Category: Desserts

Mango Sticky Rice

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Confession time: I ate a lot of mango sticky rice in Thailand a couple of years ago. I mean, a lot. We’d check out a new restaurant in Bangkok or a little hole-in-the-wall in Chiang Mai and you’d think I’d want to try out something new, something different. I mean, we steered savory in general: simmered tofu in fermented soybeans, grilled fish with chili-lime dipping sauce, curried crab — but we always returned to mango sticky rice. I know it isn’t a revelation, but man oh man is it refreshing. There’s nothing on earth like a fragrant Thai mango in season. It’s like custardy perfume, in the best way imaginable.

Back in my kitchen at home, I’ve learned to recreate my favorite Thai snack, and it couldn’t be easier. The only caveat is that mangoes in the U.S. are a distant cry from anything I ever tasted in Thailand. Bay Areans: where is your favorite place to source mangoes? Drop me a line.

Mango sticky rice

Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
4 cups warm cooked sticky rice
2 mangoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise

1. In a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk, sugar, and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, pour 3/4 of the warm coconut mixture over the warm rice and stir with a large spoon until incorporated. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving, then plate alongside sliced mangoes. Drizzle with the remaining 1/4 of the coconut mixture and serve.

Sri Lankan Caramel Pudding

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A nation’s cuisine is in many ways a reflection of its history. Take Sri Lanka, for example. Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim, Indian, Indonesian, Dutch, and Portuguese influence factor into everything from street food to curries to desserts, a reminder of trade routes, colonization, and migration.

One of the sweeter examples is caramel pudding, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Portuguese flan. I include a tiny bit of ground cardamom in my version, but you can omit it. Either way, it’s a perfect cooling treat at the end of a Sri Lankan meal.

Sri Lankan Caramel Pudding

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons sugar
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cans water
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1. Heat sugar with 1 tablespoon water in a 2 quart stainless steel mold or saucepan until the color of amber. Swirl the melted sugar to coat base and sides, being careful to not let the caramel burn.

2. In a bowl, mix condensed milk, water, eggs, vanilla, and cardamom.

3. Pour mixture into the prepared mold or saucepan, cover with aluminum foil, and steam in a double boiler for 30 minutes until set. (The water should not boil under it but simmer.)

4. Remove from heat, remove foil, and allow to cool.

5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours before serving. Serve chilled.

Crepes with Dark Chocolate Sauce

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I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but crepes are one of my weak spots. (And doughnuts, especially the ones that rhyme with Drispy Dreme.)

But back to crepes. They’re easier to make that it appears, as long as your batter is sufficiently thin. If you find yourself producing pancake-like creations on your first couple of tries, add a bit of water to thin the batter and proceed.

These make an indulgent breakfast and are endlessly adaptable. (Nutella! Bananas! Whipped cream!)

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Ingredients:

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons butter, room temperature, plus 3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 eggs, room temperature
2 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups flour

1. Make the dark chocolate sauce: Heat cream in a small saucepan until steaming (do not bring to a boil) and turn off heat. Immediately add chocolate and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let sit until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons butter and whisk until butter incorporated and mixture is smooth. Set aside and keep warm.

2. Blend eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla in a blender until frothy. Add flour and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and blend just to combine. Cover batter and chill 1 hour.

3. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high, then brush with butter. Ladle 1/4 cup batter into skillet and swirl to evenly coat bottom. Cook crepe until bubbles form on surface and edges are golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Slide a spatula underneath crepe to loosen and carefully flip. Cook on the other side until a few brown spots appear, about 1 minute, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining butter and batter.

4. Serve crepes with dark chocolate sauce.

Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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Brace yourselves, Internet. I’ve found a cookie recipe so simple that even I, perennial great-chef-bad-baker, have managed to produce a chewy, perfect cookie. Ever since the Great Cornbread Disaster of 2007 where I tried my hand at “fluffy” cornbread only to produce cardboard-like tack, I’d doubted myself when it came to anything flour-based. These cookies gave me my groove back.

Oatmeal raisin cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Beat butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla, then flour mixture. Mix in oats, then raisins.

2. Using a tablespoon, scoop 1 tablespoon of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing each scoop about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on a wire rack.

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

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The first time I cooked with tapioca pearls a few years ago, I ended up with a giant mess. I was trying to recreate boba tea, and I overcooked the small, translucent spheres and the whole thing dissolved into a gelatinous blob that adhered itself to the pot. After that experience, I stayed away from tapioca pearls – until now.

When I came across this recipe for a cool, tropical tapioca pudding first published in Sunset Magazine, and by the Bay Area’s very own Tim Luym, no less, I knew I had to give tapioca a second chance. Luym is the former executive chef of Poleng Lounge, a fun, street-food centered Filipino restaurant that’s no longer around, but I’d met Luym at an Anthony Bourdain book release a few years ago and his super friendly vibe and his amazing use of Southeast Asian flavors made an impression on me.

But I digress. Back to the tapioca. Thankfully, this dish turned out to be really easy to make. Just keep an eye on the tapioca pearls as they boil and take care not to overcook them. Use small, white pearls, not the larger, dark ones that you typically see in boba tea. I topped this pudding with toasted coconut, mango, and grass jelly, but lychees, kiwi, or pineapple will work just as well.

Mother's Day sushi brunch

Ingredients:

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes
1 mango, chopped
1/3 can grass jelly, drained and chopped

Preparation

1. In a saucepan, cook tapioca in 2 quarts boiling water until only slightly chewy to the bite, 5 to 8 minutes. Pour through a fine strainer.

2. Meanwhile, in another saucepan over medium heat, warm the coconut milk, milk, sugar, and vanilla, until steaming, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Stir drained tapioca into vanilla mixture. Cook, stirring often, until tapioca pearls are clear and just tender, 3 to 6 minutes.

4. Let pudding cool, then chill, stirring occasionally, at least 1 1/4 hours. Stir in more milk if pudding seems too thick.

5. Spoon pudding into glasses or small bowls. Top with toasted coconut and fresh fruit.