Friday, October 16, 2009

Pork and Salted Shrimp Fry



I love the bagoong alamang or Salted Shrimp Fry. Although it smells awful for my family, he doesn't stop me from cooking it...

Ingredients:
pork (sliced in small strips)
1tbsp salted shrimp fry
garlic
onion
tomato
black pepper
oil

Directions:
  • Heat oil in wok. Add pork. Brown the pork. Set aside.
  • Sautee garlic, onion and tomato.
  • Add pork and salted shrimp fry.
  • Season with black pepper. Cook for two minutes.
  • Serve

Chili

A pot of chili is always great during cold days....


Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
1 can of light red kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 pcs onion
chili mix

Directions:
  • Brown the beef.
  • Drain the fats and run through hot water.
  • Add all other ingredients and simmer for at least 2 hours.
  • Serve with saltine crackers and cheese!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

SINIGANG NA BABOY (Pork in Tamarind Soup)


This is my parents ultimate favorite, they can have this almost every week. Whenever my sister and I to prepare this for them , they are in heaven. Through the years me and sis perfected our own version of this delicious, comfort food. And according to my family again, no matter where we goes or where we eats this dish, there’s no place like eating it at home. A delicious sinigang dish starts with choosing the freshest pork ribs or any part of pork you wish to use, that you can find. I prefer to buy from the market coz they have lots of fresh meats it’s a bit pricey but I know that fresh market are always good to buy u just need to know how to choose the right meat for u and the family cos their selling foods are always fresh.

Ingredients:
½ kilo Pork Spareribs (cut into serving pieces)
½ kilo Pork Belly (cut the same size as the spareribs)
4-5 cups rice washing water (or hugas bigas as we call it in Tagalog)
5-6 pcs Ripe Tomato (big ones), sliced
2 pcs. Medium size Onion, sliced
1 big Pack Know Sinigang Mix (Tamarind Soup Mix)
6 pcs. Okra, cut into halves
1 bunch of Kangkong leaves (Water Spinach)
1 small Radish, cut diagonally (optional)
2-3 pcs. Green chili pepper
2 pcs. medium size gabi (taro rootcrop)
Salt to taste

Procedure:
Get a big casserole or pot and put pork together with rice washing water, boil to a medium heat without cover or lid, and scoop out the scum when it floats, then add the sliced taro. Cover the pot and let it simmer in low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, when the pork is a bit tender, add the onion, tomatoes and radish, let it simmer in low heat for another 10-15 minutes. Then add the Knorr Tamarind Soup Mix (don’t put the whole pack yet, gradually adjust the taste according to your sourness preference), let it boil and then add the okra, green chili and water spinach. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt if needed. Serve steaming hot. Enjoy!

Family Favorite Spaghetti!


Cooking Italian Spaghetti for family was the best spaghetti to share with and Italian Sausage is a plus. Here's the recipe of my family favorite spaghetti.

Ingredients:
Spaghetti Noodles (cooked according to directions)
1 pack Italian Sausage
1 big jar of Traditional Spaghetti Sauce
Pepper
Sugar
Mushrooms

Directions:
  • Slice sausage into bite size. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes.
  • Heat spaghetti sauce in a casserole in medium heat. When boiling, add baked sausage and mushroom. Season with pepper and sugar. Cook until mushroom is done.
  • Pour spaghetti sauce over noodles.
  • Serve with garlic bread.

PANCIT BIHON (Rice Sticks)


Bihon Guisado is how we call this dish. You can either add chicken or pork into it, or do a combination of both if you want. I like to cook the vegetables separately to avoid it from being overcooked, its nice when the vegetables are still crunchy. I don't soak the bihon noodles in water as it tends to be soggy and wet when cooked. I just add a little bit more of cooking liquid into it.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp s. Cooking Oil
1 head Garlic, chopped finely
3 medium size Onion, sliced
½ cup Soy Sauce
¼ tsp Black Pepper
1/4 kilo Pork Liempo, cut up into small cubes
¼ cup water
¼ kilo Pork Liver, cut into small cubes
2 pcs. Langgonisang Macao (Chinese Sausage), cut diagonally
3-4 cups water or broth
½ kilo Cabbage, cut julienne
3 pcs. Medium size Carrots. julienne
1/2 c. Kinstay, chopped coarsely
¼ kilo Squid Balls, cut into half, slightly fried
1 pack Bihon noodles (400 gms.)
Salt and Pepper
Few pieces of calamansi

Procedure:
In a big pan or wok , saute half of the garlic in 1 tbsp. oil, when slightly brown, put onion, continue sauteing, then put the carrots, let it cook for a few minutes then add the kin stay, then the cabbage. Set aside, in a separate container.

In the same pan, put the pork with about ¼ cup water,cook in medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let it cook until the water is dry and fat starts to come out from the pork, let it cook for another 3-5 minutes, then take out the pork from the pan, then put 1 tbsp cooking oil and start sauteing the garlic till a bit brown, then the onion, stir well, then put back the pork and continue stirring for about 2 minutes, then put ½ c soy sauce, then the pepper. Let it saute in the soy sauce, then put about 4 cups water, let it boil in medium heat for another 10 minutes. When it starts to boil add the bihon noodles, continue cooking, stirring often, until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Test a noodle by pressing it between your fingers. If there is still a lot of resistance, add some more broth and seasoning, and continue cooking until dry. When the noodles are done, add the sauteed vegetables and squid balls to the pan and toss until everything is evenly heated. Serve with kalamansi halves on the side.

SHRIMP IN ORANGE BUTTER GARLIC SAUCE


This is a family friendly recipe, one of my favorite, and also fry shrimps goes very well with just hot plain rice, but I have to warn you, go easy on the rice co’z this dish is so flavorful, one cup of rice might just not be enough. A very easy dish to prepare!

If you notice, this dish is a bit saucy, I intended it to be that way because the sauce is so delicious, almost every time that I cook this dish, we always run out of sauce... Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo Fresh Shrimps

3-4 tbsps. butter

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 head of garlic, chopped

1 cup Orange soda (or more if you want more sauce)

1/4 cup Corn starch power (dispersed in 1/4 cup water)

1-2 tbsps White Sugar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Procedure:

Wash the shrimps thoroughly, drain and set aside. In a pan, put the cooking oil, on medium heat, then the butter, after wards add the garlic, saute it till a bit brown, then add the shrimp. stirring gently, when the shrimps start to turn pink add salt & pepper, then the orange soda and the sugar, mix well. When it starts to boil, prepare the cornstarch mixture and put it in, stir till well blended into the sauce. And lastly season to taste, if it needs more salt of sugar. Then its done!

Note : If you wanted more sauce, add 1/2 cups to 1 cup more orange soda, and adjust the rest of the ingredients, like the salt & pepper, sugar and cornstarch. And also, if you want to use fresh orange juice, you can also try using that, tho' I haven't tried that yet (Please let me know if you tried it ...) Don't worry, you can never go wrong with this recipe.

CHICKEN WITH COCONUT MILK



Another Chicken Dish. This is one of the best dishes that I learned to cook that has coconut milk in it. My family ikes anything with “gata” (coconut milk). I’ve tasted it many times from the Thai food restaurant and I’ve come up with my own version of cooking it, and according to my family, its delicious.

Ingredients:
½ kilo Chicken. Cut into serving pieces
2 tbsp. Cooking Oil
1 tbsp. Crushed Garlic
2 Medium onions, diced
Few Slices of Ginger
3 tbsp. Fish Sauce
1 cup Coconut milk or Cream
2 pcs. Finger Chili (siling haba)
1 cup Green Papaya, cut into smaller wedges
1 Bunch of Chili leaves, pick the leaves only
Salt and pepper

Procedure:
Heat cooking oil in a pan, sauté garlic, then onion, when transparent, add the ginger, then the chicken, when the chicken start to brown around the edges, add the patis, mix well and cover the pan and let it simmer on low fire for 10-15 minutes (if it seems too dry, add about 2 tbsp of water), then add the coconut milk, let it simmer for 10 minutes, then add the green papaya wedges. Simmer gently, covered, until fork tender and the coconut milk is slightly reduced and thickened, then add the finger chili, cook for another 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. Turn off the heat and add the chili leaves, cover the pan again and leave for 5 to 10 minutes till the leaves are wilted. Serve with hot rice and have a great meal!