Flourless Black Bean Espresso Brownies

Brownies.  I think these are something that most of us love.  But, for the sane among us, they generally fall into the "enjoy sparingly" category.  I'm here to tell you today, however, that it's time for total freedom and abandon.  I bet that these delicious brownies will be the healthiest brownies that you will ever eat!  Okay...is this something to get excited about or what?  These brownies are high in protein and fiber, which is fantastic of course, but they are also flourless and dairy free (other than whatever's in your chocolate).  It's kind of crazy, but it just gets even better: my recipe uses no added oil or butter, and I only add just a couple teaspoons of sugar.  Whoa!

Soft, espresso and vanilla-scented, crunchy-walnut-studded, chocolatey.  These treats happily strike harmony between health and flavor!




So, how do you get a luscious fudgy-like brownie that is totally guilt-free?  I took inspiration from an "amazing" flourless brownie recipe, which swaps out flour for black beans.  I then replaced part of the butter and sugar with applesauce--a common trick for paring down the calories in quickbreads and muffins.  And as it turned out I totally forgot to add the rest of the butter, and serendipitously realized it was perfectly soft and smooth without any butter at all!  I do admit I don't like my sweets glaringly sweet, so if you find your batter not quite sweet enough (those not afraid of raw eggs, go ahead and taste-test, I knooow you won't be able to resist!), you can increase the sugar, but if you just want a pan of brownies that you don't mind finishing half of on your own...ahem....then this recipe is good as-is.




I couldn't wait to try these guys just minutes after pulling them from the oven yesterday, but they definitely hold their shape better as they cool.  And if you pop them in the fridge and chill them up (or heavens, cool, split, freeze, and make ice cream sandwiches with them!) they'll take on an even denser consistency.  Sigh... There's only one more piece left...I need to make another batch soon.

Flourless Black Bean Espresso Brownies

For one 8x8-inch pan

1 cup soft-cooked black beans, completely drained
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 ounces (55 grams) dark or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup espresso or strong brewed coffee (plus more, as needed)
2 eggs

1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely crumbled

Place beans, vanilla extract, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor (or blender).

Mix the chocolate, apple sauce, and 1/4 cup espresso in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave, stirring occasionally, until melted.

Add hot chocolate mixture to beans, and pulse until well mixed.  Add more espresso, as needed, if mixture is stiff.  Let the mixture cool so that the eggs won't cook when you add them, then add the eggs and blend until smooth.

Remove food processor bowl (or blender) from electric stand and stir in the walnut pieces with a spoon or spatula.

Line a small baking dish (8 x 8 inches for thin brownies) with parchment paper and pour the batter over.  (I actually had to use a larger pan, but my batter was thick enough to stay in place in the center of my pan without spreading too far.)  Bake at 325 F (165 C) for 25 minutes.  Cool completely (a deeper chill will produce a denser consistency), then slice and serve.

Yeongeun Jorim (연근 조림) Sweet and Chewy Lotus Roots

A month or so ago, I made this side dish for my very first dinner party here in Korea.  Deciding to go take the plunge and prepare an all-Korean menu for the group of local Busanites that I'd invited, I was a bit nervous wondering if my cooking would make the cut with real Koreans.  ^^

I got positive feedback on my dishes, which I'm sure my new friends would have given me whether or not they were real successes.  However, this particular side dish, yeongeun jorim, received multiple rave reviews and was snapped up by my guests so quickly that I knew I had hit the mark with this one.

Though I usually don't have sweet dishes as part of the main meal, this side dish (반찬 / banchan) of chewy lotus coated with a sweet, sticky soy sauce glaze is actually a pretty fun contrast for flavor and texture when served as part of an array of Korean side dishes.

I love how the saltiness of the soy sauce keeps the syrup from being cloying, and I've been enjoying this yeongeun jorim as a little snack when I am just craving something sweet!

Yeongeun jorim (연근 조림) literally means "lotus root simmer."  The word for lotus root, yeongeun/연근, comes from the Chinese 蓮根 (lián gēn), while jorim/조림 is a pure Korean word referring to something that has been simmered or stewed in soy sauce.  Here I use a dark syrup made from rice malt, which yields a great depth of flavor, but you could substitute it with corn syrup in a pinch.

Yeongeun Jorim (연근 조림) 

350g package of sliced (0.5mm thin), pre-boiled lotus root

3 1-inch square pieces dried kelp (다시마/dashima)

1 dried shitake mushroom

4 cups water

1/4 C soy sauce

3/4 cup rice malt syrup (known as 쌀올리고당/ssal oligotang or 조청/jo cheong)

Sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds for garnish, optional

Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 2 hours, uncovered, until lotus slices are soft and chewy, stirring occasionally to make sure lotus slices stay submerged and cook evenly.  (If water evaporates too quickly and you haven't yet achieved the desired degree of chewiness, add more water as needed.)

 During cooking, the water will evaporate, and by the end of cooking, remove the kelp and mushroom and continue reducing the sauce until it becomes a syrupy consistency.  The lotus root is pretty forgiving, so it should be fine if you want to speed things up at the end and just boil the syrup down to finish it off.

Remove from heat and gently stir in the sesame oil and garnish with sesame seeds.  Cool to room temperature; store refrigerated.

Hallabong (한라봉), the Sweetest Orange

 

Some of the sweetest oranges you'll try, Hallabong oranges, a specialty of Jeju Island in South Korea, are a treat for the eyes and the tastebuds.



Look for the characteristic, funky bump surrounding the stem.  I wonder what makes the orange's bump?



These oranges are in season from winter through early spring, so I'm seeing a lot of them here in Korea right now.  After harvesting, the oranges are sometimes held back from the market for a time, allowing the acidity levels to fall and the sugars to develop until a desired flavor profile is attained.

 

They peel so easily!  Which is a good thing--a really good thing--if you are the hostess preparing fruits at the end of the meal, working under the watchful eyes of your guests.  I'm no expert in actual fruit preparation, but I have learned that here in Korea, the way you prepare and present fruits in front of others, especially your elders and (potential) in-laws, is filled with meaning!  One of my next goals in life is to master the art of cutting and peeling fruits the Korean way...yep.

 

In Korea, these are grown primarily on Halla Mountain, or Hallasan (한라산), from which the oranges get their name.



Keep on the lookout for these Hallabong oranges--are they available outside of Korea and Japan (there they are called dekopon)?  In any case, don't forget your vitamin C; we're just coming out of winter and it's important to stay healthy!

Squid and Vegetable Muchim (오징어야채무침) -- And How to Clean a Squid

After 6 months of gallivanting about the globe (racking up well over 60,000 flight miles and sleeping in over 22 different places in that span of time), I've finally settled down in Busan, South Korea for this season.  I've been crazy-blessed, getting to see so much of the world (thought my passport pages weren't going to last me!), but I have to say I am blessed once again to stay put now for a while.

As I try to recover from the whirlwind of 2012, I'm slowly finding energies again to do non-survival-activities, like cooking and photographing.  Sadly my DSLR is back in California, being well-cared for by my parents, so I'm back to just point-and-shoot photography again.  And, all my lovely dishes, linens, and tableware is also back home, packed up in storage, which does put a damper on my food photography.  Sigh.

But the culinary landscape has been absolutely a dream here in Korea!!  One of these days I'll have to get my DSLR back again and start trying to do justice to all I encounter.  I feel like I'm eating constantly, with the best banchan, tastiest stews, and delightful Euro-Korean baked goods everywhere.  I'm doing my best to learn about what I am eating on a daily basis, and I'm hoping that one day I'll know these awesome dishes well enough to make them all myself.



Taking things one at a time, I decided to recreate a tasty side dish (banchan) that I had for lunch a couple weeks ago.  It's a bit like a salad of sorts, a mix of sauteed squid and fresh vegetables all tossed in an amazing spicy and tangy red pepper paste dressing, with the fragrance of roasted sesame and the fresh perilla leaves.

I loved it just the way I've written the recipe below, but next time I might add more perilla leaves and perhaps use one more squid, or add in some other type of seafood for a medley of textures.

But back to this particular version, here's what you'll need: Green cabbage, Swiss chard, fresh perilla (wild sesame) leaves,  fresh squid, rice vinegar, roasted sesame oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds, Korean red pepper paste (gochujang), and sugar (forgot that in the photo!).



Not having my trusty Trader Joe's nearby to sell me pre-cleaned and pre-cut squid, I entered into new territory and cleaned squid myself for the first time!  Turns out it's pretty easy and fun to do, so if you ever want to get some fresh squid, don't be intimidated, just go for it!

How to clean a squid at home in 6 easy steps:

1. Position your squid on the cutting board. (Ahem, see how easy this is?)
2. Placing the knife below the eyes and above the beak (you'll find where the tentacles join together), cut through the body.  (Oops...I cut through the ink sac!)
3. Find the beak, and then cut it from the tentacles and discard it.
4. Grab the mantle (large portion on the left in the photos) firmly with one hand and then with your other hand grab the head (region with the eyes) and pull the "guts" out of the mantle.  Discard the eyes and the attached guts.
5. Find the end of stiff quill within the mantle and pull it out.  At this point, if you find there is any "gloop" still inside the mantle, scoop it out with a spoon.  Briefly rinse the squid, if necessary.
6. Finally, slice the squid as desired (I cut the mantle twice, lengthwise, then cut crosswise for a very coarse "julienne").



Next, cut up your veggies.  I won't elaborate much here, but it sure makes it easier when you fold the large leaves before slicing!  (Oh and yes, I washed the cutting board between the squid and the veggies.  You've got to be careful about cross-contamination in the home kitchen, you know.)



This kind of Korean side dish is called a "muchim" (pronounced moo-chim), which refers to anything that gets seasoned with this tangy red pepper paste dressing.  I find it pretty addictive, and the great thing is, this kind of food is super healthy so everyone has permission to indulge!

오징어야채무침 Squid and Vegetable Muchim

2 fresh squid (오징어)

1 tsp. vegetable oil

5 leaves Swiss chard, cut in ribbons

10 perilla (wild sesame) leaves, julienned (깻잎)

1 ½ cups chopped green cabbage (양배추)

¼ cup gochujang (고추장)

3 Tbs. rice vinegar (현미식초)

2 Tbs. soy sauce (진간장)

2 Tbs. roasted sesame seeds (볶음참깨)

1 Tbs. roasted sesame oil (참기름)

1 Tbs. sugar (설탕)

Clean the squid and cut into small strips (about 1 ½ inches long).  Heat a little sesame oil a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and stir fry the squid until opaque and just cooked through, about 1 minute.

Place the Swiss chard, perilla leaves, cabbage, and squid in a large work bowl, then add the seasoning ingredients on top.  With a gloved hand, mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined and everything is coated evenly with the seasoning mixture.

Serve as a side dish for a traditional Korean meal at home or in your dosirak (lunch box)!  Store any leftovers in an airtight container, refrigerated.

Persimmon Breakfast Cake

This year my favorite Christmas present was getting to come back from Korea to spend Christmas in Santa Barbara with family--my parents, my sister and her kids visiting from the East Coast, and my brother.  It was a special time, with me and my siblings all together for the holidays for the first time in years.

We enjoyed breathing in the incomparable sea air, smelling the refreshing smell of the chaparral, walking by the beach, resting by a crackling fire, cuddling with the little ones, and taking in the beauty of the family garden and of the Santa Barbara good life.  Here in our garden alone we've got pomegranates, oranges, and tangerines in full season, with persimmons on the out and next year's avocados just coming in.

With my nephew and new little niece along, my sister asked if we could incorporate one of her new family traditions for her kids--having a birthday cake on Christmas day in celebration of the Christ Child's birthday.  Since I'm the designated baker in the family, and since I'm usually responsible for preparing Christmas brunch, I thought I'd make her a more wholesome cake that would fit in at the breakfast table rather than as a dessert for later in the day.  And didn't it turn out to be a delicious and festive birthday cake!  Hearty from the whole wheat flour, low in fat and yet moist from the persimmon purée (thanks to my mom for prepping our persimmons!), and topped with a tangy, fluffy topping of non-fat Greek yogurt and whipped vanilla cream, this a cake you can feel good about indulging in, whether it be breakfast or any time of day.

Wishing you a very happy holiday season and all the best for a healthy and prosperous new year!



Persimmon Breakfast Cake with Fluffy Cream and Yogurt Whipped Topping
Adapted from David Lebovitz

For the cake 
2 cups (280 g) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cups (210 g) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (4 ounces/110 g) melted butter
1 2/3 cups (415 ml) persimmon purée
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60 ml) brandy

For the whipped topping
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt 
1/4 cup (25 g) pecans, toasted and crumbled

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 10-cup (2.5-liter) Bundt cake (or other shaped baking pan) with butter.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and granulated sugar.  In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, persimmon purée, eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and brandy.

Make a well in the center of the flour, then add the persimmon mixture and gently stir just until everything is moistened.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool 10-15 minutes until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan.  Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let cool completely, then transfer to a serving plate.  (Can be made ahead; wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature 2 days or refrigerated if stored longer.)

To make the whipped topping, place the heavy cream in a chilled bowl and beat on high.  Just as soft peaks begin to form, add the vanilla and sugar and continue beating to mix in thoroughly.  Place the Greek yogurt in another bowl, then gently fold the whipped cream into the yogurt in 3 separate additions.

Just before serving, spoon the whipped topping over the cooled cake and garnish with crumbled toasted pecans. Leftover frosted cake will keep for a day at room temperature or longer if refrigerated.

Easy Thanksgiving Liver Paté

Well hello everyone!  I sheepishly admit it has been quite a while since I've last posted here...and oh, how I've missed it!  The past half year has been an utter whirlwind of adventure, traipsing about the world for work, from Korea to Singapore to Germany to New York, with welcome breaks every now and then in California.  I've seen countless national treasures throughout Korea, sat next to rock stars, met with world-renowned doctors, switched companies, been thwacked in the nose by a Hong Kong waiter, leveled up a time or two in my frequent flier program, and eaten my way around Taipei.  It's been a life-changing season of discovery and growth, no doubt about it, and it's been a life that just six months ago I'd never have dreamt of experiencing.

With so much change, travel, and cross-cultural immersion in so short a time, I've been all the more grateful for the chance to return to my parents' home in Santa Barbara to catch my breath, rest, and celebrate Thanksgiving with my family this past week before I return to my new home and new company in Korea.

And though it's been a while since I've been able to do much cooking, once I got into the familiar kitchen, with all my favorite cooking tools at my fingertips, I slowly warmed back up (okay, getting burned by the oven a couple times in the process) and figured out I hadn't forgotten how to cook!

One of my favorite things I made this past week was this easy liver paté.  Do you ever wonder what to do with the giblets after cleaning your Thanksgiving turkey?  My family's never really been into the giblet gravy thing, so we often end up tossing these odds and ends.  But when I saw the gorgeous, plump liver from our turkey this year, I had the sudden urge to transform it into a luscious paté.  Foie gras might be out of the picture here in California right now, but there's nothing stopping you from making a tasty (and may I add, a very nutritious) poultry paté!

While many patés rely on animal fat for a smooth and glossy texture, I forgo much of the fat here and instead add a generous amount of soft-cooked onion.  You'll love the flavor and the fact that this paté is good for you through and through!

Easy Thanksgiving Liver Paté

Scant 1 Tbs. butter
1/4 onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup raw poultry livers
2 Tbs. brandy or cognac
finely ground sea salt and black pepper
finely ground nutmeg



In a small skillet, sweat the chopped onion in butter until translucent, then add the raw liver and sauté until cooked through (I kept the lid on for the sweating and for the sautéeing to help things cook evenly through).  Add the brandy and stir, raising heat to boil off alcohol and evaporate all liquid.

Transfer the liver mixture to a small blender (or narrow bowl--as I used an immersion stick blender to more easily blend this small volume) and blend until smooth.  Season to taste with finely ground salt and pepper, and a smidgen of finely ground nutmeg.  Cover the paté and refrigerate until chilled.

Serving suggestions: This easy liver paté is delicious eaten simply spread on slices of baguette.  But you can add marinated artichokes, pickles, or other briny vegetables alongside for a tasty appetizer, or you can include a generous layer in your next sandwich (I'm thinking it'd be fantastic as a part of these banh mi sandwiches)! Yummy pate in about 15 minutes!

The kongguksu that won me over

I've always thought Cicero's proverb "cibi condimentum esse famem" is pretty true, and when discussing the flavors and merits of a meal, I'm wont to comment that "hunger is the best sauce."  Hasn't it been your experience, too, that after eating a really big multi-course meal, whatever comes at the end of the meal has to be truly amazing to get glowing approval from your taste buds?  There have been only two instances in my life where the last dish stood out to the point that set me raving over it.  The first was a fried rice with uni sauce served after a huge dim sum meal at Koi Palace in Daly City several years ago, the second, which I want to tell you about today, was this 콩국수 (kongguksu) that I ate in Busan a few weeks ago.


The meal started gently and innocently enough at first, with a light dish of shredded raw skate and vegetables in gochujang sauce.  (The colors and flavors were beautiful, but texture-wise it was quite shocking how crunchy raw skate is!!)

What followed, then, was a feast of (g)astronomical proportions, including crispy-fried green mountain vegetable and tiny, crispy-fried crabs (just as tasty as popcorn!), various namuls (gosari, hobak, and kongnamul), abalone (전복) and other mollusks, fried slices of ojingeo soondae (오징어 순대, rice-stuffed squid)... 

...as well as gungjung ddeokbokki (궁중 떡볶이), kimchi dubu (김치 두부, pan-fried tofu with kimchi-pork stir fry), a couple of types of broiled fish, hongeo samhap (홍어삼합, a triumvirate of steamed pork, kimchi, and fermented skate), various fried "pancakes" (전), and several other dishes that I simply cannot remember now.

Not realizing how many courses this meal was going to be, I'd eaten well past the point of satiety (I couldn't not try everything that came out to the table!) by the time the second-to-last dish was presented.  And when I saw what it was, I thought no problem, I don't even like kongguksu anyway.  You see, I had had kongguksu before, thought I knew what kongguksu was like, and thought I could just politely taste this for show and then not bother with the rest of it.

But, after loosening the nest of noodles in the chilled soybean milk sauce, tightly twirling a few strands of noodles thickly coated with ground sesame powder and cucumber slivers around my chopsticks, and carefully transferring the bundle to my mouth, things changed.  This kongguksu was nothing like I'd experienced before.  I actually liked it!  No, I loved it!  I spooned up some of the thick, cold soybean broth made just moments before in-house.  With an amazing texture and nutty flavor from the bean and sesame combination, I could not help but finish the whole bowlful.  Forget that I'd already eaten a huge feast and this kongguksu was enough to be a meal on its own; it was that good.  I am officially now a fan.

Accompanying the kongguksu course was some of the best chonggak kimchi I've ever had...young white Korean radishes with their green tops on.  Crunchy, slightly sour from the fermentation, and fresh and spicy, the chonggak kimchi perfectly accompanied the creamy, soft and chewy noodles.

Yes, the kongguksu and chonggak kimchi combination was truly spectacular, standing out even after all those dishes that were served.

If you're ever in Busan and looking for a fantastic meal from start to finish, I recommend heading to 통나무 하우스 ("Tongnamu House," or literally "Log House"), at 210-11 Oncheon 1(il)-dong, Dongnae-gu, Busan, South Korea.