Pancit Sotanghon Guisado (Glass Noodles)

Green Bean glass noodles

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Veggies

Noodles is one of my comfort foods. I cook noodles at least twice in a month.

Pancit Sotanghon

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. oil

1 cup shredded cooked or raw chicken meat

1/2 cup cup pork, sliced thinly

cellophane noodles (3 pcs)

1 small carrots, thin julliened strips

1/2 cup snow peas or mangetout

5 pcs. leaves chinese cabbage, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 med. onions, chopped

1 stalk spring onions, sliced diagonally, about 1 inch long

5 cups chicken stock or water

1 pc. chicken buillion

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. oyster sauce

pepper to taste

Procedure:

Immerse the noodles in cold water (about 3 cups) for 5 minutes, drain and set aside. You have other option, add dry noodles to the pan with the chicken stock to absorb the flavor.

Heat oil in a shallow pan. Saute garlic,onions, add pork and chicken meat. When meat is cooked add snow peas, stir fry for a few minutes, add carrots, chinese cabbage. Turn off the heat. Set Aside.

In another deeper pan, put 5 cups water let it boil. Add chicken buillion and add noodles. Add soy sauce, pepper and once the noodles absorbs the chicken stock add the cooked meat and veggies. Lastly, add the oyter sauce. Combine well and turn off heat quickly or your noodles will be mushy and overcooked veggies.

Serve in a platter and sprinkle with green onions on top.

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana

1 cup oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium sized onions, minced
1 small size chicken
1/4 kg. pork meat, cubed
200 grams squid, cut into rings
3 fresh tomatoes, chop coarsely
1 red and 1 green sweet peppers
100 grams frozen peas
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp saffron
dash of salt & pepper
12 pcs. mussels
200 grams cooked shrimps
50 grams stuffed green olives

Procedure:
Chop onions and garlic. Divide chicken into pieces and cut pork meat into 1 cm. thik cubes. Slice and chop tomatoes. Remove seed of peppers and cut into thick strips.

Heat olive oil in a heavy iron pan. Fry chicken pieces until golden brown, add the onions and garlic. Add squid, tomatoes, sweet peppers and peas. Stir with wooden spoon, cooking over a high flame.

Add rice, stir briefly and then add chicken stock about 9 decilitres. Season with saffron dissolved in a little water, add salt and pepper. Cook in low fire and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring carefully and frequently.

Add the cooked mussels and shrimps then add olives. Put the pan in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Kamias or Iba

A neighbor gave this plateful of Kamias today. What am I gonna do with this fruit? First I'm gonna eat them raw with some salt as dipping sauce or sawsawan (a good idea for bad breath and as post extraction regimen). My dentist extracted my tooth yesterday. He advised me to rinse my mouth with warm water and salt the next day.

You can do a lot of things with this, as souring ingredients, candy, preserves, prunes, for sinigang and paksiw. I saw my mother adding kamias in her "dinuguan" instead of using vinegar.

According to the Philippines Department of Science and Technology, Kamias, (Averrhoa balimbi Lin) fruits and leaves have various uses. Fruit are made into food seasoning, preserves, jam, pickles and candies, and used as well in cleaning hands and removing stains from clothing. Kamias juice is made into syrup and can cure fever, haemorrhage, beri-beri cough. Leaves can be heated and applied to skin itches and irritations. It can also cure inflammation of the rectum, rheumatism and pimples.

It can also cure inflammation of the rectum, rheumatism and pimples. Kamias thrives in any kind of soil that is well-drained. It grows best in wind-and sun-sheltered places with evenly distributed rainfall. Though evenly distributed throughout the archipelago, kamias or locally known as "Ibâ" is now considered endangered specie in Catanduanes. in wind-and sun-sheltered places with evenly distributed rainfall. One characteristic of this tree specie is its capacity to withstand typhoons.

Kamias are also grown in Hawaii and Florida.

Mung Bean Sprouts

Mung Beans is used to grow bean sprouts. Sprouting is the practice of soaking, draining and rinsing seed at intervals until they germinate or sprout. Mung bean sprouts are cooked as stir fries as a vegetable, salad or used in fillings for spring roll or lumpia. This is famous in Asian cuisines like noodles & spring roll. Origin of bean sprouts was in Asia. The Chinese have been growing mung bean sprouts for 3,000 years.

If you wish to eat bean sprouts eat thoroughly cooked sprouts not raw sprouts as used in salad. Buy sprouts that have been stored at refrigerated temperatures. Select crisp-looking sprouts. Avoid sprouts that look dark or smelly. At home, store fresh sprouts in ref (not in the freezer) for about 2 days.

Mung bean sprouts is rich in Vit. B, C, E, Folate, Iron and Pottasium. Good source of dietary fiber, lower risk of heart attacks, cholesterol free and good food for those to want to lose weight.

Recipes for cooking mung bean sprouts:

Recipe 1 - Shrimp & Bean Sprouts Patties

Sweet potatoes (camote) or potatoes sliced julienne style, egg whites, corn starch, bean sprouts cooked shrimp (no heads) salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
In a bowl, mix shrimps. sweet potatoes, and egg white. Dissolve corn starch in cold water and then add to the bowl. Mix in the bean sprouts. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat oil in a skillet and drop in a tablespoonful of the mixture, flatten like hamburger patties and fry like fry until golden brown.

Recipe 2. Ukoy (Shrimp Fritters)

1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 c. water, 2 eggs, beaten, 1 green onion, chopped 1/2 tsp salt, dash of black pepper, 1 c. bean sprouts, 1 cup shrimps-shelled, Cooking oil for deep frying.

Procedure:
Make a batter by combining flour, baking powder, water, and beaten eggs. Add onions, salt, and pepper; mix well. Fold in bean sprouts.

Heat cooking oil in a deep frying pan. Shape the batter into round patties. Lay a few piece of boiled shrimp on top and. Fry until golden brown. Drain in paper towel.

Recipe 3. Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts (Togue)

1/2 kg. bean sprouts, 1 cup small size shrimp, peeled, 1 clove of garlic, chopped, 1 medium size onion, 1 small size carrot, cut into 2” strips, 1 small size bell pepper, cut into 2” strips, 1/2 cup water mix in 2 tbsp. oyster sauce, 1 tsp. white sugar, dash of salt, pepper, and vegetable oil about 3 tbsp. for sauteeing.

Procedure:

In a sauce pan, sauté garlic and onion in hot oil. Add shrimp, stir for 3-5 minutes. Add dash of pepper, sugar, and salt and 1/2 cup water with 2 tbsp. oyster sauce. Add bean sprouts, carrots and bell pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are just half cooked. Remove from pan immediately and serve in a platter.

10 Cooking & Baking Skills to Learn/Improve for 2008

My New Year Resolution for Cooking/Baking are:

1. Icings / Frostings - I have been making icings for my cakes but I only made simple ones. This year, I'd like to learn more and try the different designs & recipes.

2. Souffle - Never tried it.

3. Native Delicacies - I am not good at it, e.g. biko, suman, cassava cake, puto.

4. Bread Making - I'd like to try a loaf bread, ensymada, empanada & pan de sal.

5. Chocolate Truffles - I think these are easy to make but too complicated???

6. Cookies - to bake some more.

7. French Pastries

8. Spanish Churros

9. Shrimp Tempura - I'm still on the process of trial & error. Sometimes I made it perfect but mostly it turned out like a rebosado.

10. To organize my cooking books and sort out / file my recipe collections.

Eggplant Dip

Eggplant Dip

WELCOME 2008
This is my first post forthe new year!

Eggplant is one of my favorite veggies. I can do many ways with it. This eggplant dip is easy to make, the only hassle is cooking the eggplant. It takes a little practice and patience before you will master this. This is a Middle Eastern appetizer. The Filipino version is different. We don't use olive oil, tahina paste but instead we add vinegar, onions & tomatoes.

Ingredients

2 large round eggplant

3 cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped

5 tbsp. tahina paste

6 tbsp. of lemon juice

dash of salt, pepper

olive oil about 2 tbsp.

chopped parsley about 2 tbsp.

Procedure:

Cook the eggplant in hot oven or over the flame of a gas stove. When cooked, the eggplant is soft all over(the skin black). Let cool, peel skin and chop into small pieces. Mash cloves of garlic and chopped finely. Add to eggplant and mash to smooth concitency. Add tahina, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Mix well. Serve in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil on top. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Serve with Pita bread.