Author: Allison

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It’s another viewer redemption!

This time, one of our long-time viewers chose Armenian food.

Ordinarily, I’d do a ton of research trying to learn about the country’s cuisine, and decide which recipe I wanted to make.

However, this particular viewer is also a fellow cooking streamer – and his specialty is pizza. So when he mentioned lahmajoon and referred to it as “Armenian pizza”… it was a no-brainer.

I used a combination of two recipes for the lahmajoon. (I’ve seen a number of different spellings of this, but as far as I can tell, the Armenian version is usually spelled something like lahmajoon.). For the dough, we used the recipe from here, and for the lamb topping we used this recipe.

The lahmajoon was delicious, and so easy to make! Aside from the time needed to let the dough rise, it was fairly quick and easy to prep. I’ve really developed a taste for lamb in the last year, but even if you’re not much of a lamb person I think you’d enjoy this dish. The crust ends up super cruncy, and the topping is meaty, savory, not particularly gamey, and overall delicious.

And then we made balkava!

Baklava is one of those things I’ve always wanted to make, but could never really justify. BUT there is an Armenian version of baklava, so that instantly went on my menu for today.

Armenian baklava is a little different from the baklava I’ve tried in the past. We used this recipe, which is not as cloyingly honey-sweet as other baklava is, and much more spiced, with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

I also used pecans instead of the walnuts (because I totally thought I had walnuts on hand… and I was wrong), which overall led itself to a Christmas-y sort of flavor, with all the wintery spices. I’m sure it would have been just as tasty with the walnuts, but overall I was very, very happy with how it turned out.

People are not kidding when they say it’s a pain in the ass to make baklava. (And SO much butter… I think I had almost a pound of butter in the batch.). Next time I’d try making it in a larger dish – I used a 9×13 casserole dish this time, which meant I had to fold each sheet of filo in half (so much more work) and ended up with leftover filo. But it was 100% worth it. 10/10, would make both of today’s dishes again!

Today’s Question of the Day: What is your funniest cooking fail?

Visit my Twitch stream to catch up on past streams, and hang out when I’m streaming! Want to know when I’m in the kitchen? Hit the follow button (the heart up top) so you’ll get notifications when I’m live – it’s always free to follow! Or you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter, where I usually post when I’m starting the stream.

Missed the stream? Watch it on Twitch!

For the last few months, we’ve had a cookbook club going, where my viewers on the Twitch stream help choose the cookbook for each month, and then anyone who wants to participate can cook along. I also cook a few recipes from the month’s cookbook on stream, and have a potluck with some IRL friends at the end of the month.

This month, we had a tie – and I Am a Filipino: And This Is How We Cook, by Nicole Ponseca was one of the two cookbooks that come out on top, so we cooked from that today!

There are SO many recipes from the cookbook I want to make (seriously, everything in the cookbook looks amazing). Today, I made the Sizzling Sisig (page 264) and Tortang Talong (page 134).

Tortang Talong is essentially eggplant that’s been roasted so it’s soft, and then dipped in egg and pan-fried (kind of like French toast) with a sprinkling of crabmeat on top. It was SO good. We ate it with a drizzle of fish sauce, and was fantastic. The perfect use for two eggplants that were randomly hanging out in our fridge. The only problem is that it’s pretty much a grey blob, so not the prettiest of dishes… hence not having a photo of it.

The Sizzling Sisig is ohmygoodness amazing. Braised, then fried pork bits (in our case, pig’s ear and pork belly), seasoned with lime juice and sugarcane vinegar, and mixed with a few eggs at the very end. It’s oh so porky, crispy, creamy (from chicken liver and the eggs), tangy (which cuts the fat wonderfully). A scoop of this over a bowl of rice, with a bit of sriracha on top… amazeballs.

Today’s Question of the Day: What is your best nerdy pickup line?

Visit my Twitch stream to catch up on past streams, and hang out when I’m streaming! Want to know when I’m in the kitchen? Hit the follow button (the heart up top) so you’ll get notifications when I’m live – it’s always free to follow! Or you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter, where I usually post when I’m starting the stream.

Sizzling Sisig

from I Am a Filipino: And This Is How We Cook, by Nicole Ponseca, page 264

• 2 lbs bone-in, skinless pork belly
• 1/4 lb pig’s ears
• 1/4 lb pig’s snout
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 bird’s-eye chiles (optional)
• vegetable oil
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1/4 lb chicken livers, pureed
• 1/4 cup white surgarcane vinegar
• 2 tbsp calamansi juice or lime juice
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs

1. In a large pot, combine the pork belly, ears, and snout and pour in enough water to cover. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, and 3 of the chiles (if using) and simmer over medium-high heat until the pork is tender, 2 to 3 hours. Let the belly, snout, and ears cool in the liquid, then transfer them to a platter and set aside.
2. Heat a grill pan or cast-iron pan over medium heat. Grill the snout and ears over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side, or until they begin to char. Dice and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Dice the pork belly and fry until it is light golden brown, then set aside.
4. Dice the remaining 3 chiles, if you want extra heat, and set them aside.
5. Wipe out the skillet and heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and all but one-quarter of the red onion and one-quarter of the diced chiles (if using) and cook, stirring often, for about 4 minutes, or until soft. (The reserved onion and chiles will be used to garnish the dish.)
6. Stir in the chicken liver puree and cook, stirring often, until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the pork belly, snout, and ears and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Add the vinegar and calamansi juice and season with salt and pepper. Set this mixture aside.
7. In a cast-iron pan or heavy-bottomed (but nonstick) skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over high heat. Once the oil is very hot, add the pork mixture – be careful, as it will sizzle. Crack the eggs directly on top of the meat and sprinkle on the reserved onion and chiles (if you used them),
8. Serve the dish immediately. Place the skillet directly on a trivet at the table and use two serving spoons to stir in the eggs, making sure they are well mixed with the meat.

Tortang Talong

from I Am a Filipino: And This Is How We Cook, by Nicole Ponseca, page 134

• 2 large Asian eggplants (about 1/3 lb each)
• 2 extra-large eggs
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp crabmeat
• fish sauce, for serving

1. Preheat the broiler.
2. Lay the eggplants in a single layer on a baking sheet and broil them, flipping once or twice, until they are soft and blackened on all sides, about 15 minutes. (If you have a gas stove, you can do this by holding the eggplants with tongs over a burner on medium-high heat, turning them so they blacken on all sides.)
3. Place the softened eggplants in a ziplock bag. Set aside for 10 minutes to steam (this makes the skin easier to peel). Peel the eggplants, discarding the skins, and use a fork to gently flatten the flesh.
4. Put the eggs in a shallow bowl. Beat well and season with salt and pepper.
5. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Dip each eggplant in the beaten eggs, letting it soak for a second or two so that it is well covered with the egg. Season the egg-dipped eggplant with additional salt and pepper and place it in the skillet. Repeat with the other eggplant, making sure there’s room between them in the skillet. Place 1 tbsp of the crab (if using) on top of each eggplant, pressing it down with a fork.
6. When the eggplants are crispy and browned on one side, 4 to 5 minutes, flip them over and cook until browned and crispy on the second side, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the eggplants to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
7. Serve hot or at room temperature, with fish sauce.

Missed the stream? Watch it on Twitch!

It seems like all we do on stream these days are Cookbook Club recipes (we’re doing I Am a Filipino: And This Is How We Cook tomorrow!) and fishcoin redemptions – where users who have earned enough of the loyalty points that they automatically get for watching (“fishcoins”) can choose either one of the cookbooks I own or a country, and I’ll pick some recipes from that cookbook or country to make on stream.

Today, we cooked a country – Zambia!

These are always tons of fun for me, because they force me out of my Asian-American comfort zone, and push me to learn about the food of countries I may have never cooked from on my own.

For Zambia, we decided to make two things – mealie bread (like a corn bread) with blackened chiles, and the spicy tilapia stew from The Soul of a New Cuisine by Marcus Samuelsson.

We made an African fish soup once before – a Zimbabwean tilapia stew – almost exactly a year ago. That recipe had much more of an emphasis on tomatoes and bell peppers. Today’s recipe was definitely lighter, and a bit more bland. I think the Zimbabwean fish soup was much more traditional, whereas it looks like this recipe is more Marcus Samuelsson’s interpretation of Zambian stew. Not bad, but not quite what I was looking for.

That mealie bread, however – delicious, moist, flavorful, did I mention delicious? We’re both completely obsessed with it. It’s cornbread – but better! I love cornbread with whole corn kernels, and the roasted poblano peppers (I diced and sauteed them) added a kick of flavor with barely any spice. 10/10, would definitely make again.

Today’s Question of the Day: Which classic video games do you think are a must for a good, well-rounded gamer education?

Visit my Twitch stream to catch up on past streams, and hang out when I’m streaming! Want to know when I’m in the kitchen? Hit the follow button (the heart up top) so you’ll get notifications when I’m live – it’s always free to follow! Or you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter, where I usually post when I’m starting the stream.

Spicy Tilapia Stew

from The Soul of a New Cuisine by Marcus Samuelsson

• one 2 lb tilapia
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 medium red onions, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, cut in half
• 3 bird’s eye chiles, seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced
• 3 jalapeno chiles, seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced
• 2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 4 cups water
• 4 tomatoes, quartered
• 2 cups napa cabbage, shredded
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbsp chipped parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1. Fillet the tilapia, discarding the head and reserving the backbone. Cut the fillets into 2″ pieces. Cut the backbone into 4 pieces.
2. Heat the oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over low heat. When it shimmers, add the onions, garlic, chiles, ginger, cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, peppercorns, salt, and rice and saute for 2 minutes. Add 3 cups of the water and the fish bones, bring to a simmer, and simmer, uncovered, until the bones rise to the surface, about 10 minutes. Remove the bones and discard.
3. Add the remaining 1 cup water, the tomatoes, and cabbage, and simmer until the cabbage is wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the fish, remove from the heat, cover, and let sit, stirring ocassionally, for 6 to 7 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through.
4. Stir in the lime juice, parsley, and cilantro and serve.