Mexican Tamales

My heart warms and aches in researching and dissecting this recipe, as most of the sources speaks about the food, tamales, and its preparation brings about familial memories. This recipe is made for a large family or gathering, it brings warm to the people not only to the one who indulge but also to those who prepare this simple nourishing feast.

This food blog is dedicated to a wonderful friend and a great dad. I hope he likes this version and it is up to par with his discerning standard. If not I hope he would let me know. So, taking the risk, here we go:

My Version of Mexican Tamales

The recipe yields 16 servings.

Preparation Time:                         40 minutes

Waiting Time:                                2 – 3 hours

Cooking Time:                               3 hours

Ingredients:

For Wrappings

1 package (250 grams)                  dried corn husks

                                                       hot water, for soaking

For Tamales Filling

2                                                     tomato, roma

1/2 bulb                                          onion, white

3 cloves                                          garlic, peeled

2                                                     guajillo chiles, dried

2                                                     pasilla chiles, dried

4 cups                                            water, divided

1/2 tablespoon                               cumin, ground

                                                       oregano, pinch of

                                                       salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons                                cooking oil    

1 1/2 kilograms                              pork shoulder

For Tamales Dough

560 grams                                      masa harina

700 ml                                            water, very hot or broth* 

or

1 kilograms                                    corn masa, fresh*

1 teaspoon                                     baking soda or salt*

1 teaspoon                                     baking powder

1 tablespoon                                  water, warm

150 grams                                      lard

  

Procedures:

1. Cut the meat into 2-inch cube or serving pieces.

2.  Prepare the Wrappings. In a deep baking pan, soak the dried corn husks with hot water for 2 hours, or until pliable. And if needed, weigh the husks down to completely submerge. Drain the corn husks.

3. Prepare the Tamales Filling. In a sauce pan with lid, add tomato, onion, garlic, guajillo and pasilla chiles, and 4 cups of water, under high heat and quickly bring to boil to simmer. Reduce heat to medium, cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes, or until vegetables is soft.

4. In a blender, transfer the soften vegetables and chiles without the stem and seeds, add salt and pepper to taste, cumin and 1/2 cup of the cooked liquid. Blend until smooth. Set aside the sauce.

5. In a frying pan or skillet over medium-high temperature, heat the cooking oil and add the pork, and season with salt and pepper. Fry it until well-browned and most fat has dried up. Drain the excess fat, if necessary.

6. Increase heat to high, add the sauce to the pork, quickly bring to boil, and cover.

7. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 1 hour, or until tender. Remove from heat and let it cool.

8. Prepare the Tamales Dough. In a large bowl, add the masa harina and pour in the very hot water. Mix with a wooden spoon until a crumbly dough is formed. Set aside the masa mixture for 15 minutes.

9.  In a small bowl, stir to mix baking soda, baking powder and 1 tablespoon of water, set aside.

10. Using an electric had mixer on high speed, whip the lard about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the masa mixture, and the baking soda mixture, and then mix it by hand about 5 minutes, or until smooth. It should be smooth and firm, and spreadable but holds its shape. Another, test it by placing a small amount of dough on a cold water, it is ready when it floats.

11. Assemble the Tamales. On 1 husk add 1-2 tablespoons of masa to the center of the husk, spread about 1/4-inch from the edge. Place a tablespoon of the meat filling. Fold the corn husk over the filling from left to right, fold first the top down and tie to secure. Set aside. Repeat.

12. Steaming. In a large pot, pour water to reach about 2-inch. Place the tamales inside a steamer basket, open ends up. Then place the steamer basket inside the pot, cover with kitchen towel or extra corn husks, and cover with lid. Turn on the heat  high to quickly bring to a boil, then, reduce the heat to medium-high and steam for about an hour, then turn off the heat and let the tamales rest for an hour more.   

NTS:

   Serve best with salsa verde. Ketchup may also work.

   *alternative ingredients

Feel free to share your thoughts, any corrections, suggestions and reactions, as it will definitely guide and inspire create better content. Thank you so much.

As always enjoy!

Thank you Alex for the inspiration!

Reference and Inspired by:

1. Alex M.

2. Allrecipes. (n.d.) Real Homemade Tamales. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://www.allrecipes.com/video/1424/real-homemade-tamales/

3. Binging with Babish. (2018, February 27). Binging with Babish: Tamales from Coco. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akA_Z9Xmnvc

4. Tasty. (2018, September 22). Homemade Tamales Around Latin America. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB41-Y7vPlM

How to Cooked Rice using a Rice Cooker

Every Filipino Kitchen Essential

This would be a very short food recipe featuring how to cooked plain rice using a rice cooker. Yes, this may be very elementary, but there was a time, I was 8 years old, I was asked to cook rice and I did not know how. It is amazing in the 21 st century, certain individuals still believe that just because I am of a certain gender that I innately know how to cook. In order pacify my 8 years old self, I will address this through a blog post.

In previous blog post, I have featured another method in cooking plain rice and other food recipes that has rice as an ingredient. Using a rice cooker, make the cooking more convenient, yet simple details will be helpful. Here we go:

Cooked (plain) Rice

The recipe yields  4 servings.

Preparation Time:                         5 minutes

Cooking Time:                               20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups                                             short-grained white rice

2 cups                                             water

Procedures:

1. Using the inner aluminum pot of the rice cooker, place in the 2 cups of rice and rinse with cold water. Rinse by scrubbing the wet rice between your hands. And then drain. Repeat rinse and drain until the water is almost clear.

2. Drain and add 2 cups of water. The ratio between the rice and water will depends on the variant of rice, but most short grained plain rice follow the 1 is to 1 ratio.

3. Wipe dry the bottom of the pot and place it inside the rice cooker. Level the rice.

4. Plug and turn on the rice cooker and push down to cook, indicated by a light on the “cook” label.

5. The rice is cooked when the “warm” light label turns on. Let it seat for 5 minutes to let excess moisture evaporate.

6. Turn off and unplug the rice cooker. Take the inner pot out and let it cool for 5 minutes before fluffing the rice. Cover to keep it warm.

NTS:

    Best serve hot.

    Cooked rice can be stored in the refrigerator for a week.

   To reheat rice using the rice cooker, place the rice on the rice cooker’s steamer tray and fluff the rice. Add 1/4 cup of water in the inner pot of the cooker and place the tray on the inner pot. Then, turn on the cooker.

Please share your experience in cooking. Feel free to share your thoughts, any corrections, suggestions and reactions, as it will definitely guide and inspire create better content. Thank you so much.

As always enjoy!

Reference and Inspired by:

1. Alex M.

2. Waineru, S. (2018, September 13). Bibimbop. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from

3. Waineru. S. (2018, July 5). How to Cooked Rice. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from http://inourhomesweethome.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-to-cooked-rice.html

My Version of Bibimbop

I was never into Korean cuisines and never dared to cook and create a version of a popular Korean dish, until a good friend shared that Bibimbop or Bibimbap is one of his favorite dish. Bibimbap as its Korean name, is one of the top 5 Korean comfort food. The name of dish literally translates to “mixed rice with meat and assorted vegetables.”  Thus, from the rich ingredients it is not only satisfying and filling, but also healthy and nutritious.

In my version of Bibimbap, I took inspiration from Japanese bento’s food colors, which are red and yellow to stimulate appetite, green, orange and brown for contrast, and then tones like white and black for depth to make other colors pop out. These colors, together with black and white, do make food attractive not only to a child but also to adults.

I hope this recipe convey my gratitude for introducing me to Korean cuisine. Here goes my version:

Bibimbap – with Ground Beef

The recipe yields 3- 4 servings.

Preparation Time:                         20 - 30 minutes

Cooking Time:                               20 - 30 minutes

Ingredients:

For Meat Toppings

100 grams                                      beef, ground

1 tablespoon                                  soy sauce

1 tablespoon                                  sesame oil,

1 teaspoon                                     brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon                                  garlic, minced

For Rice

2 cups                                             short-grained white rice

2 cups                                             water

For Sauce

2 tablespoons                                Gochujang

1 tablespoon                                  soy sauce or water

1 tablespoon                                  sesame oil

1 tablespoon                                  brown sugar

1 teaspoon                                     vinegar

1 teaspoon                                     garlic minced

1 tablespoon                                  sesame seeds, roasted

For Vegetables Toppings

120 grams                                      carrot, small

120 grams                                      zucchini

120 grams                                      seedless cucumber

100 grams                                      red bell pepper

150 grams                                      cabbage

150 grams                                      lettuce

300 grams                                      Mongo/Mung bean sprouts

2 - 4                                                eggs

                                                       cooking and sesame oils to cook

                                                       garlic, minced

                                                       sesame seeds, roasted

                                                       salt to season

Procedures:

1. Marinate beef. In an airtight container, mix soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and garlic. Then, add and mix in the ground beef. Let it marinate in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

2. Cook rice. Check out previous recipe about cooking rice and/or watch out for the next food article, which will feature on how to cook rice using a rice cooker.

3. Prepare the Gochujang sauce. In a small bowl, mix and stir Gochujang, soy sauce or water, sesame oil, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic and sesame seeds. Set aside.

4. Prepare vegetables. Peel and julienne the following vegetables: carrot, zucchini and seedless cucumber. Add pinch of salt to each, and let them sweat. Arrange together in a platter Cut the red bell pepper into halves, de-seed and julienne.

5. Cut off the hard stalk of cabbage and lettuce and slice 1-inch wide.

6. Cook the vegetables. In a 2-3 qt sauce pan or pot and over a medium-high heat, boil 4 cups of water, blanch separately the cabbage and lettuce for 30 seconds and drain, and set aside arrange on a platter.

7. Add a teaspoon of salt to boiling water and cook the Mongo or Mung beans sprouts for 15 minutes. Drain and place the sprout in a bowl, seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, minced garlic and teaspoon sesame oil, mix. Then, place the seasoned sprouts on a platter together with the blanched cabbage and lettuce.

8. In a frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat, add cooking oil and sauté the carrots and seasoned with salt for 2 minutes. Then, set aside the carrots on the platter together with cabbage, lettuce and bean sprout. Do the same to red bell pepper.

9.  In the same pan, add additional cooking oil, sauté zucchini with minced garlic for 2 minutes or until soft. Then add a few drops of sesame oil for 30 seconds. Place it on a platter. Do the same with seedless cucumber.

10. Cook the beef. In the same pan over medium heat, add and heat cooking oil and brown the beef for 5 minutes until thoroughly cook. Set aside on the platter. Clean the pan.

11. Fry the eggs. In the same pan over medium-low heat, add cooking oil and fry the eggs until the white is firm but the yolks are still runny, or a sunny side-up type of fried egg.

12. Assemble the rice, meat and vegetables. In a large serving blow or individual bowls, place the freshly steamed rice or divide the cooked rice into 4 and place 1 portion on an individual bowls. Add the beef and the assorted vegetables around the bowls. Top the eggs on the center and rain lightly the Gochujang sauce on top. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds and drizzle a little sesame oils.

NTS:

    Best serve hot.

   Serve with condiments of additional Gochujang sauce, sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds.

That is my version of Bibimbap. Please give it a try and share your thought and comment below. Feel free to share your own version f Bibimbap. Also post any corrections, suggestions and violent reactions, as it will definitely help and inspire create better content. Thank you so much.

As always enjoy sweet, hot and spicy Korean comfort food!

Thank you Alex!

Reference and Inspired by:

1. Alex M.

2. Mykoreaneats. (n.d.). Bibimbap (Korean Rice With Mixed Vegetables). [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/228240/bibimbap-korean-rice-with-mixed-vegetables/

3. Future Neighbor. (2017, May 12). How to make Bibimbap. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmWLcTLAFys

4. Sue or My Korean Kitchen. (2018, August 17). Bibimbap(Korena Mixed Rice with Meat and Assorted Vegetables). [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://mykoreankitchen.com/bibimbap-korean-mixed-rice-with-meat-and-assorted-vegetables/

5. Maangchi. (2008, January 6). Bibimbap. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/bibimbap

Homemade Mango Ice Cream

Ah! Ice cream, a sweet summer reprieve. For something so delicious beloved, it is quite easy to make. This recipe only needs 2 main ingredients, a flavoring, a whisk and a freezer. Definitely no ice-cream maker required.  With wild imagination necessary for creating great flavors and a little patience for freezing time, the possibility is endless.

Homemade Mango Ice Cream Recipe

The recipe yields 2 pints and a little extra.

Preparation Time:                         20 - 30 minutes

Freezing Time:                              5 - 8 hours

Ingredients:

1 380 ml can                                  Nestle, all purpose cream

1 300 ml can                                  Milkmaid, condensed milk

1 teaspoon                                     vanilla extract

1/2 cup                                           mango puree

Procedures:

1.  Place cream, condensed milk and whisk or whisk and dough hook attachment in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight to keep them cold.

2. In a large bowl, whip the cold cream either using a whisk, or a hand or stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, or until raised, fluffy and soft peaks.

3. Turn off the mixer and add the condensed milk into the whipped cream and whip it on high speed for 3-5 minutes or until thick, light and stiff peaks.

4. Add in vanilla extract and mango puree, and swirl mixture using  a spatula or a dough hook on a low speed for 1 minutes.

5. Transfer the mango flavored ice cream mixture to an airtight container and freeze for a minimum of 5-8 hours.

NTS:

    Ice cream can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 5 weeks.

   Double recipe is 3 packs of 250 ml all purpose cream is to 2 cans of 300 ml Milkmaid condensed milk.

   Create your own unique flavor and add it on the ice cream base. Experiment in small 1-cup portions and see which combination works.

That is my homemade Mango ice cream. Please give it a try and share your thought and comment below. Feel free to share your own flavor of homemade ice cream. Also post any corrections, suggestions and violent reactions, as it will definitely help and inspire create better content. Thank you so much.

As always enjoy sweet delicious mango ice cream!

                      

Reference and Inspired by:

1.  Sakura Waineru and Tita Daisy.