Korean Beef Stew

One time, I craved for Korean Beef Stew. The dilemma though was whether to run to the nearest KIMCHI outlet or to stay put in my kitchen to whip up the same tasting beef stew. I opted to stay. It was a hit and miss thing as I was going through the cooking. My salt and soy wrestled with my sugar. The ribs were starting to fall off the bones but the sugar has not blended well with the whole viand just yet. The whole process was definitely a balancing act. Like me riding a unicycle or you riding a unicycle while carrying me (now, that’s a balancing act, really! Lol!) In the end, all the ingredients just blended in harmony. My tummy pleaded for a second serving.  Alas, I’m stuffed. 2 more pounds to burn, haha. Anyway, am sharing with you the recipe for this Korean Beef  Stew. Hope you like it!

KOREAN BEEF STEW

1 kilo beef short ribs or beef brisket

1 head of garlic

1 chopped onion

2 laurel leaves

chopped ginger

1/2 cup dark soy sauce

3/4 cup sugar

water (enough to cover the ribs)

chives or dahon ng sibuyas

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

sesame oil

chili flakes to taste

Procedure:

Season ribs with salt and pepper. Saute ginger, garlic and onion using sesame oil. Add short ribs. Cover with water. Halfway through the cooking add soy sauce and sugar plus the laureland chili flakes. Simmer until meat of the ribs start to fall off. Slow cooking is highly recommended here. In a separate pan, toast sesame seeds. Sprinkle sesame seeds and chives over the dish for garnish.

Chicken-Pork Adobo (Ilonggo Version)

Chicken Adobo Flakes

I’ve been getting a coupla emails requesting for adobo recipe.

Ah, I super love adobo. I can’t seem to get enough of the fare. It’s something I can gobble up everyday! As a kid, my mom used to cook adobo quite often in our home. Hers was the flaky, crispy  version. The best version, I think. The Ilonggo version  does away with the use of soy sauce. It’s purely vinegar, water, salt, pepper, laurel leaves and LOTS of garlic. No more, no less. A solid combination of pork and chicken would be the rockstars of this viand. They’re stewed to perfect tenderness and to be eaten with garlic rice and salted egg (itlog na maalat).

Adobo is like the flagship dish of the  Philippines. Like the the curry of India, the burger and fries of America, the kimchi of Korea, the sushi of Japan! It’s made into a thousand and one versions since way back beyond memory. Ranging from sweet, sour, spicy or even sauted!  The penchant for whatever taste you have for Adobo probably depends on your ‘kinagisnan’  or the version you have been accustomed to since childhood.  This dish is so versatile that I have given it facelifts several times over. Adobo rice is one yummy variation. Just toss over the Adobo (whether flaked or chunked) into your fried rice, add some chives.  Man, expect it banging on your palate like it’s the best rice you’ve ever tried. Adobo pandesal with kesong puti (white cheese) is also a deadly combination. To me, it’s the best comfort food ever. Adobo pasta may sound greek to you but this one definitely rocks. Very similar to Oglio Olio pasta but with the meat. Heaven!

 Of course, this Adobo has been immortalized further on with all these junkfoods using “adobo flavors”. Still, it’s nothing like the real thing. It’s not something you can incorporate into your fried rice or something you can eat with your favorite Pinakurat (special vinegar).

Adobo, in whatever blend or style, to me, is the food that defines Filipino Cuisine– simple, satiating and truly succulent!

Here goes a recipe of chicken-pork adobo (Ilonggo version):

1/2 kilo chicken

1/2 kilo pork (kasim part)

1 cup vinegar

1 head of garlic, minced

water

laurel leaf

peppercorn

salt and pepper to taste

canola oil

1. Season pork and chicken with salt and pepper. Mix in garlic, vinegar and water enough to cover the meat.

2. Midway into cooking, add laurel leaf and peppercorn.

3. Bring to a simmer until tender and flaky. Add water as needed. Continue to fry until meat gets flaky and crunchy if you wish. Add canola oil as needed (pork and chicken are expected to render fat, though).

 

Shrimps In Lemon Butter Sauce

shrimps in lemon butter sauce

My thoughts were astray as we were hearing the 7pm mass awhile ago (bad!). I was thinking of what food to cook for dinner that was  fast and yummy. I scoured the freezer and found my dinner hotshot– my pack of shrimps. Believe it or not, this meal cooks for under  fifteen minutes!

Shrimps in Lemon Butter Sauce

15 pcs medium-sized shrimps, deveined and shelled

1/4 cup butter

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp lemon or 1 pc calamansi

salt and pepper to taste

______________________________________________________

1. Season shrimps with salt and pepper.

2. Saute garlic in butter then add shrimps and lemon. Cook until shrimps turn pinkish in color.

3. Serve with basil rice (recipe below).

4. Assemble in a saucer as shown above. Pour in extra sauce into the saucer. Ahhh, love that sauce!

5. Sprinkle with chopped flat parsley (optional)

_______________________________________________________

 Basil Rice

 2 cups white rice

1/4 cup butter

salt and pepper  to taste

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

turmeric powder

________________________________________________________

1. Fry white rice in butter.

2. Season with salt and pepper

3. Add turmeric powder until desired “yellowness” is achieved.

4. Add chopped fresh basil. Mix well.

 

 

 

 

 

‘Herbed’ For Life!

herbed linguine

I guarantee you  that plucking fresh your herbs straight from your garden is best. The freshness translates into great food and the best appearance. Lately, Ive been gaga over planting and growing my bunch of herbs. Thought I’d share with you the ones  that I love to use.

My HERB  ‘must haves’…

flat parsley

 I usually use chopped Italian flat parsley as if its the final ‘accessory’ to almost all of my dishes. Aside from the flavor it gives, it spruces up the fare once sprinkled onto it. I prefer the flat versus the curly because the flat type is easier to sprinkle and yields a ‘fresher’ taste .

oregano

My ‘love affair’ with oregano dates back about more than a decade ago. The only herb I had in our garden in QC. Why? Because it was the easiest to maintain. You can pluck out all the leaves you want without worrying that it might soon after that wither and die.

Oregano is best with meat dishes, soups and pasta. I usually use it for my spaghetti meat sauce and even for my beef lasagna.

 

sweet basil

I was first introduced to sweet basil during my 1st attempt to make my pesto sauce ages ago. Since then, I’ve been “basiled” for life! Haha.

I keep a jar of homemade pesto at home or if I don’t have the pesto ingredients available, I just chop these basil leaves and mix in oil then bottle them up. It’s so flexible, you may use it as rub, marinade, salad dressing, flavoring to a number of fares, etc.

Ahhh, basil your food! Come on!

tarragon

In a recent party at home, I forgot to pay attention to the beverage ‘department’ of my whole menu ensemble. I even forgot to buy juice and softdrinks!

I was too engrossed whipping up the party food.

As guests trickled in, they started asking for water. Ah, that one naman I had. ONLY, the pitcher and of course the water in it looked too plain and boring.

Like as if it presented itself to me as it sat on my window sill, my tarragon plant had the “put me in! put me in” appearance. So, as if a tiny voice prodded me, I put in a coupla bunches of tarragon right smack in my ice cold water! Voila! It was the most BEAUTIFUL pitcher of water I’ve ever laid my eyes on!!! Hahaha!

And to think that it was JUST water! And, the taste was extra refreshing.

You may substitute tarragon with mint or sliced cucumbers, too.

There.

edsa garden house

The best herbs are found at The Edsa Garden House at the Mla Seedling Bank along Quezon Ave. cor Edsa and  at the Lung Center sunday market along Quezon Ave.

PS– Will post the recipe for herbed linguine next time.

Cooking On TV

hey, my waistline isn't that big! my apron was just loosely tied ha! haha! defensive!

Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think that I’d someday be able to cook on national TV. And, I just did.  So surreal. I mean, news anchoring was ME for a good decade or so but me cooking on TV–WOW. Thanks to FOODIE magazine for entrusting the cooking demo to me as they had me guest on abs-cbn’s “Umagang Kay Ganda” sometime last week.

getting last minute instructions from the producer. god, i missed this!

Was back on familiar grounds. Oooh, that smell of stress still there, alright, but the smell of my food suddenly eased me up and reminded me that I wasn’t about to annotate a coup d’ etat! Haha! I was going to cook!!!!!

I met some of the hosts for the first time. Donita Rose and Rica Peralejo were great. Donita, I didn’t know, is a gourmand. She told me how she whips up and develops gourmet dishes almost on a daily basis.  Great to talk shop with someone who speaks your ‘language’, makes talking about ‘moussaka’ easier, hehe.

Rica likewise was as fantastic. She lost a lot of weight! She’s turned into a vegetarian and she loves it. She says meat kinda makes you feel lethargic which can be a major problem if you’re in a morning show that’s why she had to turn absolutely to veggies.

smile, kuya kim! hehe

Anyway, I will recreate the dish I made  during the guesting (recipe by Chef Myrna Segismundo and great foodie, Tina Diaz) as soon as I get the ingredients back on my chopping board soon. Post it next time!

Lemon Chicken

lemon chicken

My series on dishes made with breaded chicken continues. I’m posting here photos of my two-year old Sam helping me bread the chicken. This is to illustrate how easy and fast it is to make the best breaded chicken around. These breaded nuggets once fried and patted dry can evolve into another recipe– LEMON CHICKEN. Aww, I love this.

Lee Kum Kee (hep hep, not a sponsor) has a great line of chinese sauces that aid me in the kitchen when I need to yield quick and easy meals for my family. A totally no brainer to use. And the finished product? Ah, fabulous! Like it just leaped through from a Martha Stewart food bible!

Keep in mind that in any dish that you make, you gotta make it pretty in the final stage. It’s your first ‘come on’ to your ‘victims’ este the people who will sample your dish.  Be on ‘performance level’ at any given time. Let your creative juices flow! Express yourself through it and Enjoy!

LEMON CHICKEN

1/4 kilo chicken breast fillet

3 cups japanese breadcrumbs

1 beaten egg

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp cooking oil

1 pack Lee Kum Kee lemon chicken sauce

1. Cut chicken to form nuggets. Season with salt and pepper.  Dip in egg then coat with crumbs. The secret to a perfect coating is pressing it lightly as you coat and letting it stand for three minutes before frying it.

2. Deep fry until golden brown. Lay on a bed of napkins to blot excess oil.

To have a thicker and crunchier coating, you might want to double coat by dipping in egg twice then breading the  chicken twice alternately before frying.

3. In a separate pan, put in 3 tablespoons of cooking oil. Once heated up, mix in a pack of Lee Kum Kee lemon chicken sauce.

4. Throw in the chicken onto the mixture.  Lightly mix together to coat the chicken. Serve.

dip in one piece beaten egg...

 

then coat with japanese breadcrumbs...

double coat if you wish...

 “Now, how easy was that???”

The Lung Center Sunday Market

fresh green leafy vegetables

 I did not find any pressing reason to get my feet on the Lung Center grounds until I heard about its sunday market.

I was delighted as soon as I caught site of  the wide variety of stalls vending a host of commodities– from grilled tuna belly to puppies to organic vinegar to organic herbs to buffet cabinets! Awesome!

grilled tuna belly for sale

We bought a piece of belly that sold for P300. I guarantee you great quality of this fish. Fresh, minus the ‘fishiness’, tender and flaky (which is a sure sign of freshness). It came with a plastic that contained sweet and spicy sauce.  It was too yummy, we couldn’t have enough of it!

dogs for sale

My sister checked out this dog store and found great finds here. They sell cheaper than the malls. Kakatuwa!

katuray flowers– great for salads!

 It was the first time for me to discover katuray flowers. Considered a cure for headache, katuray is a favorite among diabetics, too. It’s believed to control sugar levels when eaten.  It is a major ingredient in certain types of Asian salads. Yummy, they say. Bought a bag of it but forgot to take  it out from the ref for three days. Got wilted, ngek.

a great variety of vegetables

A mecca for foodies, this sunday market offers a wide array of veggies. Groceries sometimes miss on their shelves one type of vegetable or two and I so hate that! Finally, I got my one-stop shop here…

pots and pots of fresh herbs for sale!

I’ve been nurturing fresh herbs lately. I’ve gone around and looked out for the best quality fresh herbs and I found most of my great finds here. The leaves are usually very green and luscious. 

I left with the thought of going back again this weekend. I love the place! Hope to see you there!

A Party To Remember

 

My cousin Fannie hosted a twin birthday bash for her mom, tita Aling, and her good friend, Imelda, over the weekend at her opulent penthouse in Wack-Wack. Of course, we wouldn’t miss an occasion like that for the world! Tita Aling, after all, is like a second mom to Jake and me.

The dinner set-up was truly enchanting. Crisp linen napkins, elegant black ceramic plates, great plating of the food, aah, for a moment there I thought the setting just leaped through from the pages of a magazine!

 

fannie’s elegant setting

Fannie’s friend, Imelda, is the fascinating home-educated cook who never fails to marvel us with her excellent tasting fares. She comes from a family of chefs and foodies who only know genuine, succulent and mouthwatering dishes. Imelda just stuffed us with her super savory food that night. I told her a thousand times how I so looooooove her food!

garlic prawns

 We sampled some of her specialties like the morcon, chicken galantina, garlic prawns and kare-kare and boy, was I awed! I thought I gained 20 pounds in three hours! Insane!  

 

beef morcon

chicken galantina

To cap the evening, our nephew Manolo dished out some few songs that just blew us away. He’s the little boy no more.

check out his video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RKjBf8nW38

Now, that’s t-a-l-e-n-t!. I did not know he is THAT good. Nols, keep it up!

  

We missed Moni at the party but her kids Anton, Katherine and Julia were there to represent the family. Thanks to Anton, too, for sharing with us his gift of music! Galing!

PS– Imelda Sietereales accepts catering services. Her contact # is 7255037.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Crispers

 

There’s no dish easier to make than this. Almost effortlessly, my four-year old Sam pulled this recipe off quite easily as we did this a few days ago. Easy, pretty and scrumptious, it is a bestselling dish when we throw parties at home. Cheers!

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Crispers

1/2 kilo chicken breast fillet

3 cups Japanese breadcrumbs

1 pc lemon, wedged

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

3 tbsps dried basil

3/4 cup flour

1 beaten egg

salt and pepper to taste

In a mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, basil leaves and parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Meantime, cut chicken breast fillet in finger sizes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Dredge  in flour lightly then dip in egg mixture.  Coat with the crumbs. The secret to a perfect coating is pressing it lightly as you coat and letting it stand for three minutes before frying it.

Deep fry until golden brown. Lay on a bed of napkins to blot excess oil.

Serve with garlic mayo dip (half cup mayo, 3 tbsps lemon juice, 3 minced garlic cloves, salt n pepper to taste—then mix everything together).

To have a thicker and crunchier coating, you might want to double coat by dipping in egg twice then breading the  chicken twice alternately before frying.

Spicy Beef Caldereta

We had so much catching up to do since we arrived from Cagayan De Oro City for the holidays. Talk about parties, reunions and stuff, we gladly and willfully attended those as much as we could in the last two weeks that we’ve been back.

However, there were times when some potluck gatherings just had me pooping out like anything with all the brainstorming on what to bring on those events.  Yes, sure, to buy food can be the easiest and the wisest thing to do, but half of me tells me that it’s still better if you make your potluck share yourself. Why? because 1. it’s more personal 2. the taste is according to your palatal satisfaction 3. cheaper and 4. it’s downright  ‘uncommercialized’. There. 4 solid reasons why you shouldn’t buy pansit malabon or mocca roll for your potluck contribution (hee hee).

Over at Marra’s two weekends ago, we had our belated barkada Christmas party. I decided to do a fuss-free (well, compared to my other party dishes..) dish. Spicy beef caldereta- it’s a filipino favorite. It’s my personal favorite, too. This version was passed on to me by my mom, whom I hail as the ‘kitchen queenpin’. She actually calls this dish adobado and is quite different from the usual way of cooking caldereta as the ingredients are layered, uses minimal canned/foiled tomato sauce and the potatoes are fried.

Okay, to cut to the chase, here goes the recipe for this version of spicy beef caldereta:

1 kilo beef brisket

about a dozen medium-sized tomatoes, cubed

1 pc calamansi

half cup soy sauce

1 head of garlic, minced

laurel leaf

2 large onions, minced

3 pcs siling labuyo, chopped

5 medium-sized potatoes, cut crosswise

2 pcs red bellpepper, julliened

a small bottle of pitted and stuffed olives

 salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup tomato sauce (for coloring)

1. Season beef with salt and pepper then marinate in soy sauce and calamansi for 30 minutes. Set aside.

2. Layer the ingredients in a casserole such that tomato is at the bottom, then marinated beef, garlic and onion at the top of the whole ensemble. This way, flavors lock in the beef that’s in the middle of the assembly.

3. Pour in about 3 cups of water to help liquify and wilt the tomatoes at the bottom. Bring to a moderate simmer.

4. Once drying out, continue pouring in water until beef tenderness is achieved.

5. Add the bell peppers, laurel leaf, sili  and the pitted olives. Mix in the tomato sauce. Set aside.

6. Meantime, deep fry the potatoes.

7. Pour the beef mixture onto a pyrex dish. Garnish with fried potatoes on top. Something like this:

I prefer slow-cooking versus using the pressure cooker for this dish. By slow cooking, you are assured to achieve the ‘nagaagaw na tomato sauce and mantika’ effect. I used minimal tomato sauce because you wanna achieve the most natural tasting  tomato sauce.

One Fine Evening

Our good friends Sieg, Jen and Sieg’s brother Jun are in town right now. Sieg and Jen just had the most beautiful wedding at the breathtaking Tagaytay Midland last weekend.

 

Since Sieg and Jen still have some coupla days to while away time in Manila before they head back to Japan and Jun to New York, Jake and I invited them over to our place for some dinner and drinks. We were just too excited to touch base with them again.

 

We met Sieg and Jen abroad and truly had a blast during those few trips we spent together with Jen, being a super trooper and Sieg, providing all the punch lines!

.

Now, the task. What to set on the table for our balikbayan  friends was a concern. I wanted something Asian but with the Western touch. Fusion. Yes, I knew I wanted that.

 

The main course was my creamy beef casserole. I sautéed my cubed brisket in garlic and onion (sibuyas tagalog). Covered it with water and slow cooked it until tender. I then threw in some sliced mushroom and cut young native corns onto the beef mixture then mixed in a box of heavy cream.

 

creamy beef casserole

 

Meantime, I boiled some potatoes to make mashed potatoes (tip: It’s best to boil your peeled potatoes with your beef. The potatoes would be tastier and you would save a lot of time and electricity if you do this). Then, I removed potatoes from the beef mixture. After I mashed my potatoes, I blended in butter then seasoned with salt and pepper. I usually put in cream in my mashed potatoes, but in this case, my filling was already cream based so obviously, I did not want the umay factor.

 

In a baking pan, assemble your dish. Pour in the beef mixture. Top with mashed potatoes. Brush top with egg yolk (for gloss and texture). Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Let stand for 30 minutes (you need to do this so that the whole ensemble wont disintegrate when it’s time to serve it).

 

My next dish would be  my hickory smoked chicken on oriental salad. For the salad, I shredded my iceberg lettuce, julienned some red peppers and singkamas and fried some canton noodles and tossed them all together. I ran out of walnuts last night but I would have tossed over some of those chopped walnuts if I had it. Then I drizzled some Asian balsamic dressing onto it.

 

hickory smoked chicken on oriental salad

 

Now, my hickory smoked chicken. Got a bottle of Hunts hickory smoked flavor marinade and marinated the chicken for about an hour. Grilled each side for 7 minutes. Chopped them and laid them on top of my salad. Voila!

 

For the pasta. I used my favorite noodle that is linguine. It’s a cross between spaghetti and fettuccine. I love biting on it because it’s not too thick nor too thin, just right. Then I used smoked bangus (tinapa) to go with it. I just sautéed 5 cloves of minced garlic then threw in some flaked smoked bangus then mixed it in with my pasta. I then sprinkled the pasta with parmesan cheese, chopped flat parsley and sweet basil before I served it (this one was still in the pan though, hehe). Yes, it was THAT easy.

 

smoked bangus and herbed linguine

 

Then Jen and Sieg brought in a box of chocolate cake from Cakes to go. Yummy! Super moist. Very, very, very sinful! Ahh, sweet ending, you bet. Jun’s gf, Chimmy, who caught up with us liked the cake too.

 

To Sieg, Jen, Jun and Chimmy, I raise my glass to all of you! May you have a bountiful, happy and peaceful new year ahead!

 

sieg, jen, jun, me, sam and jake havin' a blast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lolo Dad’s Brasserie– Truly World Class

Had an awesome late lunch at Lolo Dad’s Brasserie at 6750 in Makati yesterday.  Like always, Chefs Ariel and Mia Manuel were the foodie deadly combination that took Jake and I  to yesterday’s gastronomic journey.

Mia did our wedding cake. Man, how I almost wolfed down the whole cake during our cake cutting ceremony! Haha! It was so good! I kept asking her yesterday how she comes up with her unique pastry creations.  They are anything but ordinary. They’re so pretty, you would not want to touch them! Haha.

Okay, okay that’s putting the carriage ahead of the horse. Let’s take off with the starters before Mia’s sweet endings.  For starters, Jake had chev’s cheese and tomato with mesculun salad. The salad blended in perfect harmony with the light dressing, fruit, tomato and cheese. One bite would make you beg for another try.  I almost got the entire plate from Jake! Hehe.

chev's cheese and tomato with mesculun salad

 I had Mia recommend to me what starter was good. She said I should try the fried brie with sobrasada, which I did. The moment the fried brie hit my palate, I knew I was going to enjoy the rest of the serving.

fried brie with sobrasada

The pastry that coated the brie had the perfect texture and taste. It well complimented and neutralized the saltiness of the brie. I won’t mind having it again the next time I swing by.

Now the main course, ta-dah!!!

pasta with blue marlin

Just by the look of this pasta, I do not need to sell hard what I tried (yes, what I tried from Jake’s plate again! Haha!). There’s something about Chef Ariel Manuel’s dishes that leaves you guessing what the secret ingredient is and why you will keep drooling for more. Yes, you will want more bite after bite!

And what did I have? I had the mushroom with raclet. Ahh, another gastronomic delight.

mushroom with raclet

 It had the chewy-cheesy feel as I munched on this dish then savored some more the melt-in-your mouth filling of this fantastic fare.

For the sweet ending, we tried the almond segafredo with orange popsicle.

segafredo with orange popsicle

Now, how awesome is that? There was nothing heavy in that dessert. It’s popsicle covered with coffee partnered with the inverted popsicles. Was glad I saved some tiny space in my tummy for this fantastic ending.

Lolo Dad’s Brassierie

6750, Makati city

tel #8136750