I haven't had anything to say here in a while. It's not that I haven't been cooking. I have. I just haven't made anything all that interesting or novel. And I didn't want to bore you, my dear readers. Hopefully this post and those that follow will not disappoint.That out of the way, I can tell you about my trip to one of the great Vietnamese markets on Argyle in Chicago last weekend. There are a few of these markets, and I must confess they are growing on me. At first I found them a bit depressing because they lacked the teeming sidewalk activity and amazing tropical fruit selections in places like Toronto's amazing Chinatown. As I've explored the markets here, though, I've discovered that each has its strengths.
The other day I went to Viet Hoa Plaza, which has what I think is the best selection of Asian herbs and non-fruit produce. Among a bunch of herbs (which I was looking for to make spring rolls), I also found fresh pandan leaves. I've written about these before, but this was the first time I had seen fresh (not frozen) leaves in the US. So I sort of had to get them and make something.It also happens that I had made some macaron shells a couple weeks ago that were sitting in the freezer. (I've gotten better at these since my initial attempt, just for the record.) By a fortunate coincidence, the shells were green. (Interestingly, macaron shells typically contain no flavorings; it all comes from the filling.) So I decided to make pandan macaron filling.
To do this, I started with this recipe from a blogger. When I juiced the pandan leaves (using a blender) as described, though, the liquid that I got tasted very grassy and didn't have a strong flavor at all. I was afraid it wouldn't fully flavor the filling. I wanted more flavor. So I first used a technique often used in Asian desserts which is to steep a few pandan leaves (tied in a knot) in hot liquid. In this case, I used the coconut milk in the recipe. I also added a little bit of bottled pandan paste, which added green color.
The result was actually really good. The steeping and juiced pandan gave the filling an almost tea-like subtlety, while the paste ensured that the flavor popped. I'd do it again, and maybe experiment with just steeping or just using juice, plus a bit of paste.