Tab Tim Grob (Rubies in Coconut Milk)

This is the final of four dishes that I learned to make during my 4-hour cooking class at BaiPai Cooking School in Bangkok, Thailand. This is a mini-series that's part of a larger Thailand! travel series of my eats in Bangkok. Scroll to the bottom of the post to see all the posts in this series.

These changes in the weather lately are driving me crazy.

The teasing few days of warm weather we had last week (high of 80° F!!) flipped a switch within me. All of a sudden, I was decidedly done with winter. Over the weekend, I grabbed all my down jackets and wool coats and put then into storage. Same with the boots and winter gear.

Yesterday morning I walked out in a thin jacket and a short sleeved shirt, only to turn right around after walking outside in order to grab a warmer jacket.

But warm days are coming very soon. And before we know it, we'll be longing for relief from the hot weather.

On that note, we end our Thai cooking school series with one of my favorites. It's a dessert that's perfect for times when it's really hot outside. Served over ice, Tab Tim Grob is extremely refreshing and cool. The bright colors also make me think of summer.
  "Tab tim" means rubies or pomegranate and "grob" means crunchy.

These gorgeously colorful "jewels" do indeed resemble pomegranate seeds in some way. Water chestnuts are covered in an ever-so-thin dusting of tapioca flour and then boiled briefly. What results is a perfect "seed" with a slightly crunchy center and a soft, clear outer layer.

I had never heard of this dessert before coming to Thailand. By the time I left Thailand, I was convinced it was one of my new favorite desserts from the country.


How to Make Rubies
Cut up water chestnuts into small cubes. If you are using the canned variety, soak them in water for 10 minutes first before soaking. Soak the water chestnut pieces in red grenadine or red cordial. You can also use dark red juices or red food coloring. [Please note that this step is merely for show. The color will not affect the flavor, and therefore if you don't want to use coloring, you can skip this step. [You can also use other colored cordials or food coloring, but then maybe you'll have to change the name to "emerald" or "sapphires" in coconut milk!].

While waiting for the water chestnuts to turn red, make your syrup and coconut mixture. Both are pretty easy to make. For the syrup, just bring sugar, water, and pandanus leaves to a boil over low heat. Let simmer for 15 minutes (no need to stir).

Note: this syrup can last for up to one month in the refrigerator if you want to make a larger batch.

To make the coconut milk mixture, boil coconut milk and water together in a pot over medium heat. Keep stirring to prevent the oil from separately out of the coconut milk. You can optionally add pandanus leaves to the coconut milk as well if you want that flavor. Set aside once everything is melted and well mixed/incorporated.

After the water chestnuts have been soaking for one hour, they should nicely bright and red. You are ready to cook the "rubies"! Toss the soaked water chestnuts in tapioca flour until they are completely covered. Remove the powdered water chestnuts from the tapioca flour, shaking to remove excess flour.

Bring a pot of about 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the water chestnuts and count to 10. Stir once and wait until the water returns to a boil and the water chestnuts float to the top (about 20 seconds). Using a slotted spoon, remove the water chestnuts and dunk them into an ice bath.

Once you're ready to serve, drain the water chestnuts well with a slotted spoon, and place them in the bottom of a dessert bowl. Add syrup, coconut mixture, and crushed ice.

Tasting Time!
I fell head over heels in love with this dessert. The water chestnuts have this really unique texture where they are soft and chewy on the outside yet slightly crunchy on the inside. The sweet-salty combo from the slightly salty coconut milk base and the sweet pandan-infused syrup is seriously addictive. Even though I was beyond stuffed from an afternoon of eating Golden Bags, Larb Gai, and Pad Thai, and I still polished off my entire bowl of this refreshingly delicious dessert.

Throughout the rest of my short trip in Thailand, I desperately sought this out at restaurants.

I can't wait to make it at home again!



Tim Tab Grob (Rubies in Coconut Milk)

Water Chestnuts
30g peeled water chestnuts, boiled and diced
2 T red grenadine or cordial (or food coloring)
2 T tapioca flour

Syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1-2 Pandanus leaves
(or 1-2 drops Pandan extract)

Coconut Milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt

Soak water chestnuts in grenadine for 1 hour.  If you are using canned water chestnuts, soak them in water for 10 minutes first before putting them in the red coloring liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the sugar, water, and pandanus leaves (torn to release flavor) into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat and then let it simmer for 15 minutes.

In a separate saucepan, heat coconut milk and salt (and optionally torn pandanus leaves) to a boil. Continue stirring to prevent the coconut oil from separating out. Set aside.

After 1 hour, transfer red water chestnuts into tapioca flour and toss with flour until well covered. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add the water chestnuts, cooking for 10 seconds. Stir and wait until the water boils again and the water chestnuts float to the top. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

To serve, combine water chestnuts, syrup, and coconut mixture in a bowl and add crush ice. The amounts are flexible. Taste it and add more or less depending on how sweet you want it to be.

Enjoy!

This is the sixteenth post in the Thailand! travel series of my eats in Bangkok. Other posts include:

Eats!
Thip Samai, Best Pad Thai in Bangkok?
Raan Jay Fai, Best Drunken Noodle in Bangkok
Street Foods of Bangkok, Part I
Street Foods of Bangkok, Part II
Fun Fruits in Thailand 

Cool Experiences
Maeklong Railway Market
Floating Markets (Damnoen Saduak)

Cooking Classes + Recipes
Somphong Thai Cooking School 
Som Tam (Papaya Salad)
Thai Panaeng Curry Chicken
Bananas In Golden Syrup
BaiPai Thai Cooking School
Golden Bags
Larb Gai (Laap Gai)
Pad Thai

Bananas In Golden Syrup

This is the eleventh post in the Thailand! travel series of my eats in Bangkok. Other posts include Thip Samai, Best Pad Thai in Bangkok? and Raan Jay Fai, Best Drunken Noodle in Bangkok, Maeklong Railway Market, Floating Markets (Damnoen Saduak), Street Foods of Bangkok, Part I, and Street Foods of Bangkok, Part II, and Fun Fruits in Thailand plus posts about recipes from my cooking class at Somphong Thai Cooking School including Som Tam (Papaya Salad), Thai Panaeng Curry Chicken, and this post.

I did not expect to like this dish at all.

In fact, when I first saw that there was a banana dessert on the menu for the cooking class, I sort of cringed. After all, I've never liked bananas. There's something about the flavor that just sort of rubs me the wrong way. I can't place my finger on it, but it's definitely something I don't eat often.

But because the Thai cooking class I was taking at the Somphong Thai Cooking School included other pretty amazing dishes, such as Green Papaya Salad and Panaeng curry, I decided to stick with this particular class.

And I stand corrected.

Bananas can taste good. Really, really good.

This dessert is our cooking instructor's favorite dessert, and I can totally see why. It's super easy to make, and the sweet-salty combination of the sweet bananas with the savory coconut cream sauce works together surprisingly well.

I hate to say this, but it was almost mildly addictive.

The bananas used in this dessert are not the normal large bananas we see in North America. Instead, these are mini bananas that are about half the length of the big bananas we are used to seeing in the States.

Here's a woman selling these little bananas on skewers at the floating markets at Damnoen Saduak.

You want to use bananas that are still pretty green (see color in the photo). They need to be firm so they can stand up to the cooking. Remove the peels from all the bananas. You can peel them traditionally by hand, or use a knife to speed up the process.

To prevent bananas from turning brown after peeling, place them immediately in a bowl of water acidified wi lime juice.

We will cook these bananas in a fragrant, pandan-infused syrup. Pandan is a tropical plant commonly used in Southeast Asia in both sweet and savory applications. It has a sweet, fragrant aroma that is very pleasing, making it a popular flavor used in many desserts. If you don't have pandan, you can either add a few drops of pandan essence (a little goes a long way!) or even vanilla extract would work fine too.

Combine sugar, salt, pandan leaves, and water in a pot and bring to a boil.

Add bananas, reduce heat, and cook until the bananas turn a darker shade of yellow, maybe 10-15 minutes. Try not to disturb the bananas too much, though you can flip them once in the middle if desired.

Meanwhile, make your savory coconut cream. It's pretty easy - just dissolve coconut cream with salt and a bit of rice flour to thicken it up. If you want, you can add some pandan leaves for extra flavor, but this is optional.

Once the bananas are done, remove them from the pot, straining out the syrup. Optionally squeeze lime on top, and pour the savory coconut cream sauce all over the bananas.

Serve!

Clearly the students couldn't get enough of this dish, including a very surprised me, who shocked herself by going back for seconds.

Love that sweet + salty combo. Seriously addictive.

Enjoy!

Bananas in Golden Syrup

Bananas
8 small golden bananas
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lime juice
Pandan leaves (optional)
Vanilla flavoring (optional)

Peel bananas and immediately put them in a bowl of water to prevent further browning. In a pot, bring sugar, water, salt, and pandan leaves to a boil. Reduce heat and add bananas, cooking at low heat until the bananas turn a darker shade of yellow. Add lime juice and then remove bananas. Top with coconut cream topping (see below for recipe).

Serve!

Coconut Cream Topping
1 cup coconut cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp rice flour*

Add the rice flour to the coconut cream (room temperature). Heat over medium heat until the mixture becomes thick and sauce-like. Add salt and stir to dissolve. Set aside.

*I believe the purpose of the flour is mostly for texture, so if you can't find rice flour, other substitutes may work, such as all purpose flour.

Omotesando Koffee

This is the eight post in the series titled Tasting Tour of Tokyo detailing my recent trip to Japan. Other posts include Kikunoi Akasaka, Rokurinsha, Mikawa Zezankyo, Kaoriya, Sushi Sawada, Sushi Aoki, and Street Foods in Tokyo.

Is there really such thing as a "best kept secret"?

After all, good secrets in the food world are hard to keep, and hidden gems quickly gain cult status through word-of-mouth, blog posts, and social media.

But it's hard to keep track of it all. And frankly, even though this tiny coffee shop has gained quite a following in the past year, I had no idea it existed. It's only because of my lunch and subsequent conversation with Shirley of Lovely Lanvin during our ethereal  tempura lunch that I even found out about this place.

Welcome to Omotesando Koffee, one of the most unusual coffee shops I've ever visited.

Omotesando Koffee is most definitely "hidden". The tiny cube of a shop is quite difficult to find. Bryan and I meandered around this ritzy neighborhood in Omotesando quite a few times before we saw this tiny little sign.

Omotesando Koffee is probably unlike any coffee shop you've ever seen. Once you get past the traditional Japanese fence, beyond the lush green plants, you stumble upon this old, tatami-style Japanese home.

Except that it's anything but traditional.

The inside of this Japanese "home" is completely empty except for a large, single cube stuck right in the middle of the house. A lone barista stands inside the cube with his La Cimbali coffee machine and a few snacks.

The menu is simple - variations of iced "koffee", hot "koffee", and some snacks.

One of their most well known snacks or "kashi" is the Baked Custard, tiny cubes that remind me of French canelé (which I love).

I love the Baked Custard, which has a nice, hefty crust yet is gorgeously chewy on the inside. It goes perfectly with my cup of cappuccino. I think it's cute how they serve all of their desserts inside coffee filters. The coffee filters are also printed with the shop name as well as a map of the surrounding area.

The cappuccino is excellent. It's on par with my favorite coffee shops in Cambridge.

Off to the side you can buy other fun coffee related items, such as metal filters, insulated mugs, and even a "cup of coffee" literally made out of coffee beans. Of course, the cube-esque theme is quite pronounced here as well.

As I look around, I realize that I'm very lucky to be able to even visit this place.

You see, Omotesando Koffee was intended to just be a temporary pop-up. In fact, the old Japanese house was slated for destruction sometime in 2012. The original lease was only 12-months long. Owner Eichii Kunitomo's went with this box-like design because it could easily be disassembled and reassembled as it "popped up" around the world.

Things have changed since those original plans. The pop-up became so popular that people didn't really want it to leave the neighborhood. The 12-month lease has since been extended, which means Omotesando Koffee isn't going anywhere anytime soon.


Who knows how long it will be before the shop is able to go where it dreams of going, reflected by the long list of destinations on its website? When will it get to actually disassemble and reassemble in a new location, the way it was designed to move?

I guess we'll have to wait and see, though it seems perfectly happy at Omotesando for the moment.



The Facts
This place is not far at all from all the wonderful places to shop in Omotesando (my favorite being Kiddie Land, which I think has one of the best selections of Ghibli & Totoro themed stuff in Tokyo). You can easily walk from Harajuku (another really fun neighborhood to visit) to Omotesando. They are right next to each other.  If you really like walking, you can do what Bryan and I like to do, which is to walk all the way from Shibuya to Harajuku to Omotesando.

One of the most famous tonkatsu restaurants in Tokyo, Maisen, is located just around the corner from this coffee shop. You can easily visit both in one day, maybe grab a coffee here after a meal at Maisen?

This place is cash only. If you need to get cash, there is a 7-11 right around the corner which accepts international debit cards.

This is a fun place to visit, though if you're short on time, I think it's also OK to skip it, especially if your goal is to experience things that are uniquely Japanese. The coffee is good, but not better than the best artisanal coffee shops in the US. Instead, I like to think that it's offering a wonderful opportunity for the Japanese to experience really good coffee, something we're blessed to have in abundance here on this side of the globe. 

Chili Chocolate Domo Cookies

I have always loved Domo.

Domo is the mascot for NHK, one of Japan's broadcasting television stations in Japan. He's brown, furry, and looks like he would be mean (those teeth!), but in fact he's quite endearing and not scary at all. Domo loves Japanese potato and beef stew but hates apples, due to something about his DNA. Domo originally cracked from an egg and lives in an underground cave with a rabbit (Mr. Usaji) and his friends. He became popular when he appeared in a series of shorts shown on television in 1998 in honor of NHK's 10th anniversary.

Although I've made countless versions of Totoro, Keroppi, and Hello Kitty, I've only made Domo once in food form - as hamburgers a couple years ago.

I've been wanting to make Domo as a cookie for awhile now. Ever since I saw Diamonds for Dessert make Domo into sandwich cookies, I've been trying to think of a way to make a Domo cookie that looks 3D instead of flat.

After much brainstorming, I finally came up with a way that seems to really accentuate Domo's huge open mouth yet still keep him looking cute, the way he should be.

To put a slight twist on the traditional chocolate cookie, I spiced up the batter by adding some chili powder and a touch of cinnamon, similar to Mexican chocolate. After all, a Domo cookie should have some kick, right?

Although this recipe is not difficult, it does require some time. In order to get the best performance from your cookie dough, you need to refrigerate it so that it's cold. It's much, much easier to work with this dough when it's a bit cold.

Working fast, cut out the Domos with a rounded square cutter. I actually didn't have a cookie cutter this shape, but I did have a random tiny plastic storage container that happened to be just about the right size. Of course, you can easily buy rectangular cookie cutters or cookie cutter sets that will work.  I just didn't plan ahead and had to be resourceful with what I had at home.

In half of the Domos, cut out a mouth using a tiny rectangular cookie cutter. Of course, I didn't have any on hand. You can easily make cookie cutters by cutting up some plastic from the top of a take-out container, which is what I did. The benefit of making your own is that you can cut it to be exactly the right size. The negative, of course, is that the plastic cutter is flimsier and won't cut as cleanly.

Nevertheless, I was able to make do and cut out several Domo mouths successfully.

For best results, freeze the first half of the already completed cookies while you cut the other half. This prevents the first batch from losing its shape or warming up too much.

Bake until slightly crispy and browned on the edges, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

There are many ways to start decorating. For my birthday, my friend have given me black edible ink markers and colored edible ink markers, which are great for decorating. Of course, if you'd rather not use artificial coloring in your baking, you can consider making jam based Swiss "linzer" style cookies, which I'll show below.

In order to have Domo's mouth show through boldly, we will "paint" a layer of white chocolate onto the bottom Domo cookies (the ones that do not have a mouth cut-out).

White chocolate is tricky to melt, so definitely watch it carefully. You can melt white chocolate in the microwave in small spurts. First, heat for 1 minute at 50% power. Then heat in 30 second increments at 50% power until the chocolate just starts to become soft. It may still look solid when it's read, but poke at it with a fork. It should sort of collapse and become easily stirrable when it's ready.

It took me about less than 2 minutes total to get it soft enough so I could swirl it around and spread it.
If I had a paintbrush, I would have used it. Unfortunately, I did not have one, so I used a fork, which works OK, but the resulting surface is not as smooth as it would be with a paintbrush.

Although you can paint the entire length of the cookie, you can also just paint in the area over the mouth (see half-painted one at the bottom), if you don't love the flavor of white chocolate.

Place a cookie with a mouth over the white chocolate side in order to see how to draw out the teeth. Using a red colored edible ink marker, draw an outline of the teeth.

Remove the cookie and fill in the red part of the mouth. Draw on the eyes using a black edible ink marker.

Assemble and serve!

On top I made a few jam "linzer" style cookies. The traditional Swiss linzer cookie is a shortbread sandwich cookie with jam peaking out of a "window". In this case, the jam is peaking out of Domo's mouth.

Although you don't have to paint the jam cookies with white chocolate, I found that the white background made the jam look much brighter red than when you just spread the jam directly on top of the dark chocolate cookie.

I think both Domos are cute, though obviously the one with teeth looks more authentic. If you're up for it, you can always try forming teeth out of white chocolate to add to the jam version. I tried cutting white chocolate into teeth, but it was too hard to shape it so precisely.

Maybe I need to buy a teeth chocolate mold or a zig zag cutter!

Enjoy!


Chili Chocolate Domo Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or other chili powder)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 oz white chocolate (1/2 of a 4-oz bar)

Chocolate Cookie
Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, and chili powder.

Cream butter and powdered sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined.

Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or overnight).

Between pieces of wax paper, roll out one disk of dough to just under 1/4 inch thick. Optionally transfer to a baking sheet; freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut out "Domos" using a large rectangular cookie cutter. Using a small square cookie cutter, cut out "mouths" from half the Domos. Optionally freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake cookies until crisp, about 8 minutes, firmly tapping down sheets once and rotating them halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks. Note, I used a convection toaster oven for this step, which worked just fine.

White Chocolate
Melt white chocolate in the microwave in small spurts. Heat for 1 minute at 50% power. Then heat in 30 second increments at 50% power until it's a bit jiggly. It took me about less than 2 minutes total to get it soft enough so I could swirl it around and spread it.

Assembly
Paint the melted white chocolate onto the flat Domo "bottom" half pieces. Let dry completely.

Using edible-ink markers, draw teeth designs onto the white chocolate with a red marker. Color in his mouth. Alternatively, spread a small amount of a red fruit jam (e.g., raspberry, strawberry) onto the area where his mouth would be.

Place the Domo cooke half with the mouth cut-out on top.

For fun, you can take the mouth cut-out cookies and make baby Domos (see above). In that case, I just cut out tiny rectangle white chocolate pieces and drew the teeth on directly.

Serve!


Related Posts:
Domo Hamburgers
Totoro Cookies
Totoro Rice
Hello Kitty Rice Crispy Treats
Kyaraben on Steroids

Halloween in Japan

Happy Halloween!

I just returned from Tokyo (thankfully right before Hurricane Sandy hit), and was floored by how much they have embraced Halloween. From what I've heard, this is a more recent phenomenon.

One thing that surprised me the most was how many high end bakeries have gone crazy with the Halloween theme. It's something you see less of here in America.

Enjoy some fun photos from my exploration of the high end bakeries at the "depa-chika" (department store basement food halls) at Isetan in Shinjuku, a vibrant area of Tokyo.   
Yes, that's a $10 cookie (exchange rates are horrible right now - the US dollar is so weak abroad!)

These have got to be the most elegant witch hats I've ever seen.
Custards, called "pudin" in Japanese, are immensely popular in Japan. Right now pumpkin flavored puddings are all the rage.

This one particular "pudin" shop brings in custards from all over Japan.

Fall foliage hits a bit later in Japan, so it was just starting to turn when I was there. I'm sure it will be gorgeous in a couple weeks.

Not exactly pumpkins, but I thought these were gorgeous and a nice way to end this post with a teaser to one of the most incredible dessert carts I encountered in a Japanese restaurant. I'll post a proper teaser for Japan next week. For now, enjoy the Halloween sweets, and happy trick-or-treating!