Banana Coconut Cream Pie/Tart – with Dulce de Leche

Banana Coconut Cream Pie/Tart – with Dulce de Leche

This is a tropical modification of “Bananoffee” crossed with regular banana cream pie, with a coconut twist. In place of whipped cream or vanilla custard, I used a coconut custard. And wow, did it come out good — the carameliness from dulce de leche, the coconut custard, the bananas… mmmm.  And no baking required (though there is cooking involved).

INGREDIENTS

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tb powdered sugar
1/4 cup toasted coconut
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 1/2 cups Dulce de Leche, room temp or luke warm

(custard)
1/2 cup golden sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
3 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

enough ripe bananas to cover bottom of pie, cut into 1/4″ slices

Topping:
Fresh or dessicated coconut flakes

PREPARATION

For the crust:
Mix all crust ingredients in bowl until well blended. Press into bottom and up sides of 10″ pie or tart pan. Put into freezer to harden.

When crust is solid, spread on the dulce de leche. Place back into freezer.

For the custard:
Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Gradually whisk in coconut milk. Whisk over medium heat until custard thickens and boils. Remove from heat and temper egg yolks, then add to the custard along with vanilla.  Return to LOW heat for 1-min. Allow to cool as you cut the bananas.

To finish:
Add sliced bananas to the pie to cover the dulce de leche, then top with warm custard. Spread custard to cover evenly, but slightly higher in the middle. The custard should be quite thick. Sprinkle with coconut flakes.

Cover and place in fridge to chill completely before serving.

Enjoy!

Thai Pineapple Curry (Gaeng Kua Sapparod)

This is a recipe from my wife’s sister, Nong.  She cooks this in large batches and shares some with us on occasion (as shown in below pic).  It’s a nice “something different” on the table, and a must-try for Thai food lovers.  Enjoy.

This delicious curry “soup” is served with rice, and has a sweet/sour/coconut/spicy flavor profile that is sure to add “something different” to your dining experience.

Thai Pineapple Curry

Curry Paste

4 Red Shallots
4 clv Garlic
1 stalk Lemongrass
1.5 inch galanga, sliced
5 red Thai (hot) chilies
1 finger grachai
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Pineapple Curry

Curry paste (above)
1 Tb coconut oil
1/2 kg (about 1 lb) pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
–   –  –   – or boneless chicken thigh meat, cut into pieces
1 cup coconut milk (or more to taste)
1-2 cup water or broth (depending on how soupy you want it)
1/2 kg sweet pineapple, diced
large Thai green/red (mild to medium) chilies, quartered lengthwise (to taste)
3 kaffir lime leaves, whole
1 handful of Thai sweet basil (horapa)
Salt and palm sugar to taste

Directions:
Make the curry paste with mortar and pestal or a small blender.

In a deep wok or soup pot, fry curry paste in coconut oil until lightly caramelized. Add the meat to the curry, and stir-fry until almost cooked.

Add the coconut milk and water/broth to the pot and bring to boil. Cook until meat is cooked and somewhat tender.

Squeeze some of the juice out of the diced pineapple. Discard or re-purpose the juice. Add the squeezed pineapple to the pot and boil a few minutes more, or until pineapple is tender.

Season with salt and palm sugar to taste (sweetness depends on your pineapple as well as individual taste).

Add the chilies, kaffir lime and basil, and then remove from heat.

Serve hot with jasmine rice.

Note: You can make this with a light broth (as per this recipe) or a richer broth, with higher ratio of coconut milk as per your preference. I personally like this dish with a light coconut broth, as I enjoy so many other Thai dishes with a richer coconut broth.

Paneer Koftas in Spinach Sauce

Savory and delicious, a bit of spice and a dab of yogurt for a bit of tang

Ingredients:

Spinach Sauce:

2 bn Spinach (about 450gm total)

½ c Water

¾ c Yogurt, plain

½ ts Sugar

2 T Ghee or Butter

½ ts Salt or to taste

1 T White Poppy seeds

Spice Paste:

1 T Coconut, grated
1 T Cashews, chopped
4 clv Garlic, minced
½ in Ginger, grated
1 ts Aniseed
4-5 Green Bird Chilies

Paneer Koftas:

6 oz (170gm) Paneer

1/4 c Flour, all-purpose

2 T Cilantro, chopped

1-2 Hot Green Chilies, chopped

⅛ ts Baking Soda

¼ ts Salt

Oil for frying

Preparation:

Prepare koftas by combining all the kofta ingredients, and then shaping them into 1¼” balls. Semi-deep fry them in oil, rolling them around, until lightly browned all around.

Prepare spinach sauce by cooking spinach (with stems) and a little water in a saucepan. You should have about 2-cups of cooked spinach. When cooked, coarsely purée the spinach in a blender and set aside.

Blend the coconut, cashews, poppy seeds, garlic, ginger, aniseed and chilies to a paste. Heat ghee in a saucepan and fry the paste for 3-minutes. Add the yogurt and sauté for another minute. Add the spinach purée, sugar and salt to taste. Boil for 2 more minutes.

Pour the spinach sauce into a plate or bowl and top with a dab of yogurt. Set koftas on top of spinach and serve with basmati rice, naan and another dish.

Note:  This vegetarian dish can be easily converted to a vegan version by replacing the paneer with tofu; the ghee with vegetable oil (mustard oil might be nice); and the yogurt with coconut milk.

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Graham-Coconut Crust

Cheesecake (tart) with white chocolate, macadamia and coconut. Pure heaven.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

with Graham-Coconut Crust

This is a recipe I came up with on the fly

Crust:
1  1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cup toasted coconut (loose measure, not packed)
1 Tb sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tb coconut oil (or enough to moisten crumbs)

Filling:
1 8oz bar of Cream Cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 ts Vanilla
50g white chocolate, melted (2oz)

Topping:
1 bar Ritter Sport White Chocolate with macadamia (or 50gm white chocolate and a handful of toasted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped)
1 Tb sour cream
1 Tb sugar

Method:
Crust – Combine graham cracker crumbs, toasted coconut and sugar in a bowl. Mix melted butter and coconut oil, then add to the crumbs. Stir until well combined. Pack evenly into a tart or pie pan, forming up the sides, as well. Put into the freezer to harden.

Filling – Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). In a glass or ceramic bowl, melt the white chocolate and cream cheese together (i use a microwave set on medium for about 1 minute). Heat until just warm enough to melt together, not too hot. Mix until all the white chocolate is incorporated into the cheese. Add the sugar and vanilla; mix well. Add the eggs and mix until uniform. Pour into the chilled crust. Bake immediately at 350°F (175°C) for about 35-min or until center is almost firm but slightly jiggly. Cool to lukewarm before adding topping.

Topping – Coarsely chop up the Ritter Sport bar.  Melt the bar, add sour cream and sugar;  stir well. While still warm and pie/tart is lukewarm, pour topping over the distribute the nuts evenly. Place into fridge and chill completely before serving.

Cheesecake – this is nice in a tart or std pie pan.

Japanese Braised Pork Ribs

Japanese Braised Ribs – This is a recipe I have developed combining Japanese flavors with a Western cooking technique. These ribs are not particularly piquant, but have a complex set of umami flavors from wasabi, tonkatsu sauce, and ginger, tempered with a bit of tomatoey sweetness from ketchup. Yes, modern Japanese cuisine does utilize ketchup on occasion. Anywho, My family finds them finger-lickin’ good and there’s not usually any leftovers from a kilo of ribs. My Japanese brother-in-law ate an entire platter-full and said “totemo oishi”. Enjoy!

Japanese Braised Pork Ribs

(Kirk’s Recipe)

Ingredients:

3 lbs. pork ribs, “Asian cut” (can be 1 to 3 inch lengths, like dimsum “pai gu” ribs)

Marinade:
2 ts fresh garlic, paste or finely minced (or ½-ts garlic powder)
1 ts leek powder (or onion powder)
¼ ts white pepper
1 cup tomato catsup
1½ cube mushroom bouillon, dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water
1½ Tb palm sugar (or brown sugar)
2 Tb shoyu sauce (or light soy sauce)
1½ Tb rice vinegar or malt vinegar
3 Tb Tonkatsu sauce*
2 ts ginger juice (or paste, or very finely chopped)
1½ ts wasabi paste (prepared)
1½ ts Sesame oil
1½ ts Korean Chili powder (optional)

Directions:

Thoroughly wash ribs clean of any bone fragments remaining from the sawing process – important.  Pat dry with a kitchen towel.  Singulate the ribs and set aside.

In a bowl large enough to accommodate the ribs, combine marinade ingredients and mix well.  Add the ribs to marinade and mix to coat all evenly. Cover and marinate ribs in the refrigerator for a few hours (you can marinate ribs overnight if preparing ahead).

When about ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).  Place ribs into a large baking pan or 2 medium ceramic casseroles in a single layer.  Bake, uncovered, at 350°F (175°C) for 1 – 1¼ hours.   When perfect,  you should see some caramelization on top of the ribs and the sauce should be quite reduced and even caramelizing in the pan.

Serve with white rice.

* Tonkatsu sauce is a very common Japanese condiment that can be found in most supermarkets with even a minimal Japanese section. However, if you cannot find Tonkatsu sauce, you can substitute Worcestershire or steak sauce.

Hell Ramen (Jigoku Raamen)

Hell Ramen – spicy and delicious. Shortcuts can be made (such as buying ramen noodles instead of making them fresh) for a quicker meal, but making from scratch is always tastiest.

Ingredients:

4 servings of Ramen Noodles (below)

1 rcp Soup Stock (below)

Flavoring Base (below)

Toppings (below)

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Soup Stock:
3 qt Water
3 lb Soup Bones, Pork and Chicken
1½ in Ginger, sliced
10 Scallions
1 bn Bok Choy, leaves detached
2 Leeks, sliced
1 lg Carrot, sliced
1 T Salt, or to taste

Toppings:
Yakibuta (thinly sliced after cooking – recipe below), Soybean Sprouts, Shiitake Mushrooms (boiled, sliced), Nori sheets (cut into 2” squares), Spinach (parboiled) or Napa Cabbage, Scallions (thinly sliced), Korean chili powder (optional)

Yakibuta:
1/3 lb Pork Belly, one piece
¾ c Shoyu sauce
1/3 c Sake
2 ts Worchester sauce
½ in Ginger, thinly sliced

Ramen Noodles (4 servings):
2 c Flour
2 Eggs
2 T Water
1½ ts Salt

Flavoring Base:
1 T Vegetable Oil
1-2 clv Garlic, minced
¼ c Red Asian Chilies, seeded, puréed
½ c Red or Brown Miso paste
¼ c Shoyu sauce (Japanese soy sauce)
1 T Chili Oil
2 ts Sesame Oil

Preparation:

Prepare the soup stock:   Bring all soup stock ingredients to a boil, lower heat and slow simmer for 2-hours, skimming off the scum. Reduce to 2-quarts of rich stock; strain and filter.

Prepare the Toppings:  Marinate the pork belly in the other yakibuta ingredients for 1- to 1½- hours. Discard the marinade and then bake, covered, at 325ºF for 45-minutes. Remove the yakibuta from the oven, and then char-BBQ over hot coals for 3- to 5-minutes, or just long enough to char the fat on the outside, turning often so as not to char too deeply.

Prepare the vegetables as needed: wash sprouts, wash and parboil spinach or cabbage, cook mushrooms, etc.

Prepare the ramen: Combine all ramen ingredients and kneed to a smooth dough. Using a pasta machine or by hand, roll out the dough to a thin sheet (about #5 or #6 on pasta machine). Cut in the pasta machine’s narrow noodle die (like linguine) or fold dough sheet over a few times and cut by hand.

Take a handful of loose noodles, dust with a little flour, wad them up into a ball, and then lightly smash against a rolling board or counter top. This smashing process should yield classic squiggly-shaped ramen noodles. Loosen up the smashed noodles and dry for 1-hour. When ready to eat, boil 3-minutes, and then rinse well under hot water.

Sure, you can bypass this step by simply buying commercial ramen noodles, and following the package instructions (please do not use instant ramen!!). However, nothing beats fresh homemade noodles. If you have a Japanese market nearby, you may be lucky enough to find fresh hand-made ramen noodles in their refrigeration or deli sections.

For the flavoring base:  Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet; add the garlic and stir-fry 1-minute. Add the puréed chilies, miso, shoyu sauce, and chili oil; stir-fry on medium heat for 2-minutes. Remove from heat and add sesame oil.

To serve:  Place servings of ramen in 4 large soup bowls. Add ¼ of the flavoring base to each bowl, and then pour ¼ of the stock (about ½-quart) into each bowl as well. Top bowls with your choice of toppings listed above (or all of them). For a little more heat and color, add some Korean chili powder.

When eating, be sure to audibly slurp the noodles down, in order to get the full Japanese experience.

Rajasthani Mustard Prawns (Jhinga Jaipuri)

Rajasthani Mustard Prawns – quick, easy, and tasty.

Rajasthani Mustard Prawns

(Jhinga Jaipuri)

Ingredients:
1      lb    Medium to Large Prawns or Shrimp
¼    c    Lemon Juice
1    ts    Salt
½    ts    White Pepper
1-2  ts    Cayenne powder
1    T    Mustard powder
1    T    Mustard oil (or Olive oil for milder taste)

Preparation:
Mix a little ice water with the mustard powder to form a thick paste.

Clean, shell and de-vein the prawns/shrimp.

Mix lemon juice, salt, pepper, chili powder and mustard paste. Add the mustard oil (or olive oil) to complete the marinade and mix well. Coat the prawns with marinade and set, covered, in the fridge for two hours.

Skewer the marinated prawns. Traditionally, these are cooked in a clay oven (tandoor) for 5-minutes or until done. However, I find a barbeque grill works quite well.

Serve hot as an appetizer or side dish with chapatti and/or rice and mint chutney (see recipe here).

Thai Seafood Curry Custard (Haw Mōk, Hor Mok)

Haw Mok – Thai Seafood Curry Custard – This is a “must-try” dish. It is very popular among local Thai folks and prized for its healthful ingredients.

Thai Seafood Curry Custard (Haw Mōk)

Ingredients:
⅔  lb. Fish filet (coarsely chopped), or Shrimp (halved), or Crabmeat (chunks), or mixed seafood

5         Eggs, plus leftover yolk from topping
1     c    Coconut Milk
¼-⅓       c    Thai Red Curry Paste
¼      c    Cornstarch, dissolved in ¼-cup ice water
8         Kaffir Lime leaves, finely slivered (or substitute 2  ts  Lime zest)
1      bn   “Bai Yor” (morinda citrifolia), new leaves (see note below)
8         Thai Basil leaves (Horapha), whole
3    lg    Red Chilies (Thai Giant, Fresno, or red Jalapeño chilies), julienne
Salt to taste
16        Banana leaf circles, cut 4½” dia., OR 4 small clay pots

Topping:
½     c    Coconut Cream
1        Egg White

Preparation:
Make the topping by combining the ½-cup coconut cream and one egg white. Mix well and set aside. Reserve the egg yolk.

Combine the leftover egg yolk from the topping with the other 5 eggs in a blender. Process 10-seconds. Mix into the eggs the coconut milk and red curry paste; blend briefly. Then add the cornstarch and briefly blend again.

In a large bowl, fold the egg mixture into the seafood chunks. With a wooden spoon, gently stir by hand slowly and continuously at room temperature for 5-minutes. Add ½ of the Kaffir lime leaves and continue stirring slowly for another 5-minutes.

Meanwhile make banana boats by first lightly steaming the banana leaves (for pliability). Double up 2 circles of cut leaf; rotate one so the grains are perpendicular.  Fold four pleats over and staple together, making 4 corners (see photo).  Make 8 boats (or skip all this and use 4 small clay pots).

Slice the bai yor leaves (or substitute) into fairly large pieces (I like to  use scissors).  Place the leaves into the bottom of each boat or clay pot until ¼ to ⅓ full, followed by one whole basil leaf, and finally the egg-curry mix until each boat is about ⅔ to ¾ full.

Place the Haw Mōk into a hot steamer; cover and steam for 5-minutes.

Carefully remove the steamer lid so as not to drop condensed water into the boats, and pour a few teaspoons of topping onto each boat, followed by some slivers of Kaffir lime leaves, and finally julienne chilies. Replace the lid and steam for another 10- to 15-minutes.

Serve with Thai jasmine rice.

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Bai Yor – morinda citrifolia

NOTE:  Bai Yor – ใบยอ – (morinda citrifolia), aka: Great Morinda, Indian Mulberry, Beach Mulberry, Noni (Hawai’i), Nonu/Nono (Pacific Islands), Mengkudu (Malay), Apatot (Philippines).

The new tender leaves are used in cooking; the fruit has other uses.

Look for the leaves at Asian markets. If you cannot find them fresh, try the frozen section. Possible substitutes could be bitter greens, a dark green leafy vegetable, or even napa cabbage.

Thai Fiery Smoked Fish Soup (Tòm Klōng Plaa Lŏm Kwàn)

Tom Klong soup with smoked fish – This soup is… well, painfully delicious. If you’re in the mood for extreme adventure, this is the soup for you. If not, this dish could possibly cause you to change your diaper.

Thai Fiery Smoked Fish Soup

(Tòm Klōng Plaa Lŏm Kwàn)

Ingredients:
½      lb    Dried Smoked Fish (can get at Thai market or make your own)
1½     qt    Fish Broth, reduced for richness
20        Dried Thai, Asian or Cayenne Chilies
4    clv    Garlic, bruised
3        Red Pearl Shallots, halved
4         Tamarinds, soaked in ½ cup hot water
3        Cilantro roots, washed, bruised
2    ts    Sugar
2-3    T    Nam Prik Paow, store-bought is ok, but homemade is better
2        Lemongrass stalks
½     ts    White pepper
2        Plum Tomatoes, quartered
1    T    Chili Oil
Fish sauce (for saltiness) to taste
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1    bn    Chinese Celery/Chinese Parsley leaves, fresh
1    bn     Cilantro leaves, fresh
10        Thai Basil leaves (Horapha), fresh

Preparation:
Cut the dried smoked fish filets into your choice of either medallions or bite-sized pieces and set aside. Cut the lemongrass down the middle length-wise, and then into 1½-inch sticks.  Squeeze the juice from the tamarinds soaked in water, straining out and discarding the seeds and fibrous pulp.

Boil everything except the fish and fresh herbs (Chinese celery, cilantro, and basil) for about 15-minutes. Then add the smoked fish, and boil again about 5-minutes. Taste for salt level; add fish sauce if necessary (the amount required depends on the saltiness of your smoked fish).  Add the Chinese celery, Thai basil, and cilantro just before serving.

Serve with Thai jasmine rice, if desired.
Smokin’ !!

Piri-Piri Peanut Muffins (West Africa)

Piri-Piri Peanut Muffins — with a drizzle of honey on top, these muffins have a slight sweetness, a wee bit of spice, and whole lot of peanutty goodness.

PIRI-PIRI PEANUT MUFFINS

Ingredients:
3      c    Flour, all-purpose
2    ts    Baking Powder
1    c    Butter, softened
1    ts    Salt
1   rcp    Piri-Piri seasoning (below)
½     c    Sugar
4   med   Eggs, beaten
1    c    Milk
1½     c    Peanuts (unsalted), roasted and finely chopped
Honey, for topping (optional)

Piri-Piri Seasoning:
2     ts     Bird Chili powder (or Pequin, Cayenne powder)
¾      ts     Ginger powder
½     ts     Cinnamon
¼     ts     Clove powder

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF (205ºC).

Sift the baking powder and the flour together.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter, salt, piri-piri seasoning, and sugar until the mixture is homogenous.

Next, mix in the eggs and milk. Combine the flour mixture with the wet mixture; mix until well blended. Fold in 1-cup of the peanuts.

Fill your greased and flour-dusted muffin pans about 2/3 full with the batter. Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with the remaining peanuts.

Bake at 400ºF (205ºC) for 12- to 14-minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve the muffins warm.  These are particularly tasty with a bit of honey drizzled over the top.  Leftover muffins can be frozen with good results.

Makes 24 large or 36 medium-sized muffins.