Houston 2018 Taiwan Festival (Taiwan Yes)

中文版：

休斯顿台湾夜市(Taiwan Festival 2018)

Last weekend, there was a Taiwan festival held in Taiwanese Community Center in Houston.  We are not from Taiwan, but we love Taiwan style food. 

It was cloudy, not too hot nor coo, perfect day for hanging out with friends. 

We purchased the tickets first which were sold in group of ten, and then bought food, drinks and entertainment with tickets.

I was really surprised by so many people gathering here.  I didn’t realize there was such a large group of Taiwanese in Houston area.

There is a really long line in front oyster omelets stand.  We were standing in line for 10 minutes until I finally got a look at what it was like... I decided to switch to sausage stand.  

Sausages were really good.  They were savory, sweet, crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside.  It is totally different from Texas style sausage.  If you never had one before, give it a try.  You might fall in love with it, like I do.  O(∩_∩)O~

Taro and sweet potato balls on shaved ice

Besides taro and sweet potato balls, there were black jelly, red beans and sweetened condensed milk. 

Got to get a bit of everything in a bite O(∩_∩)O~

e were standing in line for popcorn chicken and egg waffle.  They were both typical Taiwan food.

Popcorn chicken was hot, very crunch and crispy on the outside but still juicy on the inside.  Fried basil was a really nice touch.

Egg waffle was made to order

Batter was poured

Filling was added.  I picked chocolate.  The other two options were original and Oreo.

Trimmed the edge

Egg waffles needed to be cooled on the rack after they were done for crunchy shells.

Slightly crispy and crunchy on the outside, soft and runny chocolate on the inside.  It was one of the best egg waffles I have ever had, even better than the ones we had in Toronto Chinatown which was famous for its authentic Chinese food.

What a shame Taiwan festival is only held once a year.  I sincerely hope it happens once every week! O(∩_∩)O~

Coffee Cream Filling for Macarons

中文菜谱：马卡龙咖啡馅

I think this coffee cream filling for macarons is one of best fillings I have ever made so far O(∩_∩)O~

I replace 10g almond flour with super fine freshly ground coffee.  Instant French roast coffee and coffee rum are added to the filling for an enhanced coffee flavor.  Turns out to be so amazing!  The real trick here is to use real good dark chocolate.  It makes huge difference!

Ingredients：

1/4 cup dark chocolate (I use 90% cocoa.  Any dark chocolate between 60% to 100% should work just fine)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons instant French roast coffee
1 tablespoon rum and coffee liqueur

Directions：

Add dark chocolate, heavy cream and instant coffee to a small ceramic bowl.

Melt the chocolate, heavy cream and instant coffee in a double boiler.  Whisk occasionally for smooth texture.

Add coffee rum.  Remove from heat.  Set it aside to chill.

When the coffee cream cools down, this is what it’s going to look like, with a smooth and silky texture.

Meanwhile, I bake some coffee marcarons.

When macarons cool down to room temperature, remove them from silicone mat.  Add 1 to 2 teaspoons coffee cream filling between every two macaron shells.

Store in air-tight container and refrigerate overnight.  By doing so, macarons and their fillings will combine better and their flavors will be maximized. 

Of course, you can always enjoy them anytime you want without the waiting.  They go very well with a cup of coffee or tea O(∩_∩)O~

Apricot Filling for Macarons

中文菜谱：马卡龙甜杏酱

I have been baking a lot of macarons lately.  What a sweet obsession! O(∩_∩)O~ 

Different fillings bring different textures and flavors to macarons.  And I have been experimenting all sorts of different fillings.  Because macaron cookies are very sweet, I like macaron fillings to be moist, not too dry nor wet; mild, not too sweet nor greasy.   After lemon custard, I make apricot filling which is also very tasty and refreshing.

Ingredients：

1 cup of dried apricots
1 1/4 to 1 3/4 cups of water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons pectin

Directions：

Add dried apricots and water to vitamix.  Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.

Add apricot puree to a small sauce pan, along with butter.  Cook over medium low heat.  Stir constantly with a wooden spoon.

Add lemon juice and pectin.  Keep cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens up to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Remove from heat and allow it to cool down.

After the sauce is cooled down, spoon a couple teaspoons of filling between every two macaron cookies.

Cover with plastic wrap or store in an air-tight container.  Refrigerate overnight to maximize their texture and flavors.

Lemon Custard for Macarons

中文菜谱： 马卡龙柠檬酱夹馅

I haven’t baked macarons for a long time, mostly because they are just too sweet for my personal taste.  I bought some fresh cute yellow lemons on my last trip to grocery store.  They are perfect for making lemon custard. 

Normally lemon custard requires a large amount of butter, which intimidates me a bit.  So I experiment in my kitchen several times until I create this wonderful lemon custard recipe.  It is sour and sweet, more sourness than sweetness of course, which neutralizes the overwhelming sweetness from macaron shells.  The balance between lemon acidity and sugar is very fascinating.  I think I going to stick to lemon filling macarons for a while.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

2 fresh lemons
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon gelatin powder
1 tablespoon butter
2 to 3 tablespoons water

Directions：

Rinse the lemons, and pat dry with kitchen towel.

Use a grater or vegetable peeler to get as much yellow lemon zest as possible. 

Cut each lemon into halves.  Juice each piece with a citrus juicer

2 lemons yield about 1/3 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice.

Light beat the egg yolks with a whisk

Fill a small bowl with water.  Sprinkle gelatin powder on top. 

Add lemon zest, butter, sugar and lemon juice to a medium sauce pan

Cook over medium low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves.

Slowly add lemon mixture to the egg yolks while whisking.

Transfer lemon sauce back to the sauce pan.  Add gelatin mixture.

Cook over medium low heat and keep stirring.

Lemon custard sauce will thicken.  When it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove from heat.

After lemon custard cools down, it can be used as filling between macaron cookies. 

The extra lemon custard sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.  Microwave it for a few seconds and stir before using again.

Natural Colorful Dumplings with Pork and Garlic Chive Filling

 中文菜谱： 天然彩色韭菜饺子

Garlic chive is a vegetable that is popular across Asia.  We use it in stir fries, soups, dumplings and various dim sums.  Surprisingly it never became popular in United States and never made their way to American grocery stores.  For those who are interested, there are two ways to get garlic chives.  You can either grow them yourself, or just drive to the nearest Asian grocery store.   Sometimes garlic chive is sold at local farmer market too.

Garlic chive tastes a lot like leek, but with a milder, more delicate grassy and earthy flavor.  The best season for garlic chive is spring.  After a long cold winter, garlic chive sprouts earlier than most vegetables.  Chinese people consider garlic chive to be a messenger of spring.  When summer comes, its flavor gets stronger and become less popular.

My favorite way to enjoy garlic chives is dumplings. 

All that beautiful colors come from vegetable purees, very natural and healthy.

Ingredients for dumpling wraps：

8 cups bread flour
spinach puree
beet puree
carrot puree
4 to 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
water

Add vegetable purees along with bread flour, salt, oil and water to three different mixing bowls.  Knead with hand until you have three smooth and elastic balls of dough.

Ingredients for pork and garlic chive filling:

2 pounds pork belly, grounded
4 eggs, lightly whisked
1 bunch garlic chives (weigh about 1 to 1.5 pounds)
2 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons rice cooking wine
2  to 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon white ground pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
water/ chicken stock
salt to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions：

Heat a light weight cast iron wok over high heat.  Add 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.  Add eggs and gently scramble.  Remove from heat when done.

Add grinded pork along with soy sauce, rice cooking wine, oyster sauce, ground ginger, ground white pepper, and sugar to a large mixing bowl.  Whisk with a pair of chopsticks clockwise for several minutes.  Add some water/ chicken stock while whisking.

When pork mixture becomes sticky, add scrambled eggs.  Whisk until everything is well combined.

Rinse fresh garlic chives under running water and drain.

With a kitchen knife, finely chop the garlic chives.

Add to pork filling.  Drizzle a couple tablespoons vegetable oil on top. 

Whisk until everything well combined again.

The last step is to add salt to taste.

Use a large rolling pin to roll the dough into large flat pieces.  And then feed the dough through a stand mixer roller separately.

Gently lay down a layer of green dough on countertop.  Put a layer of yellow dough on top.

Add a layer of red one

Another layer of yellow one

Roll as tightly as possible

With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 1/4 inch thick pieces.

Look at that pretty pattern!

With a small rolling pin, roll each piece into thin flat dumpling wrappers.

Add about 2 tablespoons pork and garlic chive filling

Wrap it up

Dumplings line up on lightly dusted wooden boards

Add dumplings to a large pot of boiling water.

When the water boils again, add a cup of cold water. 

Repeat the process twice. 

Dipping sauce is made from soy sauce, vinegar, chili pepper sauce and a little bit of sugar.

Tasty O(∩_∩)O~

Freeze any extra dumplings and seal in a Ziploc bag.  They can be stored in freezer for up to 3 months.

I steam some dumplings later.  They are both pretty and tasty too.