food & travel
7 w. bu
w .p
in
oy cr
av i
n
gs .
co
m
Cool Foods to Try This Hot Season
sa
w
ww
Epoch Times
nh
w
32 july 4 – 17, 2014
ap
s .c om
By Deborah Kim
W
ith the current heatwave we’re experiencing, cool and refreshing foods are often craved to combat the heat. While ice cream and cold drinks are frequently consumed to cool down, they are neither satisfying nor nutritious enough to help sustain you throughout the day. For those who are seeking for variety, why don’t you use this hot season to try out some of these yummy and interesting treats? www.houseofannie.com
1. Patbingsu (Korea)
A highly popular snack in South Korea, this sweet shaved ice concoction is served with a variety of toppings including chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, rice cake pieces, and of course—red bean paste (the pat in Patbingsu). But the ingredients don’t stop there—you can find nuts, cereal, fruit cocktails, whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and even a scoop of ice cream (or frozen yogurt) in different flavours along with your bowl of shaved ice (bingsu). With this many toppings, you might as well bring a friend along with you to share the dessert. Just make sure to finish it before the bingsu melts!
ww
l w.g
tr obe
ia erd ot t
.co ries
4. Zaru Soba (Japan)
m
Coming from a country with noodles as a staple, zaru soba is among the various buckwheat flour-based noodle dishes that are perfect for a hot day. This refreshing dish is super simple to make and requires very few ingredients. These thin noodles are served drained and chilled atop a sieve-like bamboo tray (zaru), and garnished with strips of dried nori (seaweed). A small bowl of cold dipping sauce (soba tsuyu)—made with dashi (fish stock), sweetened soy sauce, and mirin (rice
2. Halo-Halo (Philippines)
3. Bubur Cha Cha (Southeast Asia)
Bubur Cha Cha (alternative name: Bo Bo Cha Cha) is a simple and colourful dessert hailing from Nyonya roots—a mixed heritage that draws on Malay, Chinese, and other influences throughout Southeast-Asia. Less well-known is the tradition of serving Burbur Cha Cha on Chap Goh Meh, the fifteenth and last day of Chinese New Year—also known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day. This milky porridge-like dessert (hence the Malay word bubur) uses a coconut milk base and includes square-shaped steamed yam, sweet potatoes (in orange, yellow and purple colours), yam (taro), chewy tapioca flour chunks, sago, and black-eyed peas. This dessert can be served either hot or cold but it is said to taste best cold.
wine)—is usually served alongside the noodles, often mixed with wasabi and chopped scallion by the diner. Eating it is just as simple—all you need to do is dip the soba into the tsuyu mixed with the toppings you choose, including sliced cucumber strips, oroshi (grated daikon radish), and shrimp tempura. The dish doesn’t look like much but it’s guaranteed to cool you down and refresh you in no time—one slurp at a time.
5. Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnam)
Also known as “mix-mix” in Tagalog, this popular Filipino dessert is known for its eye-popping bright colours and unusual ingredients. While it’s similar to Korea’s Patbingsu (in its shaved ice, fresh fruit, and a type of sweet bean), Halo-Halo includes evaporated milk, jello, purple yam ice cream (ubeng pula), boiled kidney beans, chickpeas (garbanzos), sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut (macapuno), plantains caramelised in sugar, jackfruit, tapioca, flan, and cheese—to name some among many others. Halo-Halo is served in a tall glass or bowl in layers and it is then sprinkled with sugar and topped with crunchy rice and purple yam ice cream (or any other ice cream flavour). For those who are sceptical of the dessert, it’s definitely an acquired taste. But there’s no doubt that this colourful treat is gaining much popularity outside of the Philippines. Just keep mixing!
Otherwise known as the spring roll, salad roll, or summer roll, the Gỏi cuốn is a traditional Vietnamese dish that is both healthy, guilt-free, and incredibly fun to make. You could say that this is the perfect finger food because you can eat it directly after you finish the assembly—no utensils required. The dish uses a variety of ingredients such as marinated pork, halved prawn, freshly chopped vegetables, and rice vermicelli. But you can get creative and add avocado, pineapple, mint, and Chinese parsley to your plate—basically anything you like.
an .an WWW
-vie
tna
om m .c
The ingredients are then placed on top of the moistened Bánh tráng (edible rice paper) and rolled up before consumed. You can also add in some fresh chilli and use hoisin sauce, peanut sauce, or Nước mắm pha (mixed fish sauce) as your dipping sauce to add additional flavour to your nicely wrapped rolls. The best thing about this dish is that it’s not cooked (you just simply dip your rice paper in a bowl of water, preferably hot) and you have the freedom to add as many ingredients as you like so it’s perfect for those seeking a filling balanced meal. Continued on next page