Yay, it’s back!

I couldn’t wait for more than a day before having another taste of my pilaf-pizza. But this time I decided to adhere to my Asian roots and go all non-traditional on today’s pilaf-pizza.

My favorite Asian cuisine is Japanese, so that’s the route I chose. Besides, I had all the necessary ingredients already available, so today’s pilaf-pizza was just brainstormed out of the several ingredients that I wanted to use: nori, wasabi, dried pork floss.

Sounds like sushi to you, doesn’t it? That’s why I’m calling this the “Deconstructed-Sushi” pilaf-pizza. Who says pizza has to have tomato sauce and cheese? If you go to other countries, you’ll find that every country has their own individual version of pizza. Really, pizza is a dish that has so much potential for creativity and uniqueness.

                            “Deconstructed-Sushi” pilaf-pizza

Let’s start with the base, which I prepared the same way as yesterday:

Base ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked pearled barley
• 2 tablespoons black beans
• 1/4 cup mashed roasted pumpkin
• 1 large egg white
• salt and pepper

Just mix everything up, flatten it out onto a well-greased pan, and pop it into a 450 degree oven for abour 15-20 minutes until dry and crispy on the edges.

Topping ingredients:

• creamy wasabi sauce (recipe follows)
• fried egg
• one sheet toasted nori, cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon dried pork floss

Creamy Wasabi sauce:

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1~2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 tsp wasabi paste
• 1 tsp lime juice
• salt and pepper

To make creamy wasabi sauce, just mix all the above ingredients together.

Once the pilaf-pizza was done and sort of cooled, I slathered on the creamy wasabi sauce, then layered on strips of nori, placed a fried egg on top, and sprinkled on even more random pieces of nori and the pork floss.

I have to say, this was very, very interesting. In a good way, I mean.
The pork floss might seem like a random addition to you, but it was a nice crispy and savory addition, and there are some sushi’s I’ve seen that are topped with these dried shredded pork. 

Definitely doesn’t cry out “pizza” but quite delicious in its own way.
 
The creamy wasabi sauce was a bull’s eye hit. It livened up the whole dish.

I overcooked the egg a bit though, so it wasn’t as runny as I wanted it to be. But I guess the flowing yolk and the wasabi sauce would have been a strange mix, so it all ended up well.

You might have noticed the short short post (well for me anyway) but I’m really busy these days getting ready for a BIG DINNER on Friday! I’m inviting my whole church youth group over this Friday for a last dinner together before I leave Singapore, and it’s gonna be a group of at least twelve!

I’ll definitely be taking pictures that day, but here’s a teaser menu for that day:

• Crudites or salad
• Omu-pilaf
• Potato cake
• Tomato-pork curry
• Meatloaf
• Cheese-baked pumpkin Mac & Cheese
• Banana chocolate chip cake

I think that should be enough for twelve…don’t you?

All of them are dishes I’ve made before (the omu-pilaf and the cheese-baked pumpkin mac & cheese are from my own creations) except the potato cake. I’m quite excited about this savory potato cake. I won’t tell you about it just yet, but you’ll see it Friday!

I did not want to make a banana cake, because it’s just so…boring. But my friends insisted. I’ve already made banana cake for them twice, but apparently they can’t get enough of it! What’s the matter with them? There is nothing special to that banana cake, either, just your regular banana bread recipe with some chocolate chips mixed in. Big whoop. I tried to offer something else, like a frozen banana cream cake, but…nope. Banana cake it is. Sigh.

Alright, gotta go start prepping. Ta-ta!

Question of the day: What are some classic “boring” desserts that you love and would prefer over an exotic luscious one any day?

Related posts:

1. Twiddling my thumbs for the Big Event
2. Seduced again by the French mistress
3. My “thick and dense” head and lunch
4. The Best of Both Worlds
5. Porky for dessert

Tagged as: barley, beans, eggs, nori, pizza, pork, pumpkin, yogurt