Madeleines

They reminded me of a submarine when I was small :P

Madeleines, are small vanilla flavored French cakes. They are very easy to make and very tasty. The shape of these small cakes are very crucial to their identification. They look a little bit like sea shells. The mold you should use for this recipe resemble like this:

One important thing for this recipe is to have the appropriate mould. I’m sure you could make them in a non madeleine shaped one but I feel like it would lose something and they wouldn't be madeleines anymore :P Up to you to try though! 

My mum used to make them for me as an afternoon snack for when I came back from school. I remember drowning them into my chocolate milk until no more bubbles would appear on the surface (yes I was an evil child). 
They are simple to make (20min preparation and cooking time) and delicious to eat so I decided I would try making them myself with my mama’s recipe.

Here is my mum's recipe! :)

Ingredients for 8 madeleines:

•          1 egg
•          40 g sugar
•          60 g flour
•          30 g of butter
•          1 pinch of salt
•          1 pinch of baking powder
•           Few drops of vanilla extract

 Preparation:

1. Preheat the over at 200-210 degrees
2. Beat the egg with the sugar
3. Add a pinch of salt and a few drops of vanilla extract
4. Add flour and mix
5. Add the melted butter and mix until you get a homogenous paste
6. Fill the moulds and immediately bake it in the oven for 10 min!

What my mum told me to do is use the back the spoon to make sure that the mixture is filling the molds so you get a nice madeleine shape J  

Make sure your little madeleines tan a lot and become golden brown! The first time I made them I didn't bake them enough and they looked rather pale and unhealthy :( 

Personally, I think the madeleines are best when they are fresh out of the oven. The smell of warm madeleines is just amazing and they feel extra soft! *drool*

フワフワ！so sooooft!

I used salted butter when I made them the first time and you could feel bits of salt in them. In case you don't like the savory-sweet mix, you can use regular unsalted butter as well :)

The preparation time is so short that it is also perfect to make them when you have unexpected guests and no snacks to offer!

This is how they look like underneath! 

Recipe also available in french and spanish! :)

Recette pour environ 8 Madeleines

Ingrédients:

• 1 oeuf
• 40 gr de sucre
• 60gr de farine
• 30gr de beurre
• 1 pincée de sel
• 1 pincée de levure
• quelques gouttes de vanille

Préparation:

1. Préchauffer le four a 200-210C.
2. Battre l’oeuf avec le sucre
3. Ajouter le sel et les goutes de vanille
4. Verser la farine et mélanger
5. Ajouter le beurre ramolli
6. Remplir les moules et faire cuire immédiatement pendant 10 min

A déguster tiède ;)

Receta para 8 madeleines:

Ingredientes:

• 1 huevo
• 40 g de azúcar
• 60g de harina
• 30g de manteca
• sal
• algunas gotas de vainilla

Preparación:

1. Calentar el horno a 200-210 grados
2. Mezclar el huevo con el azúcar
3. Agregar la sal y la vainilla
4. Agregar la harina y mezclar bien hasta obtener una mezcla homogénea
5. Agregar la manteca ablandada
6. Llenar los moldes y meterlos en el horno inmediatamente durante 10 minutos.

Para que tengan una linda forma de madeleines, se puede usar una cuchara para llenar el molde.

A disfrutar cuando todavía están calentitos y/o con un vaso de leche!

Maapo Tofu

Maapo tofu is a chinese recipe that is also munched in Japan. The first times I ate this dish was from one of those packs where you just have to mix it water (hehe). Five years ago I made one of those packs for some Dutch friends and they said it was good but it would be even better without tofu. BLASPHEMY! Maapo tofu is essentially a tofu dish so you need/should to incorporate tofu. Of course you can skip the tofu part but it's like serving a quesadilla without cheese or a hamburger without a burger or spaghetti alle vongole without vongole… Anyways, you get my point ;)

Since Japanese food is very very expensive in Europe, I decided to make it from scratch. I looked for the recipe online and since I am rather lazy, I decided to simplify this dish. I skipped various ingredients (like fermented black beans, Sichuan peppercorns etc) that you need for a more authentic maapo tofu.

Pork Maapo Tofu

Ingredients (for approximately for 4 big nomsters):

• 3 teaspoon of chicken stock diluted into 500ml of water
• 3 teaspoon potato starch (to thicken the sauce)
• 4 teaspoon soya sauce
• 3 teaspoon sugar
• a drizzle of sesame oil
• 3 cloves of garlic or 4 teaspoon of mashed garlic
• 4 teaspoon of minced ginger
• 8 green onions (white parts and green parts)
• Doubanjiang (chili bean paste; you can easily find it in asian supermarkets)
• 400 g of minced beef (you can also use minced pork)
• 500 g of silken tofu

Preparation:

• In a bowl, mix the chicken stock, potato starch, soya sauce and sugar. 
• In a deep frying pan or a pot, add a drizzle of sesame oil and add the garlic, ginger and white parts of the spring onion on medium heat. When it's cooked add the minced meat (I made this dish with minced pork one time and I think minced beef matches the sauce better. You can also combine minced beef and pork together!). Try to make sure to break the clumps of meat with the spatula :)
• While the meat is cooking, drain the tofu and cut it into cubes (the size of the cube is up to you :))
• When the meat is cooked, add the doubanjiang. I did not put a specific amount in the recipe because I always just randomly add the paste. I just keep adding until the meat is evenly covered and becomes red-ish.
• Incorporate the tofu and toss or mix gently to cover with the sauce. Be careful not to break the tofu cubes. 
• Mix the sauce that you kept on the side one last time before adding it to the pot. When mixing, make sure again not to break the tofu!
• Let it boil and when the sauce thickens, it's ready! Serve with hot rice and sprinkle the green part of the green onion as decoration. 

Beef Maapo Tofu

Spicy but yummy!

I made this recipe in the Netherlands and London and realized that even though the doubanjiang jar I bought was from the exact same brand (but bought in different countries), one was spicier than the other! The one from the asian store in London was much spicier than the Dutch one! I was quite surprised since it was the same brand and all. In any case, the maapo tofu I made in London turned out much spicier than in Holland and everyone had a runny nose after dinner ;) So I would say the quantity for the doubanjiang is really up to how spicy you like the food and how spicy the paste actually is :)

Enjoy!

Cream Tarako Spaghetti

One of my favorite dish of all times is Tarako spaghetti (Spaghetti with spicy pollock roe sauce). I am a huge fan of this Japanese dish and it is definitely one of my comfort food.
Usually, this sauce comes in a little pack and you just need to season your pasta with butter, and the toppings which consist of nori (seaweed) and tarako (spicy cod roe).
Recently, in the Japanese food store in West London, I found a new kind of tarako sauce called cream tarako. 

Cream tarako from a pack!

As I have not been to Japan in 15 years, I don't know much about current trends there and all the new products that come out (except those that reach Europe i.e. barely any). Anyways, trying this new sauce was a total revelation to me. I never thought that fish eggs and cream could go so well. In order to understand what I mean you really need to try tarako first. Tarako is roe (fish eggs) of cod that have been salted; when I was small I always used to think it looked like a tongue (the fish eggs come in a little sack that resembled a tongue and it was red :P). It can also be spicy which is my favorite, called karashi mentaiko. I used to munch the spicy one with my parents back in Japan during their aperitif ;)

Mentaiko: top is already 'dissected' to be able to scoop the eggs and bottom is just normal :P 

As any of the already prepared sauces are very expensive in London (around 4£ for the cream tarako and normal tarako one) I decided to make it myself. Checked a few recipes online to get inspired and decided to make my own version of it. So here it is! :)

Cream Tarako Spaghetti recipe:

Ingredients for 3 people:

• 400-450 gram of spaghetti
• Butter 
• 2 teaspoon soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon lime/lemon juice 
• 3 Mentaiko (difficult ingredient to find, you have to go to a Japanese fishmonger if possible :()
• 300 ml liquid cream 
• 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise (Japanese Kyupi Mayonnaise is advised or you can skip this)
• Seaweed (seasonning)
• Wasabi (optional)

Preparation:

1. Fill in your pot with water for the pasta. 
2. While the water boils, cut the mentaiko in half and use a spoon to scoop out the eggs and place them in a little bowl. Make sure to scrape most of it! You will be left with a transparent skin like sack; throw it out, we wont need it anymore.
3. Add lime or lemon juice to the eggs in order to get the fishy smell off and mix. Do the same with soya sauce (this is to give it some extra flavour).
4. When you see the water for the pasta is boiling, throw the pasta in and time it until they are al dente. While they are cooking, prepare another large pot (big enough to contain the cooked pasta later on) and add the cream on low heat and wait until it's warm. 
5. Before the pasta is done, stir the mentaiko one last time and add it to the cream. Stir until there are no more big clumps of eggs (at this point your cream will turn pink-ish). Add a bit of Japanese mayo at this point if you want. 
6. When the pasta is drained, add in the large pot, add some butter and coat them evenly with the creamy sauce.
7. Serve on a plate and decorate it with some seaweed and wasabi (this step is optional. Personally I like the little kick it gives and cream and wasabi go great together). You can also keep some mentaiko as decoration like I did :) 

For this recipe, I decided not to cook the eggs directly in the pot because I feel like it makes them dry. In other recipes online, I saw some where the eggs are cooked in butter and then the cream is added. It is up to you but I personally like keeping the eggs a bit raw and juicy. I find it more appetizing ;) 

Overall, not a diet friendly recipe but still very delicious. Be careful not to add too much mayonnaise since it is already very creamy!

Enjoy!

Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup

Two years ago, I discovered Reese's peanut butter cup via an American exchange student and it was definitely life changing.

Not being such a fan of peanut butter to begin with I was a little reluctant to try them at first but now I must say I am definitely HOOKED. 

Couple of months ago I heard of the existence of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream and definitely had to try it. Luckily, American products are becoming more readily available in London compared to 4 years ago and it was easily found in local super market. 

Verdict: 

This ice cream is now one of my favorite at the moment. Compared to other Ben & Jerry's ice creams (for example Chocolate Fudge Brownie which I love but is too sweet for me) is that this one is not too sweet. It tastes like peanut butter but not too much (not being such a peanut butter fan, I found this perfect) and does not give you a heavy feeling afterwards.

Entire piece, YEY!

You can find pieces of the cups which is absolutely delicious (if you eat this ice cream you will fight with your family members or friends to get the cups :P). They are usually broken into halves but I was lucky to find have an entire one in my bowl! ;)

Overall, as a Nomster I would really recommend this ice cream despite the high calories :P

nom nom nom