Elle has been raving about the accras and bahji at La Dépense in the Jean Talon market. Unfortunately, they only offer the fried treats during the warmer months and so I was only able to try them in May. La Dépense is a specialty spice store in the market. Elle gifted me with six different spice blends one year. The package also came with a little recipe booklet and I made very good corn and shrimp fritters.
La Dépense.
A sign on a table outside right outside the store announces that hot bahjis and accras are back. You have to head into the store, and your order is taken at the cash. One portion is $3.
After you pay, the cashier gives you a token and you head to the back where all the magic happens.
Bahji token.
We decided to order the bahjis, which are made with carrots, leeks and lentil flour.
Bhaji.
You can then head back outside where there is a variety of sauces to eat your bhajis with.
Bhaji close up.
They're a perfect treat after doing your shopping at the market. Next time you visit Jean Talon market, make sure to leave some room for some fried treats!
I'm not very proud of my special ability of downing a whole (large) bag of potato chips. I've mentioned before that my weakness is salt. I get a pretty strong craving for salt daily, hence my love for chips. However, I have tried to cut back for 2011. No more large bag of chips for me! So I was really excited to try this kale chip recipe from one of my favourite lifestyle blog Sterling Style.
BBQ Kale Chips Adapted from My Father's Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow, via Sterling Style. I first tried this with salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. I then went looking for Cajun seasoning but could only found a spicy mesquite. I very much prefer the mesquite to salt.
* a bunch of kale * olive oil * spicy mesquite seasoning, seasoning of your choice or simply just salt
Thoroughly clean the kale leaves. Dry the leaves - I used a salad spinner. Cut the leaves off from the thick stem. Tear the leaves in small 1-2" pieces. Place the kale pieces in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, while mixing the leaves so they get coated evenly. Season lightly with your choice of seasoning or salt. (Do this carefully. I over-salted my first two attempts. It may seem like a lot of kale but they shrink down to nothing.) Spread on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or so at 375F (I switch the baking sheets halfway through), or until the leaves are dried out and crunchy - if you leave them too long, they become brown and slightly bitter. Tada!
The kale chips did a great job of satisfying my craving for salt. The kale gets a really crunchy texture too. Kale has a pretty distinctive taste and I wasn't sure I was going to get past it. These kale chips have really grown on me and are addictive! I now have a new ability: eating a whole bag of kale chips!
I asked my mom to teach me how to make bánh bao during my visit home. Bánh bao is the Vietnamese name for Chinese bao steamed buns. Bao, (it sounds more like pao to me), means wrap in Cantonese. There are different types of fillings for bao's, such as ones filled with char siu (Chinese BBQ pork), which are popular at dim sum. One that we make at home has a ground pork filling with an egg in the middle. My sister also loves kaya bao, a sweet version with a coconut custard filling.
Bánh Bao (Chinese Bao Steamed Dumpling) - Makes 18 Bao This is not a difficult recipe and it does not take as long as it looks, but it does require a few steps. I buy these regularly at the Asian grocery store nearby and those are also filled with some cabbage; my mom would say this is because it's a cheap ingredient! This recipe makes 18, but you can easily cut it in half.
Making the Filling * 600 g ground pork * 1 tsp salt * 1 tsp sugar * ½ tsp ground black pepper * 2 tsp cornstarch * 1 tbsp sesame oil * 2 sticks lạp xưởng (Chinese sausage), sliced * 1 handful sliced dried mushrooms (or 3 whole dried ones), soaked and well drained * 18 quail eggs, cooked and peeled - alternately use 5 chicken eggs and cut them into quarters
Mix the ground pork with the salt, sugar, pepper, cornstarch and sesame oil. Add the dried mushrooms and Chinese sausage. My sister asked that the sausage be cooked (quickly fried) beforehand to melt some of the fat; this is not necessary if you don't care about fat. Divide into 18 approximately equal portions. Take one portion of the meat and slightly flatten in your hand. Place a cooked quail egg on top of the meat and cover the meat around the egg to make a small round ball. Set aside.
The trick to peeling quailed eggs is to cool them down by soaking them in cold water.
Meat mixture with mushrooms and quickly cooked sausage slices.
Making the meat filling with a quail egg in the middle.
Making the Dough
My mom told me that she has a recipe using Brodie flour and that no other flour would work. I did not understand what was so special about this brand of flour. When she showed me the bag, I realized that it is self-raising flour. I'm guessing it could be replaced with all purpose flour with baking powder but I don't know in which proportion.
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 4-½ cups self-raising flour
* 1-½ cups milk
Mix the flour and sugar in a big bowl.
Pour the milk in and mix until it becomes a dough (you can flour your hands so the dough doesn't stick).
Let itsit for 5 minutes.
Divide into about 18 equal portions.
If you feel any lumps, work through the dough with your hands to remove them.
My mom's Brodie flour and mixing it with sugar.
Adding milk forms a dough!
Forming and Cooking the Buns
* flour
* 18 pieces of dough
* 18 balls of meat filling
* parchment paper, cut into 18 square (about 2" x 2")
On a floured surface, roll out a piece of dough into a circle, ideally tapered at the edges (this is where the dough is gathered so you don't want it too thick!).
Dip one of the prepared meat fillings in flour (this is to prevent the dough getting soggy at the bottom once the meat cooks).
With the piece of dough in one hand, place the meat filling on top.
Fold the dough over the meat with the other hand, pinching it closed while rotating the bun.
Place the bun on top of a piece of parchment paper.
Place the buns into a steamer, leaving a gap between them because the dough will expand.
Steam for 15 minutes.
Rolling the ball of dough (I was just trying to catch my sister's new ring in action!).
Covering the meat filling with the dough. Those are my mom's dextrous hands at work.
Once the buns are steamed, they are much larger.
Cutting the bun in two reveals the meat filling and the egg!
Sweet Kaya Bao - Makes 6
The same dough can be made with a sweet filling. My sister's favourite is a coconut custard that you can buy in a can. Other sweet fillings include lotus paste or red bean pastes. We ate these pretty fast as soon as they came out of the steamer!
* ⅓ of the dough recipe above, divided into 6 portions
Mix the coconut jam with the flour and cornstarch to thicken it (this also helps reduce the sweetness of the jam).
Roll the dough again.
Add about 1/6 of the filling onto the dough.
Cover the filling with the dough (my mother chose to fold these in half and fold the edges - in the same shape as bánh bột lọc. Any shape will do as long as the filling is covered up!).
Steam for 10 minutes.
Tada!
Coconut jam from a can.
Making the sweet kaya bao. The kaya oozed through the bun.
I obviously like eating, being a food blogger. I run so I can eat more but that's not sufficient. Therefore, I also try to eat healthy during the week. Weekends are for splurging! (I used to be on Weight Watchers and I still retain some of the things I learned there.) I really like snacking and if I could eat anything it would be potato chips (or cheesies), eaten alternatively with chocolate and cookies. For a post on a healthy recipe, this is not a good start...
A healthy snack that addresses my salty and crunchy cravings is Roasted Chickpeas that I got from Shape magazine. Not only will it help with your craving, but it’s also a great source of protein and fibre.
Spicy Roasted Chickpeas (from Shape magazine) The key to having crunchy chickpeas is to dry each chickpea very well beforehand and baking them sufficiently. The seasoning is just a suggestion. You could pretty much put anything you like.
* 1 can of chick peas, drained and patted dry * salt * garlic powder * cayenne pepper
Pat them dry with a towel. (I used to use paper towel but am trying to reduce my paper usage and a dish towel works perfectly without any waste!)
Bake in the oven at 400F on parchment paper for about 40 minutes or until crisp. (Parchment paper can also be re-used if you're trying to reduce paper usage.)
Take them out while they're hot and place in a bowl.
Spray with olive oil (so the seasoning sticks), add all of the spices and mix well.
Tada!
Note: These can be saved in a container for up to a week, IF they last that long!!
