Tag: gluten-free
Plantain and Corn Soup
Plantain and Corn Soup
This is a simple Cameroonian soup with plantains, corn, and tomatoes. The serrano chili gives it a little heat while still remaining balanced in flavors and texture. Many dishes from Cameroon are French influenced from colonialism; this being one of them with the addition of tarragon, which is exclusively used in French cuisine. This soup is ready in 25 minutes, vegan, and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 plantains peeled and cubed
- 1 tomato diced
- 1 can corn drained
- 1 small serrano thinly sliced
- 4 cups water
- 1 maggi bouillon cube
- 1 tsp tarragon
- salt and pepper to taste
- nutmeg freshly grated
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Add in the plantains, tomato, serrano, and corn. Sauté for 5 more minutes.
- Pour in the water, maggi cube, and tarragon.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Chive Cakes
Chive Cakes
Chive cakes are a popular appetizer found on many Thai menus and can usually be purchased frozen; but making them from scratch at home is light years better. There’s a lot of steps in making the chive cakes; all fairly simple. You can find Chinese chives, aka garlic chives, along with rice, glutinous rice, and tapioca flours at every Asian market. The chives are sautéed, then mixed in with the gluten-free batter. The batter is then poured into a springform pan and steamed. There are two really important steps that can’t be skipped in this process. You have to cover the springform pan inside the steamer with a towel. If you don’t, the steamer condensation will ruin the consistency of the batter. The other step is that the chive cake has to completely cool before you cut it into triangles. The chive cakes will only get crispy if you pan fry them while cooled. When ready to pan fry, heat up some cooking oil on a griddle. Cook them for 5 minutes a side until they are crispy. The chive cakes are served with a dipping sauce that is sweet soy based. These chive cakes are garlicky, crispy, and chewy on the inside, making this appetizer a go to for me.
Equipment
- steamer
- 8” springform pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb Chinese chives chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil plus more for frying
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/4 cup glutinous rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
Dipping Sauce
- 1/4 cup kecap manis
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 2 Thai red chilies thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat up 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic for 1 minute.
- Add in the chives. Season with 1/2 tsp of salt.
- Sauté for 5 minutes. Let cool.
- Mix together the 3 flours, 1 tsp of salt, and warm water to form a batter.
- Stir in the chives.
- Grease an 8” springform pan. Pour in the batter.
- Place the springform pan in a steamer with 1” of water. Place a towel over the springform pan so condensation doesn’t collect on the chive cake. Cover and steam for 30 minutes.
- Let the chive cake cool completely. Cut into 8 pieces.
- Heat up 3 tbsp of cooking oil on a griddle or in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the chive cakes to the pan, making sure that none of the pieces are touching.
- Cook for 5 minutes a side until the chive cakes are crispy.
- While the chive cakes are cooking, heat up all of the dipping sauce ingredients in a small pan until the sugar dissolves; about 2 minutes.
Num Poum (Cambodian Coconut Waffles)
Num Poum (Cambodian Coconut Waffles)
Num poum are Cambodian-style coconut waffles. They are a popular street food eaten as a dessert (even though I still ate them for breakfast). The waffles are sweet enough from the palm sugar, coconut milk and cream, that they aren’t eaten with syrup. The rice flour gives the waffles a crispy outside and a chewy inside.
Equipment
- waffle iron
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1/4 cup grated coconut
- 3 tbsp palm sugar grated
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix together all of the ingredients.
- Preheat your waffle iron. Pour about a cup of the batter into the iron.
- Close and flip. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Flip and cook for another 4 minutes.
