Homemade Pocky Food

HOMEMADE POCKY

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: Add 1 1/4 cups flour, the sugar, baking powder and salt to a food processor, and pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and pulse until small crumbs form. In a measuring cup, combine milk and vanilla. Stream into flour mixture while machine is running. Pulse until dough is fairly smooth.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and roll until it is just over 1/4-inch thick. Use a bench scraper or the side of a large knife to straighten the sides so that it is a 5 1/2-by-8-inch rectangle. Wrap in plastic and transfer to a small baking sheet. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a bench scraper or long knife to cut the dough crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips that are about 5 1/2 inches long. Transfer half the dough to the refrigerator while you work with the other half. Using the palms of your hands, gently roll each strip on a lightly floured work surface until 7 to 8 inches long. Transfer strips to parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheets, keeping them as straight as possible and spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Bake until golden on edges and bottom, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• Decorate the cookies: Melt each of the chocolates in a separate metal bowl set over a small saucepan with 1 inch of simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. If using dark or milk chocolate, add 1/2 teaspoon vegetable shortening to each and whisk until combined. If using white chocolate, add enough vegetable shortening to make it thin enough for dipping, up to 1 tablespoon, whisking until mixture is glossy. Stir pulverized berries or matcha into white chocolate. (You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave instead: Transfer the chocolate and shortening to a microwave-safe glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk to combine, then heat in 20-second increments, whisking between each, until melted.)
• Holding a cookie stick over a bowl of chocolate, use a small spoon to pour the chocolate over 2/3 of the stick, turning cookie to coat on all sides. Let excess drip off, and scrape against the edge of the bowl. Set chocolate-coated cookie on a parchment- or wax paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with nibs or nuts as desired. (You'll want to keep all the dips in a warm place while working with them, and return them to the pot or microwave to remelt if needed.) Refrigerate until coating hardens. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.

HOKEY POKEY

Steps:

• Put the sugar and syrup into a saucepan and stir together to mix. You can't stir once the pan's on the heat, though.
• Place the pan on the heat and let the mixture first melt and then turn to goo and then a bubbling mass the color of maple syrup - this will take 3 minutes or so.
• Off the heat, whisk in the baking soda and watch the syrup turn into a whooshing cloud of aerated pale gold. Turn this immediately onto a piece of baking parchment or greased foil.
• Leave until set and then bash at it, so that it splinters into many glinting pieces.

POKI

Steps:

• Blend all ingredients EXCEPT the tuna in a non-reactive bowl.
• Mix well, taste and season, adding salt as necessary.
• Use as much of the sesame oil and the red chili sauce as you like-- or can stand.
• Cut tuna into small, uniform bits approximately 1/2 inch square or so.
• (I like my morsels on the small side.) Gently toss the tuna in the dressing and let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Serve as an appetizer with shrimp chips (the kind that you get at the Asian grocery store and fry yourself) or fried wonton chips.
• Serve as an"entree" dish with steamed short grain rice.
• Serve as a salad over seaweed or lettuce.
• A note on the ingredients-- this is a raw fish dish, so it's very important to get sushi/sashimi grade#1 tuna from a reputable seafood supplier.
• Any tuna will work, but I've used Ahi and Big Eye (Yellowtail) most often.
• As you prepare the fish, make sure that your utensils are very clean and cool or cold.
• The roasted sesame oil should be the Asian kind.
• If you can't find the Vietnamese red chili sauce, crushed red pepper or wasabi paste would be great substitutes.
• Poki doesn't keep well, so make only as much as you're sure to eat in one sitting.
• If you're putting this on a buffett, stick the bowl on a bed of ice or else it'll start looking a bit gray.

TRADITIONAL STYLE POKE BOWL

Steps:

• Cut the fish into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes. Combine in a bowl with the soy sauce, ponzu, sesame seeds, tobiko, sesame oil, green onions and sweet onion. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, prepare rice. Rinse rice in cold water and drain until water runs clear, between 3 to 5 rinses. Add rice to a saucepan or rice cooker with 1 cup cold water. If using a saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once simmering begins, reduce heat to low and let cook, covered, until no water remains, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove rice from heat and leave covered for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. (If using a rice cooker, you got this.)
• To serve, place your desired amount of rice in a bowl. Scoop 6 to 8 ounces poke over rice. Garnish with furikake and unagi sauce to taste. Repeat to make 3 to 5 more bowls. Enjoy!