. Back home we call spring rolls as "Lumpia", and it has variety of fillings. It can be a meaty porky filling, or some tutty fruity ones, usually made up of banana, jack fruit, or a sweet mongo bean paste. Come to think of it, I used to sale lumpia back in gradeschool, and I almost got suspended coz the teacher in-charge of the canteen reported my sorry a$$ to the principal. DUH! How can a 9 years old could be the downfall of a school canteen? Thanks to hear, I learned the basics of capitalism. Sad,sad,sad tragic event for a third grader, but did it stop me from selling other food stuff? HELL NO! Yes, at 9, I was already a guerilla vendor,bwahahaha. Me like more my nickles and dimes than to be completely penniless and have nothing to support my needs, hmmm......buying Gundam stickers and different colors of rubber bands. Amen to that!Here's a simple vegetarian recipe for a spring roll filling, and a tutorial on how to wrap a spring roll. For first timer rollers (sorry I couldn't find any appropriate terms on this, lol!), don't be intimated on how to start your spring rolls rolling. It doesn't need to be perfectly wrap. Just have some fun, and savor the fruit of your rolling labor
.Ingredients:
Spring Roll Wrapper
2 cups finely chopped cabbage
1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots
1 cup fresh shredded coconut pulp
Note: Frozen one will do, but if you can't avail either, replace the coconut with mung bean sprouts which you can easily avail at any grocery store.
1/4 cup roasted sesame seeds
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp minced ginger
1 regular size habanero pepper minced
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cooking oil
black pepper
green onions
Procedure:
1. In a hot pan, add the cooking oil and saute the ginger, habanero pepper, and the onion (put the bulb part of the onion first)
2.Add the carrots and stir for a minute, then add the cabbage,salt,sugar,soy sauce and a dash of black pepper. Stir for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the roasted coconut and sesame seeds for a minute, then mix in the green onion stalks.
4. Let it cool and set aside.
Wrapping Procedure:
1. Let the spring roll wrapper defrost to room temperature.
I use this brand:
2. Cover the spring roll wrapper as well as the finish spring roll with a damp paper towel to keep it moist.
3. Deep fry until golden brown.
4. Follow this tutorial video, and enjoy rolling.
2. Make sure that the oil is hot, or you'll end up with a soft and oily spring roll rather than crispy.
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Atsara (Filipino Pickled Green Papaya)
Making atsara in the Philippines (usually in the country side) is like making Kimchi in South Korea. It's a gathering especially for women. All the women in the household sponsoring the atsara event, neighbors, cousins and friends are all present, and are willingly offering their time and help.It's a very lively event because when women gathers, expect one thing, gossiping! LOL!No, don't be offended because whether you agree with me or not, this is a fact,and we women enjoys hanging out with our girlfriends sharing stories. Anyway, so much for my sidetracking. So, yeah it's a gathering, and it's usually done in bulk amounts (like buckets of shredded papaya)and during big occasions like fiestas, and everything is so manual. From shredding the papaya to cutting the ingredients and in making the decorations for the atsara are all laboriously done manually. This is one of the Filipino traditions that I truly miss :( even though my mom usually nags during this times. Hehehe!
It's been years since I had the fortune to eat atsara, and for some weird reasons,I was just craving for it. Since the main ingredient is an elusive tropical green papaya fruit, it took me years to finally have the luck on finding it, until one fine Sunday. I and the hubby took our usual weekend grocery shopping spree at our favorite cheap (yes, I'm a sucker for cheap but good eats lol) whole sale food market, and when I say cheap, I mean it. The friendly hardworking Mexican vendors offers good food with good prices that you just can't refuse, none the less complain. I mean, where can you find fresh plump tomatoes for only a buck per box?! Even Publix can't beat that! Then we went to one of the stalls that we usually frequent, and there it was the green papaya that I was longing for. The green papaya that I was hankering for years was right before my naked eyes, then my mind began to wonder on what gluttonous gastric memories I could make out from it,lol! I was seriously salivating. Since it was a rare item, the vendor somehow had it stamped with a price! The medium size green papaya cost $3 each, and of course it didn't stop me from buying it even if the hubby will give me the "look". I bought two papayas, and at last, my insatiable craving for it will be fulfilled,bwahahaha!!!
Ingredients:
2 medium size green papaya
8 cups shredded green papaya
3 cups shredded carrots
3 cups sliced bell peppers ( optional:used different colors for a lively effect)
3 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups green onions
2 cups raisins
1/2 cup minced ginger
3 cups venigar
3 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 tsp black pepper
Procedure:
1. Shred the papaya in a food processor. You can also do this manually, but the food processor makes things better :)
3. Mix together venigar,sugar,black pepper, green onions, and ginger in a pan and simmer it under low fire until the sugar dissolves.
4. When the sugar dissolves, add in shredded carrots, bell peppers,raisins, and lastly the shredded papaya.
5. Add 3 tsp of salt and simmer it for 2 minutes.
6. Let it cool and store in an air tight containers.
The pickeld green papaya has a longer life shelf if you put it in the fridge. It's really a good condiment for just anything you eat. My personal fave is to eat it with fried rice and pan fried tofu.Gosh, I'm hungry now!
Ingredients:
Dough
4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp cooking oil
3 tsp dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp sugar
Filling:
For my filling, since I use a powdered purple yam, I just followed the instructions on the packaging. However, for a salty filling, you can use a some scrambled tofu,minced cabbage and carrots. Just stir fry it, add some soy sauce and any spices you like, but make sure that it's not liquidy to avoid any problems with the dough.
Procedure:
1. Sift the flour and baking powder, then add up the 1/2 cup of sugar and the 3 tbsp of oil.
2. Mix together the yeast and sugar in a lukewarm water and stir until it's lump free and wait till its bubbly.
3. Pour in the liquid mixture in the flour mixture and mix well. Form into a ball and cover with a damp cloth.
4. Leave the dough to rise for 1 hour or until it doubles its volume.
5. Once the dough arises, punch it in the middle and let it rise again for another 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes, knead the dough in a floured surface until it is smooth and not sticky.
7. Divide the dough into 2 balls and roll it into a log then cut it into small balls.
Note: I weighed my balls into 75 grams each just enough for a regular bun size, and it makes about 14 buns.
8.Flattened the balls into a circle and put the filling into the middle.
9.Pull the sides of the dough into the center in closing the bun.
10.Place the bun into a 4"x 5" square parchment paper and cook in the steamer for 15 minutes.
11. After 15 minutes, viola! Your sio pao is ready :)
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Tofu Adobo
Adobo is a very popular food as well as method of cooking in the Philippines. Perhaps,it is the most popular and most distinguished among all Filipino cuisines and sadly, it is mostly associated with meat. But, it has simple ingredients and very flexible procedures, so I come up with my own version of vegetarian adobo. You can either cook the tofu right away, or have it marinated and cook the next day. Either way, the result is the same, yummy!
Tofu Adobo
Ingredients:
sliced tofu (sliced as you like but just thick enough in size; I cut mine in triangular shape)
1/2 cup lemon juice
6 pieces of slice lemon
1/2 cup of soy sauce or bragg aminos
dried bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
sliced ginger (about 1/4 cup)
1 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of sesame oil
Procedure:
1. Drained and sliced the tofu and deep fry, set aside.
2. Slice the lemon and ginger and set aside.
3. In a bowl combine the soy sauce, lemon juice, bay leaves, salt, pepper and sugar stir well, this will be our adobo sauce.
4. In hot pot, put the oil and saute’ the sliced lemon, ginger and about 3 pieces of bay leaves.
5. Stir in the fried tofu and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Add the adobo sauce,mix well and make sure that the tofu are fully coated with the sauce, simmer for 2 -3 minutes then add the sesame oil.
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Contents: Panda (I tried, lol) onigiri, jab chae (Korean stir fry noodles), string beans pakora, steamed asparagus, and some fruits.
Contents: Yellow rice w/ green peas,corn, and carrots, samosas, spicy strawberry pineapple chutney, pineapple chunks, and some chocolates.
Contents: Onigiri, Soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles), barbecued tofu, and fruits.
Contents: sushi rice, stir fried veggies, veggie sushi pakora, kiwis, strawberries, and chocolates.
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Eggless Butter Cream Cake
Eggless Butter Cream Cake
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup condense milk
1/4 c butter milk
114 gms butter
Procedures:
2. In a mixer, mix sugar,butter,condense milk, and vanilla for 2 mins until mixture becomes fluffy.
3. Add the flour gradually.
4. Pour in the butter milk after all the flour is done.
5. Put in a buttered baking pan and bake for 30 mins with 325 degrees F.
As for the purple yam, you can buy them mostly in your nearest Asian stores. Just follow whatever is in the packaging's directions on how to cook it, and you're good to go.
As for my hubby's creation, I don't have the recipe yet, but just this yummy picture, sorry guys 
Sushi rice, red beans wtih tomato sauce,cheese and fried panir, subdji (mixed fried vegetables with cream and fresh tomato and olives).
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Vegetarian Lasagna
A couple of months ago, Radha and I had some mouth watering craving for lasagna, so we searched into one of Kurma's recipe book, and we found this excellent lasagna recipe. It is very simple to follow that even for somebody like me who haven’t cooked a lasagna in my entire life has no problem at all. Of course, with the help of my partner in crime, cooking lasagna for the first time is not just fun, but also a memorable gastric enticement experienced to relished!
The lasagna was “plump” because I didn’t wait and let it set for an hour, but it’s still oishi together with a simple salad!
Vegetarian Lasagna
By: Kurma
Preparation and Cooking: 1 1/2 hours
Baking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 1 tray of lasagna, 30 cm x 20 cm x 8 cm (12 in x 8 in x 3 in )
This lasagna has five distinct ingredients: pasta, tomato sauce, bechamel sauce, spinach, and cheese.
Pasta
about fifteen 17 cm x 17 cm (7 in x 7 in) sheets of instant lasagna (400 g, or about 14 ounces)
Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp yellow asafoetida powder
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 medium eggplant, diced 3 medium diced peppers
24 medium tomato blanched, peeled, and chopped, or six 250 g tins Italian tomatoes cut into cubes (keep the juice)
1/2 cup black olives, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Bechamel Sauce
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sifted plain flour
4 cups warm milk
Spinach
1 large bunch of spinach leaves, separated, stalks removed, washed, blanched in boiling water and drained.
Cheese
375 g grated cheddar cheese
250 g grated mozzarella cheese
60 g grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, reserved for garnish
To cook the tomato sauce:
1. Heat the olive oil under a moderate heat in a large, heavy-based saucepan. When hot, add th asafoetida. Saute momentarily; then add the fresh basil,oregano, marjoram, bay leaves, and black pepper and saute for another few seconds.
2. Add the eggplant cubes and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the peppers, and stirring occasionally, cook them with th eggplant pieces until both are softened (about 3 or 4 mins).
3. Add the tomatoes and olives and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and cook uncovered, stirring often, for about 1/2 hour or until it reduces and thickens. Add tomato paste, sugar,salt, and parsley, mix well, and remove from the heat.
To cook the Bechamel Sauce:
1. Place the melted butter in a heavy saucepan over a low heat and stir in the nutmeg, black pepper, and flour and saute until the mixture darkens slightly (about 1/2 min). Remove from the heat.
2. Gradually pour in the warm milk, stirring with a whisk until the sauce is smooth. Return to moderate heat and stir until it boils. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens to a thick-custard consistency (about 5 mins.)
To assemble the lasagna:
1. Combine all 3 cheese (except the reserved parmesan) in a bowl. Divide the tomato sauce and bechamel sauce into 3. Divide the cheese and spinach into 2. Divide the pasta into 5.
2. Spread one-third of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the tomato tray. Place one-fifth of the pasta sheets on top. Spread on one-third of the bechamel sauce then another one-fifth of the pasta. Spread one-half of the spinach leaves; then sprinkle half of the grated cheese on top.
3. Repeat this process twice more and you should end up with the bechamel sauce on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Place the lasagna in the top of a pre-heated 200 degree C/ 300 degree F oven and cook for 30 -45 minutes or until the top is slightly golden and the pasta “gives” when you stick a knife in it.It’s best to let the lasagna set for at least another hour before serving, as this”plumps” the pasta. Cut into squares and serve.
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Puto (Filipino Steamed Rice Cake)
.Puto
Ingredients:
2 cups rice flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
5 tsp coconut oil (canola oil is ok too)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp strawberry essence
1 tsp red food coloring
2 cups fresh coconut milk ( evaporated milk is fine if coconut is not available)
1/4 cup water
Procedure:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Slowly add the milk and stir for couple of mins until no more lumps is visible.
3. Add the oil.
4. If the batter is too thick, slowy add the water, and continue stirring.
5. Fill butter lined prepared puto cups 3/4 full and steam for 25 to 30 mins.
6. Serve with grated coconut or cheese of your choice.
Note: You can make any flavor you want (don’t be afraid of experimenting), all you have to do is to add the flavoring or the essence you’d like.
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Tofu Bar-B-Q!
ngredients and Procedures:
3 cans of 15 oz tomato sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
dice tofu (about 5 -6 cups) drained and deep fry it.
2 cups of dice pineapple, red,orange and yellow bellpepper, and cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp butter/ghee
2 tbsp of finely grated parmesan cheese
basil leaves
masala or mixed spices ( I usually mixed asofatedia, ginger powder, cumin powder, curry and chili powder for a pinch or two of each)
dash of black pepper
1 tsp sugar
bamboo skewers
Procedure:
1. Cut the tofu into desired thickness and size then drained and deep fry.
2. While frying the tofu, start the sauce. Put first the butter and if it’s hot enough then put the masala ( be careful not to burn the masala), then dumped the tomato sauce.
3. Put the remaining ingredients one at a time; peanut butter, basil leaves, parmesan cheese, sugar and black pepper and let it simmer for 10- 15 mins in low fire.
4. Put the fried tofu into the sauce and let it marinate overnight.
5. The next day before skewing the tofu start first the barbecue fire. Skew the tofu, bell peppers, pineapple and tomato in any order.
6. Now don’t forget to make a barbecue dressing while barbecuing it’s just a one is to one proportion: 1 cup of the barbecue sauce + 1 cup of oil. Coat the skewed tofu and the grill w/ the barbecue dressing before barbecuing in this way it will prevent it from sticking into the grill.
7. Now your ready to cook it and be careful not to burn it:)
Note: slice it thick enough so that it wont break when you put it on the bamboo skewer, same as the tofu but the tomatoes no need, justt skew it as it is. For the skewers, soak it in water for 30 mins so that it wont burn easily.
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Vegetarian Bento!
Bento is a Japanese way of preparing lunch boxes. It is mostly made up of rice, fish, meat, and egg. But now a days, bento has evolved, and it has lots of varieties. Japanese moms actually designed bento boxes for thier kids in order to encourage the them to eat a variety of foods. Also, it helps in tricking the kids to eat foods that they don’t like to it at all, and one classic example is the greenly leafy healthy veggie. I used to religiously eat my bentos when I was at grade school, even if it includes the veggie that I totally despised before, the bitter gourd.
Lately, I’d been longing to make some bentos, but the only thing that stops me from moving my butt is my laziness. Then one day, my husband and I needs to go to Tampa for some business, and he told me to packed some lunch since it’s gonna be a long day (duh! he just hate to eat outside,LOL). While checking the cooler to see if what can I whip from our almost bare fridge, making bento lunch boxes pops in my head right away.
Making bento is actually easy. You don’t need to make it fancy and intricate as the Japanese folks does, but to have the basic things in making it is a big help. So, for the basics, you just need rice (sushi rice), nori (dried seaweeds/sushi wrapper), some veggies and fruits, small containers (like a small paper/cupcake cup). You also need some toothpicks to sometimes hold the food in place, and of course your bento box ( I just use the regular rectangular box). All of these are very easy to avail at your local Asian store. Once you have all of it, then you’re good to go.
When it comes on how to arrange your bento, there’s no pattern at all if which comes first. Whatever suits your needs, then go for it! All you need is your creativity and imagination, and just do things out of the box! You can make pakoras or samosas and have it arrange anyway you want. You can also put some accents for more colors, like cherry tomatoes, grapes, or even m n’ms will do.
If you’ve never tried making a bento box, now is that time to do it, hahaha! If you have problem with your kids on letting them eat some healthy foods, do it the bento way, and I’m pretty much sure it’ll work.
For more detailed steps and how tos in making a bento, I suggest to visit this site, http://lunchinabox.net/. If you have more questions about this, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m just a click away, and I’ll be happy to be of service.
Some of the simple bentos that I made for my husband :) .
Contents: Seaweeds rolls, onigiri, veggie balls, kiwi, strawberry, candy,cherry tomatoes, and grapes.
Contents: Rice balls, veggie dogs, tofu, vegetarian brownies, gulabjamon, cherry tomatoes, and grapes.
Contents: Rice rolls w/ cream cheese, tofu, veggie balls with broccoli and marinara sauce, edamame, and kiwis.
Contents: Rice rolls, zucchini pakora, broccoli, and veggie dogs.
Contents: Rice balls, steamed asparagus, spring rolls, and stir-fried noodles.
And that's me pigging out, LOL!
Here is also a video of cute bento boxes. I’m sure we can get an idea or two from this video.
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