Edamame Kuku

Wasn't it John "Hannibal" Smith from the awesome 1980s show The A-Team who said, "I love it when a plan comes together"?. Well, that's kinda how I felt today after executing Yotam Ottolenghi's kuku (an Iranian Jewish Frittata), albeit having made a few ingredient-modifications for the lack of barberries and broad beans (two ingredients in the original recipe). 

I've been lusting after Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's cookbook Jerusalem for a while now - it didn't help that my friend, colleague and fellow food lover Jane of The Wayward Oven kept raving about all the recipes in the book - and today, finally, I purchased it along with a basketful of ingredients the two gentleman use abundantly in their recipes.

Jane urged me to start with the A'ja (Bread Fritters) which is on page 64 of the book but I was sidetracked before I even reached there because on page 38 was the gorgeous visual of a Broad Bean Kuku in a well-seasoned skillet. 

See for yourself: I took a picture of my frittata alongside theirs (see pic below) ... hee hee. Yes, I am pretty pleased with the way my kuku turned out ... After all I did say, I too love it when a plan, or in this case a recipe, comes together nicely. :)

As I mentioned earlier, kuku is similar to the open-faced Italian omelette, the frittata. The most well known is probably the kuku sabzi, which is flavoured with a combination of herbs and/or leafy greens like parsley, chives, coriander, dill, spinach, lettuce ...). For this recipe, Ottolenghi and Tamimi use broad beans as well as a couple of herbs: dill and mint.

In my rush to get home to cook, I missed out the broad beans. No big deal, I figured, since I had some edamame (young soy beans) at home. I love edamame more than broad beans anyways (and they kinda look the same)!

I also didn't have barberries. These aren't readily available except in middle-eastern grocers (which are few and far between here in KL) so it was not easy to source. I decided to replace them with dried cranberries. 

Cranberries aren't as tart as barberries but I read somewhere (I can't remember where or when) that the tartness can be somewhat replicated by first soaking the dried cranberries in lemon juice for about 15-30 mins. So, I did that. 

The lemon-soaked cranberries (that are also later soaked in a simple sugar-syrup) added a tarty (did I really use that word?) sweetness to the otherwise savoury and robust kuku. Their ruby redness also added a pop of colour to the dish. 

Unlike an omelette where the egg usually overpowers the ingredients, in this kuku, the egg-filling ratio favours the ingredients: the beans, herbs and berries pack the omelette and the egg is just there to bind them all together ... well kind of.

The addition of safron-infused cream adds yet another dimension to this egg dish. The recipe suggests that you eat the kuku with some yoghurt with cucumber but I served it with sour cream instead. 

Now, I don't normally judge a dish I've cooked by the response it gets from others (usually, if I love it, it's good to go!) but this time my husband R's reaction to this kuku was quite a reflection of how really good it is.

R isn't a die-hard fan of omelettes or eggs for that matter. Unlike me, who rushes straight to the omelette station at a hotel breakfast buffet, R can go a month or three without eating an omelette or a quiche or a frittata. I can't! I need my omelette fix every week. At least!

But this edamame kuku? Well, R finished half of it by himself. I was almost afraid there wouldn't be any left for me! (Disclaimer: I halved the recipe because there is only two of us at home and I didn't want leftovers as I wanted to try more recipes tomorrow!).

This was ... to put it crudely .. one damn good frittata!

Edamame Kuku
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sam Tamimi's Broad Bean Kuku in Jerusalem

250g frozen edamame
1 tbsp castor sugar
20g dried cranberries (soaked in the juice of 1 lemon)
2 tbsp double cream
1/4 tsp saffron threads
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, smashed
4 eggs
Scant 1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp dill, chopped
1/2 tbsp mint, chopped
salt and black pepper

Add a tsp of salt to a pot of water and boil. When boiling, add the frozen edamame and cook until the water boils again, for about 3 mins. Drain and refresh under cold water. Shell the edamame and set aside.

Combine the double cream and the saffron and bring to the boil. Take the pot off the heat and let the saffron infuse into the cream for about 30 mins.

Drain the cranberries from the lemon juice.

Dissolve the sugar in about 75ml boiling water. Soak the cranberries in the syrup for 10 mins.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick, oven-proof skillet (mine was an 8-inch one). Add the onions and cook on medium heat for about 4 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 mins. Add the edamame and stir to mix ingredients together and coat the edamame with the oil, garlic and onions. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat the oven to 180C.

Beat the eggs until frothy in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, saffron cream, herbs, 1 tsp salt and pepper and whisk together well.

Add the strained cranberries and edamame and onion mix and stir together.

Wipe the skillet clean. Add the remaining 2 tbsp oil and put the skillet in the oven to heat up for about 10 mins.

Remove and pour the egg mixture in. Cover the skillet and bake for about 15 mins. Remove the lid and continue to bake for another 20-25 mins till set.

Remove and serve with sour cream/yoghurt+cucumber.

Edamame, Radish and Corn Salad

After a weekend ... no make that a week ... of unhealthy dining and irregular meals (if a chocolate tart at 10pm for supper (three days in a row) isn't unhealthy, I don't know what is!), I've decided to eat healthy this week. 

No, that doesn't mean just salads and soups and stuff but it does mean cutting back on the sweets, oily, deep-fried, greasy grub that I've been indulging on for what seems like too long.

I started with this simple Monday salad: edamame, sweet corn, red radish, walnuts and Parmesan cheese. The dressing: olive oil, rice-wine vinegar, lemon, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Purely improvised (which means it doesn't have a fancy name) but tasty nonetheless.

I've never been a big fan of salads, rally. Raw or barely cooked vegetables with dressing? I'd reach for a plate of steaming curry noodles any day. But all it took is one fantastic salad to change my mind. That one fantastic salad was one I had recently at a friend's home. Just green apples, Feta cheese, spinach and walnuts. There was a choice of dressing: a simple red-wine vinegar dressing or a blue-cheese one. I opted for the latter and was in heaven. Wowza. Salad? Really?

That was a while ago and I have to admit that I am now a salad convert.  It won't be the first thing I gravitate towards at a buffet but it wouldn't be the last thing I'd touch with a ten-feet pole either. 

I don't know if this salad will blow your mind the way the apple salad did mine but it's tasty and has some of my favourite ingredients in it: edamame, walnuts, cheese and radish. Delicious, peppery red radish. 

Just a little but of olive oil and salt and pepper would have been enough to dress this salad, really, but I opted for a little tang from the rice-wine vinegar and lemon and then some sweetness from honey (which really goes well with the Parmesan). 

Edamame, Radish and Corn Salad

1 cup edamame (I used frozen ones in the shell so I dunked them in salted, boiling water for a couple of minutes).

1/4 cup corn, steamed. 

2-3 radishes, sliced thin.

Walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped, a loose handful

Parmesan cheese, shaved

Parsley leaves, a handful

For the dressing

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp rice-wine vinegar

1 tsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 -2 tsp honey

salt and pepper

Combine the edamame, corn, radish, parsley, nuts and cheese. 

Whisk the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey and garlic until emulsified. Add the sugar, salt and pepper (as much as you need) and whisk till combined. 

Dress salad. Eat. 

Beet Burgers

It's Mother's Day tomorrow and though I'm not one for large-scale celebrations of  intimate moments, I like this particular celebration because I think mothers can never be celebrated enough. 

So this post is dedicated to my mother. Mum, you were right. Beetroot is lovely. 

I really never thought I'd say this. If you had asked me a year ago whether I'd like to eat beetroot, I would have pretended to gag so hard you'd be sorry you asked. But today? Today I sheepishly admit that I love beetroot.

My mother used to get really annoyed with me because I used to (and still do) proclaim how much I hated some vegetable (or meat when I used to eat meat) or other without even giving it a fair shot. I dismissed eggplant as being yucky simply because I hated the mushy texture of the cooked vegetable; I retreated when my mother offered me a slice of fried tempeh because it looked ... well, it looked quite strange. 

The turning point was an appetizer of roasted beetroot with goats cheese which I ate at some restaurant in London last year when I was there on a work trip. The good thing about work trips? We always eat well. Well, almost always. I was skeptical when I ordered the dish. I had little choice as it was one of the few vegetarian dishes on the menu and I wanted something light. The only other option was a couple of pasta dishes which I wasn't to keen on.

When my plate came, I cut a small piece of the beetroot (it looked so beautiful, the deep crimson of the beets against the white of the cheese and the green basil leaves in between ... awesome) and hesitantly bit into it.

It was love at first bite. I couldn't believe it. It was sweet and tasted like caramel and together with the creamy and slightly salty cheese, it was heaven.

I was turned and have been cooking with beetroot since and these beetroot burgers are a testament to that.

Beet isn't the only ingredient in these patties, but it is the star. I actually used beetroot in a patty for the first time when I was doing a story about vegetarian burgers for my column in Star2. I used beetroot because I wanted my patties to have the pink colour of a hamburger. NOT because I was craving meat but just for fun. But when I tasted the burger, I was amazed at how much of an impact the beetroot had in terms of flavour and texture. Encouraged, I tried different combinations (the first was beet + mock meat + broccoli), preferably a patty with just vegetables and no mock meats or tofu. And each time, the patty turned out well because (I am convinced, being the beetroot lover that I am now) of the crimson veg.

For the recipes, apart from the beetroot, everything else was an experiment so you can really add and subtract any of the vegetables that I have included. The important elements are the binders (I used breadcrumbs) and one ingredient that can bulk up your patty -- I used edamame in one instance, mock meat in another and potato in the third. Of all three, I liked the potato patty the least and will next time for for some other bean instead.


Beet Burgers
1 cup beetroot, diced very small
1 onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1/2 cup roasted broccoli, chopped small (optional)
1/2 cup edamame/any other bean, pureed
1/2 cup roasted cauliflower, chopped
1/4 cup red pepper, diced small
a handful of toasted nuts, chopped fine (optional)
parsley, chopped fine
 breadcrumbs (enough to bind the patty together)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper (or any other seasoning you prefer)
Chilli flakes/powder (optional)
1/3 cup cheese

Mix all the ingredients together to form patties.
Chill for 30 mins so the patties harden a little. Heat some Olive oil in a skillet and brown the patties on both sides, about 3 -5 mins each side and then pop then in the oven (200C) for 30 mins or till they're firm and are cooked through.

Edamame, Broccoli and Cream Cheese Sandwich

Is edamame (young/green soy beans) really the secret of Victoria Beckham's enviably stick thin figure? Well, some years ago, the former Spice Girl revealed that her edamame-rich diet kept her slim. She let herself cheat on a single cupcake once in a while but mainly, she feasted on edamame, strawberries and lettuce. 

No, I am not about to go on the Posh diet quite yet but I must say she chose a delicious and extremely nutritious vegetable as her staple. Known as the "magic bean", edamame is rich in amino acids and is a protein source. It's also high in fibre, rich in vitamin C and folic acid and is known to lower your cholesterol. 

Most importantly, the young beans are delicious: nutty and sweet. I love edamame. The Japanese consume a lot of edamame: boiled and seasoned lightly with salt, the beans are a great accompaniment to beer or sake and a delicious appetizer before a meal of sushi.

It also makes for a delicious dip, a great base for vegetarian burger patties (keep and eye out for my next post) and a fantastic sandwich filling. 

Edamame forms the base of this sandwich filling.

Step one: Boil about a cup of beans for ten minutes or so. Remove the beans from their pods and roughly mashed them.  Season with salt, black pepper and finely chopped garlic. Next, mix in 3 tbsp of cream cheese and 1/4 cup grated carrots to the bean mash. What you get it is a thick spread. At this point, with a couple of drops of lemon juice, you could it  into a dip too but I'd suggest you try it in a sandwich first. I spread a thick layer of the bean mash (make sure you leave some half bean chunks in, for some bite) on the base of my sandwich.

That was step one. Oh, I forgot to mention, step zero is to get good bread. Good, sturdy bread that won't dissolve once you load it with filling. I used the Zucchini and Cheese Loaf I made yesterday.

Step two: The next step is adding texture to the sandwich. No one really likes a completely mushy sandwich, right? I like a little crunch too and so, instead of lettuce, I added roasted 1/2 cup of broccoli florets — just toss the broccoli florets in olive oil and roast them for about 15 to 20 minutes and season with salt and pepper — on top of the edamame spread. Have you tried roasted broccoli? It's really fantastic.


Next comes the cheese layer.

Grilled cheese sandwiches have a huge appeal for me. I toasted my bread and then added a generous layer of  mozzarella on the top slice of bread and popped it under the grill for a few minutes for it to melt.

At the same time, I toasted a few walnuts (you could use almonds or cashews), chopped them fine and sprinkled them over the broccoli.

When the cheese has melted, press the top layer over the sandwich and you're good to go!

Nippon Aishiteru (I love Japan)

Ahhhh, Japan. I just got back from a week-long trip to Tokyo, Japan and I was blown away. What's to love? The food, the beautiful people, the buzz, the 99 Yen stores, lemonade Kit Kats (?),  ... twas hard to come back. Despite knowing only ten Japanese words/phrases -- Hai (yes), Konichiwa (hello) , Domo Arigato (thank you), Sayonara (good bye), Sumimasen (excuse me), Gomen-nasai (Sorry), Tasukete! (help), Ohayō gozaimass (Good morning), Wakarimasen (I don;t understand) and ikura desu ka? (How much is that) -- I had minimal problems getting around the city, ordering food, shopping or taking the trains. Sure, I got lost a couple of times ... in a cab! The cabbie  didn't understand me and I don't blame him but it was all good in  the end and with sign language and a lot of smiles, I was able to get where I wanted anyways.

I've been to Tokyo just once before, a couple of years ago. It was a busy working trip though and I had hardly enough time to explore the city. This time around, I was luckier. Though I has quite a few events to attend and five interviews to conduct (work really does get in the way of fun!), my schedule still allowed me two full days to explore the city. Also, since my travel buddies were night owls, I was out gallivanting in the city till way past midnight most night. Tokyo can seriously challenge the Big Apple for the "city that never sleeps" title!



I was also blessed because my two buddies, Shirley and Zoey, were rel foodies. Hard-core foodies who kinda made me throw my diet out the window. Aww, you're in Japan. Plus they have a gazillion instant diet pills that you can pop as you eat, they said. I was easily convinced. I had resigned myself to eating mainly tempura, miso soup, soba and edamame  throughout my trip. The Japanese are serious carnivores and although there are a number of vegetarian Japanese dishes, asking for a purely vegetarian dish (no bonito flakes, no pork or beef stock, etc) via sign language was just impossible. So, yeah, I had low expectations on the food spectrum.

Turned out, I was wrong. Yeah I had tempura (vegetables which are deep-fried in a batter - oh, my, it was delicious), miso soup (you can't ever go wrong here, yummmm) and edamame (to go with Kirin, way better than beer nuts!) but I also had some yakitori, vegetarian Onigiri (rice cakes), the most delicious grilled and chilled sesame-seed tofu served with grilled tomatoes ... and more. We ate everywhere, from small basement  (literally) Japanese restaurants to road-side stalls to really fancy five-star style restaurants.



Remember the movie Kill Bill? Remember the Uma Thurman's swashbuckling scene at the japanese rest (PIC above) ? Well the set was inspired by an actual restaurant in Roponggi, Tokyo called  Gonpachi and we went there despite mixed reviews about the food. It was AWESOME. (pics will be up later).

So anyway, to cut a loooooong story short, I am so in love with Japanese food now that I have been craving  nothing but since coming back. Let's start with the basics while I practice my sushi/onigiri skills. It's coming... I promise. Yesterday, I had a super healthy, detox Japanese dinner: edamame for starters and miso soup + tofu as my main (with some cold soba on the side). Yummmmm.

Simple Miso soup

4 cups water/light vegetable broth

1/3 cup miso (check the ingredients, not all miso is vegetarian)

3 scallions, chopped

1 tbsp shredded nori or wakame seaweed

1/2 block firm tofu, cubed

dash soy sauce (optional)

1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)

Bring stock to a simmer and add the seaweed. Allow to simmer for about 5 mins (low heat). Add the tofu, soy sauce and sesame oil and continue to simmer. Ladle out some of the simmering stock to dissolve the miso paste and then add it in the pot with the tofu.  When it comes to a boil, remove and serve.



To prepare the edamame, just boil in salted water for about 10 min or steam and season with salt and pepper. I added some red chilli flakes (bought in Japan for authenticity).