More Mochi Please!

A while back, I had bought this packet of glutinous rice flour a.k.a. sweet/sticky rice flour and it's been sitting in the pantry for quite time. At one point, I bugged my in-laws to read the directions (since they were written in Chinese!) so we could make Tang Yuan (sweet soup dumplings filled with black sesame paste!), but they kind of ignored my request. They did decide to open the packet and use some of the flour to make something - I can't quite remember what they used it for!
Anyhow, there was still flour left over and I figured I should probably do something with it before it expires next month! So what does one make with glutinous rice flour? MOCHI :) (and of course Tang Yuan, but that discussion will be saved for another day...) Before I go on, you maybe asking what is Mochi. Well, all you really have to know is that it is a type of mildly sweet Japanese rice cake. It's often round, white and filled with some type of paste - generally red bean paste. It's quite sticky and chewy when you bite into it because of the glutinous rice!
Since I had quite a bit of dessicated coconut left over from making coconut milk, I decided to attempt making coconut mochi! I also made homemade red bean paste :). After searching the internet, I learned that the to make mochi, you have to first 'cook' the glutinous rice batter before stuffing it with red bean paste! Some people used a shortcut method to cook it - the microwave! I did it using the traditional steaming method.

MOCHI Recipe

Glutinous rice flour (or you can buy something called Mochiko)
Water
Coconut Milk (for flavor)
Red bean paste (make your own or buy it!)
Dessicated coconut (for dusting mochi in)

I had about 1.5 cups of rice flour to work with. I added bout 1tbsp of coconut milk (but I would add another tbsp for a more intense coconut flavor) to the flour and then gradually added water until the flour mix was batter-like. That is it, it formed into a thick liquid batter. Then I steamed the batter until it is solid. It's very sticky so you should wear plastic food preparation gloves and work with it on saran wrap. Work with it while it is still warm. Spoon out about 1 tablespoon of the sticky cake/dough, form a ball, then flatten it to make a circle. Place your bean paste (this you'll have eyeball it a bit, maybe like a little more than 1 tsp) in the middle and pull the edges of the cake/dough over the paste so that it is wrapped inside of the cake/dough. It's just like making dumplings, only this time you just make it into a slightly flat ball. Plop it into a plate of dessicated coconut, roll it around and viola! you have a mochi. Enjoy on the same day you make it, if possible. Otherwise you can wrap them in saran wrap and save them in the fridge for another day :).

I still need to work on my mochi wrapping skills. Not too bad for a first timer I guess. I was able to make 5 total (one disappeared into my stomach!)

  

The Versatile Portebello Mushroom

Ah, the great and gigantic portabello (portabella) mushroom (scientific name: Agaricus bisporus). Did you know that the portabello mushroom is just the 'mature' form of the brown cremini mushrooms? I didn't until I read it on Wikipedia! I always thought that the portabello mushroom was a different species of fungi, that is, that it is different from the typical white button and brown cremini mushrooms we find in the supermarkets. But, I guess it isn't so different after all. I learn something new everyday!

Anywho, portabello mushrooms, as with many vegetables, can be cooked in a variety of ways. You can broil, bake, grill and saute them! The best part is, whichever way you choose to cook them, they will always come out delicious! When I was in the supermarket, there was a sale on portebello mushrooms and I just couldn't resist. So, I decided to buy a pack of two and broiled them in our fancy smart convection toaster oven (another of those nice wedding gifts!). It was a really simple and healthy dish that added to the main course.

Broiled Portabello Mushrooms

2 Portabello Mushrooms - washed with stems removed
Red Bell Pepper - washed, seeded and diced
2-3 Cloves of garlic - minced
A dash of Kosher Salt
A dash of Black Pepper
Olive Oil to coat the mushrooms

Coat mushrooms with olive oil, add salt and pepper. Mix the diced bell peppers and garlic, add some salt and pepper if you like and set aside. Place the mushrooms, stem side facing down, into the oven and broil on High for approximately 2-3 mins. Turn them over, add more salt and pepper if you want, and broil for another 2-3 mins. Add the bell pepper garlic mix to each mushroom and broil on for another 2 mins. The mushrooms should appear somewhat wrinkly and should be tender when they are ready. Serve while it's nice and hot! Enjoy!


I placed my mushrooms on a bed of spinach :).

Third Time's a Charm - Right?

The hubster's birthday was this past weekend and so, being the awesome wife that I am, I decided to make a cake. Not just any ol' cake from the box. No, it had to be made from scratch and it had to be the chiffon/sponge/Chinese bakery style kind of cake. This wasn't my first time attempting to make this kind of cake. In fact, it was the third time and  This time, however, I was determined to have it come out nice and "fluffy", like it is suppose to be. The key to making the cake "spongy" is in the egg whites. You definitely need to beat those egg whites until you can form 'stiff' peaks forming! Oh and make sure you beat them in a metal bowl instead of a glass or plastic bowl. The first time I didn't beat the egg white long enough to get the peaks and the second time I beat them in a glass bowl! This time I did everything properly and I'm happy to say that my cake came out just right :).

Made it in a Bundt pan since it's the only non-stick pan I had!


A slice of my cake :)


I decided to make it a chocolate cake since the hubster likes chocolate, hence the brown/tan color of the cake. When I squished it down, it bounced back to it's original form - like magic!

Even though I have a recipe from my grandma's friend for sponge cake, I decided to follow (though I did make a few adjustments) the King Arthur Chiffon Cake recipe. I did compare the two recipes and didn't really find any major differences. I guess the chiffon cake recipe is pretty much standard! Anywho, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting it right this time around! They do say third time's always a charm! ;)