Taiwanese Breakfast Rice Rolls 飯糰

My mother first introduced us to these breakfast rolls on a chilly Saturday morning. The chewy texture of the glutinous rice and the flavorful fillings made this my instant favorite. Many years later, The Husband and I made a trip to NY where he tried it for the first time and was instantly hooked. 

If you are ever in Taiwan, you will find food carts with large wooden buckets of hot steamy rice and about 20 different fillings that you can choose from. I had to replicate these rice rolls at home and used this recipe as a guide. 

Ingredients

2 cups sweet rice

1 cup regular white rice

6 eggs, beaten

1 tsp, vegetable or canola oil

¾ cup chopped dried radish

¾ cup pork sung (dried shredded pork)

1 Chinese doughnut stick, cut into 6 pieces

Cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Mix sweet rice with white rice and cook the grains with a ratio of 1 cup rice to 0.8 cups water in rice cooker. When the rice is done, allow it to simmer for another 20 minutes. * If you have a sweet rice setting on your rice cooker, use that setting.

2. Crack the eggs into a bowl and stir with a fork. Pour beaten egg mixture into wok or frying pan and make a pancake-like omelette.  When cool, slice into strips.

3. Heat 1 teaspoon of cooking oil and stir-fry the dried radish to bring out the fragrance. Add a little sugar to taste to reduce saltiness.

4. Bake the Chinese doughnut stick until crispy based on instructions on bad (if frozen).

5. Spread Saran wrap over an round flat plate. Place a single cup of rice onto the plastic wrap and spread the rice out into an thin, even layer. On top of the rice, place two tablespoons of dried pork sung and two tablespoons of radish, then add the egg and donut stick as well as cilantro if desired.

6. Use the plastic wrap to close the rice roll and shape the roll into a cylinder.

7. Press until firm and set.

8. Serve these rolls with the plastic wrap on.  Makes six servings.

These are perfect on-the-go breakfast snacks since they are portable. They are also great for kids! Now we can enjoy these treats at home until our next trip to Taiwan. 

Have a great Monday! We're off to Europe soon and can't wait to share with you our gastronomic adventures when we return. 

Mandel Bread

One of my favorite things about growing up in New Jersey was having so many Jewish friends. The rich history and culture was something that was so fascinating to me and talk about the food! 

Mandel bread was something I remember crunching away on whenever I was with the Cohen Family and this holiday season my friend shared the family recipe. Since I made a vegan version, I used this recipe for the egg substitute, but followed my friend's recipe. 

Vegan Mandel Bread recipe from the Cohen's

Ingredients

Wet

3 eggs (at room temperature) - (vegan substitute = 3 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 9 tbsp hot water)

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

Dry

3 and 1/2 c unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until about half way mixed through. Then add semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts.

3. Mix everything (best to use your hands at this point) until all combined into a big dough ball. Do not overmix!

4. If the dough is too dry, add a little bit of OJ or milk. If the dough is too wet, add some more flour—everything should combine easily into a ball.

5. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil or use a silpat like I did. 

6. Section the dough into thirds. With the palm of your hand, spread out the dough into rectangular loaves, approximately 1/2-3/4 inch thick, 3-4 inches wide, and 7-9 inches tall 

7. Each baking sheet will then have 3 loaves.

8. Bake the loaves for about 35 minutes, or until top looks cooked (should still be pale in color, not brown).

9. Cut the loaves into 1/2 inch wide slices and turn the cookies on their sides. Put back in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until they are lightly brown and toasty. Some prefer them a bit more crispy, and some like them more doughy—either way, it's all up to you!

Variation: Drizzle with chocolate for a festive decoration or dip in chocolate. 

Apparently, mandel bread is Yiddish dessert that has connections with Italian biscotti - hence the shape and texture. These are fabulous with some afternoon tea or lazy weekend coffee. 

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas everyone! 

Dining In: NYC 2011 - UWS and St. Mark's

We stayed with our friends, L+C, on the upper west side. So our morning meal was bagel and lox from Barney Greengrass. I have been craving a great bagel and lox since I left Jersey and this totally hit the spot. An onion bagel with scallion cream cheese and lox. Drool.

Ooey gooey chocolate chocolate chip and oatmeal walnut cookies. 

For dinner we headed over to St. Mark's and essentially ate our way through the area. First up, Mamoun's falafels. So cheap! 

Otafuku: Takoyaki. Freshly made before your eyes and super soft and tender squid balls. 

Pomme Frites + a million sauces. Enough said. 

We finished the night at BonChon with watermelon soju. An excellent atmosphere and fun times with good friends. Who doesn't love fried chicken with friends?

Hope you've enjoyed our NYC 2011 food chronicles!! Blogging will need to be on hold for a while.... unfortunately life is quite too busy these days.

Thanks for your support!