage" and whole milk instead of the heavy cream.  It's a bit healthier, but definitely not as rich as what you'd get with the cream.  I also added more kale and potatoes since I had a bunch of kale to use up from my Boston Organics box, and I love me my potatoes.  Since the chicken or vegetable broth you use will be one of the main flavor components in the soup, make sure you use a really good one.  Better yet, make your own!

Zuppa Toscana (adapted from Food.com)
serves 4

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. Italian sausage or vegan sausage, sliced or crumbled into small pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups good quality chicken or vegetable broth
4 cups water
3 large Russet potatoes
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Red pepper flakes, to taste
2-4 cups kale, ribs removed and torn into pieces
1 cup whole milk, half & half, or heavy cream

Heat the olive oil over medium in a large pot and add the sausage and chopped onions.  Stir occasionally until the sausage is browned (but not the onions).  Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the broth and water and bring the pot to a boil. 

Halve the potatoes lengthwise and then slice into 1/4" pieces.  Add to the soup.  Lower the heat so that the soup is simmering and cook until the potatoes are done.  Salt and pepper to taste, and add a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Adjust the seasonings as needed.  (Potatoes absorb a lot of salt, so you may need more than you think.)

Add the torn kale leaves and milk and stir.  Cook for another 5 minutes until the kale has wilted.  If you like, smoosh some of the potatoes into the soup to make it creamier and slightly thicker.  Serve hot.

Note:  Because of the addition of dairy and potatoes in this soup, it does not freeze well.  It does, however, taste better the next day after sitting in the fridge!

Next:  Peanut Butter Noodles
Previously:  Puppy Chow Pie
Last Year:  Salade Indochinoise
Two Years Ago:  Tartine's Lemon Cream Tart
Five Years Ago:  Gaufres de Leige (Belgian Waffles)
Six Years Ago:  Hua Juan (Steamed Scallion Buns)

Puppy Chow Pie

This dessert should really have another, more elegant name, like Peanut Butter-Chocolate Ganache Tart, but since it's based on the Puppy Chow treat, that's what I'm sticking with.  If you've never heard of Puppy Chow, it's the snack mix you get when you coat Crispix cereal with melted chocolate and peanut butter, then shake it in a bag with powdered sugar.  (Chex markets a version made with their cereal as Muddy Buddies.)  It's super addictive, messy to eat, and utterly delightful.  I was just thinking about making a batch the other week, so when I saw this post on The Crepes of Wrath for a Muddy Buddy Pie, I was inspired to make a Puppy Chow version.

As a word of caution, this is a super, sinfully rich dessert.  There's the buttery cereal crust filled with peanut butter-chocolate ganache and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.  I found that making a snowflake out of a 8 1/2" square of paper gives you the perfect sized template to cover the top of the pie if you want to make a pretty design.  It would probably make more sense to cut out a negative space snowflake so that the white part of the design is the snowflake itself, but I decided not to so that more of the top would be covered by the sugar.

Puppy Chow Pie (adapted from The Crepes of Wrath)
makes 1 pie

5 cups of Crispix cereal, ground into fine crumbs (about 2 cups once crushed)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Use a blender or food processor to grind the cereal into fine crumbs (if using a blender, you may have to do this in batches so that you don't end up with fine powder at the bottom and large pieces on top).  Mix with the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a 9" pie or tart pan and press into the sides and then the bottom.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden, but not caramelized.  Let cool while you make the filling.

In a small pot, heat the cream and vanilla over medium heat until simmering.  Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a medium, heat-proof mixing bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate.  Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.  Pour into the crust and chill overnight, or at least 6 hours.

If using a snowflake template, place on top of the pie and then dust with powdered sugar.  Serve small slices chilled or at room temperature.

Next:  Zuppa Toscana
Previously:  Pull Apart Thanksgiving Leftover Stuffed Bread
Last Year:  Miso Pumpkin Soup
Two Years Ago:  Homemade Ramen Noodles, Miso Ramen with Marinated Soft-Boiled Egg
Five Years Ago:  Wah Guay (Taiwanese Rice Cake with Meat Sauce), Tim Tam Slam Ice Cream,
Six Years Ago:  Beef Noodle (Soup) and Lu Dan, Pan-Fried Pasta with Butternut Squash, Fried Sage, and Pine Nuts

Pull-Apart Thanksgiving Leftover Stuffed Bread

I hosted Thanksgiving for my friends this year and ended up with a ton of leftovers:  turkey meat, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.  The one dish that was all gone (or claimed by guests) was my corn souffle!  I didn't mind having all the leftovers, though, because I've been wanting to make pull-apart stuffed bread after seeing this post a few weeks ago.  I decided to make the bread dough using Two Red Bowl's simplified recipe for Hokkaido milk bread, which turned out wonderfully soft and fluffy, just like the ones I made before.  This time I used the tangzhong method, which means first making a cooked flour paste (the tangzhong).  This paste is incorporated into the rest of the dough and is what makes it so soft and fluffy.

In terms of the types of filling, I'd go with softer, mushier textures like mashed potatoes, stuffing, or sweet potatoes and stay away from anything that could possibly poke through the dough like fresh green beans (canned green beans might be okay).  I ended up stuffing each roll with a bit of all the different leftovers since that's how I roll, but you can stuff them however you like.

Pull-Apart Thanksgiving Leftover Stuffed Bread (adapted from Two Red Bowls)
makes 24 small rolls

6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons plus 2 3/4 cup bread flour, divided
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
About 2 cups Thanksgiving leftovers (cubed turkey, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, stuffing, etc.)

To make the tangzhong, whisk the water and 2 tablespoons of flour together in a small saucepan until there are no lumps left.  Heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the mixture just starts to gel.  As soon as lines start to appear in the mixture when stirred, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Heat the milk to about 110°F by heating in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.  Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and set aside to allow the yeast to activate, about 5-10 minutes.

Sift or whisk together the rest of the flour (2 3/4 cups), salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  When the yeast is ready, add the tangzhong and egg and whisk to combine.  Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until the mixture forms a loose, shaggy dough, then use the dough hook of the stand mixer to knead until the dough forms a semi-smooth ball.

Add the butter to the dough, one tablespoon at a time, kneading after each addition.  Knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a large bowl with plenty of room and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let rise for 1-2 hours in a warm, draft-free area, or until well-doubled. Alternatively, let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator; the dough should be fine for up to 24 hours.  Line a round cake pan or square brownie pan with parchment paper.

Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and divide into 24 even pieces.  You can either use a food scale or divide the dough in half three times and then into thirds (2 * 2 * 2 * 3 = 24).  Working one a a time, roll out the dough into a flat circle about 3" in diameter.  If you can, try to make the edges thinner than the middle, but it's not super critical.

Drop a heaping tablespoon of Thanksgiving leftovers onto the middle of the dough.  Bring the edges of the dough together and seal.  I like to do this using the method I learned to wrap xiao long bao, but since the seal will be concealed on the bottom, it's fine to just bring four opposite parts of the dough together and then pinch together the edges in between together.  You just want to make sure that the filling is sealed inside.  Roll the ball a bit in your hands to reform a sphere.

Arrange the stuffed dough balls seam side down in the prepared pan just so they touch each other.  You may run out of room in the pan (I could only fit 19 balls, so I set the remaining in a smaller baking dish).  Brush the top of the rolls with olive oil and let the dough proof again until they are almost doubled, about another hour or so.  Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the rolls for about 25-35 minutes, until golden brown.  Serve warm with butter and any leftover cranberry sauce and/or gravy.

Next:  Puppy Chow Pie
Previously:  Jeni's Crème Sans Lait (Dairy Free Ice Cream)
Last Year:  Thai Coconute Sticky Rice with Mango
Two Years Ago:  Three Bean Chili
Five Years Ago:  Kettle Corn
Six Years Ago:  Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream