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Recipe: Tacu tacu (Peruvian rice and beans)
Every developing country has a traditional rice and beans dish. In Perú we call it “tacu tacu” and it involves a little more than just rice plus beans on a plate. If eaten by itself, tacu tacu is gluten-free and vegan. However, tacu tacu is normally eaten as a side dish or with some add-on toppings. Common toppings include a fried egg, a fried egg + fried plantains (“a lo pobre” or poor style), a fried egg + fried plantains + steak, grilled or fried fish, seafood sauce, etc. I prefer to serve it with some protein and a salad and have included a list of traditional topping ideas in…
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Product review: Slendier konjac pasta and rice
As its name implies, Slendier is a brand of food products designed to help with weight loss. Slendier konjac pasta and rice come in different styles to suit your culinary needs. What is konjac? The dictionary tells us konjac is “the swollen underground stem of a herb that grows in parts of Asia and is often used for adding fibre to food, or the herb itself.” (1) Konjac is very low in carbohydrates and very high in a type of fibre called glucomannan, which is linked to several health benefits, including appetite control and digestive health. Slendier konjac range All Slendier konjac pasta and rice style products come in 2-serve…
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Which rice is better?
Following the discussion on carbohydrate-rich foods, today’s discussion is all about rice. In particular, we aim to answer the question: which rice is better? What is rice? Rice is “the starchy seeds of an annual southeast Asian cereal grass (Oryza sativa) that are cooked and used for food” (1). Rice belongs to the grains and cereals, alongside bread, pasta, oats, etc. This are also commonly known as “carbs” or “carbohydrates”, even though fruits, vegetables and legumes are also rich sources of carbohydrates. Although rice originated in Asia, it has spread throughout history to other parts in the world. Many countries, such as Spain and its colonies, Italy and the US…
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Recipe: My mum’s arroz chaufa (Peruvian fried rice)
Chaufa comes from chao fan, which apparently means “fried rice” in Chinese (not sure if in Mandarin, Cantonese or both). So yeah, arroz chaufa = “fried rice rice”. Arroz chaufa in Perú is very popular (as we have a large Cantonese community) and it comes in many varieties: chicken, pork, chicken + pork, chicken + pork + prawns (a.k.a. “special”) and I’m guessing nowadays also vegetarian/vegan. My mum’s version of arroz chaufa had chicken and egg omelette. Although I didn’t realise this at the time, this was one of my favourite weeknight meals. I would eat an entire serving out of the pot before it even left the kitchen. Mum…
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Product review: SunRice rice cups
SunRice rice cups are made by one of the main brands rice available in Australia. Back in the day rice used to be just rice, and people would have whatever rice was common in their place of origin. For example, medium grain rice is the norm in Perú, and we use it for most things – savoury and sweet. Brown rice became popular as people got more interested in health and other types of rice started appearing on shelves as consumers got interested in trying other cuisines (e.g. basmati for Indian curries, glutinous rice for sushi, arborio for risotto, bomba for paella). Similarly, a greater interest in consuming other grains…
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The porridge experiment (part 2)
Here’s an update on my breakfast experiment. As you may recall from part 1, the Chinese doctor asked me to eat porridge with black sesame, walnuts and goji berries for breakfast in order to boost my qi. Being always open to experimentation in the quest for optimal health, I decided to give it a go at least for a couple of weeks. My main concern was having a big whack of carbs first thing in the morning, which I expected to mess with my blood sugar regulation, hunger and potentially digestion. I was also worried about gaining to much weight from the extra carbs and giving up my morning keto-induce…
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The porridge experiment (part 1)
So 67% 83.3% of my household have been visiting a Chinese Medicine doctor (nicknamed “the fish food lady” by an MD friend of ours) to address various health issues. In my case, it’s a hormonal imbalance that multiple GPs, an endocrinologist, a naturopath and a gynecologist haven’t been able to fix. It was the gyno, actually, who recommended seeing me seeing a Chinese Medicine doctor. I tried the guy she recommended but I found his old school approach (boil herbs every day) too time-consuming. So I switched to the doctor my housemates (and other 4 close friends) have seen/were seeing, who happens to be conveniently located walking distance from home.…
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Recipe: Arroz con pato (Peruvian duck with rice)
Yes, rice. Not cauliflower rice, but real rice. Although I consider white rice a relatively safe starch, I don’t eat it very often because it can stuff up my digestion and make me chubby. After 3+ years of not cooking rice, Alvaro asked me to make arroz con pato (literally “duck with rice”) for his birthday. Arroz con pato (Peruvian duck with rice) Yield: 6 servings Ingredients 6 duck marylands 175 ml gluten-free beer 175 ml plain kombucha or chicha de jora 1 teaspoon fat (duck fat recommended) 1 medium red onion, chopped 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 teaspoon ají amarillo (yellow chilli powder) 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 bunch…
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Recipe: Cauliflower arroz a la cubana
The poor person’s Peruvian dish of choice is arroz a la cubana (Cuban-style rice), which I’m willing to bet doesn’t exist in Cuba (much like our Russian-style eggs, but that’s a topic for another time). When I was a kid it I considered it a treat (sweet fried stuff for lunch!) but then I realised it was just a cost-saving strategy. Either way, it’s a dish that is deeply ingrained in my memory, and as such, I crave it from time to time. I have no issues with eating small quantities of rice but this dish needs a big whack of it to fill you up and mop up the…
