Recipes

On this page, you will find recipes used (or similar to) cultural foods sampled by students in this class.

Coca Bread (Spain)

Ingredients

2 - ¼ ounce packages (1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon) active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water (110ºF)

1¼ cups sugar

5 – 6 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk, room temperature

4 large eggs

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for bowl and pans

¼ cup honey, for drizzling

1. In a small bowl, combine yeast and warm water; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, 4 cups of flour, and salt.
With a wooden spoon, stir in yeast mixture, milk, 3 eggs, and ½ cup of melted butter until combined. Using hands, work remaining flour into dough ¼ cup at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky.

2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it develops a smooth satiny texture and springs back when you poke it with your finger, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, and place in a lightly buttered bowl, rotating the dough in the bowl to coat it with butter. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour until it is doubled in size.

3. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Generously grease two baking sheets with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface, and cut in half. Place half of the dough on each prepared baking sheet, and press into two 8 X 17-inch rectangles.

4. Allow the dough to sit and rise (proof) for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush all over each loaf. Generously sprinkle the dough with the remaining ¼ cup sugar, and drizzle with the honey.

5. Bake until golden and crispy, about 18 minutes. Transfer the breads to wire racks to cool. Slice the bread in long, thin rectangles, and drizzle it with more honey before serving.

Note: The recipe used was from https://whattocooktoday.com/spanish-coca-bread.html

Southeast Asia - Turon

Ingredients

TURON

3 ripe saba bananas cut into 12 slices
1 c or ½ (20 oz) can of jackfruit cut into strips
½ c dark brown sugar packed
12 individual spring roll wrappers
bowl of water for sealing wrappers
neutral cooking oil for frying, vegetable oil preferred

CARAMEL COATING

½ c white sugar

TURON

Prepare the saba banana by peeling and cutting into even slices about three millimeters thick. Three ripe bananas will give you about 12 pieces total. Prepare the jackfruit by slicing into strips.
Prep your workstation by putting the dark brown sugar in a shallow plate, pre-peel the individual spring roll wrappers and cover them with a damp cloth, and place a water bowl next to your surface.
Basic egg-roll technique: Place a spring roll wrapper in a diamond shape in front of you (one corner is at the top of your workstation, while another corner is facing the bottom). Take one banana slice and coat it lightly with the brown sugar, then place it about two inches from the bottom center. Take two to three strips of jackfruit and place it on top of the banana slice. Lift the bottom corner and cover the filling. Take the left and right corners and fold them towards the center. Finish rolling the entire turon upwards until you have about one inch left. Use your fingers to brush the top corner with water and complete the roll to seal. Repeat with the rest of the turon.
One-roll technique: Place a spring roll wrapper in a diamond shape in front of you. Take one banana slice and coat it lightly with the brown sugar, then place it about two inches from the bottom center. Take two to three strips of jackfruit and place it on top of the banana slice. Lift the bottom corner and cover the filling. Continue to roll upwards until you have one inch left of space. Use your fingers to brush the top corner with water and complete the roll to seal. Repeat with the rest of the turon.
In a pan wide enough to fit the width of your turon (this is important especially if you used the one-roll technique), fill enough vegetable oil (or other neutral oil) until it’s about two inches high. Heat your oil to 350 °F.
When the oil is hot enough, carefully lower the turon into the oil. Deep fry for about one minute before turning over and cooking for another minute or until the turon is nice and golden brown. Remove the turon and place them onto a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the turon.

CARAMEL COATING

In a new saucepan over medium-low heat, add the white sugar and watch carefully until it begins to melt. Use a spatula to move the melted sugar around and continue to cook for about one to two minutes or until the sugar is light golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat immediately.
Use a spoon to drizzle the caramel over the fried turon or use tongs to dip and roll the turon right into the caramel pan. Be careful when dipping because the caramel can be very hot.
Let the turon rest for about one minute. The caramel should harden and it should be ready to serve!

Note: The recipe used was from https://www.hungryhuy.com/turon-recipe/

Mexico - Hot Cocoa (made from Caca

Ingredients

· 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

· 1/3 cup hot water

· 4 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate

· 1/2 can (7 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

· 1 stick cinnamon (optional)

· 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

· 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

· 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)

· 4 cups (1 quart) whole milk (2% or skim is also fine)

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine the hot water and the cocoa powder, stir until smooth.

2. In the base of the slow cooker, add the bittersweet chocolate, condensed milk, cinnamon stick, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, chili powder, whole milk, along with the cocoa powder mixture. Heat on low for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.

3. Serve warm with whipped cream and chocolate syrup drizzled on top.

NOTE: The recipe used was from: https://littlespicejar.com/mexican-hot-chocolate-slow-cooker/

FIDEO - Mexican Cultural

Recipe serves 30 people (Place leftovers in sealed container in refrigerator - reheat on stove or microwave)

https://www.food.com/recipe/tex-mex-fideo-430758 (I combined the ingredients in this recipe with alterations from a friend from Mexico - alterations are below in red.)

Ingredients:

§ 5 lbs ground beef, cooked and seasoned (drain meat, return to pan, add seasonings, toss to coat, and continue cooking until well done 3-5 minutes)

MEAT SEASONINGS

10 teaspoons salt
5 teaspoons pepper
5 tablespoons garlic powder
5 tablespoons cumin
5 teaspoons onion powder
5 teaspoons chili powder

§ 1(25 ounce) box vermicelli (fideo) ( used FOUR 7oz packages of Fideo noodles available at La Unica, White Horse Road, Greenville)

§ 2 1⁄2 cups onion, diced (I used two medium yellow onions, diced)

§ 2 1⁄2 cups bell pepper, diced (I used two medium green bell peppers, diced)

§ 20 ounces tomato sauce (I used TWO 15 oz cans of Goya Salsa de Tomate Spanish Style Tomato Sauce)

§ 15 -20 tablespoons beef bouillon (I used 10 tablespoons - Caldo con Sabor de RES - Beef Flavor Bouillon available at La Unica, White Horse Road, Greenville)

§ 15 cups water (I make this as a soup so you can add more or less water depending on your preference)

§ 10 potatoes, medium sized & diced (I used a 5 pound bag of Golden potatoes from Walmart but yellow will work well too, diced)

§ 2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil

§ Flour Tortilla Shells (I used the small size 20 to a package from Walmart)

Directions:

§ Brown hamburger in a large skillet.

§ While hamburger is browning, mix meat seasoning together in a small bowl.

§ Drain the excess oil from the ground beef. Return to skillet and combine with meat seasonings - coating well. Continue cooking hamburger with seasonings until well done - 3-5 minutes.

§ While the seasonings are cooking into the beef, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to second large frying pan and brown Fideo noodles. If needed, you can add 2 more tablespoons of vegetable oil to pan. When done, drain any excess oil (there shouldn't be much, if any).

§ Add all ingredients - seasoned beef, Fideo, potatoes, onions, green peppers, beef bouillon, water, and tomato sauce together in a large pot.

§ Cook on high heat until it comes to a good boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Allow to simmer 30-60 minutes (until potatoes are cooked through). If you want it more soupy, you can add more water at this time. Once potatoes are cooked through, remove from heat and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy with warmed flour tortilla shells (roll them up and dip them in the juices or use as a scoop).

**Possible changes/alterations

§ If you like larger vegetables, rather than dice potatoes, onions, and peppers - you can quarter or 1/2 them (just adjust cooking time to allow for them to cook through before serving).

§ If you like less seasoned foods, you can skip the "meat seasonings" and use just the plain hamburger but don't skip adding the Caldo con Sabor de RES - Beef Flavor Bouillon - its a must!

§ NOTE: If you don't want to use beef, you can substitute boneless, skinless chicken (breast or thigh) cooked and small cubes/chunks and use Caldo con Sabor de POLLO Chicken Flavor Bouillon instead.