Find the backstory for these articles in the March 2018 issue of the M-Ark.
Mandu
Submitted by Senior Alex Chang
- 1 package wonton wrappers (round)
- 16 oz ground beef
- 1 cup bean curd (mashed tofu)
- 1 cup chopped cabbage
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons green onion
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (additional necessary for pan frying)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Mix all ingredients (not including wonton wrappers) in a large bowl. Once filling is mixed, take one wonton wrapper and place a tablespoon sized portion in the middle. Using your finger, trace half the circumference of the wrapper with water, then seal the dumpling by folding the wrapper over the filling and pressing the edges. Fold the edges of the dumpling to give it a pleated look. Repeat until all filling is used. Steam or pan-fry dumplings until filling is fully cooked. Extra uncooked dumplings can be frozen and prepared later.
Croquembouche
Submitted by Shannon Kirkpatrick
Cream Puffs
- 1 cup water
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 4 eggs
Heat the water, butter, sugar and salt together in a pot until it starts to boil. Then dump in the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon (still over heat) until the flour is all combined and the mixture pulls away from the sides and the bottom of the pan, leaving a film. Take the mixture off the heat. Then I would transfer the whole thing over to a stand mixer or use an electric beater, because your arm gets really tired if you do the rest by hand. Mix the batter with the paddle attachment for a minute or two to release some of the heat, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing each one until it is fully incorporated before adding another. Use a pastry bag to pipe out the mixture into little balls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20-ish minutes. You know they’re done when they’re puffed, brown, and feel crispy (you want to cook them until they feel hard, or else they’ll collapse when they come out of the oven)
Pastry Cream to Fill Cream Puffs
- 2 cups milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- pinch salt
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
Boil the milk in a saucepan. While the milk is warming up, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth and creamy and light yellow, then add the flour and salt, and whisk again until light yellow and creamy. Add the vanilla and stir in. When the milk is boiling, pour a tiny amount over the yolks and mix it in until the egg mixture has incorporated. (If you don’t mix the milk in really slowly, the hot milk can scramble the eggs, so mix slowly at first!) Keep pouring small amounts of milk into the eggs until about 1/3 of the milk is mixed in, then feel free to mix the rest of the milk in one go. Put the mixture back on the stove over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick and bubbling. Pull it off the stove, pour it into a bowl, and press a piece of plastic wrap onto surface of pastry cream to prevent a “skin” from forming. Refrigerate the mix until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour.
Caramel to Stick Cream Puffs Together
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
(make this only when you’re ready to assemble the cream puffs into a tower, because you have to use it immediately once it’s turned caramel color)
Place 2 cups sugar and 1⁄2 cup water in a shallow saucepan and stir to combine. Cover and cook over medium heat until sugar turns light amber, about 15–20 minutes. Remove from heat.
Instructions to Put Together Croquembouche
Poke a hole in the bottom of the cream puff shells, then, using a pastry bag, fill the shells with the pastry cream. Then make the caramel. Putting the croquembouche together can be dangerous for your hands and fingers because the hot caramel can drip on you and burn you instantly…so I would dip the puffs in caramel using some kitchen tongs, or else I would wear a double layer of plastic surgical gloves to dip. Dip the tops of the cream puffs in the caramel, and then place the puffs, glazed side up, on a lined tray. Form a circular base with 12–14 glazed, cooled puffs, sticking them together with more caramel. Add puffs, layer by layer, to form a hollow cone. (Reheat caramel until liquid again if it becomes too thick; repeat making more caramel if you need to.) Once your tower is put together, allow the caramel to cool until it is the consistency of honey. With a spoon, drizzle thin strings of caramel around the cone; let cool until brittle and set.
Be sure to serve your croquembouche within 4 hours of making it, because otherwise the pastry cream softens the puff shells!
Fijian Chicken Curry
Submitted by junior Sai Sema
- 3 chicken breasts, cubed
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 tbsp oil (olive or vegetable)
- Cube of ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 diced potatoes (optional)
- 2 diced carrots (optional)
Heat oil in skillet. Add cumin seeds and allow to brown. Add onion and salt and let soften a little bit, then add garlic and ginger to mix but not burn. Add curry powder and mix well. Add chicken and coat well with curry mixture. You may add potatoes and carrots at this time (optional). Cover and let cook, stirring occasionally, then lowering heat when chicken curry thickens and is almost cooked. Once potatoes and carrots are cooked, turn heat off and let sit until served.
