KCC Challenge- Feb=Valentines=Aphrodisiac Filipino Food:Champorado (Chocolate Rice Porridge)

I'm privileged to host this month's KCC challenge. Please click HERE
for further information about Kulinarya Cooking Club. Come and join us and share your Filipino recipes or learn how to make Filipino dishes and learn the Filipino culture as well.

The theme i chose for this month is February=Valentines=Aphrodisiac Filipino Foods. I thought that this would  be an opportunity for us to prepare a scrumptious valentine Filipino dish for our love ones.

I know balut would be the first food that come into ones mind but really there are a lot of Filipino foods that could be considered aphrodisiac foods. Check Aphrodisiac Food List for some idea on what to prepare on Valentines day or any day that you feel romantic. Oysters would be a good one but  a dozen of them wouldn't suffice, they are so expensive here.

So i thought of one of my favorite breakfast dish that calls for the most popular yet affordable aphrodisiac ingredient..CHOCOLATE!!!  My family love, love champorado.  So perfect for valentines day or any day actually. We could eat it for breakfast, mirienda, lunch, mirienda again and dinner, i kid you not. I am happy with a drizzle of condensed milk but with the addition of cheese, oh my goodness, I'm in heaven!!! See, what i mean?!! lol!!

You can be creative with your champorado presentation. You can form a heart as you drizzle your condensed milk, cut your cheese into heart shapes or the rustic way, tear the cheese.

This is a very simple, easy recipe yet so amazingly delicious!

Ingredients: Serves 4
1 C glutinous rice
3 C water
3 disc/tablet of chocolate (Tablea/Tabliya) or 1/2 C of cocoa powder
1/2 C brown sugar
Condensed milk
Slices of cheddar cheese and cheese you like.


Cook rice in a medium-sized pot with 3 C water. Stir constantly. When rice is ready (rice should be transparent and fluffy), add more water if needed. Then add cocoa and sugar. Serve in bowls with drizzle of sweet condensed milk and cheese on top.

TIPS:

*You can use regular rice if you can't find glutinous rice.

*Add more water if you want a thinner porridge consistency.

*I want my champorado on the darker color so i add more cocoa powder if needed.

*You can use white sugar if you don't have the brown sugar. But i prefer the brown sugar because it gives a molasses flavor w/c i like.

* Southern Luzon serves this w/ dried fish too. It's good but since this is a valentines breakfast w/c is meant to be an aphrodisiac, i believe serving it w/ dried fish is just not right=;)

100% Cocoa (Filipino Chocolate disc called Tablea/Tabliya).



The main ingredients: Chocolate disc, Brown Sugar, Glutinous Rice



The Valentine presentation=;)

The rustic presentation

The simple presentation=;). Ha!ha! i poured the condensed milk!



Cold Soba Salad & Tempura-The Daring Cooks February 2011 Challenge

This month's challenge was hosted by Lisa of http://blueberrygirlinoz.blogspot.com/ .  Japanese fare a fave at home especially tempura, sushi and noodles . So, thanks for this great challenge Lisa!

This challenge made me experiment on something i've been planning on trying at home, tempura sushi. Love it! love it! another way to present your sushi. It's like two in one...sushi/tempura.. ha!

I used Nobu's tempura batter and Simple Butter Ponzu Sauce recipes from his book "Nobu Now". The batter was "so, so" i still want my batter w/o eggs. I believe that tempura will stay crispy longer sans the eggs.

The Ponzu Sauce added another layer of flavor to the tempura, Yum!
SIMPLE BUTER PONZU SAUCE:


4 T ponzu****
1 T melted clarified butter

PONZU RECIPE***

4 T soy sauce

8 T rice vinegar

2 T lemon juice

3/4 inch square piece of konbu*(omit if you can't find them)

Mix all the ponzu ingredients (better if you soak this overnight) then add the melted clarified butter.

Butter ponzu sauce needs to be served immediately because the fat will separate when it cools down.

TEMPURA BUTTER:
1 egg yolk
6 3/4 fl oz. iced water
3 1/2  AP flour

1. Make the tempura batter by lightly mixing the ingredients.

2. Blanch the vegetables or  seafood briefly if raw.

3. Heat oil for deep frying to 355 degrees F. Dust the vegetables or seafoods lightly with flour, dip in the batter and fry in the hot oil for about 2 minutes. With the sushi, you can dip them straight into the batter.

4. Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off. Continue frying the other items, frequently scooping out any bits of batter to keep the oil clean and prevent the oil (and the remaining tempura) from getting a burned flavor.

Butternut Squash (must blanch them first before frying)

Sweet Potatoes (must blanch first before frying)

Green beans

Shiso leaves

Tempura- Sushi, Sweet Potatoes, Butternutsquash, Green Beans!

COLD SOBA NOODLES, A WONDERFUL "GO TO" LUNCH OR DINNER. HEALTHY AND SO FILLING.

SOBA NOODLES:

Ingredients

2 quarts (2 Liters) water + 1 cup cold water, separate

12 oz (340 g) dried soba (buckwheat) noodles (or any Asian thin noodle)

Directions:
Cooking the noodles:
1.Heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the noodles a small bundle at a time, stirring gently to separate. When the water returns to a full boil, add 1 cup of cold water. Repeat this twice. When the water returns to a full boil, check the noodles for doneness. You want to cook them until they are firm-tender. Do not overcook them.

2.Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are cool. This not only stops the cooking process, but also removes the starch from the noodles. This is an essential part of soba noodle making. Once the noodles are cool, drain them and cover them with a damp kitchen towel and set them aside allowing them to cool completely.

Spicy Dipping Sauce:


Ingredients

¾ cup 70gm/2½ oz spring onions/green onions/scallions, finely chopped

3 tablespoons soy sauce- it's a must to use Japanese soy sauce like Kikkoman to achieve the flavor.

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon Asian mustard powder

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon  sesame oil (if you can’t find this just omit from recipe.)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste - roughly 1/3 a teaspoon of each

Directions:

1. Shake all the ingredients together in a covered container. Once the salt has dissolved, add and shake in 2 tablespoons of water and season again if needed


TOPPED WITH FRIED TOFU, EGGS, SCALLIONS AND SESAME SEEDS.

Cold Soba Noodles with crispy tofu and eggs. Garnished with sesame seeds and scallions.