Ode to Brussels sprouts

No, this is not a poem about the tiny cabbagehead. It’s a short note about this particular cruciferous veggie and how it had suffered injustice in the hands of too-eager cooks.

Brussels sprouts have been described in not so flattering terms as a detestable vegetable in terms of texture and taste, as stereotyped by kids hating the stuff more than broccoli. And this stereotype only exists in the Western side of the world, as it is very rare (or even nonexistent, as far as I know) in Asian cuisine.

Recently, this has been the case: Asian grad student (i.e., me), meet Brussels sprouts–Brussels sprouts (or in Dutch, spruiten), meet Asian grad student. Grad student goes “WTH is this tiny cabbagehead?!”

How can something so tiny and cute be so maligned in pop culture? One word: overcooking. This little one is soooooo easy to overcook.

(Courtesy of Wikipedia, because my camera died on me)

(Courtesy of Wikipedia, because my camera died on me)

This tiny veg has sinigrin, which is responsible for the disagreeable taste of overcooked sprouts (it gets degraded in high heat, splits off from its sugar molecule…and did I tell you that it has a sulfur atom or two in its structure? Hence the smell and taste).

But…its propensity to be easily overcooked is a plus for a harried grad student–this only means that it has an absurdly short cooking time, so whipping up a simple leafy side dish (or a main) is just under 8 minutes of cooking time (go past it–ugh!).

Here’s one treatment of this veggie that I did, without looking for an actual recipe. My kitchen philosophy lately is–grab whatever and go.

Simple sauteed sprouts in sesame oil
Materials
- Brussels sprouts, bases chopped, spotty/brown/hole-y outer leaves removed (if head is too big, cut in half)
- Garlic, minced (amount is variable, but I love garlic!)
- 1 Tbsp (or thereabouts) peanut oil or RBD coconut oil (or any mild, bland oil)
- Black sesame oil
- Salt and pepper, variable

Methodology
- Blanch prepared sprouts in boiling salted water for 2-3 mins. or until the heads turn bright green. Pour in a colander and cold-shock the batch with cold running water from the tap. Drain well.
- Heat peanut or coconut oil in a big frying pan or wok (medium high). Toss in minced garlic until it turns light golden brown and the garlicky smell is apparent.
- Toss in the drained sprouts. Season with salt and pepper. Stir-fry them for 2-3 minutes, or until they are lightly coated with hot oil and garlic.
- Drizzle with black sesame oil, toss and remove from heat immediately.

Discussion
Cooking time. When you do the math, the total cooking time is 6 minutes, tops. That’s little under 8 mins, after which you’re past the point of no return and the veggie turns into something hateful and a complete waste of time and resources.

Cold-shock. This is a measure to ensure that the veggie is not overcooked. Sprouts are notorious for storing heat in their compacted leaf-heads, so even though they’re drained from the blanching liquid, the heat will cook them from the inside. As you may notice, I did not score the bottom of the sprouts before blanching–damaging the veggie in that manner increases the risk of overcooking. Might as well cut the sprouts into half before blanching, so you’d get to see how the inside looks while cooking.

Peanut or coconut oil? And what’s RBD? Peanut oil is actually tasteless. And can withstand high heat without getting degraded. Coconut oil is better–that is, RBD (refined, bleached and deodorized) coconut oil because it doesn’t degrade into trans-containing oil at high heat and is bland. Using a mild, bland oil brings the natural flavor of the key ingredients (sprouts, garlic, sesame) to the fore.

Properly cooked sprouts taste–? Wonderful. Au naturel, it has a pleasant nutty flavor to it, which complements well with the aroma of fried garlic and sesame oil. The bitterness is absent, or, if you choose to focus on it, a very minor note that gives an earthy dimension to the dish.

I like pairing this dish with a simple main one–like pan-grilled sausage, or a serving of well-aged chicken-and-pork adobo. And lots of rice, of course.

 

Phast Phood – One, two, three…onigiri!

Looks like PhDJ’s in an Asian summer spell with the recent posts–the siomai and the lunchtime haiku.  While the Western world is preoccupied with football and psychic octopi, from which takoyaki balls are made from, here’s another Asian food post.

In a recent care-package from home, my mother included my never-been-used twin onigiri molds.

Now, wait a sec…what IS an onigiri?

As is nicely explained here, onigiri is a pressed rice ball.  Well, “ball” here can come in different shapes, like triangles, cylinders…even Hello Kitty heads. Traditionally, onigiri were made by hand, hence the basic ball, triangle and cylinder shapes . Nori (a kind of seaweed, often roasted and pressed into sheets) wrappers are optional–though they serve as edible Saran wraps, as these rice balls are often packed by travellers.

For this set of onigiri, I used a mold. For practical reasons–as much as possible (since it’s summer), I want to minimize hand contact with cooked food to prevent spoilage, AND I hate the feeling of sticky rice between my fingers!

Materials

• Short-grain Japanese rice
• Nori sheets
• Savory fillings – I used canned salmon and leftover dal cooked in masala
• Fine sea salt (optional)
• Onigiri mold…or your ultra-clean hands (with a bowl of salted water nearby)

Methodology

• Cook Japanese rice according to product instructions.
• Rinse the insides of the mold.  You may sprinkle salt* to coat the inner walls.
• Fluff rice. Half-fill the mold with the rice (do not press!). If you have fillings on hand, make a shallow well in the center.
• Add the filling, then loosely cover with more rice. Cover with the other half of the mold and press down.
• Unmold the rice ball.  Serve as is, or wrap it with nori.

Results and Discussion

Rice. Sorry to say, but our favorite staple–long-grain Thai rice–just doesn’t cut it.  I had to learn it the hard way in a previous attempt, with brown jasmine rice.  Japanese rice is sticky enough to keep its molded shape, but not too sticky and heavy like glutinous rice.

Salt? The simplest onigiri is an unfilled rice ball coated with salt with a strip of nori to keep sticky fingers at bay while eating.  Salt here serves as a flavoring AND as a short-term preservative (well, unless you bury it in salt, but the result will be very unpalatable BUT preserved).

Fillings? One great thing about onigiri is that anything that goes well with rice can be stuffed inside the ball, triangle, cylinder…what have you. Just make sure that it’s sufficiently dry enough to not seep through the rice and make the structure crumble, nori or no nori.

No mold? Well, you can try using a small teacup + cling-film…or just have very clean hands dampened with salted water.

Wrapping up

What makes this dish as a perfect item for packed lunches and quick food for grad-school foodies is that this can be made in 15-minutes flat, provided that there are fillings on hand.  15 minutes–that’s the average time in cooking rice.

To simplify things further, especially for those watching their budgets and summer calories, the fillings can be made in advance and stored in the fridge.  Or the rice balls can be made in advance, wrapped in nori, then in cling-film, then placed in freezer bags and boxes before storing them in the fridge (or freezing them)–to eat them, just pop a piece or two in the microwave for a minute then it’s good as fresh.

I foresee a week of stuffed onigiri and a cup of fruit yoghurt for my lunch…

 

Okonomiyaki craze

Janet started all this with this post on okonomiyaki.

Upon request, she brought me a pack of okonomiyaki flour and a bottle of okonomiyaki sauce when she visited me a few weeks ago.  I immediately tried it and was hooked! I ate it four nights in a row.  Partly because of addiction and partly because of practical reasons.  (I didn’t want the huge cabbage I bought to go to waste.)

I tried different things each time: adding bacon, slivers of sausages, shrimp, cheese, whole eggs, nori.  It was really fun to make too!  The final product may look fancy, but it’s terribly easy to do.  Just like a making a pancake.  Flipping the entire thing was a challenge too.  Thankfully, I managed and didn’t end up with okonomiyaki-on-the-floor.  (Thanks to all the cooking shows that “taught” me how to do it!)

Mix everything into the batter and spread onto a hot, nonstick pan

You can add whatever you like (OKONOMI) ! Lay bacon on one side and flip it over.

I went grand with the last okonomiyaki I made: bacon, crisped sausages, shrimp, and a whole egg!

Spreading the tangy-sweet okonomi sauce browns it quickly.

This tastes as good as it looks. My Japanese colleague CRAVED for it after seeing the picture.

While eating my okonomiyaki with a glass of ice-cold citrus juice, I watched this No Reservations Osaka special:

dp10

 

Asian Barbecue Pasta

Among all the dishes I’ve made up or mastered, this one has got to be my “signature dish”.  Whenever I serve this in parties, I always get good reviews.  I was reluctant at first to reveal the recipe, but since Kookie promised the recipes for her birthday lunch, I have decided to make it public.  (As a safeguard too, I’m not revealing any specific brands.  If you still want the original, you’ve got to eat at my place.)

This dish was inspired by the Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta from a chain called Yellow Cab Pizza, which was my favorite pizza restaurant back home.  After eating the dish so many times, I decided, why not experiment and make my own version?

Since I don’t have access to my usual ingredients (ie. my favorite brands back home), I have standardized this recipe using as many items as can be found in a common German supermarket.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

4 Tablespoons vegetable oil

5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

150 g roasted peanuts

200 g chicken (cut into thin strips)

300 g Fresh champignons (thinly sliced)

1 red chili pepper (labuyo or Thai variety, finely chopped)

1 bottle barbecue sauce (~250 mL, any kind/brand, but darker barbecue sauce is better)

80 mL oyster sauce

200 g (~6 Tablespoons) creamy peanut butter

300 mL water

85 g sugar

2.5 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1-2 bell peppers (~250 g, cut into strips)

5 teaspoons sesame oil

• Sautee the peanuts and the garlic in the vegetable oil and 1 tsp of sesame oil until the garlic is golden, but not brown.

• Add and cook the chicken strips

• Add mushrooms, chili, barbecue sauce, oyster sauce, peanut butter, and water. Mix well.

• Add sugar, salt, and pepper. Simmer at low heat until sauce thickens.  Adjust flavor to your own liking.
• Remove from heat. Add in chopped bell peppers and 4 teaspoons of sesame oil. Mix well and let the sauce rest for about 5 min.

• Mix sauce with some pre-cooked fusilli pasta.
• Garnish with additional roasted peanuts and chili flakes.  Serve with crisp bread, preferably sesame crackers (Sesam Knäckebrot).
• This recipe can serve about 10 people (~800g of uncooked fusilli.)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

I had the hardest time standardizing this dish, especially since (A) I’m not used to measuring anything and usually just go by taste, and (B) It’s so hard to re-create the actual flavor of the pasta using German ingredients!  Even this “Euro-version” of my signature pasta dish, although close to the original, still isn’t IT.  Nevertheless, this version is still a crowd-pleaser.

The sauce must be very thick and intensely-flavored.  For me, the proper sauce is intensely savory and sweet at the same time, with just the right amount of warmth provided by the chili.  The sesame flavor must be there, but must not dominate the entire dish.  Thus, one must be careful in choosing the sesame oil to use.  If the sesame oil is made from dark or toasted sesame, a smaller amount may be needed.  (NB: There are some people with sesame allergies, so be careful!)

I used a large amount of sugar for the sauce simply because peanut butter and barbecue sauce here in Europe just aren’t sweet enough.  In the Philippines, I had favorite brands of BBQ sauce and peanut butter that didn’t need further sweetening.  (If those back home can guess it, you can actually nail this dish :p)  An alternative to the tomato-based BBQ sauce is any kind of java sauce or peanut-based BBQ sauce found in Asian foodstores.

This dish can be made with canned tuna instead of chicken.  This switch makes it easier to cook and is cheaper too.  Another alternative is to make the dish completely vegetarian by completely omitting the meat and doubling the amount of mushrooms.  For this version, I used fresh large champignons, but I would usually use rehydrated shiitake mushrooms due to their meaty consistency.

Since the sauce will be very thick and flavorful, it is highly recommended that the sauce be pre-mixed with the pasta.  The pasta should only be lightly coated with the barbecue sauce.  Smaller pasta types with a high surface area are also recommended (eg. fusilli, spirelli, or penne).  The sauce can be frozen and kept for a long time.  If this is to be done, it is better to just add the bell peppers after reheating.

So there you go!  Do let me know if you try this at home and if you make any revisions.  For my friends who do know the brands I purposely omitted, I trust you will NOT reveal them under any circumstances.

dp08