Vegetables1 Comment
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Pork and Peapods Stir-fry

Iska

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.

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Snacks & Breakfasts20 Comments
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How Do You Like Your Canned Sardines?

Iska

Back in Beijing, it’s no use buying a lot of fresh goods to cook as we spend little time here and days of eating gourmet food made us crave for simpler things in life. So for three days, we had hotdogs, omelet, sauteed long beans and cucumber salad fresh from our Client’s orchard, spaghetti with bacon and sausages tossed in olive oil as requested by the kiddo, and canned goods such as tuna chunks, corned beef hash and of course, sardines. Back home, canned sardines is a staple for breakfast and the pantry should always have at least a can in stock. According to Mike, wag isnabin… it’s also a gourmet delight!

So how do you like your sardines? Plain and uncooked? Stir-fried with egg? With misua? With a little vinegar? Sauteed with tomatoes and onions? Now this sounds like a fun meme! Hmmm… then I’d like to tag Mike and Toni and Anne and if you think you like canned sardines… you are also tagged!

As for me, it all depends on the brand and here we fell in love with a local brand. The sauce is tasty and sweet; maybe because tomatoes here are sweet. If it’s just me, I’ll be happy to have it uncooked with diced raw onion, salt and pepper.

But for A, everything must always be cooked. So here is one of the many ways he likes it – sauteed with onions till dry.

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Dining OutLeave a comment
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Back from Hebei

Iska

I just got back from Beijing from a week-long on-site job and feel oh so tired. Work was more exhausting and more late nights spent. I was also not in the mood of photographing food like last time but of course, I just have to share some. It was a much-needed break though… not to cook that long. Hopefully tomorrow I’d be back to my normal food blogging.

It’s Chinese culture to drink wine and liquor while dining. And it’s improper to say no to a toast. Lunch time and our Client gave a toast A couldn’t say no to. He gave me his third shot. Ahahaha! 58% alcohol and my head spun around!

Chinese fried noodles, chicken lollipops, baked scallop, spicy pork ribs, celery and shrimp salad.

Spicy chicken curry, steamed shrimps and mussels, steak in pepper sauce, fresh sliced cucumber and cherry tomatoes, steamed green leafy vegetables.

I enjoyed Japanese food very much especially Sashimi.

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Dining Out3 Comments
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Hebei Days 7 & 8 and Back to Beijing!

Iska

See Hebei Days 5 & 6

Note: Photo to your left is A‘s ice cream; background shows a view of the capital’s train station.

Day 7 – Thursday
I guess I had too much salad greens and my tummy is so used to my cooking I didn’t feel good on the 7th day. I didn’t have dinner the night before except for a few bites and had a glass of Chinese tea for breakfast. For lunch I decided to skip the fibers and go more meaty and carb. Slices of deep-fried crispy pork, deep-fried duck, Urimqi-flavored lamb, barbequed eel and fried Chinese noodles. I just can’t help but get Waldorf salad and a piece of that delightful cream puff topped with peaches.

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Dining Out2 Comments
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Hebei Days 5 & 6

Iska

See Hebei Day 4.

Day 5 – Tuesday

Day 5, which was exactly a week ago, was still a busy day. For lunch on our fifth day, mixing appetizer and main course is as natural as breathing. I had my seafood platter – oyster, mussels, clams and crab with fresh veggie salad on the side.

My usual steak, steamed seafood and potato salad are now mixed with bacon-wrapped sausages, deep-fried chicken lollipops, and spicy steamed fish head and mussels.

Slices of fresh fruits, yoghurt cotta and… tada! Snow egg with sake for 5 consecutive days!

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Dining Out6 Comments
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Hebei Days 3 & 4

Iska

See Hebei Days 1 & 2

Day 3 – Sunday

Rest day. We had breakfast at KFC as requested by the kiddo. We went around checking what Shi Jia Zhuang has to offer. For years, we’ve been so swamped up with work in this town we seldom go out. This time we spent the morning window shopping. Drooled over brand new laptops, checked out the prices of 2nd hand ones and found lots of places to buy cheap clothes. Even high-end shopping centers offer large discount for summer outfits. Oh well… summer will soon be over anyway.

Back to Cafe Panorama for lunch. For appetizer, I still had steamed mussels and oyster, plus succulent shrimps, deep-fried hard-boiled eggs, fresh vegetable salad and a bowl of hearty minestrone soup.

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Beef & Lamb8 Comments
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Kare-kareng Kulang-kulang

Iska

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”.

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Musings7 Comments

Para sa Makulit na Pagsisiyasat ni Toni

Iska

I know some of my readers are non-pinoys especially those of you frequenting my site for that killer recipe to impress (or kill) your pinoy partners. My apologies. This post is in Tagalog.

Ika nga ni Toni, break muna! Break muna ako ng dalawang araw. Grabeng trabaho ang ginawa namin nitong mga nakaraang araw. Puyatan kaya pahinga muna kami. Nanood ng Philippine Bayanihan Dance Troupe kahapon. Korek! Dito sa Beijing yan… alay ng embahada ng Pilipinas sa mga Pinoy dito para sa pagdiriwang ng Philippine Independence Day. Pagkatapos nun ay kumain sa isang restaurant para lang makakuha ng libre ng isang partikular na magasin dito para sa mga expats; isyu ng buwan na ito na naglalaman ng mga pagmumukha ng anak ko (O di ba nga naman… bukas o sa makalawa ay i-post ko naman din yun kasama ng pagkain namin). Kasama na din sa aming “pahinga” ay ang paglilinis ng bahay at internet na walang humpay kaya napagtuunan ko ng husto ang makulit na pagsisiyasat ni Toni. (Pagsisiyasat: tagalog ng survey – mula sa impormasyong galing kay Lisa.) Heto ang aking mga kasagutan…

Ano ang iyong almusal kanina?
Kape at donuts na nabili namin kahapon sa Carrefour, ininit sa microwave. Kakaibang donuts ang Chinese donuts kase hindi ito nababalutan ng asukal. Kaya si A may katabing asukal kung saan nya sinasawsaw ito.

Ikaw ay may itlog – nilagang itlog. Paano mo ito kakainin?
Isasawsaw ko lang sa asin at kakainin ng mga tatlo hanggang apat na subuan.

Ano ang paborito mong local na junkfood?
Chippy!

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Seafood, Vegetables9 Comments
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Shrimps, Pumpkin and Long Beans in Coconut Milk

Iska

Though I still maintain a balanced diet for me and my family, I think being-slender-is-in-my-genes-I-can-eat-what-I-want is no longer the right attitude. Carbs and fats are slowly yet surely getting into my system (and metabolism) nowadays. Ahaha yeah… I had my wake-up call. The website of a magazine for expats in Beijing has our photo in their gallery and… my goodness! They should have told me they’ll take my picture so I was able to hold my breath for a while and say ‘cheese’. I definitely put on some weight… or is it just the angle? On a lighter note, that particular photo captured A and I in one of our moments in our sweetest smiles.

Oh well… and so I decided to cut on my rice intake and eat more veggies instead. Without the usual 4-hour brisk walking for the next 2 months, I hope this works. Haha enough sulking.

I still have a cup of coconut milk left from the Thai Green Curry I cooked the other day and instantly I thought about setting it aside for a veggie dish. I bought the usual shrimps and decided to use a bowlful for guinataang gulay (vegetable in coconut milk). Yummy! Our lunch last Saturday!

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