Chicken, chicharo and quail eggs stir fry

Chicharo, those sweet crunchy peas in a pod, happens to be my 14-year-old daughter’s favorite non-leafy vegetable — the top favorite leafy vegetables among my kids being cabbage and kangkong (water or swamp spinach). The legume chicharo is known as snow peas in some countries, and snap peas in others. Some say that snow peas and snap peas are actually two different varieties of peas. Sitsaro or chicharo come in different sizes. When you buy some, choose the smallest pods — they are crunchier and sweeter. They are easier to prepare too. No need to cut them into smaller pieces. You just snap off both ends and pull off the fibrous threads that run along the edges and they’re ready to cook.

Pinatisang manok 2 (chicken soup with fish sauce)

Almost everyone I know cooks pinatisang manok with sili leaves. I did, too, but my kids are not fans of sili leaves. Cooking sili leaves can be tricky — overcook it a minute longer than necessary and the bitterness will become very pronounced. That’s why sili leaves are never boiled; they are added to a dish after it is cooked. With tinola, for instance, the sili leaves are added to the cooked dish while still in the cooking pot. The cooking pot is covered and the heat from the broth, plus the steam, cooks the sili leaves.

Fried chicken and cabbage fried rice

I debated for a few minutes about the name of this recipe. Fried chicken and cabbage fried rice does sound redundant. Alliteration, I believe, is the correct term. But I decided to retain it because it is the perfect description for this dish. It is a variation of the basic Chinese fried rice recipe, of course, although cabbage is not a usual ingredient with Chinese fried rice probably because it is a watery vegetable and water in fried rice can be disastrous. Well, when a cook is challenged, the cook finds a way.

Salted eggs and vegetables salad

In the Philippines, fried fish is often accompanied by a salad made with fresh tomatoes and itlog na maalat (salted duck eggs). It’s not that there’s something wrong or lacking with the traditional combination of diced tomatoes and salted duck eggs. In fact, it’s really great. The slight sourness of the fresh tomatoes and the salted eggs go wonderfully together. But even a good thing can become tiresome without variety.

Book review: Nigel Slater’s ‘The Kitchen Diaries’

If there is one thing I enjoy reviewing almost as much as food, it would be books. It’s probably a carry over from writing all those college papers on books especially those written by dead guys. I have no qualms accepting offers from publishers and publicists to review books. That was how I was able to obtain copies of Mark Bittman’s The Best Recipes in the World (the two entries were lost though in last year’s database disaster) and Gerladine Hartman’s Not Just for Vegetarians — I was contacted by their publicists. I even cooked some of the recipes from their cookbooks and posted them here. It’s partly to show that when I say I like a cookbook, I mean the recipes are for cook-able meals and not just for prettifying the dining table.

Bacon and eggs for breakfast

When we have bacon for breakfast, we usually consume a 250-gram pack. By that I mean the bacon strips are fried to a crisp then served with eggs, sunny side up, and bread. But it’s tedious work. I have to watch the bacon lest they burn. Then, the eggs have to fried separately. By the time the eggs are done, the bacon is cold. Of course, sometimes, it’s really just a matter of having too little time or just feeling a tad too lazy to cook everything separately. So what do I do on such occasions? I throw everything into the pan.

Lasang Pinoy 15 (Recycled, Reloaded!): Cooking with leftovers

Chinese-style fried rice is not a Filipino recipe. Duh, that should be self-explanatory. Potato salad is not a native Filipino dish either. But paksiw is. Omelet…??? Hmmm… I’m not very sure. The term omelet is Continental but we do have our traditional version where chopped garlic, onions and tomatoes are stirred into the beaten eggs before pouring into the hot oil. What the heck am I talking about? Well, I’m talking about the dishes that I am featuring for Lasang Pinoy 15: Recycled, Reloaded!. Why am I including the Chinese-style fried rice and salad recipes? Because the way I understood the theme, it is not so much about traditional Filipino food but about the ingenuity of the Filipinos to make use of leftover food and to recycle them into great dishes.

Beef chuck and mayo

The inspiration for this dish came from a dip. A former officemate of my husband taught him to make a dip by mixing together some mayonnaise, finely chopped garlic and milk. It’s a fast and easy concoction that we have been enjoying with fried or grilled fish and meat for years. It is especially good with bangus fritters.

Pasta with tinapang bangus (smoked milkfish)

About a month and a half ago, I made pasta with bottled tuyo (salted dried herring), one of my many attempts at Filipinizing pasta by substituting tuyo for the traditional anchovies. Well, I did it again, a couple of days ago but, this time, with flaked tinapang bangus (smoked milkfish). You will need more salt on this one since the tinapa is not as salty as the tuyo.

Chicken, veggies and rice in coconut milk

I haven’t cooked anything in days. The kids are on the their sem break and we figured it was the best time to take a hort out-of-town trip. We spent a few days in Tagaytay, hopping from one restaurant to another and comparing the bulalo soup in their menus. I’ve so much to write about that trip, really, and I will soon. Anyway, things are back to normal. Meaning… we’re home and I’ve been slaving in the kitchen. LOL

Beef, corn and cheese bake

About two months ago, I posted a recipe for chicken and potatoes baked in cream and topped with grated cheese. It was such a hit with my family–and even with some of you readers–that I decided to create a variation of the dish–this time with slices of beef, cream-style corn and cheese. I won’t lie to you. My kids said that the chicken and potato dish was better. But the beef, corn and cheese bake has its positive points. First of all, this recipe uses less butter so there’s less fat. Second, it has cream-style corn in lieu of the cream, thus, making it friendlier to those who are cutting down on dairy and fat. Third, there are no bones to deal with–the slab of beef is pre-boiled until tender, cooled, chilled and thinly sliced. Sounds good? It tastes better than it sounds.

Adobong sitaw 2

I have an older recipe for adobong sitaw where I used small cubes of pork belly. This time, I used ground lean pork.

Chicken, gizzards and upo (bottle gourd) soup

Together with the baked scallops, this chicken, gizzards and upo (bottle gourd) soup were the last things I cooked before I finally acknowledged that I was sick and had to stay in bed. I started feeling strange on Saturday but not bad enough to change my usual routine. Despite the chills on Saturday evening (I thought the aircon’s temperature was just too cold), I managed to cook lunch on Sunday. Then, on Sunday evening, I knew I was really sick and dinner consisted mostly of leftovers and make-your-own sandwiches.

My father’s sarciado

My father was a wonderful cook. He was more than a cook–he was a true blue foodie. What was so great about his cooking was that he not only knew how to combine ingredients, he was also very particular about the cut and quality of meat. I would never have known about the cut called “batok” if it weren’t for him. For those who don’t speak Filipino, “batok” means the back of the neck. I don’t know what the proper name for that beef cut would be in English but, in the Philippines, we call it “batok”. It is meat marbled with fat. That is why, when cooked, beef “batok” is very tender and very juicy.

Sweet and spicy talakitok in a flash

We haven’t properly replenished our food and cooking supplies after last week’s typhoons, blackout and water problems. We stayed in a hotel for two days and, after checking out yesterday, my husband I went went straight to the supermarket. We had to; otherwise, we would still have to eat instant noodles and cannned meat loaf for dinner last night. The freezer was totally empty after I threw out a pack of chicken and longganisa last Monday (or was it Sunday?). I had to get rid of half a can of Queensland butter, half of a 1-kg block of quickment cheese, a jar of grated parmesan and Romano cheese, a carton of milk that was still three-quarters full, a half-full carton of guava juice, rotting vegetables… so, it was time to go to the supermarket. But replacing everything we had to throw out wasn’t that simple. There were no good vegetables available (not surprising after the typhoons and the floods). The onions were bad and the tomatoes were even worse. Although I was able to get some decent potatoes, I decided to buy the other staples at a later time.

Pancit miki (habhab)

I cooked this noodle dish last Wednesday, the day before typhoon Milenyo hit the Philippines. Never got a chance to post it until now. We had no power, and water, until last night. Most of the contents of the fridge had to be thrown out. The meat in the freezer thawed out completely on the second day. At least I was able to salvage 2 kilos of pork liempo (belly) which I cooked as adobo on Thursday, and 2 kilos of chicken wings and thighs which I fried on Friday. After that, we were living on canned goods and instant noodles. The very limited and always precarious water supply, and not knowing when the next water delivery would come, obliged us to stretch our water supply as much as we could. No cooking. Eat out of paper plates. Drink from disposable plastic cups.

Tokwa’t baboy as a stew

Traditionally, tokwa’t baboy is a side dish served with lugaw (congee). Pork face is simmered in salted water until tender, chopped into cubes, tossed with crisp fried tokwa (firm tofu) and served with a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, chopped onions, garlic, ginger and hot chili.

Chicken and straw mushrooms in coconut milk

It’s a variation of the traditional guinataang manok–a quickie version, that is. A panic-time version, even. There was too little time and a pack of boneless chicken thighs would thaw faster than a whole chicken. I had no tomatoes but I had both green and red bell pepper. The contents of a pack of boneless chicken thighs wouldn’t have been enough to feed five people so into the dish went a can of straw mushrooms. Despite all the limitations, this dish of chicken and straw mushrooms in coconut milk turned out fine. Actually, with my family, anything with coconut milk is considered a feast hehehe…

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