TINUMOK STYLE – GINATAANG PETCHAY STUFFED WITH CHICKEN BREAST & CREAM DORI

Tinumok  is a delicious dish in Bicol.  Gabi (or Taro) leaves are used in wrapping the mixture of  minced young coconut meat, shrimps and pork, and cooked in coconut milk with chilis.  There were several variations  of the dish as it was spread throughout the country, there’s the Visayan version which is Tinuktok, Laing in Manila, Tinumok or Pinangat in Bicol, etc.

I guess this is my version of the dish, saw it once on TV, but they used Pork, and for my  recipe I wanted it to be light and  less fat, I used fillets of chicken breast and cream dory.  My daughter just loved it, this is the 2nd time I cooked this and she was the one who reminded me to prepare this again for her.

Ingredients:

250 gms. Cream Dory, fillet, cut into chunks

300 gms. Chicken Breast, fillet, cut into chunks

1 whole Garlic, peeled and chopped

2” sliced of Ginger, peeled and sliced thinly into strips

3 medium Onion, peeled and chopped

Salt and pepper

1 kilo Petchay, washed thoroughly

3 to 4 cups Pure Coconut Milk

2 pcs. Green Chilli

½ tsp pepper corn

Procedure:

Prepare the onion,  garlic and ginger.

Season Chicken Fillet & Cream Dory with Salt & Pepper

In a bowl combine the onion, garlic and ginger, use half of that mixture to 

marinate the Cream Dory & Chicken 

while this is marinating,...

Wash the Petchay and cut the bottom part of the stem ...

Blanch the petchay in plain boiling water for just a few seconds ...

cut-out the steam of the blanched petchay

We're ready to stuff the petchay...

arrange the leaves in this way...

put the cream dory stuffing in the middle ...

fold the bottom part of the leaves, as shown in the picture ...

then fold the right side - no. 2 arrow, then the left side - no. 3 arrow

then roll-it-up tightly like this,

set aside ...

do the same with the Chicken stuffing ...

we have wrapped all the stuffings...

those with toothpicks are the Cream Dory packets...

we're ready to cook ...

In a big pan, put the coconut milk and the remaining half of the mixture 

of onion, garlic, and ginger, add a bit of salt and pepper, 

let it simmer for 15-20 minutes over low medium heat,

stirring occassionally...

then put the Stuffed Petchay in the simmering coconut milk

and let it cook gently over low-medium heat for another 20 to 30

minutes or until it thickens, stirring gently just to check that the

coconut milk doesn't get burned...  cover the pan 

and continue cooking...

Season to taste ...

Enjoy!

CHICKEN ADOBO WITH POTATOES

Ingredients:

1 kilo Whole Chicken, cut into desired serving sizes (you can also use choiced cuts)

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

3 tbsps Chopped Garlic

4-5 pcs  Bay Leaves

½ cup  Soy Sauce

¼ cup White Vinegar

4-5 pcs Potatoes,  cut to chunks

¼ tsp  Peppercorns

Salt and Sugar to taste

Procedure:

Saute garlic until light brown, then put the cleaned and drained chicken pieces into the pan, stirring occasionally till the chicken meat turns a bit brownish, add the potatoes, stir well, then add soy sauce, peppercorn, bayleaves, stir well, then the vinegar.  Let it cook for awhile,  stirring every now and then, until meat and potatoes are fork-tender.  If it becomes too dry, you can add a small amount of water to prevent it from drying out, season to taste and don't forget to add a bit of sugar.  When done, serve hot.  Enjoy!

CHICKEN ADOBO WITH LIVER (Version 2)

 

This is an equally delicious version of Adobo.  I have already posted the Version 1 (Combination of Pork and Chicken) - you can get the recipe here.    This recipe is a favorite of a very dear dear cousin, she’s like a sister to me and my siblings, we call her Big Sis, and she whips up really delicious recipes as well.  I’m dedicating this recipe post to her (hugs and kisses to you Big Sis!)   Thank you for being an inspiration to me!

If you’re not a big fan of chicken liver, mash all the liver coarsely and let it fry together with the bits of garlic and pepper, this will give your Adobo another kind of twist to it.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 kilo Chicken,  cut into smaller serving sizes

¼  kilo Chicken liver

 Marinade: (mix everything is a small bowl)

1 Tbsp. Freshly Ground black pepper

1/2 to 1 cup Soy Sauce  (use 1/2 cup, then just use the other half when needed)

½ cup Vinegar (or lesser if you don’t like the taste of vinegar)

2-3 pcs Laurel Leaves

2 Heads Cloves of garlic peeled and smashed (you can add more if you really like garlic, this will add more aroma and flavor to the Adobo)

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the cleaned / washed chicken and liver, drain very well, then pour the marinade.   Mix it  very well and let it stand for at least 30 minutes to 1-hour, or if you want, marinate it overnight. When ready to cook, take out all the chicken and liver (in separate container) from the marinade (set it aside and we’ll use it later).    In a big pan sauté garlic until it is light brown, then put chicken,  let it sauté in the garlic on medium high heat for about 5-10 minutes, then add the liver.  When a bit brown, add in the marinade and let it continue to simmer, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. and if you like it to be more saucy, add about ½ cup of water, if not and you want it to be with lesser sauce, just let it simmer for another 10-20 minutes more or until tender, and also, you can mashed some of the liver to make the sauce a bit thicker. Adjust taste by adding salt if needed and you can serve it  over hot rice. Enjoy!

Note:   If you wanted a fried-type of adobo, you can just continue to cook the Adobo (reserve some sauce in a bowl)  over high heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning the sauce, until you achieve the crispiness you wanted.

CREAM DORY FISH PATTIES with GARLIC-MAYO DIP

Ingredients:
300 gms Cream Dory fillet
Few small slices of ginger
2 medium Onions, chopped
1 large pc Carrot, chopped
Small bunch of Spring Onions, chopped
½ cup All Purpose Flour
¼ cup Cornstarch
1-2 pcs Eggs
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Garlic-Mayo Dip:
¾ cup Lite-Mayonnaise (or use regular mayo)
2 tbsps Evaporated Milk
¼ tsp Garlic, finely chopped
Salt, pepper and Sugar to taste
Mix everything up in a small bowl and season to taste and refrigerate till ready to serve.

This is how the patty mixture will look like when its ready to be fried.

Procedure:
Boil the cream dory fillet in ½ cup to 1 cup water - with a bit of salt, pepper and ginger, for about 10 minutes. When cooked, mash it coarsely with a fork, and put it in a mixing bowl, add in the chopped onions, carrots and spring onions. Then put the egg/s, salt, pepper, mix very well, adding the flour and cornstarch a little bit at a time, till the mixture becomes thick enough to form into patties. You can fry a few pieces of the patties so you will know if it needs more salt & pepper. When ready with the mixture, fry the patties over medium fire to make sure the inner part is well cooked. This recipe makes around 12 to 15 patties. Enjoy!

Note : These patties will also be great as a sandwich filling – instead of pork or beef burgers, garnish the sandwich with tomato and lettuce, and use the garlic-mayo spread.

You can also serve this with sweet and sour sauce, the recipe here, the one that I used in the Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Instead of forming them into patties, you may choose to form them into balls as well.

BEEF MECHADO (version 1)

This is a beef stew type of dish and aside from beef you can also use  chicken or pork.   I love eating tomato based dishes, so I always make sure that there’s enough ingredient in the recipe to come up with a saucy dish.  This is a Kid- Friendly version of the dish, and I will post another version which has more seasonings and other ingredients.  ‘Hope you enjoy this one.

Ingredients:

1 kilo of beef, cut into chunks

3 tbsps  Vegetable Oil

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

2-3 medium onion, chopped

½ cup Soy Sauce

2-3 pcs bay leaves

½ tsp peppercorns

1 (15 oz.) tomato sauce or for more sauce use another ½ can

2-3  pcs. Big potatoes (cut into chunks)

2-3  pcs. Big carrots (cut into chunks)

5 pcs. Boiled Eggs (shelled), this is optional

¼ to1/2 cup of water or beef stock

Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

Procedure:

Marinate the beef chunks in soy sauce, peppercorns and bayleaves for 15 to 20 minutes or longer if you’re not in a hurry.  When ready, over medium heat - sauté garlic and onion, then add the beef chunks without the marinade (set it aside) and  brown the beef, stirring occasionally till the beef is a bit brown  .  Then add in the tomato sauce and the marinade mixture.  Simmer for about 1 hour over low heat (check from time to time the tenderness of the meat and if you find it drying a bit,  add  water), when its halfway cooked add the carrots and potatoes, again stirring occassionally.  Simmer everything until they are tender.  If you’re adding boiled eggs to your Mechado – do this 15 minutes – before the potatoes and carrots are cooked.  Season with a big of sugar (optional), salt & pepper.  Serve with plain rice or with mashed potato, bread and vegetable salad.  Enjoy!

HAINANESE CHICKEN (or Chicken Rice)

Hainanese chicken rice is a dish of Chinese origin, a local specialty from the island of Hainan off the coast of China, most commonly associated with Singaporean or Malaysian cuisine, it is also commonly sold in neighboring Thailand. The version found in Singapore region combines elements of Hainanese and Cantonese cuisines. The dish was popularised in the 1950s by Moh Lee Twee.

This is one of the favorites of the family. I love this one dish meal, you have the chicken, rice and vegetable in one recipe, very light yet filling. I happen to develop my version of this dish because my husband loves this so much, one time when we were in Singapore, he was able to finish 2 orders of this dish in big bowls. And when my sister tasted this recipe, it became an instant favorite as well. I hope you’ll enjoy preparing and eating this dish as much as we did. We consider this as one of our comfort foods.

Ingredients:

1 to 1 ½ kilo Whole Chicken
1 Head Garlic, peeled & smashed
½ Tbsp. Whole Black Peppercorns
2 Large onions, diced
2 Tablespoons rock salt
½ tbsp of Ginger, sliced julienne
1 to 2 pcs Chicken broth cube
Enough water to boil the chicken
2-3 cups of rice
4-6 cups of chicken broth (the broth of  boiled chicken)

Dipping Sauce for the cooked chicken:
½ cup Soy Sauce
3-4 tbsps. Sugar
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Ginger
½ tsp of Sesame Oil
Red Chillies (optional) Chopped coarsely

For garnishing:
Bunch of cilantro (optional) Coarsely Chopped

Optional: For the vegetable soup
Carrots, Pechay Baguio, portion of the Chicken broth

Directions:

Get the whole chicken, rub the skin of the whole chicken with rock salt. Wash it thoroughly with water, let it drip for a moment, and set aside. In a small bowl mix the stuffing - crushed Garlic, Whole Black Peppercorns, diced Onions, Rock salt and ginger very well and stuff it inside the whole chicken. Put the whole chicken in a big casserole, fill it with water till the chicken is covered with water. Cook it on high heat till it starts to boil, let it simmer on medium heat, add the chicken cubes, simmer slowly till the chicken is fork tender, add salt and pepper in the broth if needed.

Take out the cooked chicken from the broth, put in a separate container with lid so it will stay warm while you cook the rice.

On a separate cooking casserole, or you may use rice cooker if you like, wash the rice with water, drain all water from the rice. For every cup of rice, put 2 cups of the cooked broth from the chicken. Adjust the amount of the broth according to your prefence, if you find the 1:2 ratio too much. Cook the rice on medium heat, stirring it once or twice for even cooking. Cook it till its done.

Meanwhile, you may prepare the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients, except the Chillies (optional). Mix it very well. 

Serving suggestion:
Put a big scoop of hot rice in a plate, cut up the chicken, and put sliced chicken beside the rice and serve together with the vegetable soup and the dipping sauce for the chicken.

Note:

For this dish, we really need a whole chicken and put the stuffing inside. I’ve tried using other parts and just put the flavoring in the cooking water, the chicken didn’t came out as tasty. You may choose to use the Cilantro as garnishing when serving the meal, or mix it with the dipping sauce (we prefer it mixed with the sauce, it has a very nice taste). If you like more vegetables, you may add steamed Petchay Baguio or Bakchoy (whatever is available in your area), some carrots and other vegetables that you like. Sometimes, what I do, if ever there’s more broth than what I needed for  the rice, I cooked all the vegetable in it and this can serve as soup. Or you may put cut up vegetables on top of the almost cooked rice and let it steam there for awhile.

As for the dipping sauce, it you don’t like it to be too sweet, you may adjust it according to your preference (but from our experience, the sweeter, the better the sauce will taste). Should you choose to use the chillies, just mix it with the dipping sauce.  Enjoy! 

3rd Meatball Recipe : SPAGHETTI WITH MEATBALLS

And lastly, we’ll use the 3rd portion of the meatballs we’ve set aside. Once the meatballs are ready, fry them in medium heat till a bit brown and well cooked. Don’t over fry them or they will turn our dry and loose its juices. Set aside, we’ll use them later.

Ingredients for the spaghetti sauce:

2 tbsps Cooking Oil

1 tbsp Garlic, chopped

3 medium Onion, chopped

½ kilo Ground Lean Pork

½ kilo Sweet & Juicy Swifts Hotdogs, sliced diagonally

1 pouch Spaghetti Sauce (Filipino Sauce)

1 pouch Hunt’s Spaghetti Sauce (Regular type)

1 pouch Tomato Sauce

¼ - ½ cup water

4-6 tbsps Soy Sauce

Salt, Pepper & Sugar for seasoning

Procedure:

In a pan, sauté garlic in cooking oil till fragrant, then add onion, stir well, then put the ground pork, saute till the pork turns pale in color, add soy sauce and pepper, sauté very well and let it cook for a few minutes. Then add all the spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce, add water, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Then season to taste, if it needs salt and sugar, adjust according to your taste. Lastly, add the fried meatballs and simmer for a few minutes more and its ready to be mixed with boiled spaghetti noodles. Topped with grated cheese. Bon appetite!

Note: If you want, you may decrease the amout of ground pork and just add ¼ kilo since it already has meatballs, and add more hotdog instead.

2nd Meatball Recipe : MEATBALLS W/ SWEET & SOUR SAUCE

For this recipe, we’ll use the second portion that we have set aside in the freezer. Thaw it if it’s still frozen, and form again into balls. Once ready, fry them in medium heat till a bit brown and well cooked. Don’t over fry them or they will turn our dry and loose its juices. Set aside, we’ll use them later.

Ingredients for the Sweet & Sour Sauce:
2 medium, Onion, sliced in chuncks
2 medium, Tomatoes, sliced
1 medium, Green Bellpepper, sliced
1 medium, Carrot, sliced
2 tbsps Cooking Oil
1 cup water
4-6 tbsps. Banana Catsup
2 tbsps. Vinegar
½ cup Brown sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste
¼ cup Cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water

Procedure:
In a saucepan, sauté onion, and tomatoes, then add carrots cook for a few minutes, them add the bellpepper. Saute them for awhile, then set aside in another container. In the same saucepan, put the water, banana catsup, vinegar, brown sugar, salt (about a pinch) and pepper. Mix well and bring to a simmer over low fire, taste if it needs more sugar and salt. Then thicken with cornstarch dissolved in water and gently simmer again. Lastly, put back the stir fried vegetables into the sauce, and when ready to serve, add sauce into the fried meatballs. Enjoy!

FOR MEATBALL LOVERS

We’re at my sister’s house now for a supposed to be a short visit, but my daughter and my nephew need more bonding moments that’s why we decided to stay a little longer. These gave us an opportunity to cook some “old-time favorites”, foods our mother used to prepare when we were kids. A few days ago I made a big batch of meatball mixture, I did it on purpose cause I have 3 different recipes in mind using meatballs. It’s one of those days when you just have that “meatballs craving”.

‘Am also posting the following 3 recipes as a tribute to our mother, who made sure that while all of us her kids are growing up she prepared nutritious and delicious food everyday. Delicious to us then doesn’t mean expensive food, our “Nanay” made simple dishes seems special to us. Back then, she would prepare a simple soup and pair this with fried tofu with dipping sauce on the side, and we learned to love tofu so much that it’s a regular in our dishes until now. “Nanay” is my first teacher in the kitchen, much of the recipes I know now are mostly her recipes and also our father “Tatay” is a food lover and a good cook as well. I will have to do a separate “tribute” for Tatay’s delicious recipes.

BASIC MEATBALL MIXTUREIngredients:
1 kilo ground lean pork
2-4 pcs Whole eggs
1-2 cups Bread Crumbs
2-3 tsp Salt
1 ½ tsp pepper
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
¼ cup spring onions, chopped

Mix everything in a bowl. When well mixed, fry 2 small patties. (I always do this when making meatballs or burger, to taste if I needed to add any salt or pepper, and also to test if the bread crumbs I added is enough to make a patty or a meatballs. Season some more if needed.

When you’re satisfied with the taste of the meatball mixture, divide it into three, and put aside the other two (2) portions in 2 separate containers and keep them in the freezer. You may choose to make balls before freezing them, so whenever you will need to cook another meatball dish, they are ready.

For the 1st Recipe, we’ll just use 1/3 of the mixture. This portion will yield around 30 meatballs or more, depending on the size of your meatballs.

SINIGANG NA BABOY (Pork in Tamarind Soup)

This is my husband’s ultimate favorite, he can have this almost every week. Whenever I prepare this for him, he’s in heaven. Through the years I’ve perfected my own version of this delicious, comfort food. And according to hubby again, no matter where he goes or where he eats this dish, there’s no place like eating it at home – prepared by his Techie wife. 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 Monterey, it’s a bit pricey but I know that Monterey products 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!

CHICKEN ARROZCALDO (Congee) & TOKWA’T BABOY (Fried Beancurd & Pork Belly)

We had this “Old Time Favorite” a few weeks ago, we had to stay indoors because of so much rain, we wanted to just stay home, watch tv, read some books, and me blogging, what else can you think of when it’s raining, but eat something hot, and delicious, so I decided to prepare my favorite Lugao (or Congee), it’s like comfort food to me. This is another family favorite as well.

Ingredients for Arrozcaldo:
½ kilo Chicken Breast (boiled and shredded)
2 tbsp Vegetable Cooking Oil
2 tbsps. Garlic, chopped
2-3 pcs. Medium sized Onion, sliced thinly
¼ cup Ginger, sliced thinly
½ cup Fish Sauce (Patis)
1 cup Malagkit Rice, (glutinous rice)
1 - 1 1/2 cups Regular Rice
Broth from the boiled chicken breast

Garnishings for Arrozcaldo:
½ cup Spring Onion (chopped finely)
½ cup Garlic, chopped finely, fried till light brown (2 heads of garlic)
Calamansi (cut into halves)
Ground Black Pepper (optional)

Procedure for the Arrozcaldo:
Combine Malagkit and regular rice, wash, drain, and let it soak for awhile (this will help in the cooking process of the rice, and gives it a nice and fluffy texture).

Meanwhile, cook the chicken breasts in about 3-4 cups water, add some salt and pepper, boil till fork tender. Take out the chicken breast when tender, let it cool for awhile, then shred it, and set aside. Keep the chicken broth, we’ll use it later.

In a big pot or casserole, saute Garlic ( 2 tbsp and the ½ cup combined, to save time in sauteing), add more cooking oil if needed, till light brown, then take out about ½ cup (set aside for garnishing), and continue sautéing the garlic left on the pan and put the onion sauté until transparent, then put the ginger, stir well, add the shredded chicken, stir for awhile, then put the Fish sauce and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, drain the rice, and mix it to the cooking chicken, if it tends to stick to the pan, put about ½ cup of water and continue to mix well for another 5 minutes. Then put the chicken broth into the cooking rice. Mix well, cover and let it simmer, then lower the fire. Stirring occasionally. Keep a close watch, you need to stir this once in awhile to avoid burning. Cook for another 15-20 minutes more, or until the rice are all cooked and soft and starts to crumble. If you think its too thick, add more water, according to the thickness you want. Serve hot on individual serving bowls (as shown in the photo) with the garnishings on the side.

TOKWA’T BABOY
For those who doesn’t know what Tokwa’t Baboy is, this side dish goes very well with Congee, it’s boiled pork belly (or any part of pork you want) sliced thinly. Tokwa is beancurd, fried till crispy, then sliced thinly and it’s mixed with the boiled pork and has a sauce, please see below for the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients:
½ kilo Pork Belly, boiled and sliced
Salt and pepper corns
1 pc. Beancurd, sliced
1 cup cooking oil for frying

Sauce:
1 cup White Vinegar
2-3 tsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Garlic, chopped finely
½ tsp Sugar (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure for Tokwa’t Baboy:
Boil pork belly in water with salt and pepper corns. Cook till tender. Take it out of the pan and let cool for awhile before slicing it into strips (as shown in the picture).

Meanwhile, fry the sliced beancurd till a bit cripy. Put in paper towels or thick tissue to drain excess oil. When cool, cut into strips, same size as the pork and mix the sliced pork and bean curd in a bowl. Serve with the sauce on the side. Enjoy!

CHICKEN AND PORK ADOBO (v.2)

This recipe is tastier, and has a thicker sauce, may take a bit longer to prepare because of the sautéing, and it has more ingredients in it. If you think this is a lot for one meal, you may choose to keep the other half in the freezer, like I do and reheat and/or fry it the next time. Adobo keeps well in the refrigerator for about 1 week, but longer than that, I think you need to freeze it to keep its freshness.

Ingredients:
¾ kilo Pork belly cut in 2 in. cubes
¾ kilo Chicken, cut into smaller serving sizes
2 Large onions, diced
1 small can Liver Spread (optional)
1 tbsp Corn oil for sautéing
2 Heads Cloves of garlic peeled & smashed (you can put more if you really like garlic, this will add more aroma to the Adobo)

Marinade:
1 Tbsp. Freshly Ground black pepper
1 cup Soy Sauce
½ cup Vinegar
3 pcs. Laurel leaves (optional, if you like the flavor of laurel)

Directions:
In a large bowl combine the pork and chicken, pour the marinade. Mix very well and let it stand for at least 30 minutes to 1-hour, or if you want, marinate it overnight.

In a large pot, heat 1 Tbsp. of corn oil and sauté garlic until a bit golden brown then add the onions stir. Next, drain the pork belly and chicken of marinade then add it to the sautéing garlic and onion (set aside the marinade, we’ll use it later), and sauté it for 10 minutes on medium high heat, mixing it very well.. Then add the marinade, Stir well and let it simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. At this point you may add the liver spread, and if you like it to be more saucy, add about ½ cup of water, if not, just let it continue to simmer for another 10-20 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Adjust taste by adding salt if needed and remove laurel leaves before serving! Serve hot rice topped with adobo. Enjoy!..

Note:
This is another version worth trying if you get tired of the simple version. And if you’re like my husband who likes his Adobo fried and a bit crispy, during the last stages of cooking process, when the pork is almost done, get a frying pan, put some of the adobo in it with a bit of the sauce and stir away till’ it turns to the crispiness you want.

SHRIMP IN ORANGE BUTTER GARLIC SAUCE

This is a kid friendly recipe, one of my daughter’s favorite, 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 everytime 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, afterwards 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.

ADOBO

Adobo is a very versatile recipe, Filipinos love it so much, that we cook it as an everyday dish and also for special occasions. This is a constant item in our menu at home. There are so many recipe variations you can do with Adobo, some recipes has fried wedged potatoes, others put cooked/hardboiled eggs, and still others put thick coconut milk or “Kakang gata” as we call it in Filipino to make it even tastier and creamier. Other nationalities also find Adobo very appealing and tasty, its even a popular dish on potlucks in the U.S.

Chicken and Pork Adobo (v.1 – Simple version)

Ingredients:
3/4 kilo Pork belly cut in 2 in. cubes
¾ kilo Chicken, cut into smaller serving sizes (about the same size as the pork)

Marinade: (mix everything is a small bowl)
1 Tbsp. Freshly Ground black pepper
1 cup Soy Sauce
½ cup Vinegar (or lesser if you don’t like the taste of vinegar)
2 Heads Cloves of garlic peeled & smashed (you can add more if you really like garlic, this will add more aroma to the Adobo)

Directions:
In a large bowl combine the pork and chicken, pour the marinade. Mix very well and let it stand for at least 30 minutes to 1-hour, or if you want, marinate it overnight. When ready to cook, put everything in a big pan and let it boil on medium high heat for about 5-10 minutes before you start stirring and let it continue to simmer, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. and if you like it to be more saucy, add about ½ cup of water, if not and you want it to be with lesser sauce, just let it simmer for another 10-20 minutes more or until tender. Adjust taste by adding salt if needed and Serve hot rice topped with adobo. Enjoy!..

Note: This version is alot simpler and you could practically cook it anytime you crave for adobo, its so simple that almost all the ingredients are available in your pantry. Add more soy sauce if you think it’s a bit bland. And also, you may choose to cook all pork or all chicken adobo depending on your preference, or if you love chicken wings, by all means use the wing part, or you can also use pork spare ribs just adjust the cooking time, as this may take a little longer to cook, but just the same, it will still be delicious. And regarding the garlic, for me, there is no such thing as too much garlic, this just makes adobo very delicious. This dish is so versatile, one time I tried cooking it without vinegar, and believe me, it still came out delicious!