Three years ago I planted a pink guava tree in my garden thinking of it more as an experiment than anything, as California is not exactly known as guava country. But to my surprise, this year the tree went crazy with pink guavas, so in the past week I've needed to act quick on feet and come up with some new recipes to accommodate all of the tree's delectable gifts.

It's a challenging fruit to work with because the seeds are hard and inedible. So after pushing my brows together for a bit, I decided to make use of my new Japanese knives and removed the exterior skin and seedy interior portions carefully, leaving fleshy but seedless guava flesh to work with. It's this portion of the guava I used to create my tropical cobbler.

1. Preheating the oven to 350F, I first prepared my guavas (about 10-15) and combined the guava flesh with 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 tsp flour, and 1 tsp grated lime zest. This was placed aside.

2. I then prepared my coconut cobbler crust by mixing 1 1/3 cups flour, 2 tsp sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 5 tsp margarine, and 1/2 cup coconut milk. (The coconut milk is what really made this dish, in my opinion.) These ingredients were placed into a mixer (with paddle attachment) and mixed.

3. After the oven was heated fully, I placed my guava mixture into a baking dish and placed dollops of the coconut crust mixture on top of the fruit. (Roughly placed, not covering it completely.) This was then allowed to bake for 30-45 minutes.

This came out just perfectly and I was amazed by the smell of the baked guava. And surprisingly, the warmth of the guava was great. Not all fruit serves well warm, but guava works as a warm dish and is fragrant beyond compare in this state. I served mine with a little guava frozen yogurt which I prepared earlier in the week.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I know that messing with the rules of Korean food is kind of a no-no because, well, it's the perfect cuisine already, but in this case I was just wanting to experiment a little and replicate two of my favorite food experiences through a type of hybridization. To my delight the recipe worked out so well that I thought I'd post it.

No, you're not looking at kkaktugi. This is in fact deep fried tofu in a spicy gochujang-based sauce with green onions. Here's how I made it.

1. Cut a portion of Extra Firm tofu into small pieces and coat them with flour and a little salt and pepper (mix the flour/salt/pepper before dusting the tofu). Set aside.

2. Heat a good amount of peanut oil in a wok. Cut a knob of ginger into small strips and fry them until the oil is flavored. Add tofu and gently fry the pieces until they are firm with a slightly crispy exterior. Place on paper towels and drain briefly.

3. Combine 2 tsp gochujang, 1 minced clove of garlic, 2 tsp Korean white vinegar, 1 tsp red pepper powder (or paprika - don't use flakes), 1 tsp red wine, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp sesame oil in a bowl. Once mixed, combine the sauce with the tofu and fresh green onions. (I'ts important the tofu is still pretty warm so that the green onions will be 'cooked,' so to speak, during this brief moment.)

This is great served with white rice (of course) and Korean style cucumber pickles.

I got this idea from two different sources. The first source was a visit to a Korean bar in San Francisco. Although their kimchi was terrible (who uses black pepper in kimchi?), one of the side dishes they served with cocktails was terrific -- deep fried tofu. There was something just perfect about the way the crispy exterior held within soft and warm tofu; and matched with a great dipping sauce, everyone at my table could not stop raving about it. The second source was a diner in Hawaii I once went to where edamame was served (hilariously!) covered in gochujang. I couldn't believe my eyes! I thought I'd throw these ideas together and came up with Sloppy Dubu. Enjoy.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Over the weekend, my mother invited some neighbors over for dinner and asked what we might have for dessert that night. Though I'm not a big dessert-eater, the words blueberry crumble erupted from my mouth in the same way an fiesty lava flow might suddenly emerge from the center of the earth and swallow a small village. I had spotted this recipe somewhere and been meaning to try it for months. Now I had the perfect excuse.

The result was a smash hit: bubbly, oozy sweet blueberries topped with a chewy-oat topping. Sort of like a pie on a diet. Everybody loved it, including myself, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the recipe.

1. Begin by making the blueberry "interior" by placing the following into a small pot or pan: 4 cups blueberries (can be frozen), 1/2 cup white sugar, and 3 tsp cornstarch. Heat until bubbly, mushy, and lava-like. Okay to start the process with a tsp or two of water, as the mixture starts on the dry side. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp lemon juice. Pour into a scalloped oven-proof dish or pie-pan.

2. The oatmeal crumble (which can be made in advance, probably preferable) is created by mixing the following with a fork: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Use a fork to mix until the texture is a rough dough.

3. Crumble the oatmeal mixture evenly on the top of the blueberry mixture. Bake at 375F for 15-20 mins or until the oats begin to brown. Remove and served warm, room temperature, or cold.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 06:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

At Trader Joe's today I found a packet of dried dragonfruit, so I decided to try integrating this unusual item into a vegan recipe for scones. Here's what I did.

First I cut the dragonfruit into very small pieces -- about 1/2 cup of them. These were then allowed to soak in Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). (This gives the pieces color, sweet taste, and softens them enough to be integrated into this recipe).

Second, I added the following to my Kitchenaid mixer with the paddle attachment: 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/3 cup butter/margarine cut into small cubes, 2 tsp Stevia. I whisked these until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs.

Next I added 1/3 cup soy milk and mixed until a ball was formed. I then folded in the drained dragonfruit pieces by hand and pressed the mixture into a flattened ball shape. At this point I also cut the dough into eight wedge shapes.

This was then placed on to a buttered, floured baking sheet and baked at 350F for approx. 20 mins.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)