Poultry7 Comments
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A Simple Chinese Chicken Recipe

Iska

Yeah it’s been a while I know. I’ve been really busy meeting submission deadlines, a larger than usual pile on my table that I only had time to write about Lasang Pinoy. And of course a lot of extracurricular activities not to mention the amount of time I spent updating the links in this blog.

So let’s get back to what I think I do best… whipping up some quick recipes with my limited time and whatever I find inside the pantry. Ahh I found this bottle of Chinese marinade. What’s in it? Only the Chinese knows but I spent few renminbi for it. Here’s what I did with it on chicken wings and few spices.

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Soups19 Comments

LP12 – Starry Nilagang Baka

Iska

Ex-colleague Ces‘ LP theme is truly interesting especially for us who live abroad. For more than a decade, my eating habits include appreciating foreign cuisine through dining out on a regular basis and Pinoy cooking at home as the craving for lasang Pinoy will never go away. I blogged about quite a few fusion recipes before and since I am here in Beijing I had the urge to share one with Northern Chinese influence for LP12. I could easily whip up a quick Chinese-looking stir-fry dish that would still taste distinctly Pinoy. Since one won’t find a Filipino store around … Continue reading LP12 – Starry Nilagang Baka

Soups, Vegetables11 Comments
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Munggo (Guisado or Soup)

Iska

Creamy or soupy, munggo (mung bean) is definitely Pinoy soul food. Cold rainy days and we just love it with fried fish. Summertime and it is still munggo that we crave for. There are also many ways to enjoy it as it could be paired with just about anything – from fried bangus (milkfish) or tilapia and tuyo (dried salted fish) to adobong manok at baboy. You may also add in hibi (dried shrimps), use pata (pork leg) for a flavorful broth or just plain monggo soup sprinkled with chicharon pork cracklings. And just like sinigang na baboy, the veggies I include in it depends on what’s available. Back home, talbos ng ampalaya (bitter gourd tendrils) is a runaway favorite, even dahon ng malunggay (moringa leaves). In Beijing, I can only play around with talong, sitaw and ampalaya (string beans, eggplant and bitter gourd).


Mix it with home-made chicharon. . .


Top it with fried daing bought from a tiangge (flea market) at the Worker’s Stadium that tastes exactly like it’s from Manila.


As A likes it, creamy with Chinese chorizo. Oh well I never tried that before until now and it turned out surprisingly delicious!

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Musings16 Comments

LPXI – Saba Con Hielo

Iska

When it’s summer in the Philippines, everybody thinks of halo-halo – a mixture of sweet beans, macapuno (sweet coconut meat), langka (jackfruit), pinipig (toasted and flattened glutenous rice), saba banana, sago (pearl balls) and sugar, filled with crushed ice and milk, and topped with ice cream, ube (sweet yam) and leche flan. Not me. I’ll pick saba con hielo over any other pinoy dessert on any given day. Call it whatever you like – minatamis na saging, banana with ice, saging con yelo. I just love this stuff.

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Appetizers, Pork, Snacks & Breakfasts4 Comments

Siomai and Fried Dumplings

Iska

Whenever we crave for siomai or dim sum, we go to our favorite Cantonese restaurant. Not so fond of Beijing jiaozi (Northern Chinese dumplings) so I was so ecstatic to find Karen’s famous basic siomai recipe. Go check it out. I followed what was written there (except I didn’t have singkamas) including making my own wrappers. Here’s my 1st attempt – not perfect (yet) but I’m posting it anyway. Those in the photos taste good! How come I find them not perfect? 1. I don’t think they look good. I need to know how to wrap them nicely. Did few … Continue reading Siomai and Fried Dumplings

Vegetables4 Comments

Upo Guisado with Shredded Daing

Iska

I’ve been cooking stir-fry dishes Chinese style for so long I miss the way mom does it – gulay guisado Pinoy-style (Philippine-style sauteed vegetables). This takes additional minutes of cooking time. Meat isn’t cooked over high heat for few minutes or so. Instead, cooked with its own juice over low heat until it renders fat. Here is ginisang upo with daing (sauteed bottle gourd with dried fish) – one of those simple, easy-to-cook, everyday Pinoy dishes.

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Pork, Poultry4 Comments

Mom’s Soupy Adobong Baboy

Iska

I remember mom’s adobo is devoid of vegetables and always dry and dark with soy sauce. Yet last December, she surprised me with her new version – really soupy and with potatoes. Our family loves soup in meals so a soup dish like nilaga, tinola or sinigang is always a hit. This soupy version of adobo didn’t fail. After all, pouring soup over rice is in fact a Pinoy custom. Ingredients: 1/2 kilo pork (w/ fat), cut into chunks 2 tbsp crushed garlic 2 medium-sized potatoes, cut into chunks 1/2 cup vinegar 1/2 cup soy sauce salt and peppercorns 2 … Continue reading Mom’s Soupy Adobong Baboy

Poultry6 Comments

Chicken Hamonado with Green Raisins

Iska

Quite busy for weeks I didn’t have time to blog so here’s another easy recipe. It’s basically the same as my 1st chicken hamonado post but instead of fruit juice, I used what was left of our raisin snack. Ingredients: 2 large chicken thigh/leg 1 tbsp. of crushed garlic 1 onion, chopped 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup Chinese green raisins 2 tbsp. of sugar salt & crushed peppercorns leak, julienned Mix the above ingredients in a pot. Pour enough water to cover the chicken and simmer until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is thick. Continue reading Chicken Hamonado with Green Raisins

Musings18 Comments

LP10 – Ang Prutas, Bow!

Iska

An Entry to Lasang Pinoy 10 – Food Memories from your Childhood hosted by Buhay Cucinero. I did try thinking about other food memories from my childhood but couldn’t single out another one that could trigger more fond memories than those I’ve already written months ago in a meme with the same theme. My dad, who has such a green thumb, planted lots of fruit-bearing trees around our home that one may get lost finding it. Star apples, coconut trees (including macapuno, freak coconut full of soft meat), chico, santol, mangoes, papaya, guyabano or soursop, atis or sugar-apple, banana (finger-like … Continue reading LP10 – Ang Prutas, Bow!

Musings14 Comments

This Blog’s 1st Birthday!

Iska

Today marks the 1st anniversary of Edible Experiments! A total of 82 recipes if I counted correctly. Not much but not bad for a working mom though I still have lots of food photos waiting to be published.

I cook and I forget the little details so I write them down. That’s how it goes. But clearly it has meant much more than that. I’ve met wonderful people and new friends. I got reacquainted with old colleagues and relatives around the globe. I now see Filipino culture through food in a different light. I’ve encouraged friends to blog and join Lasang Pinoy events. I even hosted LP8! I’ve also learned a lot from other foodblogs – new recipes, techniques – and marveled at their own stories. From all these I believe my cooking got better.

Most of the recipes I’ve posted are about simple home-style cooking but every time a reader writes me about how great a recipe is from this blog – of course after being kitchen-tested – I feel great. I even get requests from time to time. There are also those who write to share their own tricks that I do appreciate very much. So for my blog’s birthday, I prepared a PDF file of few recipes published here ready for download . Not much and not that special but I do hope they would be helpful.

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Musings3 Comments

Life’s Simple Pleasures

Iska

Tagged by Ajay (and a pleasure being called beautylicious), I am now tagging Lani and favorite tagmates Ces and Mike with this meme about describing your top 10 simple pleasures in life. (Wanna tag Toni but Vina beats me to the punch.  ) Ajay said “be original with your answers and not repeat those which have already been written by your circle of friends”.  Her list is so interesting I had a difficult time completing mine. Funny how hard it is to think about simple things I got stucked at no. 9 for days. 1. Looking at that photo of … Continue reading Life’s Simple Pleasures

Musings2 Comments

Spring Fruits

Iska

Beijing weather is getting too warm for spring it looks like I am gonna miss soon all the fruits that the season brings. As always, that Russian store nearby offers fabulous fruits like this pineapple. I thought of making pinya turon (pineapple spring rolls) out of the leftovers but unfortunately my wrappers got molds before I had the time to make my turon experiment ala-Mirsbin’s apple turon and inspired by Mcdo’s pineapple pie. I might do the apple turon as Fuji apples seem available anytime of the year. These strawberries are really great! Sweet and crisp we didn’t even think … Continue reading Spring Fruits