Yema Balls

Image via Wikipedia

Yema is a Filipino term to describe sugar and soft milk mixture. 

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks 

180 g condensed milk 

120 g mashed potato 

1 tablespoon plain flour 

1 teaspoon vanilla essence 

1 tablespoon butter 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

Sugar Glaze: 

100 g sugar 

60 ml water 

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar 

Procedure:

1. Combine all the ingredients and cook in a double boiler, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens (about 15 minutes). Set aside to cool.

2. Once cool enough to handle, roll into 2.5 cm diameter balls. 

3. For the sugar glaze, combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. 

4. Cook until syrup is lightly caramelized. 

5. Dip the Yema balls into the syrup and set aside to cool before wrapping in cellophane paper.

Here is a video of a yema recipe making use of jackfruit.

Avocado Milkshake

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A milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce.

In the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, and south India (especially the coastal Kerala andKarnataka region), avocados are frequently used for milkshakes and occasionally added to ice creamand other desserts. In Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, a dessert drink is made with sugar, milk or water, and pureed avocado. Chocolate syrup or whipped cream are sometimes added.

Avocado Milkshake with straw. Photo by A. Turner

Ingredients:

1 avocado 

1/3 quart whole milk 

3 tablespoons sugar 

2 scoops vanilla ice cream 

1/2 cup ice cubes

Equipment needed:

Blender/ Mixer or Stabmixer

Procedure:

1. Cut avocado and scoop out meat. Put all in the blender.

2. Pour in all other ingredients and blend until liquid consistency is achieved. Add more  milk if you prefer thinner consistency.

3. Pour in a long glass. Decorate with straw, whipped cream or chocolate syrup. Serve.

Peanut Brittle Squares

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Brittle is a type of confection, consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts.

A mixture of sugar and water is heated to the hard crack stage corresponding to a temperature of around 300 °F (approx. 150 °C). Nuts are mixed with the caramelized sugar. At this point spices, leavening agents, and often peanut butter or butter are added. The hot candy is poured out onto a flat surface for cooling, traditionally a granite or marble slab. The hot candy may be troweled to uniform thickness. When the brittle cools, it is broken into pieces.

Peanut brittle is a specialty of Baguio. It is sold not only on the streets and specialty shops in Baguio but also in big department stores all over the country. 

I first encountered Peanut brittle squares when I was in elementary. It was a sweet pick that I insist my mom buys me everytime she goes to the market.

Ingredients:

1 cup of shelled roasted peanuts 

1/2 cup of sugar 

3/4 cup of milk 

1/4 cup of sugar for the pastry board Equipment needed:

Equipments needed:


meat grinder
saucepan
spatula
rolling pin
knife or cookie cutter
cooking spoon


Procedure:

1. Put the peanuts through a meat grinder with a medium blade and start grinding. 


2. Place nuts in a saucepan with the 1/2 cup of sugar and the milk. Mix well. 

3. Place the peanut mixture over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and the sugar dissolves. 

4. Lower the flame and continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Do this for about 15 minutes until mixture gets very thick.

5. When the mixture is so thick that you can see the bottom of the pan when you stir, remove from heat.

6. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of sugar on the pastry board. Turn the peanut mixture out onto the sugar and flatten it out with a spatula. 

7. Allow it to cool so you can handle it. 

8. Next roll it out with a rolling pin until the mixture is about 1/4 inch thick. 


9. With a knife, cut the mixture into small squares or with a cookie cutter. 

10. Remove the cookies from the pastry board with a spatula.


Tip: You can wrap each peanut brittle square separately with Japanese paper for best presentation. Store in an air tight sealed jar. 


A video on how to make peanut brittle using microwave.

Currywurst Sauce

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Currywurst is a fast-food dish of German origin consisting of hot pork sausage (German: Wurst) cut into slices and seasoned with curry ketchup (regularly consisting of ketchup or tomato paste blended with curry) and generous amounts of curry powder, or a ready-made ketchup-based sauce seasoned with curry and other spices. It is frequently served at German 'Imbissbuden' and from food trucks.

Currywurst as a Fastfood product

Currywurst with baguette. Photo by SDeluz

Today, currywurst is often sold as a take-out/take-away food, Schnellimbisse (snacks), at diners or "greasy spoons," on children's menus inrestaurants, or as a street food. Usually served with french fries or bread rolls (brötchen), it is popular all over Germany but particularly popular in the metropolitan areas of Berlin, Hamburg and the Ruhr Area. Considerable variation both in the type of sausage used and the ingredients of the sauce occurs between these areas. Common variations include the addition of paprika or chopped onions. Often currywurst is sold in food booths, sometimes using a special machine to slice it into pieces, and served on a paper plate with a little wooden or plastic fork. It is also sold as a supermarket-shelf product to prepare at home.

Ingredients:

a pack of German sausages (wurst)

2 tbsp. canola oil
1 larg onion (finely chopped)

2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp hot paprika
2 cups whole peeled canned tomatoes 
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt to taste


Procedure:


1. Steam or cook wurst in boiling water for less than 5 minutes. (Some preferred it fried, but boiling is healthier). Set aside.


2. Heat 2 tbsp. canola oil in a saucepan over medium heat. 


3. Add the onion and cook until soft, 8–10 minutes.


4. Add 2 tbsp. curry powder and 1 tbsp. hot paprika. Cook for 1 minute more. 


5. Crush 2 cups whole peeled canned tomatoes (with juice) into pan. Add 1⁄2 cup sugar, 1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar, and salt to taste. Stir well. 


6. Increase heat to high while bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 25 minutes. 


7. Purée sauce in a blender until smooth. Strain sauce through a sieve. Serve hot over sausage. 


Tip: The procedure may seem daunting but it makes only about 1 1⁄2 cups. You can make more and store it in the freezer for future consumption. This will actually taste like curry flavored ketsup.


Its in German but I recommend hit translate if you don't know the language.

Prepare to have hunger pangs after watching this video. I just love currywurst!

Ube Halaya (Purple Yam)

Ube Halaya (Purple Yam) with Latik on top. Photo by dollierv

Purple yam is used in a variety of desserts, as well as a flavor for ice cream, milk, Swiss rolls,tarts, cookies, cakes, and other pastries. In the Philippines, it is eaten as a sweetened dessert or jam called ube halaya and added as an ingredient in the ice dessert called halo-halo. In Maharashtra, the stir-fried chips are eaten during religious fasting. Purple yam is also an essential ingredient in Undhiyu.

Ube Halaya is a tedious job to do that it is normally prepared during special occasions only. It requires a lot of stirring in low fire until you get the sticky mixture that is consistent with this special treat.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ube (purple yam) (powdered ube is also available in Asian stores) 

250 g sugar 

1 can condensed milk 

2 cups coconut milk 

butter 

Procedure:

1. Boil yam until tender and cut into cubes, then grind in a food processor with sugar and coconut milk.

• If you have the powdered variety found in the Asian stores, you can skip this part and just mix ingredients: powdered purple yam, sugar and coconut milk.

2. Transfer to a wok and add the condensed milk. 

3. Cook over a low fire, stirring continuously. Continue stirring until the mixture turns into a thick paste and separates from the pan. 

4. Transfer to a shallow platter or pan and brush top with butter. Allow to cool. Serve with latik on top.

Brazo de Mercedes

Brazo de Mercedes. Photo by yoppy

Brazo de Mercedes is a creme filled roll cake with meringue. It is just like a swiss roll. Swiss roll or jelly roll is a type of sponge cake roll. The thin cake is made of eggs, flour and sugar and baked in a very shallow rectangular baking tray, called a sheet pan. The cake is removed from the pan and spread with jam or buttercream, rolled up, and served in circular slices.

This is a sweet roll cake commonly store bought in the Philippines. One of my favorite cakes besides mocha cake.

Ingredients for the Filling:

5 cups milk 

1 cup sugar 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

8 egg yolks 

1/4 cup toasted and finely grounded cashew nuts 

Procedure:

1. In a saucepan, simmer milk over low heat until reduced (approximately half the initial amount). 

2. Add sugar, butter and vanilla extract, stirring all the while. Remove from heat. 

3. Beat egg yolks in mixing bowl. Gradually add milk mixture by spoonfuls, beating all the while. Stir well to avoid curdling. 

4. Add cashew nuts and continue cooking entire mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture has consistency of a paste. Set aside.

Ingredients for Meringue:

10 egg whites 

1 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400deg F or 200 deg C.

2. Beat egg whites until stiff. 

3. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating continuously. Stir in vanilla. 

4. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper greased with butter and flour. 

5. Spread meringue on top. Bake until brown. 

6. Spread filling evenly on top of meringue and roll into a log. Brush with butter and put again in the oven until brown.

Pianono

Pianono or Jelly rolled chiffon cake. Photo by stu_spivack

Pianono is a Filipino bread or pastry which is basically a chiffon roll flavored with different fillings. I remember buying this in the nearby bakery when I was young. The sugar dustings covering this soft bread gives it the sweetness every kids love. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup ground unsalted almonds
1 cup dessicated coconut or coconut flakes
12-ounce can condensed milk
1 cup sifted flour
1/3 cup cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar 3 eggs, separated

1/3 cup cold water

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

Procedure :

1. Line your jelly-roll pan with foil. Preheat oven to 375F or 200 deg C.

2. Melt butter and pour into foiled pan. Mix nuts and coconut flakes and sprinkle evenly in pan. Drizzle with condensed milk.

3. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and sugar.

4. Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl until fluffy.

5. Blend sifted dry ingredients, water, vanilla and beaten egg yolks. Beat for another minute.

6. Beat egg whites separately until stiff and fold into mixture.

7. Pour into pan and bake for 20 minutes or until cake is done. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Transfer to a cookie sheet, roll in jelly-roll fashion and wrap with a towel to set until cool.

8. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with more confectioner’s sugar.

Salted Eggs (Itlog na Maalat)

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Salted egg or itlog na maalat in Tagalog is a hard boiled egg that is salty and used for decorating bibingka or partnered with fried meals. There are two ways of making salted egg. One is by use of saline solution and the other by packing it under charcoal / mud / salt mixture. Duck eggs are normally used for this process due to its thicker shell as compared to that of the chicken eggs. Filipinos living abroad have not much access with duck eggs so chicken eggs are much preferred and has a much shorter time of preparation.

Salted eggs. Photo by SDeluz

Popular Production Method in Philippines

A popular method for processing salted eggs in the Philippines is the Pateros method. The salted egg is prepared Pateros style by mixing clay (from ant hills or termite mounds), table salt and water in the ratio of 1:1:2 until the texture of the admixture becomes smooth and forms a thick texture similar to cake batter. The fresh eggs are individually dipped in the admixture, and packed in 150-egg batches in newspaper-lined 10x12x18 inch wooden boxes (often residual boxes of dried fish packing). The whole batch is then lightly wrapped in newspapers to slow down the dehydration process.

The eggs are then stored indoors at room temperature over the next 12 to 14 days to cure. This way the salt works its way into the eggs uniformly in the batch. Curing can last up to 18 days, but that results in very long-lasting red eggs that can have a 40-day shelf life, which is largely unnecessary, as the eggs are stocked and replenished biweekly.

After the two-week curing period, the eggs are hand-cleaned with water and a brush and prepared to be boiled in low heat for 30 minutes. Time is measured from the first moment the water boils and the immersion of the eggs. The 50-egg batch is then wrapped in fish nets for ease of removal from the cookware. The cookware must be large enough to accommodate the batch with a two-inch covering of water.

Chicken eggs may be processed the same way, although up to 10% of the batch can break during the process.

I used chicken eggs in this recipe. Make sure to store them in a clear jar so as to see if any cracks will form. Cracked eggs in a mixture will result in too salty egg. 

Ingredients:

a dozen chicken eggs

salt

4 cups of water

Procedure:

1. Add salt to boiling water. 

2. Stir while continuously adding salt. Saline solution is done if salt added will no longer dissolve.

3. Let cool. 

4. Arrange all eggs in a jar. Pour in the cooled, strained saline solution into the jar. 

5. Cover tight and leave in the pantry for 7 days. Test one by cooking to see if it is ready. If not, continue to steep a few days longer. As soon as one is ready, remove the rest and leave in the fridge but not for long though.

Bibingka (Galapong)

Bibingka is a delicacy in Philippines that is tangent with Christmas. It is normally sold on the street during Simba De Gallo together with puto bumbong and tsaa. Simba de Gallo is the sixteen days of early morning mass before Christmas eve. Back in my town, Imus Cavite, we're blessed with a special shop that offers this delicious delicacy everyday for 365 days a year. I remember stopping by the store ordering this after every Sunday mass with my family.

Bibingkang Galapong for Easter. Photo by SDeluz

There's a number of bibingka recipes out there that is easy to make. This is one of those with the exception that it is made of galapong. milled glutinous rice is known as galapong. Milling - that is, washing and soaking the rice first, and then proceeding to milling proper - is generally preferred as this removes the unpleasant powdery texture found in glutinous rice which has been dried first and then converted to flour.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup coconut milk 

3/4 cup sugar 

1/8 cup melted margarine 

1 cup rice flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

banana leaf for lining

For topping:

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup sugar for topping

butter

1 salted egg, sliced crosswise

Procedure: 

1. Add sugar to melted margarine. Mix until creamy. 

2. Add beaten eggs to the mixture.

3. Combine salt and flour, baking powder in a separate bowl; add to egg mixture alternately with the coconut milk.

4. Add melted margarine, coconut milk, and baking powder. 

5. Pour into banana leaf-lined mold. 

6. Bake in 375 degrees Fahrenheit (200 deg C) for 10 minutes.

7. In the meantime, mix coconut cream and sugar in a bowl.

8. After 10 minutes, take it out from the oven and brush top with butter. Layer with salted eggs. Spread the coconut milk and sugar mixture next. Return in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

9. Again, take it out from the oven and distribute dessicated coconut on top. Return in the oven and bake until golden crust is formed or toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Tip: In using banana leaf for the mold, make sure to cut out the middle hard part of the leaf. You can use hair dryer in molding the leaf in the pan.

For the recipe of salted egg or itlog na maalat, click here.

Ways of Enjoying your Ice Cream this Lent

Banana split with vanilla, lemon, joghurt ice cream. Photo by SDeluz

The sun is finally shining! From 5 deg C to staggering 25 deg C. Not  bad. What is traumatizing is the pollen ridden air. No rain the whole month which is so unlike the April weather we have here in Bonn. Now, eating out is troublesome due to mottled faces, itchy eyes and blocked nose. A small problem easily solved by taking cetrizin (anti-histamine medication) early in the morning. So now I can breathe while enjoying my ice cream even though my face is doubling up due to hay fever. A cheaper way of doing this is stacking up on different flavors of ice cream. wafer sticks, marshmallow, banana, colored candies and nuts.Then you can do your own sundae, banana split or decorated scooped ice cream right in the comfort of your own patio.

Banana Split

Making your own banana split is easy as 1-2-3. Just pick a platter where the length of a banana will fit in. With this, of course you will need at least 3 different flavored ice cream, banana, choco syrup, nuts, marshmallow. Cut the banana lengthwise. Place them on each side and position the three scoops of different flavored ice cream in the middle. Drop in some nuts. Marshmallow is delish also if preferred. Then lavish on choco syrup. Stick in a wafer if desired. Vavoom! Your very own banana split.

4 scoops of different flavored ice cream: blue, vanilla, cookies and chocolate. Photo by SDeluz

Some kids like making an ice cream soup though. They maybe messy and disgusting for people our age, but hey, they are kids! Kids like experimenting. Messy foods are part of their job. They prefer scoops of different flavored ice cream in a bowl. Eat some spoonful of it then just mash everything until its a browny mushy goo which they slurp with gusto. Credit them for being not picky.

Dolphin Ice Cream using blue ice cream, wafers and smarties. Photo by SDeluz

Some kids prefer a much colorful ice cream than others. A good way to entice them is presentation. But hey, its ice cream! Who needs enticing? If you have a fun plate to use like a dolphin shaped one as shown above, scoop up their fave flavor, add some rounded wafers and smarties and you have yourself a dolphin ice cream.

Nutty ice cream using vanilla and walnut flavored ice cream. Photo by SDeluz

   For nut lovers or just plain nutty, use a nut flavored ice cream, nutty chocolate (in this case a Giotto) and drizzle with chocolate syrup and more bits of nuts.