Quipshere on Windows

Hi Been years since I posted this dying blog of mine, I though I will revive it today and post something techie for the social media fun of Quipspehere. As we all know it is a mobile app only, means it only runs on mobile device based on iOS and Android. but there are still times where we still likes our mouse and keyboard or our phones are not withing our reach or LOBAT (beacue we use it to much). So here is an alternative solution. How to install the popular Quipshere mobile app to your windows machine And to all that knows what I mean, please share and forward this to the rest that knows what I mean.

The Only Fruit with a Heart

The only fruit with a heart is a banana. In the Philippines the flower of a banana tree is called the heart of the banana because it looks like a heart.



There are many folk tale about this flower there are said that if you would stand under it during the full moon there will be a droplet that would fall from it that if you we're able to catch it mouth you will gain extra ordinary powers.

I would not wait for that I'll just go get the heart and cook it. Here is a recpie for it
Source: http://www.phamfatale.com/id_612/title_Banana-Flower-Salad-Goi-Bap-Chuoi-Chay


3 banana flowers (see tips)
2 lemons
1 lime
1 shallot
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canned straw mushrooms in water, drained and sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup peanuts
1 (1-inch) chunk ginger
2 cloves pickled garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon mushroom seasoning salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 tablespoon Vietnamese mint, chopped
1 tablespoon Thai basil, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar cane vinegar (or more lime juice)
1 tablespoon rau răm (see tips), chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh coconut (optional), freshly grated
1 red Thai bird chili, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
1 drizzle toasted sesame oil (optional)
Directions
Pickling the shallot: Peel and thinly slice the shallot; mince finely. Place the minced shallot in a bowl, sprinkle with a tablespoon of brown sugar and drizzle with the juice of half of a lime. Toss well. Set aside.
Making ginger paste: Clean the ginger. Peel the ginger root with a paring knife and finely chop it. Place the chopped ginger in a mini-blender, adding about 2 tablespoons (or more) of water for a smooth flow. Gather about 2 teaspoons. Set aside.

Prepping the banana flower: Trim the root. Remove and discard the outside layer if the leaves are wilted and keep the younger leaves. Cut the banana flower in half, lengthwise.

Steaming the banana flower: Fill a pot filled with water and bring it to a boil. Add salt and the juice of 2 lemons. Add the halved banana flowers. Bring back to a boil, then immediately lower the heat to a gentle boil. Cook for about 30-40 minutes until tender. Remove them for the water and let cool a bit until you can handle them without discomfort. Cut them into little shreds. Set aside. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of lime juice.

Peanuts: In a mortar and pestle, slightly crush the peanuts. You still want to have visible pieces of peanuts for a crunchy texture.

Gỏi sauce: In a bowl, combine the rest of the lime juice, sugar cane vinegar, mushroom seasoning salt, pickled garlic, ginger paste, the remaining brown sugar, soy sauce and the canola oil. Mix well.

Assembly time: In a large bowl, combine the shredded banana flower, the straw mushrooms, fresh coconut, red Thai chili and pickled shallot with its macerating liquid. When you're ready to serve, drizzle the gỏi sauce. Add all the chopped herbs. Toss well. Season with more salt -if needed and white pepper. Sprinkle the peanuts. Finish with sesame oil.

Serve immediately.

Eat with chopsticks and enjoy!
Tips

You can add any other crunchy ingredients such as bean sprouts, but I think the banana flower and peanuts already have a nice texture by themselves.

Soy sauce brings saltiness to the dish and a nice amber color. My favorite soy sauce is Da Bo De. It has a very nice flavor and is not too salty. You can find this particular sauce in downtown San Jose, at Dai Thanh Asian market on 420 S 2nd St, in San Jose.

Make ginger lemongrass drink with the remaining ginger paste.

You can use fresh garlic instead of the pickled garlic but the garlic flavor is going to be a lot stronger. You can find pickled garlic in any Asian store.

Mushroom seasoning salt brings a very distinct, earthy flavor to the sauce. You can find it at gourmet specialty stores or in most Korean stores. I get mine at Marina Foods -10122 Bandley Drive -Cupertino, CA 95014.

The lemon juice prevents the banana flower from blackening.


You can find banana flowers in most Indian and Asian markets. It looks like a corn husk. It's also sometimes called banana heart or banana blossom. For a sweet and non-bitter taste, pick young-looking banana flowers with fresh leaves for an easy shredding (bắp chuối bào).

You can use the same sauce / "vinaigrette" and drizzle it over shredded hearts of palm or even artichoke hearts, which are more popular ingredients than banana flowers in Western cuisine.

You can find straw mushrooms in Asian stores or online.

If you don't have a mortar and pestle to slightly crush the peanuts, just use a rolling pin.

To prevent the herbs from darkening, chop them at the very last minute, toss them into the salad and serve immediately.

Vietnamese mint has a very different flavor from regular mint. It also has darker vein marking on the leaves. It's commonly used in Asian salads such as Vietnamese chicken salad (gỏi gà in Vietnamese) and in spring rolls (gỏi cuốn in Vietnamese).

Rau răm are a Vietnamese coriander leaves used in South Asian cooking. I buy them at the Asian market. If you don't have any, just double the amount of regular cilantro.

Did you notice the Thai basil flowers in the picture? Basil flowers are not edible but they are perfect for garnish. I get them from my herb garden.

We just happened to buy a lot of fresh coconuts from the Asian market. Everyone drank the delicious juice and I gathered all the coconut "meat" for the gỏi bắp chuối chay salad.

The Best Mango Fruit

The best mango fruit you can ever taste is found in the Philippines. I'm not saying this because I'm a Filipino, it is base on what I heard from other country that had tasted Philippine mangoes. Now a days mangoes are being planted not on it's native soil. The fruit is being exported throughout the world, so some that likes it very much would attempt to plant the seed that comes with the fruit. But unfortunately for them even the seeds find its way to a place with the right climate it will still not taste the same since the element in the soil seems to play a major role also for the delicious taste found in the Philippine.

So the next time you buy Philippine mangoes make sure it was harvested in the Philippine.