Author: Iska

Snacks & Breakfasts5 Comments

Scrambled Eggs with Potato and Tuna

Iska

When I read Sassy’s potato omelet entry for LP7, I promised myself I’m gonna try it the very next day. I wanna do it exactly how she did it but I have some leftover tuna chunks that I decided to include them in mine. Ingredients: 3 eggs, beaten leftover tuna chunks 1 large potato, cut into cubes salt & pepper Fry the potatoes until a little bit browned and crispy like French fries. Pour off the excess oil and add in the left-over tuna. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the eggs and cook slowly, stirring and scraping from … Continue reading Scrambled Eggs with Potato and Tuna

Noodles & Pasta, Soups1 Comment

Chicken Mami

Iska

I’ve been dreaming of cooking chicken mami (noodle soup) since I had miki (flat noodles) soup back home that my sister prepared. Thanks to Karen for her recipe I didn’t have to ask my sis for hers.

I remember dad serving me chicken mami when I was a sick child and beef mami when I was working for overnight projects during my college days. Now it’s me cooking for myself.

Chicken soup is the answer to all these inconsistent weather patterns in Beijing making me wickedly sick with a bad cold.Anyways, here is how I prepared mine using Chinese-style dry noodles instead of fresh noodles.

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Seafood4 Comments

Calamari Relleno

Iska

For my kind of work, I read or browse tru mags and books or surf the net for inspiration before I start conceptualizing for new designs. It goes without saying that I also do this to plan ahead about what to cook. As I always check out fellow pinoy food blogs for recipes I haven’t tried or the ones that seems forgotten, I found one about stuffed pusit (squid) that teleported me back to my dad’s old office when I was a little girl. There was some kind of a celebration, must be the opening of the office itself or the company’s anniversary, and one of mom’s main dish was a huge stuffed squid.

How I did it here is slightly different from how she prepared hers as I watched the whole process. The squid she cooked was really gigantic it looked bloated w/ filling, the ends closed w/ stitches. She deep fried the squid w/ oil while I chose to roll mine on butter. But the rest of the procedure and ingredients are exactly the same. The result – wonderfully tender squid stuffed with minced pork, onions, garlic and tomatoes.

I’ve also read about the tentacles being chopped and included in the filling. In another recipe, raw egg is also to be blended with the meat mixture. All these I will surely try next time. In the meantime, here is how I did it.

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Vegetables3 Comments

Stir-fry Pork with Peapods

Iska

I remember those days a long time ago every time we were in a Chinese restaurant I always wonder how they can cook the meat so tender in such a short time whilst the vegetable remain crisp and the sauce thick and bubbly. I observed firsthand a real northern Chinese cook their veggies (of course, ate Vi our enterpreter here), tried few stir-fry recipes I found online, discovered the technique myself and now I couldn’t stop experimenting w/ different vegetables.
Here’s another easy stir-fry recipe for those like me w/ a busy sched. You may replace the pork here with beef and the cooking time is still the same as long as the meat is thinly sliced.

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Snacks & Breakfasts9 Comments

LP7: Tosilog for Almusal

Iska

Almusal means breakfast and it’s an essential part of every Filipino’s day. At least before life sneakily speeded up its pace to breakneck and McDonald’s had a drive-thru. It’s the fuel we need to start a day of hard work… whether it be tilling the fields or trudging through the corporate jungle. Lasang Pinoy 7: Gising na! ALMUSAL! – 80 Breakfasts When we were kids, with the exception of pandesal, champorado and oatmeal, almusal (breakfast) was always heavy and hearty with sinangag so as not to hear your stomach growl before lunchtime. Ulam (main dish) would either be tuyo (dried … Continue reading LP7: Tosilog for Almusal

Poultry, Soups4 Comments

My Version of Tinolang Manok

Iska

I came upon an article by the pilgrim on tinolang manok where she mentioned substitute ingredients especially for green papayas. Here is my version. Got it from a colleague of mine about a couple of years ago who cooked it with potatoes as there are neither green papayas nor chayote here in Beijing. (Hmmm, I remember buying chayote once…) The taste is definitely unlike nilaga but the yummy taste and texture of potatoes give it a distinct flavor. Also, like most tinola recipes I found online, he also saute the chicken instead of boiling it the way my mom does … Continue reading My Version of Tinolang Manok

Pork8 Comments

Pork & Apple Stew

Iska

I checked my stats and the most visited pages are my hamonado recipes followed by sinaing na tulingan, patatim, tocino and skinless longgonisa. My hamonado is actually not ham-cured; like my tocino, it has no curing processes whatsoever to preserve food such as standard longganisa, ham, fish, cheese, sausage, or vegetables. It is just a term my dad uses when referring to a big chunk of meat stewed with sweetener for hours. Frankly, I cook this hamonado at least once a month, of course with variations. It is, for me, like adobo – a versatile dish. I use chicken or pork or even beef. Sweeten the meat with fruit juice like pineapple juice, fruit cocktail syrup, pineapple chunks, apples, raisins or just plain sugar. Serve it with steamed vegetables – potatoes, carrots, beans, snowpeas, or even tomatoes, whatever is available. Don’t be surprised if I tell you I have quite a number of pictures waiting to be published.

So here is another one… apple-flavored!

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Musings3 Comments

Xinnian Kuai Le!

Iska

Tonight is the eve of the Spring Festival or commonly known as the Chinese New Year – the most important festival or holiday for the Chinese people. It falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month and is celebrated like Christmas for Pinoys. So here are just few facts that I observed for the past years…

1. No meeting with Clients, Consultants, or suppliers. Basically everybody is on vacation for a month or even more.

2. Constructions are also on hold as migrant workers go back to their hometowns.

3. 2 weeks from the festival is the busiest time for transportation systems – the airport, train stations, long-distance bus stations, the subway.

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Appetizers11 Comments

LP6: Adobong Isaw

Iska

My chosen field is said to be a man’s world. Back in college where one interacts with more males and t-squares than females, important and close friendships between opposite sexes is as natural as breathing. And after each semester of hard work and sleepless nights, breaks and summer vacations were celebrated with parties full of booze. (Parents, no need to worry. As long as you know who your kids’ friends are there is no reason to panic.)

The 1st time we had a drinking spree at home was my 19th birthday and that day marked the beginning of a series of inuman either with friends and relatives. My parents were always there enjoying every bit – mom drinking liters of cola while dad with just half a bottle of beer that’s consumable for the whole night.Social drinking eventually played a huge part in my kind of work for a lot of reasons. Dealing with colleagues, clients, consultants, suppliers, contractors, even laborers. Also like Ting said, drinking is a way of unwinding. It’s a person’s way of de-stressing from a hard day’s knock although now it’s been quite a while since I went into such a pinoy-style gathering and my tolerance to alcohol has diminished considerably.

Pulutan is a kind of food that is served as accompaniment to a drink. It comes in different kinds like meat, fish, nuts, chips. It’s prepared in different ways… fried, steamed. Basically, it is anything that makes drinking enjoyable.

Source: Lasang Pinoy 6 : Let’s wash it down with booze!

Too bad I forgot what Dad & Mom normally prepared for pulutan. My guess, menudo or inihaw na tilapia (broiled tilapia over live charcoal). With my friends, I do remember that isaw has always been a favorite. It could be IUD (chicken intestines) from a street vendor (IUD photo is courtesy of GUTS. GRIT. GUMPTION.) or crispy chitterlings as prepared by my friend’s mom. Here in Beijing we occasionally go to this English bar with Pinoy musicians, an equally Pinoy chef, and among our favorites are sisig (a sizzling dish of spicy chopped pork head & liver) and chicharong baboy (pork rinds).

However, when it comes to pulutan it’s the other way around over here as it is alcohol that accompanies food. The Chinese traditionally drink while eating so you can imagine the scenario as it’s considered improper to say no to the host especially if he’s our Client. Gan Bei! ( Pronounced ‘gam bay’, meaning ‘dry cup’) You are expected to empty the glass. The good thing is that drinking with food decreases the rate of alcohol absorption and may also reduce the amount consumed.

For LP6, here is the recipe of our carinderia adobong isaw ng baboy (stewed chitterlings, chit’lins or pork intestines, whatever) as I remember it from my Dad. It’s not standard turo turo (eatery) food but a delicacy especially popular with the common masses served as pulutan. Oh was I glad to find that the chitlins being sold here in supermarkets are really clean.

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Musings8 Comments

10 random (and weird) facts about iska

Iska

I haven’t started cooking for LP6 and I am already listing down 10 random facts about myself that most of my readers don’t know. I’ve been tagged by Ces of essenCes for this ‘too much info’ meme. Half-tagged, I guess, and this is my 2nd meme. The 1st one is food-related. Anyways, I decided to list down what I find interesting, amusing, funny or even weird… 1. I remember quite vividly some scenes during my very 1st birthday. 2. I was a member of my HS choir despite my lack of talent in singing. 3. I was about 6-7 years … Continue reading 10 random (and weird) facts about iska

Snacks & Breakfasts4 Comments

Corned Beef

Iska

What else am I going to miss? Corned beef. When Ate (my sis) was here autumn last year, I told her we couldn’t find corned beef in Beijing so she gave me some in packets to bring back here. Now we’ve finished the last packet. Sobs! On the other hand, one can always prepare his/her corned beef. I may do that some other time…

What is it about Philippine brand corned beef? Purefoods, swifts, argentina, even rodeo (do we still have it?), you name it. They’re really great especially the chunky ones (or I just miss the taste of it). Not even those imported brands from the mideast, NZ and or even from down under can compare. That’s just my opinion of course and I think I should try those from the US and Ireland…


… other Irish people feel that Corned Beef and cabbage is about as Irish as Spaghetti and meatballs. That beef was a real delicacy usually served only to the kings.

Source: The History and Irish Tradition of Corned Beef

I normally cook corned beef 2 ways and serve them one time – 1 sauteed and another 1 soupy w/ potatoes. Check it out…

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Musings7 Comments

Tableas: Hot Choco Drink & Champorado

Iska

Uh oh, the last of the Batangas tableas from my mom are gone! Can’t get enough of hot choco drink and champorado (chocolate rice as Cean calls it, which is like chocolate-flavored rice porridge). We’d surely miss the taste of these delightful chocolate tablets (or balls?) made from native cacao.

I was just thinking of writing down how I prepared the above but I read about the history of chocolate and I couldn’t resist the urge to share it. To summarize it all, the culinary use of cacao (or Theobroma which means ‘food for the gods’) especially as a beverage, is said to be 1st developed in what is now Mexico. It was passed on from the old inhabitants such as the lowland Maya to the other inhabitants of central Mexico. The Aztecs, in particular, took it to new heights of significance. The Spaniards then picked up the habit, the royals married to the French, and soon the choco drink became popular to Europeans just like coffee and tea. How the cacao plant reached the Philippines sometime in 1670 and how our ancestors experimented w/ this lovingly meticulous cacao processing that made it Filipino is another story I would rather hear from a qualified researcher. Like how true is this story of Spanish immigrant Jose Maria Pueo who arrived in the country and founded a chocolate factory in post-Colonial Intramuros. And I’m sure you’ve heard of tsokolate-eh (thick choco drink) preferred by Intramuros – affluent families and Spanish friars, as well as tsokolate-ah – the indio’s (poor man’s) watered down version from Joji.

The Mayan Indians of Central America and the Aztec Indians of Mexico were the original cultivators of cacao beans. They were growing cacao well before Columbus discovered America. Botanists believe that the cacao tree originated in the Amazon river basin in South America. In 1528, Hernando Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, took some cacao beans to Spain. In 1606 the beans were introduced into Italy. and shortly after, people in Austria and France began to use them. By 1707 cocoa had become a fashionable beverage in London. Through the 17th century until early 1900’s the Spanish religious community built a reputation for high quality production of cooking chocolate, which they called ‘Tableas’.

Source: Ground Organic Chocolate (Cacao)

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