The Market Scene

So, you're new to the Philippines or you'll be moving to the Philippines for whatever reason.. ...new or 'unseasoned' expats underestimate the importance of cooking and grocery shopping in their new environment.  Understandably so, as grocery shopping is quite a mundane activity that one really doesn't give much thought to.

Secondly, specifically for Americans, it won't be in pounds and ounces.  The metric system is used here, just like in every country of the world.  During my first 1.5 years, I dreaded going to the supermarket since 1/2 kg or 250 mL didn't really mean anything to me.  At the bottom of this page, conversions are provided specifically for the Yankee expat.

Fish lips anyone?

As far as supermarkets in Manila go,  well, they're not so 'super' in terms of size.  They're a fraction of most U.S. supermarkets in terms of floor area and inventory.  The largest supermarkets tend to be the SM chain of supermarkets.  Also, you will notice that most supermarkets are found in shopping malls.  Stand-alone supermarkets are quite rare in Manila.  The only stand-alone chain of supermarkets are SaveMore, which, coinciddentally, are also owned by SM.  They pretty much carry the same items.  SaveMore supermarkets just tend to be smaller in size.

That's right, they sell live, fresh escargots at supermarkets

 at dirt cheap prices at US $0.55/lb or $1.21/kg.

Supermarkets in Manila usually receive their supplies from distributors and/or importers, not directly from the manufacturers.  What's the significance of this, you ask?   Let's say you're looking for Philadelphia Cream Cheese  or a Cadbury chocolate bar, and you find that they're out of stock at SM Supermarket at their Megamall branch.  So you think to yourself, "I'll go to Rustan's Supermarket (SM's competitor) to see if they have it."    Well, they most likely won't have it at Rustan's either or other SM branches.  If you notice your favorite product from back home hasn't been restocked for months now, do not bother looking for it in other branches or other supermarkets.  You won't most likely find it, as that particular product comes from the same distributor or importer. 

Another tip I'd like to share to you newcomers to the Philippines when it comes to weighing your produce,  there will be someone who will weigh them for you.  Since labor is quite cheap in this country,  DIY is simply not part of the culture.  Most middle and upper class Filipinos hire helpers to do their household chores for them.  But that's another topic.  My point is, this have-someone-do-it-for-you attitude pretty much extends to supermarkets as well.  Therefore, do not go to the check-out line expecting the check-out girl (yes, all the cashiers at all the supermarkets in Manila are women) to weigh it there at the counter and have the price appear on that tiny screen.  You will hold up the line because she's going to ask someone else to go back to the produce section and have it weighed and priced, which you should have done in the first place.   

In my subsequent posts, I will help you newcomers "uncover" what those "exotic" ingredients are.

Featured "Exotic" Ingredient: Purple Yam

In the meantime, this is specifically for American expats who are diving into the strange world that is the metric system.   All of these equivalents are approximate equivalents.

US                                  Metric

1 lb                              500 grams (g)           = 1/2 kg

2.2 lbs                         1 kilogram (kg)         = 1000 grams (g)

1 oz.                            28.35 g

33.81 fl. oz                  1 liter (l or L)             = 1000 milliliters (ml or mL)

1 gallon                       4 L         

1 pint                           473 ml    

1 quart                        946 ml      

1 tbsp                         15 ml

1 tsp                            5 ml

32 F                            0 C

212 F                         100 C

375 F                         190.55 C

400 F                         204.44 C

Heaven In Your Mouth, Hell On Your Waistline

Cream Puffs-Heaven in your mouth, hell on your waistline!

Food has a strange way of reminding us of a certain a time and place.  For me, if there is one particular food that I associate closely with a particular time and person in my life, that would be cream puffs and my mother.

This classic French pastry always reminds me of my mom and my childhood.  My mom has been making this ever since I can remember.  I used to watch her make this for special occasions.  When I got a little older, I'd help her make the filling.  People always requested that she bring this whenever there were potlucks and parties. 

When I was around 6 or 7 years old, I can recall her looking at some Julia Child cookbook as she was making these puffs.  I believe Julia Child popularized this French classic in the United States in the '70's, if I'm not mistaken.

I remember way back in the early '90's, there was a recession going on and my mom's hours at work were cut back.  To make ends meet, she sold these to her friends and co-workers.  Around Christmas time, I would come home from school and find our dining table (for 6 people), from one end to the other, full of these unfilled puffs.  She'd leave a note saying, "Honey, please fill these shells after you do your homework.   Love, Mom."  I must have gained about 5 lbs. during this time since not only was I just stuffing the shells, I was stuffing my face with these as well.  Needless to say, my waistline certainly suffered, and I managed to turn myself into  a chubby 9th grader in no time at all. 

I only started making these myself last Christmas.  I was quite surprised that I remembered the recipe just by watching my mom all those years ago.  I can practically do these with my eyes closed.  So here I am on the other side of the world, in my green kitchen (not my choice), making these same cream puffs the way my mom did in her tiny pink kitchen in Los Angeles.

Recipe:

Pâte à choux

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (115 g)      butter, unsalted

1/4 tsp  (1.26 g)     salt

1 cup    (236.6 ml) water

1 cup    (99.3 g )    flour

4 eggs

Preheat oven at 400 F (204 C).

Combine water, butter and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Add flour, all at once.  Vigorously mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together in a ball.  The dough shouldn't be sticking to the sides of the pan by this time.

Transfer the dough in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  At medium speed, incorporate eggs one at a time. Make sure the egg is well incorporated before adding another egg, otherwise you will end up with a thin, runny batter.  Mix until the dough is smooth and shiny.

Fill a pastry bag with the dough, cut 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) opening at the tip.  Pipe about 1/4 (0.64 cm)-size balls on ungreased baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch space between each ball.

Bake for about 8 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 375 F (191 C). Continue baking until the choux are puffed and golden brown and feel dry.  About 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool on the baking sheet.

Filling:

(adapted from François Payard)

2 cups   (480 g)   milk

1/4 cup  (100 g)  sugar

5 tbsp    (40 g)    cornstarch/cornflour

4 large egg yolks

1 tbsp   (15 g) butter, unsalted

Line shallow pan with plastic wrap.

Pour milk in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Remove from heat as soon as small bubbles form around the sides.

Combine the sugar, cornstarch/cornflour and whisk in the yolks. Whisk until the yolks reach a pale yellow color. 

Slowly pour a fourth of the milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the yolks from curdling. 

Once the milk is well incorporated, return the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with the whisk to prevent lumps from forming, until it the consistency thickens and bubbles start popping from the center of the pan for at least 20 seconds.  You need to bring to a boil to activate the cornstarch.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until mleted and the mixture is smooth.  Pour the  cream into the prepared pan; cover with plastic to prevent a skin from forming.  Cool to room temperature then refrigerate until ready to use.

Topping:

Caramel Sauce

(adapted from whatscookingamerica)

6 tablespoons (88.72 ml)  light corn syrup

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons   (119.77 g) sugar

3 tablespoons (43.03 g)  unsalted butter, cut up into pieces

1/2 cup  (118.3 ml)  warm heavy cream

In a heavy saucepan over low to medium-low heat, heat the corn syrup.
Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and mixture just begins to simmer.

After sugar dissolves and syrup is simmering, cook for approximately 9 to 12 minutes, without stirring. Every so often, hold handle of pan and gently tilt the pan off the heat to distribute color evenly as sugar caramelizes. When sugar reaches a uniform golden brown (dark amber) color, immediately remove from heat. If using a Candy Thermometer, the temperature will be between 350 degrees and 355 degrees F. NOTE: Once the color is right, it is imperative to prevent the sugar from cooking further, which would make the sauce too bitter.

Asparagus Beef Bundles

With Christmas less than a week away, most of my meals have been light and low carb lately.  I figured, with this strategy of mine, my waistline won't have to pay too much for the gluttony I'm about to commit this Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. 

I made a few changes from the original recipe by omitting the salt as I didn't think it was necessary since the soy sauce is salty enough on its own.  It just seemed redundant.   Since I like to play with my food, I decided to add snake beans to tie up the bundles.  

This is a very easy and quick dish to prepare and shouldn't take you more than half an hour.  This makes a great appetizer packed with Asian flavors.   Like most Asian dishes, balance is the key. Neither one ingredient should dominate over the other.  Let your tastebuds be the judge.

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup  asparagus
12 slices beef in sukiyaki cut
toasted sesame seeds
5 pieces of snake beans, blanched

Marinade

3 tbsp light soy sauce

1-2 tbsp sesame oil

1 large clove of minced garlic

1/2 tsp grated ginger

1/2 sugar

Pepper,to taste

2 pieces of bird's eye chillies, sliced with seeds removed

Directions:

Rinse the asparagus.

Cut off the tough parts.

Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, ginger, pepper and chillies.

Marinade the beef for at least 10-15 minutes..

Wrap the beef around three pieces of asparagus. Secure with a toothpick.

Put a little sesame oil in pan, then cook both sides of the asparagus wraps for 3-5 minutes. The asparagus should not be too soggy.

Cut snake beans about 2.5 inches, tie around each bundle.

Transer to a plate, remove the toothpick.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds..

High-Sugar Breakfast From My Childhood Revisited

Like most American kids growing up, my breakfasts consisted of a bowl of "cereal."  Looking back, I think they can pretty much be classified under the junk food category as they  pretty much contain large amounts of sugar and other artificial ingredients that contain little to no nutritional value. 

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw my favorite cereal from my childhood at Metro Gaisano...

I think the last time I had a bowl of any kind of so-called cereal Kellogg's products was about oh....15 years ago.  And yes,  the box did come home with me.  I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to seeing things that remind me of my childhood.

So this is what I had for breakfast today.  No scrambled eggs with toast or mangoes for breakfast today.  Just a quick, speedy, high sugar breakfast.   I've also found that this is a good way to disguise the weird taste of UHT milk.   What better way to start the day by having an old childhood standby for breakfast?

Duck Egg and Tomato Salad

A market in Manila.

These mallard duck eggs are cured in salt solution for about 18 days. Hence, they are quite salty.  The yolks from these eggs are found inside traditional Chinese mooncakes.  These eggs are eaten throughout Southeast Asia.  When I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, they served this during breakfast as a side dish at the hotel I stayed in.

In the Philippines, they are dyed in a bright magenta color to distinguish them from other kinds of eggs. The dye bleeds and temporarily stains your hands as you can see below. They do eventually come off. 

Since these eggs are quite rich and salty, they're usually  eaten as a side dish or included in salads.  They are rarely eaten on their own.  For those who have never had this before, I think this is one of those types of food that you'll either like or hate the first time you try it. The yolk has a slight grainy texture but not crumbly like a chicken's yolk.  The closest description I can come up with would be something similar to very fine sugar.

                            

They look like this when opened. The yolk's orange tinge is brought about by the curing process.

Unlike Western salads, this Filipino salad recipe isn't eaten before the main course.  Rather, it is eaten along with the main course as a side dish.  Or, the salad could be eaten with rice, with no other pairings. 

This salad contains only 4 ingredients--tomatoes, the egg, cilantro/coriander and red onions.  The onions, cilantro/coriander and tomatoes will neutralize the egg's saltiness.  These 4 ingredients create a symphony of interesting textures.  The tomato provides the moisture as the yolk can be a bit dry.  If you don't have access to native Philippine tomatoes, use a tomato with less juice content, otherwise  the yolks will turn out mushy.  If you're using a tomato with high juice content, remove some, not all of the seeds.  These make a perfect light, summer salad.

As you can see, the recipe below does not give exact measurements. There's quite a bit of variation when it comes to the yolks' moisture and the overall saltiness. Some are oily, some are dry or some are much saltier.  Therefore, adjust accordingly and whatever suits your personal taste.  The key is to achieve a balance of  textures and flavors.  Neither of the ingredient should dominate one over the other.  And remember, mushy/soggy eggs are a no-no!

North American residents, you will be able to find this in most Filipino stores.  However, it will most likely be chicken eggs instead of duck eggs.  And, they will be dyed red.  If not, ask them. There are a few stores that don't dye their salted eggs.  Ask them if they have  itlog na maalat (salted eggs in Tagalog). 

Recipe

Ingredients:

Salted duck eggs

red onions, to taste

cilantro/coriander

tomatoes

Make sure your chopping board and work space are dry.  The dye tends to bleed and stains anything that it comes in contact with.  Wash immediately if any of your kitchen gadgets are stained for easier clean up.

Cut eggs in half. Scoop out the eggs.  Reserve the shells (optional).

Chop eggs and tomatoes into medium sized chunks.

Chop onions into small chunks.

Chop cilantro/coriander

Mix all ingredients.  Do not overmix.  Overmixing will give you mushy egg yolks, thus loosing the texture.  

Fill the reserved eggshells with your salad.  This is a great way to present them if you have guests.

Enjoy! Hope you like it.

Not Quite Barberry Rice with Chicken Kebabs

I've always had some sort of affinity with Persian/Iranian food.  Perhaps it has something to do with spending the first four years of my life in Iran, albeit a very hazy memory.  

Having grown up in Los Angeles, a city with a large Iranian community in West LA, Iranian food is both familiar and exotic to me.  It's exotic because I don't know what most of the dishes are called. But when I see them, I know them.  My mom and I used to try the various small, family-run Persian restaurants in the area.  We dined frequently at Sherazhad's (sp?) in Westwood whenever we needed our Iranian food fix. 

When I first moved to Manila, there were less than a handful of Iranian restaurants in the city.  The most well-known (and the most expensive) being Hossein's on Makati Avenue in Makati City.  In the last four years, I've noticed the mini-boom in Iranian restaurants sprouting all over Metro Manila.  These new breed of Iranian restaurants, from what I've observed, are mostly owned by half-Iranian/half-Filipinos, whereas the older generation of Iranian restaurants were owned and operated by Iranian expartriates.

Unfortunately, decent (just decent, not good) Iranian restaurants tend to be overpriced in Manila.  It's one of those you-get-what-you-pay-for type of deal. 

So, here's my first attempt at recreating an Iranian dish.  First, the rice.  This is the old fashion way of cooking the rice, so this part is the most time consuming.  I believe most Iranian households now use a rice cooker (different from the Far Eastern one).

For a more authentic flavor, add barberries (zereshk in Farsi)  to garnish the rice. It has a strong, tart flavor.  Raisins can be substituted if the barberries can't be found.  Since I have no idea where the Iranian grocery is located in Manila, I have no choice but omit this ingredient.  I've never been a raisin girl.  So that's not an option.

To prepare and assemble the rice and tadig:

(adapted from Hayedeh Sedghi)

Additional ingredients:

3 tbsp ground saffron

dried barberries or raisins

2 tsp sugar (omit this if you're using raisins)

Directions:

While the rice is left to soak for 30 min...... (first step in making chelo)

If using barberries

Heat the oil in a pan, medium-low heat. Fry the barberries and sugar with 1 tbsp of saffron until the sugar has melted.  Remove from heat and set aside.

If using raisins:

Omit the sugar.  Do the same as you would for barberries.

Once the chelo is cooked...

                             

Stir in the remaining 2 tbsp of saffron in hot water.  Mix it with 4-5 tbsp of cooked rice, making sure they're dyed evenly.

                            

Lay dyed rice over plain rice.  Don't forget to play and have fun.  Create any pattern you wish.  Garnish with barberries or raisins if you used any.

Serve with tadig (the potato slices/lining) as a side dish.

On to the kebabs.....Are you still with me??? 

My mom got this recipe from one of her Iranian co-workers many years ago. When she learned how to make this, this was a regular fixture on our family menu.  Originally, lamb is the meat of choice here.  However, with lamb being quite expensive, most Iranian restaurants  (in LA anyway) use chicken.

Chicken Kebabs

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb (about 500 g) of chicken breast fillet, cut into cubes  (lamb and beef can also be used)

2 large onions, chopped into small chunks

2 cups plain or Greek yoghurt

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste
1 lemon, cut into wedges

skewers (soak in water if using bamboo or wood)

Side dishes:  grilled whole tomatoes, tadig

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate overnight.  The yoghurt will make the meat tender.

Skewer the chicken pieces and grill over hot charcoal.  Turn frequently until cooked and charred in parts, taking care not to dry the meat.

This can also be served with flat bread.  The charred tomato skins aren't usually eaten.

The finale should look something like this.....

.......complete with the tadig (potato slices/lining), charred tomatoes and lemon wedges.

Enjoy!

Philippine residents: 

Saffron-available at SM Hypermart in Pasig, SM Supermarket, Makati, Rustan's Supermarkets and Spices and Flavours at Market! Market! They carry Iranian saffrons, a bit on the pricey side though.

plain or Greek style yoghurt is available at Säntis Deli branches. BUT, like everything they sell at that store, they're overpriced.  Sometimes they're available at regular supermarkets.  If they're unavailable or you're just too cheap to shell out over Php 300 for a tub of yoghurt, (I fall into the latter category) then you can substitute Nestle's Creamy Yoghurt...

Chelo (Iranian Rice)

Chelo is plain Iranian rice.  This is usually the foundation of many Iranian rice dishes.

Recipe

Adapted from: Feast of Flavours From the Iranian Kitchen by Hayedeh Sedghi

Ingredients:

600 g ( 1 lb 5 oz) Basmati rice  washed and drained

4 tbsp  salt

4 tbsp cooking oil

1 large potato, sliced thinly

2 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

Soak rice and salt in a large bowl for at least 30 min.  Add enough water to cover.

Parboil rice: half-fill a large pot and bring to a rapid boil.  Add drained rice and allow to boil without stirring.  Grains should be half-cooked.  Drain and rinse.

 Pour oil into a medium non-stick pot, swirl to coat evenly.  Line with potato slices.

Spoon rice over the center of the pot until a mound forms.

Wrap the pot's lid with a clean cloth or a paper towel.  This will absorb the steam which will prevent them from dropping into the rice.  Dry out the rice over low heat for about 1 hour or until the rice is cooked.

Tadig

Dish out the rice and set aside.  Carefully lift the potato slices (the tadig).  Arrange on a serving plate.  Pour butter over the rice evenly before serving the potato slices.

Philippine residents: Basmati rice can be purchased at SM Supermarkets, Metro Gaisano, Global City, Taguig.  You can either buy them pre-packed or by the kilo.

Pico de Gallo

As a condiment to go with my chicken fajitas, I decided to prepare pico de gallo (say it like:  "peeko de ga-yo") to keep it light and fresh.  Pico de gallo means "rooster's beak" in Spanish, for those who are unfamiliar with this dish. 

Recipe

Adapted from EdsgirlAngie

Ingredients:

4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaf, chopped (or more to taste!)
2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt
Directions:
Combine all ingredients; cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

This tastes best the same day that it's made.

Note to readers who are residing in the Philippines: Generally, you will find two types of tomatoes in most Philippine supermarkets.  There's the native Philppine tomato and the "regular" tomato.  Sorry, I don't really know what the variety is called. 

As you can see from the picture above, a native Philippine tomato is a bit smaller than a "regular" tomato.  Since it is much smaller, it usually has less juice.  I've found that you won't quite get the same result if you use the native tomatoes for your salsas or other Mexican and Mediterranean dishes  where tomatoes take center stage such as pico de gallo.  Native Phlippine tomatoes are best suited for, well, Filipino and Asian dishes. 

Chicken Fajita

Southwestern, Tex-Mex or Mexican food can be quite challenging to do here in the Philippines, or in most of the Far East, for that matter.  Although comercially produced salsas, taco shells (moslty Old El Paso brand)  and tortillas are widely available in Manila, it's the chilis used in these cuisines  and tomatillos that are very difficult to obtain.  If they ever do appear, they tend to leave nasty, large holes in one's pockets.  A year ago, I found cans of tomatillos at Metro Gaisano supermarket.  Somehow, they never restocked their supply.  

Souped Up Spaghetti, Faux Japanese-style

Yesterday, Saturday, was one of those lazy days.  After a long week at work, I didn't feel like spending it in a kitchen.  Although I still had quite a bit of wonton dumplings  left over from a few days ago in the freezer, I wanted something different.  Since Saturdays are notorious for heavy traffic jams in Manila, I didn't want to go too far from my house.  Even though it wasn't my first choice, I ended up dining at UCC Cafe, a Japanese Cafe/restaurant that sells their own brand of overpriced instant coffee, UCC and pastries. 

After pouring over their four-page menu, one particular dish caught my attention.  That's right, Japanese Spaghetti Tomato Soup.  Since tomatoes aren't something associated with Japanese cuisine, my curiosity took over. 

So, my order comes. Soup it was indeed.  I see nothing distinctively Japanese in the ingredients. The tomato soup was quite nice.  It wasn't sour like a lot of over stirred tomato based dishes I've tasted.  The pasta was al dente, I'm still waiting to taste something Japanese in this dish, it's all tasting Italian-ish to me so far.  Not that that's bad, but it said Japanese spaghetti on the menu. 

The shrimps, fish and mussels were all firm.  But still no resemblance of Japanese on my taste buds.  By this time, I was just hoping I'd find a piece of seaweed or tofu to float to the surface of the tomato soup.  None.

Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate good food when I taste it.  This was a good pasta dish.  However, it felt like one of the biggest con in culinary fusion (or lack thereof) history.  All of this would have been a pleasant meal if it said "Spaghetti Tomato Soup" or "Italian Spaghetti Soup" (okay, that would be sort of redundant).  At least the dish would have lived up to most diners' expectation.

Chinese Chicken Stock

Chinese chicken stock is different from Western chicken stock in that it uses less ingredients.  Celery, carrots, and onions are not included.  Use this stock for Chinese dishes that call for them such as wonton soup. 

Recipe

Adapted from BellaOnline

Ingredients:

4 to 5 lb chicken

12 to 15 cups water

2 inch piece fresh ginger

3 green onions

Directions:

Remove the bag of giblets from the chicken and rinse the chicken and neck under cold water. Then place the chicken and neck in a large stock pot.

Chicken wings and neck.

Cover the chicken with water, about 12 to 15 cups.

Peel the ginger and cut it into 1 inch slices and add them to the stock pot.

Rinse the green onions under cold running water. Cut off the very bottom of the white bases and the very top of the green stems and discard. Cut the remaining stalks into 1 inch pieces and add them to the stock pot.

Bring the water to a boil. Once it boils, skim off any foam that rises to the top. Then turn the heat to low, cover the pot and let it simmer for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, remove the chicken. The chicken meat will be very tender and can be used in a number of other recipes.

Once the chicken is removed, let the soup cool for about an hour.

After it is cooled, slowly strain the stock pouring it into a container with a tight fitting lid. Place the container in the refrigerator and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the container and skim off any fat that may have congealed on top of the stock.

Now the soup stock is ready to use. Makes 12 to 15 cups.  For any unused stock, pour into ice trays and freeze for future use.

Wonton Soup With Snow Peas

Ever since I moved to the Philippines, I've pretty much avoided soup dishes. When eating out, I usually opt for the salad.  It just seems 'wrong' to have soup in such a hot and humid tropical climate.  If there's anything I hate most, that would be perspiring while I take my meals.

Now that December is here, with the weather much cooler and balmy evenings, I thought I'd prepare myself wonton soup for dinner tonight.  I wanted something easy (sort of) to prepare. Sort of.  Initially, it isn't an easy dish to prepare. As a matter of fact, like many Asian dishes, it's labor intensive.  I say it's easy to prepare because once the broth and the dumplings have been made, they can be stored in the freezer.  When I'm having bouts of laziness, this is one of my go-to meals.  Also, the dumplings can also be used for other dishes.  They can be deep fried or steamed separately and be eaten as dim sums .

The most labor intensive part of making wonton soup is making the wonton dumplings.  Yes, it is somewhat masochistic as there's quite a bit of chopping involved.  This is the part I least look forward to when it comes to making any kind of dumpling.  For me, the most enjoyable part of making dumplings is wrapping them into shape. 

I do have a confession to make, dear reader.  I am quite anal when it comes to wrapping dumplings. I redo them if I am not satisfied with their shape or if there's even the tiniest slit in the wrapper.  They must be uniform in shape and visually appealing.  Actually, I like all the meals I prepare to be aesthetically pleasing.  Hence, the addition of snow peas and spring onions.

Recipe

1/2 lb (250 g)  ground pork (preferrably with fat)

1/4 lb (125 g)  shrimp, shelled and deveined

3 water chestnuts

1/2 corn starch ( aka cornflour)

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 pack of wonton skins

1 egg (lightly beaten)

salt to taste

white pepper, to taste

snow peas (optional), stems removed

spring onions, finely chopped (optional)

3 cups of Chinese chicken stock

Directions:

Chop shrimps and water chestnuts into small pieces.  Combine with ground pork, corn starch, sesame oil, egg, salt and pepper.          

To wrap the wontons:         

    

Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center.  Moisten all edges with water.

Gather the opposite corners and press together.  Seal all edges, forming a triangle.

Moisten corner B with water. Take corner A and corner B and gently pull both corners towards the center until they meet.

                                                    

             Press A on top of B.  Tuck the corners under.

Voila!

                                             

For the soup: bring the stock to a rolling boil. Drop in wonton dumplings.  Dumplings are cooked once they float to the surface.  Blanch snowpeas in the stock.  Garnish with spring onions. 

Thanksgiving Day-ssert - Pumpkin Cheesecake

Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without some kind of dessert made of pumpkin.  Most American families, if not all,  finish Thanksgiving dinner with pumpkin pie.  Since most Americans do not know how to make pumpkin pie from scratch due to the wide availability of canned pumpkins back home, this can pose a problem for those of us living overseas.  I daresay it can even sort of ruin one's Thanksgiving dinner.  In all my years living overseas, I've come to the conclusion that canned pumpkins are an exclusively American phenomenon. But correct me here if I'm wrong though.   

During my first few years here in Manila, I would get the strangest looks from the locals whenever I asked them if there were any canned pumpkins available.  Thankfully, Libby's canned pumpkins have been consistently available at Metro Supermarket for the last five years.  So, my dear Canadian and American readers in the Philippines, consider yourself lucky in this regard as some of our compatriots live in other parts of the world where canned pumpkins (or most North American products)  are much harder to come by.                                          

Pumpkin cheesecake squares.

Instead of making the traditional pumpkin pie for my Thanksgiving dessert, I decided to whip up pumpkin cheesecake squares instead.  With my oven being just slightly larger than a toaster oven, I had no other choice but use an aluminum pie plate.  I also omitted the nuts as nuts are insanely expensive in this country.  

For food processor-less bakers, here's a tip for crushing graham crackers quickly:  use a meat tenderizer.  That's right, honey.  A meat tenderizer.  It does the job much quicker than a rolling pin.  The crackers achieve that fine texture much quicker.

These teats are even better the next day when the spices and flavors have melded together.

Pumpkin pie cheesecake squares

Ingredients:

2 cups graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:

3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*

1 tsp vanilla extract*

2 eggs, lightly beaten

20 walnut halves

Combine crackers and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto bottom of 13 in.  x 9 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Cover and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat tcream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Beat in flour, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla.  Add eggs, beat on low speed just until combined.  Pour over crust.

Bake at 325 F (163 C) for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool on wire wrack for 1 hour.  Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or over night.

Cut cheesecake into 20 bars.  Top each with a half walnut.

I've seen pumpkin pie spice a few times at Metro Supermarket.  Unfortunately, the price isn't as aromatic as the pumpkin pie spice itself.  Last time I looked, the smallest bottle (0.75 oz.) of Durkee pumpkin pie spice was at 250 pesos ( about US $5.43).  Also, they do not stock it regularly.  So it would be much better to make the spice yourself.  Just follow the recipe on the link provided above.  Those individual spices that make up the pumpkin pie spice are readily available all over Manila.

Vanilla extract is rarely available in the Philippines.  If they are, they're usually found in specialty cooking shops and quite expensive.  Again, it is suggested that you make your own if you bake regularly.  A link has been provided above. Vanilla beans can be purchased at Säntis Deli or Cook´s Exchange (Glorietta, The Power Plant mall, SM Megamall, Shangri-la Plaza).