Chicken, Garlic And Tomato Roasts

The wet market I recently swung by down east had me shamelessly hoarding a coupla kilos of some red, juicy and plump tomatoes. Why, they sold for a measly P20 per kilo! Especially now that the Yrastorza household is slowly taking the ‘healthy-food-only’  route, I thought these tomatoes would be excellent for oven baking, stewing and the like.

Over at my kitchen, I slid my baking casserole onto the counter to toss over the tomatoes for some oven-dried tomatoes for bottling. Lately, I’ve developed a penchant for any food/ingredient that is  homemade, organic and artificial processing- free. And yeah, nothing beats having your homemade tomato sauce which you can conveniently pull out from your ref when your recipe calls for it.

But the oven was too big for the few pieces of tomatoes I was to bake. So in the pan, I threw in 2 whole heads of garlic for roasting (top slightly chopped off, leaving the flesh exposed!). What do you do with it? I spread it on toasts, I put in on my mashed potatoes or I just make it as siding for a fave dish like a pasta fare or sweet and spicy tapa! Okay, there goes my 2nd dish.

3rd dish was the two chicken quarters that I turned into baked chicken in sinigang rub. All three dishes had some about two rounds of drizzles of olive oil. Time, energy and space saving for my oven, I was totally starving right after everything got cooked.

Okay, kumbaga sa bus, naunang bumaba ang mga bawang, tapos ang mga kamatis at sumunod ang mga manok galing sa oven. (Please see links for exact directions for recipes of each of the fares).

Oh, btw, the chicken was the perfect topping for the Japchae I made the day before. Can I just say, the noodles got yummier as the sauce completely got absorbed by the noodles. Yum!

Pasta And Peas

Still on with our interesting series on “leftover makeover” inspired by some dishes we lifted from the pages of FOODIE magazine. This second dish I cooked for Studio 23’s “US Girls” was such a big hit that it was gone instantly before I could finish saying “bon appetit” to everybody!

Simple, tasty to the core and very elegant, this dish should work its way on your menu soon.

The leftover food was the pasta. In this case, we used salad macaroni. Have you ever had the experience of over estimating your pasta, cooking more than you need  and ended up just stacking them away in the ref to grow those icky molds?  Ha!

Alright, let’s have some great-tasting solution to this leftover dilemma.

The dish I made called for about 5 cups of cooked salad macaroni (cooked according to package directions), 2 tbsps olive oil, 2 tbsps butter, 1 medium-sized chopped white onion, 3/4 cup chopped bacon or pancetta, 3/4 cup frozen sweet peas (thawed), 2 tbsps dry white wine, salt and pepper to taste and grated parmesan cheese.

I Sauted onion and bacon. Added wine and let alcohol evaporate before I mixed in peas which I had to saute a bit longer til I got it tender while still very bright green in color. Tossed them gently onto my pasta and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top.

Baked Scallops

Baked Scallops

The maddening rush last Valentine’s day discouraged Jake, Sam and I to wriggle our way to the busy streets that lead to the uber packed date places.

So, we decided to just spend the evening at home, in the comforts of our humble dining room where I served some mean minted lamb chops with a siding of french beans and baby carrots and partnered with some rich, creamy and luscious plate of baked scallops.

Baked scallops is one dish that’s a breeze to make and makes for a rockstar viand. This particular recipe is strikingly similar with the baked tahong I always make whenever I want a delish fare pronto.

Looking at my finished product of baked scallops, I suddenly scratch my head in slight dismay. It was one of those moments when I wished I lived in faraway Capiz. Why? I got my frozen scallops from Cold Storage, P180 per dozen. In Capiz, scallops sell for P50 PER SACK!!!

Now, that ‘SACKS’! Lol.

Happy Vday!

Baked Scallops

1 dozen fresh scallops (with shell)

2 heads of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup melted butter

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

3 tbsps parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

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Preheat oven to 300 deg c.

In a baking tray, assemble the scallops and brush each with butter and season with salt and pepper. Top each with a pinch of garlic and smother scallops with the cheeses.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses turn slightly brown and melted. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Lentejas Castellana Soup

I had 30 minutes to kill before I hit Sam’s school to pick her up. Top of mind last minute stop would be whizzing down to Terry Selection at The Podium for some quick check on what interesting stuff I might find there.

Fast, alert  and wide-eyed, I managed to score a pack of black pasta, a nice claypot, lentils and chorizos in all of 20 minutes. Ah, I was like a 5 year old taking home a brand-new Barbie scooter! Cheap thrill ba?

At home, as I dashed in my kitchen after a long day, I decided to ‘sentence’ the Salamanca chorizos and Castellana lentils that same night. I made a thick soup and peppered it with all the goodness of the chorizos. Ahh, I could almost imagine my husband, Jake, gobbling up the soup with his Chillean wine to match and my day’s stories on the side.

Harvested from Castilla and Andalucia, Castellana lentils are the most used lentils in Spain. It’s greenish-brown in color, larger and a bit more easy to make tender as opposed to the other varieties.

Meantime, Salamanca chorizos are made from pork loin and is spiced up by thick chunks of parika. I was eating and eating them while I readied them for the soup. Ahhh, sarap!

1 cup lentils

3 cups water

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1 cup chorizos, sliced

5 cloves of garlic

1 onion, finely minced

2-3 cups chicken stock

1 cup spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

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Cook lentils until tender. Drain and set aside.

Meantime in a skillet, saute garlic, onion and chorizos. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and lentils. Bring to a boil and add spinach leaves. Serve hot.

Scrambled Egg With Burong Mustasa

The first time I caught a glimpse of  burong mustasa (pickled mustard greens)was during a trip to Gapan, Nueva Ecija many years back. My folks just loved driving away weekends visiting towns that sold scrumptious, exclusively native and inexpensive chow goodies. We would get these burong mustasa  sold in the markets for us to bring home to Manila. This fare is quite famous in the northern part of Luzon, spanning Bulacan to Tarlac. Ahh, super sarap!

Apart from the great taste, it is nutritional in that these mustard greens are proven to be loaded with health benefits saving us from certain diseases like respiratory disorders, gout, etc.

My Tita who shuttles from Pamapanga to Manila at least twice a week just sent me two big packs of these pickled mustards.

Pickled mustard or locally known as burong mustasa, is made by immersing these mustard leaves in rice water and coarse salt for a couple of days.

Anyway, I did not have the patience to wait it out for days. Thanks to tita for just handing me over these packs.

So what did I do? I just chopped about 3 buro leaves and mixed it with two slightly beaten eggs and added about 2 pinches of coarse salt. My mom does it by sauteing garlic and onion first before throwing in chopped burong mustasa and mixing in the egg before it hits the pan for scarambling. Definitely, a good option, too.

However, I like the mustard greens a bit raw and exclusive to egg only– yeah, date silang dalawa lang!

Cooked it on low heat stirring the egg mixture continously. Ahh, it went well with my tapa for breakfast. Happiness!

Chicken Relleno

You don’t wanna cram for your potluck contribution come this holiday season. NOW is the best time to ready your recipe for your Christmas parties at home, too. Thought I’d share with you my favorite chicken  relleno recipe.

It’s pretty easy to make contrary to the perception that one has to slave herself in the kitchen to be able to do this–NOT!

Well, Merry Christmas!

1 whole chicken, about 1.5 kilos, deboned

1/2  kilo ground pork

1 pack sweet ham, finely diced

3/4 cup pickle relish

1 small can crushed pineapple, drained

1 box cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup  cream of mushroom soup (powdered)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 large onion, roughly minced

1 large red bell pepper, minced

2 sliced white bread (tasty), cut into small pcs

1/2 cup raisins, chopped

1/2 cup chopped flat parsley for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

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Debone chicken or ask your  butcher to do it for you. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

For the filling:

Mix all the remaining ingredients.

Stuff the chicken with the mixed ingredients.

Preheat oven at 350C. Bake for an hour or until chicken is cooked.

Let stand for twenty minutes. Sprinkle with parsley for garnishing.

Serve with the chicken dripping on the side.

Ye Dang!

It was my first time to try Ye Dang Korean restaurant today and was I enthused to try EVERYTHING that was laid on our dining table. Thanks to my NFF (newly-found friend), Mariel Lee, for taking me there and advancing her delish birthday treat for me!

Not only did I feast on great Korean food but also had a wonderful time with all the chit chats that went with it.

Okay, what did we pluck out from the menu? For starters we had the Korean appetizers. Kimchi was on top of my list.

Strangely, the first few years that I have been trying this dish, I wasn’t sure if I really liked it. I mean, fermented pickled cabbage with all the Korean spices just did not tickle my fancy. I thought the strong taste plus the out of this world flavor just turned me off! But the Koreans are crazy about this! They even have a kimchi-flavored pizza!

Fast forward to today, the tart, mildly-sour and spicy flavor of  kimchi finally made me a convert. I’ve developed a strong liking for it— no, a LOVING for it!

The other appetizers included the spiced raddish slices–

The fishcake that I so liked–

Not to forget my fave Korean dilis in sweet and spicy blend–

And, the bean sprouts that I gobbled up like I do with lapid’s chicharon! Hahaha! So addicting!

Yes! And, we’ve only just begun!

The appetizers came with a bunch of iceberg lettuce and sesame  leaves. The leaves were supposed to be wrappers for the starters and the main dishes. The concept just got me excited. I made several of these wraps one of which was this:

I raved about the rawness of the leaves that made perfect combination with the filling. The sesame leaves rendered a nutty-crunchy taste and texture that left me going for seconds.

The novelty in the dining experience here was in the fact that we were given the choice of having our food cooked before us, yes, on our table (similar to shabu-shabu) or in the kitchen.

The cooking on the spot began with a flaming-hot bunch of charcoal–

I couldn’t look away from the charcoal because of two things: curiosity and hunger. Arg, bring it on!

Finally, the dak-kui (grilled chicken) and the kalbi (sweet beef ribs) were on board!

My eyes were as big as my plate when our serving  of  kalbi jim (beef shortribs stew)  was laid before me. I was actually settled with KIMCHI restaurant’s beef stew already until this came along.

Fall off the bones and totally scrumptious– this was today’s dining superstar, hands down.

The chapchae tasted okay but my top pick in this category remains to be the version of Sorabol which we used to frequent in Greenbelt.

On the whole, I was more than delighted swinging by this Korean restaurant. The ambience, food and feel totally felt Korean!  I swore to return with a bigger appetite and more friends to bring.

Meralco Ave., Ortigas

Mandaluyong City

(02) 636-1461

 

Everyday Kainan Weekend!

Inspired by my Lola's menudo

If a menudo contest would be held today, I would definitely be in it. Why, this has got to be  a flagship dish of my childhood filled with memories of good food, good food and the best menudo.

Inspired by my lola’s famous menudo, this version, and I am confident to say, is the BEST version for me. It is unique in that the taba have been cut off from the lean meat and are made into chicharon then later on combined with the rest of the menudo ensemble. The meat is marinated in soy sauce and calamansi before it is cooked. In that way, meat is flavored long before you start infusing flavor as you heat it. Also, it barely uses commercial tomato sauce that usually tastes fakely thick  and artificial.

In this recipe, the small amount of commecial tomato sauce is only to spike some color to the dish.

In fact, my lola’s version totally did away with the use of commercial tomato sauce. She used REAL tomatoes.

During my childhood, we ate it best with a glass of ice-cold Coke. It made the whole pleasant dining experience intensified and more satisfying. To date, Coke has remained to be our menudo’s best partner.

With this perfect tandem, expect the dining table to burst with energy in the conversations, chitchat and bonding brought to you by the happy hormones triggered by a fabulous loveteam named– Menudo and Coke.

Menudo

1 kilo pork casim, diced with fat and lean meat separated

6 medium-sized tomatoes, sliced

1 medium-sized onions

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 small boxes raisins

1 big can garbanzos

1 small pack tomato sauce

1 red bell pepper, minced

3 large potatoes, diced

4 pcs calamansi

3/4 cup soy sauce

Canola oil

Salt and pepper to taste

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Season lean pork meat  with salt and pepper. Marinate with calamansi and soy sauce for 30 minutes.

Season taba (fat) with salt and pepper. Cover with water in a small frying pan. Cook until water has evaporated, taba has turned into golden brown  and crispy. Set aside.

Meantime, in a frying pan, fry potatoes until they turn golden brown in color. Drain from excess oil and set aside.

In a skillet, saute onion, bell pepper, garlic and tomatoes. Add lean pork meat. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with water. Bring to a boil until water is reduced into half and meat already very tender. Add tomato sauce, garbanzos and raisins.

Continue simmering for another five minutes. Add fried potatoes and chicharon (taba from the casim). Serve hot.

Chicken Liver Adobo

Copy and paste the picture of chicken liver adobo I did last week to this blog—CHECK. Holding back this writer’s saliva as this picture appears before her while doing this post’s draft– XXXXXXXX!!!!!!!! Arg, I am so tempted to delete this photo on my screen! It’s 9:32 pm and I got no  plans to defrost a pack of chicken livers to silence my nagging craving at this hour.

It is, hands down, one of my fave comfort dishes. I am totally ignited like wildfire when a plate of this adobo is served before me as in LAMON! The slightly sour-garlicky-malinamnam components do make for a perfect triumvirate. Of course, this dish is best partnered with sinangag (garlic fried rice).

High in cholesterol but low in fat and a perfect source of protein, my desire to eat it just looks away from the downside. My bad– Oh well, sarap eh!

Chicken Liver Adobo

1/2 kilo chicken liver (hearts removed)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 whole head of garlic, minced

3 tbsps spring onion, finely chopped

3 tbsps soy sauce

2 cups of water

2 laurel leaves salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup canola oil

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In a bowl, season liver with salt and pepper. Combine with garlic, vinegar, soy sauce and water.

Bring to a simmer until liquid is reduced to half. Add oil and continue to simmer until ninety percent of the marinade has evapotated and the oil slightly beginning to fry the liver.

At this point, you want the oil to dominate the sauce while retaining some liquid from the marinade. Add laurel leaves and cook for 3 minutes more.

Top with spring onions and serve hot with rice.

Molo Soup

Hot, hot, hot!

Literally and figuratively, molo soup is HOT!

The warm, comforting and soothing effect of this soup are enough reasons to make this a staple in your kitchen menu. The solid combination of chicken, pork dumplings and the garlicky flavor of the broth just make a perfect soup.

Especially lately that it has been raining, molo soup should be the excellent comfort food with a wet weather at the backdrop.

Molo soup

For the pork dumpling:

1/2 kilo ground pork

1 onion, minced

1 egg

4 tbsps flour

salt and pepper to taste

molo wrappers

For the chicken broth:

1 pc chicken thigh/legs

salt and pepper to taste

1 onion, quartered

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1/4 cup deveined shrimps, chopped

1 medium onion, sliced

1 head of garlic, minced

2 tbsps patis (fish sauce)

1/2 cup dahon ng sibuyas (green spring onions)

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To make the broth, season chicken with salt and pepper. In a pot, cover with water and add onion. Cook until chicken is tender and cooked. Shred chicken and set aside. Meantime, keep stock for later use.

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The pork dumplings are made by seasoning the ground pork with salt and pepper and adding onion, egg and flour. Mix well and wrap in molo wrappers. Set aside.

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In another pot, saute onion, garlic, chicken and shrimps. Season with patis. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, drop dumplings and cook for ten to fifteen minutes. Top with dahon ng sibuyas (green spring onions). Serve hot.

Chicken Arrozcaldo

 

I’ve been told many times over that chicken arrozcaldo isn’t as popular in a lot of provinces as it is in Manila. Outside the metro, it is usually served when somebody is sick or not feeling well. It’s not something you may order outside their homes. Quite the opposite here in Manila where you find it from the posh five-star hotels down to the most modest eatery at any given place. Chicken arrozcaldo is a favorite– anywhere, anytime.

The classic way of preparing chicken arrozcaldo would be using chicken choice cuts, bone-in and all. In my version, I already pre-boil and shred chicken that would be mixed in with the rice. I guess am too lazy to trim off meat from the bones while it’s immersed in the arrozcaldo–too messy.

Over at the Yrastorza household, chicken arrozcaldo is quite a staple viand on the dining table– sick or not, we all eat this like crazy. One of the many heirloom recipes from Mom, we never eat this without the ‘budbod’ of dahon ng sibuyas and roasted garlic. Eating this without the two would be like having your kare-kare without the bagoong or something like that. The concept of having condiments to go with it is enough excitement for me. Super love!

Chicken Arrozcaldo

1 whole breast of chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper, boiled and shredded

2 cups uncooked malagkit rice

two thumb-sized ginger, sliced

1/2 cup dahon ng sibuyas, chopped

2 heads of garlic, finely minced

2 tbsps fish sauce (patis)

1/4 tsp kasubha

6 pcs calamansi, halved

salt and pepper to taste

oil

1 liter chicken stock (from the boiled chicken)

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Saute garlic in oil until golden brown. Drain excess oil. Set aside in a small container.

Meantime, in a casserole, saute ginger and onion. Add chicken and malagkit rice. Stir for about a minute until rice grains are well coated. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock.

Cook until rice is tender. Make sure you constantly stir the arrozcaldo while it cooks. You may add chicken stock or water to adjust consistency.

Finally, add kasubha. Continue stirring for the next 3 minutes.

Serve hot with the condiments (dahon ng sibuyas, roasted garlic, calamansi and pamintang durog) on the side.

Crazy About Callos

With either pandesal or rice– I am callos’ most avid fanatic. Inspired by my Mom’s immortal version of callos, I decided to whip up my own creation tonight.

Mom had a bit of tweaking of the conventional callos in that she incorporates potatoes into her version and seasons with our native patis (fish sauce). Why not? I must say, these are welcome ingredients that are loaded up with taste enhancing abilities.

According to my Mom, this dish was a favorite of my Lolo Iking (her late  dad). She said he would usually eat a bowl of callos with pandesal to match. Ah, now that’s good taste, eh? And, so, overtime, my Mom had made this dish as part of her potluck repertoire during special ocassions.

A few years ago, I had the chance to taste callos from its place of origin in Spain. Funny, I thought I like callos better in Pinas, specifically in my own Mother’s kitchen.

Mom, this is for you:)

1/2 kilo ox tripe

4 slices of meat from pata ng baka

1 pc chorizo de bilbao, sliced

tomato paste (optional)

tomato sauce

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 green bell pepper, julienned

4 medium-sized potatoes

1 cup garbanzos

salt and pepper to taste

oil

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Season meats with salt and pepper. Pressure cook ox tripe and pata  for 45 minutes. Drain and cut for about an inch long and 1/3 inch wide. Set aside.

In a skillet, saute onion, garlic and tomato. Add ox tripe and pata slices season with patis. Stir for the next two minutes. Add tomato paste (dilute with water if you want to adjust consistency). Mom does not use tomato paste because she is partial to its sweet-ish taste.

Add bell peppers, chorizos and garbanzos. Simmer for another 3 minutes then add potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add tomato sauce. Serve hot.

Corned Beef Paella

It was one rainy, gloomy and chilly late afternoon when I had the adrenalin rush  to work around my kitchen and whip up what was to be served for dinner the other night. Jake scored a bottle of white wine and it was to be the missing link to this fantastic dinner dish. Wine, paella with good music at the backdrop equalled two hours of catch up chat with Jake who got busy at work the whole day.

Okay, quite unconventionally, I used corned beef instead of the usual combo of meats and seafoods associated with paella. I thought I’d explore a bit and scour the grocery cabinet for potential ingredients to complete ‘team paella’ for that night. So, shiitake joined, asparagus was in and all the other ingredients just blended well with the rest of my paella ensemble. Ending– the dish was a winner.

Corned beef paella

2 cups arborio uncooked rice

5 cups of water

1 can corned beef

1 can shiitake mushroom, sliced

6 asparagus spheres, stemmed

2 pcs of lemon, wedged

3 tbsps turmeric powder

4 threads, saffron

1 onion, minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

olive oil

In a paellera, saute onion and garlic. Add corned beef and shiitake mushrooms. Mix in arborio grains and turmeric. Coat well with the corned beef mixture. Add water and simmer until rice is cooked.

Meantime, season asparagus spheres with salt and pepper. Lightly fry in oil until cooked.

Top asparagus and lemon wedges on paella. Serve warm.

Hearty Chicken Sopas

Marty, my 3-year old uber cute nephew, spent the day at home playing with my Sam. Our place was literally fully charged, alive and brightened up by this little boy’s presence that Sam almost never let him go.

As if possesed by the same positive energy, I suddenly found myself cooking away in the kitchen  with chicken sopas in the lead role for today’s menu. This dish had the perfect triumvirate of what kids usually look for in their choice of  food– chicken, pasta and soup! Okay, the cream or milk is the welcome bonus.

I just love sipping this soup whether on a rainy or in hot, humid weather. The yumminess is simply timeless, universal and makes you go for seconds.

1/2 kilo thigh fillet

3 pcs small-sized chicken soup pack

1/2 kilo macaroni shells (elbow or salad)

2 large onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 carrot, cut into strips

3 tbsps patis (fish sauce)

1 box all purpose cream

3 pcs celery sticks, chopped

1 small head of cabbage, choped (optional)

oil

salt and pepper to taste

Season chicken parts with salt and pepper. In a cooking pot, boil chicken along with 1 quartered onion. Bring to a boil until chicken becomes tender. Once cooked, drain and shred the chicken thighs . Meantime, remove and shred chicken meat from the soup pack pieces. Save the stock.

Meantime, in a separate cooking pot, saute garlic and onion. Add celery, carrots and shredded chicken (do not include the bones this time). Season with patis. Add chicken stock. Pour macaroni shells. You may add about 1/2 liter (or more) of water if stock is not enough to cover the mixture. Cook until macaroni becomes al dente  in texture. NEVER overcook the macaroni shells. Add all purpose cream and cabbage. Adjust taste by seasoning with salt and pepper or dropping a piece of chicken cube. Serve hot.

Stir-Fried White Clams And Broccoli In Oyster Sauce

I had a harried lunch at David’s Tea House along Timog today and my tummy was still begging for more Chinese fares when I left. Why, it just had a single viand of beef ampalaya toppings! So for an encore, I decided to take it upon me to fulfill my tummy’s craving.

For dinner tonight, I made some Chinese dish of Pacific white clams which I bought from SM Hypermarket Centris Station and broccoli stems and flowerettes that I generously smothered with lots of garlic and oyster sauce– now, that was the finale I earlier craved for!

Pacific white clams at SM Hypermarket at Centris Station, Quezon Avenu

Simple, mouthwatering and overloaded with excellent taste. This should find its way to your skillet soon!

You will need:

1 kilo white clams

2 heads of garlic, minced

1 head of broccoli, stems and flowerettes separated. Stems cut into about 1 inch long, 1/2 inch thick.

1/2 cup oyster sauce

water

salt and pepper to taste

Boil clams in about 3 cups of water or just enough to give steam to the clams. until they open. Be sure to discard clams that did not open or did not open wide enough. It means they are not good for consumption anymore. Clams have to be cooked all the way through. Drain and set aside.

Saute in garlic the broccoli stems. Once stem pieces are cooked, add flowerettes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in clams and oytser sauce. Mix for the next 3-5 minutes.  Be sure NOT to overcook the clams. Serve hot.