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.

chicken curry

i know.  it's like the most basic dish ever.  but i don't want this to be a one-time-hit so i'm writing every little thing i did.  so can repeat the perfection again, and again, and again.

at least 4 hours before:

• rub chicken pieces with salt, pepper, spanish paprika, fennel powder, curry powder, and cumin.  sprinkle dried sage,  rosemary, oregano, and whatever herb whose bottle says it is good for poultry.
• rough chop some onions, garlic and ginger and slip in the pieces in between the skin and the flesh of the chicken
• keep in the ref till cooking time so the chicken can absorb all the flavor.

2 hours before mealtime:

• heat a bit of oil in a deep, wide pan and slide in your seasoned chicken.  keep the fire on low, switching the chicken on its sides to evenly brown and cook.  let simmer for an hour tops.

an hour before mealtime:

• remove chicken pieces, add about a cup of water so the drippings get unstuck and all the flavor goes to the sauce, add a carton of coco cream [i used Karo], salt and pepper, and slivers of red bell peppers.
• drop in equally sized potato and carrot slices,  scrape off the bottom as you bring the sauce to a simmer [now all that flavor will get into the potatoes and carrots as well.]
• taste-test and add more water if it is too rich, and more salt and pepper if needed.
• add back the chicken pieces when the potatoes and carrots are half-way done. keep to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes to allow the chicken to soak the flavor back in.

serve hot, with plenty of rice, and with a tangy or tart side dish to help cut the richness of the dish.