Minced Chicken and Corn Cups

This was originally intended to be (Thai) krathong thong,  but I didn't want to make the pastry "cups".  I found several recipes but they all seemed so complicated that I nearly backed out.  Well, I did back out of making the cups but I still wanted to make something like krathong thong.

So I decided to use those ready-made wonton wrappers that were available in the supermarket.  But I quickly realized that I needed something to form the wonton wrappers into a "cup" or "bowl" shape, otherwise it would be a flat shell with filling piled on top.

The only thing that I could find which could work was a an individual mold for puto (rice cake).  I used it in a similar way to a krathong thong mold.  As can be seen, it's not perfect (I've read that the mold is really crucial to achieve the shape) but it could contain a couple of tablespoons of filling (and yes, it is rather big for a krathong thong because the ones I've eaten are smaller than a mini muffin cup!)

Still, our guests found their snacks delicious!  In fact, someone asked for more... :)

This is how the filling was made...

Marinate, for 20 minutes or so, a cup of ground chicken with a teaspoon of rice wine, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and a teaspoon of hoisin sauce, as well as a small piece of ginger (grated).

The rest is easy - saute minced onions (a medium onion) and then add the chicken.  Add half a cup of drained corn kernels and cook until all liquid has evaporated.  Adjust seasonings as desired (a little chili or curry is good!).  Sprinkle chopped parsley and spoon into the cups!

I based my recipe for the filling from the book "Authentic Recipes of Thailand" (page 32) but I used more soy sauce and less salt, more corn and no carrots, parsley instead of coriander... and I added some chili!

Crab and Corn Soup

I was in the mood for soup!  The rainy weather is certainly right for it.  The question was, what or which particular soup to make.  After all, I like nearly all kinds of soup...

The answer came by way of whatever was available in the pantry and the freezer.  In the pantry I found a can of sweet corn kernels.  In the freezer, I found 7 pieces of crabstick and a pack of frozen homemade chicken broth.  In the fridge, there was a pack of bacon bits.  So crab and corn soup it was!

1 small sweet onion, minced
100 grams bacon bits
1 liter of broth or water
1 large can of sweet corn, with liquids
about 7 crabsticks, cut into 3 or 4 segments
salt and pepper, to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Saute the onion and bacon bits.  When the bacon is crispy, add the broth or water.  Let the mixture simmer then add the sweet corn kernel, together with its liquid (but the liquid is optional).  When the soup simmers, add the crabstick.  Season the soup, to taste.  If desired, thicken with cornstarch slurry.  Bring the soup to a boil again then pour in the beaten eggs in a stream, at the same time mixing the soup to break the beaten eggs apart.

Native Corn Fritters

I love corn.  And while the sweet Japanese variety is delicious, I love the local (or native) white corn better.  Especially when it is fresh and perfectly cooked.

Sometimes though, there's way too much corn on the cob for us to consume.  And when that happens, corn fritters are my favorite "recycled" food...

The recipe came from this book -

on this page, but the recipe can also be found online here.

As usual I fiddled around and did not faithfully follow the recipe...

I used fresh native corn, which is the white variety and quite sticky when cooked.

Then I omitted the lime juice because hubby is not a fan of the sour taste.

And since I didn't have cornmeal (and our local supermarket didn't have them either) I just used regular flour. 

Also, instead of cayenne pepper, I used ground black pepper (at least about 1/2 teaspoon!)

My fritters came out pretty good despite my fiddling with the recipe.

This recipe is a definite keeper!