Leche Flan and Creme Caramel

First things first, I am nuts - literally, about Leche Flan - that caramel custard dessert that makes its appearance every Filipino fiesta celebrated by each town in the Philippines dedicated to its patron saint. Now each town has its own patron saint and therefore each has its own feast day. It is not uncommon that these towns are just separated by a few kilometers and their feasts separated by a few days. One can attend a marathon of them within each and nearby town literally within days.
Now the funny thing about it is that each town fiesta is not just a one day affair. On the contrary, they are somewhat a three day festivity that begins with the pre-fiesta, the fiesta proper and post fiesta holiday. I remember how the pre-fiesta begins with food and booze tidbits developing to a crescendo  as it climaxes the following day with masses, parades and more food and booze. Since everyone becomes tired with all this celebration, the post fiesta is marked by a day of rest but still with same through decreasing amounts of booze and food until everyone goes back to work with a lingering headache and post celebratory depression.

Fiesta in all its color and splendor!

Now imagine this tri-day holiday being repeated by nearby towns separated by just a few days and it is uncommon for one to “do the rounds” so to speak. Since everyone is welcome is everywhere to partake of one’s table, one can just imagine how anyone can get a free meal easily. And the boozehounds would be all over the town sprawled in some corner getting some sleep.
Anyway, as it is a time of celebration with loads of food, it is not uncommon that fiesta fare would make its appearance. Prior to celebration, almost every night one eats “survival” meals to tie each day from hunger but during fiestas, a bad habit I must admit, impoverished sharecropper families would even take huge loans just so they can have a proper jubilee, borrowing money from the rich families who may own the lands they till. This usually causes a further relationship of economic dependency sometimes for generations to come.
But it is in this spirit of grandiosity that one brings out and proves that his cooking is the best. Thus, the best lechon is judged as guests make the rounds from one household to another - just as the best afritada (a chicken stew in tomato sauce) or morcon (a beef roll with other goodies tucked in like chorizo and hard boiled eggs) or lumpia (spring rolls) or menudo (pork dish with liver in tomato sauce) or pastel (a type of chicken pie casserole) or lengua (beef tongue casserole in either cream sauce or tomato sauce depending on preference). Certain towns have a “signature dish” - like this one town in Marikina where my mom’s friends were from who dealt with selling pork in the meat market. (Now they also have a funeral parlor but that’s another business and - no - they didn’t sell meat items that came from their undertaker.) The dish is called “Pininyang Manok” which literally translated as “Pineapple Chicken” a dish that somewhat tasted a cross between chicken stew and a Pina Colada. But during fiestas in this town, one can rest assure that the Pininyang Manok would be the piece de resistance of one’s table and that there would be different ways of preparing it from one household to the next, accounting for the differences between families.

Two kinds of tables displaying various
types of food in all its different
flavors, colors and textures.

Lechon! The table simply has to have one!

This is also the case with Leche Flan. Though custard is custard and the caramel syrup is caramel syrup; each cook has its own formula which account for the differences in sweetness, flavors and texture. It is in this spirit of competition that guests would comment privately among each other, “Mrs. A’s leche flan is better than Mrs. B’s. But I think Mrs. C’s the best if you are looking for a milkier taste. Mrs D’s seems a bit rough. But A’s is creamier.” And don’t one dare taste one’s wares and not the other, lest he be targeted with an unfriendly comment, “You went to Mrs. A’s house but did not come to MY house! How could you!?!” Yes, would will be forced to visit and eat. Eat! Eat!! Eat!!!
Leche Flan, I found out is also a French dessert called Creme Caramel. Being custards, it is also related to Creme Brulee and so with custard based ice creams. The difference is the proportion of milk fats to solidifying agents whether milk solids, egg yolks and egg whites. The more egg products and milk solids, the more solid the custard and hence has more structure but this results in a tougher texture to the tongue. The more fat, the custard becomes creamier and lighter but that leads also to less structure; hence may need the container during presentation such as that in Creme Brulee.
Egg yolks and egg whites have a tendency to provide structure to custards but owing to the yolk’s fat content, the result is that of a creamy solid. However, egg whites only coagulate with scanty fat content, hence easier to whip with air - hence its role in making meringues - and in custards, it will provide structure but somewhat of a tougher quality with a bite. Leche Flan, in my experience is sweeter - hence more sugar, milkier - hence more milk solids and with more bite - hence more egg components including egg whites. Creme Caramel seems less sweet - having less sugar, less milky - using a combination of cream and milk, and with a delicate bite that glides on the tongue - most likely due to the use of more egg yolks (though some also make it with some egg white to provide more structure). If there is a point that one can take home in this discussion is that higher fat content provides flavor (as always) and texture (as in any dessert) but not structure to hold.
Consider the following. In these subsequent paragraphs,I will provide two different recipes of seeming similar dessert.
The first one is Leche Flan which is taken from the 1959 Manila Chronicle cookbook specifically mentioned in the advertisement for Milkmaid Condensed Milk. Now, this recipe is close to my heart; for one thing, it’s a great way to have a “personal sized” flan to limit the calories and to satisfy the momentary sweet tooth. Secondly, it’s the “emergency flan” if you happen to have a small can of (4 oz.size) of condensed milk lying around and you want to use it avoiding wasting it away in the garbage can. Of course, one can double or triple the recipe depending the number of guests or the size of the can of condensed milk one wants to use. The result is milkier, tastier and somewhat tougher but good. I think because it has more milk solids and sugar.
As opposed to the other, Creme Caramel has more fat and less milk solids. The sugars are relatively less as well. It has a silkier feel and a lighter flavor.  It is delicate on the tongue but less sweet and not overly milky.

An old Milkmaid Condensed Milk Ad.

The Leche Flan recipe in closer view.

Is there a proper way to make custard? This is still a matter of great debate. I would bet that Leche Flan is more attuned to the Filipino palate as the Creme Caramel would more be preferred in high end French restaurants which are more critical of textures as with the flavor (which are a bit lighter). But this is not to say that one is better than the other. I suggest that the way to know your preference is to try. And make several attempts in making these desserts for temperature is your friend as it congeals the custard, but the higher it is can result in it being your enemy for it promotes expanding trapped air bubbles resulting in a rougher texture. The point is custards are a labor of love and thus patience. Slowly made with a moderately lower temperature would result in a creamy, smooth and addicting dessert.

Leche Flan
(Milkmaid ad recipe from 1959 Manila Chronicle cookbook)

• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 oz. condensed milk
• ⅓ cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In a metal custard pan, combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Carefully let the pan directly sit on medium heat until the sugar begins to melt, bubble and caramelize to a golden brown. While it is in its syrup stage, tilt the pan to evenly distribute the caramel. Set aside.
2. Mix together condensed milk with ⅓ cup of water. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, crack the egg and let it pass through a sieve. Using a spoon, slowly break the yolk and mix with the white as this passes through the sieve. This will result in a scrambled egg mixture that is free of bubbles and ensuring that the solid part of the whites are broken up. (Solid parts of the white would cause a whitish streak in the custard which is tough and unpleasant to look at.)
3. Slowly stir the milk water mixture taking care not to beat it avoiding a whipping action and production of bubbles. (Bubbles in raw custard would create a bubbly solis custard which gives a rough texture.) Flavor with vanilla.
4. Pour carefully in the prepared custard mold and bake in a moderate 300 degree F oven for about thirty minutes on a pan of water (bain marie). To test, one may place a knife in the midle of the custard which if it comes out clean, it is ready.
5. Let rest until room temperature and chill afterwards in the refrigerator for about a day. During this time, the water content of the custard would be drawn to the caramel sugar, dissolving it once again into a syrup.
6. Release the custard by passing a knife by the sides of the custard pan and putting a plate on top, invert both instantly loosening the custard onto the plate “upside down”.

Creme Caramel.

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water (or more)
• 12 egg yolks
• 3 cups half and half (or 1 ½ cup whole milk mixed with 1 ½ heavy cream) - Important: DO NOT USE fat free half and half.
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

1. In a saucepan, mix ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water. On top of medium heat, dissolve the sugar then turning to high to bubbling. This would caramelize the sugar until golden brown. If the sugar begins to crystallize prematurely without caramelizing, add more water. Once brown (not burnt) pour into a quart sized pyrex dish. Let the caramel solidify as it cools.
2. On top of low fire, gently heat the half and half until barely steaming. Be careful not to let it boil. As a modification of this recipe and is the traditional way of making it, you may choose to steep a vanilla bean pod in the warming milk and once soft, open the pod to scoop the seeds into the milk.
3. Combine the sugar with egg yolks and using a wire whisk, gently mix well.
4. Getting about a cup of the warm half and half, gently pour into the egg sugar mixture stirring slowly not to create a mot of bubbles. Once mixed, pour this into the remaining warm milk and mix further, again taking care not to make more bubbles.
5. Pour the raw custard into the prepared pyrex dish. The bubbles would float on the top. Using a spoon, slowly skim most of these leaving a smooth surface. Discard the foam.
6. Bake at 300 degree Fahrenheit with the dish sitting on a pan of water (bain marie) for two hours.

Tips:

• In both cases, gentle mixing is a must to create less bubbles which when baked into the custard makes the texture rough.
• Baking should be done in a low temperature. This prevents any unavoidable bubbles in the raw custard expanding so much that it is baked in the final product producing a rough texture. While the taste is not affected, the texture is reminiscent of scrambled eggs which should not be the case.
• The easy way of making the caramel crust is in the Leche Flan method which employs tin pans and is most common in the Philippines. However, because the tin is sitting on top of direct flame, the heat is unevenly distributed and may cause burning of some of the sugars. If one is not careful, there could be black specks of burnt sugar baked into the custard. This presents a rather unattractive product and may affect the flavor becoming bitter.

 

The Joys of Peri-peri Chicken

Again, an apology for the very long time I have written something for the blog. It’s not that I have not been cooking or wanting to cook. But let’s face it. Only when there is a working oven, gas range and the dishwasher that one can cook.

So October last year was when due to personal reasons, we were thinking of moving somewhere else. But to cut a long story short, plans were changed - again - and this time to stay. With all our stuff in boxes anticipating a move, it was the time that we decided to remodel some parts of the house - specifically the master bath and, guess what, the kitchen. After all, the master bathroom floor creaks and the fixtures are getting grimy and slimy while the kitchen appliances are going into some form of disrepair. Did I tell you that the microwave oven motor stopped turning when it was just barely two years old? And the grease! With a kitchen vent that is more of a filter circulator rather than a real vent, steak searing and wok cooking is simply a fatty catastrophe - for the second floor that is. With all the grease and dust combined and deposited on the furnishings, it took loads of orange cleaner and Pledge just to dissolve them.

But anyway, here to share to you the look of the new kitchen are some photos.

Overall kitchen. So I changed the range and installed
a kitchen hood as well.

Range features six burners (old one had four)
and the front burners gives a whopping 23,000 BTU's!

Range hood can really such all the smoke!
Say goodbye to loud smoke alarms and
rooms smelling like curry!

Beautiful flame. See the middle? Has small
flames as well giving out equal heat.

And the heat is just so radiant that it
"kisses" the edge of the pan.

Still a double oven. But the features are far
more advanced. Three different styles of
convection cooking!

Strong build. The baking racks are roller guided.

And now for the first recipe with the new kitchen.

The Joys of Peri-Peri.

Peri-peri Chicken, that is. I first tasted the delicious dish about a year ago when I visited my brother in Southampton, Southern England where his daughter attends the university there for fine arts. Mike; however, was able to taste it even earlier owing to his work that required frequent travel. Because I actually did not know what it was all about, I just googled the recipe and made a makeshift sauce marinade and proceeded cooking it. And although it was fine, it wasn't great. I could not see the fascination with it and cannot taste the spices - probably because the technique could be better and the spices need to be woken up plus probably it wasn’t enough in the first place.

Seared or roasted, the cooking requires high temperature to
ensure the spices are caramelized and the flavors
woken up.

The time that I was taken to a Peri-Peri Chicken Restaurant, that was the time when it blew my taste buds. The fact of the matter is that Peri-Peri needs to be spicy with a tingling sensation of peppers not placed after the cooking as most condiments are, but rather before as a marinade. And with the proper application of fire - think coals and barbeque - these spices are just woken up to give that tingle with the sensation of excitement that bites the tongue. It is this that one needs to make great peri-peri.

Now the origin is something I learned from just googling Wikipedia. It refers to the peppers which were imported by the Portuguese to the African continent whose native peoples used it as a spice to create a marinade to season meat which is then roasted. The ingredients of this marinade could differ from one cook to the other but what is important is the pepper. The pepper itself is the Capiscum chinense which looks like the Thai chili or in the Filipino counterpart, siling labuyo. Its heat intensity was qualified to be 4 out of 5 which is said to be “very hot”. That said, this is a very important characteristic of the dish.

In addition, Peri-Peri is also spelled as Pili-Pili which meant “Pepper-Pepper” in Swahili. And therefore, rightly more refers to the sauce made with peppers. So, think of a hot sauce, essentially.

But the sauce varies from cook to cook. And there is no one way of making it. What is imperative though is the pepper. And according to Wikipedia, “ It is made from crushed chillies, citrus peel, onion, pepper, salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano, and tarragon. Recipes vary from region to region but the common ingredients are chilli, lemon, oil and red bell peppers.”

The next thing I noticed is that in one recipe, I saw the use of ginger which I must admit is not alien to the eastern palate. Ginger has this very tingly and aromatic quality that when subjected to heat, especially a good high temperature sear or coal roasting would even reveal more of its character. It’s used to remove the gamey flavor of meats and considering that this could be the case in some African cooking, would make it a vital ingredient.

To balance the hotness, something cool is needed. Hence the use of a sour point such as lemons. In some recipes, I have seen the use of lime along with lemon.

Spices are usually peppercorns which I believe obviously complimentary with peppers. The rest are more of dimensional spices or those that give it its bent whether that is tarragon, thyme, oregano, onions, laurel leaves or cilantro. I have used cilantro once before as that’s what was called for. It is interesting but whether it is an absolute need is debateable.

But after the discussion of spices - for me the barest minimum are the following: Hot peppers, peppercorns and ginger. In my recipe, I thought to just go basic and add the end all of cooking - garlic.

Next - oil. I think this is what makes it unique. Two things. First, by virtue of absorption, oil marinades penetrate better with meats due to its fat content. Fat dissolves in fat. Hence, the flavors get to penetrate quickly. Second, let’s admit it. Fat makes sauces taste better. I mean, there’s a reason why we love mayonnaise and it’s not the eggs, or the mustard or the vinegar and salt. Rather it's the oil made into one emulsion.

And this is where the blender comes in. Using a blender, the chillies and spices would be ground to a fine mash, mixed with the lemon juice and oil, all that goodness would be blended into one flavor explosion. Proper heat application and subsequent caramelization would even wake it further.

Peri-peri Chicken Breasts (In an Oven!)

• 4 large chicken breasts, deboned and flayed to about ¾ inch thickness. (Any cut will do but be sure it is deboned. Chicken takes longer to cook if bones are intact and therefore, my technique would result in raw chicken.)
• 3 big hot chillies or 5 medium ones or 10 small ones. (Now actually it depends on the “hotness level” so it is “to taste”.)
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns
• 5 cloves or ½ head of garlic, peeled
• 2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled
• Salt to taste
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 cup vegetable or olive oil

1. Make the marinade. In a blender, combine the chilies, garlic, ginger, salt and peppercorns. Using the pulse button, chop the ingredients until fine and add the lemon juice. Turn the setting to blend.
2. When the mixture begins to blend in a pulp, slowly add with a stream with the blender on, olive or vegetable oil. The higher the speed, the better as the mixture turns into an emulsion somewhat similar to mayonnaise dressing.
3. Pour this mixture to the chicken breasts to marinate. Cover and let it sit for about six hours, best overnight.
4. Roast the breasts over high heat and preferably coals, until done. Serve with a good basting of the leftover marinade.
5. Now - for the technique using your oven.
6. The key is high heat! That said, the over has to be prepared and preheated to at least 400 degrees. Once that is achieved, we can proceed cooking. Now - disclaimer - you are going to make a lot of smoke! So be sure the ventilation is adequate and open your windows!
7. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. And flay the chicken breasts as a single layer.
8. With the oven grille at the highest position, place the cookie sheet and switch the oven temperature to broil. In ovens with different degrees of broiling, I noticed that the medium setting is enough. Leave this for about 8-10 minutes until caramelized with bits of char.
9. The cooking will create meat juices. Pour this out before turning. Then cook the second side for half of the time of the first.
10. Remove from the oven pouring the leftover drippings on the chicken and basting them with marinade. Serve hot.

Tip.

You can also use chicken pieces in its bone. The cooking would be longer; hence the temperature needs to be a bit lower (about 375) and broiling would be done in the final minutes of cooking. Chicken thighs and legs are the best for they contain loads of fat and hence, flavor. Usually, bake the first side for forty minutes and turn to bake the second for thirty. Then broil to a brown with char for the last ten. But this would always depend on your oven’s ability to retain heat and the size of the chicken pieces. To assure even cooking, same size portions are advised. (Hence, all leg quarters or all thighs or all legs etc.)