Chinese Red Bean Hamantashen

The Seudah will be chinese food, so i decided to bake chinese hamantashen. I have for your red bean hamantashen.

For the Filling;

Ingredients:

2/3 cup dried red beans

Water for boiling

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Wash the beans and throw out any that are damaged. Place the beans in a small to medium-sized saucepan, cover with water and soak overnight. (This helps shorten the cooking time).

2. The next day, bring the beans and water to a boil. Simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until the beans have softened, adding more water as necessary. Drain.3. Process the beans in a blender until smooth. Remove from the blender, and stir in the sugar.4. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Fry the beans on medium-low heat (about 4 on an electric stove) for a few minutes until they are dry, pressing them gently with the back of a spatula to form a paste. Cool and use as called for in the recipe. (Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, homemade sweet red bean paste will last for approximately one week). Yields approximately 1 3/4 cups.


For the Dough;

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 teaspoons milk, rice milk or water
1 teaspoons vanilla

1.5 teaspoons 5 spice powder

1 cup of your red bean paste 

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cream together margarine and sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt and 5 spice powder.
4. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture with the mixer on low, alternating with water or rice milk.
5. Chill the dough for 1 hour to overnight (this step can be skipped if you're in a rush, cold dough is just easier to handle), then roll out with flour sprinkled below and above the dough, to 1/4 inch thickness, and using a water glass or round cookie cutter, cut into 2-inch rounds.
6. Fill each round with 1 heaping teaspoon of your favorite filling, and draw up sides for triangle.
7. Seal edges with cold water.
8. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-14 minutes. Reduce your oven temperature if the dough begins to burn on the bottom. It is very common that ovens run hot, especially if you are baking in batches and the oven has been on for multiple hours. I use an internal oven thermometer for this reason.  
9. To keep hamantaschen soft, store in airtight containers.


(modified from http://www.classicallykosher.com/2013/02/the-best-hamantaschen-recipe-bar-none.html and http://chinesefood.about.com/od/dessertsfruit/r/redbeanpaste.htm)

Sorbet Fever! (pics forthcoming)

I have been on a wild sorbet kick recently.  It took me a while to get the technique down but i managed to put one together.  Basically a sorbet is flavoring and simple syrup.  The sugar in the syrup is key to the texture.

First things first is the syrup.  You can make the basic syrup with equal parts sugar and water.  You simmer the sugar and water until the sugar is all dissolved.    The amount of syrup depends on the sweetness of the fruit, and how much pulp you will be using in the sorbet.  One can also flavor the syrup with mint or ginger.  I also like to make the syrup with wine from time to time, white wine with light fruits and red berries, and red wine with purple dark berries.

Today I made mango, cantaloupe, ginger sorbet.

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
1 oz tequila
 4 tbsp fresh ginger
4 mangoes
3/4's a cantaloupe

Grate 4 tbsp fresh ginger.  Mix water, sugar, ginger, and bring to a boil on a stove top, reduce to a simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Puree 3 mangoes and 3/4 of a cantaloupe,  add simple syrup and a splash of tequila.

Chill in fridge until under 40 F.

Place mix in a ice cream maker until stiff, then place in the freezer for at least 3 hours.  Alternatively place it in the freezer and make sure to stir it every 45 min or so.

Other ideas blueberry cabernet. Strawberry, cherry, chardonnay.

[[UPDATED]]  I have another sorbet chilling in the fridge.  I made a simple syrup with thyme and oregano.  Then I roasted peaches (and a single pear for a bit more bulk).  I skinned the peaches and pears.  Then I pureed it in a food processor with ground black pepper, pink peppercorns, a dash of salt, a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, and the juice of 2 lemons and 2 limes.

A Primitive Dinner

I went over to a friend’s house to dinner tonight.  Steve has been interested in the paleo diet in recent and we put the menu together with that in mind.   He had just went food shopping at Corrado's and Whole Foods,

had some nice looking produce and a couple of interesting ingredients, namely fresh turmeric, and macadamia nut oil.  The menu ended up being spiced and broiled lamb belly ribs, Lentils with fresh turmeric and leeks, red chard with leeks and andouille sausage, and spicy israeli salad.  I removed the sausage from its casing and chopped it finely, then browned the sausage until it was mostly brown bits.  Then I deglaze the pan with beer, but you could easily use wine.  Don't forget to scrape up the brown bits after deglazing; they are a powerhouse of flavor.  Under Steve’s bad influence i put a splash of lamb fat in both the lentils and chard, about a tbsp. each, this was completely optional and slightly overkill but very delicious.

Dinner was delicious, the ribs were fatty and tender and flavorful.  The lentils were honestly amongst the tastiest I have ever had, the turmeric adding a subtle but amazing flavor, that is difficult to describe, similar to the dried spice, but less intense with a some  vegetable flavor.  As for the chard, well I tend to love dark leafies and this was no exception, bright and flavorful, any trace of bitterness removed by the squirt of lemon juice.  The israeli salad came out nicely as well, the bright acidic flavor helping to cut through the richness of the rest of the meal.

Recipe after the break.

Been gone for a while, yea I know disappointing, but I return with a recipe!

It has been some time since I have been here.  I made two posts on this blag, and I think they were pretty entertaining and engaging, but then i stopped, and lo and behold it's a year later.  Well tonight I will end this.

I would like to share with you two recipes,  my Miso Mirin Pot Roast, and a great way to use the leftovers, Pot Roast Hash. Sorry for my lack of photography, I hope this thread is not useless, even for its lack of pics.  Next time I promise.   Recipes after the jump.

Korea In Bergen County: Volume 1

In Fort Lee, Palisades Park, and Leonia there exists a very large and vibrant Korean American community, and with that comes a plethora of truly excellent, guaranteed authentic, and always interesting Korean restaurants.  Being obsessed with Korean cuisine I have endeavored to try as many as I can, and from now on you folks will get a taste of my explorations of Korea in Bergen County.

So Kong Dong Tofu - ( 130 Main St, Fort Lee, NJ‎201) 242-0026). Soondooboo Chigae is the star here, in fact, aside from some delicious thinly sliced ribs, called Kalbi, it is the only thing on the menu.  Soondooboo is very soft tofu curds, and with it is made the main event at this restaurant. It is ofered in 5 levels of spiciness (from not spicy to very spicy) with 7 different options mixing seafood and beef.  As today was fracking frigid, hovering at about 30 degrees,  this seemed like the perfect lunch.

Peru in Passaic Volume 1

Passaic is a diverse city in North Jersey. It is home to a sizable Peruvian community, and with that comes Peruvian food. This is just the first post as I eat my way through these fantastic, inexpensive restaurants in downtown Passaic.


Anticucheria el Chevere - (603 Main Avenue Passaic, NJ 07055-4921 - (973) 458-8308) This is an authentic Peruvian restaurant specializing in Antichuchos, basically beef heart skewers, but I will get to the organ meat in a bit. It's in downtown Passaic, not the most scenic of areas, but a friendly resturaunt.

Welcome to my new blag!

Hey folks,  I'm happy to introduce you to Nomnomymous Ramblings, a new food blag here on the interwebs!

I know its empty but my friends and I will soon fill this place with all sorts of food porn of interesting and funky and different foodbits.
- Nomnomymous