I was supposed to post this entry last Sunday for La.PI.S when I found out that a link from my website has been infected by malware. It must be THE “ISKAndals” attracting it… grrr! Just when I was so excited to post for its theme Green!

This site is all malware-free now since Wednesday but I was so tired and stressed out to write not to mention my 2nd all-girls-nite-out in NZ last Thursday… to the blonde Bond’s premiere night. YUM! (Daniel Craig yeah baby!) Dress code: black, stiletto, lipstick.

Okay… enough! Back to green…

Try this very simple recipe you’ll never go wrong. Take out the ginger if you hate it.

Ingredients:
Beef strips
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 onion, sliced thinly
4-5 tbsp of crushed garlic
A piece of ginger, cut into strips
Broccoli florets, stems cut into strips
1 tbsp of cornstarch
salt and pepper

Combine about 5 tablespoon of soy sauce and pepper in a mixing bowl. Stir in beef strips. Set aside, marinate for at least 30 minutes or while preparing the other ingredients.

In another bowl, mix 1/2 cup of water with a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper, cornstarch and the remaining soy sauce. Mix well and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. Fry garlic and ginger until aromatic. Throw in half of the onion slices and stir-fry for a minute. Add in the broccoli and the remaining onion slices and stir-fry for about half a minute. Add about 1/2 cup of water and bring to boil. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer until al dente. Pour in the reserved marinade mixture. Mix thoroughly and cook for about 30 seconds or until sauce thickens. Transfer to a serving platter.

Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of oil in another pan (or the same wok as long as it’s clean of sauce) over high heat until smoking hot. Throw in the beef strips and stir-fry to brown for about 3 to 5 minutes or until cooked through; covering with a lid from time to time. Combine with the cooked vegetables and serve immediately.

Lasang Pinoy, Sundays. Go Green!

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.