Rhubarb
A recap of recipes I developed this week, with rhubarb.
When my friend, Daria, suggested rhubarb for this week’s spotlight ingredient, she said and I quote “I only know of rhubarb schorle [a German fizzy drink] and one type of rhubarb cake.” How sadly true! My rhubarb experience was next to none and that had to change. It’s also not in season for very long, so I wanted to develop some recipes pronto.
Sip: The Barbara (working title but iykyk)
Rhubarb, the quirky pink vegetable that resurfaces every late spring/early summer. Tones vary from baby pink to ruby red, however there were slim pickings in the stores near me and so I took my chances, threw a bundle in my basket and sulked around the supermarket with my mostly-green rhubarb. The little colour theory I did possess told me that the pink drink I was envisioning was not going to happen, so my plan B brain kicked in and I took some hibiscus tea home with me.
And this is why we love a plan B, because the hibiscus not only transformed my green rhubarb juice into a Barbie pink fantasy, but enhanced the rhubarb’s naturally tart flavour. A win-win.
If spring was an eating category, I would say it embodies brunch (hot take: brunch sux) and if I were to throw the ultimate springtime brunch this rhubarb & sparkling rosé number would be in everyone’s hands with unlimited top ups. The night before, make a big batch of the rhubarb syrup and chill nth bottles of sparkling rosé in the fridge. Done, you’re sorted. No more predictable mimosas (although we love a mimosa!) The rhubarb ribbons are totally optional, but just do it, please 🎀
Bite: Sinigang sa Rhubarb
Sinigang or Filipino sour soup is such a nostalgic dish for me. Every Filipino household has their own version and I wanted to take this humble homey dish up a few notches.
Keeping with the pink theme, I took pen to whiteboard and badly drew little cubes of salmon, a slice of beef tomato, a string of braided sitaw (snake beans), floating amidst a clear pink broth. A few foreseen challenges here:
1) I’ve never made sinigang from scratch. The OG instant sinigang packets are a staple pantry item in my house. Was I going to capture the lip-puckering sour levels of a good sinigang, with rhubarb?
2) A clear broth, how the hell?
A deep YouTube dive and the few brave souls who have gone on the Rhubarb Sinigang(*) quest before were a saving grace. Still, I was so intimated by the technicalities of this dish, I mentally braced myself for the cook 2 days prior.
Can I just say, sinigang broth from scratch? Piece of sour cake. I won’t be getting rid of my instant sinigang packets for convenience’ sake but there’s just something so satisfying about making broth from scratch *looks down, sweeps hair behind the ear*.
I split my broth into two batches to act as a reserve before attempting the science experiment that is egg white clarification. General rule of thumb is 1 egg white to every 500ml of liquid. Whip the egg white until lightly frothy, pour into tepidly warm broth and pray to the broth gods that you didn’t just mess everything up. Mix the egg white gently throughout, as you bring the broth to a very low simmer and then, leave it alone. As it cooks, the protein in the egg white binds and floats all those murky impurities to the surface in a questionable thing called, an “egg raft”. Just below the surface you should see some promising transparency.
The gasp, that came out of me after straining the broth. What was a beautiful murky mess was now the pinkish pond I had envisioned. I finished off the cook by gently poaching the salmon, beans, okra and tomato slices. I braided the beans and cut little okra stars for dramatic effect and got to plating what I believe, to be my best plating yet (yay for progress).
Still life: Rhubarb & Red Calla Lilies
My bestie, Benny, came over to work on this conceptual photoshoot together.
Myself, an aspiring food stylist and she an aspiring photographer, set up the scene by taping an old Calvin Klein scarf to the wall and arranging a rhubarb bouquet with complementary ombréd calla lilies. Yes, the rhubarb did stain the scarf.
This was my first time working with another living, breathing soul since starting this food account. The freelance wfh life can be a lonely one and I loved bouncing ideas, jumping to the next set and the silly banter between the pretend (but actual) seriousness of this shoot. How great did the photos turn out by the way? I’m using the middle one as my phone’s wallpaper right now.
En Fin
If you’ve read this far, can we be best friends? Already bursting with ideas for next week’s spotlight ingredient. Did you catch the clue? 🌹
(*) Rhubarb Sinigang References