Arnold Palmer Sorbet (aka Half-Tea Half-Lemonade Sorbet)

Dessert

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

Arnold Palmer Sorbet (aka Half-Tea Half-Lemonade Sorbet)

Every summer, when it seems as though the heat and humidity can’t get any worse, I turn to my turn to my friend, the Arnold Palmer. You may know him as a half-and-half or a tea with lemonade. The one-two punch of caffeine and sugar with plenty of mouth-puckering lemon never fails to get me out of my heat-induced stupor.

Posting the recipe for the drink seemed a little to Captain Obvious (make some extra strong tea, add sugar, lemon juice and ice. If you’d like a Tipsy Palmer, otherwise known as a John Daly, add some bourbon or another liquor), but it recently occurred to me that it would make one heck of a sorbet.

It’s everything I love about an Arnold Palmer in frozen, concentrated form. So for those times when I’m looking for a sweet treat, but don’t necessarily need to replace all my vital fluids, I’ll be turning to this refreshing dessert.

Arnold Palmer Sorbet (aka Half-Tea Half-Lemonade Sorbet)

Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
* 2-1/4 cups water
* 4 black or orange pekoe tea bags (Lipton or something similar works great)
* 3/4 cup lemon juice
* 1 Tablespoon bourbon, rum or vodka
* 1 Tablespoons light corn syrup

Directions:

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3-4 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat, add the tea bags and let them steep for about three minutes. Remove the tea bags, pressing them gently to extract as much liquid as possible. Add the lemon juice, bourbon, and corn syrup and stir to mix. Let cool to room temperature and then cover and chill until the mixture is very cold.

Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the mixture to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 3-4 hours.

Indian Yellow Dal

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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I’m in the middle of a massive fridge, freezer and pantry clean-out, which means that all of my dried beans and legumes have got to go before I even think about putting in another order from Rancho Gordo or visiting the bulk bins at the local health food stores.

While a lot of beans have risen in popularity over the past decade or so (I definitely remember thinking that beans were really uncool as a kid, although I don’t know where I got that idea), I’m not sure if any of that popularity has extended to yellow split peas. Even Safeway, the only supermarket that carried them out here, stopped selling them a few months back.

And that, my friends, is kind of a travesty. After going overboard with lentils a couple years back, yellow split peas have become my pulse of choice. They’re great because, like lentils, they don’t require super-lengthy cooking times or overnight soaks. And with their happy and vibrant hue, they’re like a warming bowl of sunshine.

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of South Asian yellow split pea dishes (as evidenced by this, this, and this), but this Indian yellow dal just might just be very favorite of the bunch. It’s flavored with plenty of sautéed garlic and onions as well as a mélange of my favorite Indian spices. A large pat of butter gives the dal an unexpected richness and it’s finished with a hefty dose of chopped cilantro.

Indian Yellow Dal

Yield: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1 cup dried yellow split peas
* 3 cups water
* 3/4 cup diced tomatoes in their juice
* 1/4 cup oil
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon turmeric
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 Tablespoon butter
* 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

Directions:

Rinse the yellow split peas in a fine-mesh sieve, place in a bowl, cover with water, and let soak for one hour. Drain, place in a large saucepan and add the water and diced tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer until the split peas are tender, about 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the freshness of your peas.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the cumin seeds and cover with a lid or splatter screen. Let the cumin seeds sizzle in the oil for about 10-20 seconds and then carefully slide in the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and continue to cook until the onion turns golden.

Add the coriander, turmeric, cayenne and salt and cook for another minute or two.

Finally, add the onion mixture to the split pea mixture and then add the butter and cilantro leaves. Cook for about 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Curried Tuna Salad

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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Even though we’ve got pretty great weather year-round here in Honolulu, I’m certainly not immune to a little spring fever. The longer, warmer days mean even more frequent trips to the beach and, more importantly, more frequent beach picnics.

While I’d love to be the kind of person who can put together a magazine shoot-worthy picnic set atop a chic table in a bag, more often than not, my picnics consist of several friends huddling around a cooler, passing around Pyrex containers of food. While I may fall short when it comes to providing ambiance, I’d like to think I can put together a mean assortment of food. And this curried tuna salad? I can assure you that it’ll probably be in just about every cooler I pack this summer.

In this quick and easy dish, canned tuna is combined with sauteed onions, garlic, ginger and a hefty dose of curry powder while some sliced Serrano chile pepper provide a bit of heat . I’d happily eat this stuff plain with a fork, with crackers or in a sandwich. Hot, warm or cold. With mayo or without. Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong here.

Although I kept the salad plain and simple this time, I imagine the same sort of extras that you’d find in curried chicken salad (grapes, raisins and/or chopped apples) would all be welcome additions here as well.

Curried Tuna Salad

Yield: 3-4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup oil
* 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons finely minced or grated fresh ginger
* 1 Tablespoon curry powder
* 3 cans (6 ounces each) tuna, drained
* 1/2 Serrano chile pepper, finely sliced
* salt
* pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
* mayonnaise (optional)

Other optional add-ins: cut grapes, raisins and/or chopped apples

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to turn golden. Add the curry powder and stir to coat.

Add the tuna and Serrano chile pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste and then stir in the cilantro leaves. Add in the mayonnaise, if desired. Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled.

Tart and Garlicky Tamarind Sauce

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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I’ve decided that I don’t pay enough attention to sauces, often considering them nothing more than an afterthought. Bad call on my part.

Because without sauces, cheese nachos would pretty much just be a plate of tortilla chips, hot fudge sundaes would barely have a leg up on a bowl of plain ice cream, and Eggs Benedict would be nothing more than an open faced breakfast sandwich. Clearly it’s the sauces that are elevating those dishes to something extra special.

And so I’m planning on addressing the major dearth of condiment recipes around here, starting with this tart, garlicky tamarind sauce. Tamarind pulp is combined with hot water, garlic and Jalapeno and simmered until dark and thick.

Use it instead of ketchup to give your burger some Burmese flair, or use it as a dip on fries or any other fried snacks. I’m especially happy to have this recipe on file because it always seems like I’ve got a thick slab of tamarind remaining after my Southeast Asian cooking phases. This will surely be my new go-to for using up any tamarind leftovers.

Tart and Garlicky Tamarind Sauce

Yield: About 1 cup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup packed tamarind pulp, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons hot water
* 5 cloves garlic
* 2 Jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

Combine the tamarind pulp and the hot water in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes and use a fork to mash the tamarind to help dissolve it into the water. Press the mixture through a sieve into a small saucepan, pressing the mixture against the sieve to extract as much as liquid as possible from the pulp. Discard any remaining solids.

Combine the garlic and Jalapeno in a food processor and process until the mixture has formed a paste. Add this to the tamarind liquid and then add the salt and sugar.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, just long enough to take some of the edge off of the garlic. If the mixture gets too thick, add a Tablespoon or two of water. Taste and adjust the salt or sugar, if necessary.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

Indian Spiced Cucumber, Peas and Mint

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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For a girl who is constantly cooking new recipes from all types of cuisines, I’ll admit I’ve been in something of a rut when it comes to Indian food. I’m constantly trying new recipes, yes, but I’m such a fan of Ruta Kahate’s first cookbook (5, Spices: 50 Dishes…. I’ve mentioned it many, many times already) that I find myself, even with a stack of Indian cookbooks on the shelf, cooking almost exclusively from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes.

It was Anjum Anand who finally lured me away from my tried-and-true with a lovely photo of this warm cucumber dish in her cookbook Anjum’s New Indian. A couple years ago I probably would have passed it by, thinking to myself, cooked cucumbers?

But now I know better. It was actually Cambodian food that made me see the light, specifically this Cambodian Curried Shrimp with Cucumbers. When lightly cooked, cucumbers add a delicate flavor and a tender-crisp texture. In this recipe, cucumbers and peas are combined with plenty of Indian spices in a yogurt-based sauce.

Having already made this several times in the past week or so, I feel pretty safe declaring this dish a success. Maybe this will help ease my anxiety about branching off into other Indian cookbooks? Only time will tell.

Indian Spiced Cucumber, Peas and Mint

Yield: 4 side servings

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1-1/2 Tablespoons oil
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
* 3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 cucumbers, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded and cut into thin slices
* 1 cup frozen green peas
* 1/4 cup plain yogurt
* 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

Directions:

In a skillet, heat the oil over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and immediately cover with a lid or splatter screen. When the seeds stop popping, quickly reduce the heat to medium-high and add the coriander, turmeric, cayenne and salt and give the mixture a quick stir.

Add the cucumber slices and cook, stirring, about a minute. Add the frozen peas and cook, stirring frequently, until the peas are heated through. Reduce heat to medium-low and, while stirring continuously, add the yogurt. Cook for about a minute to let the mixture combine. Sprinkle the dish with mint and serve immediately or let it cool to room temperature.

Burmese Fish Salad with Shallots and Fresh Herbs

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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Burmese Fish Salad with Shallots and Fresh Herbs

Although we’re experiencing a minor cold snap out here in Hawaii, it seems like the rest of the country is finally starting to warm up. So it’s a good bet that many of you are starting the transition from hearty soups to lighter fare.

Some of my favorite warm weather dishes are Hawaiian poke, Peruvian ceviche or Tahitian poisson cru, but if the idea of eating raw fish gives you the heebie jeebies, then you might want to try this light and refreshing Burmese fish salad instead.

Your favorite filet of fish is poached in lemongrass-infused water (or if you’ve got some leftover fish to use up, feel free to use that instead), flaked, and then combined with plenty of shallots, chili pepper, and herbs. The mixture is then tossed in a shallot and lime juice dressing. It’s refreshing, lightly spicy and filling without being heavy.

Serve it alongside another salad for a light lunch or wrap it in lettuce leaves for a fun appetizer.

Burmese Fish Salad with Shallots and Fresh Herbs

Because the dressing contains citrus juice, which will continue to “cook” the fish, this salad is best the day it’s made.

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 stalk lemongrass, bruised with woody ends removed
1-1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound white fish filet
3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots, soaked in cold water for at least 10 minutes and drained
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 Tablespoon shallot oil
3 Tablespoons golden crispy shallots
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 red Jalapeno chili, seeded and minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro and/or mint leaves (I like a 3 Tablespoons cilantro to 1 Tablespoon mint ratio)

Directions:

Combine the water and lemongrass in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the salt and fish and bring the water back to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the saucepan and cook the fish, keeping the water at a strong simmer, until the fish is just cooked through. Remove the fish to a plate to let cool. Discard the poaching water or reserve it for another use.

When the fish is cool enough to handle, break it into small chunks or flakes, depending on your preference. Add the shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, shallot oil, fried shallots, salt, chili pepper, and herbs and toss. Taste and adjust salt, if necessary. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Beef Lemongrass Sliders

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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When I went gluten-free, my burger consumption plummeted. No longer being able to eat the gluten-filled versions at Nico’s Pier 38 meant that burgers became something of a complicated meal to make at home. Gluten-free buns had to be procured from the vegetarian health food store. The ground beef and all the other fixings from another market, etc.

But it occurs to me that maybe I’ve been going about gluten-free burgers all wrong. Instead of making a bland patty that needs to be dressed up with condiments, why not pack all the flavor into a compact, little package and skip the bread altogether?

Infused with a shallot, garlic, ginger and lemongrass paste, these sliders are simple to make, but just as good as those cheeseburgers that I used to enjoy so much. A bit of rice is mixed in with the ground beef to help bind the mixture and provide some starchy goodness.

The sliders are great plain, but you’ll get bonus points for serving them with some tart and garlicky tamarind sauce or some sweet and fiery chile sauce.

Beef Lemongrass Sliders

Yield: 4 servings, about 16 sliders

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 Tablespoons minced lemongrass (woody ends and tough outer leaves trimmed- use the white and pale green sections only)
4 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup leftover, cooked rice
1 teaspoon salt
oil for frying

Directions:

Place the ground beef in a large bowl and sprinkle with the turmeric and cayenne.

In a food processor, combine the shallots, lemongrass, garlic, and ginger and process until it becomes a paste. Add the rice and salt and pulse several times. Add the mixture to the ground beef and mix thoroughly to incorporate the spices and shallot-lemongrass paste into the beef.

Shape the mixture into golf ball sized balls and then flatten each slightly to form a thick patty.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef patties and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes before flipping the patties over. Cook until the sliders have developed a golden crust of until they’ve reached your desired level of doneness.

Burmese Grated Carrot Salad

Salad

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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My first experience with carrot salad? The grated version that’s loaded with raisins and walnuts and drowning in a super-sweet dressing. It was perfect for my tween palate, but these days I’m looking for more depth than that overly sweet, kid-friendly dish.

In this Burmese carrot salad, a mound of grated carrots is dressed in fish sauce and lime juice. It’s then tossed with crunchy peanuts, golden crispy shallots, and minced jalapeno. A hefty amount of cilantro provides that ubiquitous Southeast Asian pop of freshness. The toasted chickpea flour and shrimp powder add plenty of savory umami.

For fans of Thai or Vietnamese green papaya salad, this carrot salad has a very similar texture and flavor. That’s great news for any of you who love the taste of green papaya salad, but don’t have access to an extremely well-stocked Asian market. No green papaya? No problem.

Plain ol’ carrots would work fine for this recipe, but I couldn’t resist some colorful heirloom carrots from the farmer’s market. I wanted to keep this as a lighter side dish, but I bet it would be great with some shrimp or chicken.

Burmese Grated Carrot Salad

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots, coarsely grated
3 Tablespoons lime juice
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
1 Tablespoon dried shrimp powder
One Tablespoon toasted chickpea flour
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 chopped toasted peanuts
1/4 golden crispy shallots
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

Combine the carrots, lime juice and fish sauce in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon to gently pound the carrots to help break them down a bit, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the shrimp powder, toasted chickpea flour, Jalapeno pepper, salt, peanuts, shallots and cilantro and toss. Transfer the mixture to a shallow serving bowl and serve immediately.

Sweet Sticky Rice Cake

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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With the exception of a great Asian food recipe round-up from Kevin at Closet Kitchen, it seems like Chinese New Year passed without much fanfare from the food blog community. I was too busy to celebrate last weekend, which meant I missed out on nian gao, a sweet, sticky rice flour dessert that many eat for good luck in the coming year.

So when I saw this recipe for a sweet sticky rice cake from Naomi Duguid’s cookbook, Burma, I thought it would be a relatively good substitute for the Chinese New Year favorite.

Although this Burmese rice cake is made with whole sticky rice, as opposed to sticky rice flour, both desserts are sweetened with palm (or brown sugar), which gives the cakes a nice, caramel quality and flavor. It also couldn’t be much simpler. Just toss a bunch of ingredients in a rice cooker (or saucepan), cook until the rice is done, press into a pan and sprinkle with coconut. Easy.

While I’m not sure if this sticky rice cake has the same promise of good luck as traditional nian gao, I’ll happily eat it year round just for the taste.

Burmese Sticky Rice Cake

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups Thai sticky rice
1/3 cup raw peanuts
2/3 cup palm or brown sugar
1/3 cup sesame seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
2-1/4 cups water

small amount butter or coconut oil
1/4 cup dried, unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted in a dry skillet

Directions:

Quickly rinse the sticky rice under cold water, drain and place in a rice cooker. Add the peanuts, palm sugar, sesame seeds, salt and water. Stir to mix and turn the rice cooker on. Alternatively, if you are using a pan on the stove, combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and keep just below a simmer, approximately 25-30 minutes.

Once the rice is done cooking, keep covered for an additional 10 minutes.

Lightly butter or grease an 8″ by 8″ square pan.

Remove the lid and gently fold the ingredients together to evenly distribute the peanuts and sesame seeds. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and press down lightly and evenly. Scatter the top with the coconut.

Let stand for 30 minutes to firm up. Cut into squares and serve.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Also check out Burmese Coconut Rice 🙂