#139 Moroccan Rice

I love rice especially steamed white rice. Before I started this cooking blog, I ate it night and day all year, 365 days of white rice. Now I am more open to eating spiced rice, pasta, breads, other grains and  even go zero carbs for most meals, and I love it! This dish sparked my curiosity in mixing rice with  spices used in Moroccan cuisine because I made Moroccan beef stew that night and did not have the suggested accompaniment on hand, the couscous. So I quickly searched for Moroccan Rice or Bread. I always have rice, and bread takes a while to make, so of course making a delicious rice dish, flavored with fragrant ground spices was a better idea. Although it was very tempting to just plainly steam it, I'm glad I did not succumb to laziness because, this dish is very good! It actually reminds me of  the rice my late grandma use to make on special occasions back in the days, it was yellow and flavorful. A quick look at the bottle of ground turmeric showed a root that looked like ginger. I do not remember what they called the yellow rice dish and was not 100% sure what Ina (what I called my Grandma) and Babo (my other Grandma) used to make it, but after seeing that photograph on the ground turmeric bottle and tasting this dish,  I am pretty sure it was fresh turmeric. :) So we do grow turmeric in the Philippines! Good to know! It is what gave this dish it's nice yellow color. The taste overall is lovely, the raisins bring a pleasant sweetness to the dish, and thumbs-up to the flavor created by the lemon and spices combined. I also used sona masoori rice that I got from costco, which was not tasty when plainly steamed, but it was great for this dish, I read from several sources that it is better than Basmati rice for weight loss. This recipe also calls for almond and pine nuts which I omitted due to our allergies, but even without, it tasted great! When I served it, I forgot to add the cilantro leaves on top, it was tasty, but there was something missing..once I sprinkled  the magical tiny leaves and some of it's stems, what a world of difference it made.  This dish promises big on flavor, so easy to make, so delicious that I can eat by itself,  and yes, it did go well with the stew, it was a perfect marriage of flavors! I'm sure this would be an excellent accompaniment to grilled meats also. I am posting two ways to cook it, one on the stove top, which is how I made it, and one using the microwave oven adapted from this recipe.

Yield: 4 servings 

MOROCCAN RICE

Ingredients:

200 g basmati rice or sona masoori rice
500 -750 ml chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, halved and finely chopped
65 g slivered almonds
80 g pine nuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch chili powder (to your taste)
65 g raisins
1 lemon, rind cut into very thin strips, juiced
1/3 cup loosely packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
salt  and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

(stove top)

1.  Rinse rice under cold water until water runs clear; drain.
2. Place rice in a pan.
3. Add enough stock until it covers the rice by 2cm, add oil.
4. Cover with a lid and boil, then simmer until rice is soft, adding more stock when needed. Rice must not dry up.
5. Once rice is almost done, add onion,  cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and chili powder
6. In a separate pan, heat a little bit of olive oil, add the almonds and pine nuts, add to the rice mixture, stir in lemon peel slices and raisins.
7. Lower the heat, stir the rice every minute until rice is done. Serve with chopped fresh cilantro sprinkled on top. Salt and pepper to taste.

(microwave oven)

1. Rinse rice under cold water until water runs clear; drain.
2. Place rice in a microwave-safe rice cooker or bowl.
3. Add enough stock until it covers the rice by 2cm.
4. Cover with a lid or a double layer of plastic wrap and Cook on High/800watts/100% for 5 minutes.
5. Cook on Medium/500watts/50% for a further 7 minutes.
6. Remove from microwave and set aside.
7. Meanwhile place oil, onion, almonds, pine nuts, raisins, lemon peel cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and chili powder in a microwave safe rice cooker or bowl.
8. Cook uncovered stirring every minute on High for 3 to 4 minutes or until the nuts are toasted and the mixture is fragrant. Serve with chopped fresh cilantro sprinkled on top. Salt and pepper to taste.

Yummy! What a great discovery!

#128 Cocoa Mochi

While at the grocery store heading towards the dairy section to pick up milk, I noticed a box of sweet rice flour, the price was half off; I never fail to notice a discounted price at  grocery stores even if I am walking really fast, those yellow and red labels are just so hard to miss! :)  And don't we all get distracted at the grocery store and end up buying what wasn't planned? And that's what, as always, happened to me. So I picked up this small white box with a blue star and read the package. I haven't bought rice flour ever but  a former neighbor bought me a bag like 5 years ago. It was never used. I was going to put it back into the shelf but then I realized this was a different rice flour: it's a "sweet rice flour" and then I saw a recipe printed on it's box: Cocoa Mochi. A Japanese rice cake dessert,  it is a traditional food eaten on Japanese New Years' day. I remembered buying mochi ice cream at Trader Joe's a while ago and it was chewy, sweet, a delight! That memory convinced me to make mochi for dessert. For less than a dollar, I thought why not...I bought the 1 pound box of Koda Farm's Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour and immediately started making it when we got home. I read the directions and it looked pretty easy, it can be made in the microwave oven, shouldn't be that hard, right? I was excited. Mixing it with the water and sugar was a breeze, it dissolved easily. Then came the cooking part. One thing that  I did not like: once the rice flour is cooked, it sticks everywhere! The moulding requires a lot of patience, before I worked on the shape, I made sure my hands were wet, this trick by the way will save you  all the frustration in making a decent looking sticky mochi. How the talented home cooks make it so fabulous looking, you know, perfectly round, with ice cream inside, by hand.. is beyond me. This recipe calls for cocoa for dusting ( to prevent it from sticking). But if you want to add food coloring, a few drops will give it a nice pastel color, and then you can skip the cocoa powder for dusting and  use potato starch or powdered sugar instead.

COCOA MOCHI (Easy Microwave Version)

Ingredients: 

2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 box  Mochiko Blue Star Brand Sweet Rice Flour
3 cups water
extra cocoa powder for dusting

Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, using a whisk, combine sugar and cocoa together very thoroughly. Then add 1 cup water and mix well. Heat syrup over medium high, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
2. Using a whisk, thoughly mix flour and 3 cups water in a large microwavable bowl until smooth. Cover and microwave 5 minutes on high. Remove from oven and using a large spoon, mix thoroughly. Return to oven, uncovered, and cook an additional 5 minutes on high.
3. Remove from oven. Add cocoa syrup and mix thoroughly.
4. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 inch nonstick baking pan lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray. Let mochi cool overnight or until firm.
5. Dust top with cocoa powder and invert contents onto a cutting board dusted with cocoa powder (before inverting pan, gently pull the mochi along the pan sides free).
6. Cut mochi into small pieces and dust all surfaces in cocoa powder.
7. Store in airtight container and refrigerate.

The result: a chewy, dense mochi with just the right sweetness for us.  I really like this recipe. So, was it easy? Well I  really thought it was, microwave cooking almost always means easy heating/cooking, right?... certainly not in this case, the ease stopped at the moment I put the bowl inside the microwave oven and pressed it's buttons! "No pain, no gain" was my mantra from start to end. The process got harder and stickier as the mixture starts to cook. I had some patience enough to finish the task but  I was complaining too much the whole time! More patience next time. If you really want to make this yourself, don't be discouraged, it's really not THAT hard...just a little bit and on that day, I was a tad whinier than the usual, so... :) But honestly, it was definitely well worth  the effort! :) We made and really enjoyed a delicious Cocoa Mochi!

My next project is  mochi ice cream! I did try making it using this batch after the cooked Mochi has cooled down, but the ice cream melted the second it touched the Mochi, but I am not giving up! I will keep searching for a recipe on how to properly do it. Please share a good recipe in the comment section if you have one!

#60 Philippines' Puto Maya

For breakfast or meryenda (snacks), Puto Maya is always a hit in the Philippines. We Filipinos obviously love our rice very much. :)  You will be blown away by the many ways Filipino people cook rice, and the many varieties of rice that are available in our palengkes (markets). I hope I can cover several through the course of my 365-day adventure. Puto Maya is dear to my heart, because it is my Mama's favorite. This dish uses glutinous rice, a sweet and sticky rice variety shown below and cooked with fresh ginger, coconut milk and sugar. Very interesting blend of flavors. We eat it as an accompaniment to our native brewed coffee, or sikwati (hot chocolate). So good!

Puto Maya

Ingredients:

2 cups glutinous rice (sweet, sticky rice)

4 cups coconut milk

3-1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar (or less, according to your taste)

4" piece of fresh ginger, peeled, and cut into 3/4" chunks

Directions:

1.  Rinse rice and place in a 2-qt pot.
2. Add coconut milk, cover and let it come to a boil. When boiling, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir.
3. Turn heat to a lower setting and let mixture simmer for about 15 minutes or until rice is done. (It will be sticky!)
4. When done, scoop out rice, discard the ginger root. Top with fruit or powdered sugar if desired.

We learned that glutinous rice is grown in Southeast and East Asia. It has been grown in China for atleast 2,000 years. Legends say that this sweet sticky rice was used to make the mortars in the construction of the Great Walls of China. Many years later, it was confirmed true for the city walls of Xian by chemical tests. In Assam, which is a Northern State of India, during Ahom's rule, this rice was also used to build palaces. Amazing. :)

  Puto Maya and Coffee or Sikwati = Happy Mornings.

Recipe adapted from Marisa De Los Santos, featured on www.thesecretingredientblog.com

#53 Philippines' Champorado

Champorado. You can also call it chocolate rice porridge. Growing up in the Philippines, this dish was frequently served at breakfast, or merienda (snacks). We used local unsweetened round chocolates from the small tindahans (stores) to make it. It was a very satisfying champorado journey for me everytime. The journey begins with an adult  yelling for "Vannnn Vannn" while I am at play, then handing me few pesos to buy tsokolate (chocolate) for the champorado. Then under the heat of the Philippine summer sun, I walk very slowly to Manang Narding's store, 5 houses away :) Then when I finally get there, I say.."AYOOOO" very loudly, it is what you say when you want to call someone's attention at a small store, or when you go visit someone's house. I buy a bag of 10 chocolate rounds, and bring it home. Then I play again with friends while waiting for the champorado. :) Such beautiful childhood memories. It was the best. So every time I make this, it never fails to make me smile.


CHAMPORADO


Ingredients:

1/2 cup white rice
2-3 tablespoons of ghiradelli, hersheys or similar brand of unsweetened chocolate powder
2-3 cups of water


Directions:

1. Boil rice in water, and once it boils, simmer it. Don't let it dry up, so watch closely, the rice will absorb the water,  add more water if you need to. Once the rice starts to soften, add the chocolate powder, let it simmer more until the rice is very very soft and the porridge starts to thicken.
2. Serve warm with cream, and sweeten it with sugar.

The smell and every bite transport me to happy moments in a very beautiful tropical place. The Philippines.

#35 Philippines' Arroz Caldo (Rice Porridge with Chicken)

This dish brings back a lot of great memories. A loving mother, a very caring late grandmother, and soothing massages from both amazing women after a delicious Arroz Caldo dinner, the massages are enjoyed by yours truly everytime I was a little unwell :) Massages and Arroz Caldo are the best fever busters.

Arroz Caldo, or 'lugaw nga naay manok' meaning rice porridge with chicken meat, is one of the Philippines' favorite foods. Mostly eaten for breakfast, sometimes lunch. I love eating it for dinner. It's very filling without the thousands of calories to worry about. What I also like about Arroz Caldo is, every spoonful has a different flavor. I eat it a certain way, that's why. (^__^)  This is how: for the first bite, a spoonful of just the rice and sauce, on the second I add the toasted garlic to the rice and sauce, then I include some chicken meat on the third spoonful, a slice of ginger on the fourth, then all together on the fifth. :) And  I cook it in a certain way also. I cook the rice separately. Here is my recipe:

ARROZ CALDO

(rice porridge with chicken)

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked rice (preferably Heirloom Kokuho Premium Japanese style rice by Koda Farms)

6 cups of water (for the rice)

15 cups of water (for the soup)

3 tablespoons Herb Ox MSG Free Chicken Seasoning

1 cup ginger, sliced 

1 cup green onions (bottom part), chopped

2 pounds of chicken breast with bones

green onion leaves sliced diagonally, for garnishing

toasted garlic, for garnishing

                          

Directions:

1. Mix the first two ingredients and bring to boil. Simmer uncovered until the rice is very tender.
2. In a pot, mix the 15 cups of water, herb ox seasoning, sliced ginger, chopped green onions, and breast meat with bones. Bring to boil. Then reduce heat and let the chicken cook uncovered.
3. Meanwhile, mince garlic. Over medium heat, spray oil on a small pan. Add garlic and cook until brown, stirring frequently, careful not to burn it.
4. Once the chicken and rice are cooked, ladle cooked rice and put it in a deep bowl. Then ladle chicken soup, add the ginger and onions (it settles in the bottom of the pot). Add to your bowl of rice and soup.
5. Separate breast meat from bones, discard the bones and then add the meat into the bowl of rice and soup.
6. Garnish with raw green onion leaves and toasted garlic.
7. Serve immediately.

#21 Delicious Greek Rice Dish: Spanakorizo

I love, love this recipe. I love Greek food in general, and this dish, with lemon and crumbled feta cheese on top, is heavenly! If you have a lot of spinach in your fridge and a bag of rice, make this! Yum! We will be cooking this a lot.


Spanakorizo


Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 pounds fresh spinach, rinsed and stemmed
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup uncooked white rice

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
2. Saute onions until soft.
3. Add spinach, and cook , stirring for a few minutes, then pour  in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, and season with parsley, dill, salt and pepper.
4. Stir in rice, reduce heat to low, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until rice is tender. Add more water if necessary.
5. Serve hot, with lemon and feta cheese on the side.

This Greek dish is known as "Spinach Risotto" in English. The dill is what mainly gives that wonderful flavor. Once you try this, you'll understand why I am crazy about Spanakorizo. It  is such a great vegetarian dish.

We looked at photos of an island that we will surely visit soon. Santorini Island in Greece is our destination for our first visit to Greece. Let me share a couple of photos that my best friend Sean sent to me a few years ago while in Santorini:

Don't you want to be here too?! Santorini  is an island in the Southern Aegean Sea. One of the two locations in Europe to feature a hot desert climate. An island with lots of history, character, breathtaking beauty, low crime rate, great food and a flourishing wine industry. I can't wait for us to go. :)

#15 I wrap my heart with grape leaves: Dolmas or Warak Dawali

When I was first introduced to stuffed grape leaves, I was surprised that the leaves can be cooked! Well, back home, a few people planted grapes and eating the leaves is unheard of. Once I tried it, I instantly loved it! It was very good. I loved it so much that when I went to Zanotto's grocery store in Willow Glen, I was so happy when I found cooked stuffed grape leaves. However, once I tasted it, I was very disappointed..it was disgusting! Then, I realized that there are many variations. And I am lucky that I first tried it from the kitchen of a great cook, Aola. She inspired me to attempt to make stuffed grape leaves as great as hers. She told me how to make it, but I forgot all the details by the end of the dinner that she hosted last year. I investigated and looked up many many recipes. I wanted to learn how to make it so bad, because it is just delicious and it was something new to me. After several months of trying different recipes, I found what I just needed: simple, quick and delicious.

Like me, you must be wondering where the stuffed grape leaves originated. It has many names, to mention just a few: dolmas, wara' einab, dawali (as what my Palestinian friends call it), dolmeh. This dish is very common in the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. It may have other names that I do not know of. In a 1983 NY times article by Fred Ferreti, the following was written about the origin of stuffed grape leaves:

"As a matter of fact, some Greeks will tell you that the origin of stuffed vine leaves goes back to the time when Alexander the Great besieged Thebes. Food became so scarce that the Thebans cut what meat they had into little bits and rolled it in grape leaves."  read more 

We chose to talk about Greece the night we made this dish. We read online and discussed about Greek Mythology, she was amazed! She heard about Greek Gods before, but she learned more about it that night. It all sounded magical to her. The whole experience was fun for me of course, although the rolling part can be tiresome after a long day :) This dish is mostly cooked with lamb.  I stuffed mine with beef.

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Ingredients:

1/2 medium onion, minced

1/4 cup uncooked rice ( I used California Rose)

16 ounces ground beef

1 garlic minced

3 tbsp. finely chopped parsley

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 tbsp. coriander

4 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 tbsps. lemon juice

grape leaves ( I used Orlando jarred grape leaves)

3 cups chicken stock

1 lemon, cut into small wedges

Directions:

1. Remove the grape leaves from jar and rinse.
2. In a bowl, combine, beef, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, coriander, 1 tbsp. olive oil, salt, pepper, coriander. Mix well. Add uncooked rice. Mix.  It is best if you use your hands.
3. Dry grape leaves with papertowels. Place leaves shiny side down. Add 1 tbsp of mixed meat, spices and rice. Roll.
4. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, place them side by side in circular layers.
5. Place lemon on top. Then put a weight on top of the last layer. (I used a smaller pot cover, others use a ceramic plate). This will prevent the stuffed leaves from moving around during cooking. Fill pot with the chicken stock, covering the leaves. Add the remaining oil. Depending on what you use to cook the stuffed leaves in, you might need to add a cup or two of the chicken broth.
6. Simmer for 30 minutes on low until the rice is very tender. Then remove from pot and serve. 

We fell in love with this dish. Serve with yogurt sauce, it's delicious. It takes time to finish rolling each one, but it is totally worth it.

#6 A dish from the happiest place on Earth

I asked her to pick from a list of countries in Central America.  She chose a great one. According to the New Economics Foundation's Happy Planet Index, COSTA RICA is the happiest place on Earth. It must be paradise! It ranks as the 5th greenest country in Central America, and unlike it's neighboring countries, it has not endured civil war since 1948.  The country has no military.

Costa Rica which translates to "rich coast" has a tropical weather year round, and beautiful beaches. The citizens hate pollution, are very diplomatic, highly satisfied with their lives and their food is delicious.

Last night, we made "Gallo Pinto". The dish is mainly rice and black beans,  seasoned with three fragrant spices:  ground cumin, ground coriander, and ground ginger. She made the trio smile :)

Here's the rest of the ingredients that we used:

canola oil

onion, finely chopped

garlic, minced

cooked white rice

cooked black beans

worcestershire sauce

black pepper

organic cilantro

It's not much more expensive that the non-organic, so why not buy organic?

I soaked the black beans before boiling. 

Here's how we cooked the Gallo Pinto:

Sauteed the garlic and onions, then added the happy spices trio.

Then we added the cooked rice, the cooked beans and the worcestershire sauce.

Mixed well. Then some salt and pepper to taste.

We learned where the beautiful Costa Rica is.

We saw lots of beautiful pictures.

It's capital is San Jose. She said" "What? There are two San Joses?" :)

I told her that San Jose, Costa Rica and San Jose, California are sister cities too.

I really liked this dish. Very easy to make. It's delicious.

#4 & #5 Tasting Japan

Japanese food is, hands down-- my favorite. I love how Japanese restaurants are found in every block in the Bay Area. And it must be also true in all major cities around the world.  I don't think I will ever get tired of it. I love making different Japanese dishes myself, because it is truly an enjoyable experience for me every time. It's quick, healthy, artful and very delicious!Tuesdays are always busy for us. So soup & sushi were the top choice. My ballerina was tired last night after two hours of dancing so, she didn't even bother to choose :)

For the soup:   clear soup with prawns & spinach

Sushi:  my version of  "California Roll"

CLEAR SOUP WITH PRAWNS & SPINACH

Ingredients:

6 uncooked prawns

baby spinach leaves

3 strips lemon rind

1 L of primary dashi

2 tsp light soy sauce

Directions:

1. Shell & devein prawns, leaving tails in tact.Cut a small slit in the middle of each prawn. Push tail through the slit.

2. Cook prawns in small saucepan with enough water, do not cover the saucepan. Cook for 1 minute.Drain. Set aside.

3.  Boil water in a pot and then add the spinach. Once slightly wilted, remove from heat. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain & set aside.

4. Cut slits along both long sides of the lemon rind starting at opposite ends, but don't cut all the way. Leave about 5% to keep the strip of lemon rind intact.Then gently pull & twist to form a triangle.

5. In a saucepan, boil the Dashi and then add the soy sauce.Note: I boiled a separate soup water for the ballerina since she is allergic to seafood.

6. In a serving bowl, arrange the spinach and the prawns, with tails facing up. Pour the boiled Dashi, and top with the lemon rind triangle.

I also found out that this soup can be paired with cooked beef slices instead of the prawns- she enjoyed it! And since we had rice, she poured rice on her soup. Great thinking!

  

 MY VERSION OF CALIFORNIA SUSHI ROLL

 Ingredients:

cucumber slices

avocado slices

crab meat or imitation crab meat

japanese rice

sushi seasoning

sheets toasted seaweed (yaki-nori)

Directions:

1.  Cook rice.  

2. Once cooked, let it cool down in a bowl, then add the sushi seasoning. 

3.It's sushi roll time. (There are so many sushi making videos you can check out online). This is the easiest way for me to roll (nori on the outside), California rolls are made inside-out. But I like rolling mine the traditional way. It's easier.

4.Wipe knife with a damp cloth. Slice through the roll, wiping knife between cuts.

FUN FACT:

In the 1970's, a sushi chef named Ichiro Mashita based in Los Angeles began experimenting with replacing tuna with avocado. After he discovered that the texture & taste of avocado is a great substitute for tuna, the Califonia Roll is born. He eventually made the roll with rice on the outside because the Americans did not like how the nori looked on the outside :)