Greetings from ISKAndals.com!
Maligayang Pasko sa inyong lahat! Heto po Christmas in Beijing… unlike last year when we had a wonderful time back home. What do I miss? Lemme start with…
Author: Iska
Antonio’s Xmas Party
The 1st term of Antonio’s schoolyear has ended with a Christmas party – a potluck party like how it was last year. As expected I didn’t cook anything for a party of 5 boys and +/-12 girls but bought cookies and donnettes from the nearest dependable bakeshop. The price is reasonable though may be on the expensive side by local Chinese standard. I carefully packed them in plastic plates and aluminum foil and wrapped them in handmade Christmas packages. The stingy, thrifty mom I am, I cut off few pages from one of our wallpaper sample catalogues and use them as gift wrappers. Wallpaper material with green and gold damask pattern and fuchsia ribbons. Kartonite et al. Neat!
LP16-2: Crispy Fried Chicken
Since we lived far away from relatives, most of our Noche Buena feasts were spent at home with few family friends dropping by after dinner and Christmas day itself was almost always a private gathering. As a child I remember there were only few houses in our neighborhood and the closest would bring over a bowlful of fruit salad and my mom in return would give a tray of bihon guisado (fried noodles). Everyone loves food and at Christmastime giving something homemade means so much more. But much like my online friend and blog contributor Erwin, I have fond memories of lechong manok at pritong manok (grilled and fried chicken).
Lechong manok became very popular during my late teens and just in time when our family reunions during the Christmas holidays became a tradition. This annual get-together event has now evolved into a potluck party and kicks off just before the season ends. Though my dad prefers bringing the ever-easy hamonado (fatty pork cooked with pineapple chunks and spices, photo shown below) and my titas usually request for my sister to bring fresh mussels for grilling or baking (not to mention my craving for original chunky buko pie that only dad knows where to get), time and availability is a hindrance and the smell of grilled chicken along the highway always offer the obvious solution sans the creativity of a beautiful tin or basket.
But as a child, fried chicken was the epitome of all holy and great and festive in my young mind that I wasn’t the least interested in the other sumptuous dishes however fabulous and tedious the preparation may be. I could devour more than half a chicken – huge enough for the thin kid I was – brown and juicy with delectable crisp skin. I’d be in a corner eating with much gusto, without rice or any side dish but a bottle of ice-cold Coke and the adults won’t hear a thing. Antonio (Cean prefers that name now) is very much like the 5-year old that I was. He’d check out everything served on the table and choose only one that he likes and I can guarantee it would be fried chicken with plain rice over anything else. I just have to make sure there is a bottle of ketchup next to him. By the time the party’s over, his godparents/grandparents already knew what to put together for him – a take-home package of his favorite food that would be thoroughly enjoyed and devoured before the day is out.
Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw
Here’s a very simple but delectable vegetable dish that offers the bright colors of autumn – orange, yellow and red (if you add red hot chili pepper) plus green. I just love its unique taste and texture and the healthy combination of vegies – with or without chili. Ginataang kalabasa at sitaw (squash and long beans cooked in coconut milk). I used pumpkin or winter squash.
Beef Rice
There is something special about this food photo that would forever remind me of Bursky (awww Dhey you know why). Do check out his blog. He said I owe him a review but for what?! I don’t certainly do blog reviews or even LP reviews hehehehehe. But hey this guy shamelessly called me “a wonderful lady” in his LP entry which he posted the very next day after I put a shotgun in front of his face; the least I can do is link to his blog and invite you all to read his very interesting post for LP16. It has no food photos but I am sure like me you would be amused by this young lad’s fascinating take on Pinoy food culture.
I have no idea how to call this but beef rice – reminiscent of how I prepare Hainanese chicken rice. A recipe was given to me by a dear friend (Joey yeah that’s you!) but the rebel cook I am I didn’t do it exactly the way it should be done. Reasons… I don’t have the canned ingredients and I don’t wanna bake. Anyhoo, if you are reading this, Joey, you know what I changed.
Crispy Chitterlings
I had the cravings and I couldn’t help it. So make way for the ultimate sinful but delightful treat chicharong bulaklak (crispy chitterlings)! Ingredients: Chitterlings Salt and pepper Add the chitterlings in a pot of boiling water and boil for … Continue reading Crispy Chitterlings
Chinese Chicken Curry
I find the local northern Chinese curry similar to ours though I don’t think they add coconut milk. Nevertheless, I enjoy their version. Coconuts must be shipped in from the tropical southern part and they’re being sold for about 5-10RMB. That is pretty expensive by Beijing standards!
So here is my chicken curry cooked in a seductive blend of coconut milk (Thai and canned), yellow curry, spicy red bell peppers, potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes and Chinese wine. Chi fan!
Spritey Shrimps
Couldn’t finish 2 liters of Sprite so I ended up cooking halabos na hipon marinated in Sprite soda. Voila! Sweet and succulent shrimps!
Spritey Pork
I asked A what he wanted for lunch and he requested something simple like fried pork (yeah here comes the carnivore again) served alongside a vegetable soup. He bought a 2L bottle of Sprite and suggested I cook the pork with it. Hmmm sounds really great and easy. Makes sense as Sprite has a taste similar to that of 7-Up. I am so sure one has heard of 7-Up pork chops or halabos na hipon cooked with this popular lemon-lime flavored carbonated soda. I served it with a simple petchay (a type of Chinese cabbage) soup – basically clear onion soup lightly seasoned with salt and pepper; sprinkled with chopped spring onion.
Spanish-Style Sardines with a Twist
I’ve been busy playing around with my new gallery that I’m not done yet on checking out LP15‘s recipes about recycled food. (Oh please do check it out when you have time; will upload more Beijing photos.) I’ve been thinking about cooking Spanish-style sardines but ended up making my own experiment. I didn’t have pickles and carrots at that time and chili isn’t always a good idea with my boy, so I concocted a recipe with ginger and pork fat. The ginger gives it a kick but may be omitted if undesired; chili I think is still the best. The … Continue reading Spanish-Style Sardines with a Twist
Lasang Pinoy 15: Giniling Galore
What do you do with leftover food? Everyday cooking has made me a bit of an expert in calculating how much we can consume and which dish is a hit that I seldom have leftovers. But of course it doesn’t happen all the time. Fine. Yet I don’t think I could throw away a good and decent portion of food without feeling guilty for the hungry street children and leftovers aren’t as appetizing the second time around so a makeover is usually the case. One way of being creative is to camouflage it as an ingredient to a new dish. Usually I cut pieces of meat (like adobo) or vegetables, and use them as ingredient to fried rice the next morning for breakfast. A stir-fry vegetable dish could be toppings to fried noodles. I think of fish balls when there is leftover steamed fish. What’s left of sinaing na tulingan can be made into tuna pasta or tuna omelet. Don’t be surprised that I even made something out of take-away beef rendang!
Shrimp Ball Soup
Have you ever had that feeling when you crave for light, clear, luscious soup especially after a fattening dinner the previous night? As Beijing temperature gets cooler each day and the nights become longer, one can’t help but love all types of soup to get warmed from the inside out. But before I get to that soup recipe here’s how I got inspired to cook it in the 1st place.
The Butterfly Effect
I could say I am back to foodblogging after a couple of busy months and now Mita the Unofficial Cook has tagged me for “The Butterfly Effect,” a meme created by Dan over at SaltShaker. It really is quite an interesting meme as it made me reflect on the important roles of certain items, events and people that has affected my foodie life. So here is how it goes.
Dan says on The Butterfly Effect
My thought in this meme is food items or events that changed your foodie life. Not some “oh it’s the first time I didn’t put jelly on a peanut butter sandwich and used bananas instead” sort of change, unless you truly feel that affected you profoundly. That’s the key – it affected you profoundly, in some manner. A moment you can look back at and say “that was a defining moment”. The questions are simple, the answers might be harder – an item, person, event, or place that had that effect on you, and why. They don’t have to be big splashy things – sometimes it’s something very small and simple that changes the way we view the world – the famed “butterfly effect” (and I’m not talking about the Aston Kutcher movie). So, to those who want to participate, copy this and pass it on (and, if you’re so inclined, do a trackback to the originating post). Here are your categories:
1. An ingredient
2. A dish, a recipe
3. A meal (in a restaurant, a home, or elsewhere)
4. A cookbook or other written work
5. A food ‘personality’ (chef, writer, etc.)
6. Another person in your life
Braised Boneless Pata
I could have easily call this dish humba or even hamonadong pata but certain ingredients are missing such as bean curd, tausi (salted black beans), or pineapple and I don’t intend to confuse my readers with regards to the Philippine cuisine. As I am already perplexed with names and what ingredient goes into what recipe, I choose to simply call it – braised boneless pata. With a decent piece of pork leg and staple pantry items, here’s another melt-in-your-mouth dish.
Beijing’s Halo-halo
The cool breeze is already in the air and I know I need to post my picture of Chinese fruit salad shown above. It is what I call Beijing’s version of Philippine halo-halo, a sweet concoction of different fruits and … Continue reading Beijing’s Halo-halo