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…

Ingredients:
1 can (or 1 packet) of corned beef
1 tbsp of chopped garlic
1 small onion (half chopped, half cut into rings)
1 medium size potato, cut into small cubes
soy sauce
salt & pepper
1 tbsp of ketsup (surprised? got this a long time ago from Joji & the taste is just fabulous!)

Saute the garlic in as little oil as possible until golden brown. Add the chopped onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Then add the corned beef, a tbsp of soy sauce, a dash of salt & pepper and a tbsp of ketsup. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Set aside in a platter topped with raw onion rings. (Yeah i know, the picture above doesn’t show onion rings.)

Scoop about 3 tbsp of the cooked corned beef and put them back into your cooking pan. Add 2-3 cups of water and bring to boil. Season to taste. Add the potatoes and cook until done. Serve hot w/ the sauteed corned beef or enjoy a meal of corsilog – corned beef served w/ sinangag at itlog (fried rice as shown above and egg – missing from my photo).

About The Author: 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.