Minatamis na saging (Sweetened Banana Plantains)

Easy desserts usually find their base in fresh fruit.  This one is no exception.  After scouring the internet for Filipino dessert recipes, only to come up bear and (I hate to admit it) a little disgusted by the unusual textures and ingredients used in most, I ended up sticking with what my mom would call "nature's candy" - fruit.  Plantains are a nice dessert option, too.  Starchy.  Often used at the end of a spicy meal to "soak up" the hot capsaicin.  Sweet, though not too sweet.  And filling, but not overly so.  Not as decadent as chocolate, this much healthier option will add a nice ending to a meal without making one feel like a glut. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 ripe plantains cut lengthwise into 1/8 inch thick slices
• A pat of butter
• 8 ounces sweet buttery sherry

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, water and salt until a thick syrup forms.  Simmer.
2. Add plantain slices and butter to the syrup and continue simmering for 15 minutes.
3. Lace each individual serving with a tablespoon of sherry and then serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

(The original recipe came from this site: http://filipino-dessert-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/07/sweetened-banana-plantain.html)

Sugar Peanuts

For years, my dad and I have been trying to duplicate the wonderful sugar-coated quality of a certain brand of store-bought nuts, to no avail.  Alas, this wonderful recipe - the only sort of dessert recipe I could find for the country of Guinea - was what I had been looking for all along.  Funny how things magically appear in your life when you least expect them to.

A simple process of stirring sugar, water and nuts (plus or minus cinnamon, at your own will) in a large skillet until the nuts just look "done" is all it takes.  Of course, I should note one important fact: though these things seem to take forever to get to their end stage, you really have to watch them closely because they can burn pretty quickly if you blink at the wrong moment.  In other words, it's very important to stick around.  No running off to check your email or read a magazine (as I did one time, with another recipe - long story short, wok fires are scary!).  Watch your skillet like a hawk, stand over it and give it constant love; and, in return, you will be rewarded with the best, most simple (and seemingly healthy - though we all know better) dessert from Guinea.

Ingredients:

5 cups peanuts with skins
3 cups sugar
2 cups hot water
1/8 tsp cinnamon, if you want

Instructions:

1. Combine in pan, cook and stir until syrup is hard to stir, about 30 to 45 minutes.
2. Spread on a greased cookie sheet or wax paper to dry.

(The original recipe came from this site: http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/SUGAR_PEANUTS)

Ho Dduk (Korean Pancakes)

When I think of sweets, quite honestly the Asian continent does not rank high on my list of places wherein my sugar-fix might be had.  And, with North Korea being no exception, I braced myself for what I figured to be a less-than-pleasing dessert.  However, though Ho Dduk turned out to be surprisingly edible (and, dare I say, even remotely good), this version of Korean pancakes is something far removed from the western notions of what a craved dessert should be.  

Yield:
36 pancakes (A WORD TO THE WISE: Half or quarter this recipe, as it makes a large batch of these pancakes!!)

Ingredients:
10 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup potato flakes
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
vegetable oil
 
Instructions:

1. Mix yeast, 2 Tbsp sugar and WARM water together in a bowl.
2. Mix Potato flakes with cold water in a separate bowl.  (Of course, I omitted this step)
3. In your mixer combine the powdered milk (or "wet" milk), 1/4 cup sugar, salt and 4 cups flour.  
4. Add softened butter, eggs, yeast and potato mixtures to mixer bowl.  Mix until well blended.  Add remaining flour in small amounts until it"cleans" the sides of the mixing bowl.  Remove from bowl and knead on a floured board for about 10 minutes (or, if you have an awesome stand mixer, attach dough hook and allow the mixer to do the work for the next ten minutes)
5. Grease a clean bowl and set the dough inside to rise for about 45 minutes.
6. Divide into 36 balls and cover with a damp cloth.
7. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together.   Add more cinnamon if you prefer.
8. Add enough oil to the bottom of a skillet to just barely cover the bottom.   Heat over a medium flame.
9. Take a ball of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand.  Put a spoonful of the cinnamon mixture on the dough and wrap the dough around it.  Put into the hot oil and let cook about a half of a minute then flatten with a spatula.  Let cook another 30 seconds, flip and flatten some more.  Allow it to finish browning.  Remove from skillet and let cool on a paper towel.
10. Repeat the process adding more oil as needed to the skillet to prevent the pancakes from sticking.

As one can tell from reading the recipe, there are a lot of steps involved in making Ho Dduk.  Of course, this shouldn't frighten the brave cook.  Most of the steps are fairly similar to the process of making bread.  Yeast is involved, as is a specific amount of time necessary to knead the dough.  There is some flour, sugar, water - all typical dough stuff - and then, the thing to throw you for a loop, potato flakes and powdered milk.  Potato flakes?!  Powdered milk?!  That's what the recipe said.  Potato flakes.  Powdered milk.  Interesting.  Of course, most of us don't just have these items laying around in our pantries.  And, I don't want the absence of these two ingredients to discourage anyone else from trying this "dessert"....so, I encourage anyone interested to improvise as I did.  Instead of powdered milk, I used regular 2% milk.  And, instead of potato flakes, I used...well....nothing.   Call it poetic license.  Send me to recipe jail.  I did what I had to do.  And despite my omission, they still turned out fairly well.

 (this picture is from original recipe page - mine looked similar to this, though I didn't have my camera handy)

The end result fell pretty much in line with my expectations.  They were pancakes.  With some cinnamon-brown sugar melted on the inside.  Fairly delicious.  Vaguely reminiscent of a cinnamon roll.  Enjoyed by my husband.  Loved by my two-year old (though, honestly, this is not a hard task - she can find contentment in a few stickers and an empty box).  I am not sure if this will end up in our current repertoire of eating or if it will remain an interesting footnote about "that one time when we tried..."; but, I can say, it was (as always) a wonderful departure to try new and unexpected things.  So, thanks for the pancakes, North Korea!

(The original recipe came from this link:  http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Ho_Dduk_(korean_Pancakes))