PalwithnoovenP's blog

I've never had a pumpkin pie in my entire life because pumpkins and/or squashes are just meant to be savory here. I can't imagine pumpkin as sweet before, then it became a trend to put it in desserts because of the flavor and health benefits; still haven't tasted a sweet with pumpkin. So, pumpkin is generally accepted now to be used in sweet and savory alike but the idea of pumpkin pie with spices (some even call for black pepper and coriander) is still perplexing because the use of spices with sweets is not much accepted, it sure tastes alien here!

I just saw this photos again while I was browsing my album in my phone and they were almost a year old! These are made during my stay at the dorm while having my practicum. They are so easy and fun to make so I thought I'd go post them!

November 11, 2010 was the day Fedra was born and she's five years old today. Coincidentally, we had some nice stuff in the fridge as well so to celebrate her day I cooked some dishes for us, her and her other four legged friends. I had no more flour to bake with so this week is a test of my cooking skills.


The birthday girl!

This is the style of empanada in the Ilocos region of northern Philippines. Living in a former Spanish colony; I've seen and tasted empanadas here close to the ones in Latin America, those with flaky crust filled with minced meat and potatoes and either baked or fried, just tweaked to the local palate but the people of Ilocos adapted the empanada like no other. The dough is made with rice flour filled with green unripe papaya, mung bean sprouts, longganisa (local garlic sausage), and a fresh egg then deep fried which makes it closer to a taco or spring roll.

Hoptik is a portmanteau of hopia, a Chinese pastry (see here) and tikoy, the Chinese version of mochi. It is essentially a flaky pastry filled with bean paste with mochi in the center that's why they're sometimes called mochipia. I first had this in a Chinese restaurant and we all liked it so I made my own yesterday. The crust is different from my first hopia post because I opted for a more traditional one with a higher fat content.

I first saw this bread about a year ago in this video by chowhound  where Alex Van Buren had it at Rhong-Tiam, a Thai restaurant in New york. I made a lot of research and found out that it is a very popular street food in Thailand. It has very interesting ingredients and technique and looks very delicious, I knew I have to make it but I did not have the guts to try until last Saturday.

Hopia (好餅- hao bing in Mandarin) in Fookien literally means good cake/pastry, it was introduced by Chinese immigrants mostly from fujian in the country. They are ubiquitous snacks and can be found almost anywhere; in the general merchandise store in cartons at the street corner to most bakeries to high end Chinese delis in gift boxes. The classic versions are mung bean or pork fat filling enclosed in flaky pastry made by alternating layers of water and oil dough.

I was alone in the house this Sunday with nothing to do, my thoughts automatically turned to making bread. But what bread? There's not much stuff in the pantry and I want to enjoy the bread on the same day when my parents arive. I also want a bread like "that bread from that nice lady at the end of that narrow alley" you know what I mean. Days before I've been pondering about the wonderful world of street food; how quick, easy and convenient it is delivered to you and how delicious and varied they are; opening my own food cart someday or just going on a street food trip.

For a long time, I've been trying to create breads (lean and enriched) that should look like society's ideals; dark crackly singing // delicate crust, blooming scores, holey // feathery soft crumb; those are some of the hallmarks of  great loaves achieved with the help of an oven. No matter how hard I tried, it won't be just the same and won't be enough to reach those standards for many. It's like that weeny teen spending hours in the gym to earn his six pack to be considered hot/in/cool/popular.

I had fun with shaping my rolls today! They're supposed to look like dainty little roses, but they really "rose" and became too big! They are beautiful, Roses in full bloom!



They're soft, fluffy and bouncy on the inside but "soft crispy" on the outside with a nice flavor. They are like "pull-apart rolls" in roll form.