Appa's x Delici-owh-so

I recently got the opportunity to partner with a local pop-up in Atlanta! A couple friends of mine invited me to join them as they bring sushi burritos and poke bowls to Atlanta. They will be popping up behind Irwin Street Market in Atlanta every Sunday 5:30pm-8:30pm for all of June and July (minus July 4th weekend). Everything is super delicious, made with love, and worth the wait!

I'll be featuring a different dessert (maybe two) every week. They'll have delici-owh-so macarons and cream puffs, alternating. The flavors will be different every time, so you should come out and try them!

This week, I featured a green tea cream puff. They were topped with a crispy craquelin, which brought a fun texture and a sweetness that accompanies the choux pastry perfectly. They were filled with a light green tea filling that makes for a perfect ending to the sushi meal.

If you're local, this place is a MUST-TRY!!! The bowls and burritos are perfectly seasoned, and they're even better with the appa and umma sauces. Appa is spicy, and umma is sweet. It's a perfect topping for the fresh fish and crispy veggies. "Appa" is father in Korean, and "Umma" means mother. It's a cute and clever way to describe the sauces, and the flavors do not disappoint!

You can definitely tell that all of the food is made with a lot of love, effort, and passion by this one adorable family! I love that I get to take part in bringing great food to our city, and hope that everyone gets the chance to make it out! We put a lot of thought into every element of what we're sharing, and we look forward to the weeks to come! Follow @appasatl and @deliciowhso to see more updates on the featured desserts!

Korean Shaved Ice Dessert: Bing-Soo (빙수)

It's Labor Day weekend! Usually this means the end of the summer- and everyone is trying to squeeze in the last of it! I'm celebrating the end of summer with a cool treat! This is a simple Korean dessert that you usually find at every Korean bakery during the summertime. It's a simple classic that never goes out of style!

The best part of this dessert is that it doesn't require measuring! You can really just choose whatever you think would taste good, and put it in there! It works best if you have an ice shaver or snowcone machine, but if you're able to crush the ice into small pieces, it should work too! I'm including a recipe that I used, but you're always able to change it to whatever suits you!

Bing-Soo (빙수)
Ice Cubes
Strawberries
Roasted Grain Powder (미숫가루)
Rice Cake Pieces (Mochi)
Green Tea Ice Cream
Sweetened Condensed Milk

1. Shave the ice using a shaver or snowcone machine. If this is not available, be sure you crush the ice to tiny pieces. 
2. Place the ice into the freezer while you get the rest ready. 
3. Slice strawberries. 
4. Scoop ice cream. 
5. Arrange strawberries, mochi, and ice cream onto the ice. 
6. Sprinkle roasted grain powder. 
7. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over the dessert. 

This dessert is usually made with sweetened red bean paste also. I'm not a huge fan, so I decided to go without it this round. This dessert is totally up to your own interpretation, which allows you to express your own creativity! Post your creations on Facebook or Instagram and tag @deliciowhso!

Green Tea Cookies

Green Tea is one of my all-time favorite flavors. I love anything green tea flavored. If you've kept up with the blog, you know that it's been a while since I've put up a new green tea recipe.

These cookies are sweet, soft, chewy, and decadent! The white chocolate adds a richness to the matcha flavor. The green tea cookies are perfect for making ice cream sandwiches. They stay chewy, and are easy to bite into. I paired it with green tea ice cream. I have a recipe that you can find (here). If you're not feeling like breaking out the ice cream machine, vanilla ice cream also goes extremely well with these cookies.

Green Tea Cookies (Makes 24 cookies)
6 oz Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Green Tea Powder
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup White Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 cup Flour
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream soft butter, sugar, and green tea powder together until the color is light, and the texture is airy.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla gradually, scraping the bowl between additions.
4. Add the white chocolate chips to the batter and mix until they are incorporated.
5. Add the dry ingredients at once, and mix on low speed until the batter comes together.
6. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl, and allow to mix to evenly incorporate the ingredients.
7. On a parchment or foil lined baking sheet, scoop about 1.5 tbsp portions of batter about 3-4 inches apart. It may not look like much, but the cookies will spread a lot.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. They will poof up and look soft in the center. The cookie will settle as it cools.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven when the edges are golden. Allow to cool completely.
8. If you are using them for an ice cream sandwich, place in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Then, scoop a small portion of ice cream onto the cookie.
9. Sandwich the cookie and return to the freezer for about 10 minutes.This is to let the ice cream firm up.

You can store the ice cream sandwiches in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks. If you are planning to eat them later, thaw the sandwich for about 3-5 minutes, just to let the cookie warm up a little.

The cookies I made came out to be about 3 inches in diameter. It makes a perfect snack to satisfy a sweet tooth!

Green Tea Mochi

As many of you may know, I learned of Foodgawker earlier this week. I knew that it was a popular food photography website, but that's about it. I realized anybody with a blog can submit pictures that are reviewed for approval as long as the pictures are a certain size. I decided to submit a couple, and my green tea macaron picture was (amazingly) approved! :) I'm going to try to submit a few pictures every week to try to build a gallery on Foodgawker!

So, first, I would like to welcome those of you who may have stumbled upon this blog through Foodgawker. I'd also like to thank all of my supporters who have been sharing this site with their friends and loved ones. I received a lot of amazing encouragement this week, even from strangers. I hope that I can continue touching people's lives with my passion for food and the stories I have.

In honor of the green tea macaron post, I decided to make another green tea dessert for today!

Mochi is a rice cake made with glutinous rice flour. It has a very chewy and slightly sticky texture. It's normally filled with a red bean paste. Sometimes you can find mochi filled with ice cream (and it's heavenly). I opted to try something different. I made some green tea custard and made small green tea mochi bites. It's a bit easier than making mochi ice cream, since the custard is able to hold up well and doesn't melt as quickly.

Green Tea Mochi (Makes 20 pieces)
Green Tea Custard
1 tsp Green Tea Powder
1 tbsp Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
3 Egg Yolks
1 tbsp Butter 

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk green tea powder, flour, and half the sugar together.
2. Put the milk and the remaining sugar in a pot and whisk together. Heat on high and bring to a boil.
3. Whisk yolks into the flour mixture until smooth.
4. When the milk boils, pour slowly into the eggs while whisking.
5. Pour the mixture back into the pot and mix on very low heat until it thickens and bubbles.
6. Pour the custard through a sieve to remove any clumps.
7. Pour the custard onto a plastic wrap-lined cookie sheet to cool completely.
8. Once cool, pour into a bag and pipe into quarter-size circles onto aluminum foil.
9. Place in the freezer until completely frozen, about 2-3 hours.

Green Tea Mochi
1 cup Glutinous Rice Flour (Mochi Flour- Mochiko)
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Green Tea Powder
1 cup Water 
1/4 cup Corn Starch, Potato Starch, or Rice Flour

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, pour rice flour, sugar, and green tea powder. Whisk it together to combine completely.
2. Slowly add water and mix until there are no pockets of flour.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic and microwave for 3 minutes.
4. Mix after the 3 minutes to disperse heat as evenly as possible.
5. Heat in 30 second intervals for another 1.5 minutes.
6. Remove from the microwave and allow to cool for about 2 minutes.
7. Sprinkle a thick coating of corn starch, potato starch, or rice flour onto a cutting board.
8. Pour the mochi onto the board and dust the top with starch.
9. Place starch on your hands (the mochi is super sticky). Carefully (it will be hot!) roll the mochi into a log that is about 1.5 inches in diameter and 10 inches long.
10. Cut with a sharp knife that is dusted with the starch into 1/2 inch thick medallions.
11. Coat slightly with the starch and flatten out to about 3 inch diameter circles.
12. Place the frozen custard in the center, and bring together the edges in the center.
13. Pinch the edges closed, and place into a mini muffin cup to hold.
14. Serve! If you want to save them for later, wrap well and place into an airtight plastic container in the freezer. Allow the mochi to thaw about 10 minutes before serving, so that the filling is soft.

Fun fact: My dog is named mochi! :)

Pepero Day

11/11 is a Korean "holiday" called Pepero (빼빼로) Day! This is because the numbers look like Pepero sticks (kind of). The day is similar to Valentines Day. People give Pepero to their friends and loved ones. Here's pictures of the ones I made with my friend, Nate!

We used Italian breadsticks/crackers and coated them in melted chocolate. We put a variety of toppings for lots of yummy flavors! Try them for yourself!

 Semisweet chocolate: (from left to right) orange peel/lemon peel, toasted coconut, sprinkle, "hot" chocolate, toasted almond

 White chocolate: Coconut, toasted almond, green tea (matcha), orange peel/lemon peel


Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful Pepero Day!

Green Tea Ice Cream

Green tea ice cream is probably my all time favorite dessert. I love the balance of sweet, bitter, and depth. I love that it's not overpowering overly sweet. I made it a goal to make green tea ice cream at some point, but I hadn't been able to until recently. It takes a little time and a bit of extra preparation, but it is well worth the work. It is often difficult to find a really good green tea ice cream, especially in Providence, RI, where I am going to school. I figured my best bet for a good green tea ice cream would be if I made it myself and flavored it according to my preferences and tastes. It was so exciting to make one of my favorite flavors, that I had to share with everyone who follows the blog. So take a look and see how to recreate this delicious ice cream!

Green Tea Ice Cream (makes about 1 pint)
4 oz Egg Yolks
4 oz Sugar
8 oz Milk
8 oz Heavy Cream
1 tsp Matcha Powder

1. Prepare your ice cream machine as the instructions direct (for mine, i have to put the vessel for the mix into the freezer overnight).
2. In a medium sized bowl, make a paste with your matcha powder by adding about a tablespoon of water.
3. Heat your milk, cream, and half of your sugar in a pot over medium-high heat.
4. In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks and remaining sugar together.
5. When your milk and cream boils, turn off heat, and pour about a third into the matcha paste and incorporate. Try to mix out any lumps.
6. Pour the matcha mixture back into the pot.
7. Pour the hot milk mixture into the yolks, whisking as you gradually pour.
8. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot and heat on low-medium heat while mixing until it thickens slightly. For this sized batch, it will thicken very quickly! Be careful not to overcook because the egg yolk will curdle leaving a eggy flavor and a grainy mouthfeel.
9. Turn off the heat when the mixture sticks to the back of the spoon. You can check this by running your finger along the back of the spoon. A line where your finger passes should hold shape.
10. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl over an ice-water bath. To make an ice-water bath, fill a bowl with ice and a little bit of water, then put a smaller bowl over the ice.
11. When cooled completely, pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions to churn.
12. Place into the freezer for at least a few hours to harden before serving.
13. Scoop into the desired bowl (freeze the bowl to keep the ice cream frozen!), sprinkle with matcha powder and serve.

Even though the summer season is ending, keep expecting more ice cream posts! You can have ice cream in any season! ;)  Comment with any ice cream/sorbet flavor suggestions!

Green Tea Macarons

 

I love eating green tea flavored desserts. Ice cream (!!!), cake, mochi, macarons... almost anything! It's such a unique flavor that has a great balance of creamy, sweet, bitter, and herbal. Since green tea is one of my favorite flavors, I absolutely had to make some green tea macarons! I took these to a picnic for my church and they were definitely a popular flavor. Though making these are incredibly time consuming, they are  worth trying out! Making macarons is a delicate process and they are a very finicky dessert, so don't be discouraged if they do not come out the first few times. Just keep trying! Practice makes perfect, and each time will be a new experience and story to share.

Green Tea Macarons (makes about 20 macarons)

Shells
100g Almond Flour
120 g Confectioner's Sugar
50 g Granulated Sugar
70 g Egg Whites (2 large whites)
Matcha Powder

1. Pulse almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Be careful not to grind too long, because it will release all of the oils, ruining your final product.
2. Sift the powder with a medium-mesh sieve.
3. Place the particles that are too large to fit through the sieve back into the food processor, pulse, and sift again. Throw out the excess pieces.
4. In a grease-free bowl, place your egg whites and sugar. Allow to sit for a few minutes to begin to dissolve.
5. Use grease-free beaters on high speed to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
6. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until the batter moves slowly, like lava. If you run your spatula through it, it should fall together after 5-7 seconds.
7. Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (3/8 inch). 
8. Pipe rounds that are about an inch apart onto a nonstick baking mat (silpat) that is placed onto a cookie sheet. 
9. Do this by holding the bag straight up about half an inch above the silpat, applying pressure to the bag until about 1 inch in diameter, stopping pressure, and then removing by moving hand in a very small circular motion to release the tip from the macaron shell. Make sure there is enough space to spread.
10. Rap your cookie sheet/sheet pan on the table a few times to make sure there are no bumps on the macaron shells. 
11. Before they dry, use a fine sifter to sprinkle some matcha powder or ground green tea leaves on one side of the shell. 
12. Let rest until dry to the touch (about 30-45 minutes, longer on rainy days).
13. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. If you have a convection oven, use convection.
14. Bake macaron shells on the second shelf of the oven for 14-17 minutes, until they do not wiggle when nudged.
15. Remove from oven and allow shells to cool completely before removing from the silpat.

Green Tea White Chocolate Ganache
4 oz White Chocolate
3 oz Heavy Cream
1 tsp Matcha Powder

1. Place white chocolate into a bowl.
2. In a separate, small bowl, place matcha powder and mix with about 1 tbsp of cream to create a paste.
3. Heat the remaining heavy cream until it boils. Mix in the paste until the powder is completely dissolved.
4. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate. Gently stir until combined.
5. Cover the ganache with a piece of plastic wrap. Allow the wrap to touch the surface of the ganache so a film does not develop.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature before using.

Assembly
1. Pair the shells by size. You should have about 20 pairs of shells.
2. Put the ganache into a piping bag with the same tip that you used to pipe the macarons.
3. Pipe the ganache so that it is covering about 3/4 of the surface of the bottom of the shell.
4. Put the pairs together to create a "sandwich". 
5. Place in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to develop.
6. Let the macarons come to room temperature before you serve them.
 
Enjoy and share these macarons with your closest friends, they will go fast! If you have any suggestions for future macaron flavors, post a comment!

Until next week, happy munching! :)