meet the cook

meet the cook... the person with the passion...

o well... may be the sidekick... hehehe....

this cutie is one of my favorite companions in the kitchen. she can be really stubborn and makulit at times but i let her do stuff just to make her feel that she's helping me out. i am hoping someday, she'll share my passion for cooking. :)


she loves removing the skin of the onion, mixing stuff, putting on the breading on meat, beating eggs... she'd probably love everything because she thinks we're just playing.


anyway, i love this kid. i hope other than sharing my passion in cooking, she'd grow up to be a very good girl.

baked tahong

hello miss diane :). here's the recipe of baked tahong as requested. sorry i can't provide you with exact measurements.



ingredients:
tahong
garlic (minced)
butter (melted)
cheese
parsely (optional)
evaporated milk (optional)

procedure:
1. steam tahong until the shells open and the meat is cooked. do not put anything on the pan, just the tahong. the mussels are usually salty already.
2. while doing that you can mince the garlic, and chop the parsely. mix them with the melted butter and pour in the milk. do not put a lot of milk, just enought to make the mixture appear hazy. :).
3. when the tahong is cooked, remove one of the shells. retain the side where the tahong is attached. remember to remove also the hairy thing that sticks out of the tahong.
4. in a container, align the mussels for baking. pour the butter mixture on each tahong and top with cheese slices.
5. bake until cheese melts. :)
6. serve. :)

fish tempura

i was so excited to do this recipe. aside from it being very simple, i wanted to check whether i'd be successful in replicating a dish in kitaro - sakana furai. i got the recipe from pinoycook.com. the recipe is quiet simple but preparing it was quiet difficult. thank God for mothers! my mom was the one who filleted the fish. we used asohos as indicated by the recipe. i used cornstarch instead of flour and so i did not use the batter mixture. just dipped the fillet in cornstarch, then egg and the breadcrumbs.



i think i got the dish :). because one of my patrons recognized it as sakana furai. :) i just was not able to couple this with the right dip because tempura dip is quiet expensive.

lechon con tokwa

it was my first attempt to make a lechon kawali. I got the recipe from www.pinoycook.net. :)

i got home last night and followed every step indicated in the recipe. it was already past 10 but i was wide awake and was very busy preparing it. i boiled the pork belly slab in water with 2 whole onions, a whole head of garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf and salt. Then while allowing it to cool down, i went to sleep.

woke up at 5 am and placed the pork slab in the freezer. according to the recipe, this will ensure that the pork will be tender & moist inside even after deep frying.

then at around 6 am i woke up to prepare the rest of the recipe. i also prepared my other menu - soy fried tofu with black bean sauce (recipe below). anyway, i fried the pork as instructed and true enough, the intensity of the spattering was really strong. i kept a distance from the stove and i would turn off the flame every time i would check on it.

too bad i did not take a picture of my dish but i got a perfect brown lechon kawali. at least perfect for me :). the taste was a bit bland, i should have added more salt. anyway, i was still happy with the outcome. i hope my patrons liked it too. :)

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soy fried tofu



note: sorry but i can't provide you exact measurements of the ingredients. i seldom measure them.


ingredients:
firm tofu
ground pork/beef
black beans (tausi)
light soy sauce
oyster sauce
leeks/spring onions
seasoning
garlic and onion
cornstarch

procedure:
- slice tofu in serving sizes and cover each side with the seasoning. the seasoning is just a generic fried chicken seasoning usually bought in the market.
- deep fry tofu until crisp and slightly brown. set aside.
for the sauce
- saute minced garlic and onion slices in oil.
- put in the ground meat and let it cook for a while.
- when slightly brown put in soy sauce and the black beans. don't put in too much black beans. some brands may be too salty. it is advisable to put a small amount first and just add more later on if needed. bring to boil.
- put in oyster sauce and water. bring to boil. then taste. the taste should be salty and sweet. :) adjust taste as desired.
- dissolve cornstarch in water and put in the sauce mixture. add more cornstarch until the desired thickness is attained.
- garnish with leeks or spring onions. serve.