sweet fermented rice pancakes

i’m making pak thong kuih – a lacto-fermented rice dessert.

for the first two parts of the recipe, some of the “starter” is removed. what to do with all that extra yeasty sweet rice?

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super fast and easy sweet and sour fermented rice pancakes

from goop to plate in less than ten minutes.

ingredients

+ a fistful of yeasty sweet rice leftover from fermenting pak thong kuih (or substitute leftover cooked plain rice – maybe with a little lime juice? i’ll have to try that.)
+ a fistful of mashed sweet potato
+ two pinches of coconut powder
+ one pinch of corn starch
+ one egg (increase corn starch for a vegan version)
+ a pinch each of fennel, cayenne, seasoned salt, coriander, and two pinches of ginger and black pepper
+ a tablespoon or so of date syrup

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fry on medium heat like any pancake or burger.

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serve with applesauce

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i invented this recipe tonight, and i couldn’t be happier with it! hopefully the honeycomb dessert is good so i have a reason to ferment more rice, because this was a quick, easy, awesome snack!

pak thong kuih – lacto-fermented rice honeycomb dessert

you’ll have to see the pictures in the original recipe over at table for 2….. or more to see why this seems so magickal. how do single celled organisms turn rice into a honeycombed dessert? this is amazing!

i just started on this one today!!

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combine
100gm cooled, cooked rice
½ Tbsp Chinese Wine Yeast ( 甜酒饼，Ragi, sweet type) [i just used a pinch of bread yeast..]
1 tsp sugar
½ Tbsp water
Mix everything together, keep in a covered container (not air-tight!)
Leave it in a cabinet or cold room to ferment for 48 hours.

(note: started 9pm may 5. ready on monday night, may 7!)

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after 48 hours, weight out 60gms (~1/4 c) &
(use the extra to make some fermented rice pancakes!)

to that 60gm fermented rice, add
100gm (~1/2 c) rice flour
water (just to moisten)

ferment for 16-18 hours
Weigh out 80gm of this & set aside.

(started 10pm may 7, done 2pm-4pm tomorrow)

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in a separate bowl, combine 220 gm. pure rice flour, 30 gm. tapioca or other starch, and 280 gm. water

in a separate pot, boil 200 gm. castor sugar, 400 ml. water, and 3 blades of pandan leaves tied into a knot (or other flavor). pour half into the fresh water-flour-starch mixture. cool the other half before pouring it in. add the ferment and ferment again for 12ish hours.

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add a quarter teaspoon of baking soda to a teaspoon of water. take a quarter teaspoon of that mixture and add it to the ferment, along with a teaspoon of oil.

pour into a greased steaming tray and steam 15-20 mins over medium heat, or until a skewer comes out clean.

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5/13
well, i accidentally became overwhelmed by responsibilities and found myself extending the last ferment by a few days. at first, i kept up with it, pouring off the rice wine on top and adding fresh flour. then i slacked. when i finally checked it three days later, it looked hopeless. it smelled like vinegar, and a few fruit flies had somehow made it under the lid kept loose for aeration. i added rice flour and sugar and a few hunks of fresh strawberries hoping to kick-start it. after only ten minutes, the smell was already sweeter and healthier as the yeast woke up. i poured off the rice wine vinegar and fruit flies, added a little cinnamon, and invented some bizarre contraption with a loaf pan in a steamer basket in a pot with a lid on top. i completely forgot the baking soda and oil, so who knows what bizarre consistency or taste will come of this. i’ve been steaming it for a really long time (20 mins at least) and it’s still sort of gooey but tightening up around the edges.

HEY! IT’S DONE!

AND IT’S HONEYCOMBED!

it has a giant hole in the middle with a wrinkled honeycomb pattern coming from it. the pattern almost looks like a grapefruit.

taste:
distinct sourdough flavor. wild! not at ALL sweet. covering the finished product in date syrup is pretty and turns it into a dessert! the sourdough is much more complex and well-developed than i’d thought it would be after just a few days. really wonderful!

texture:
sticky, chewy, jiggly, jello-y, filled with air pockets, awesome, weird, fun!

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MAKE THIS!

orange zest rice pulav

Basmathi Rice-1 1/2 cup
Orange zest grated-1 tsp
Orange peel- 2 inch strip chopped finely
Onion- 1 medium sized sliced finely
Red Pepper-1/2 sliced finely
Peas-1 tbsp
Carrot- 1 medium sized grated
Ginger-1/2 inch grated
Cinnamon stick-1/2 inch
Cinnamon powder-1/2 tsp
Chopped almonds-1/2 tbsp
Ghee or butter-1 tbsp
Juice of 1/2 an orange
Salt as required

Method:
Wash the orange well and wipe it with a clean kitchen towl. Peel a thin strip of orange outer skin using a peeler and chop it finely, also finely grate 1 tsp of orange zest and set it aside.
Heat ghee in a pan, add cinnamon stick, grated ginger,almonds and onion, keep it in medium to low heat and fry it gently until the onion becomes transparent in colour. Now add the vegetables and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, finely add the zest and orange peel, stir well, immediately remove from heat.

Boil everything together until done.

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found here

sprouted grains

found a great how-to on grain sprouting today.

i sprout radish and clover seeds and snack on them all the time, and occasionally i’ve accidentally sprouted some beans, but i’ve never sprouted grains before. why?

sprouted grains, ground up, make sprouted flour. this post will teach you to dry and store sprouted grains to make your own flour! read it here.

chicken liver pilaf (Ic Pilav)

i see the vegans out there already wrinkling their noses. substitutions, baby! my chosen protein source for this dish will DEFINITELY be chicken livers – super cheap, crammed FULL of protein, a good use of a byproduct of our culture’s wings-and-breasts chicken obsessions (seriously, how did wings ever become so popular?) and SO DELICIOUS.

but what’s stopping you from making a delicious turkish rice pilaf with nuts and dried fruit? turn that ‘chicken liver’ into chunks of fried eggplant, extra nuts and seeds, chunks of a lentil loaf, or just skip the chunks of protein entirely and toss in some of yesterday’s bean salad or soup! pilafs are a great way to use up the four bites of yesterday’s dinner that you lost your appetite for.

ic pilav

3/4 cup rice
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
100 gr liver, chicken or lamb, cut in small pieces
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp current
1 cup hot chicken or beef broth
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:
1 tbsp dill, chopped

Melt the butter in a cooking pot. Saute the onion with butter for 2-3 minutes while stirring. Add the liver, nuts, current and saute for another 3-4 minutes. Then add rice, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper, stir. Pour hot beef broth or chicken stock in it. Cover the lid. Turn the heat down to low and cook until the rice absorbs all the water. Let the Pilaf stand for about 5 minutes. Garnish with dill, then serve.

mushroom risotto

Mushroom Risotto

1/2 cup white wine

a handful of dried mushrooms (8 to 12) (optional but flavor-enhancing)

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped fine

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms (regular button mushrooms work, too), sliced

1 cup rice — Arborio is the risotto rice of choice, but really, any rice will work

4-1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 sprig fresh rosemary, stem removed, leaves chopped fine (about 2 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Over medium heat, bring white wine to simmer in a medium saucepan. Add dried mushrooms. Turn off heat and let mushrooms infuse the wine for half an hour.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion. Reduce heat to medium and saute until onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add sliced mushrooms and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, or until mushrooms become tender. Stir occasionally.

Add the rice and stir, coating each grain with oil Keep stirring another few minutes, until rice looks luminous.

Chop the wine-infused mushrooms. Add to the rice, along with the warmed wine.

Pour the vegetable stock or water into the medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. When stock reaches simmer, reduce heat to low but keep on burner.

Meanwhile, stir the rice until it absorbs the wine.

Add warmed stock to rice a ladleful (or 1/2 cup) at a time, stirring constantly. It’ll take about half an hour to work in all the liquid, by which time the rice will have turned creamy and luscious from slow cooking.

Stir in finely chopped rosemary and nutritional yeast. Season with sea salt and fresh pepper.

kasha varnishka with kishke

k. made this amazing meal tonight.

KASHA VARNISHKA

sautee tons of onions and mushrooms
when soft, add kasha*:broth 1:2 with:
balsamic
soy sauce
dill
just a little coriander
salt
black pepper
and a little mustard oil
stir in cooked bowtie pasta

* = some people coat kasha in egg white before cooking to keep it separated. we didn’t, and it did get a bit mushy.

KISHKE

we got some from the local sausage shop. fried slices until they got crunchy.