“Kinamatisang Manok na may Patatas” (Chicken in Sauteed Tomatoes with Potatoes)

Tomato is a mildly acid red or yellow pulpy fruit eaten as a vegetable. It is native to South America, widely cultivated in many varieties and used almost in all cuisines in the world. The word tomato derives from a word in the Nahuatl language, "tomatl".

This dish is made out of what’s left in my fridge. Hehe! An experimentation again. Anyway, my Little One loves it and it’s easy to make ….


You’ll need:

• 3 tbsps cooking oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely crushed
• 2 large (100 g) red or native onion, finely minced
• ¼ kilo of red plump tomatoes, finely minced
• 2 medium (300 g) potatoes, peeled & cut into wedges
• 1 kilo chicken, cut into small serving pieces
• ¾ tsp of ground black pepper
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• 1 cup rice wash or water
• 2 pcs salted crackers (Skyflakes), finely pounded
• ½ tbsp white sugar
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded & cut into chunks

Here’s how:

1. In a thick bottomed casserole, place over medium-high fire. Put oil, heat lightly. Sauté garlic until golden brown. Add onion and tomatoes. Cook until very soft. Stirring often. Mash. Put potatoes. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or ‘til half-cooked.


2. Put chicken, pepper and fish sauce. Keep sautéing until all liquid evaporates or ‘til fish sauce is fragrant. Add the rest of ingredients. Cover. Reduce fire to low. Simmer for 25-30 minutes or ‘til chicken is tender.


3. Serve with bread or cooked rice.

"Mocha Oatmeal"

My Little One been down with fever and cough for almost two days now. No appetite. I made him this. He ate a little.. . at least! It's tested any dish or meal with tinge of chocolate will make him eat (",)

Good for 2 servings.


You'll need:

• 3 cups water
• 1 tbsp of cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp instant coffee
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 3 tbsps white sugar

Here’s how:

In a casserole over medium-high heat, place water. Cover. Bring to boil. Add cocoa powder and coffee. Stir. Put oats, evaporated milk and sugar. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer in low fire for about 10 minutes or until desired thickness.

Serve immediately.

"Maja Maiz"

In Filipino cuisine, this recipe is classified as "kakanin or panghimagas" or commonly known as dessert. Usually, it is made of real corn, boiled and then scrape off from the cob. Too much time to prepare! (",) I decided to use canned corn instead.


Ingredients:

• 1 can (425g) cream style corn
• 1 brick (250ml) sweetened condensed milk
• a pinch of fine salt
• a tbsp of white sugar (optional)
• a few drops of yellow food color
• coconut cream (kakang-gata):
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 pc (400 g) coconut, grated
• coconut milk (pangalawang gata):
• 1-¾ cup warm water
• (used) coconut, grated

Here’s how:

In a large bowl, place ingredients for coconut cream. Mash and squeeze. Put coconut cream extract in a non-stick wok. Place in medium fire, cook until coconut cream turns to latik. Stirring very often. Set aside.

While cooking the coconut cream. Do the coconut milk, mash and squeeze. Place coconut milk extract in a non-stick medium casserole. Add the first-four ingredients. Mix well. Place over medium-high fire. Stir continuously until it thickens.

Line with banana leaves and lightly grease a “bilao” or platter, or 5 plastic microwavable round containers (250 ml) with coconut oil (from latik). Place and divide cooked mixture into greased containers . Top with latik generously, press latik lightly unto cooked mixture while still hot. Let it cool.

Serve.

"Tochong Bangus" (Milkfish in Salted Tofu and Spices)

Philippine cuisine has its own fermented tofu called “tahuri or tahure” , a salty pickled tofu made by packing cakes of firm molded tofu with salt. No alcohol or brine is used in the process. Matured for several days or months, it becomes a brownish-yellow and acquires a uniquely complex salty flavor.


Ingredients:

• 1 medium (500 g) milkfish (bangus), scaled & gutted, cut into 6 diagonal pieces
• salt
• ¼ cup cooking oil
• ½ head of garlic, finely crushed
• 50 grams ginger, julienne
• 3 large (150 g) red onion, sliced thinly (sauté cut)
• 4 large (200 g) ripe red tomatoes, sliced thinly (sauté cut)
• 1 pc salted tofu (tahure)
• 1 salted egg
• 3-4 tbsps of white native vinegar (depends on how sour you want your dish to be)
• 2 cups rice wash or water
• 1 large (175 g) eggplant, cut at 3” length & quartered
• 2 pcs finger chilis
• 1 tbsp soy sauce

Here’s how:

1. In a bowl, sprinkle the milkfish moderately with salt. Stand for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut and prepare all the vegetables. In a small bowl, mash together salted tofu and salted egg. Set aside.


2. In a non-stick wok, over medium-high heat. Put oil, heat thoroughly. Fry lightly the milkfish on both sides. Set aside.


3. Back to the wok, using the same oil. Put together garlic and ginger. Saute ‘til garlic is rich golden brown. Add onion and tomatoes. Cook until limp. Mash well. Put salted tofu & salted egg mixture. Cook for a minute or two. Keep stirring.


4. Pour the vinegar. Do not stir. Bring to boil. keep boiling for 2minutes or ‘til fragrant.


5. Add rice wash, fried fish, eggplant, chilis and soy sauce. Cover. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 3-5 minutes or ‘til eggplant is done.


6. Serve with warm cooked rice.

“Sopas na may Itlog ng Pugo” (Milky Macaroni Soup with Quail Eggs)

This dish is a soup, usually accompanied with any fried fish or meat. Though, can be served also as a main entrée. Sometimes, as a snack “merienda”.


Ingredients:

• ¼ cup cooking oil
• ½ head of garlic, finely crushed
• 2 large native or red onion, minced
• 100 grams lean ground pork
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• Chicken stock from “Pritong Manok ni Lola” recipe
• 6 cups water
• 1 small can (158 ml) evaporated milk
• ½ tsp of ground black pepper
• 400 grams macaroni
• 1 small (100 g) carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk of minced celery (no leaves & can be optional)
• 24 pcs hard-boiled quail eggs, shelled

Here’s how:

1. In a large casserole, sauté garlic in oil until golden brown in medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook ‘til soft. Place ground pork and fish sauce. Sauté ‘til all liquid evaporates. Add chicken stock and water. Cover. Bring to boil.


2. Put milk, pepper and macaroni. Cover. Bring to boil again. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 12 minutes.


3. Add carrot and celery. Cover. Cook for 3 minutes. Put quail eggs. Cook for another minute.


4. Serve immediately.

“Pritong Manok ni Lola” (Grandma’s Fried Chicken)

This dish is a copy-cat of Max’s Fried Chicken! Yeap, my mother’s idea and recipe. I just added something to soothe my taste preference. We, my brothers and I, grew up eating in Max’s Restaurant occasionally. Way back then, it was really a treat for us! This recipe brings back fond memories of my childhood years (“,)


Ingredients:

• 4 chicken leg quarters, over a kilo in weight
• 6 cups rice wash
• 2 chicken cubes
• 1/3 cup MANG ERNIE’S fish sauce (patis)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• All- purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 cup or more of cooking oil

Here’s how:

1. In a thick bottom casserole, put chicken and rice wash. Cover. Bring to boil. Add the cubes. Cover again. Reduce fire to medium-low. Simmer for an hour. Drain chicken for 15 minutes in a colander. Reserve chicken stock for future use.


2. In a small bowl, combine, fish sauce and pepper. Mix well. Using a fork, prick chicken several times on both sides. Spoon all over the chicken the fish sauce-pepper mixture. At least marinate for 4-6 hours (turning every now & then and spooning the marinade all over the chicken again). Put it inside the refrigerator. Make sure to cover it tightly. To avoid the smell of the fish sauce inside your refrigerator.


3. After 6 hours make sure to remove the excess marinade of the chicken or else it will become too salty. From this point you can stack chicken inside your freezer if you’re not yet going to eat it. Just individually wrap it with plastic.


4. In a deep pan or “kawali”, heat it over medium-high fire. Put oil. Heat it some more (should be smoking hot!). Meanwhile, dust lightly the chicken with flour on both sides. One at a time, fry the chicken on each side for a minute or two or until light golden brown only. Do not over-fry. If you do that the chicken will become too dry. Don’t worry the inside of the chicken is cooked already from boiling. We’re just aiming for a crispy outside texture of the chicken.


5. Serve immediately. It’s great with banana catsup and hot cooked rice.

Note:
This recipe is good for “baon”.

“High-land Veggies Stir-fry with Quail Eggs”

These past few days, my Little One has been bugging me to buy quail eggs. It’s one of his favorites but allergic to it. I finally gave in to his request. Well, he’s been very good with his figure skating lessons. I wanted to reward him for his good work. Though, I know in a day or two it will give him skin rashes. Like always, I’ll patiently apply it with an ointment for a week or two (“,)

Ingredients:

• 15 pcs quail eggs
• salt
• 2-½ tbsps cooking oil
• 1 tbsp of minced garlic
• 1 medium sliced white onion, saute’-cut
• 1 small head, 175 grams, cauliflower, cut into flowerettes
• 1 small head, 125 grams, broccoli, cut into flowerettes
• 1 small, 100 grams, carrot, julienne
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded, cut into chunks
• 1 pack, 125 grams, snow peas, removed both ends
• sesame oil
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/3 tsp ground black pepper, add more if you like
• 2 tbsps oyster sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• ¾ cup water

Here’s how:

1. In a small pot, put quail eggs and salt. Level with water. Place over medium-high heat. Bring to boil. Boil for a minute. Remove from fire. Let it sit for a few minutes. Remove water. Change water until eggs have cooled. Remove the shells.


2. Meanwhile, peel and cut the vegetables.


3. In a bowl, combine the last-five ingredients. Mix well until free from lumps. Set aside.


4. In a wok, using high heat, put oil. Sauté garlic and onion until soft. Add all the veggies. Stir-fry for a minute or until half-tender. Add the mixture of spices. Cook until it thickens or veggies are done. Remove from pan. Drizzle lightly with sesame oil.


5. Serve immediately.

Tito Jonathan's 25th Birthday

It’s Tito Jonathan’s Birthday! We celebrated a little. We had a cake for our merienda. It’s a house rule; if it’s your birthday you get to pick the cake you like. Actually, he doesn’t know what cake in particular he wants. All I know, he likes cake with buttercream icing. So, I decided its Choco-marble cake from Goldilocks. It’s the only cake I know with delicious buttercream icing with a light touch of chocolate!

"Chili-Maple Chicken Wings"

I have a bottle of maple syrup sitting inside my refrigerator for quite sometime now. I was wondering what to do with it before it expires. Just remembered, I have a recipe from a food leaflet that has maple syrup for its ingredient. Well, I’m not the type who will follow the recipe accordingly. I did a little experimenting ….. hehe! Anyhow, it turned out the dish was good. It was like a pecking duck bought in a Chinese restaurant with a tinge of spicyness.


Ingredients:

• ½ kg of chicken wings, cut into two
• A pinch of salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp Spanish paprika
• 2 tbsps liquid savor, garlic
• 2 tbsps liquid savor, hot chili
• 1/3 cup chili sauce
• 5 tbsps pure maple syrup
• ½ cup water
• 2/3 cup cooking oil

Here’s how:

1. Combine all ingredients except for the water and oil. Place in a plastic container. Cover. Chill for a day or at least 8 hours.


2. In a non-stick pan, place the chicken with the marinade. Add water. Place over medium-high heat. Bring to boil. Cook until marinade is light syrupy. Put oil. Fry until both sides of chicken is dark brown in color but not burnt. Place chicken in a platter. Remove oil. Drizzle the thick sauce over chicken.


3. Serve with hot cooked rice and buttered corn & carrot.

"Buttered Corn and Carrot"

Ingredients:

• 1 can (439 g) whole corn kernels, drained & reserved stock
• 3 small, about 200-250 grams of carrot, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup water
• 6 tbsps margarine or salted butter
• 2 tbsps of quickmelt cheese
• Fine salt and ground white pepper

Here’s how:

1. In a casserole, add stock and water. Cover. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Add the carrot. Cook until tender. Drain.


2. In a pan, place butter and cooked carrot. Stir a few times until butter melts. Add corn, salt, white pepper and cheese. Cook for another 30 seconds or until cheese melts.


3. This recipe is good as a side-dish.

"Paksiw na Hasa-hasa" (Short-bodied Mackerel Poached in Vinegar & Spices)

Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish. It is from the family of Scombridae, Carangidae, Hexagrammidae and Gempylidae. They live in all tropical and temperate seas. Common features of mackerels are a slim, cylindrical shape (as opposed to the tunas which are deeper bodied) and numerous finlets on the dorsal and ventral sides behind the dorsal and anal fins. If there are, the scales are very small.

They are prized and are highly harvested for their meat which is often very oily. Also, they are known for their fighting ability and for recreational and commercial fishery. The meat can spoil quickly, especially in the tropics causing scombroid food poisoning. It must be eaten on the day of capture unless cured. For this reason, mackerel is the only common salt-cured sushi.


Ingredients:

• 50 grams of sliced ginger
• 4 pcs, about 350 grams short-bodied mackerel (hasa-hasa), cut into two
• 1 small (100 g) eggplant, quartered & cut at 2” length
• 1 pc finger chili
• 1 tsp rock salt
• ¼ cup native white vinegar (sukang paombong)
• ½ cup water
• 1 tsp of vegetable or cooking oil

Here’s how:

Scrub ginger under running water until all dirt is gone. Slice. Place half of ginger at the bottom of casserole. Place fish. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover. Place over medium-high heat. Bring to boil. Without removing the cover, swirl the casserole a few times. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Note:
Remember always to let your vinegar reach its boiling point before opening the cover or stirring. Uncooked vinegar leaves a ”raw” acidic taste (hilaw na suka) to your dish.

Field Trip

Last August 29, my Little One had their field trip. I accompanied him. We went to Manila Zoo, Kinder Zoo, Planetarium and watched "Aladdin Jr." in Greenbelt Theatre. It's only in the zoo we're allowed to take pictures. Kinder Zoo is inside Manila Zoo. Also, it's a petting zoo. My kiddo was so excited touching and holding the animals, even the python! Well, it only shows he is an animal lover like his father. He even asked me, if we could take home the animals .... he meant all, including the elephant! LOL (",)