Kheer is the Indian version of the universal rice pudding.  It’s the quintessential dessert item at every Indian buffet table, and the most festive of Indian desserts.  You can dress it up with some edible silver.

Here is a super, easy low maintenance recipe for the rice pudding – slow cooker aka crock pot kheer.

Chef’s tip: It’s a bitch to clean the burnt milk and rice that accumulates at the bottom of the pot, no matter how diligent you are at stirring it. (Recipe below is for slow cooker, but if you are using a stove top, the cooking times for low heat is about 1 1/4 hours).  It would take you more time to clean the pot than to cook the kheer, so I *highly* recommend using the slow cooker.  With the latter, it pretty much is a hands-off dessert, except for an occasional stir (every 30 mins or so).  The adding of the cream makes it even richer and makes up for the lack of evaporation due to the slow cooker.  I also recommend making a big pot of it, so that you will have some in the fridge to snack on for a few days!

10 cups whole milk

1 Tablespoon ghee
1/4 cup shelled pistachio meat, roughly chopped
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons basmati rice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
A large pinch saffron

3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Splash of rose water or orange flower blossom water (optional)

1. Heat milk in a pot till steaming, stirring occasionally.
2. In a small saucepan, heat  1/2 Tbs ghee, add pistachios, and fry till fragrant, about 30 secs – 1 minute.  Set aside.
3. Wipe clean the pan, add remaining ghee, and roast the raw rice, another 30 seconds.  Transfer rice to a slow cooker.
4. Add hot milk and cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally so that the rice and milk do not stick to the bottom of the pot.  Do not scrape the bottom of the pot so that none of the burnt parts will get stirred into the pudding.
5.  Add salt, cardamon, saffron and continue cooking till pudding is thick – about 2 more hours, leaving the pot cover slightly ajar.
6. Add sugar and cream and stir to combine.
7. Splash on rose or orange water.  Serve hot or chilled, topped with the pistachios.

Makes 12 cups.

Tags: Dessert, Indian, rice pudding.

A really light noodle dish that is full of flavor- nutty sesame and peanut butter, and hot Sichuan chili cooled down by the cucumber and cold noodles.  You can make your own noodles or substitute with store bought egg noodles or even spaghetti.  And if you really want to do this in under 30 minutes, use store bought rotiserrie chicken.

Chef’s tip: Mung bean starch is easily available in Korean grocery stores.

Noodles:

4 cups + 2 Tablespoons water
¾ cup mung bean starch

Meat and marinade:
2 chicken breast, bone-in, skin-on
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon ginger juice
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon canola oil

Sauce:
3 Tablespoons tahini + 3 Tablespoons water (more if tahini is thick)
1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Chinkiang or black Chinese vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground roasted Sichuan peppercorn or Sichuan peppercorn oil
1 teaspoon ginger, grated fine
1 clove garlic, grated fine
1 Tablespoon Asian chili oil
1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 stalk green onions, green parts only, julienned into 1 inch strips
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 teaspoon Asian chili oil
½ teaspoon sesame oil

Preparing the noodle
1.   Mix starch with 1 ½ cups of water till starch is fully dissolved.  Mix in remaining water.
2. Bring to boil, stirring constantly till the mixture thickens.  It’s easiest to stir from the center out. Stir until the mixture is clear and translucent.  About 4 minutes total.  Immediately pour mixture into a wet, glass or ceramic dish, about 9X12 inch, making a thin 3/8 inch layer.
3. Leave to cool for 45 minutes in the fridge or 2 hours at room temperature.
4.  When set, cut noodles into thin ¼ inch strips

Preparing the chicken
5.     Preheat oven 350F.  Mix chicken marinade ingredients together.  Place chicken breast on a baking sheet, rub skin with marinade.  Roast for 35-40 minutes until chicken is just cooked (190F).
6.  Remove the meat from the bones, discard skin and shred the chicken.

Preparing the sauce
7.   Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Preparing the garnish:
8.   Cut the green onions into 1 ½ inch section, then sliced lengthwise into thin shreds.  Put into cold water and drain well and pat dry before use.

9.   Pan-fry the sesame seeds (without any oil) under medium heat till golden brown.

Assembly:

10.  In a bowl, place a heapful of noodles.  Pour sauce over the noodles and toss to coat. Place on top of noodles some shredded chicken, green onions and sesame seed.  Finish with a little chili oil and sesame oil.

Serves: 6

Tags: Chinese, noodles, Sichuanese, street foods.

One of the benefits of living in Hong Kong is the good adobo one can get from almost any home.  It’s a nice change from the Cantonese dishes.  Adobo is such a simple dish yet so flavorful.  I have been making it recently for my 18 month olds — the vinegar lends a lot of flavor, so I can reduce the salt amount.  The chicken is falling off the bone tender.  It’s even better the next day.

Chef’s tip:  Use the dark meat of the chicken.  It holds better.  If you refrigerate it overnight, the fat separates.  You cna just scoop off the fat the next day and it would be a really low fat dish!

2 lbs chicken thighs, legs or wings, trimmed
1 lb pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes (omit if you would like)
1/2 cup white balsamic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
5 bay leaves

1. Place all ingredients in a glass bowl and marinade overnight
2. Transfer to a pot and bring to boil.  Simmer on low for 1.5 hours or until chicken and pork are tender and sauce has thickened

Serves: 4

Tags: Comfort foods, Filipino.