We are TWO

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It was on exactly this day that we first thought of a concept and turned it into a reality. We created “BRING ON THE CHEF IN YOU” and dipped into the whirlpool of food blogging, well, we’re still here two years later. A little older, a little wiser, and not perhaps as prolific as we would like, but we’re still enjoying the ride and we hope you are too. To celebrate the occasion, we have some unique and exotic cuisine.

We are also introducing, “Bring on the Traveller in You”. Our first trek takes you to the ‘House of the Rising Sun’ by yours truly, Judith Serrao. For your quick reference click on this link: http://trecktales.wordpress.com/

Here’s an invitation to all of you, to use this opportunity to showcase your travel and what you found unique about them on our travel blog. Be one of the first to tell people what is different and how you enjoyed a place.

We want to thank all of you for the love, support and encouragement that we have received over the past two years. Some stats (rounded), just by way of quantifying two years of blogging:

 295 posts
 1045 comments
 166,776 views
 busiest day – 766 views, February 23, 2012
 busiest month – 10997 views, December, 2011
 average views per day,in 2010 = 42; in 2011 = 187; in 2012 = 398
(corporate speak – year on year growth!!)
 all-time top 5 posts (descending order) – Falooda, Chicken and Vegetable Wraps, Chilled Strawberry Cheesecake, Thai Grilled Fish Fillet

You are very important to us, and we care about what you would like to see on these blogs. We are all ears to receive acknowledgements, comments, critique, brickbats, etc. We are hopeful for a little more interaction in the future.

Thank you all!

Kimbap (Korea)

Ingredients:
Dried seaweed (nori) sheets
2 cups cooked rice
2 tsp sesame oil
Pinch of white vinegar
2 tsp salt

TRADITIONAL FILLINGS
1 carrot, julienned
cucumber, cut into long strips
2 eggs
1/2 pound of spinach, parboiled
pickled radish, cut into strips
Crab (optional)
Sausage strips

Preparation:
When rice is almost cooled, mix with sesame oil, vinegar and salt. Stir fry carrots briefly with a dash of salt. Stir fry cucumber with a dash of salt. Whisk eggs until evenly yellow and fry into flat omelet. Cut cooked egg into long strips. Stir fry the sausages and blanche the spinach in hot water and remove and keep aside.

Using a bamboo sushi roller or a piece of tin foil, lay the dried seaweed shiny side down.

Spread about ½ cup of rice onto 2/3 of the seaweed, leaving the top 1/3 bare. Lay the first ingredient down around 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the seaweed. Lay the other fillings down on top. Roll from the bottom pressing down to make the fillings stay in.

As you continue to roll towards the end of the bamboo mat, spread a tiny dab of water along the top seam to hold the roll together. Set aside and continue with other seaweed sheets. Cut each roll into 7-8 pieces.

Best had immediately.

FISH AMOK (Cambodia)

Ingredients for kroeung paste
5 dried red chilies (soaked, drained and chopped into a paste)
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp galangal (cut small – if not available, use ginger)
1tsp lemongrass (thinly sliced)
Zest of 1/4 kaffir lime
Capsicum – (1/2) chopped into small bits -to be added later.
1 tsp salt
Directions for kroeung paste
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend to a thick paste. Alternatively (and more traditionally) this can be created with a mortar and pestle.

Fry the above paste in 1 teaspoon of butter till fragrant. Cool and keep aside. Add chopped capsicum and salt.

Ingredients for amok
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp kaffir lime leaves
3 chili peppers
500 g fish (any meaty fish)
3/4 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup additional creamk – kept aside
1 egg, beaten

Slice the fish thinly and set aside.

Slice the kaffir lime leaves and cayenne peppers thinly. Stir the kroeung paste into 1 cup of coconut milk. When it has dissolved, add the egg, fish sauce and sliced fish. Then add the remaining coconut milk and mix well.

Make the banana leaf cups, and add the fish mixture and steam for 15-20 minutes, then put the coconut cream on top and the thinly sliced kaffir leaves and cayenne peppers. Steam further until the mixture is solid, but still moist.

When ready, turn the amok over onto a plate and wipe away excess liquid with a napkin.

Kazandibi – Turkish Rice Pudding

Ingredients:
1 Teaspoon butter
3 Tablespoons Icing Sugar
3/4 cups rice flour
1/4 cup cornflour
4 cups milk
1-1/2 cups sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence
Cinnamon
Nuts for garnish
Method:
Grease a round 8 ” round baking pan with butter. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons icing sugar. Keep in a oven till the sugar turns a light caramel colour. Remove from oven and cool.

In a pan combine the rice flour, corn flour and 4 cups of milk and 1-1/2 cups of sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring all the time for about 10-15 minutes till it thickens. Remove from heat and add vanilla and stir well.

Spread into the caramelized baking pan and bake in a 160 deg C oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and place in a cold water bath. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Chill. Turn over onto a flat platter, sprinkle with cinnamon powder (optional) and garnish with nuts.

Koshari (Egypt)

Ingredients :
2 cups cooked short grain Egyptian rice
1 cup cooked macaroni
1 cup of cooked vermicelli
2 large onions, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup brown lentils, rinsed
8 oz. tomato paste
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Chilly powder – 1-2 tablespoons (depending how hot you want it)
1/2 cup cooked whole chick peas
2 large onions, thinly sliced
Olive oil
1/2 cup mixed nuts
Tomato ketchup & Chilly sauce
Cilantro for garnish
Method:
Cook the rice, macaroni and vermicelli simultaneously while lentil sauce is being prepared and keep warm until you are ready to assemble the dish/

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pan. Saute chopped onion and garlic till tender. Stir in cumin, allowing to release flavour. Add rinsed lentils and saute. Stir in tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Fry the extra two large onions in olive oil till brown and crisp. Add nuts and fry just till fragrant. Keep aside.

In a large platter, place the cooked rice as the bottom layer, the macaroni as the next layer, followed by the vermicelli on top. Ladel the lentil sauce over it, then top with chickpeas, sauces (if required), and the fried nuts and onions and cilantro.

VIETNAMESE Pho

Pronounced as “Fuh”… (Yup like……ha ha); we had bowls of this on our visit to Vietnam and loved it to bits. Takes a bit of time and patience to make it from scratch, but its worth the effort.

For the Broth :
2 onions, halved
4″ nub of ginger, halved lengthwise
5-6 lbs of good beef bones, preferably leg and knuckle
1 lb of tender beef meat
6 quarts of water
1 package of Pho Spices [1 cinnamon stick, 1 tbl coriander seeds, 1 tbl fennel seeds, 5 whole star anise, 1 cardamom pod, 6 whole cloves - in mesh bag]
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar

In the Bowls :
2 lbs rice noodles (Boiled earlier)
cooked beef from the broth
Beef slices (sirloin sliced as thin as possible -you have to put it raw but I just cooked it a bit)
Big handful of each: mint, cilantro, basil
2 limes, cut into wedges
2-3 chili peppers, sliced
2 big handfuls of bean sprouts
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha hot sauce

Directions:
Char: Turn your broiler on high and move rack to the highest spot. Place ginger and onions on baking sheet. Brush just a bit of cooking oil on the cut side of each. Broil on high until ginger and onions begin to char. Keep aside.

Parboil the bones:
Fill large pot (12-qt capacity) with cool water. Boil water, and then add the bones, keeping the heat on high. Boil vigorously for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse the bones and rinse out the pot. Refill pot with bones and 6 qts of cool water. Bring to boil over high heat and lower to simmer. Using a ladle or a fine mesh strainer, remove any scum that rises to the top.

Boil broth:
Add ginger, onion, spice packet, beef, sugar, fish sauce, salt and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the beef meat and set aside. Strain broth, taste broth and adjust seasoning – this is a crucial step. If the broth’s flavor doesn’t quite shine yet, add 2 teaspoons more of fish sauce, large pinch of salt and a small nugget of rock sugar (or 1 teaspoon of regular sugar). Keep doing this until the broth tastes perfect.

Prepare noodles & meat:
Slice your sirloin as thin as possible – try freezing for 15 minutes prior to slicing to make it easier. Like I said earlier – I just cooked this for a bit. Cut or shred the meat (boiled in broth) and set aside. Arrange all other ingredients on a platter for the table. Your guests will “assemble” their own bowls. Follow the directions on your package of noodles – there are many different sizes and widths of rice noodles, so make sure you read the directions. For some fresh rice noodles, just a quick 5 second blanch in hot water is all that’s needed.

Ladling:
Bring your broth back to a boil. Line up your soup bowls next to the stove. Fill each bowl with rice noodles, shredded cooked beef and meat slices. As soon as the broth comes back to a boil, ladle into each bowl. the hot broth will cook the beef slices. Serve immediately. Guests can garnish their own bowls as they wish.

Floating Island (France)

Ingredients:
for the Meringue:
3 egg whites
2 cups milk
pinch of salt
3 tbsps powdered sugar
for the custard:
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar (adjust to taste)
remainging milk after poaching Meringues, add one more cup milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 tbsp butter
Preparation:
Pour the milk in a container and allow it to come to a boil.
While the milk is boiling whisk the egg whites with salt and sugar till they form stiff peaks.
When the milk gets boiled, keep the container on the fire and let the milk simmer on very low heat. Now, with the help of a spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop the stiff peaks of egg and gently put them on to the simmering milk and poach them.
Once done, remove them on a moist plate and keep them in the refrigerator to set.
Finish the whole meringue (stiff egg white) in this manner.
Remove the milk from the heat.
The quantity of milk would have reduced. Add more milk to bring the amount back to half a litre. add the sugar and mix till it dissolves.
Take half a cup of milk (cold or at room temperature) and add the cornstarch and blend the well beated egg yolks to it.

Mix well and add to the milk and heat it over a double boiler. Let it gently simmer while continuously stirring it.
Once the custard is cooked, remove from the heat, add vanilla essence and butter, mix well and let it cool. Keep giving it a stir now and then to avoid the formation of a creamy crust on its top.

Once cool, refrigerate it and then serve it topped with the meringue.

Healthy Salad with Rubies (Lebanon)

Ingredients:
½ cup broken wheat (coarse in texture)
½ cup chick peas (canned or freshly boiled, drained)
1 tbsp heaped pomegranate seeds
½ tbsp mint leaves, torn
1 tsp fresh cilantro or coriander, finely chopped (parsley can also be added)
1 tbsp cucumber, diced in small pieces
1 tbsp carrot, shredded
1 pinch black pepper, coarsely ground
1 pinch red chilli powder
2 pinch chaat masala (optional) [available at Indian grocery stores]
2 tsp lemon juice (+/- as per your taste)
Salt to taste
Preparation:
Transfer ½ cup broken wheat in a bowl and add 350 ml boiling water over it.
Let it soak for 30-35 minutes
Drain and squeeze out excess water from broken wheat
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add rest of the ingredients except pomegranate.

Mix them well and sprinkle with pomegranate before serving.

Zesty Lemony Potatoes

Ingredients:
6-7 potatoes; boiled and sliced in thick roundels (I chose baby potatoes for this recipe)
3 medium sized onions (peeled and cut in roundels and separated)
2 long slit plump green chillies or as a substitute you can use chilli flakes (you may use crushed black pepper instead if you wish)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
¼ tsp lemon zest
Fresh chopped coriander
3-4 mint leaves finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon (you can adjust the amount to suit your taste buds)

Preparation:
Heat a wok and add oil. On a high flame, add onions and give them a quick fry till they just about start to turn translucent. Immediately add the potatoes (add a little more oil if you feel the need at this point) and give them a quick stir. Now add the salt, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and lemon zest. Stir the ingredients together, add lemon Juice and transfer them out in a bowl. Serve hot.

Our Blog Anniversary

Yay !!!!   “Bring On The Chef In You”   just completed One year today.

It is a mixed feeling of pride and satisfaction we feel today.  At the beginning, we didn’t think it would last this long, but it has been easy, we have met benchmarks and exceeded expectations, 560 Members, 52926 Hits,  213 Posts,  787 Comments,  23 Categories,  Ranking on Blogtop Site -202,   and Then, Voila!  us featured on Foodgawker.

We are grateful and most importantly feel, we have built a community
which by far is more motivating and encouraging and that which is gradually increasing. This support has had a tremendously positive effect on us.

Seriously! We’ve been challenged, applauded, pushed by readers and fellow bloggers, many of whom we have had the privilege of actually meeting and becoming good friends on and offline. ‘Bring On The Chef In You’  has helped us build relationships and a community we are proud to be a part of.

We have a lot of plans for the future and we shall unfold them slowly but surely.   We have an addition to our team, a 13- year old computer-wiz who will be our IT Administrator.   Thank you Vijay.

Thank you once again and keep patronizing our Food blog. Do spread the word about us. To that end – what would you like to see in your Food Blog ?  Any ideas or recommendations ?  Please feel free to just comment below.

We have one aim in mind…..to serve you better.

So, dear friends, it’s onward and upward towards to our second year.

Cheers

Vijay, Joyce, Sylvia, and Judy

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As a special for our Anniversary, we are celebrating with a new theme, which we hope you will like.

On this our Special Day, we are introducing a new category “Kids can cook” and several yummilicious posts… just for you…

From Devon, our faithful Critic & Motivator  : 5 Minute Chocolate Cake in A Mug

From Judy    :         Starter & Main Course

From Sylvia   :         Brazo de Mercedes

From Joyce   :         Cucumber Idli

From Meira D’silva,  our supporter :      Rice Paper Rolls

From Diana Correa,  our supporter  :     Apple Cake