Challenge: Taro

After checking out a few blog entries, my friend Natalie wanted to try her hand at an Iron Chef Adventure and excitedly volunteered to take on Challenge #5 with me. The secret ingredient, chosen by her mother, was taro: something neither of us had much experience with.

We started off with a thorough brainstorm and then headed off to a local Asian grocery store to pick up the specialty ingredient along with a few more fun ethnic items, like buko (coconut) meat and banana leaves. While hesitant about the taro dumpling and pie recipes, our efforts paid off after a little experimentation.

The outcome pleasantly surprised me. I found myself munching on the veggie chips well after dinner, and craving leftovers for lunch the next day. The extra company was definitely a bonus as well. As the recipes below reflect, two heads are better than one when it comes to innovating new dishes!

Assorted Veggie Chips:

Two varieties of taro and sweet potato, baked and tossed with black sesame seeds, salt, and pepper, served with tempura dipping sauce, and garnished with rutabaga and banana leaves

Mashed Taro Cake & Chili Eggplant and Green Beans:

inspired by dim sum taro cake served with Chili Oil

Taro, sauteed chili shrimp, diced barbeque pork, green onions, cilantro, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper

Green beans, eggplant, water chestnuts, sambal balado chili sauce*, cooking wine, soy sauce, olive oil

*chili pepper or green chili, blended together with garlic, shallot, red or green tomato, salt and lemon or lime juice, then sauteed with oil

Watercress Pork Rib Stew with Taro Dumplings:

Boiled pork ribs, taro dumplings*, watercress, diced taro, carrots, onion, salt, pepper, served in taro and pork broth and garnished with cilantro

*Taro dumplings: taro, flour, milk, green onions, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, boiled until firm

inspired by Italian gnocchi

Taro Buko Banana Pie:

Boiled taro, banana, shredded coconut meat, coconut milk, condensed milk, and egg, baked in a pie crust and decorated with sliced banana

*Detailed filling recipe:

Preheat oven and bake piecrust for ~10 min

For filling, boil taro and mash in saucepan (~3 cups). Add coconut milk (1/3 can), condensed milk (1/3-1/2 cup), shredded coconut (1 cup) and stir over heat to thicken. Add mashed banana (adjust amount of banana so just hint of flavor). Temper with 1 egg by adding some taro filling to whisked egg, mix to heat egg, and add egg mixture slowly to saucespan so egg doesn't scramble. Stir until thick. To adjust consistency you can probably add coconut juice or evaporated/regular milk, our coconut meat had some ice.

Add filling to piecrust and bake for another 20-25 min, until crust is golden brown. Slice banana and use to garnish.