Avocado & Shiitake Rice Paper Rolls

July 24, 2019 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! I feel like keeping this short one tonight – only because I really don’t have much to say about the dish itself, nor do I have a back story like I did last week about it. Yet again, I have to say that this isn’t one of the prettiest dishes I’ve put up – to be honest, I didn’t really put much thought in how I could have presented this dish. I really had to up the saturation when editing the photographs because it just looked so dead in terms of colour, and of course, composition.

Despite that, this is an easy to make and perfectly healthy snack if you only plan on eating 1 roll, a light dinner if eating 2, and a hefty lunch if you’re planning on eating 4 or more of these! Don’t be deceived like I was – I thought 3 rolls wasn’t going to fill me up for dinner – how wrong I was! I was already struggling towards the end of my second roll!

They’re perfect for a delectable spring or summer dish, with crispy, crunchy, creamy textures and bright, bold flavours. I mean, despite the rain we’ve been having lately, we’ve also seen some beautiful sunny days. Before we head on over to the recipe for tonight, please do check out the original recipe that I adapted from Kristina on Spabettie.

PREP TIME 20 MINS | COOKING TIME 10 MINS | MAKES 12 ROLLS

INGREDIENTS

For the rice paper rolls

Half pack (125g) cooked rice noodles, drizzled with sesame oil
12 rice paper wrappers
12 large dried shiitake mushroom slices, rehydrated
1 large ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 small red bell pepper, sliced into matchsticks and blanched
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
Bunch of spring onion, cut into matchsticks and blanched

For the spicy peanut sauce (Recipe adapted from Food in a Minute)

1 small garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 small red onion, finely minced
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
2 tsp chilli powder

METHOD

Spicy Peanut Sauce: Heat a dash of cooking oil (about a tablespoon) in a small saucepan. On low heat, add the minced garlic and sauté until golden in colour and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then, add the minced onion to the pan and cook for a further 30 to 45 seconds, until slightly softened. Be careful as to not brown/burn the garlic.
Add the peanut butter, roasted peanuts, chilli powder, and water to the pan and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Rice Paper Rolls: Have two large plates ready, one filled with water and the other for filling/rolling your rice paper rolls. Ensure all your ingredient fillings are also prepared and ready for rolling!
Place a wrapper into the plate with water, flipping so that both sides of the wrapper is soaked. Remove from the water while still firm and place on the other plate and begin to build up your roll.

Tip: Do not over soak the rice paper sheet as it will soften as it sits. This is so that it will not soften to the point that it sticks to the surface of the plate or rips when handling.

Place 2-3 slices of avocado and red bell pepper matchsticks in the middle of the rice paper, with 1-2 slices of shiitake mushroom (depending on its size), and a handful of sesame rice noodles. Top with a tablespoon of the spicy peanut sauce, pinch of crushed roasted peanuts, and a spring onion matchstick.
Roll like a burrito by folding the short sides over, then turning and folding one long side over. Roll, tuck, roll, tuck, until completely enclosed. Repeat for the remaining rice paper sheets – should make at least 12 rolls.
Serve immediately with a side of spicy peanut sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Fudgy Avocado-Chilli Brownies

July 17, 2019July 24, 2019 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! Firstly, apologies for not getting this post up last week as originally planned. It has been a crazy hectic week with early days and late nights in the office – even working the weekends ‘til late to meet deadlines for an event that our department/team organised on this day just last week. So because of that, I barely had any time to sit down and comfortably write this post with a stress-free state of mind. Having said that, here I am, back on track again to share a deliciously (healthy?) dessert that’s sure to knock your socks off!

The first time I experienced a Chilli-Chocolate flavour combination was when I was still studying in Sydney for my Bachelor’s of Design Degree. I remember I was at Circular Quay with a friend, and one of the gelato stalls there (can’t remember the name) was having a chocolate gelato fest! I clearly remember the difficulty I had in choosing a chocolate flavour out of the possible 10 or 15 they had available. For those of you who don’t know me, I like my chocolate like how I like my men – dark. Just kidding – I just wanted to say that. I have no particular preferences on skin colour or race when it comes to men. Tangent aside; I’m just not very fond of milk or white chocolate unless I really REALLY crave for it. Well technically I’m not very fond of chocolate altogether unless I really want something chocolatey for dessert.

Finally getting back to the original story, I remember having doubts on choosing just a regular Dark Chocolate Gelato, or one called Death by Chocolate which was essentially the Dark Chocolate Gelato, but with chilli in it. Me being adventurous to a certain extent (hey we all gotta draw a line somewhere!), I decided to go for the Death by Chocolate since never had I ever, up until that moment of course, tried the pairing of chilli and chocolate before. Boom. My life changed. It was a magical moment. The subtle yet just enough kick of heat that played on my tongue together with the cold creamy gelato that was slightly sweet and slightly bitter at the same time was to die for. It truly did live up to its name – Death by Chocolate. Ever since then, Chilli and Chocolate became my new best friends.

So what about Chocolate and Avocado? How did they also become my new best friends? Well, a couple of years back, when I was still studying abroad, I was out having a weekend (or maybe it was a weekday during the winter holidays) brunch with some of the people/friends I lived with. We went to a place known as Rustic Pearl in Surry Hills. When we were ordering our drinks to start off with, I was super curious about their Chocomolé Smoothie – Chocolate and Guacamole I presumed from its name after reading “with avocado and cocoa.” As usual, I was being my adventurous self and decided to try this foreign-to-me flavour pairing of Avocado and Chocolate. Did it change my life? Why yes. Yes it did. I still can’t quite describe the sensation nor taste of the pairing, but I absolutely love it.

Therefore, Avocado, Dark Chocolate, and Chilli? Explosive. Every time I want to be adventurous and try something new when it came to gelato flavours, I always say to myself, “no, you need Avocado and Dark Chocolate-Chilli Gelato.” I had been craving brownies for the longest time ever, and this was the perfect opportunity to whip them up and feature them on the blog since it fit with the theme I made it fit with the theme by incorporating avocados into them. These brownies are dense, thick, fudgy, and rich. The frosting though compliments the richness perfectly since it is light in flavour. Yes the frosting tastes like avocado, and no, the brownies do not even if they have avocado mixed into them.

Anyway, apologies for the super long introduction – hope it made up for not posting last week *cheeky grin* but before we pop on over to the recipe below, please do check out the original recipe by Jessica over on How Sweet Eats.

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME 30 MINS | MAKES 12 BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

For the brownie batter

2 large ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and mashed
2 large free-range eggs
1-2 red bird’s eye chillies, minced
200g high-quality dark chocolate, melted
50g high-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
3/4 cup all-purpose/plain flour
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

For to avocado frosting

1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and mashed
2 & 1/2 cups confectioiner’s sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180C (350F or gas mark 4), and generously grease a 9in x 13in baking dish with unsalted butter or non-stick cooking spray.
Fudgy Brownies: Whisk the mashed avocados, melted chocolate, and minced chillies in a large mixing bowl before adding in the white granulated sugar. Whisk again until well combined. Add in the eggs, together with the vanilla extract and mix well.
Sift in the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into the avocado-chocolate mixture. Mix with a large spoon until JUST combined – be careful as to not overmix the batter.
Stir in the extra virgin olive oil until it is well distributed into the batter and is somewhat smooth in consistency. Gently fold in the chopped chocolate, and then spread onto the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until the middle has set. You can check this by inserting a toothpick into the centre. If it comes out clean, then the brownies are done. Remove from the oven and set aside for it to completely cool down.
Avocado Frosting: Add the mashed avocado and vanilla extract into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Slowly incorporate the confectioner’s sugar into the avocado mixture and whisk until a smooth frosting forms.
Frost the brownies once they have cooled down and top with extra chopped chocolate bits and chilli slices for an added extra kick of heat. Serve and enjoy immediately!

Tip: If you’re going to pop them in the fridge to eat the next day, and the succeeding days to come, I recommend letting them come back up to room temperature before eating them. They can be even denser and slightly dry after coming out of the fridge.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Ginataang Manok (Chicken Stewed in Coconut Milk)

January 2, 2019 amcarmen3 Comments

Hello Everyone and a very Happy New Year to all! It just came to my attention as I was about to write this post that I should probably prepared a much more distinctive dish to welcome for the first post of the Year – but oh well.

Before I dive into the recipe, let me take up this paragraph to reveal the theme for Amcarmen’s Kitchen for this 2019 – it’s gonna be a FRUITFUL Year! That’s right! This year will be all about cooking with fruits or their… Derivatives? I’m not sure if that is the correct word I am looking for, but what I’m trying to say is for example milk from a coconut or juice from an orange and not the actual fruit itself. Let me know in the comments below what the word for this is!

So to kick start the year, I’ll be featuring Coconut and their… derivatives *insert crying laughing emoji* in all the dishes that I will be sharing for the month of January – both the sweet and the savoury!

Ginataan is one of the most basic cooking processes in the Philippines where ingredients are cooked/stewed in coconut milk. Dishes can vary from savoury dishes such as tonight’s recipe of Ginataang Manok to dessert and snacks such as Ginataang Halo-Halo.

Ginataang Manok, or in English, Chicken Stewed in Coconut Milk, is basically the process of cooking Tinolang Manok (Chicken & Green Papaya Soup) with the addition of coconut milk.

Short tangent, I went back an had a quick read of my Tinolang Manok post that I shared back in 2015 and I would just like to address a few things that may confuse some of you – heck it confused me a little bit so I’m sure it’s bound to raise questions, especially if you aren’t a regular follower of Amcarmen’s Kitchen.

First things first, I had cooked up the dish when I was in Australia. I had already completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Design, and had graduated just a month before I posted it. Anyway, so on my post I mentioned that I tried to look for malunggay leaves and/or chilli leaves, and to be told by the farmers that no one at the market sells them in Australia. On the other hand here in the Philippines, malunggay and chilli leaves are abundantly sold in markets and supermarkets nationwide. You can even pluck some malunggay leaves from your neighbour’s tree! Just thought I had to clear this up as I am currently back in the Philippines and may confuse some of my new followers from the Philippines in regards to this statement.

Secondly, and lastly I guess – I wrote about my apparent hate for green papaya in Tinolang Manok and my preference for using chayote instead. I did state that maybe there was something off in the particular green papaya that I had picked out – and 3 years later, after having Tinolang Manok with green papaya on a weekly basis ever since being back here in the Philippines, I can finally confirm that there was definitely something off with the one I had picked out from the markets back in Australia. For me, now, green papaya definitely overthrows chayote!

Okay apologies, 3 paragraphs isn’t exactly a short tangent, but now that that’s cleared up and out of the way, on with the recipe!

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 20-25 MINS | SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

1kg chicken whole legs, chop each into 3
200ml coconut milk (fresh, canned, or frozen)
1 small green papaya, peeled, seeds removed and cut into wedges
3 red bird’s eye chillies*
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small red onion, diced
1 bunch chilli leaves
Thumb-sized ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
Salt, to taste

*Optional – only if you want your ginataang to have a spicy kick to it or not

METHOD

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add the sliced ginger and sauté until fragrant. Add in the garlic and continue sautéing until golden brown, followed by the onions, cooking until they are soft and translucent.
Add the chopped chicken in the chicken and season with a touch of salt. Give it a good mix, then cover the pot and let it cook for about 5-8 minutes.
Add in about 1.5 litres of water together with the whole black peppercorns. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the coconut milk, papaya wedges, and red chillies (optional). Cover and leave to cook on low heat for about 15 minutes or until the papayas are tender. Taste and if needed, season with a bit more salt; adjust to your liking.
Add in the chilli leaves and give it a good mix. Turn the heat off and serve immediately with steamed rice. Enjoy!