gluten free

Taho (Philippine Tofu Pudding)

Theresa Pizarro2 Comments

“Taho….taho….taho….”

Early mornings in the Philippines, you’ll normally hear the man selling this warm, caramel tofu pudding calling out these words. He would have two metal pails balanced by a bamboo rod on his shoulders. Totally hard work, but surely, it made our day.

Kids and adults alike would wait patiently, holding their little cups, glass containers, and tumblers, for the taho vendor to come by their home. I remember a several times our nanny got a whole Coleman cooler (a gallon one I believe) for us. It’s that delicious!

Everyone asks for extra caramel, as it is the highlight of this sweet dessert/breakfast in a cup.

So…it’s been a while since I’ve had that taho that you can purchase. Taho here in the US is mostly an anemic cousin of the real stuff, flavor wise and texture wise. What to do but make it yourself, right?

I had been making soy milk and sometimes tofu for a while now but I never made a super soft, silky tofu like taho should be. It literally disintegrates when jiggled. I tried to make it but it just curdled, not really forming any solid you could scoop up. Oh well…

My co worker Lisette gave me this tofu mix a few months back. She said they use it to make taho, and you just need the sago pearls and the caramel and you’re good to go. Since my “from scratch” tofu pudding failed, I reached for the box and tried it.

It worked beautifully! See my photo below! And it’s super easy to make!

All you’ll need are the following:

For the tofu pudding:

1 box (6.06oz) Tofu mix

10 cups water

For the caramel:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

For the tapioca pearls:

1/2 cup Tapioca pearls

5 cups water

To make the tofu pudding:

Mix 10 cups water with the tofu packet mixture in a large saucepan. That is the big envelope in the tofu box. Set over medium heat. Bring to a boil.

Stir constantly with a whisk. Lower heat and for 3 minutes.

Add the coagulant, which is in the smaller white envelope, into the mixture, slowly. Give it a quick stir. And stop.

Remove from heat. Cover. Set aside to set. Do not touch or move it while it is setting. I just left it to set in the saucepan I cooked it in. 😊

In the meantime, prepare the Caramel.

Place 1 cup dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium low heat. When it comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the sugar is dissolved and the caramel is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool completely.

For the Sago Pearls,

Bring 5 cups water to boil. Add 1/2 cup sago. Simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes until translucent. Drain and rinse. Place in a bowl of water until ready to use.

To assemble your “taho”

Using a spoon, carefully scrape thin layers of the warm tofu pudding into a glass, cup, or bowl. You only want a few spoonfuls as we will be layering this with the other ingredients.

*If the tofu is getting watery, scoop out and discard the excess water.*

Next, place a spoonful or two of the cooked tapioca pearls in.

Then a spoonful or two of the caramel(I always add more when no one is looking! It’s super delicious!).

Continue layering until you fill the glass almost to the top. I am stopping midway as I might eat everything at one go.

Remember to wipe of any caramel that dripped outside the glass! It will be a sticky mess if you don’t!

You can eat this with a spoon, as we do, or stir it up and drink it like I see some folks do.

Either way, it is a nutritious and very delicious breakfast/snack/dessert.

I hope you all like this!

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Microwave Mochi

Theresa Pizarro9 Comments

Microwave mochi was one of the food that me and my coworkers at Brentwood made one fun day.

I purchased a few of the microwave Mochi makers from Marukai (now Tokyo Central) in Gardena, CA. We brought in boxes of Mochiko rice flour, sugar, and any filling we want to eat! We had strawberries, mangoes, coconut, chocolate, peanut butter, truffles, peaches, blueberries….anything and everything you can imagine.

We made batches upon batches and quickly formed the hot mochi into little balls with our chosen filling inside. Then quickly pop it in our mouths. We had an hour lunch so we had time to make our mochi and enjoy it too.

I really like the mango filled ones that I then rolled in desiccated coconut. That was yum!

So here I’m sharing the basic recipe! It’s easy to make and takes 5 minutes or 9 minutes depending in which method you follow!

You’ll need:

Microwave Mochi

1-1/2 cups mochiko (rice flour)
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch salt
Katakuriko (potato starch) or kinako (roasted soybean flour), for dusting
1 cup tsubushi an (mashed bean paste) or koshi an (smooth bean paste)

Lightly coat a microwavable tube cake pan with cooking spray.

Mix mochiko, water, sugar and salt in a bowl.

Pour mixture into pan and cover with plastic wrap or a microwave cover.

Microwave 3 minutes on low, then 3 minutes on medium and 3 minutes on high, for a total of 9 minutes.

OR microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Cool in microwave 5 to 10 minutes, then turn onto a baking pan sprinkled with katakuriko, kinako, or cornstarch. Cut into 16 pieces using a plastic knife.

Dust hands with katakuriko or kinako and flatten each piece. Place 1 tablespoon an (or any filling of your choice) in center of each piece. Bring edges together and pinch to seal. Shape as desired.

Note: This recipe is based on microwave wattage of 1,000. Depending on your microwave wattage, cooking time may need to be adjusted.

Variations

>> Add fresh strawberries, peanut butter or sweet chestnut covered with bean paste.
>> For chocolate flavor, stir 1/4 to 1/3 cup melted chocolate chips into mochi batter before cooking.
>> Add a few drops of food coloring into batter for color variation.
>> A few drops of flavoring (strawberry, grape, orange, blueberry, etc.) may also be added.

Electric Lunchbox #91: Strawberry Nesquick Mochi

Theresa Pizarro2 Comments

I always have this big can of Nesquick Strawberry mix as my son loves it mixed in his morning mug of milk. I started buying it when I was pregnant, as I didn’t like chocolate then, so was happy to see they offered it in strawberry flavor! It was the only way i could drink milk then. I guess it got passed on to my son! 😊

When I was making the mochi recipes for the ELB, I happened to see the can of Nesquick and immediately thought of using it as flavoring. And here is the result of the experiment!

I would add more Nesquick next time as the flavors and color was minimal. Otherwise, the mochi was chewy, sweet, and delicious enough for a snack.

*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup mochiko rice flour

1/4 cup sugar

2- 3 tablespoon Nesquick Strawberry drink powder

1/2 cup water

Katakuriko or cornstarch for dusting

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, mix rice flour,

2. Sugar,

3. Nesquick powder,

4. And water,

5. Mix well until blended.

6. The mixture will be thin, see photo below.

7. Spray the medium or large ELB bowl with nonstick spray.

8. Pour mochi mixture into the bowl. Cover with foil and place in the ELB base. Pour 3 ELB cups of water in the base, cover and let steam until it shuts off, about an hour.

9. Carefully open the ELB, and check if mochi is set. Add more water to the base and steam longer if needed.

10. Dust the top with katakuriko or cornstarch.

11. Turn out onto a plate dusted generously with katakuriko or cornstarch.

12. Using a plastic knife, cut mochi into bite sized pieces.

13. Dust with more katakuriko or cornstarch to prevent sticking.

14. Enjoy!

Electric Lunchbox #86: Jello Mochi

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While experimenting with the mochi recipes using pudding mix to add flavor, I can’t help but notice the Jell-O packages next to the pudding mixes at the grocery store shelves. I am aware that there are more flavors of gelatin available than pudding, so a lightbulb went off immediately!

I picked up one that sounds so delicious – mango passion fruit! I only got a pack but now I wished I got more. It tastes like Hawaii…if ever Hawaii was a flavor!

I tried making 2 bowls of mochi at a time in my Itaki Jumbo but it didn’t work out so I recommend you only make one bowl at a time, using the big ELB bowl. This way, the steam can concentrate on cooking your Mochi properly.

When I made two, the cooking time was way too long (I was up to 5 ELB cups of water!) and still, it wasn’t cooked through. So I decided to scrap those and start over with only one batch at a time. It worked out better so please try it this way. If you notice the photos, it will show the small ELB bowl. I forgot to take photos of the time I made it using the big ELB bowl, except for when it was done.

*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup mochiko

1.5 oz (3 tablespoons) jello mix, any flavor you want (I used Mango Passion Fruit)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup hot water

Katakuriko

1. Place rice flour in a small bowl.

2. Add Jell-O mix,

3. Sugar….

4. And the hot water….

5. Mix everything well until there is no visible clumps and mixture is smooth.

6. Spray the ELB bowl with a nonstick spray.

7. Pour the mixture in and cover with foil. Set the bowl in the ELB base. Add 3 ELB cups of water to the base.

8. Covers and let steam until it shuts off, about an hour. Carefully open the ELB and check if the Mochi is pulling off the sides and set in the middle. Add more water and steam a bit longer if needed.

9. Dust top of the mochi with kinako, katakuriko, or cornstarch.

10. Dust a plate with kinako, katakuriko, or cornstarch.

11. Run a spatula around the mochi and gently release it from the ELB bowl onto the prepared plate.

12. Dust with more kinako, katakuriko, or cornstarch. Then cut into pieces using a plastic knife.

13. Dust with more powder if needed. Cool completely. Enjoy!

Tiger Mochi Maker

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One of the ladies at an ELB group I’m in mentioned a blogger making mochi like I did at the beginning of the year. Since I am making some that day, I figured I’ll just write about it too.

The holidays got a bit too busy to catch up with writing recipes (even though it was the perfect time as kitchens all over are definitely churning out yummy goodies non stop!). But I was able to snap photos (and videos!) along the way and I hope you’ll enjoy this read! Oh the beautiful chaos in the kitchen!

Mochi is traditionally eaten in Japan during New Year’s, it is added to soups like Ozoni, (made with chicken, vegetables and mochi) or Zenzai (sweet red bean soup with soft mochi pieces swimmimg around!). We also have kiri mochi, which is made from pounded sweet rice shaped into bars and dried. You toast them up till they puff and dip them in soy sauce. Yummy!! I like all those but I love stuffed mochi even more!

I had always used this brand of sweet rice so I’m not sure if there is any other brand out there. Filipino cuisine uses a sweet, sticky rice too but the appearance is different. These ones are almost round and the Filipino “malagkit” rice is more elongated. Not sure if they are interchangeable as I have both but never tried to replace one with another.

For my New Year’s mochi, I start the process a day before I want to cook and pound the rice.

I use 10 cups of rice. This is the maximum amount this mochi maker can handle and since I’ll be bringing some over to my mom, I figured I’ll just make a big batch. You HAVE to use the rice measuring cup that came with the mochi maker. Do not lose it! *If you ever lose it though, know that 1 rice measuring cup = 3/4 US standard dry measuring cup. 😉

Wash the rice thoroughly, until water runs clear. To do this, you place the measured rice in a big bowl, fill with water and run your fingers through it. I try to gently rub the grains together too. Drain and refill the bowl. Do this several times. Then fill the bowl with water one last time. Soak for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.

After soaking, drain the rice and place in a strainer for 30 minutes. This is very important as you do not want the rice too wet which will make your mochi too soft.

Add 2 1/2 cups water in the base of the mochi maker. This amount corresponds to the amount of rice you’ll cook. There is a chart in the manual.
*Reminder that you HAVE to use the cup that came with the machine to measure both the rice and the water.*

Next, attach the mixing bowl, twisting to set it in place. Place the impeller in the bowl, turning it, until it settles in.

Carefully place the drained rice into the bowl.

Level out the top if needed.

Place the plastic cover over the bowl.

Press “steam”. It will steam until the reservoir runs out of water. When it is done, the buzzer beep loudly. Press “off”.

Remove the plastic cover, and test a grain of rice for doneness. You should be able to crush it between two fingers.

Press “pound” and start a timer. This time, you DO NOT use the cover. This step will also eliminate excess moisture as it pounds the rice, so leaving the cover off is necessary. It’ll take about 10-15 minutes. See the videos below to help you estimate the texture.

This is what the rice looks like in the beginning.

After a few minutes, a ball starts to form and the texture starts to look smoother.

In about 12 to 15 minutes, you would have a homogenous, smooth looking ball.

There should be no rice grains visible, just one smooth, white mass.

Sprinkle katakuriko (or cornstarch)on the main cover of the mochi machine or a clean board.

Carefully invert the hot mochi onto the prepared surface.

Lift the hot bowl with pot holders and gently nudge all of the delicious mochi out of the bowl. Go ahead and taste some! I pinch a few pieces here and there and fill with an. See the last photo! Work (and eat!) quickly as this mochi hardens really fast.

You can roll them in the tray, sprinkling with katakuriko or cornstarch as needed.

Or you can transfer them into 2 plastic, one gallon freezer bags, snipping both sealed ends so you can roll the mochi all the way to the corners.

Leave bag open after rolling to dry the mochi a little. I leave it for several hours, turning it over and loosening the plastic a couple of times. Then remove from bag, cut into pieces and let dry a few more hours.

Store these in the freezer as it will get moldy rather fast at room temperature.

To serve, toast the squares until puffed up and toasty. I use my toaster oven for this but a pan on the stove over low to medium heat, or even just microwaving till it puffs up, are both good too. Dip in lots of soy sauce and enjoy!

Mochi stuffed with An. 😋

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Electric Lunchbox #81: Daifukumochi or Daifuku

Theresa PizarroLeave a comment

Happy New Year’s Day my friends!

Here’s to hoping 2021 will behave and allow us to go back and do what we used to do – enjoy life with people that matter, get together with family, eat together, and travel all over collecting memories to cherish forever.

Back to food…and ELB…today I will show you how to make one of my favorite sweets in the ELB.

Daifukumochi or daifuku (literally “great luck”), is a Japanese sweet made from sweet rice flour. It is formed into a round mochi then stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans and sugar. Daifuku is a popular wagashi in Japan, and often served with green tea.

I made this in the ELB since mochi is traditionally served for New Year in Japan. The actual mochi for New Year’s is a block of pounded sweet rice, which cannot be made in the ELB. I do have a mochi maker, it cooks the soaked rice and pounds it perfectly so you don’t have to. All I do is pat it into a rectangle and slice. Then eat, of course! 😊

This sweet mochi is served all year round as a snack. I love eating it and I can finish a package of 6 in one sitting. It’s that good! Or bad….

You can also wrap a clean, dry, fresh strawberry with the red bean paste before wrapping in the mochi. That is a real treat specially if the strawberry is ripe and sweet.

I hope you enjoy this little Japanese dessert/snack! I tried to make it real easy using readily available ingredients. 😊

*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup mochiko rice flour

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch salt

1/2 cup water

Katakuriko (Potato starch), for dusting

1/4 cup red bean paste

3 ELB cups water for the base

Procedure:

1. Place the rice flour in the large ELB bowl.

2. Add the sugar and salt next.

3. Pour in water.

4. Slowly stir the mixture.

5. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and well blended.

6. Cover the bowl with foil and place the bowl in the ELB base. Pour 3 ELB cups of water in the base, cover and let steam until done, about 1 hour.

7. In the meantime, pour some katakuriko (potato starch) in a plate and set aside.

8. Roll up a tablespoon or so of red bean paste into balls. Make 4 of these. Set aside.

9. When the ELB shuts off, carefully open it and drain any liquid on top of the mochi.

10. While hot, divide the mochi into 4 pieces using a butter knife. D

11. Dust your fingers with katakuriko.

12. Working quickly, while the mixture is hot, scrape 1 portion of the mochi into your hands and stretch it out a little.

13. Place 1 red bean paste ball in the middle and pull edges over, pinching to seal. Roll into a ball, dusting with katakuriko as needed.

*I was rushing to leave when I made this so apologies for the irregular shapes. It took me less than 5 minutes from the time I took the mochi from the ELB to taking this final photo. I might re do the photo when I get another chance to make these leisurely *

14. Give the mochi one final roll in the katakuriko, place on a serving dish, and devour!

Brentwood Mochi Cake

Theresa PizarroLeave a comment
Looks really delicious doesn’t it?

I had mentioned working in UCLA Brentwood with amazing coworkers a few times already. I miss them everyday as they are willing to teach you everything they know, work wise AND in the kitchen. They’re some of the best laboratory scientists in the world, and they cook and bake real well. We always have potlucks and celebrate everything we can.

This is my supervisor Sandra Bovey’s recipe. I am including a photo of the actual recipe that was handed out (one of multiple copies that were shared on many occasions) plus a variation that I made in muffin cups.

I hope you enjoy this dessert as much as I do!

These are all you need to make Mochi Cake.

Some changes for this particular recipe:

Use 1 tablespoon baking powder instead of 2 teaspoons

1 tablespoon ube flavoring

1 tablespoon pandan flavoring

Divide batter into 3 bowls. Leave one as is, flavor one with ube, and the last with pandan. Pour into greased muffins cups. I made 8 of each flavor with a surplus of 2 mini muffin tins of ube and pandan.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds. I used a mixture of white and black sesame seeds just because I have it on hand. 😊

Bake in a 13×9 pan for 60 minutes.

Muffin tins: 35-40 minutes. Makes 30 muffins.

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Thermomix Gluten Free Rolls

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I never had a commercial gluten free bread that tastes good, so when I tried the Thermomix Gluten Free Rolls to prepare for a demo, I was completely surprised! It actually tastes like bread! It has baking powder as it’s leavening agent but it tastes and looks like yeasted bread.

This recipe makes 4 big rolls so I decided to make 6 smaller ones to make it more manageable.

Try it and see how yummy gluten free can be!

You will need the following:

  • 2 ½ oz long-grain white rice
  • 4 oz quick cooking oats, gluten free, divided
  • ½ oz psyllium husks
  • 2 tsp gluten free baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 egg whites, from large eggs
  • 1 oz apple cider vinegar
  • 6 oz water, warm
  • unsalted butter, to serve
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment, grease or spray with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Place rice, 3 oz oats and psyllium into mixing bowl and grind 1 min/speed 10. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.
  3. Add baking powder, salt, egg whites, apple cider vinegar and water and mix 10 sec/speed 4 after which use the knead function for 3 minutes. Dough will be sticky but workable with spatula.
  4. Place a shallow bowl onto mixing bowl lid, weigh in 1 oz oats and set aside.
  5. Scoop dough into 6 equal-sized mounds. With wet hands, shape dough into balls and roll in reserved oats. Transfer onto prepared baking sheet and bake 60 minutes (350°F), or until golden brown.
  6. Allow to cool 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Serve warm with butter or allow to cool completely (approx. 20 min.) before transferring to an airtight container until ready to serve.

*you can also roll it in seeds or nuts.

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