Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Sauteed String Beans


While checking for vegetables that I can cook the other day, I saw a bunch of string beans (sitaw) and decided to saute it. This recipe reminded me of my dad, because he used to fry baguio beans in butter, and this tasted a little bit of it. Even Mark noticed its likeness’.


What you need:
1 bunch of string beans, cut into 1/2 inch
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 small onion, chopped finely 
2-3 tablespoons of Knorr Liquid Season
1/4 tablespoon of Magic Sarap 
1/4 cup of water

What you need to do: 
♥ Saute the garlic and onion. Add the string beans. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
♥ Pour the water, then add the knorr and magic sarap. 
♥ Let it cook for another minuter. 
♥ Serve with love and happy eating without guilt!  

Lumpiang Shanghai

The very famous lumpiang shanghai. 


What you need: 
1/2 kilo ground pork 
4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 big onion, chopped finely 
1 carrot, chopped finely 
1 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
kinchay, cut into small piece 
3 tanda of pastry wrappers
canola cooking oil
1/2 cup of water

What you need to do:
♥ On a bowl mix all the ingredients (except for the water and pastry wrapper) 
♥ Get one pastry wrapper, then put 1 tablespoon mixture on its center. 
♥ Carefully roll it, brush the edge with water to seal it. 
♥ Do this with the rest of the pastry wrapper and mixture. 
♥ Deep fry until golden brown. 
♥ Serve with love and happy eating! 

Monday, April 23, 2012

Lumpiang Hubad

Ever since I learned how to cook the sauce of fresh lumpia, my mom never missed a chance to ask me to cook it twice a week. They enjoy eating it with or without the lumpia wrapper, but since the veggies are already ready to eat, most of the time, they munch the veggies even without the wrapper. So ending, the wrappers lose its consistency. 


Since then, I no longer ask my mom to buy pastry wrappers, and decided to make Lumpiang Hubad instead. The procedure and ingredients are still the same, except that this recipe does not have the pastry wrapper.






Easy Scotched Egg

A Scotch egg consists of a shelled hard-boiled egg, wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried."


It was a trial and error when I cooked this recipe earlier this morning. I had a hard time covering the egg, and when I deep fried it, it was a real flop! I wasted some beef mixture and decided to threw it away, but my second attempt was a little bit successful. Here's how it looked like: Though it doesn't look like a perfect scotched egg, it's still uber yummy! ☻☻☻



Since this is a trial and error recipe, I'll just share the ingredients good for 1 scotched egg. 

What you need: 
1 big egg, hard boiled
2-3 tablespoons of ground beef (you can also use ground pork)
1 tablespoon of tomato sauce
dash of pepper
salt to taste
1/4 cup bread crumbs
canola cooking oil for deep frying
Grated Cheese
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced

What you need to do: 
♥ On a bowl, mix the beef, tomato sauce, cheese, onion and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
♥ Cover the hard-boiled egg with the mixture. Dredge into the bread crumbs. 
♥ Deep fry until golden brown. 
♥ Slice the cooked egg into two. 
♥ Serve with love and happy eating

Summer Pastel

This dish is supposed to be named: Holiday Pastel, but since it's summer season, I named it: The Summer Pastel ♥ 



What you need: 
1/4 pork kasim, diced
1 small of can of green peas 
2 small potatoes, cut into squares
1/2 cup of evaporated milk 
1/2 Knorr pork cube
1 cup of water 
1 can of Vienna sausage (3 slices per 1 sausage)
garlic, crushed
small onion, minced
1 teaspoon of canola cooking oil
1 tablespoon of margarine
2 tablespoons of flour
1 small pouch of Tomato Sauce, Filipino Style

What you need to do: 
♥ Heat the oil. Fry the potatoes. Set aside. 
♥ On a saucepan, melt the margarine. Add the flour. Cook until brown. 
♥ Pour 1/2 cup water then milk. Stir until the sauce gets thick. Set aside. 
♥ Saute the onions and garlic. Cook the pork until brown. Add the tomato sauce
♥ Pour another 1/2 cup of water. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. 
♥ Add the milk mixture. Let it boil. 
♥ Put the cooked potatoes, green peas and Vienna sausage. 
♥ Let it cook for another 2 minutes.
♥ Serve with love and happy eating! 



Friday, April 20, 2012

Beef Strips with Red Bell Pepper

This dish tastes a little bit like Igado. The Red Bell Pepper makes the dish really strong, so one bell pepper is already enough to make this dish flavorful. 




What you need: 
1/2 kilo beef tenderloin, cut into strips 
1 small red pepper, cut into strips 
2 table spoons of oyster sauce 
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper 
2 table spoons of cornstarch 
1/2 teaspoon of salt 
canola cooking oil

What you need to do: 
♥ Fry the bell pepper. Set aside. 
♥ Mix the oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Marinate the beef for at least 30 minutes. 
♥ Add the cornstarch to the marinated beef. Carefully mix it using your hands. Let it stand for another 5 minutes. 
♥ Stir fry the beef until cook. 
♥ Add the cooked peppers to the fried beef. 
♥ Serve with love and happy eating! 


Thursday, April 19, 2012

Chicken-Katsu with a Twist

If you love Chicken-katsu, or chicken tonkatsu, or whatever you call it, you would definitely love this dish. You can call it, chicken katsu with a twist because of the saltiness of the Parmesan Cheese. You can dip this with catsup, but then I opted to make a homemade style gravy for this ☻



What you need:
3 chicken breast (fillet)
Salt
Dash of pepper
¼ cup of flour
½ cup of Japanese Bread Crumbs
1/3 cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese **
1 egg lightly beaten

What you need to do:
♥ Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Set aside.
♥ Mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.
♥ Dredge the chicken into the flour, then dip to egg and cover with mixed breadcrumbs.
♥ Deep fry until golden brown. Cut into strips.
♥ Serve with love and happy eating! 

Sweetened Chinese Pork


Here's another version of a Chinese recipe - this tastes like Pork Asado, but I find this dish more flavorful. 


What you need: 

1/2 pork kasim
1/2 teaspoon five spice sugar - this makes the dish really flavorful; and it's more strong as compared if you will only use star anise
1/2 cup dark soysauce 
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of sake
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups of water

What you need to do: 
♥ Marinate the pork in soysauce, five spice powder, garlic, sake and salt for at least 30-45 minutes.

♥ Heat a wok, then add the pork together with the marinade then add the sugar. 

♥ Let it boil. Make sure to flip the pork on the other side as well. Let it cook until the sauce gets thick. 

♥ Serve with love and Happy Eating! 

Monday, April 16, 2012

Spicy Chicken Wings

I was really quite surprised when I cooked this dish for my family because they really enjoyed it. Mark even said that his baon was really bitin, and he requested to me to cook chicken thigh or breasts instead of chicken wings. :D To be honest, I didn't enjoy this dish that much - perhaps I was the one who cooked it. There is really a vast difference between the person who is cooking the dish, and the person eating the dish. Nakakasawa tumikim. 


What you need: 
8 pieces of chicken wings 
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1/2 cup of flour 
1 teaspoon of spanish paprika 
knob of butter or margarine
3 tablespoons of hot sauce
dash of ground black pepper 
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt 
canola cooking oil for deep frying 

What you need to do: 
♥ In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, paprika, chili powder. 
♥ Dredge the chicken into the mixture. 
♥ Deep fry the chicken, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Set aside. 
♥ In a saucepan, melt the margarine or butter. 
♥ Put the pepper, garlic powder and the hot sauce. Let it cook for 1 minute. 
♥ Add the deep fried chickens to the sauce. 
♥ Serve with love and happy eating! 

Creamy Garlic Pork Chop


Been busy for the past few days, but let me share the recipes I’ve prepared for the family.

                       A dish with butter and cream really makes it really sumptuous. 



What you need:
¼ pork kasim, cut into squares
¼ Nestle cream
1 – 2 teaspoons of Garlic Powder
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 cup of water
1 knob of butter
1 white onion, sliced
1 beef cube
1 ½ all-purpose flour
Canola cooking oil
1 sachet of magic sarap
Dash of ground black pepper

What you need to do:
Sprinkle the pork chop with magic sarap, garlic powder and pepper. Let it stay for 30 minutes.
♥ Heat the oil. Fry the coated pork. Set aside.
♥ Using the same pan, melt the butter. Cook the onions, until transparent.
♥ Sautee the garlic, and put the flour.
♥ Pour the water then heavy cream and add the beef cube. Bring to a boil.
♥ Put the fried pork chops on the sauce.
♥ Serve with love and eat! 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Overloaded Ground Pork Frittata

Not enough main ingredients on the fridge, so I had to use extenders to serve something for the family. Haha! That's what you call being resourceful ☻ 


Kusinerang Katrina in ACTION! Straight from work ☻☻☻

What you need:
1/4 ground pork 
3 eggs, lightly beaten 
1 sachet of Magic Sarap 
1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper 
1 BIG potato, cut into small squares 
1 medium onion, chopped finely
Canola cooking oil

What you need to do:

♥  Heat the cooking oil, then fry the potatoes until cooked. Set aside. 

♥  Saute the onions. Add the ground pork. Let it cook until it turns to brown. 

♥ On a bowl, mix the egg, cooked pork and potatoes. Add magic sarap and ground pepper. 

♥ On a non-stick pan, cook the mixture. You can cook it separately by scooping 2 table spoons of the mixture. 

♥ Cook each sides of the mixture for 2-3 minutes. Do this with the rest of the batches
♥ Serve with love and EAT! 

Yields: 8 cooked mixtures ☻ 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Pineapple Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes

My mom loves pineapple, so she enjoys it a lot every time I cook a dish that has this as one of the major ingredients. So yesterday, while skimming our pantry, I saw a can of pineapple tidbits and decided to cook something that would entice her taste buds. Even Mark, who isn't a big fan of sweet viands enjoyed this dish. (Or wala lang talaga syang choice na tikman ang luto ko! ahaha


What you need:
3 pieces chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 cup of panko bread crumbs 
1 can pineapple tidbits, reserve the syrup 
3 cloves of garlic, crush
1 onion, minced 
1 cup of water 
2 table spoons of soy sauce 
1 potato, french fries cut 
1 medium carrot, cut into rounds
1/2 teaspoon of salt 
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper 
1 tablespoon of cornstarch, dissolved in hot water 
1 egg, lightly beaten
canola cooking oil for deep frying.

What you need to:
♥ Marinade the chicken in soy sauce, salt and ground black pepper for at least 30 minutes.

♥ Dip the marinated chicken on the beaten egg, and dredge on breadcrumbs. 

♥ Deep fry the breaded chicken. Set aside. 

♥ On a saucepan, saute the garlic and onions.Add the potatoes and carrots. Let it cook. 

♥ Add the pineapple syrup. 

♥ Pour the water and dissolved cornstarch. 

♥ Let it simmer for 5 minutes. You will notice that the sauce gets thicker. 

♥ Add the pineapple tidbits. Let it simmer for another 2 minutes.

♥ Top breaded chicken with the cooked sauce. 

♥ Serve with love and Happy Eating! 



Tuesday, April 10, 2012

A Combination of Pork Steak and Bistek Tagalog

Every time my mom cooks Bistek Tagalog for the family, it doesn't have this oily sauce that I find really delicious. She even calls it Asado, which I find quite odd, because the asado that I know is somehow sweet. :D and my own version for Pork Asado is way too different from hers. Tee Hee. 


So I made my own version, and I find it really delicious. My own version is like a combination of Pork Steak and Bistek Tagalog, plus with lots of white onions and that oily sauce. ♥ 




What you need: 
1/2 kilo of beef tenderloin, tapa cut
1/4 pork kasim, cut thinly ☻
1 white onion, cut into rounds
3 table spoons of soy sauce 
4 pieces of calamansi 
3 cloves of garlic crushed
dash of ground black pepper
1 cup of water 
canola cooking oil 
1 sachet of magic sarap
1 table spoon of Knorr liquid seasoning
4 cloves of crushed garlic,

What you need to do

♥ On a bowl,  marinade the beef with  the soy sauce, calamansi and black pepper for 1 hour. 

♥ Heat the pan. Put the oil. Cook the onions until transparent. Set aside. 

♥ On the same pan, Pan fry the marinated beef (without the remaining marinade) until cooked. Set aside. 

♥ Saute the garlic. Add the cooked beef again. 

♥ Pour the remaining marinade and one cup of water. 

♥ Add the magic sarap and knorr. 

♥ Let it boil for 15 to 20 minutes until the beef becomes more tender.

♥ Top with the cooked onions. 

♥ Serve with love and happy eating! 


Beef Pares

Beef pares - the first time I tasted this dish was on a carinderia - it tasted very commercialized, and the soup looked really pale. My mom doesn't even know how to cook this so all the while, I thought that Beef Pares' soup must look really pale. ☻  So yesterday morning, I tried giving it a shot, hoping that I get to cook the perfect Beef Pares for the family. 


Their verdict? It tasted really delicious! 100.1%. My family have been very nice and super supportive about my way of cooking. They continuously provide constructive feedback so I get to improve the dishes that I cook for them. 


What I really love about this dish is the sweetness and saltiness plus the aroma of star anise. 




What you need:
1/2 kilo of beef, cut into cubes 
1/4 cup of soysauce
2 table spoons of sugar
dash of ground black pepper
2-3 pieces star anise
1 beef Bouillon
5 cups of water
1 bunch of kutchay leaves, chopped 
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 knob of ginger, minced
1 small onion, minced 
1-2 cups of water
canola cooking oil

What you need to do: 
♥ On a pot, pour the water. Put the beef Bouillon and beef as well. 

♥ Let it boil until the beef becomes tender. (I used pressure cooker for this process, so it only took 20-30 minutes to get the consistency that I really want). Set aside. Do not throw the broth. 

♥ On a pan, saute the garlic, ginger and onion. Put the cooked beef and the broth. 
♥ Pour the additional cup of water. (I wanted it to be soupy) hehe

♥ Add the soy sauce, pepper and sugar and star anise. 

♥ Let it simmer for 10 more minutes. 

♥ Add the chopped kutchay. 

♥ Serve with love and Happy Eating! 

Monday, April 9, 2012

Pork Estofado

It was my first time to taste this dish when I cooked it last Saturday, so I really didn't know what to expect. Good thing, when h2b and my mom tasted it, once again, they LOVED it. Hehe! I didn’t know that this dish is one way or another a different version of the famous Pork Adobo – the only difference is that this dish has Plantains.


What you need

¼ kilo of pork kasim, cut into cubes
3 pieces laurel leaves
8 pieces Peppercorns
3 big plantains, cut into big rounds
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
½ cup white vinegar
¾ cup of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of canola cooking oil

What you need to do:
♥ Fry the plantains. Set aside.
♥ On the same pan, sauté the garlic.
♥ Add the pork. Cook until all sides are brown.
♥ Put the soy sauce, sugar, water, peppercorn then the laurel leaves.
♥ Pour the water. Bring to a boil; or until the meat is tender.
♥ Add the vinegar then the sugar. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
♥ Transfer to a serving plate. Add the fried plantains
♥ Serve with love and happy eating.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Tuna Pesto with Parmesan Cheese


Before sleeping earlier this morning, I decided to cook one of the best ingredients I have bought so far. I have been very eager to try this, most especially that I really love eating Pastas. However, due to this negative review I have read online with this McCormick seasoning mix, I became too hesitant to try it out because it might not taste delicious with the pasta I have been dreaming to cook for such a long time. Haha!

One of my former officemates taught me how to cook this pasta, but since I do not have enough tools in the kitchen, I was left with no choice but to buy cooked pasta instead.
I already know how to cook different types of pastas from white to red, however this pasta is my favorite of all and I am really clueless where to buy the ingredients. Ahaha! Thank you to McCormick Pesto seasoning; as I can already cook my favorite Tuna Pesto.  
I should have not let the negative review stopped me from trying this seasoning, because the instant pesto mix is really delicious! Way more delicious than the actual tuna pesto I have tasted! Super! It doesn’t taste commercialized at all, and really sumptuous! Of course, being the home made chef scientist wanna- be, I didn’t follow the recipe included on the seasoning mix, and tweaked it a bit.



What you need:
1 pack of McCormick Pesto
1 can of tuna lite
1 cup of nestle Cream
¼ noodles, or whatever you want to use. (I used macaroni) hehe
1 ½ tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup of water
Grated Parmesan Cheese

What you need to do:
♥ Cook the pasta. Set aside.
♥ On a sauce pan, put the oil, water and pesto mix. Let it boil. If its too salty, you may add more water.
Add the cream.
♥ Let it simmer for 5 more minutes
♥ Add the tuna.
♥ Top the sauce with the cooked pasta. Add the Parmesan cheese
♥ Serve and eat! 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Marinated Beef with Broccoli ♥


I love using Oyster sauce because it makes a certain dish really flavorful. Even with only a spoonful of this magical sauce, it can turn a humble dish to a super duper sumptuous one.

As much as possible, I try to use this ingredient on every dish that I cook for my family. I can truly say that it is really delicious and really proud with the results because I can see how my family is enjoying every time I cook for them.

I’ve had too many versions of beef w/ oyster sauce, but this recipe is my favorite of all. I have eaten this a couple of times already, but this was my first attempt to cook it. 


What you need:
1 cup of broccoli
½ beef sirloin (pang tapa)
Canola cooking oil
1 teaspoon of magic sarap
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

For the marinade
2 teaspoonful of toyo/soy sauce
½ teaspoon of cornstarch
Dash of ground black pepper
2 teaspoon of rice wine (optional)

For the sauce
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of rice wine
½ Knorr beef cubes dissolved in 1 cup of hot water

What you need to do
♥ On a bowl, combine the ingredients for marinating. Marinade the beef for at least 30 minutes.

♥ Pan fry the marinated beef. Once cooked, pour in the sauce.

♥ Let it simmer for 20 minutes, or until the beef is tender.

♥ Pour the water, then add the cornstarch. Sprinkle with magic sarap. Stir until the sauce gets thick.

♥ Put the broccoli, and let it cook for 2-5 minutes

♥ Serve with love and eat! 

Sauteed Kangkong Stems


Using the stems of kangkong that I used for my previous recipe, I was able to cook another savory dish for the family. So if you’re planning to cook kangkong, do not throw the stems, and I suggest making this simple dish. Not that it’s only delicious, but also very healthy. ;)

No need to put pork on this dish, because the flavors of the veggies compliment very well. 


What you need:
Stems of Kangkong
1 tomato
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 teaspoon of canola cooking oil
½ cup of water
2 to 3 tablespoons of Knorr liquid seasoning (my UBER fave liquid seasoning)

What you need to do:
On a wok, sautee the garlic, onions then tomato.

♥ Add the liquid seasoning. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.

♥ Pour the water. Let it boil.

♥ Add the kangkong stems. Let it boil, but do not overcook the stems.

♥ Serve with love and happy eating! 

Crispy Kangkong


When I was a little girl, my lola would always tease me every time I eat kangkong. She would say that most of the people on our province do not eat this, since instead of using this veggie on their dish, they’d rather give it to the pigs. However, that didn’t stop me from eating this veggie every time my mom would cook Sinigang na Baboy for the whole family.

So earlier this morning, I cooked crispy kangkong with full of hopes that I can achieve the crispness of each leaves plus the saltiness of the crispy kangkong from Mang Inasal. This was a trial and error on my part, but I am proud to say that the whole family enjoyed munching on it. (Only if I made a dip for this appetizer). Haha. But overall, they rated my own version of crispy kangkong with 5 stars! That’s why they asked me to cook if for 2 days in a row. Haha.  


Ingredients:
1 bunch of kangkong
1 sachet of Magic Sarap
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ ground black pepper
1 cup of cold water
1 cup of flour
2 cups of cornstarch
Canola cooking oil for frying

What you need to do:

On a bowl, mix the egg, black pepper, water, flour, cornstarch and magic sarap. Mix and make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.

 ♥ Remove the kangkong leaves, but do not throw the stems. You can still use this for Sauteed Kangkong ☻

♥ Put the kangkong leaves on the batter.

♥ Once the leaves are coated with batter, fry on high heat.

♥ Once the texture looks crispy, drain on paper towel.

♥ Serve with love and happy eating! 


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Pan Fried Tofu in Oyster Sauce


It’s already holy week, and as much as possible, I want to cook something that is worth eating this holy week. Veggies and fish is a must, so here’s the recipe I tried earlier this morning.

Tofu in Oyster Sauce. Healthy isn’t it? =) It was my first time to taste this dish, because every time my mom cooks tofu, it’s either Tokwa’t baboy or fried tofu.

Oyster sauce is really helpful, because you can really play with it. You can mix it with any veggies and voila, a simple recipe would turn into a really delicious meal. 

Ingredients
3 tokwa – cut into small squares
2 table spoons of soysauce
2 table spoons of oyster
1/2 table spoon of white sugar
Olive oil for frying
1 table spoon of cornstarch
1 cup of hot water

What you need to do:
On a bowl, mix the water, cornstarch, soy sauce, sugar and oyster. Set aside.

♥ Pan fry the tokwa until golden brown on the outside. Remove from pan.

♥ On the same pan where you cooked the tokwa, put the water mixture. Let it boil; continue stirring until the sauce gets thicker.

♥ Add the cooked tofu.

♥ Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.

♥ Serve with love and eat without guilt! 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Baked Fries with Parmesan Cheese

If you want a healthier way of heating French Fries, you can try baking it instead of frying it. 


What you need:
♥ 1 big potato, french fry cut
♥ 1 1/2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
♥ 2 tablespoons of garlic power
♥ Grated Parmesan Cheese

What you need to do: 
♥ On a bowl, mix the olive oil and garlic power to the potatoes. Once the potatoes are evenly coated with these 2 ingredients, put it on a baking tray

♥ Bake for 30 minutes

♥ Do not forget to flip the potatoes while baking to cook the potatoes evenly. 

♥ Once baked, top with parmesan cheese

♥ Serve and enjoy! 

Sweetened Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar and Wine

It’s my first time to use Rice Wine with the dish that I cooked for my family. I was really hesitant to try it, because I am afraid that the gang wouldn't like it, most especially that this ingredient is really new to our palate. However, I was really quite surprised how this sumptuous dish turned out, and I must say it is really delicious. Rice wine, sugar and balsamic vinegar is a good combination!  



Ingredients
½ kilo chicken, adobo cut
½ cup of water
¼ cup of Sake Rice wine
4 table spoons of Balsamic Vinegar
4 table spoons of white sugar
1 table spoon of fish sauce
Olive oil for frying

What you need to do:
On a pan, fry the chicken until all sides are golden brown.

♥ Pour the Sake and let it boil until the liquid starts to evaporate/ dry
♥ Pour the water, vinegar then fish sauce

♥ Put the sugar

♥ Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes; or until the sauce gets thicker

♥ Serve with love and enjoy!