Pandan Crepes with Sweetened Coconut Filling

Pandan and coconut are two ingredient combination that I really like because I think they both go well together. Today, I made a crepe and filling combination using the two ingredients and it turned out really good. The dish is sticky, sweet, and overall yummy. The color turned out really nice as well. Reminds me of cotton candy ...hehehe


The filling is actually based on a Filipino sweet snack known as "bukayo" which is made of shredded young coconut, cooked in sugar syrup, and allowed to thicken. That sweet snack is either served with the syrup still wet or dried and has formed into a flat, soft round disks which looks similar to a cookie. No matter which was that snack is served, it still taste really good. Ahhh, home...how I miss thee! And to think that it has not been that long since I last came back from a visit to the Philippines. But, as they always say, there is no place like home.

Anyways, back to the dish, The crepes uses a basic crepe recipe but made special with the addition of pandan extract. Pandan just makes it smell really fragrant as well as taste better in my opinion :)


Ingredients:

Crepes:

1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp pandan extract
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp butter, melted
a pinch of salt
Pam spray
1 drop of green food coloring (optional)

1. Place slightly beaten eggs in a large bowl. Add flour and mix until slightly incorporated (Batter, at this point will be very thick)
2. Mix milk, pandan extract, and water in a separate container.
3. Drizzle milk mixture slowly into the flour mixture while whisking it. Mix until incorporated. (notice that the batter will be thin at this point)
4. Add salt and butter and mix well. Add optional green food coloring, if desired. NOTE: Add just enough to achieve the desired color.
5. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain mixture to remove solid or undissolved ingredients. (This step is important so the batter will be smooth and free from lumps)
6. Heat crepe or frying pan over medium heat.
7. Lightly spray pan with Pam spray or lightly oil it.
8. Take 1/4 cup of the batter and place it on the pan. Spread it around using a swirling motion. Make sure to spread it as thin as possible.
8. Cook for about 1-2 minutes or until the edges starts to come off the pan and slightly golden in color.
9. Repeat until all of the batter has been used up.


Sweetened Coconut Filling:

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup water

1. Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add water and sugar and stir to dissolve.
3. Simmer until slightly thickened then add coconut.
4. Stir to mix and let it simmer until the sugar has thickened.
5.Remove from heat and let it cool.


To Assemble:
1. Take 1 Tbsp of filling and place it in the middle of the crepe then roll tightly.
2. Repeat until all crepes has been filled.
3. Top with remaining filling and serve.

Che Dau Xanh (Vietnamese Sweet Mung Bean Dessert)

Chuseok is one of the biggest Korean holiday. It is equivalent to American thanksgiving where people go home to their hometown and tend to cook and eat too much. Of course, as an avid South Korean enthusiast, it has become part of my yearly celebration. This year, I fully intended to conquer the art of songpyeon making. Songpyeon is a Korean rice cake which is commonly served during chuseok. The day before chuseok, I woke up really early. How early? 630 in the morning. That is really significant for me because I rarely sleep before midnight therefore my waking hours is usually later than 9 am. Anyways, I woke up really early and went to the Korean market to buy things I need for songpyeon. Of course knowing me, I went and bought way too much which included ingredients for three different fillings. One of those fillings happen to be split mung beans. Well, I made several attempt at making songpyeon, all of which were deemed a failure. So here I am eleven days later with tons of leftover ingredients and don't really know what to do with them...hehehe


I began searching the internet last night and found a split mung bean desert recipe that looked easy enough. The recipe is a sweet Vietnamese street food which uses coconut milk, sugar, and split mung bean soup. I have all of those ingredients in my cupboard so it was convenient. The recipe calls for soaking the mung beans for three (3) hours and then boiling it in water until almost all of the fluid is absorbed then in a separate pan, you bring coconut milk and sugar to a slow simmer until sugar is dissolved then add the mung bean mixture. I topped the dessert with lightly toasted sweetened coconut which gives it another flavor dimention plus the aroma of the toasted coconut is just heavenly. The recipe is easy enough but takes a few steps to finish the dish. The outcome? it was awesome...Sweet, creamy, tasty. Perfect for an autumn afternoon snack or dessert. It reminds me of a Filipino sweetened mung bean snack only this one is creamy and rich. This is a keeper for me.


adapted from here

Ingredients:

1 cup split mung beans
2 cups coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar, adjust according to taste
1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes.

1. Place mung beans in a strainer and rinse then place in a container. Add water to slightly above the level of the mung beans and let it soak for at least 3 hours.
2. After 3 hours, drain water, rinse mung beans and place in a sauce pan. Add about 500 ml of water and let it simmer until almost all of the fluid has been absorbed. NOTE: Make sure you keep an eye on it and stir occassionally to prevent burning mung beans especially at the bottom of the pan.
3. Place coconut flakes in a pan and lightly toast over medium low heat. Remove form fire and set aside to let it cool.
4. Remove from heat and let it cool before placing it in a food processor to puree.
5. Heat a clean pan over medium heat. Add coconut milk and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add mung bean mixture and mix well. Cook until heated through.
7. Remove form heat and transfer to warm containers. Top with toasted coconut flakes and serve immediately.

Pandan Panna Cotta with Coconut-Pandan Sauce

Pandan is a widely used flavoring in Asian cooking particularly in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It is used as a flavoring for cakes, ice scream, desserts, rice, and even chicken dishes. It has a distinct aroma which makes the dishes fragrant. Typically, one would boil the leaves to extract the flavor and aroma but since it is not readily available in the United States, pandan extract, which is sold in Asian markets, is the next best thing. I got mine from the Thai market nearby. Just one of the many advantages of living in a highly diversified metropolitan area- easy access to ethnic stores and ingredients...hehehe.

The flavor of pandan goes so well with the rich, creamy texture of panna cotta, and the aroma is heavenly. The recipe used in this dish is almost the same as the vanilla panna cotta (with macerated strawberries) except that I substituted vanilla with pandan flavoring. Oh, in case you're curious what that concentrated pandan flavoring taste like, don't attempt to taste it...hehehe...I did it already, blah...it tasted really bitter. Ah, my curiousity sometimes gets me into trouble...


Ingredients:

Panna Cotta:

3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp pandan extract
few drops of green food coloring

Coconut-Pandan Sauce:
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar (or less if you want it less sweet)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp pandan extract
1-2 drops of green food coloring



1. Sprinkle gelatin over milk to soften. Let it stand for about 10-15 minutes.

2. Heat pan over low medium heat. Add Cream and sugar and simmer until sugar is melted. Stir occassionally.

3. Remove cream-sugar mixture from heat. Add gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin is dissolved.

4. Strain mixture uing a fine mesh strainer. Add pandan extract and stir to mix well.

5. Add 2 drops of green food coloring. Mix to see if the color is right. If not, add 1 drop of food coloring at a time until you reached your desired color.

6. Pour into molds or container and let it cool before covering with plastic cover.

7. Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours or overnight before serving.

Summer thirst quencher

Hot weather and I don't match well together that's why I don't really like going outdoors. In the summer when the weather is so hot, I try to stay indoors whenever possible. Yesterday I was doing some indoor grilling so I had no choice but to turn off the AC and open the windows. Ughhh, it was too hot. Good thing I had this drink cooling in my fridge.



Ingredients:

1 part canned mango nectar
1 part canned pineapple juice
2 parts coconut juice with pulp
1 kalamansi (philippine lemon)
*** may be substituted with either lime or lemon
sugar, if desired

1. Mix all ingredients and stir well. Chill in the refrigerator and serve cold.


*** you may add sugar, if desired, but the combination of juices was sweet enough for me that I did not add any sugar anymore.