Happy Birthday to Me
Happy Birthday to Me
Happy Birrrthday dear Me-eee
Happy Birthday to Me
I tried to come up with an "Asian cake" to mark my 35th birthday and decided on bibingka cassava -- a Filipino dessert made with grated cassava and coconut milk, baked in banana leaves. Happy birthday to me!
Thanks to a great suggestion from Mathy, I got my hands on a recipe for Tinola Soup (Chicken and Chayote with Pepper Leaves) and went to work last night with some new ingredients I haven't tried before.
Recently chayotes have become available at the local grocer. I've always been intrigued by their strange smirk-like expressions, so this was a great opportunity to try these funny looking squash out. My understanding is that Tinola typically uses green papaya but that chayote is an acceptable substitute. Tinola also calls for the use of chile pepper leaves, which presents a totally new and interesting use of my pepper plant.
This dish was interesting. It did not "wow" me, but I surmise as a comfort food it is not meant to. Rather, the flavors were mellow and subdued -- I can easily imagine craving this when sick or in times of upset stomach. Surprisingly, the pepper leaves really had no flavor at all; instead they simply provided some color to the dish. I had hoped they'd lend the dish a richer herb essence or at least a little heat, but this was not the case. The chayotes, on the other hand, were sweet and succulent and made for the perfect soup ingredient. I look forward to utilizing them again.
Here's the recipe I used:
chicken sliced into desired portions
crushed or sliced ginger to taste
crushed or sliced garlic to taste
half onion
small green papaya (or 2 green chayotes)
fresh chilli leaves
salt or fish sauce to taste
1 tsp. cooking oil
1. Heat oil and saute garlic, ginger, and onion until brown.
2. Add chicken and stir until sealed on all sides and lightly salt. Pour a cup of water and apply high heat until boiling. Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size and toughness of the chicken. Add more water.
3. Put in the papaya/chayote and let simmer for around 5-10 minutes or until tender. (It is done if a fork can pierce the papaya/chayote without too much pressure.) Add the pepper leaves, cook for two additional minutes.
Serve with rice and a tiny saucer of fish sauce as a dip.