Auckland’s temperature gets cooler and cooler each day and how I miss Daddy’s bulalo (bone marrow soup) to get warmed from the inside out. Browsing through tons of food pics in my hard drive, I found these photos of my bulalo cooked back in Beijing. Probably during one of those terrible cold winter days.
Yeesss! Fresh salmon fish head is cheap and probably every single pinoy family I know in this part of the world use it for sinigang! And so the day came when I sort of think what’s good for sinigang must also be good for sinaing. Galing ko ano? Alternative to tulingan wala na naman akong magawa hehehehe…
Tried it twice already as a side dish. The result? The kiddo said “nanay, it’s so delicious!” Need I say more?
I have been thinking of this post ever since I moved into our 1st apartment in Auckland late last month. Kaso hindi ako makakuha ng magandang shot kaya pwede na ito. And I was always in a rush. So here’s a sneak peek into my brand new kitchen! Nothing spectacular, just a cozy, efficient one with a breakfast bar that separates it from the living spaces. I’d probably take a more decent photo when my budget allows me to spend for accessories and bar chairs.
The steak…
NZ beef and lamb is just so tender, flavorful and gorgeous. It’s remarkably simple and quick to prepare and for a busy working mom, it’s always a good idea to have a fabulous steak dinner at least once a week.
Continue reading “Succulent Pan-fried Steak & My 1st Kitchen in NZ”
My 1st month back in Auckland has been really stressful, won’t elaborate on that as I don’t wanna bore you with my angst. It would be better if I just share a recipe for Lasang Pinoy 23. I am late, sorry Lorraine, but here it is… braised pork spareribs. An old photo of one I cooked back in Beijing either during a very busy day or a matter of “this-is-what’s-left-to-cook.”
This is so simple with very basic ingredients and I did pan-fry the spare ribs before slow-cooking but you can omit that part and it would taste just as good.
I love rice but when it comes to getting imaginative with cooking featuring rice, I’m afraid I can not rice to the challenge. Naku, kung hindi ako nagkakamali... I could only go as far as cooking arroz caldo and lugaw. But despite my busy schedule and jet lag (yeah, surprise, surprise! I am having a 2-week vacation back in Beijing!), I just couldn’t miss an LP round.
Here is a quick and simple recipe for egg fried rice that I usually prepare for breakfast to go with anything fried like tuyo, dilis (dried anchovies), longgonisa, tocino and the likes. Beware… it may not be for you. He he he I don’t wanna be responsible if you get Salmonella bacteria so just go check out this site before trying it.
This beautiful entry is written by Erwin Ines for Lasang Pinoy 22 – Rice to the Challenge hosted by Cooked from the Heart. Blogging from Toronto, Canada, this is Erwin’s 3rd time to join Lasang Pinoy. Read his other articles listed here.
Tubong Lugaw
Outside is totally white and blustery. Toronto is experiencing one hell of a storm today; the worst after nearly sixty years as the radio announced very early this morning. Unfortunately, today is a Sunday, and I’m scheduled to work, and I did. I worked for 3.5 hours from my usual 8 or 9; being cut off as customers slowly trickled into the restaurant. I expected to be cut. I volunteered to be cut. I anticipated it, but the idea of working 7 days a week for the next 3 weeks is beyond me. A few hours reprieve from the kitchen is a big sigh of relief. I also get the chance to clean my apartment; cook dinner and what have you.
Upon leaving work, I decided to pass by the liquor store and bought a couple of bottles of Soju, a strong Korean spirit that I’ve learned to drink on cold, nasty weather like this one. It’s also cheaper compared with Canadian Whiskey or Vodka. Soon, I know, I’ll be cooking with them. But whatever, wine just doesn’t cut it for me anymore. I’ve also thought of drowning myself in Rum maybe over the holidays just to keep myself warm and upbeat every morning when I wake up to do the same bloody routine again until the 31st. Jamaican Rum’s alcohol level is at 63%, much stronger than Soju, and sure does provide that healthy kick and punch, if drank moderately.
In Manila, where the climate is as hot and humid as a car’s muffler, some kind of deep-fried spicy food with white vinegar and an ice cold San Miguel provides that comfort. In my case, I’d stick to those hot egg noodle soups topped with beef or chicken and paired with the best tea in Manila’s Chinatown. They are just perfect before or after my weekly Tai Chi classes, next to Dim sum (chicken feet!!). One of my favourites however, is the Chicken or Plain Congee. It’s just magic, and I never knew how it was so easy to prepare, until now.
I have always liked my ampalaya (bitter melon) chunky and crispy, sauteed with tomatoes and served sizzling with thick sauce, Chinese-style. But mama, my friend T‘s mom, cooks it differently. Notice the thin ringlets sans tomato color, they’re light green that you may say they’re overcooked but I couldn’t say it ain’t yummy because the truth is… I love it! Mama didnt go into the trouble of trying to de-bitter the vegetable and lose the vital nutrients but it’s really surprising the dish wasn’t bitter at all. Hmm… is it NZ bitter melon or I just have high tolerance for bitter flavor?
My teammate has resigned (oh my, oh why? should I be worried?) and yesterday lunch was some sort of a farewell gathering for him. After scanning the menu I finally ordered Singapore Fried Noodles. Wala lang. Not nice. Ba’t kaya ganon? I’ve been around frequenting Asian restaurants, canteen, even crazy noodle houses and stuff like that but I can only name 1 or 2 that are really good. Hmm… I’ve never really been around a lot anyway so I still have a lifetime to find that perfect place to quench my occasional craving. Should have been back to my regular cooking.
Crispy pata has become my craving of the week lately. How I miss crunching crispy mouth-watering pork rind with succulent meat inside. So for the meantime, I am stuck here staring tulo-laway at the photo of this crispy delight I cooked months ago back in Beijing.
Just wanna share this Kai Yang chicken dish I prepared few months ago back in Beijing. Oh this one is easy. I used a little help from a packet of Thai instant marinade mixture. The packet says it has soybean oil, sugar, garlic, soy sauce, salt, lemongrass, coriander, pepper, tumeric, so if we don’t have it maybe we can just buy these ingredients and come up with something pretty similar. Grilled or deep-fried.
I just had another one of my very few cooking adventures in NZ. My friend’s sis K celebrated her birthday and I whipped up spaghetti Bolognese with a hint of pinoy of course. What with the sausages and a little sugar and whatnots… the kids just love it! Uhmm… yeah the “big kids” love it, too.
Before I go on with the how-to, I apologize for not having a photo of it taken. I was kinda busy that day photographing people instead of food (so un-me). Above was taken back in Beijing, cooked in a similar way though but with Italian herbs and Parmesan cheese.
Outstation again and I’m calling it a day after hours of working on a new project. But before I take a shower and watch the season finale of CSI tonight at AXN Asia, lemme share this recipe; another variation of peapods stir-fry. (Yeah, I have all my food photos with me for blogging hehehehehe….) Not only a much simpler method than the one with cornstarch for a thicker sauce, this is also about meat and vegetables in its natural flavor you’re gonna love even the crunchy onion slices.
Since I spend longer time in Hebei now (read: less cooking, more hotel food), I will start publishing those dishes I cooked few months ago and just got stacked up inside my hard drive. Here’s one, a very simple recipe for lightly fried yet succulent and tender squid rings.
My recent trip to Hebei’s capital was like taking part in a week-long celebration of a Barrio Fiesta. As we all know, the pinoy fiesta table is overflowing with food served buffet-style. Do check them out before reading this post. … Continue reading Lasang Pinoy 19 – Pork Barbecue
The last time I tried cooking kare-kare was decades ago but let’s not start counting please. That was back in HS with the help of my dad and sis. It wasn’t even successful as the beef tripe was tough and chewy my teeth still hurts just thinking about it. Fate never led me to cook it again ever since. This stew in peanut sauce isn’t really one of my favorites and anyhoo, I had my regular dose occasionally. But not anymore. Bagoong alamang (fermented shrimp paste) isn’t something that a pinoy in Beijing can easily get and I have no idea where to find atsuete (annatto seeds). So our cravings for kare-kare get intense each day until I asked A if he’d go as far as touch it even without the condiment. He said yes and I almost dance with joy! I googled recipes online; settled with those from Connie and the Marketman. I was particularly inspired by Connie’s as she doesn’t use bagoong at all. Not that I don’t like the stuff but because I don’t have it and I just can’t wait for the next bottle to reach me from Manila or Hongkong.
So here is my version of kare-kare sans annatto seeds, banana heart and bagoong alamang – our lunch one weekend more than a month ago. I like kare-kare with pork rind that literally melts in your mouth so I used pork hocks instead of beef tripe to go with oxtail. I used mortar and pestle to pound rice and peanuts and yeah I am not good at it. Oh well, I struggled for weeks with the idea of whether to blog it or not. Thought about making it an entry for Lasang Pinoy – Barrio Fiesta but no, I’d think of another one for that event. As you can see in the photos, the color doesn’t seem right but by the way A ate plate after plate with gusto, I take it as really good! Or just another case of “absence makes the heart grows fonder”.
So you think one can’t cook a decent meal when barely coping with deadline overload? Do it my way then. For once let’s forget the quickies a.k.a. stir-fry recipes and go for leisurely cooking while working… like pork hamonado. The … Continue reading Pork Hamonado – The Real Deal