St. Francis Xavier Fortune Cookies

As most of you know, fortune cookies are thin, folded cookies with a paper saying inside. They are associated with Asian restaurants and recipes. I thought it would be fun to make fortune cookies for a saint feast day who has a connection to Asia. In place of fortunes inside the cookies, it would be a good opportunity to put quotes or saying associated with the saint. St. Francis Xavier is an excellent choice as he was a missionary to Japan and China. His feast day is this week, December 3.  St. Francis spent time in the Philippines, India, and Japan, baptizing tens of thousands. He set sail for China but died on the island of Sancian within sight of China. For his travels and zealous missionary efforts in the far east he is associated with that area and is a patron of several of those countries. Other saints that could be included if you were to do this at a different time are St. Paul Miki and the Japanese Matryrs, the Chinese Martyrs, etc.  Now, the actual truth of fortune cookies as being from these Asian cultures is not accurate. It seems that they were first made in the United States for Chinese restaurants. But they are significantly associated with the food of the culture to most of us now, so fit this activity, I believe.

For some saints or martyrs from China and other southeast Asian countries there is little available of their teaching or writing to use as quotes, but St. Francis has some and that is why it made sense to target his feast day initially. Here is a link to a document of quotes that you can download and print off to use for making your fortune cookies. Just print and cut them into strips.

I had previously tried making fortune cookies many years ago and knew that they are a bit tricky. It takes a quick hand to maneuver the cookies before they set and can no longer be shaped. The batter and baked cookie have to be just right, so it won't crack or harden to quickly.  This time, with a couple of early ones for practice, I got the hang of it and they turned out okay.  Don't let this intimidate you. It really was easier than my previous experience.  You can check out some YouTube videos which walk you through the process.  There are slight variations on the ingredients, but this is what I used.

How to make home-made fortune cookies:

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

• Print and cut out quotes so they are on small strips of paper. 
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw two 3-1/2-in. circles on parchment paper.

• In a small bowl, beat the butter, sugar, egg white and vanilla until frothy. Add flour and mix until just blended in. 
• Spread 1 T. batter over each circle. 

• Bake at 400° for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Cover one cookie with a kitchen towel (to help keep it soft while working with other). 
• Loosen other cookie from parchment paper with a thin spatula and flip over onto work surface. 
• Place a fortune in the center of that cookie.

• Fold cookie in half over paper so the edges meet and hold edges together for few seconds.

• Place center of cookie over the rim of a mug.
• Gently press ends down to bend cookie in middle.  Hold and let set a few seconds. 

• Set inside muffin tin cup to cool and retain shape. 
• Repeat with second cookie. 
• Repeat with remaining batter and paper quotes. 

Yield: 10-12 cookies.

St. Francis Xavier, Pray for us!

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

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In Honor of the Korean Martyrs

Note: Since I’m posting this before the feast, the pictures will be added later! But don’t let that stop you from enjoying some of these yummy recipes honoring the Saints of Korea! (ETA: Pictures added!)

This Saturday, we commemorate the Korean Martyrs –Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and their Companions. Because of our two little Korean boys, these Saints have come to have a very special meaning for our family.

Catholics comprise only about 10% of the population in Korea, but they have an inspiring faith history! They boast one of the largest numbers of canonized saints (103!) of any country in the world.

An interesting note about the history of Catholicism in Korea, as I understand it: Our Faith came to Korea, not from missionaries, but rather through the study of some scholars, who were investigating Christianity for themselves. They were so taken with the truth they found in their study of Catholicism that they began its practice all on their own. In fact, they were celebrating their own Mass for many years, until finally a missionary was able to come from China, and informed them that they needed an ordained priest for the celebration to be valid!

St. Andrew Kim Taegon was the first native-born Korean to become a priest, and provided an heroic example for others to follow. Paul Chong Hasang, aptly named!, was a great lay apostle for the faith. For centuries, the Korean dynasties were actively resisting influences from outside their country which they felt threatened the integrity of their native culture. In the face of severe persecution, Paul Chong Hasang wrote an important letter to his emperor explaining that the Catholic faith posed no threat to his rule. For over 100 years, however, Catholics were horribly persecuted, and thousands lost their lives for their faith. All of the 103 saints commemorated on September 20 were martyred, many facing unspeakable torture prior to their deaths.

Our family is proud to honor these great Saints. Both our sons have middle names honoring them, and in turn, we honor our sons and the culture into which they were born, in our celebration of this feast.

And feast we do!

Our favorite Korean dish is Pork Bulgogi, a delicious and spicy Korean barbecue. (It’s a very widespread Korean dish—I once heard it referred to as “The National Dish of Korea!” Once we stopped for a picnic along the NYS Thruway during a long trip, and a Korean family was cooking up some bulgogi on the grill at the next table!) What follows here is my own version—we like to call it “Eileen’s Irish Pork Bulgogi”—but the flavor is pretty authentic. What I’m most proud of, in addition to it being very tasty and easy to pull off, is that it is created from ingredients readily available at our local grocery store, here in the middle of nowhere!

The most fun thing about Bulgogi is the way it’s eaten. Once you prepare the meat from the recipe below (or a more authentic one – try this one (for a less spicy beef) from a recent Food Network show, or from the book, Cooking the Korean Way, if you like!), you’ll need the following for each serving:

• 1 leaf Romaine lettuce (or any large green leaf lettuce other than iceberg), with the hard core cut out


• 1 clove of fresh garlic (I usually halve or quarter them, depending on the size)

• 1 (1/2" or so) piece of green pepper

• 1-2 T boiled white rice

• a few pieces of prepared Bulgogi

• Yangnyum Kangang Sauce (spicy and delicious -- recipe follows!), to taste, as a seasoning or for dipping

Place everything in a small mound on the bottom third of the lettuce leaf, being careful not to overstuff. Wrap and roll the lettuce leaf into a small package – sort of like a 2-3” soft taco. If you can, pop the whole thing into your mouth at once, for full flavor (I usually end up taking bites, but then you end up with all of the garlic on half, and none on the rest. Either way: Mmmmmm!)

So now that I’ve (hopefully!) got you wanting to try this for yourself--and with apologies to anyone who has "real" Korean cooking skills!--here’s how I make it!

Easy Pork Bulgogi

• 2 lb boneless pork tenderloin, sliced thinkly as for stir fry


• 3-4 T Hot Chili Garlic Sauce (Sun Luck brand is the only kind our grocery sells, and the closest thing to chili paste that I could find)

• 3 t cooking oil


• 1/2 to 1 t finely-chopped ginger (we use jarred, but fresh is great)


• 1-2 T honey


• 2-4 T low-salt soy sauce

(I usually double the marinade recipe above, and use it as described in the instructions below.)

Mix all ingredients except pork in a small bowl—go easy on each ingredient so you can adjust the flavor to taste (more honey if it seems too salty; more soy if it seems too sweet, more heat from the chili garlic sauce, etc. I’ve found that the heat increases in cooking, so keep that in mind, too.) Add the pork, being sure to coat the pieces evenly; allow to marinate for about 15 minutes or so (you can marinate it much longer, even overnight, if you want—we usually don’t).

Cook in a single layer over a grill (on foil, or a very narrow grill grid), or in a frying pan, over medium-high heat; or under the broiler. Carmelization is key, but you don’t want to burn it! It should only take a few minutes per side. When all the meat is cooked, bring the remaining sauce to a full boil in a saucepan, and continue to boil for at least one full minute; toss with the cooked meat and serve.

Yangnyum Kangang Sauce

• 1/4 c low-salt soy sauce


• 2 T water


• 1 T rice wine vinegar


• 2 t hot chili garlic sauce


• 1-1/2 t toasted sesame seeds, ground

Mix all ingredients together. You can divide the sauce among several small individual dishes, or pass to serve (American style). We usually spoon a small amount over the filling before wrapping up the lettuce, but you could also dip the finished wrap into the sauce.

If you really want to be authentic, you’ll want to serve Kim Chi on the side. Kim Chi is a spicy fermented cabbage dish, which I have not yet tried to make. At this Irish-German-Korean home, we pair up Bulgogi with one (or both!) of the following tasty side dishes: Colcannon—a cabbage and mashed potato staple in Irish homes, which we “kick up a notch” by adding crumbled bacon and onion; and Creamy Coleslaw.

(We’re a very multi-cultural family, what can I say?) :)

The coleslaw in particular is a terrific complement to the spicy pork, at least to this American palate. At our home, at least, our little Korean men give this collection of dishes “Two Thumbs Up.” We hope you will, too!

Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and Companions, Pray for us!

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