Pac-Man Lives

You never really know when a blast from your past will hit you.

I remember spending hours playing Pac-Man.

I can't really remember if I was any good at it.

I spotted Pac-Man on these windows along one of the buildings in Sydney.

I thought that was pretty cool.

Then I found a Pac-Man cap while I was window shopping.

Cute!

In case you want to spend a few minutes catching ghosts and chomping fruits, 

here's a link to play Pac-Man Doodle.

Pan de Azucar

I borrowed a Filipino cookbook from the library and wanted to try the pan de sal recipe straightaway.  The recipe had a half cup of sugar.  I thought it was quite strange that the pan de sal recipe had more  sugar than salt but I wanted to test the recipe before I dismissed the volume of sugar.

When I tried it out, I was amazed at the bread that came out of the oven.  It was the BEST pan de sal I ever baked.  I shared the recipe with my siblings, my Filipino officemates and with GI.  I am hoping they get as excited about this bread as I do.

Who would have thought that the secret of good pan de sal was actually sugar?

Pan de Sal  (makes 20)

1/2 c lukewarm water
2 1/4 t active dry yeast
1 t sugar
1 c water
3 T oil
1/2 c sugar
1 T salt
5 c flour
3 T breadcrumbs 

Place lukewarm water in a bowl.
Add yeast and 1 t sugar.
Let sit for 15 minutes until bubbly.
Add the rest of the water, oil, 1/2 c of sugar, salt and flour a little at a time.
Mix thoroughly and knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and pliable.
Place kneaded dough in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until doubled (about 2 hours).
When dough has doubled, punch down and divide into four.
Roll dough into logs and divide into five pieces each.
Roll sliced pieces of dough in breadcrumbs then place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until double in size.
Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes in preheated oven at 325F or160C until lightly browned.  

Fee, Fie, Faux Pho

I wanted to try to make pho for MyGirl and found a pressure cooker recipe for Pho Ga (Chicken Pho).  It was simple enough to follow and it was done in a jiffy.   

When I called eating time, I mentioned to MyGirl that I had given GI the soup bowl set so we had to settle for the bowls we had at home.   The regular Corelle bowls we have seemed a tad small for pho so I jokingly pulled out a glass mixing bowl for RD to use.  The joke was on me because he happily accepted and used the bowl for dinner.  MyGirl got a smaller Pyrex container but was still looking for decent soup bowls and soup spoons so she asked for permission to retrieve the soup bowls from her brother.

MyGirl was excited when the pressure cooker was opened to reveal our dinner.  However, upon tasting it, she admitted that although the pho was good, the pressure cooker version falls short of the restaurant quality pho that simmers for about eight hours.

She was pretty satisfied by my pho efforts even if she christened our dinner 'faux pho.'    

Pressure Cooker Pho Ga

 BROTH

1 1/2 k chicken thigh / drumstick (or 2 k whole chicken)2 medium onions, peeled and halved1 T ginger, cut into long strips1 small bunch fresh cilantro1 garlic clove, crushed1 T brown sugar4 cloves1/2 cinnamon stick1 star anise (or 1 T coriander seeds)8 c cold water2 T fish sauce1/2 t salt2 T vegetable oil

NOODLESmedium banh pho (70g - 80g per person) 

GARNISHES ON NOODLES1/2 small white onion, thinly slicedfresh cilantro leaves1 -2 stalks green onion, finely choppedfreshly ground black pepperhard boiled quail eggs, optional 

PHO HERBS PLATTER ON THE SIDEbean sprouts (40 g per person)
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
mint, thai chili pepper, thai basil, hoisin sauce, sriracha (optional 

Place cloves, cinnamon stick and star anise (or coriander seeds) in the pressure cooker.
Heat up pressure cooker over medium heat [instapot : SAUTE]
After about 2 minutes, when the fragrance is released from the spices, remove spices and set aside.

With pressure cooker over medium heat [instapot : HOT], place 2 T vegetable oil and coat bottom of the pot.

Carefully place halved onions (flat side down) and the ginger into the pressure cooker.

Allow onions and ginger to char without touching them (about 5 mins). 

At the four minute mark, add the crushed garlic.

Pour in 1/2 cup of water to fully deglaze the bottom of the pot with  a wooden spoon.

Add the toasted spices, sugar, cilantro, fish sauce and salt.

Place chicken in the pot.

Add rest of the water making sure that the chicken is 90% submerged into the liquid.

Close the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, then natural pressure release for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, turn knob to VENTING position to release remaining pressure.

While chicken is cooking, prepare the garnish.

Thinly slice 1/2 white onion and place in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes..

Chop the cilantro leaves and slice the green onions.

When the pressure cooker starts natural releasing, place the noodles in a large mixing bowl and pour boiling water to fully submerge for 18-20 minutes.  Stir and loosen.  Drain and run through cold water when noodles are cooked through.

Transfer chicken to a large mixing bowl.  Slice into serving pieces or debone, as desired. 

Strain the chicken broth through a fine mesh and skim off the fat from the surface of the broth.

Bring the chicken broth back to a boil over medium heat [instapot : SAUTE]

Season as needed.

To serve, place cooked banh pho and chicken pieces into large bowl.

Garnish with white onion slices, chopped green onion, fresh cilantro leaves, quail eggs (opt) and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour in boiling chicken broth and serve piping hot.

The herbs platter serves as optional additions to add complexity to the soup.

Winter Woolies

I took this picture mid-June as winter was just starting. 

Even the sign posts along the streets are feeling cold.