No more mushy quinoa – fluffy quinoa

No more soggy quinoa

It took me a long time to find the perfect ratio of water and quinoa to come to this. Which means there were many soggy meals before. But without those failures, I would never have known the nature of the grain.

It was an experiment that was not in vain.

Feel free to add any herbs as long as the water and quinoa are kept to  1:1

For 2 very hungry people.

Ingredients:

1 full cup quinoa, rinsed many times and drained

1 cup water

3 cups mini tomato halves

1 Tbsp salted butter

Method :

Combine all the ingredients except the butter.

Bring to a boil.

Cover the pot.

Reduce the heat to medium.

Cook for another 20 minutes.

Leave covered for an additional 10 minutes.

Stir in butter.

Serve immediately.

Basic Cooked Millet 小米飯

Millet, another gluten-free option

Millet in the raw form looks like fat couscous

I was first introduced to millet when I was working in Kaoshiung many years ago. Millet eaten as a staple, does not have the starchiness of rice and is often served as porridge along side gyoza and other Shanghainese street food.

Millet is a forgiving grain for novice cooks, as long as the water to grain ratio is observed. It could be served as porridge, fluffed grains , as a pudding or even condiment with meat.  Because its appearance and texture is similar to couscous , I use it pretty much the same way as couscous whenever grains are called for in the recipe.

For a decent serving of fluffy millet, I use 1 part millet ( raw ) to 3 parts water. 

Ingredients :

1 C millet

3 Cups water

2 T butter

Method :

To cook millet, use 3 cups of water for every cup of millet. Here’s how:

Heat a deep pot without oil.

Pour the millet in the pot and swirl to toast the grains, about 3-5 minutes.

Pour the water over the toasted millet and bring the contents to a boil.

When the water boils, turn the heat to medium low and cover to cook, 15 minutes.

Leave the cover on for an added 10-15 minutes.

Stir 2 T of softened butter.

Serve immediately.

Millet, unlike rice, does not keep well. Cook just enough and consume it on the same day.

Fried polenta triangles

If my mum were to see this, she would ask why I am fighting over food with the chicken. After all, polenta is chicken-feed in my kampong days.

Polenta does not keep well and has a rather short shell life. Other than making corn bread, this is the best way to use LOTS of it. Which is not a bad idea, because the fried version is also an interesting substitute for toast or even pizza base.

1.5 litres water

1 tablespoon salt

 300 g fine ground cornmeal / polenta

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups of bread crumbs

Oil for frying

Bring water to a boil. Add salt.

In a steady stream, rain down the cornmeal and stir constantly.

Reduce the heat to the lowest possible and cook for 40 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid the cornmeal from burning.

Oil a baking tray. Pour cooked polenta onto the tray and let cool until the polenta is firm and set. Chilling will speed up the process.

Cut set polenta to triangles.

Dip in egg and then bread crumbs.

Fry until crispy.

Serve with pesto sauce and meat stew. Alternatively make into 2 halves and sandwich with your favorite ingredients.

Fried polenta

The world is going through a food crisis as of now, what with the drought in Russia and flood in Pakistan, China and everywhere else. As I review these somber news, it seems catastrophes are great equalizer of man. Food distribution gets diluted and the days of plenty will be under siege.

Polenta is corn meal, the stuff chickens feed on. And when chickens are not eating the food, the biofuel hungry cars are.

Better to eat all I wish to this life time, polenta, rye and all the fancy grains before I could drive with them but have to go in circles looking to eat the same thing.

Much ado about nothing? Yes and no. I do a little reflection in my little kitchen once a while. Yes, even an experimental cook has to think sometimes.

Anyway, back to polenta cubes. Somewhere in the lists of recipe is a polenta dish but nothing fried. I am thinking of 'chye tow guay' or Singaporean radish cake, the crispy version. This is the western version, by some celebrity cook I can't remember but parmesan cheese in polenta sounds mouthwatering enough for me to endure the 30 minutes or so of stirring. Fried after the polenta has congealed nicely overnight in a dish, it is the new potato chips.

Next time I do this, I'll ditch the frying, olive oil or not. Simply too much work. Just drizzle a baking dish, place the polenta cubes, drizzle some more ( do it like J Oliver ) and bake in the oven until crispy. Healthier a wee bit but definitely a less tiring cleaning up in the kitchen later.

For a family of 3.

1 cup cornmeal
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 T sweet corn
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Oil a square pan

Bring water, salt to a rolling boil
Pour corn meal in a steady stream into the water ,stirring constantly
Bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low.
Stir periodically for about 30 minutes.
Stir in sweet corn, cheese.
Remove from stove.

Transfer polenta from pot to pan
Cool. Fridge overnight.

The next day ….

Carefully remove polenta from pan. Cut to squares.
Fry on oiled pan until surfaces are crispy.

Serve with sausage and tomato sauce with leafy salad.

Pumpkin risotto

This dish is not as common in Singapore, probably because orzo is not easily available.

In this recipe, brown rice is used as a substitute for orzo and the use of a cooker eliminates the need for continuous stirring. The pumpkin also gives a silky and creamy feel to the rice dish. For richness, add a handful of parmesan cheese and stir in before serving.

For 2.

1 cup brown rice
1/4 pumpkin, deseeded, skin in
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 handful pine nuts, roasted
1 teaspoon sea salt

Prepare 1/4 pumpkin and remove its seeds. Cook on high in the microwave for 10 minutes. Leave it to cool and remove the flesh. Mash the pumpkin and set aside.

Cook 1 cup of brown rice with the pumpkin in a rice cooker with 4 cups of water. When the rice is ready, stir in 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of thick sour cream and 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and some more Parmesan cheese.

Serve hot with grilled sausages or meat balls.

Polenta baked with cheese

Polenta, or corn meal, is a staple in the northern part of Italy. Originally a peasant food, it is now elevated to posh health food status probably because of its extremely low caloric content ( 1 cup of polenta has only 145 calories )

Polenta is a versatile grain as it sets in a cake-like manner allowing culinary innovation. It can be steamed, fried or baked. As such, besides being served as a main course, it can also be presented as a snack or bread.

Derived from yellow corn, similar versions are called grits in the USA and mealie pap in South Africa. Corn by itself is devoid of protein, and prolonged consumption causes a malnutrition induced ailment called pellagra. This was predominant in poor communities whose main staple is polenta or its derivative. Various methods of processing is employed in present day processes to overcome this deficiency. However pellagra is still a scourge in communities experiencing extreme poverty.

Enough of the serious stuff. My concoction with the cheeses involved and beans as a side dish will stave the monster a million miles away. My mantra is simple : Do everything in moderation. With variety and variation, diet induced deficiencies in the developed world should never have to happen at all.

For 3.


Polenta :
1 tsp salt
1 cup polenta
30g butter

Sauce
2 T olive oil
400g tomatoes
2 cloves garlic. sliced
1 pinch dried rosemary

1 cup pizza cheese
4 T thick sour cream
4 thick slices emmental cheese
2 T blue cheese

Boil 3 cups of water. Pour polenta in a steady stream and whisk for 30 sec until thicken. Add salt and butter. Set heat to low to simmer. Cook for 25 minutes and continue whisking polenta every couple of minutes. Transfer to cool on an oiled baking tray.

Fry garlic and rosemary in medium heat, taking care not to burn it. Pour tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until it becomes a thick sauce.

Remove cooled polenta cake from tray. Using a long knife, slice the polenta , making 2 thin sheets. Return the lower half back to the tray, sprinkle mozzarella cheese, emmental , cream and dot with blue cheese. Cover the cheese spread with the top half of the polenta.

Ladle sauce over. Grate parmesan or pecorino cheese. Bake at 180C for 30 minutes.

Serve with beans, some green salad and baked fish.