Fried Cola?

Chefs are getting more and more creative every day. I had actually seen shops selling LAKSA ice cream but I wouldn't try it. But today I found something I might like to try: Fried Cola.

"It tastes great," said Sue Gooding, a spokeswoman for the State Fair of Texas where Gonzales' fried Coke made its debut this fall. "It was a huge success." "Gonzales ran two stands at the State Fair of Texas and sold up to 35,000 fried Cokes over 24 days for $4.50 each -- and won a prize for coming up with "most creative" new fair food."

"The best I can hope for is that it's the original and hopefully the best fried Coke out there," he said.But Gonzales said the success of his fried Coke had inspired him. Next year's fair-goers can look forward to fried Sprite or -- for those watching their weight -- fried diet Coke. "We are trying to cut a lot of the sugar out of it. It has less calories but it's still very, very sweet," he said.

Go figure, but the fried diet coke thingy? If you wanna have dessert, why bother with diet ones? Diet coke tastes awful in the first place! Wonder when can we sample these ourselves though :)

Full Article Here

Perhaps

Perhaps I am ready to love again. . . . .

Mushroom Barley Soup

People love soups and my mother makes soups everyday. She would make a nice stock base 3-4 hours ahead of time and by dinner time, we'll have a nutritious and tasty soup. Now, when I was overseas and I didn't know how to make soups, I usually go for those CANNED soups *Insert dramtic background music here* and when I had a taste of these soups ... OMG *insert thunder and lightning* I decided to go research more about soups in the internet.

The most famous ones we usually go for are cream of mushroom soup and cream corn soup. Needless to say, canned ones are chucked full of sodium, preservatives and MSG. Not the healthy nutritious soup we were supposed to have. Now here's a nice recipe for you guys to try. It's rather simple and the only hard part is to puree it, which most people might find it a hassle but it's worth all the trouble guys, seriously. You can always make your own changes to the recipe, add extra veggies or something like carrots or celery.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups mushrooms -- sliced
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 onion -- sliced
• 1 pound barley (or 450 grams)
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups vegetable stock -- ( or chickenstock, you can buy it or make your own in advance)
• 1/4 cup miso -- bean paste --(from your local Asian supermarket)
  
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms -- fresh, julienned
• 4 shallots (or you can use green onions or chives) -- finely chopped

Makes 6 servings

PREPARATION:

In a large saute pan, cook the mushrooms until they have released most of their moisture but have not browned, about 5 minutes.

Puree the mushrooms in a food processor. (If you don't want to do this, you can just leave them whole or mash them lightly, it's better to puree them of course)

In another saute pan, heat 1/2 the oil over medium-low heat.

Add the onions and saute, until well caramelized, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the mushroom puree and cook for 3 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat the remaining oil and add the barley.

Stir constantly until the barley is an even light brown color.

Add the barley and the bay leaf to the onion mixture.

Stir in the stock and cook at a low simmer for 45 minutes.

Whisk in the miso paste, shiitake mushrooms, and chopped scallions just prior to serving.

Bon Appetit. Recipe courtesy of Chef2Chef.net

Now it's time to say goodbye to these

Purple Tomato?

While hunting around for interesting food ideas, I stumbled across some interesting piece of news. Scientists nowadays are always trying to create new breeds of foods for us to choose from. Seedless watermelons anyone? Most of you have probably seen VeGood's Purple Carrot Juice too and there's even Orange Cauliflower already. Now they are close to putting a new hybrid tomato into our dinner plates: The Purple Tomato! *insert dramatic background music here* The picture below is not exactly what it's gonna look like but it should be something around that.


"Oregon State University researchers are fine-tuning a purple tomato, a new blend of colors and nutrients. The skin is as dark as an eggplant. But it doesn't just look cool, it could be better for you. The novel pigment contains the same phytochemical found in blueberries that is thought to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Six years in the making, the purple hybrid could hit salad plates in two years". -- Physorg.com

They are still working on a the taste of the fruit at the moment though

"It will be the first true purple tomato, Myers said, although a few heirlooms offer whispers of a muddy purple caused when pink fruit meets green skin. Local tasters give mixed reviews, but researchers are working on a cross with the popular Sungold cherry tomatoes to boost the flavor. That hybrid won't be ready for several years." -- Physorg.com

It will be interesting to sample how they tastes like after crossing with cherry tomatoes. Yum. And they won't have any anti-genetic enviromentalists screaming bloody "YOU ARE PLAYING GOD" because purple tomatoes were always there, it's just that they are not grown for the market.

"Hundreds of years ago, explorers discovered purple tomatoes in the wild, but the species never made it to the table because the fruit was small and some were poisonous, as all tomatoes once were thought to be. In the 1960s and 1970s, scientists collected seeds from purple tomatoes and bred them with modern hybrids, making them safe to eat. The research lagged until Oregon State graduate student Carl Jones resumed the work in 2000 on a hunch about the tomatoes' nutritional value". -- Physorg.com

That means I can add more colours to decorating my plate. People like to use tomatoes as garnish and with the new colour, it will allow more creativity. Would you wanna sample a purple tomato? I know I would.....provided it's not those poison varities from the wild. My cast iron stomach won't survive that.

Full article here

The oil review

No - this is not a review on the current rising oil prices. This is a blog about food and topics should be kept within food! You might had guessed - we are gonna talk about cooking oils. When talking about oil, there are so many types available. We got the usual palm oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, canola oil and we also got the more exotic ones like extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, sesame seed oil, grapeseed oil etc.

I am constantly searching for different kinds of oils for different foods. I use extra virgin olive oil for my salads, sesame seed oil and chili oil to add the extra flavour and canola oil for deep frying since it's not too costly. One day, I was walking around Soon Lee and I found "Rice Bran Oil".


"Rice Bran Oil is truly "The World's Healthiest" edible oil, containing vitamins, antioxidants, nutrients and trans fat free. It's not just delicate and flavorful, it can help lower cholesterol, fight diseases, enhance the immune system, fight free radicals and more. Rice Bran Oil is extremely light, versatile and delicious. Use it to fry, sauté, in salad dressings, baking, dipping oils and where ever you use cooking oil. Once you use it you will be amazed cooking light and healthy is also the best tasting. Rice bran oil is vastly superior to traditional cooking oils and can be considered a nutraceutical (food as medicine) oil that is perfect for all your healthy cooking needs. Rice Bran Oil is quickly becoming a favorite in commercial frying to replace hydrogenated oils that contain trans fat. This is due to rice bran oils health, flavor and performance benefits." -Whats Cooking America

Some of the benefits of Rice Bran Oil are:

• A source of vitamin E complex, antioxidants and other micronutrients to help fight free radicals and combat the effects of aging. Rice bran oil has more of these components than other cooking oils. The components of rice bran oil give it an outstanding shelf life.
  
• Rice Bran Oil has the best balance of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as recommended by such organizations as the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization. It's the oil of choice for improving serum cholesterol levels and preventing cardiovascular diseases.
  
• The viscosity of our oil is very light and the flavor delicate. Foods cooked with Rice Bran Oil absorb up to 20% less oil! Less oil absorbed results in reduced calories, better, lighter tasting food and enhanced flavor and palatability. Less oil absorbed also makes it more economical.
  
• Rice Bran Oil is hypoallergenic. For those who have an intolerance to other cooking oils this is an excellent alternative.
  
• The actual cost of Rice Bran Oil to the consumer is not significantly different than other high-grade vegetable oils on the market.
  
• Rice bran oil is a naturally occurring source of many antioxidants such as Tocopherols, Tocotrienols, Gamma Oryzanol, Phytosterols, Polyphenols and Squalene.
  
• Rice bran oil has a very high smoke (burn) point, making it perfect for deep frying, pan or stir frying and is a premium choice for the replacement of hydrogenated oil containing trans fat now being used in deep fryers.
  
• Rice bran oil creates less polymers than other oils meaning better flavor and easier clean-up.

Rice bran oil definitely looks like a good oil. There's even scientific research to back it up.

Anti-cancer and anti-infection huh? Sounds good to me. Now let's compare rice bran oil to other popular oils in the market. Furthermore, the fatty acid composition of rice bran oil and peanut oil are similar and either oil works well at a high temperature, however, while peanut oil has an earthy flavor, rice bran oil is nutty, enhancing the flavor of fried foods. In addition, rice bran oil gives an ideal color and desirable texture to all types of fried foods.

Compare Rice Bran Oil

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends the average intake of fat should be 30% of your total caloric intake. This fat intake should consist of balanced fat, which provides nutrients that are essential to sustain life. A Balanced fat intake should contain approximately 30% saturated fat, 33% poly-unsaturated fat, (containing Essential Fatty Acids) and 37% mono-unsaturated fat.

Comparison of smoke point and balance of fats in some commonly used oils

OIL TYPE	SMOKE POINT	MONO- UNSATURATED FAT	POLY- UNSATURATED FAT	SATURATED FAT
Rice Bran Oil	490º	47%	33%	20%
Olive	360º	77%	9%	14%
Canola	450º	61%	33%	7%
Peanut	460º	48%	34%	18%
Soybean	440º	24%	61%	15%
Grape seed	485º	14%	77%	9%

Rice Bran Oil: The most balanced and versatile oil on the market and closest to the AHA recommendations. Rice bran oil is a superior salad, cooking, and frying oil which leaves no lingering after taste. The high smoke point prevents fatty acid breakdown at high temperatures. Its light viscosity, allows less oil to be absorbed in cooking, reducing overall calories. It mixes better in salad dressings and improves the taste of baked goods, providing cholesterol reduction, nutritional and anti-oxidant value.

Olive Oil: High mono fat, able to lower cholesterol but deficient in poly fat, which contains Essential Fatty Acids (EFA). EFA’s are truly essential to life as every metabolic process in your body depends on them. A low smoke point makes it a poor choice for frying, and its heavy taste makes it undesirable in many baked goods. Traditionally a good salad oil.

Canola Oil: High mono fat with cholesterol lowering ability but there are concerns about the origin. “Canola oil” is a term coined by Canada to change the name of “rapeseed oil”. The rapeseed plant contains erucic acid making it toxic and is used as an industrial lubricant. It has been genetically modified and hybrid to produce a low erucic acid version. Commonly hydrogenated, it is extensively used in the food industry because of its low price. The hybrid plant would be the best choice.

Peanut Oil: A good balanced oil. This oil has good cholesterol lowering ability and a high smoke point, making it a good frying oil. It imparts a slightly earthy, nutty flavor. It lacks the anti-oxidants and micronutrients of Rice Bran Oil. A small percentage of people are allergic to nut oils.

Soybean Oil: This oil is a high poly fat. As recommended by the AHA your poly fat intake should be around 33% of your total fat intake. A high poly percentage is, an aid to tumors and cancer and should be carefully watched. Up to 80% of the oil consumed in the U.S.A. today comes from soybeans. Soybean oil is commonly hydrogenated and used in many processed foods.

Grape Seed Oil: A good frying and salad oil, but again high in poly fat. It does lower cholesterol because of the high unsaturated fat content but is way over the recommended 33% poly-unsaturated fat.

---

Comparison of natural antioxidants in edible oils

Oil Type	VITAMIN E TOCOPHEROL (ppm*)	VITAMIN E TOCOTRIENOL (ppm*)	ORYZANOL (ppm*)	TOTAL NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS (ppm*)
Rice Bran Oil	81	336	2,000	2,417
Olive	51	0	0	51
Canola	650	0	0	650
Sunflower Oil	487	0	0	487
Soybean Oil	1,000	0	0	1,000
Palm Oil	256	149	0	405

* ppm. stands for parts per million

Now my friends, you read the charts and you see the benefits of rice bran oil. It's not as expensive as walnut or avocado oils, it's even cheaper than olive oil! So the next time you are thinking of a healthy oil for cooking, think of rice bran oil. I hope this article has enlightened you and taught you something useful. Now I'm off to try out my stir fries with my rice bran oil.

Happy Mooncake Festival

Happy Mid Autumn Festival! For food lovers like me, it's usually known as Happy Mooncake Festival, where I get to sample all sorts of mooncakes. They don't come cheap and are usually used as gifts to your loved ones or friends. Mooncakes have evolved a long way since the olden times and there are more and more different varieties.

Here's a typical mooncake with a duck eggyolk in the centre. I personally don't like the yolk so I usually buy the ones without them.


Mooncakes are usually sold in very attractive boxes like one of these. Usually they come in flavours like Red Bean Paste or Lotus Paste. Lately it has evolved a lot

For example, take a look at the Starbucks version mooncake. Looks cool.

Shape is no longer an issue. Some companies make square mooncakes. Not sure if we can still call them mooncakes anymore though! The one above is actually ICE CREAM mooncake. Now that's one mooncake I'll like to sink my teeth into!


Using molds like those in the previous picture, bakers are able to create a diverse variety of mooncakes ranging in size, color, shape, and flavor.

Here's another special one called Jelly mooncake. I can't imagine what it tastes like but I would love to try it too.



This mooncake gives a new meaning to HARAMNESS. Confirm ditanggung HARAM one. LOL. Pig shape mooncakes.

With all these things about mooncakes. Sooner or later they'll be cheese mooncake, or tiramisu mooncake. Maybe savoury mooncakes where inside contains other savoury ingredients. Just like a chicken pie or quiche but wrapped in mooncake skin. The sky is the limit. Assam Laksa Mooncake? My god!

And don't think I was going to let you drool and not give you guys a chance to make your very own mooncake? Here's a recipe for Chocolate Ping Pei Mooncake! The one where you keep inside the fridge one! Give it a shot! You have to find your own mooncake mould though.

Cocoa Ping Pei Mooncake courtesy of Majorie Chiew of kuali.com

Ingredients
Skin:

600g cooked glutinous rice flour (ko fun) 1/2 litre cold, boiled water 300g shortening 800g icing sugar 15g cocoa powder Filling: 300g desiccated coconut 150g sugar 0.4 litre water 60g custard powder 60g milk powder 2 eggs 120g butter Method Making the ping pei skin: Mix icing sugar, water, cocoa powder and shortening well. Fold in ko fun. Mix well into a dough. Divide the dough into 30g portions. Set aside. Preparing the filling: Heat water and melt the sugar. Add desiccated coconut. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Mix well and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes. When cooked, set aside to cool. Mould the filling into balls of 75g each. Assembling the mooncake: Wrap a ball of filling with a portion of ping pei pastry. Roll into a ball and press into a mooncake mould. Knock it out gently and keep in the refrigerator until ready to be served. These mooncakes are best eaten about two hours after refrigeration. They keep well for up to two weeks. Makes 30

This guy could be you when you show off your culinary skills to your friends. Dazzle them with this mooncake recipe. Have fun and a HAPPY MOONCAKE FESTIVAL!