Faluda: A Burmese Summer Dessert Drink

Note: This is a guest post by Emily Hue, c/o Keith Miyake

I’m a big fan of Foodjimoto so posting this one is a dream come true. I’m Keith’s partner’s, Emily. You guys know Keith. He and his sister, Lauren grew up with the Fujimotos. He’s that all around camping buddy, PhD student, and handy fixer of things.  It’s been a long, cold winter in New York, where we live, so it’s nice to dream of a time when it was warm. When an ice cream dessert drink made sense.

To me, faluda is a Burmese/Indian dessert drink that ushered in summer time with my family after seemingly long rainy springs in Brooklyn. Made up of ice cream, bread pudding, and various kinds of gelatin and scented with rosewater, it's not for the faint of heart when it comes to sweetness. For special occasions such as birthdays or New Year's, this drink served as an incentive for me and my cousins to sit down, behave, and eat all the food on our plates just to get to the dessert.

After doing a bit of research on faluda, I found it's not only popular in Burma, India, and Pakistan, but also in Iran where it’s called Paloodeh. Not to mention the various diasporic populations that still make this drink to remind them of home.

The joy of faluda is that you can add whatever fixings you want to it according to taste.  This recipe includes some specialty items. You can get them at a South Asian supermarket or dry goods store. Since we did our shopping near the Foodjimoto studio, a.k.a. the Fujimoto’s kitchen, we were able to find a South Asian market called India Emporium, located in a strip mall in La Puente, at 17365 E. Valley Blvd., La Puente, CA 91744 where we got these goodies. If you ask for these ingredients by name and follow up with “They’re for Faluda,” a knowing gentleman in the front will be nice enough to ring you up.

These are the ingredients you need from the South Asian market:

From left to right: Rooh Afza, rose water, and basil seeds.

Rooh Afza: A non alcoholic citric concentrate that acts like a syrup used to flavor icy drinks including milkshakes and sherbet drinks throughout South/Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Rosewater: like it sounds, rose-scented water that brings out the flavor of the faluda so that it’s not just sweet to eat, but sweet to smell.

Basil Seeds: you soak them over night and they puff up into 1 cm shaped beads that add the tiniest crunch to a mixed drink. Some folks prefer them instead of sago pearls.

Sago Pearls (pictured below): small starchy balls, similar to tapioca pearls, only smaller. They are used to add texture to desserts throughout much of Asia, as in the ABC drink found in Malaysian snack shops.

Here’s an up-close shot of the sago pearls so you can see how small they are!

Here are all of the ingredients you will need:

Some people like to include raisins; agar agar can be used instead of jello for less sweetness; basil seeds and sago pearls are interchangeable, or both can be used together. For me, if it’s a slightest bit too sweet then it’s perfect. This one is adapted from my mother’s recipe. I prefer no raisins and used jello instead of agar agar—they have similar prep. But flavored jello is sweeter compared to agar agar which is more for texture than for taste. Also, I include pictures of basil seeds in case you want to use them. I left them out the final recipe this time around because they need to soak overnight.

Ingredients

Makes 4 to 6 servings  (use approx. 10 oz glasses)

Bread pudding:
4 eggs
8 T sugar
1/2 can of evaporated milk (half of a 6 oz Carnation’s can is fine)
1/2 c. of milk
10 slices of white bread (crusts off)

Faluda:
Bread pudding as described above
2 packets of Jell-O (whichever flavors/colors you want, I stuck with Orange and Lime); can substitute agar agar
Vanilla  ice cream (1 – 2 scoops per serving)
1/4 packet of sago pearls (approx. 100g dry measure)
Rooh Afza (approx. 1 t. per serving)
Rose Weater (approx. 1/2 t. per serving)
Raisins (optional; 1-2 t. per serving)

Preheat the oven up to 375°F

Take the crust off the slices of bread and then tear the slices into 2 inch pieces. Place these bread pieces in a 9"x12" baking dish.

Whisk together 4 eggs, mix in the evaporated milk and regular milk, and then add the sugar. Pour the egg mix over the bread pieces.

Use a spoon or your hands to fully combine the bread and egg mixture. Allow the bread to soak for 2 additional minutes.

Bake at 375°F for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the bread pudding from the oven and set aside to cool. After it has cooled, slice it into chunks small enough to fit in your serving cups.

While the bread pudding’s in the oven enter into sago phase. Pour the sago pearls into a prep bowl.

Fill up a saucepan halfway with water, set to boil. When the water is at a rolling boil, add the the sago pearls. Boil them for 1 minute and then transfer everything to a heat-safe bowl.

Cover with foil and allow it to sit for about 45 minutes. You’ll know they're ready when the sago pearls are mostly transparent. You should taste a couple to check. They should be slightly firm but not chalky. If you come up upon some chalkiness you may want to drain off the water as it cools and try to pour boiling water over the sago pearls one more time and let the pearls sit a while longer. When they are the right texture/transparency, transfer them to a sieve and rinse with cold water.

While you are waiting for the sago to soak, boil some additional water for the Jell-O. Follow the directions on the packet. You should have two to three colors/flavors at your disposal. I ended up with a lot of extra jello this time. I’d suggest only preparing half a Jell-O package unless you want to eat the rest of it separately.

Directions to plate/serve:

Start with a clear glass, approx. 10 oz. This is not a hard and fast rule I just think it looks decadent. My favorite part of making faluda is drizzling in the Rooh Afza and watching that neon red syrup turn everything else in the drink gradations of pink. A clear glass makes it easier to witness the magic.

Visualize this as the layering of a parfait.

Add 2 or 3 tablespooons of sago pearls
Drizzle half a teaspoon of rose water into the glass
Drizzle a teaspoon of Rooh Afza into the glass.
Place a few cubes/chunks of bread pudding into the glass onto top of the sago pearls
A few tablespoons of Jell-O on top of this
Top off with two small-ish scoops of ice cream.

You can play with the ratio according to your taste, rooh afza makes things sweeter as do more jello and ice cream.

The last step is probably my favorite. As my mom would say, "YOU HAVE TO MIX IT!" Use a spoon or straw to mix the drink so that all the ingredients seem evenly dispersed. You should end up with a pinkish hue. Swirls of deeper pink are fine. Enjoy!

Chinese-Style Oven Baked Ribs

The other day when I was talking to my mother, she mentioned that she wanted to eat ribs. Just a little suggestion like that can make it my mission to make something!

I decided to make Chinese-Style Oven Baked Ribs. You can use this technique using a regular western-style rub and barbecue sauce too, or any other rub & sauce combination you like.

They're so simple to make--simpler than my Oven Baked Pork Ribs. They're not quite as soft as the Oven Baked Pork Ribs, but still tender. I used a package of pork loin back ribs that I purchased from Costco, about 7 lbs. There were 3 slabs of ribs in that package, enough to share with several people!

Chinese-Style Oven Baked Ribs

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens recipe

3 racks pork loin ribs, about 7 lbs.

1/2 cup Dijon-style mustard mixed with 1 tablespoon liquid smoke

Mix together to form rub:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

Barbecue sauce:

3/4 cup hoisin sauce 2 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Mix ingredients for the rub. Taste and adjust seasonings.

The day before you're going to cook the ribs, sprinkle under-side of ribs with the rub. Brush the meaty sides of the rib slabs with the Dijon-style mustard and liquid smoke mixture and sprinkle generously with the rub. Place into shallow roasting pan, bone sides down, cover with foil, and marinate overnight.

To cook, bring ribs to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Bake, covered for 1 hour. Carefully drain off fat.

In a small bowl, stir together hoisin sauce, molasses, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Brush mixture evenly over ribs starting with the bone sides. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour or until ribs are tender.

The ribs have a nice glaze.

I put the third rack of ribs in a separate pan, but you could put them on top of the other ones. Just watch them so the top one doesn't burn.

Use a sharp knife to cut the ribs apart so it doesn't look like you used a saw.

That's better!

This is the dish I took for my parents, it had some Spinach Cups in it too.

Itadakimasu!



***



I was sad to have missed my high school reunion and all-class picnic this year, but some of the girls that were still in town on Monday met for lunch at one of our favorite places from our youth, In-'N'-Out!

From the left: Coleene, Roselynn, me, Becky and Sally.

Here we were in high school.

And me, Becky and Sally in kindergarten!

Hope to see everyone next summer at the All-Class Picnic!


***

Chinese-Style Oven Baked Ribs

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens recipe

3 racks pork loin ribs, about 7 lbs.

1/2 cup Dijon-style mustard mixed with 1 tablespoon liquid smoke

Mix together to form rub:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

Barbecue sauce:

3/4 cup hoisin sauce 2 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Mix ingredients for the rub. Taste and adjust seasonings.

The day before you're going to cook the ribs, sprinkle under-side of ribs with the rub. Brush the meaty sides of the rib slabs with the Dijon-style mustard and liquid smoke mixture and sprinkle generously with the rub. Place into shallow roasting pan, bone sides down, cover with foil, and marinate overnight.

To cook, bring ribs to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Bake, covered for 1 hour. Carefully drain off fat.

In a small bowl, stir together hoisin sauce, molasses, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Brush mixture evenly over ribs starting with the bone sides. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour or until ribs are tender.

Won Ton Soup

Won Ton Soup is one of my favorites.

Maybe it's because I love noodles.

I would always judge a Chinese restaurant by how good their won ton soup was.

It's surprisingly simple to make, especially if you plan ahead a little and have some won ton skins on hand when you make your gyoza.

You can make some won tons with the same filling, freeze them, and have them handy for soup!

Start with some chicken broth.

Home made is by far the best, but you can use canned.

For four cups of stock, add two cups of water.

Also add a slice of ginger root and one clove of garlic, crushed.

If you have some shiitake mushrooms, thinly slice them and add them, too.

I had these vegetables on hand--baby bok choy, chinese peas and bean sprouts.

You can use any vegetables you like.

I think non-root vegetables work best.

Cilantro is really good in here, as is watercress.

Immerse each vegetable in boiling water for about 10 to 15 seconds only.

That keeps them from getting overcooked.

After the ginger and garlic have been cooking in the soup stock for a few minutes, taste the stock. If it needs some more body, add some dashi--soup stock. The dashi above is made from vegetables.

The bonito flavored dashi is good in won ton soup.

Or you can use konbu dashi.

These are the won ton wrappers they had at Nijiya Market.

Look at the date to be sure they're fresh.

If they're old, they won't bend nicely, they'll crack.

This is the sausage/mushroom filling I made for gyoza.

If you're going to make won ton, use it the same day and freeze the won ton. 

It's not good to keep the filling for more than a day.

Moisten around the edges with a little bit of water and fold it in half, pressing it together firmly with your fingers.

Put a dot of water near one corner, and bring the opposite corner over to overlap, then press firmly.

I like this shape for won ton soup, but you can also leave them flat.

Drop the won ton into boiling soup stock or a separate pot of water.

Cook for a few minutes over medium heat until the won ton float, then they're done.

Spoon the won ton into soup bowls.

You don't want to leave the cooked won ton in the broth, the noodles will expand a lot, so ladle them right into the bowl.

Put the blanched vegetables into a bowl with the won tons and ladle the hot stock over them.

Serve. 

If you like a little dipping sauce, you can make some ponzu sauce with lemon juice, shoyu and a splash of vinegar and sriracha hot sauce.

Sprinkle with some cilantro leaves and chopped jalapeno.


Delicious!

This is my favorite won ton soup, the Hung Tao Won Ton Soup at the House of Louie Chinese Restaurant in West Covina.

The won tons are fried, and the soup is thick, with little pieces of chopped barbecued pork, egg flowers, and cilantro in the broth.

They serve it really hot, just as I like it.

Yum!



***



When I was a little girl, I went to Japanese language school, I've talked about it before.

This is the old Community Center where I first started Japanese school,

I was about 7 years old.

It's tough being a new kid at Japanese school.

Everyone already knows each other, and at recess, all the girls were in small circles, holding hands, and doing the Soupy Sales shuffle together.

I remember watching them from the porch of the school.

The girls would slide their feet--left, right, left-left, then right, left, right-right--all together, laughing and having fun.

I couldn't do it--when I looked down at my feet, I just had two lefts, no rights.

It can get lonely on the porch at Japanese school all by oneself, watching all the other girls having fun.

Until you look around on the porch, see someone else, and make your own friend.

This is Susan.

She was new at Japanese school, too.

She's a couple of years older than me, so smart, and so, so nice.

We became fast friends.

I wanted to be just like her.

Even more so, when she got these blue glasses.

I remember thinking they were the prettiest, coolest things I'd seen.

I really wanted a pair of blue glasses.

But I didn't need them.

Or get them.

Susan used to let me wear her blue glasses at Japanese school.

Except when she needed them.

To see.

Then I had to give them back to her.

Remember these girls?

Susan is second from the left.

She recently told me she'd always admired my Japanese odori technique.

She wanted to dance like me.

I never knew that.

(Me!?)

I'd always admired her popular dance technique.

We talked on the phone for hours and hours, all through high school.

Once, one of my dad's friends had to use Emergency Breakthrough because our phone line had been busy all evening. 

I was talking to Susan.

When she went away to college, we wrote letters.

Lots of letters.

I still have the letter she told me she was in love with John, and another when she asked me to be her maid-of-honor in their wedding.

We wrote when she moved around the country when her husband was going to graduate school, and when our children were small.

Susan is still my role model.

She's artistic and a talented artist, but doesn't know it.

She's on a roller hockey team and is super-fit.

She worked so hard for the past few years taking care of her aging, ailing parents--not an easy thing to do.

She understands me, knows me so well, and always gives me the benefit-of-the-doubt--seemingly without thinking twice--when I stick my foot in my mouth.

We're back to talking on the phone, sometimes with long conversations like when we were kids.

Feeling left-out and standing on the porch at Japanese school during recess wasn't so bad, after all.



You never know when you'll meet a friend.



Thanks, Susan, for being a life-long friend.

No printable recipe for this one yet.

Yakisoba Egg Rolls

What comes to mind when you think of egg roll?

Chinese food?

Thai?

Lumpia?

Did anyone say With Six You Get Eggroll, the Doris Day movie?

I love Doris Day movies.

When you're making egg roll, anything goes. 

You can fill it with whatever strikes your fancy.

Usually, it's vegetables of some kind, along with some meat.

But you can fill it with carne asada, spinach & ricotta cheese, pulled pork and barbecue sauce, macaroni & cheese--the possibilities are endless!

On a lazy Sunday morning, I decided to make some egg roll with the vegetable odds & ends in the refrigerator--which turned into Yakisoba Egg Roll.

For those that don't know, Yakisoba is Japanese fried noodles.

The way we make it here, it's got more vegetables than noodles. The yakisoba package pictured is found at not only Asian markets, they have it at my neighborhood Von's.

Here's what I had hanging around in my fridge:

1 1/2 noodle packages of yakisoba noodles

4 nappa (leaves)

2 stalks bok choy

Small piece of cabbage

2 cups spinach leaves

2 shiitake mushrooms

1/4 onion

5 white mushrooms

1/2 cup bean sprouts

1 carrot, shredded

2 slices fresh ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

I also had half a block of tofu that I diced.

This is tempura oil, oil made from rice bran for frying.

If you don't have this, you can use canola oil.

Slice the onions. 

I also found a quarter of a red onion.

Put the onion into a bowl with the minced garlic and ginger and set aside.

 

Put together all the ingredients that cook quickly: spinach, bean sprouts, bok choy & nappa leaves & shredded carrot. Set aside.

Thinly slice the nappa & bok choy stalks & cabbage, as well as the mushrooms.

Put them in a bowl and set aside.

 

Give the yakisoba noodles a rough chop.

Fry them in a tablespoon oil.

After they've fried in oil a bit on high heat and get a little browned, add a tablespoon of water, turn the heat to medium and put the lid on.

After a couple of minutes the noodles will be easy to separate and will be soft.

Remove the noodles from the pan and set aside.

Next, saute the onions, garlic and ginger in a tablespoon of oil.

Add the mushrooms, bok choy & nappa stalks.

Stir and cook with the lid on for 2 minutes.

Add the bowl with the spinach, carrots, etc.

Cover and cook for 1 minute.

Spinach cooks fast!

Add the tofu, yakisoba noodles and yakisoba sauce packet.

I used two sauce packages (it comes three noodle packages & 3 sauce packets in one bag of yakisoba).

The seasoning packet, and traditional yakisoba sauce, is a sweet worcestershire based sauce.

You can make it at home using: 1 tablespoon each of--mirin, vinegar, sake, oyster sauce, ketchup and brown sugar. 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce and shoyu. A half teaspoon of sriracha hot sauce is good in here too. 

Make the sauce in a bowl, then taste it and adjust the seasoning before you add it to the yakisoba. It's a lot easier than trying to adjust the flavors after it's already in the pan.

Turn off the heat and stir well to combine all ingredients.

When the mixture cools, place a small amount of the yakisoba onto an egg roll wrapper, close to one corner.

Fold the wrapper in from the corner, tucking the corner under, press ends.

This photo is a little confusing.

I am rolling the egg roll on a stack of wrappers. I should have taken one wrapper, it would have been easier to see.

Fold the right and left corners in.

If you look closely, you can barely see the upper corner.

Moisten the top corner with a little bit of water so it will stick.

Repeat until all wrappers are filled.

I like to fry outside on the patio with a butane stove.

It keeps the air in the house from becoming filled with that heavy, fried smell.

I put some newspaper down so the patio table doesn't get covered with oil.

When the oil is hot, fry the egg roll until golden brown.

You can tell when the oil is ready by putting a tiny bit of the egg roll noodle into the oil, when it sizzles right up, the oil is hot.

Drain the egg roll on paper towels.

They're best when eaten hot.

You can make them ahead of time and reheat them in the oven right before serving.

What's your favorite egg roll?

***



Over the weekend I was invited to dinner at friends Laura & Poston's place in Long Beach. Laura made a delicious dinner of nabemono, kind of a cross between nishime and shabu shabu.

More about dinner with the Takemoto girls tomorrow.

And today, they're coming over to make peanut butter mochi!

No printable recipe for this one yet.