Hoa Thủy Tiên literally translates to "Water Angel/Fairy Flower". It's, or shall I say "her" botanical name is narcissus tazetta and they're a variety of narcissus (daffodil, paper whites, etc...). The bulbs are forced in water to set off graceful flowers for Tết - Chinese/Vietnamese/Lunar New Year. Thus, the name "Water Angel/Fairy".

Angel or Fairy? In Vietnamese, Tiên is a mythical being from the heavens who is beautiful and graceful while possessing supernatural powers. Although Tiên can be either male or female....it usually implies female. For example, Chị Hằng Nga of the mid-autumn festival. Angel for fairy? I'll let you decide.

There are 2 ways to force these bulbs into blooming. One is to simply stick the bulbs in a container filled with water, change the water every few days and in about 6 weeks you'll see angels. The second method is more traditional and complicated. The bulbs are "carved" to expose the flower buds and then placed in water. As the leaves and stems grow, they too are carved to manipulate them into their graceful shapes. With this method, the bulbs should bloom in 20 days (+/-). As with all plants temperature plays an important role, if the temp is too warm, then they'll bloom earlier and vice versa. You can somewhat control how fast they bloom by controlling the temperature of the water. It is desirable to have the flowers bloom exactly at midnight on the eve of the New Year….so plan accordingly.

Vietnamese 101....

Bánh = pastry
Gai = thorn
Đuông = a type of worm, found in the heart of coconut and palm trees

Thus gives us the name for these cookies.

They are somewhat related to "Dragon Cookies" which are found in other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia during Chinese New Year. The Vietnamese version is a bit more complicated in ingredients.  In this speciality, traditional Southeast Asian ingredients such as tapioca starch and coconut milk are paired with French influences of butter and condensed milk.....goes to show the east meets west concept is not just a fad it's..., well....it's history and tradition.  The texture and method for making the cookies very much resemble Les sablés pouchés (piped shortbread cookies).  The worm shape is strictly Vietnamese.

Ingredients:
-100g all purpose flour
-100g tapioca starh
-80g sugar
-25g coconut milk
-1 1/2 tbs condensed milk
-20g butter, melted
-2 egg yolks
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp lemon extract 


What to Do:
Sift together flours and baking soda.  Whisk together sugar, coconut milk, condensed milk , butter, egg yolks and extract.  Add the flour mixture to the mix of wet ingredients.  Mix to form a slightly sticky dough.

To Make Bánh Gai:
Fit a star tip into a piping bag and fill with cookie dough.  Pipe the dough onto a baking sheet.  Traditionally, these cookies are made with the aid of a specially created mold.  The mold works like a cookie gun. However, if you live outside of Vietnam or Asia...chances are pretty slim that you'll be able to get your hands on one... The pastry bag works just as great.

To Make Bánh Đuông:
Add 1 tbs tapioca starch to the above dough (the dough should be firmer).  Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll them between the palms of your hand to turn them into worms.  Use a clean comb to give the worms the signature indentation. 

Bake the cookies at 350'F until golden (about 12-15 mins).

Malaysia, July 2007: I was walking around the night market in Chow Kit when I was lured by a brightly pink colored drink.  What is it?  I didn't care, all I knew was I had to have some... yes unlike most people who shy away from brightly colored food...I can't seem to get enough of them.  Excited, I walked up to the vendor, pointed to the drink and bought a glass.  It was delicious!  Refreshing and rich with notes of floral and citrus. I briefly mentioned it in my post about Malaysian street food and found out it was called Air Bandung.  A refreshing sweet milk drink flavored with rose water and tinted a rosy, pepto-bismol pink.  I played with a few recipes and discovered that addition of lemon zest will bring out the flavors of the drink more.  The trick is to not add too much...it should be there but not be there...if that makes any sense.


Ingredients:
-1 can evaporated milk
-1 can sugar (use milk can to measure, +/- depending on your taste)
-4 tbs rosewater
-pink food coloring
-zest of 1/4 of a lemon
-water, ice


What to Do:
Rub together the sugar and lemon zest, add milk and bring mixture to a boil, cool, and strain out the lemon zest.   Add pink coloring.  To serve, fill a class 1/3 full with the milk syrup, and water to fill the glass 2/3 full; finish the remaining 1/3 with crushed ice.  Give the drink a quick stir and enjoy!

Instead of making button mushroom with meringue, I made oyster mushrooms instead.
















 I tempered some chocolate and brushed it onto a sheet of parchment...waited for it to set, then peeled it off...and made the cake bark. Arf! :D

     If you're looking for the recipes they're here and here.  Have fun and Happy Holidays!

Ingredients:
-200g milk
-20g yeast
-1 egg (50g)
-600g bread flour
-7g salt
-80g sugar
-1/2 tsp cardamom
-300g butter
-250g raisins
-50g ea: candied lemon, candied orange
-150g almonds
-50g rum
-400g marzipan (divided into 4 pieces, optional)

Prep:
Scale the butter and cut it into small cubes, set aside.

Mix together raisins, candied fruit, almond and rum, set aside.

Mix together sugar, salt, flour and cardamom.

Mixing:
In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in milk, add egg. 

Add flour mixture and mix until all of the moisture is absorbed. 

Add the butter and mix until dough comes together. 

Lastly, add candied fruit/rum mixture and mix until incorporated.  The dough will be very sticky, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and rest for 1/2 hour.

Shaping:
After resting, liberally dust a work surface with flour. 

Dump the dough onto the table and dust with more flour.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces (approx 1lb each).

Shape the dough pieces into small logs.  Using a small rolling pin or the side for our hand; aim for the middle of the log, make a slight impression and slightly roll the dough dough out creating a small flap.  Add a piece of marzipan (optional) and fold the dough "flap" over to cover the marzipan.

Baking/Finishing:
Proof for another hour and bake at 350'F until golden.

Brush the cooled stollen with melted butter and dust/roll in powdered sugar. 

Allow the stollen to sit for a day or two for the flavors to mature before serving. 

What did I make for dessert on Thanksgiving?  Pumpkin cheese cake.... a cross between pumpkin pie and cheese cake paired with flavors of maple, chocolate and walnuts, what more can one ask for?

For the Crust:
-4 oz gingersnap cookies
-melted butter

*Crush the cookies, add butter and mix until mixture comes together.  Press mixture into a cheesecake pan to make the curst.

Cheese Cake:
-1lb cream cheese
-300g pumpkin puree
-200g sour cream
-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
-4 eggs
-1 tsp cornstarch
-150g sugar

*Cream the cream cheese until smooth, add eggs one at a time, then add sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cornstarch and beat until creamy.  Add pumpkin puree and sour cream.  Mix until combined.  Fill the prepared cheesecake pan with batter and bake in a water bath, covered with foil at 325'F until the center jiggles like jello.  Chill until sent (a few hours).


Maple Cream:
-2 egg yolks
-150g milk or cream
-30g maple syrup

*Heat milk in a pot.  Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and maple syrup.  Once the milk comes to a boil, gradually add the milk to the eggs (aka tempering the eggs).  Return the mixture to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the cream thickens and coats the back of a spoon.  Strain and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tulie Leaves:
Weigh the egg whites (left over from making maple cream).  Scale butter, sugar and flour, each equaling the weight of the egg whites.

*Cream butter and sugar, add butter and flour.  Mix until smooth.  Use a stiff piece of paper to create a stencil of a leaf.  Place the stencil on top of a silpat, use a small spatula to spread a thin layer of the tulie batter over the stencil.  Lift the stencil off the silpat and volia!  You have a leaf.  Bake the leaves at 350'F until slightly golden brown, give them character by shaping them while still hot.

Burshed Chocolate:
Chop chocolate into uniform pieces.  Melt them in a bain-marie over barley simmering water, stirring constantly until the chocolate is melted but still contains a few small chunks.  Remove from heat and continue stirring until all of the chocolate has melted.  Using a pastry brush, brush the chocolate onto a piece of parchment paper.  Place chocolate in a cool place to set.  Once set, gently peel the parchment off the chocolate.  Use chocolate as a garnish.


Glazed Walnuts:
-sugar
-walnuts
-toothpicks or bamboo skewers

*Skewer walnuts onto toothpicks or bamboo skewers.  Place sugar in a pot with a little water (just enough to wet the sugar).  Bring the mixture to a boil, and continue to cook until the sugar begins to turn amber in color. Remove from heat and allow the sugar to cool slightly.  Dip the walnut pieces into the sugar, pull the pieces stright up out of the sugar; the sugar should "thread" as it's being pulled from the pot.  If not, the sugar is too hot, wait a few minutes and try again.

It's been raining in Seattle, pretty much nonstop for the last 2 weeks (no surprise there) and I ran out of rainy day projects. Desperate to kill time I dug into my collection of cookbooks and found this recipe for Bánh Bò Khoai Tím (Purple Sweet Potato Rice Cakes). This recipe comes from a cookbook by Gia Chánh Hoa Hường, published in the early 70s. The cookbook belonged to my aunt and was passed down to me when she moved to California to be closer to her kids. Like all traditional recipes for Bánh Bò, the leavening comes from Cơm Rượu (fermented rice). If you don't have the time or patience the fermented rice starter...I guess you can replace it with some yeast and see how it goes....as always Play with Your Food!


Translated from the original recipe above:

Ingredients:
-150g purple sweet potatoes
-350g sugar
-300g rice flour
-3 tbs Cơm Rượu
-pinch of alum
-180ml water from boiling the potatoes
-2 egg whites

Method:
Peel potatoes and measure out 150g. Cut potato into cubes and boil with a pinch of alum until potatoes are tender. Weigh the potato mixture and adjust to the liquid amount to get 330g (150g potato + 180g potato water = 330g). Mix together potato mixture, fermented rice and rice flour until a smooth dough is achieved. Proof overnight.

Beat egg whites and sugar to stiff peaks, add the fermented dough and continue to achieve a homogenous mixture. Proof until batter doubles in volume. Steam in porcelain tea cups over high heat for 12 mins.

About a year ago...actually more then a year ago while I was still in school, I was required to write a response paper to the documentary Craft in America. The topic was to discuss how does Memory, Landscape and Community (themes discussed in the documentary) affect the baker and/or the craft and art of baking?

A few of my thoughts for your reading pleasure....:D

The present is a result of past memories. Our memories play lead on the stage of life and in the world of crafting and baking. Memory is a broad term that has both philosophical and practical importance to anyone who aspires to go above and beyond in what they do. Philosophically speaking, you can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you came from. Knowing where you came from involves knowledge of your culture, heritage, and traditions and using them for ideas and inspiration for your work. Only when you understand who you are in terms of what came before you and consciously incorporate these ideas, stories, and struggles into your art does your art become yours. I define art as something that only happens once and captivating art as something that reflects it’s creator in a unique way. As a baker, you can follow a recipe exactly and come up with a decent product, but unless you put your flare into it, your product certainly won’t standout in anyway.

On the practical side, memory is an aspect of knowledge. Knowledge builds confidence, and confidence builds decisiveness. Confidence and decisiveness is your rock so you can be more creative. About 3 summers ago I was learning traditional tailoring from a local dressmaker that had been practicing her craft for 50+ years; since the age 14. She made me memorize all of the formulas for pattern drafting from traditional one piece shirts to 3 piece raglan sleeves with shoulder and elbow darts. Her reason was once you know the rules; you can break them and thus be more creative. Since the technical aspects are already embedded within you, you can concentrate more on making your work unique by giving it a “soul”. The best part is no matter how crazy your design turns out to be it will work out technically because by memorizing the formulas, you’ll naturally incorporate them into your designs as you come up with them. Baking is similar to tailoring because it’s a science as much as it is an art. As a baker, memory is what sets you apart. Having knowledge of recipes and techniques empowers you to add artistic value to an otherwise science project.

Landscape influences our work the same way memory does as it is an endless source of inspiration consisting of vivid colors, unique shapes, intriguing patterns and compelling textures that captivates our senses, giving our work a touch of individuality. Everyone is affected by their surrounds in one way or another. The landscape that surrounds us defines a part of who we are as a nation, a state, a city, a community and as an individual. As a baker, whether you surrender your inspiration to the landscape or capture and tame it into your creations via color, shape, patterns or texture it will speak volumes to your audience about where you came from, and where you’re going.

Landscape and community go hand in hand in defining who you are as an individual. Landscape reflects where you came from and where you’re going while community reflects who you are and what you’ll become. Community embraces the past and fosters the future. Craft forms are passed from generation to generation in the spirit of community and commonality. All craft artists work within a tradition. However, every generation seeks to push the boundaries and change the art form in his or her own way. It takes a village to raise a child; it takes a community to nurture a craft. Community is the foundation of knowledge and inspiration. Like all crafts, baking is nothing new. It’s a craft that’s been and will be passed down from one generation to another with the aid of community. Community acts as a time machine granting us access to the pass, present, and future; endowing us the opportunity to intensely understand, appreciate and develop our craft as a baker.

Memory, landscape and community are vital in any craft. It’s what sets apart baking as an art. They’re not literal topics that can be taught and must be acquired through passion. Memory awakens your senses and works with your surrounding landscape to develop your flare. Community brings it all together, boils it down and distributes the luscious drug known as baking that we’re all so passionately addicted too.

Ingredients:
-200g mung beans (dried, peel and split)
-150-200g sugar
-1 tbs koh fun
-2-3 tbs oil
-1/2 tsp vanilla, pomelo or mali flower water

What to Do:
Rinse and soak beans for at least a few hours, until they're nice and plump. Drain the beans and steam until tender. Mash the beans and mix with sugar. Simmer the beans over medium heat while stirring constantly for about 20 mins. Meanwhile mix together koh fun and oil. After about 20 mins, add the flour mixture and mix well. Continue to cook for another 10 mins. Add vanilla, and pomelo flower water. Cool until beans are cool enough to handle and press into a mold (if you don't own a traditional mould...use your imagination....*hint hint* chocolate molds *hint hint*.