Merry Christmas!

My Little Round Christmas Rainbow Bon Bons

A little bottle of vanilla extract in my pantry reminded me of the bon bons I used to make when I was little. Only then, I used rum essence instead of vanilla extract. Mmhm... I love rum! I love the smell, the taste and even more when it is mixed in to my bon bon dough. This bon bon is so easy to make and tasty. All you need is: 

1. Graham Cracker *
2. Condensed milk
3. Vanilla extract or rum extract
4. Rainbow sprinkles 

* You can use any other sweet cracker. Regal brand biscuit is what I used when I was little.

There is really no measurement needed, it all depends on how many bon bons you want to make and how sweet you want them to be. This time, I used 1/4 of my Nabisco Honey Maid Graham Cracker 4 Pack Value Box.

Method:

1. Finely crush the cracker or grind it with your food processor. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
2. Add some condensed milk and mix it together until dough is formed. 
3. Add a dash of vanilla or extract, depending on your preference. Mix it thoroughly. 
4. Form a round shape (I used a tablespoon as my measurement and rolled the dough in my palm).
5. Roll the rounded dough in sprinkles. If the sprinkles do not stick to the dough, add a little milk, enough to cover the outside part of your rounded dough.
6. Put it in the refrigerator for 30 minute before serving. 

Enjoy!

Martabak (Indonesian meat pie/wrap)

One of my favorite late night snacks in Jakarta is Martabak. A simple street food, cooked to order, good for your evening/mid night snack or even as an appetizer. The stalls are usually very noticeable with the many chicken and duck eggs covering 1/3 of their glass.

There are 2 choices when it comes to ordering a portion, the meat/savory or the sweet. I love both of them but this time, I am introducing the meat martabak, which is cooked ground beef and eggs, wrapped in a thin dough and deep fried. I always ordered it with duck eggs, but since I don't have duck eggs, I'll use chicken eggs.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
5 finely chopped scallions and shallots
5 large eggs
1 tsp of nutmeg (or coriander)
1 tsp of salt
Oil to deep fry

Wrapper:
Spring roll wrapper

Side of Pickled diced cucumber:
1 cucumber
1 carrot
Shallot
Thai chilli
Water
Sugar
Vinegar
Salt

Brown sauce:
2 tbs soy sauce and water
1 tbs ketchup
1 tbs chilli sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp tamarind

Martabak:

1. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a pan and add shallot, fry until fragrant. Add scallions then beef, season with nutmeg and salt. Discard excess fat. 
2. In a another bowl, mix the beef mixture with eggs (I usually add in a dash of salt, not too much, you don't want it to be too salty).
3. Fill each spring roll with 2 tbs of the mixture and fold to form a rectangle shape. Deep fry, 4 minutes each side or until brown. Don't forget to hold your spatula against your martabak so it stays the same shape.

Pickled diced cucumber:

1. Peel and cut cucumber in half, remove seeds and dice.
2. Peel carrot and dice.
3. Clean shallot, cut in to small pieces, do not dice.
4. Clean Thai chili.
5. Put all ingredients in a bowl, add in 1/2 - 1 cup of water and 1 tsp of sugar, vinegar and salt or enough to give it a sweet and sour yet tasty taste.

NOTE: It will be soupy but we do not usually drink the soup. It is just to give taste to the cucumber and carrot.

Brown sauce: 

1. mix all the ingredients together.

It looks complicated but it really isn't. The whole process should take no longer than an hour, but it depends on how many martabak you are frying.

Baking: 1st Attempt; Brazilian Cheese Puffs - Pao De Queijo

What do you do when you crave for something but it is not common in the area where you live? I'd suggest you turn to the "Almighty Google". Yes, type whatever you need; recipes, information... anything! 


This time I am craving for Pao De Queijo. I was introduced to these amazingly yummy cheese puffs by my dear Brazilian friend whom I met in Shanghai. It is so easy to make. All I need is Pao De Queijo powder, some water and a few eggs.  Mix them altogether, round it up and bake. With this mission of searching for the powder in my head, I roamed around some grocery stores but had no success. So what did I do next? GOOGLED it!  I found a recipe that I like and here it is (with a little twist to call it my own)


Ingredients:
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of butter
1 tsp salt
2 cups of tapioca flour
1 cup powder Parmesan cheese
2 eggs


Method:
1. Boil milk, butter and salt. Set aside.
2. Slowly add tapioca flour then cheese to the mix. Keep mixing it until a dough is formed. Add the 2 eggs in and mix it thoroughly. Make small balls. 
3. Preheat your oven to 350F and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I didn't have tapioca flour so i used the Gold Medal All Purpose Flour. I am not sure if this could alter the taste and texture but I used it anyway. My Pao De Queijo didn't turn out as puffy as how I remember it, but it was still very tasty. I shall make it again with tapioca flour. Stay tuned for updates on my journey to making the perfect Pao De Queijo!