Kare - kare

I have the impression before that this dish is quite complicated so I never dared to prepare one. Actually it’s the mixture that I find complicated. I asked my friend for the recipe and tried it.  I have to modify though some of the ingredients, mainly the pork was substituted with beef.

Ingredients you’ll need

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• 1/2 kg beef tripe (tuwalya), with some laman. You may use also oxtail. 
• Mama Sita’s Kare-kare peanut sauce mix.
• Barrio Fiesta Sautéed shrimp paste (bagoong alamang)
• Vegetables (eggplant cut into quarters, string beans cut into 3” length). You may add banana heart (puso ng saging) and pechay. I did not add more as it will be way too much for me & kuya.
• 3 cloves of Garlic
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 6 cups water

 

 Step by step cooking

1. Cook the meat for 30 minutes in a pressure cooker just until tender.
2. Dissolve the Mama Sita’s mix in 1 cup of water.
3. Sauté garlic and onion in the oil until cooked and translucent.  Drop the meat into the pot and stir-fry.
4. Add the dissolved mama sita’s mix. Add the remaining broth from the cooker. Stir and simmer until the sauce thickens.
5. Add the vegetables (if you are adding peachay, leave it at the end). Cook for another 3 minutes.
6. Lastly, drop in the pechay and cook for 2 more minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. 
7. Serve while hot with bagoong and rice.

After I finished preparing, I realized it wasn’t at all hard to cook this dish.  Of course, except looking for the achuete ingredient in this country (the reason why I used the Mama Sita’s mix).

You will never go wrong with this dish, I mean it will never be a fail as you don’t even need to season it with salt.  It’s just a matter of mixing the meat, the sauce and the veggies and you’re done! The bagoong will complete the dish!

Salmon with roasted vegetables

Still can't get out of mind the salmon I ate in the weekend at Carino’s. So here I am trying to cook a salmon..my first ever salmon dish with the guide of Hamlyn’s cookbook.

Checked the pantry. Sad..something is missing. It’s the balsamic vinegar. Lazy to go out I decided to replace the balsamic with just lemon juice. We’ll try..maybe it will work?

Ingredients:

• Salmon fillet
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• 2 tomatoes (quartered, deseeded)
• Cauliflower florets
• Green beans
• Spinach
• 1 Lemon
• 4 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 tablespoon clear honey
• Salt & Pepper to taste

The procedure:

1. Cut the salmon into two parts. Season deliberately with salt & pepper. Squeeze on top the juice of half lemon. Set aside.
2. Get a small jar.  Combine the EVOO, minced garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, honey, some salt & pepper. Close lid of the jar and shake to combine thoroughly the mixture.
3. Pour the oil mixture into the vegetables (excluding the spinach) and toss to coat well.  Put in a baking sheet..In to a pre-heated 220 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
4. This is not one in the cookbook direction.  Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick pan and sear the salmon on both sides. I wanted a bit brown drama effect on my salmon hence I thought of doing this.
5. Add the salmon on top of the vegetables and cook for another 12-15 minutes.
6. Add the spinach. Put back into the oven, cook just until the spinach wilts.
7. Arrange on a plate, salmon on bed of veggies. Serve with a slice of lemon.

Grilled Citrus Balsamic Salmon – choice of the day

Last Thursday, I met my former colleagues in my first company here in Dubai and had an Iftar with them at Carino’s Italian in Dubai Festival City.  Lots of chit-chats and updates as it has been quite a while (actually like already 2 years) since the last time we gathered. Blame me, I’m not always available (as they said).

I don’t know whether its the location of our table (I think it’s partly hidden) that not any of the waiters approach us and get our orders. Or maybe they are giving attention more to the customers that they believe are fasting (I admit not one in my group fast that day). With hungry tummy, we jokingly said..when a person is hungry, he/she cannot think that well. Would they want another hostage drama from a Filipino?  The waiter serving the other table must have heard of the joke and he called a waiter to assist us. 

So we gave our orders and all of us we wanted to order same meal! It’s the Grilled Citrus Balsamic Salmon!  Looks so delicious that all of us wanted to try its goodness. But at the end we agreed to just order 3 of this dish and we’ll get another on the selection to share. The salmon was so impeccably tasty that I am still eating yet already thinking of replicating this dish minus the pasta of course as I prefer to have it with rice.

Ended the meal with a dessert - chocolate cake with ice-cream on top. Yum yum! But after couple of bites, we felt we needed something to balance the sweet taste so we ordered for an American coffee.  Happy tummy!

Ramadan 2010: Iftar meals

Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, the month of fasting.  Whenever we are both free, me & Hayati meet for the fast-breaking meal called Iftar.  He used to buy food from a restaurant before, comes in my place and there will eat together. But now it changed as we prefer to cook at home and enjoy the fruit of our labor.

Yesterday, we had another cooking session (Ramadan Special). I decided to fast as well so I will feel what hayati feels whenever he’s breaking his fast. Thought was easy but the smell of the food in the kitchen was so tempting. Wanted to get a piece and have a taste of what we are cooking but I have to stop myself. My body was shaking because of hunger yet I patiently waited for the Maghrib prayer time signaling the end of our fast. We cooked for nearly 4 hours without tasting the food…ingredients are all by approximation. Below are some of the dishes we made.

DESSERTS – All bought pre-mixed (RTC- ready to cook) and just cooked as per instruction in the package.

The caramel cream turns out a success.The jelly while settling seems okay...but we had difficulty unmolding it. So I suggested to hayati to dip the molder in a hot water. We counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! And the jelly easily slipped out of the molder. But it turned out a bit watery :(  We have dipped it for quite long in the hot water..we learned that maybe 3 counts should have been enough.

THE DUMPLINGS/ PIKA PIKA FOODS  – as starters. Again mostly pre-mixed and RTC.  This is the most we can do I guess as newbies in cooking.The dumpling was prepared as package direction.  Hayati patiently mixed it with a carefully measured amount of water (don’t want to go wrong with this)until he arrived with a smooth mixture, then covered it with moist damp cloth for about 45 minutes for it to rise.We formed a small ball from the batter and fried in hot oil. Drizzled with a bit of honey and ready to be eaten.  I am in doubt though..should this be classified dessert or starter? We also fried other vegetable fritters: samosa, pakora (potato dipped into a batter then fried) and mashed potato with some parsley formed into small balls (the round ones in the below picture). Of all the fritters, my favorite one was the potato dumplings.

 THE MAIN DISHES

He is craving for something sour..hayati experimented on this dish. He sautéed onion in about tablespoon oil, added the drained chickpeas, then about 1/2 teaspoon of the mixed masala & pinch of salt. Cooked for about 5 minutes under low fire. Then he dissolved tamarind in a small amount of water and mixed in the dish. He liked the outcome of his experiment and finished everything in the bowl.Lastly, the dish that up to now I could not believe he prepared…

Hayati doesn’t like the smell of fish. In our years of relationship, I never saw him eating fish dish except when I forced him to have a little bite on my fish sandwich. He claims that in his entire life, that was his first taste of fish food.

Surprisingly, he asked me to buy hamour fillets when I went in the supermarket. When he said he’s going to cook it, I was so hesitant as never he had experience in cooking fish and thinking he might just ruin the fillet and will end up in the garbage bin. I kept on reminding him that this is an expensive fish and he kept on answering me with “no worries, it will be a good dish”. So I entrusted to him the fillets..but of course I did the slicing and slitting.

Nothing so fancy he did on the fish..just seasoned with salt, pepper and squeezed juice of a half lemon in the fillets. Then in a non-stick pan, he heated around 3 tablespoons of cooking oil, fried both sides of the fish till browned. Then transferred into a baking tray and put in a pre-heated oven (temperature set at 150 degrees) to continue cooking  for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the same pan used for frying the fish, he sautéed 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped tomato, added tomato paste, then dropped 1 can of drained mixed vegetables. Seasoned with 1/4 teaspoon masala, dash of salt & pepper and cooked for about 5 minutes in medium heat.

Served with love the hamour in a bed of basmati rice with vegetables. Plus a bonus of one boiled egg :)Hayati’s first fish dish was not that bad..in fact, I can say it was perfectly done and the fish was so tasty (maybe the reason why hamour is so expensive).  For that I am giving him a rate of 9/10!  Also, just the effort of cooking this dish thinking he dislike the smell is already a ++ points for him…and that’s why ahabek hayati. 

Breaded Cream Dory with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

The last time I prepared a fried fish dish, I got a week long remembrance -  oil burns on my face & hands. I definitely love cooking but not the splattering oil.. When I was newbie in frying I was so afraid of the oil to the point of shielding myself with a big pot cover or a panner (our bilao in the province) just to avoid the oil. Funny scene! Battle in the kitchen and oil is the enemy?

I’m cooking fish (again) tonight but no worries on splattering oil as it will be a breaded fish.  Listing the ingredients:

• 2 fillets of cream dory, each sliced into four parts
• Flour
• Bread crumbs
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 head onion
• some button mushrooms, sliced
• chopped parsley & basil leaves
• 125 ml fresh cream
• EVOO (Extra-virgin olive oil)
• For side veggies – asparagus spears, broccoli florets, green beans (ends trimmed)

Procedures:

1. Pat dry the fillets with paper towel.
2. Prepare the breading. First plate – bed of plain flour. Second plate – crack egg, add salt & beat.  Third plate – bream crumbs seasoned with salt & pepper.
3. Coat the fillet with the flour, shake off any excess and dip to the egg mixture. Lastly roll it in bread crumbs and again shake off any excess breading.
4. Heat about 3 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick pan.  Fire set to medium. Once hot (not burning hot), put the breaded fillets and fry on both sides till golden brown.
5. Transfer the fried fillets in a baking tray, and continue cooking in a pre-heated 180-degree oven for about 10 minutes…just enough time to prepare the sauce.
6. In a non-stick pan, add 1 tablespoon EVOO and sauté the garlic and onion till translucent. Add the mushroom and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the fresh cream, sprinkle some salt & pepper, drop in chopped parsley and basil leaves. Cook in a low fire for another 5 minutes. Check taste and adjust as desired.
7. For the side veggies, blanch the vegetables in a boiling water with little salt added for about 3 minutes or less. Drain and put in a cold water to stop the cooking. Drain thoroughly.
8. Arrange the veggies on the side of the plate, breaded fish on the center topped with the creamy mushroom sauce.

9. Serve and enjoy.

The perfect fried chicken (so far)

Cooked fried chicken for may times but always a fail. The crunchiness is not always a perfect outcome. But as they say, keep on trying! And that I did..until..one trial turns as a success.

• 1/2 kg chicken wings, clean and cut each wing into two pieces
• 5 cloves garlic, pealed
• Ginger, pealed & sliced any way you want
• Ground black pepper
• Salt
• Cooking oil
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten

This is my own rendition for cooking a friend chicken. Almost the same as the usual way of cooking an FC but the difference is on tenderizing the chicken. I don’t want eating rare meat nor any hint of blood in my FC so first thing I do is to tenderize the cut chicken. Put the chicken in a pot, add the garlic & ginger, bit of salt and boil until chicken is tender.

Drain and pat dry with paper towel.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a non-stick pan in a medium fire. Don’t make the oil reach its smoky level as it will just burn the coating of the chicken.

Get three plates for the breading. First plate – make a bed of plain flour.  Second plate - crack 2 eggs, add pepper & salt & beat thoroughly.  Third plate – mix some salt & pepper to the bread crumbs and spread in the plate.

Roll the chicken first to the flour, shake off for any excess, then dip to the beaten eggs, then lastly to the bread crumbs. Again shake for any excess coating then carefully put to the frying pan. Fry till brown and turn for the other side to cook.

Serve and eat while crispy.  Bring out the catsup to dip, but mine is fresh labneh.

Stir-fry vegetables with oyster sauce

Chinesy dish for today.

The ingredients:

• 1/4 kg medium size fresh shrimp, shell pealed, deveined
• 1/4 kg squid, skin removed and sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into about 1-1/2 triangular shape
• 1 carrot, sliced diagonally into a quarter inch thickness
• Button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/8 kg fresh snow peas
• 1 head onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 of a vegetable bullion cube
• 2 tablespoons EVOO (Extra-virgin olive oil)
• 5 tablespoons Mama Sita’s vegetable oyster sauce
• Salt & pepper

The procedure:

• In a non-stick pan, with a bit of olive oil sauté the garlic and onions till translucent.
• Set the fire on medium level.  Drop the shrimp and squid. Sauté for about a minute.
• Add in the vegetables, the oyster sauce, bullion cube, dash with half teaspoon ground pepper. Stir till all vegetables are coated with the sauce. Cover to cook for about 5 minutes.
• Taste check. Add salt if necessary till you achieve desired taste.
• Serve right away with jasmine rice. 

Papaitan/ Pinapaitang Baka

Its been a while since I cooked this dish but cannot locate the pictures I had taken…but last night, was able to, so now I’m sharing it here in my blog.

I don’t exactly know the parts of beef for this recipe except the innards. We buy fresh meat at Karama meat shop (yes we are suki, go there every month even though its half hour drive from our residence). Forget the parts for pinapaitan, just visit the shop and ask for pinapaitan. The butchers (note they are not Filipinos) know already what to give..meat, liver, innards, bile. But the latter I don’t really take it..I just don’t like the thought playing in my mind…instead, for a bit of bitter taste, I add bitter gourd slices which serves as substitute for the bile. Okay, the recipe for the above pictured dish. But first the ingredients:

• set of beef pinapaitan meat, 1 kg
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Ginger, chopped half cup
• 1 head onion, chopped
• Scallions/ spring onions, sliced about an inch
• Lemon slices
• 1 tablespoon EVOO (Extra-virgin olive oil)
• Pepper & salt
• 1 knorr vegetable bullion cube
• Optional: 1 green finger chilly (siling haba)
• Optinal: 1 cup bitter gourd, sliced thinly

First, take some time for cleaning the meat, especially the innards. My brother usually does this part. Wash thoroughly the meat, rub the meat with coarse salt and again wash.

We go easy way. We tenderize the meat using a pressure cooker. Put the meat in the cooker, add water just enough to cover the meat, seal the lid and cook for 30 minutes. Done tenderizing.

Remove the meat from the cooker, let it cool and slice into desired size.

In a casserole, put EVOO just enough coat the pan. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger till translucent. Drop the meat slices, sauté for 5 minutes in low fire. Add the broth plus water if broth is not enough. Drop in bullion cube. Bring to boil. Season with salt & pepper. Add one finger chilly for a bit of spice. Add bitter gourd slices for bile/ bitterness taste. Cook till the vegetables are done.

Serve while hot.  Garnish with scallions and lemon slices.

Note: Heard from my doctor that lamang loob meat triggers rheumatism? So watch the volume you eat if you have such health problem.

Beef caldereta

Not in the mood for another stew this week so I made a twist on the supposed to be nilagang baka of my brother.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg beef cubes
• 1/4 kg potatoes, cut into cubes
• 1 medium size carrot
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
• 1 bell pepper, cut into 1-1/2 triangular shape
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 head onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)
• Mama Sita’s caldereta seasoning (I use only half of the 50grams pouch)
• Water as needed

How to prepare:

• Cook the beef in a pressure cooker for about 30 minutes to tenderize.
• In a pan, heat the oil and sauté the garlic & onion until translucent.
• Add the beef and sauté for around 5 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of water, drop the carrots, potatoes and Mama Sita caldereta seasoning. Let it simmer until the potatoes are nearly done. Add more water if necessary.
• Add the remaining vegetables (peas & bell pepper). Season with salt & pepper to taste. (I add a slice of cheese – my own style of cooking caldereta). Simmer for another couple of minutes or just until the peas are cooked.
• Serve with jasmine rice.

Note: you may substitute the beef meat with Lamb or chicken.

Halabos

Talk about seafoods and shrimp will definitely one of the top 5 mentions.  It’s one of my favourite, however I do not eat that often as it is high in cholesterol content. But whenever I cook, halabos is the easiest way to do it.  All you need for this recipe are:

• > 1/2 kg medium sized shrimps, cleaned
• > 100 ml sprite, at room temperature
• > 3 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
• > 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• > Salt & pepper

 

 

• Put the shrimp in a shallow pan, add the sprite, sprinkle with some salt & pepper.
• Cook for about 3 minutes in the liquid or until the shrimp turns pinkish.  Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
• Remove the remaining liquid in the pan.  Add the EVOO and sauté the garlic. (Butter can be used instead of EVOO but I just feel healthy using the latter)
• Put back the shrimp and sauté for another 3 minutes.
• Serve with tomato slices or soy sauce with a bit of lemon juice.

Saint Peter’s Fish with Coconut Milk (Ginataang Tilapia)

I can’t remember where exactly I learned this dish..I guess its either in my Uncle Jess' house when I stayed there during my college days or from Ate Baby (my landlady in KNL – Diliman, Q.C.) :)

It’s a dish I learned while away from home…then shared to my family when I went back…and they love it!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg tilapia, cleaned & sliced into desired portion
• 5 cloves garlic, pealed
• 1 medium ginger, pealed & julienne sliced (this helps eradicate the ‘bad’ smell of the fish)
• 2 spring onions, cut into 3 inches length
• 5 medium sized eggplants, cut length-wise into quarters
• 1/8 kg string beans (or more if you desire), cut into around 3 inches long
• Optional: 1 long green pepper / siling haba (for a bit of spice)
• Other veggies you may add: 1 bundle of pechay (separate the stalks with the leaves; cut stalks into half)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 vegetable bullion cube (fish cube may do)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1/4 cup water

Preparation /Cooking:

• Arrange the fish slices in a casserole. Put in the garlic cloves and ginger. Sprinkle some salt & pepper. Add the vinegar and water. Cover, bring to boil and simmer in low fire until all the water has nearly evaporated.
• Pour in the coconut milk. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Next, drop the bullion cube and all the vegetables except the spring onions. If pechay is among your veggies, put first the stalks as they take longer time to cook. When the vegetables are nearly done, add the pechay leaves and spring onions.
• Lastly, check the taste. Season with salt if necessary.
• Garnish, serve with rice.

For guests with saltier taste, prepare fish sauce squeezed with a bit of lemon juice.

Note: You may substitute the tilapia with crab. All you need to do is remove the vinegar from the ingredients and just cook the same way as instructed.

Roasted chicken with vegetables

I have been planning since long time to do a trial of this recipe, and last week, even though I was not quite feeling well, I managed to carry out my first experiment.

Don’t have fresh chicken in the house, so I asked hayati to buy one in the nearby supermarket. Sad to say, without much clear instruction from my side, the vendor had cut the chicken into pieces.

Yet I decided to push through with roasting method, but instead of the whole chicken, I have it in pieces.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg chicken, skin removed
• 1/2 kg potatoes, cut into chunks, almost same size as the chicken
• 2 carrots, sliced into chunks
• 2 medium onions, cut into quarters
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Salt & pepper
• Extra virgin Olive oil (EVOO)

Put all the vegetables and chicken in a roasting pan. Dash with some salt, pepper and around 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Toast until all gets coated with the oil.

Cook in a 220-250 degrees C preheated oven for an hour. Serve & enjoy.

My roasting lesson actually turned out okay, but will do it again some other time with a whole chicken instead.

Sweet treat in bed

Dbeenddesert has been sick for already a couple of days. It must have been the humid, soaring hot weather outside and the freezing temperature in workplace. Dbeenddesert is not at all well yet still unstoppable when it comes to her passion in cooking.

She managed to bake a chocolate cake. Of course, she decided to go on the safer side by buying an American Garden Chocolate Mix (500g).  For the liquid ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

Combine these with the cake mix, beat thoroughly until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Grease the pan with butter and sprinkle with flour. Pour the batter in this greased pan.

Cook in preheated oven (temperature set at 185 degrees) for about 40 minutes. Check if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean then it is an indication that the cake is ready. Let it cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the baking pan.Dbeenddesert enjoys her afternoon snack in bed - chocolate cake she made garnished with hayati’s dates harvest and a cup of tea.

Grilled Chicken in Yoghurt

I had a joke with hayati the other day that all his dishes seem the same, cooked the same way..in tomato sauce & masala. That conversation ended with a promise that the next dish he’s going to prepare will be somewhat different from what he previously cooked.

Well, let’s see if this recipe is really unalike from hayati’s previous dishes.

He marinated 6 pieces chicken legs (skin discarded) into a mixture of:

• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/2 teaspoon masala
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• juice of 1 medium size lemon

Just combine all the above ingredients, pour into the chicken pieces in a foil, seal and marinate for an hour or preferably longer.

Cook in a 250 degree oven for about 20 minutes just to tenderize the chicken. Then grill for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook 2 cups basmati rice as per the package direction. Sauté onion in a 2 tablespoons canola oil, drop 1/2 cup chickpeas, season with salt & pepper, plus he added a yellow coloring for the rice. Combine with the fluffy basmati rice.

Serve with the grilled chicken.

Pinakbet / Pakbet

This is a well known dish in my province - Cagayan. Though Cagayan is called home of the Ibanags, the locality at present is not just a mix of Ibanag & Ilocano people, but there are other groups present as well like Itawis, Gaddang & other groups.  I even noticed last time I visited my place the emergence of Muslim community near Aparri. 

I observed, the way of cooking pinakbet also varies from house to house. Some will add crunch to this dish by adding pork chicharon, some will just drop all the ingredients right in the pot, simmer & that’s it! I believe we tend to carry with us our first cooking lesson we learned, which is surely in our own home.  And this is what I inherited from my parents.. this is how we cook pinakbet at home.

My brother has been longing me to cook this local dish and tonight I decided to satisfy his palate.  Most of the vegetables in this dish are imported from India. The bitter gourd at first glance seems different from that of what we have in the Philippines but I can say there’s no difference much on the taste except that this one is more bitter :)

Well enough with the prologue and lets list down the ingredients. This is just for two persons so if you need more serving, adjust the measurements accordingly.

• 1/2 kg tilapia (any fish you prefer may do), clean and cut into half.
• 1/8 kg eggplants, sliced into quarters
• 1/8 kg bitter gourd, sliced the same size as the eggplant
• 1/8 kg lady fingers (okra), trim both ends (tip & cap). [Tip I learn from my mother: Try to break the tip of the okra. If it breaks, then its good, but if not just throw it away as the pod is tough.  You don’t want to eat a stringy okra, right?]
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• 1 head onion, sliced 
• Ginger, sliced into strips
• 3 cloves garlic, do not slice, leave as a whole
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/2 of bullion cube (vegetable flavor)
• 1/2 cup water
• Cooking oil
• You may add: Pumpkin / Squash. I opted not to incorporate this as the serving will be too much for me & bro.
• We sometimes add finger chilis (siling haba). I don’t know what variety is being sold in my province but believe me its not at all hot/spicy the chilis there. Unfortunately, here, chilis are way too much hot/spicy.

Since I do not eat pork meat, I will use fish instead. Even way back home we generally use fish, usually grilled fish called tangi in my dialect (tulingan in Tagalog).Cooking my way:

• Sprinkle the tilapia with salt.
• In a pan, heat some oil and fry the fish till golden brown. Set aside.
• In a casserole, heat about 3 tablespoons of cooking oil. Drop the garlic, ginger and onion, sauté until the garlic turns little brown.
• Add the sliced tomatoes and cook till it gets soft. Then drop all the remaining vegetables. Pour the fish sauce, stir fry for about 2 minutes just to let the vegetables absorb some of the sauce.
• Pour in the water, drop the bullion cube, close lid and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
• Check the taste, season with salt if necessary. Add on the top the fried tilapia, cover and simmer till the vegetables are cooked through.
• Serve immediately with jasmine rice.

Pasta with Peas & Mortadella

To go with my pika-pika asparagus wraps I’m making simple pasta noodles with peas and mortadella.  This is my dinner tonight.

• 100 grams spaghetti noodles
• 2 tablespoons EVOO (Extra-virgin olive oil)
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• Grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 100 grams mortadella (I’m using with olive flavor), cut into bite-size
• Pepper & salt to taste
• Sage leaves (No fresh sage available in the pantry so I’m using dried sage)

Direction

• Boil water in a large saucepan, add salt and cook the pasta for about 8 minutes (check package for a more specific minutes required).  Plunge the peas into the pan and bring to boil for two more minutes till the peas are tender and the pasta is al dente. Drain well. Reserve some of the cooking water.
• Meanwhile, in a non-stick pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and brown the garlic. Add the mortadella slices, sage, season with some pepper and salt.  Stir fry in a low fire for around 5 minutes.
• Add the drained pasta and peas into the pan. Add about 4 teaspoons from the pasta water, mix to incorporate all the flavors and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top.

Cheesy Asparagus Wraps

When I’m alone, I want to indulge myself with foods... Yes! I do not need to cook rice dish for dinner as kuya is away tonight. I decided to prepare Asparagus wrapped with Mortadella to munch while I’m watching the news show.

• 15 spears of asparagus, cut till the hard end.
• Cheese slices
• 3 mortadella slices

In a salted boiling water, blanch the asparagus for about two minutes. Drain and drop in a cold water to shock the asparagus and stop the cooking.

Divide the asparagus into 3 sets, 5 spears per set. Lay each set in the middle of mortadella, top with cheese slice, wrap by sealing both ends of the mortadella with a toothpick. Cook in the oven just till the cheese melts. Serve while hot.

Shake that shake

Weather update: temperature outside is 45°C.

I definitely need a refreshment drink with this weather. So I thought of mixing my usual fresh milk drink with some strawberries. I always have a stock of ice-cream in my fridge so why not add more flavor into my drink?

• 500 ml fresh milk
• 400 grams frozen strawberry
• 1 cup of vanilla flavored ice cream
• Ice cubes

Put everything in a blender and thoroughly blend.  Pour in a glass, garnish with a slice of strawberry. Since I cannot drink all in one shot, I put in a glass container, with tight seal so I can bring some in the work. :)

?? Did you know that there are on average 200 seeds (which are actually fruits) per strawberry?

Lunch in a Bag

If there’s one thing I learn from watching Jamie Oliver’s shows, that’s cooking simple..

Thursday night, saw a replay of his cooking show sharing the use of bag (foil paper) in cooking a meal.  I went to bed with the thought of trying to use this method in the coming day.

Friday…cooking time for the planned recipe. I gathered the following ingredients..as Jamie said, you can put any veggies you want.

• > 1/4 kg Hammour fillet (just enough for me & big bro)
• > 100 grams button mushrooms, just slice into 4
• > 1 small can green peas, drained
• > 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
• >  Olive oil
• >  Part of lemon, 3 thin slices
• >  Onion leaves 
• >  Salt & Pepper
• >  Foil

 Fold the foil into bag-like shape, sealing the edges by pressing gently.

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Dash with little bit of olive oil as well. Put into the foil bag and arrange the lemon slices on top of the fish.

In a bowl, put all the vegetables, sprinkle with salt, pepper  and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss to coat all the vegetables then put inside the foil bag.

Seal the opening of the bag by folding 4 times. Press gently to ensure tight closure.

Cook this into 200-220 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

 

 

 

You may eat straight from the opened bag or transfer in a serving dish.

I was delighted with the outcome of the dish. The fish was perfectly cooked on its own juice and from the vegetable steam. So simple, fulfilling dish and no mess to wash up.  :) :) with my accomplishment today.

Hayati’s Biryani#2

Hayati seems enjoying making his own version of biryani dish. And here’s another product of hayati.

Ingredients used:

• 3 cups basmati rice (cooked as per pack direction)
• 6 pieces chicken legs, rub with coarse salt & wash thoroughly
• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 big potato, sliced into medium size
• 1 medium carrots, finely diced
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/8 cup roasted cashew nuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Arabic mix masala
• Cooking oil (we always use canola oil)
• 1 cup water
• Salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

• In a pan, cook the chicken in a little oil in a medium heat till it gets little brownish. This is hayati’s way of getting rid the fats from the chicken. Once cooked, set aside in a plate.
• In the same pan, remove some of the oil sauté the onion until it becomes translucent then drop in chopped tomatoes and cook till it gets soft. Add the sliced potatoes and carrots, cook for about 5 minutes set in a low fire (to avoid burning).
• Add masala and put back the chicken. Add a cup of water, cover and simmer until chicken gets cooked.
• Lastly, season with pepper & salt as required, add the roasted cashew nuts, cover & cook for another 5 minutes still in low fire.
• Get another pot, brush the bottom with little oil and put half of the cooked rice. Cover the top with half of the cooked chicken, then put the remaining rice. On the topmost layer, spread the remaining chicken mixture and the two hard boiled eggs. Retain the other egg for garnishing. Cook this in a low heat for 5-10 minutes just to blend the flavors.
• Plate & garnish with sliced eggs.

Pizza from left-over

Craving for pizza but no available delivery near my place. So I decided to make my own simple homemade pizza.

I used:

• Left over spaghetti sauce that I cooked the other day.
• Sliced breads
• Butter
• Cheese. No choice, only sliced cheese available in the fridge.

So first, butter the slice breads,arrange in a baking sheet and in to the oven for about 10 minutes.

When the breads are toasted, add the spaghetti sauce, top with sliced cheese and put back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, just until the cheese are melted.

Serve immediately.

Fasolyah Bel Laham (the first attempt)

I came across of this Arabic recipe in Gulfnews’ Food Recipe section and I decided to make it at home.  I however substitute some of the ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil (instead of clarified butter)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 kg lamb (instead of beef), cut into medium-size cubes
• 1 can white broad beans
• 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
• 20ml tomato paste
• 4 cups water, more if necessary
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking direction

• In a casserole, sauté onion and garlic till translucent. Put in the lamb cubes and sear till it turns little brownish.
• Add the tomato paste, coriander, ground pepper and season with salt. Put water, stir and bring to boil. Simmer in low heat till meat is tender. Add more water if necessary to tenderize the lamb.
• Once the meat is cooked, add the white beans and cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Serve & enjoy.

Shish Tawook in Rice

Hayati thought of using the shish tawook (marinated chicken) in this dish instead of the usual grilling method. I and Hayati have no idea on the name of this dish so we’ll call it Hayati’s biryani #1.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of Basmati rice (cooked as per package instruction)
• 1/2 kg ready to cook shish tawook (marinated chicken)
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 carrot, cut into small cubes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Some cashew nuts, roasted
• Some raisins
• 3 teaspoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Arabic mix masala
• 1 cup of water
• Some canola oil
• Salt to taste

Cooking direction:

• In a pan, sauté the onion till translucent. Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, in low fire.
• Add the masala, tomato paste and carrots. Add a cup of water and simmer till the chicken is tender. If necessary, add more water just till the chicken is done.
• Add the garbanzo beans, cashew nuts and raisins. Season with salt cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
• In another pot, arrange the rice & the cooked chicken dish in alternating way. Rice on first layer, second layer the cooked chicken. Again a layer of rice then topmost layer is the chicken.  Cook in low heat for about 5 minutes.
• Serve with yoghurt.

Ikay's first taste of Chopsuey

Wondering who is Ikay? Hubby bought for me a new cooking range which I named Ikay.  It was delivered yesterday and was firstly used in cooking......Chopsuey!

For this dish, I gathered these ingredients:

• 1/4 kg chicken breast, cut into desired chunks
• 1/4 kg cauliflower, separate florets
• 1/8 kg green beans, ends trimmed
• 1/8 kg chinese cabbage, split a leaf into 4
• Some button mushrooms, cut into two
• 1 celery stalk , chopped
• 6 pieces young corn, split to two
• 1 carrot, sliced diagonally
• 1 head of onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped (I grate it to arrive with the smallest possible pieces)
• 1- 1/2 cups water
• Oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

How I did it:

• In a wok, sauté the onion, garlic and celery until translucent. Add the chicken, stir fry for about 2 minutes in a low fire. Pour the water, adjust the heat into high, cover and simmer till the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
• Add the vegetables except the Chinese cabbage. This takes lesser time to cook as compared to the other vegetables hence adding it later.
• Add about 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, mix the vegetables. After about 2 minutes, time to add the chinese cabbage.
• Season with pepper and salt as per your liking then cover and cook till the vegetables are done but still with a crisp.
• Serve while fresh and hot! Enjoy!

(my final dish - Chopsuey)