Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Daring Cooks’ April, 2011 Challenge: EDIBLE CONTAINERS (savory)

Well, hang tight and you will be in for a ride! This months Daring Cooks Challenge is about Edible Container. Kudos to Renata of Testado, Provado,& Aprovado. I can say that this is one challenge that i have enjoyed immensely. Not only because this challenge would entail a prize, it basically didn't call for a specific recipe for us to follow but instead gave us the freedom to go outside the box.

This challenge indeed challenged each member to be creative and creative we were. Oh my goodness, such a slew of brilliant ideas. Check  DC member’s Creations.

I made three edible containers. I opted to blog them separately because i believe each dish warrants a blog of their own;) Oh boy...what was I thinking?!!! Three dishes??? But really in all honesty..it was well worth it!!!! SO PLS. CLICK ON EACH DISH TO CHECK THE RECIPES.

Let's start with my "outside the box" edible container.
SZECHUAN CHICKEN ON CRISPY CHICKEN SKIN BOWL






The "outside the box" part of this dish is the bowl. I tried to experiment on both the skin from the leg quarters and the breast you would think the ones from the leg quarters would be sturdy/firm enough to form a bowl but surprisingly the skin from the breast was the ones that shaped into a perfect bowl.


According to my guinea pig (my family) this was really good, the crispy skin went well/complimented with the filling.




CONCLUSION:

Taste wise -We really love the combination and the addition of the crispy chicken skin.
Presentation wise - Beautiful, very appetizing

But if you ask me if I’ll do it again? Yes, of course but not making it into a bowl, I’d crush the chicken chicharon and add it on top of a bowl of rice and Szechuan chicken. This is a must try!!!




My second dish "Not so new dish" Edible Container
FILIPINO SEAFOOD CHOPSUEY ON CRISPY NOODLE BOWL





Now this one is a Filipino dish. What made this as my challenge dish? It’s the noodles.



Usually the noodles are just deep fried then top with the chopsuey. What i did was form the noodles into a bowl or nest.


CONCLUSION:

TASTE WISE: Yes, Yes....Crispy noodles are always good! You can actually make this with chicken, pork or beef. A must try dish too!

PRESENTATION WISE: Making the crispy noodles yes but forming them into a bowl not necessary but if you want to impress your guest then by all means make a crispy bowl.

*** The bowl will collapse as soon as you pour the chopsuey. The crispy noodles will absorb the sauce quickly.

OKAY, I WILL SAY THIS...I WILL MAKE THE CRISPY NOODLES AGAIN BUT WITH A FILLING THAT DOES NOT HAVE MUCH SAUCE OR GRAVY. AN ASIAN SALAD WILL BE PERFECT!!!



My last dish for April DC Challenge - "Must try dish" Edible Container.

XIAOLONGBAO-SHANGHAI STEAMED SOUP DUMPLINGS






I first learned about this from my nephew who worked in China. I was so intrigued that i had to put this in my "to do list". This has been in my to do list for the longest time and i finally have no excuse not to make it this time. I thought what a perfect dish for the challenge. XLB could be served 2 ways, a huge dumpling with a straw and the ones that I made. There are a lot of recipes around but i made my own version, the inspiration of this recipe is from my "Chinese Cooking" Cookbook.


XIAOLONGBAO-STEAMED SOUP DUMPLINGS (XLB) small steaming basket is commonly known as Shanghai Steamed Soup Dumplings, are traditionally filled with broth and pork but i added quail eggs on mine. The broth inside is made by using some meat gelatin w/c melts when steamed. 


CONCLUSION:
I love, love it but if you ask me will i make it again? Perhaps on special occasion! Okay, okay..here are the reasons.


1. Can I say...LABORIOUS!!! Too much work can you believe that! lol!!!. I had a hard time with the pleating!!

2. These needs to be served right off the steamer otherwise you will loose the broth. I believe it's absorbed by the dough because I didn’t have any leak on the steamer or on the plate. SO NOT GOOD FOR PARTIES.

3. Lets just say I'd leave this to the experts! I rather sit down, order lots of XLB's and enjoy them. But if you haven't tried or tasted these and you're up to making them no matter how long the process will be...go for it!!! It's really good!!!

AT LEAST I CAN NOW SAY THAT I'VE TASTED AND MADE THESE BEAUTIFUL JEWELS!!!! ANOTHER DISH DONE ON MY TO DO LIST!!!





THANK YOU RENATA FOR THIS CHALLENGE!!!

32 comments:

  1. every single recipe is amazing...love your ideas, the pictures and the conclusions..
    great job!

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  2. Such creative dishes! Your noodle bowl is so pretty and I think the idea of putting the soup in the dumpling is great. My favourite is the chicken skin - I'm such a sucker for crispy chicken skin. Yum! It looks so dainty too. Great job!

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  3. Hi, Thefooddoctor! Thank you so much for your kind comment and for visiting my blog.;)

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  4. Hello, Suzler! Yay!! i have another crispy chicken skin lover;) Thank you so much for visiting and for the comment!;)

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  5. Very creative. I love the chicken skin bowl - looks good and I bet it tastes even better. I have seen those Chinese dumplings on TV - nice to know how difficult they are.

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  6. The three dishes all sounds delightful, but the chicken skin bowl and the soup dumpling are really special. I never would of thought of using chicken skin as a bowl sounds really gross but I bet it was delicious and with rice and Szechuan chicken even better outstanding, but the soup dumpling is exceptional bravo bravo bravo to you it sounds so flavoursome with that gelatine inside AMAZING. And the noodle bowl is so cute.

    KUDOS to you.

    Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

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  7. I am totally impressed with your creativity on the challenge. All three are just amazing ideas. I specially liked the chicken skin bowl and that it was actually part of this delicious recipe. You did a GREAT job!! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the challenge so much! Thanks a bunch!

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  8. Todd, Thank you! The crispy skin did complimented the dish. Those soup dumplings are really good but yes, hard to make! Wish our dimsum here offers those.

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  9. Hi, Audax! Thank you! thank you! before anything else...if you have noticed, hhmmm, maybe not coz you have lots of followers he!he!. I've had problems leaving comments on your blog since the past 2 challenges. I think it has something to do w/ the captcha? I just left comments at Oggi's blogspot and it went through. Anywho...i will not give up and visit your blog and leave a comment again and again i know my comment will go through at one point!

    Now for the chicken skin..they are so good but not to be eaten everybody. Your edible containers are wonderful as well. You're an inspiration!

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  10. Renata! Thank you for the challenge...i really really enjoyed it!

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  11. What a wonderful job on the challenge! I am so envious that you made XLB's - these are a must order every time we go for dim sum. I've wanted to try them at home, but... so easy to just buy!

    Your chicken skin bowl is amazing. We had so many ideas for the challenge and that one would never have crossed our minds. I absolutely love it!

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  12. Hi, Monkeyshine...i'm so jealous! You have XLB at your dimsum? wow!! wish our dimsum serve them. They were really good but like i said i will leave this to the experts to make;) LOL! the chicken was the very first thing that i decided to make, just because we love "chicharon" may it be pork rinds or chicken skin. Thanks for dropping by;)

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  13. My friend, I think your life is more food focused than mine. This is fantastic. I'm sorry I wasn't on your follow list before, I thought I was. It's fixed now.

    L

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  14. Great job on this challenge! I can't believe that you did 3 different containers. The dumplings is a great idea. Very cool.

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  15. So creative! I practically love them all..... The crispy noodle bowl is intriguing, love to do it anytime soon, while crispy chicken skin bowl seems so inviting and scrumptious. Xiaolongbao is an everlasting love for those who have tried them :-)

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  16. Congratulations on being one of the five finalists in the Daring Cooks' savoury edible container competition! Cheers from Audax.

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  17. Congrats on being a finalist. You definitely deserve it. Out of all the finalist I think yours is the one I would most like to taste.

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  18. Yay! You're one of the finalists! Congratulations! I hope you don't mind me showing off the photo of your edible container on my blog!

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  19. Creating Nirvana- LOL!!! I had to stop myself, i had so much fun on this challenge. Thank you;)

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  20. Hi, Kris! The crispy noodles are always fun, you can use other kinds of noodles. The Szechuan was really good. For the XLB i wish, i wish Chinese restaurants serve them here;( Thanks, Kris!

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  21. Audax, Thank YOu!!! Congrats to you too!!!

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  22. Aww, Todd! Thank very much! And congratulations to you as well! Like i said your veggie basket weave is genius, especially for the kids...they'd surely eat their veggies;)

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  23. Renata, Thank you for a great challenge!!! And sure, sure, sure not a problem at all;)

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  24. everything looks delicious!! Happy Easter, Pia!! :)

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  25. The crispy chicken bowl sounds so interesting! And guess what I too made the crispy noodle bowl for my DB challenge and u actually can't go wrong with it! Lovely work on the challenge!

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  26. CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU ARE THE GRAND WINNER!! I'm very happy for you! You did an amzing job!!

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  27. Nice work Taga Luto, Just love the recipe and presentation. Congratulations are really in order. You have a fabulous blog I know I could learn a lot from! Cheers!
    Found your kitchen through Renata.

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  28. Hi, Olive...sorry for the long silence. I got busy and went out of town. Hope your Easter was a great one.

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  30. Hello, Shumaila..you're so right that crispy noodles is always a hit! Thanks for visiting and see you on the next challenge. That's interesting that you used the crispy noodles for the DB challenge. I'll check it out;)

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  31. hanks to all of you guys! Renata..thanks this was a wonderful challenge. It's an honor to win the edible container challenge. Winning wouldn't have been possible if not because of all my friends and relatives;) Yay!! I won! ha!ha!ha!
    Thank you so so much...i truly appreciate all the votes! MARAMING SALAMAT!

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