Hi! I’m Divya Gugnani. And we’re here at Graffiti one of my favorite east village treasures. Let’s go Behind the Burner, and meet the chefs. We use Asian influences to inspire their sweet creations.
Hi! I’m here with the chefs of Graffiti, Jehangir Mehta and Andre Vasquez. So guys, what are we making today?
Jehangir: Well, today we’re going to steam some chocolate buns which will have coffee in them. You need to have a steamer, basically we use a rice cooker because I think it’s the best way and the most easy functional way to do that.
Divya: Tell me about this mixture. So this is a mixture of sugar and…
Jehangir: It’s just sugar and coffee, but we are using two different types of chocolate. We’re using a milk chocolate and a dark chocolate. I mean this is a very good dessert because what Andre’s does, he prepares about 10 of them earlier on, with a wet towel over it.
Divya: To keep the moisture.
Jehangir: To keep the moisture. And that keeps in the refrigerator. So what we needed, we just go right into it. It’s very nice for something if you’re having a buddy at home, because it’s something you could make in advance, not bother wait, and all you have to do is just steam them when you need them.
Jehangir: You want to lend her a hand.
Divya: I see you want to check the consistency and when it just bounces back that you know it’s kind of ready.
Jehangir: Exactly, exactly. I mean, just now the only thing is you have to be careful when you pick it up. Of course, you can also do is take this out, but otherwise, just go with the spatula, scoop it right out, it should be perfectly fine.
Divya: So you see the chocolate is kind of melted along the side.
Jehangir: Exactly. The chocolate has melted a little bit.
Divya: So you put sugar on top, take the torch. Wooo, wow!
Jehangir: This way you’ll get a different texture in the bun until you get a little bit of that crispiness, so you get that little hot crackle in the bun.
Divya: Crispiness. So Jehangir tell us what you made for us this evening.
Jehangir: Well we have the chocolate steamed bun. Basically what we did was we put the two different types of chocolate in here, a milk chocolate and the dark chocolate. Gratinated it to give it a little different texture. The gratinate will give it that crunchiness that two different types of chocolate will give it a different bite to it and very, very soft and moisture filled steam bun will give it a completely different texture.
Divya: And where do you get the steamed buns?
Jehangir: We get these from a Chinese boulangerie called LCA.
Divya: And so usually can just go to an Asian food market and buy steamed buns.
Jehangir: Absolutely, you will find them.
Divya: You know it really cuts down the prep time, this is a very simple, easy, quick dessert to make because if you start with the steamed bun, you really just have to fill it in, steam and then you’re good to go.
Jehangir: Very, very easy. Absolutely. Then we pair it with our tea, then of course it’s a little bit floral it’s coincidental.
Divya: What type of tea is that?
Jehangir: It’s called nulgrea. It’s like the sister of Darjeeling.
Divya: I am ready to take a bite.
Jehangir: And then spit it out if it’s disgusting.
Divya: It’s delicious. You really taste the milk between the two chocolates. There’s that bit of you know, milk chocolate softness. The deepness and the richness of the dark chocolate accompanied with it. What’s fantastic is the crunch on top, that’s like a bit of a kick.
Behind the Burner members can take advantage of this exquisite opportunity to purchase hand signed copies of Jehangir Mehta book, Mantra. You can also purchase his fine spices and teas on Partistry. Stay tuned, Behind the Burner, where we give you the tips, tricks, and techniques that are lighting the culinary world on fire.
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