Stewed Mung Beans with Coconut Milk [Ginataang Monggo]

this recipe is a long overdue request of my friend Joey.  i hope he enjoys cooking it and enjoys eating it more. =D

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp. cooking oil

4-5 cloves [or more] garlic, minced

1 medium [or large] onion, roughly sliced

2-3 [or more] ripe tomatoes, seeded and quartered [optional]

1/4 kilo [or more] pork belly or pork ribs, cut in bite-sized pieces, rubbed with salt and pepper at least 30 minutes before cooking time

1/4 kilo raw mung beans, precooked [how to at the below]

coconut milk squeezed from 2 coconuts or 1 pack/can of coconut milk

chili leaves [as much as you want]

squash [as much as you want] cut in bite-sized pieces [optional]

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Heat cooking oil in pot or saute pan.  saute garlic, onion, and tomatoes, when wilted, stir in pork belly. When pork is cooked, stir in precooked mung beans, upon simmering put in squash cubes.  when squash is almost cooked, pour in coconut milk, add salt and pepper to taste, simmer for 5 minutes.  switch off fire and drop in chili leaves. cover for 5 minutes and your dish is ready to serve.

How to precook mung beans:

wash mung beans, soak in water and remove any floating dirt or beans.  top up mung beans with tap water.  bring to a boil.  mung beans are cooked when the beans have split or are soft to the bite.

short cut version:

cook pork belly/ribs with mung beans in water.  drop in garlic, onions, and tomatoes, upon simmering drop in squash, when squash is almost cooked, pour in coconut milk, add salt and pepper to taste, simmer for 5 minutes.  switch off fire and drop in chili leaves. cover for 5 minutes and your dish is ready to serve.

my take:

i love eating this dish steaming hot with left-over rice and with vinegar as a "side sauce".  try it.  maybe you will like it.

I love Arugula!

I really do not know what to call this salad because i just invented it.  it's pretty simple to make but it tastes so good.  i did not miss the cheese shavings nor the nuts i usually put in my salads to make them more tasty.

here's how i made it:

1. wash 3 oz. of baby romaine lettuce and about 1 oz arugula in running water.  pat dry with paper towels.
2. in a big bowl, put in 1 tsp of red raspberry preserves [i used the smucker's brand], 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil, and the juice of 1/4 of a lemon.  blend well.
3. drop in the lettuce and arugula and with clean hands, coat the leaves with the dressing.
4. serve with slices of mango or any fruit of your choice.

you can pair this salad with chicken[in this case, rotisserie chicken], fish or any meat dish of your choice to make a light meal.

serves: 1

Basic Recipe for Sautéed Vegetables [for beginners]

i have a weight-loss champion who i follow over at tumblr who recently posted that she needs help with cooking.  and i remembered that i also have other friends who might want to learn to cook and eat healthy so i hope this will help them as well.

the main ingredients are:

2 cloves of garlic, chopped or sliced [or use bottled minced garlic, sold at supermarkets]
1 shallot or 1/2 of an onion, chopped or sliced [optional]
1 or 2 ripe tomatoes [optional]
1/2 bell pepper [optional]


a vegetable of your choice [or 2 or 3, or more], cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
1/2 cup of chicken broth [optional]

procedure:

1. heat a pan [preferably non-stick for beginners] and add a tablespoon of canola or corn oil
2. adjust the fire between the low and medium settings, slide in the garlic and onions
3. when the garlic and onions are wilted, move them to the side and add the tomatoes and bell pepper
4. when the tomatoes and bell peppers are wilted, slide in the vegetables as well
5. sprinkle in a pinch of pepper and a pinch of salt
6. add in the broth if you want it to have sauce
7. switch off the fire as soon as the vegetables are cooked to your liking [either still crunchy or wilted]
8. enjoy with a siding of rice, pasta, or bread

Some examples:

2 kinds of vegetables: yard-long beans and straw mushrooms

 In this picture i used 2 kinds of veggies, when using two or more vegetables always put in first the thicker kind like beans or root veggies which need longer cooking time 2-5 minutes before you add the thinner ones like leafy greens.  this way, nothing will end up over-cooked and mushy or undercooked and unpalatable.

in this case, i added the mushrooms first.  some trivia: mushrooms can be used as a substitute for meat because of its earthy taste. 

1 kind: french bean

the picture above is the simplest to make, it only involves: a tablespoon of oil, a tablespoon of bottled minced garlic, french beans, and salt and pepper.

 

mixed vegetables: cauliflower, carrots, sweet peas plus cashew nuts

this is for when you get used to sautéing already.  you can actually add as many veggies as you want, and even nuts too.

other tips to keep in mind:

• there are no rules on what veggies to use, but i suggest you try the ones you are used to eating first as you will instinctively know when it is done, when it looks right.
• if you use non-stick pans, you can forgo oil or you can use oil-sprays or even a pat of your lite butter/butter substitute.  if you use butter, put it in the pan with a little oil so it won't burn up quick and always lower the fire
• as a beginner, never use nut butter as it has sugars that will easily burn and blacken what-ever you are cooking
• you can also add pre-cooked meat like shrimp or rotisserie chicken, put them in just before you slide in the veggie
• take note that i wrote optional even on the main ingredients, but know that the more ingredients you put in, the more flavorful the dish becomes
• MOST IMPORTANT of ALL, taste what you are cooking AS you are cooking.

learning how to cook is almost always trial and error.  if you don't  practice you will not learn.  so don't be afraid to make mistakes.  cooking can also be as quick as 5 minutes as there are already so many pre-cut veggies and pre-cooked meats being sold in the supermarkets.  to save money, you can even do the prepping yourself by cutting them up and storing them in air-tight containers and in the ref a couple of days before you plan to cook them.

adobo de campesino from Yummy magazine september 2010 issue

 

this dish was a revelation.  but not in a way i expected.  i realized that i was already cooking this dish for the longest time and only now did i find out that it had a special name.

my mom used to stir-fry sitaw for us.  with or with-out meat we loved it because it had all the rich flavors of the spices it was cooked with.  actually the taste of soy sauce blending with the spice-infused-oil, was already ulam to us kids.  dribble a bit of this 'liquid gold' on steamy, hot rice and we were sure to ask for seconds and even third helpings.

to make my version more substantial i added big pieces of meat which were marinated adobo-style.  and voila, i unwittingly cooked adobo de campesino.

According to Yummy Magazine: 

Ingredients:

• 8 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons annatto oil
• 700 grams pork belly (liempo) or leg (pigue), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup yard-long beans (sitaw), sliced into 1-inch lengths

How to Cook:

• Saute garlic in annatto oil. Add pork and stir-fry until brown.
• Add vinegar and simmer; don't stir until vinegar boils and releases its acidic odor. Add pepper, fish sauce, and salt and continue simmering over low heat until pork is tender.
• Before serving, ladle out the pork into a serving dish. Toss beans in the pan and cook until tender. Add beans to the pork and serve together on a platter.

My version:

Ingredients:

• garlic, chopped
• shallots, sliced
• tomatoes, seeded and quartered
• canola oil
• pork belly (liempo) cut into 1/2-inch cubes [rubbed down with smashed garlic, salt, pepper, spanish paprika, soy-sauce, and vinegar the night before]
• soy sauce
• sitaw, cut into 1-inch lengths

How to Cook:

• Saute garlic and onion in oil. Add pork and stir-fry until brown. add tomatoes
• Add soy-sauce and simmer;add sitaw and cook until tender.
• serve with steaming-hot rice.

i know, my ingredients are somewhat different but i swear, they taste the same.  i know, because i tried the yummy magazine version, the one you see in the picture.

i prefer my version though because i love onions and tomatoes.

couscous with stir-fried veggies

my first time to prepare and eat couscous was something so fast and yummy that i wish it weren't only sold in delis, which means - expensive! and that it was readily available in the local supermarkets at affordable prices.

i wanted to make a greek/mediterranean inspired dish with my left-over half-packet of couscous so i checked out what i had and made this:

prepare the following
2 shallots, roughly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
5 red ripe tomatoes, quartered
1 carrot, diced
1 can of shiitake mushrooms, drained, rinsed, drained again, and sliced
1 can garbanzo beans. drained, rinsed, and drained again
a handful of raisins
a handful of cashews

after the nifty mise en place you just made, melt a pat of butter in a small pot, pour in a cup of water and season with salt and pepper, as soon as it starts boiling, remove the pot from the fire, pour in 1 cup of couscous, make sure every tiny bit settles down into the liquid, cover and leave for 5 minutes.

while waiting for the 5 long minutes to end, stir fry what you prepped above, in a hot pan with 2 tbsps. of hot olive oil in it.  put in the ingredients one after the other in the same order as listed above.  season with salt and pepper and a sprinkling of dried parsley.  when the five minutes are up, switch off the fire.

fluff your couscous with a fork and pour it into your stir-fried veggie concoction, mix 'em up gently.  serve hot, preferably in bowl with a spoon and a drizzle of lemon.  start eating and marvel at the really hearty, really yummy, and unbelievably easy invention you just made.

you can substitute my ingredients with whatever you have, just make sure you stick to the sorta-greek/sorta-mediterranean inspired theme so as not to end up with anything bizarre.  but hey, sometimes, bizarre tastes great too!

Laing by a Bicolana in Amersfoort

This is Laing.  and it suddenly just got achievable to me.

These are what it is made of:

This is the main ingredient, which gives it it's distinct, unique flavor...

Dried Gabi Leaves which are not that easy to come by

... when combined with these.

\

Coconut Milk, Coconut Cream, and Salted Shrimps

This is what makes it sinful.

Pork slices with just the right amount of fat. =P

This is what makes it hot, and i mean REALLY HOT!

Chilies, with all the seeds in them!*pursing my imagination induced inflamed lips*

Read the full story/recipe [a.k.a. labor of love] here.  keep a hanky in your hand, to wipe your chin, because i guarantee you will drool.  The author/cook is an online buddy who i'm still trying to convince to start a food/recipe blog.

Laing By Malou Prestado

and you can thank me... right about now. =D  You are all WELCOME!

Creamy Squash Soup

served over corn grits and sprinkled with chili pepper flakes

I've always loved pumpkin soup. i order it every time i see it in the menu. so far, the Cafe Andessa version is the one that pleasantly sticks to memory. it is creamy and rich but not cloying. of course, i tried to replicate it. i did not quite succeed at their version but this one is not bad either. try it. for best results, serve during cold, rainy nights.

don't ask me where i got the recipe, i copied it from somewhere i don't remember. and yes, i tweaked it a little, okay, a lot. =P

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of an onion
2 whole cloves of garlic, crushed
1/4 of a whole squash, chopped
salt and pepper

put all of the above in a pot, cover with water or broth, boil until pieces are soft and easily fall apart. add the following

a pinch of cinnamon
3 tablespoons coconut milk
3 tablespoons all purpose cream

mix and bring to a boil, puree with an immersion blender. you may add a drop or 2 of EVOO upon serving.

Beef with Ampalaya in Oyster Sauce

i used to abhor the ampalaya [bitter gourd]. it evoked negative images of my childhood when my dad refused to let us leave the table, even if we were in tears, if we did not even eat 1 slice of this bitter vegetable. it's the only vegetable i never learned to like. i wouldn't even touch any dish that had ampalaya in it.

i had gestational diabetes in my two pregnancies but in the last one i had to have insulin shots daily. so one time, as i was trying to find food to lower my blood sugar levels, i found the ampalaya waiting for me in my chiller. my mother in law bought me some groceries and as she eats the bitter thing almost everyday, she included it.

i cooked it with eggs, squeezing the thinly sliced pieces as much as i could after letting them sit with some salt for a time. and i've been having ampalaya with beaten eggs regularly since.

i had some thin slices of top round beef one time and a gourd of the ampalaya. one popular chinese restaurant dish here is stir frying beef with ampalaya. and so i searched for a recipe on the net and found one which looked easy enough and all the other ingredients were in stock.

so i cooked it accordingly. i found it strange that the author required you to put corn starch in the beef marinade, but i did it anyway.

the result was this. it looks exactly like the dish served in the chinese restaurant and when i ate it, though the ampalaya was mighty bitter [the slices were thicker than i was used to, hence it was difficult to squeeze all all the bitterness out], the beef was super tender very tasty, and had the exact texture chinese restaurant stir fried beef always has. i guess, that's where the cornstarch in the marinade comes in.

i'm back to my regular ampalaya and egg combination, but when the hubby is present, i will occasionally revert to this recipe which he liked.

p.s. check out the blog i got this recipe from. the cook, he calls himself UT-Man, is amazing at documenting his adventures in the kitchen. there's no other blog that has as much filipino dishes as his blog does. i'm sure all filipino food lovers out there will love this site.

nam thit heo

i first tasted this much loved noodle dish in Jekoy's, a vietnamese restaurant that used to be situated on top of a hill here in davao. they later transferred to the middle of the city, changed the name of the resto to Nah Trang, but sadly they did not last long. probably due to neglect, i dunno, the place seemed rundown and the food deteriorated.

they called the dish 'nam thit heo' but i can't find anything similar to it in the internet. the most similar one is 'pho ap chao' which one blogger said is any stir fried noodle dish with meat and veggies. in taste it does not stray far from the malaysian 'char kway teow' or the thai 'pad thai'.

but since i tasted it in jekoys and they called it nam thit heo, i'm sticking to the name.

anyways, i got hold of a pack of flat rice noodles in a culinary fair i visited and decided to try my hand at replicating it. this is my second attempt and i am happy to say that this time it tasted the same and my version even looked a lot better.

ingredients:
1 pack flat rice noodles [ho fan]
straw mushrooms [i skipped this cause i couldn't find fresh ones]
thinly sliced lean pork strips
scallions [ i didn't have this too]
bean sprouts
peanuts

those are the main ingredients of the vietnamese restaurant version, the ones i recognized at least.

i added the following in the hopes that i would get the right flavor, which by the way, i did. =D

ordinary cooking oil, about 1 tablespoon
minced garlic cloves, i used 4
minced red onion, 1 small bulb
2 eggs, beaten
carrots, small, cut into small strips
green beans, 4 pcs., sliced diagonally and thinly
bokchoy, separate the stem from the leaves
soy sauce, about 2 tablespoons
hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon
oyster sauce, about 2 tablespoons
kecap manis [ indonesian seasoning- thick, sweet soy sauce], about 1 tablespoon
sesame oil, about 1 tablespoon
salt and pepper to taste

i also added diced mandarin sausages and quartered squid balls as i had them on hand [skip this if you want to stay true to viet-style cooking]

steps:
1. prep the noodles according to package directions, this is vital to the outcome of your dish
2.saute the following in the cooking oil: minced garlic, minced onion, squid balls, mandarin sausages, pork strips.
3. when cooked, add the carrots, bokchoy stems and the green beans. then add the bean sprouts.
4. let them all dance in the pan a little, not too long and add your sauces, one after the other.
5. when the veggies start oozing their water, add the flat rice noodles and then the bokchoy leaves.
6. mix gently just to incorporate ingredients and evenly distribute the flavorings. 7. add salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle in the sesame oil and the peanuts.
8. pour in beaten egg, mix for the last time, cover the pan and switch off flame.

tips:
- cooking time is quite quick as we do not want to overcook the veggies especially the bean sprouts as they will get soggy if you do.
-check the taste of the cooked sauce before adding the noodles, it should taste a little too strong as the noodles will later absorb all of it
- don't over mix so the noodles wont get mushy or pasty
- add the bokchoy leaves last as the residual heat is enough to cook it and so the leaves remain bright green. the eggs will also cook in the remaining heat.
-do not add water
-sprinkle more peanuts on top to garnish and serve hot

pasta primavera

this is giada de laurentiis' recipe. but i made some substitutions as i lacked some of the ingredients and a lot of revisions in the procedure as i am a lazy cook. i like shortcuts, to make life easier. the picture is mine though, i prepared this recipe last year and it was a hit with my brother who is a pasta freak like me. i intend to cook this again soon as the memory of it makes my mouth water.


Ingredients

* 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
* 2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips [i used eggplant]
* 2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
* 1 onion, thinly sliced [and i added minced garlic too]
* 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
* 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence [i just used parsely and thyme]
* 1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)[i used spaghetti, my all time favorite pasta]
* 15 cherry tomatoes, halved [i used regular tomatoes]
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

my version: stir fry garlic, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, squash, and eggplant in olive oil. add thyme and parsely when veggies wilt, sprinkle with salt and pepper. transfer to large bowl, add freshly cooked spaghetti and then grated parmesan cheese. toss to combine all ingredients. serve hot!

hearty chicken soup with tomatoes and barley

this is the second time i've prepared this dish. i got it from Yummy Magazine but as usual, i tweaked it to suit my cooking style. I think it's perfect for cool late night dinners or as an 'in-between-mea'l treat for grumbling tummies! here's how i did it, feel free to modify it and make it your own:

Ingredients:

4 skinless chicken breasts with bones
2 small white onions, 1 chopped, the other halved
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tspns. dried thyme
2 tbspns olive oil
6 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes [immerse in water]
3 small carrots, cut up like the potatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes [i used capri brand]
1 large can whole corn kernels [i used delmonte]
1/2 cup barley
salt and pepper to taste

1. rub the chicken with salt
2. in a large pot, bring to a boil 2 liters of water, put in chicken, halved onion, and some of the garlic, when the chicken is fully cooked, remove from the broth and let it cool.
3. transfer chicken broth into a bowl. using the same pot, saute chopped onions, remaining garlic, and thyme in olive oil
4. when softened, pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil, add crushed tomatoes, corn, and barley. continuously simmer and stir occasionally for around 30 minutes [for barley to cook thoroughly]
5. while waiting, debone chicken breasts and cut into chunks or shred into strands [whichever you prefer] and set aside.
5. add potatoes, carrots, simmer for another 15 minutes or until veggies are tender. add chicken chunks or strands, season soup with salt and pepper

serve it hot with toasted bread and garlic butter.

some tips:
- i added cubed chorizo bilbao, this second time to make it more yummy
- don't worry if the soup seems thin at first, the barley and the potatoes will soak it up and thicken the soup
- this dish tastes better the longer you keep it, so you can prepare it even a day before you intend to serve it.
- add a few drops of tabasco for that extra kick
- top it with freshly grated parmesan, if you like cheese. =P

Brazilian Rice Salad

This, i learned from Cendi, a friend and great adviser in my younger years. We even became colleagues for a time and we used to eat lunch together whenever we could. When i tasted this dish, i instantly fell in love with it. I'm a rice-person and it was a nice change to the usual fried rice i prepare on lazy days.

the really interesting thing about it is the fact that you eat it cold, straight from the ref.

Ingredients:

cold rice
cheese cubes
sliced black olives
ham bits
mayonaisse or any salad dressing
diced carrots
green peas
a pinch of salt
a dash of pepper

procedure: mix all ingredients together until everything is evenly distributed and coated with the mayo or dressing

and by the way, i don't really know what this recipe's name is, i just call it that because Cendi said her brazilian friend taught her how to make it.

my mom's beef stew

though i rarely eat beef, not because it's red meat but because i can't stand it's signature smell, i gobbled this one up whenever my Mom prepared it for us. And so, when i transferred to my own home and because my hubby is a big beef lover, i decided to experiment with it.

No two preparations are the same because i substitute with what's currently in my ref. But i'll specify the main ingredients that gives it it's own character. There's nothing new or secret about it, in fact i guess it's the same old beef stew everybody makes.

But it's yummy, hearty, and filling and it's a breeze to make, no fuss and minimal mess. So i decided to share it with you.

in a sauce pan, lightly fry sliced chorizo de bilbao in a little of its own lard. then put in beef shanks and add enough water just to cover beef. while waiting for it to boil, add a pat of butter, salt, ground black pepper, chopped garlic, halved onions, and chunks of capsicum. when it starts boiling, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, then add any tomato-based sauce. add herbs of your choice [today i put in dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, and fresh parsely]. when it starts to boil again add chunks of carrots and potatoes, you can also add other veggies like green beans [anything that goes well with stews]. just before the veggies are cooked, drop in pimiento-stuffed olives and whole champignon mushrooms. when done, turn off heat and add small cheese chunks [the kind that easily melts, i use local eden cheese cause its creamy and just gives the right amount of saltiness]

since i don't have a pressure cooker yet, i let the beef shanks simmer for at least an hour to make sure it comes out tender. if i have plenty time, i make it 2 hours so it falls-off-the bones.and as i said you can substitute the non-main ingredients, like today i used beef franks instead of the usual chorizo i use. and because we have it, edwin added a pinch of saffron to make it more fragrant and mask the beefy smell that i don't like.

i also didn't specify amounts because you can play with it. if you like onions, then add more. if you don't like olives, then don't inlude them. you can make your own tweaks and adjustments to suit your taste. you can even drop in the ingredients in no particular order, common sense lang para di maging mushy and unrecognizable ang ingredients, he he.

to make the meal complete, all you need is rice and icy cold rootbeer!

i promise you it's no hassle at all, in fact i was multiplying while i was making it and pa-silip silip lang to know when it's ready na.

i hope you try it and enjoy it as we do.