Bitter or sweet?

You are in the vegetable section of a supermarket.. Lots of vegetables lined up waiting for you to pick. You see this long oblong green vegetable - Bitter Gourd (known as ampalaya among Filipinos, Karela among Indians, Goya in Japan)... Are you gonna buy one?

I guess ignoring Bitter Gourd is the common thing we do. Who would prefer bitter taste from a sweet one, right? Yes, bitter gourd as the name implies, has a bitter taste and in the top list among the veggies when it comes to bitterness.

Since childhood, I have been suffering from anemia, which means I have low level of iron. Believe me, years of taking iron supplement is quite strenuous. Really fed up of the rustic smell of the capsule.  I planned to reduce my intake from daily to lower dosage. But that means I have to get some nutrients from the food I am eating. And bitter gourd is just one among the vegetables that is rich in iron. We Ilocanos usually include it in pinakbet dish. Here's one dish though that uses this vegetable as the star in plate.

All you need:

• 1/2 kg bitter gourd, washed, cut into rings as shown in the below picture. If there are seeds, patiently remove.
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 head of onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped (or better grate)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Cooking oil
• Salt
• Some ground black pepper

Direction:

• In a pan, heat some oil and sauté the onion and galic.
• Add the diced tomato and cook until tomato has soften.
• Next, add the bitter gourd. Sprinkle some salt.  Cook till it soften but still a bit firm.
• Meanwhile, crack the eggs, add salt and pepper, beat and pour into the pan.
• Cook for another couple of minutes in a low heat (to avoid burning the eggs) just until the eggs are well done.
• Serve.

Enjoy eating!

Stir fried beef (tapa) with vegetables

I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation. —–Madam Benoit

Went home late.. Tired from work, yet still need to cook dinner.  Checked the fridge and found marinated beef strips (more known as beef tapa in Tagalog) which I prepared in the weekend. This, cooked alone as stir fried tapa will make a meal but I thought of giving it a twist by adding some veggies (of course those that are available in my fridge). Yes, I have to have vegetables in my meal!

You'll need:

• 1/4 kg beef (I'm using beef marinated in soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, pinch of pepper and salt
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped (I grated it!)
• 1 head onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, cut into strips
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste
• Dash of ground black pepper

Procedure:

• Heat a small amount of oil in a pan. Sauté onion and garlic.
• Add the beef and stir fry for about 3 minutes.  I do not want eating rare meat so just to be certain that my meat is well cooked, I added half a cup of water and cooked it until the water has dried up.
• Add the vegetables and lemon zest (this will give a good aroma). Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Be extra cautious when adding salt as the beef had been marinated so it has flavor already into it.
• Cook till the vegetables are done but still crunchy.
• Serve.

Fish in Tomato Sauce (Sarsiadong Isda)

First, let us see what we can get from the two main ingredients of this dish. Fish is low in fat and a good source of protein & omega 3 fatty acids. Tomatoes, on the other hand, are rich in lycopene which reduces risk of cancer.

Now, listing the complete ingredients for this dish:

• 1/2 kg fresh fish (I am using Sultan Ibrahim as this is the one available in the nearby supermarket).  Cleaned, cut into desired size. I am not that expert in cleaning so I leave that part of the job to the vendors. 
• 6 pieces medium tomatoes, seeds removed & cut into small cubes
• Ginger, julienne
• Garlic, chopped (I do not like that much the taste of a garlic so to get them into small pieces, I do grate the cloves :)
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• Ground black pepper
• Salt
• Cooking oil
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)

Others prefer this dish a bit watery and with egg added into it but I want mine a bit dry as shown in the below picture, plus I omitted the egg as this usually triggers the attack of my allergy.

Let's get cooking!

• Wash the fish and pat dry gently. Sprinkle some salt into the fish.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan. Fry the fish until golden brown.
• Remove the fish and put in a plate.
• In the same pan, remove some of the oil used for frying, leaving just enough for sautéing the other ingredients. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook for about a minute.
• Add the tomatoes, pinch of pepper and salt. Cook till it gets soft and some of the juice has evaporated.  Note that tomatoes usually have an acidic taste and cooking it for some time release the sweetness in it.
• Put back the fried fish in the pan. If you are adding egg, this is the right time to incorporate into the dish. Cook for another minute just to let the fish absorb all the the flavors (or until the egg is cooked enough).
• Serve.

Dish is done! While you are enjoying the fruit of your toil, I'll leave you with this question to think about..

Tomatoes...are these fruits or vegetables?

Broccoli with Tuna

I admit, at first, I really don’t like the taste of this vegetable. According to http://www.whfoods.com/ this smell comes from the sulfur compounds that are being released during the process of cooking. Well, take a look on what nutrients you can get from a cup of broccoli http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=9. A lot right? So you better start eating if you're not yet into it.
Well, here's a broccoli recipe shared by my colleague in Philippine Bureau of Statistics. Give it a try and I’m sure, you’ll gonna enjoy this simple healthy dish.

You'll need:

• ½ kg of broccoli (separate the florets, washed & drained)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 can of century tuna (in vegetable oil)
• Lemon or calamansi juice (optional)

Get cooking:

• Put in a casserole the broccoli floret, then the tuna. Add some salt.  Be careful on the amount of salt you are putting into it as the tuna is already flavored. No need to add water as the juice from the tuna is enough to steam the vegetables.
• Cook, tossing occasionally to ensure all the florets are evenly cooked. This will take only minutes. Do not overcook as it will become mushy. You know that its done when they are bright green and taste still a bit crisp.
• Serve. If you are into a citrusy taste, you may want to squeeze a bit of lemon or calamansi juice. A calamansi flavored century tuna works well too.

Bon appetite!!