le sauce

hoppers & egg hopppers

It's a little personal accomplishment to have a hopper recipe on this site. I never thought I would ever make them myself. They were my aunt's "thing" -- my parents left them to her to make and we enjoyed a generous batch whenever she did--perhaps that added to their mystique, somehow. But what mystyque? We're talking about the equivalent of a pancake batter, although these were often made special with the addition of eggs and they had a beautiful, covetable, lacy crust around the edges--and that, you see, was because of the special pan used, that allowed the batter to be swirled thin around the pan but evenutally pool in the centre and set to a thick, soft pillow there. A pillow that cradles a softly poached egg--the milkiest egg you've ever cooked. Ok, I see it now. These will always be a little magical to me, though no longer mysterious.

Let's talk about the batter, like the one you might make every weekend. This one uses rice flour and it sits covered overnight--that's how it differs from a typical pancake batter though it requires no more work. The batter ferments which is why hoppers have that slightly complex but subtle "bread-y" flavour and wonderful aroma that you get when you're so close to them you're tearing off a piece to eat, and that makes them ideal for savoury accompaniaments. The batter cooks in hopper pans--so small, lightweight and affordable that they would be worth adding to your already-packed kitchen (see my post about hopper pans) so that you can have hoppers every weekend or for dinner too. Did I mention the sides (*see below) can be made in batches and frozen? Meaning you could have hoppers within minutes if you took two minutes 8-12 hours earlier to stir a batter together.

The delicate crust that forms at the edges of hoppers are the reason to buy the pan. It's golden, it so thin it can shatter at the outermost tip but for the most part can handle a dip in warm, golden egg yolk and then be gently scooped through some sambol for a crispy, rich and spicy little boat that drips and threatens to break before making it to your mouth. The fluffy centre can be dragged through curries before being chewed, reminiscient of pancake but with much more flavour. And then...

...there's the egg. This is an egg unlike any you've had before. It's essentially poached, but not in water so the whites and yolks get to branch out more and retain more of their individual identities. Cooked only on the batter, the eggs retains even more of their integrity than when cooked in tomato sauce or on a pizza, undisturbed by competing elements, not encroached on phycially or by other flavours. In that sense it's like a fried egg that arrives solo and can be given proper attention, but it cooks much more gently, never coming in direct conact with heat, and the result is a warm golden centre but also the milkiest whites ever.

Both cooking hopper batter and adding an egg to the centre can be attempted in a regular, seasoned skillet but not to the same effect. What I would try is to swirl the batter, cook for a few seconds and then lift and swirl so that the uncooked batter keeps being sent to the edges where you will hopefully cook up a thinner and crisper intererior than the centre. Keeping the egg in the centre would be more of a challenge but a very small, high-sided pan might do the trick. Here's hoping you get to experience the same thing one way or another. If not, please don't hate me if I made you want one.

a tale of two breakfasts

James is really the one with a weekend breakfast ritual, although we both take it seriously. I like to treat myself to something special on Saturday morning, but he's made almost a tradition out of having toast, eggs and hashbrowns with entirely too much ketchup. He may fry up frozen hash or make his own from potatoes, he may make an elaborate omelette or a quick scramble, but he works within a set of parameters. I was having eggs on this particular weekend, but my execution (above) bent his rules too much. So, as often happens side-by-side we cooked separate meals and ate together the breakfast that each of us wanted.

This time:

James: Mutli-grain toast and butter, basil scrambled eggs with tons of Parmesan on top, garlic grilled tomato slices, coffee.

Me: Freshly cooked scented rice, tomato, tamari, basil and scallion scrambled eggs with black vinegar, sambol olek and soy sauce on the side and Jasmine tea.

Similar and also quite different breakfasts, depending how you look at it, for two people I could say the same thing about. It works. 

JK's house-made "nuttella"

I'm never the person that orders pancakes or french toast at brunch. I usually steal a bite from my brunch partner and that's as much syrupy, sweetness as I need. But thank goodness my friends decided we needed to share Jamie Kennedy's french toast with homemade nutella for "dessert". Of course the bread was downright fluffy, slightly crisp at the edges and the syrup and cream were just the right amount of sweet. But it was that hazelnut spread that blew.my.mind. It was as deep and rich as coffee--it had me wondering if there was coffee in it, actually. It was only semi-smooth, with the crunch of real ground nuts there to remind you that it was made in house. And it is a must-have if you ever visit Toronto's Gilead for brunch. And that--a sweet brunch item recommendation from me--is something rare.

all together

It always happens this way. Brunch with a few girlfriends, just french toast and mimosas, turns into a feast with custard, pancakes, rosti, eggs and more. Everything sounds like a reasonably small addition to the table, but all together, we see that we went all out--as usual. Deep down, we always know we're going to, because what we're really doing, aside from stuffing our faces, is celebrating being all together.

 

buttered bread with lunu miris

This is going to be hard to sell you on. I can't imagine that convincing you to spread ground chili paste on buttered bread for a snack is going to be easy. This is a breakfast I got hooked on when I was young, stealing so many bites of my mother's slice that she eventually had to make me my own. It's so simple, I hope you try this.

First, you make quick concoction of 2 teaspoons of chili flakes, a generous 1/4 teaspoon dash of ground cayenne pepper (which, since it's powdered, helps the paste form), about 1/2 teaspoon of salt to season, and bring it all together by mixing in about 1 tablespoon of water. A squeeze of lime juice and you have a basic lunu miris, though it is sometimes made with chopped onions as well. To eat: absolutely slather a soft piece of bread with butter and then as much lunu miris as you'd like. To turn it into a luxurious treat, have a ripe banana on hand to take bites of and a hot cup of dark, black tea.

(a big) pancake tuesday

I thought my mother was making "Pancake Tuesday" up when I was little. Not that I was complaining. If she wanted to create some fantasy holiday that obliged us to make pancakes, that was fine with me. I was a little surprised when she adhered to it religiously. One Wednesday she realized aloud and with alarm "we missed Pancake Tuesday!" and promptly made batter in an attempt to make up for it. Why not just move it to next Tuesday, I thought, but again, those were thoughts I kept to myself white waiting for the cakes to start hitting the plates.

It wasn't a "holiday" I adopted when I started cooking. I like pancakes but being a sweeter breakfast food, it's not something that's usually on my radar. But then I came across this recipe on food52 for David Eyre’s great big skillet pancake. The novelty of it, and the similarity to a slightly sweet and citrusy skillet pancake I'd recently enjoyed intrigued me. I bookmarked it and found myself looking for a reason to make it, but thankfully I didn't have to wait--or make one up. Pancake Tuesday is here.

I made the one in the picture above less than an hour ago. It was much lighter and fluffier than I thought it was going to be. And dressed with lemon juice and a fine dusting of sugar, I didn't even want jam or syrup on the side. It needed nothing, especially not forks. We just tore pieces straight from the pan with our hands and I highly recommend you do the same. It's better for enjoying the texture which is such a big part of why this pancake is great. 

winter weekend brunch

We're lucky to live near some of our best friends. So near by (and such great friends) that they will leave their homes on the very coldest day of the year, just to sit around the table and eat together. Brunch, that bitter winter day, was sweet challah french toast with syrup, herbed scrambled eggs, sausage (for those of us who partake of meaty things), fresh biscuits and jelly, hashbrowns, slices of fruit and strong coffee. It was potluck, there was too much food, we ate it all anyway. And I couldn't send them back out into the cold without thick hot chocolate and whipped cream. Here's to perfect Sundays!

some day, homemade string hoppers

I am just as fascinated today by the humble string hopper press as I was when I was a kid. It was like a Play-Doh tool for the grown ups in my family--same idea excepts it squeezes out something edible (see this previous post for a picture and more about string hoppers.) Thin strings of rice flour dough dangle from the press held high and are swirled onto woven mats, then the mats are placed in a steamer to cook. Simple, yet it intimidates me for some reason and I have yet to make them myself. My aunt whips them up for me on a moment's notice and I swear, the next time I'll make them alongside her so that I can share a step-by-step tutorial with you, including any workarounds for the equipment she uses. Then we can all make them at home! But..I suspect there may be no easy workarounds for the equipment...in which case, we'll all head to her place for some. She won't mind.

 

reset: breakfast with nut butter, matcha and hemp oil

Regardless of the fact that it's a pretty arbitrary point in time, many of us choose New Year's Day to draw a virtual line in the sand. We choose this as a time to improve ourselves, including our health and diet. It doesn't hurt that many of us are coming off the longest eating and drinking bender of the year, also known as "the holidays." I have consumed more cheese than I care to think about, eaten every salty and fried thing in site (that's a year-long tradition I can't escape), and replaced water with wine. I don't want to cleanse, I need to. I feel, in a word, gross.

But that was last year! Look at me now. So healthy. I am 6 hours into the new me and nothing can stop me now.

I'm starting with my go-to breakfast, which includes much more fat than you might expect. I was very skeptical when a friend introduced me to hemp oil, with 14 grams of fat per tablespoon. You can read all about the protein, mineral and, best of all, omega 3 fatty-acids and perfect LA-LNA ratio for yourself. I did. I'm certainly not recommending this or any other supplement to you, I mean, we hardly know each other, how could I? The information was enough for me to include it in my diet, chugged and chased with a gulp of smoothie. Which I then follow with just a little pumpkin seed butter on dense, healthy, whole grain toast. More fat, but more importantly something that is very filling and impressively high in iron. Still, you know I wouldn't consume these if I saw all that fat turning into, well, fat on me, but I find I notice the opposite happens, if you can believe it. Which you will also read about if you look into it. 

Lastly, my caffeine fix, and it's a healthy one at that. Matcha green tea remains the thing that kick starts me best in the morning, I actually feel more mentally alert (that phrase really just means "smarter!") when I drink it versus coffee, and yet it doesn't hold me hostage. If I skip it, I may be a touch sleepier but I don't seem to experience any caffeine withdrawal and I love that about it. I hate the headaches that used to come from missing the morning coffee I was hooked on, and matcha was the only thing that let me ease off the need for even a morning green tea, once I weaned myself down to that vice once a day. Plus it requires using a pretty whisk. 

If you're hitting "reset" with me too, I have to tell you that while my version will include so little wine in the next month that I want to stare out the window at the grey sky and wonder "what is it all for...", I'm not being totally strict about this cleanse. I'm making exceptions to bring you a cheese soufflé recipe this weekend, because I would never sit on something as glorious as that and not share it with you ASAP. Never. So cleanse 2011, includes a light dusting of cheese. Here we go!

a random bite of millet* pittu

i know. your brow is curled into a doubtful frown right now and i don't blame you. but this supply of strange-looking rye millet* pittu has served as warm, hearty, savoury yet not overwhelming breakfast all week. i've mentioned pittu before, but not often, because i don't get to enjoy it often. usually made of rice flour and fresh scraped coconut, pressed into metal cylanders and steamed, the ones above which my aunt made and brought over for me are made with rye millet* flour instead. and though usually served with coconut milk and lunu miris (a chili, lime, onion mixture), i improvised and used hot milk and made a paste of cayenne and lemon juice.

have i lost you? if i, myself, didn't know what this actually tasted like, it would be hard to convince me that something made with coconut would be desirable, for breakfast of all things, or that having chili powder and lemon juice with it (and with milk??) wouldn't be too much at 7.30am. but the crumbly, warm pillar softens in the steamy milk, and the cayenne and lemon mellow in so much so that all that remains is a mildly flavoured sauce--no feeling of heat really. short of having you over to try some, i may not convince you. short of figuring out a substitute, i may be eating my last bowl for a long while tomorrow morning. so i'll be on the hunt for something we can both enjoy this winter that mimics this. i'll report back if i'm successful--in the meantime, if you have any ideas, chime in. and i'm looking for other savoury, warm (and quick!) breakfast options again this year, so i'd love your suggestions for those too. 

*update 11/25: my mother called me this morning to clarify and apologize. she has discovered that the pittu above was made with a type of millet flour, not with rye. i'm sure you weren't rushing out to buy rye flour but still, sorry for the error! thanks for insisting on the update, mom. :)