Crabstick Salad

A homemade salad served as an appetizer for crab lovers out there. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 crabsticks, cut into half and shredded
A dash of salt and pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing of your choice
1 medium size cucumber, sliced
1 medium size onion, halved and sliced
2 medium tomatoes, halved and sliced


Procedures:
1. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise and shredded crabstick together. Set aside.
2. Combine cucumber, onion and tomato in a serving dish. Add a dash of salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
3. Top the cucumber salad with the crabstick mixture. Serve chilled.

Homemade Chicken Curry

Just in the mood to cook chicken curry for lunch. Below are the ingredients that I've used to cook this dish:

 Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. cooking oil
• 2 medium sized potatoes, diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cubed 
• 3 tbsp. curry powder
• 1 cup evaporated milk or coconut milk
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce 
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1 kg chicken, adobo cut
• 1 cup water

Procedure:

1. Fry diced potato and carrot until brown. Set aside.
2. Saute garlic and onion until the color becomes translucent. Add chicken and cook the pieces until golden brown.
3. Add a dash of salt and pepper, fish sauce and curry powder. Stir-coat the chicken for 2minutes.
4. Add water and bell peppers, stir the chicken coated with curry powder and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add evaporated or coconut milk, stir and simmer until the sauce thickens.
6. Add fried potato and carrots. Simmer for 3 minutes until done.
7. Serve hot with plain rice.

Special Coffee Jelly

If you're craving for a good dessert with a coffee twist, then a here's a special coffee jelly treat for you. The basics are usually needed to create this dessert but I have added some ingredients that will make a yummy coffee jelly enjoyable to consumers.

Ingredients:
6 packets 25g brown coffee of your choice
1 small can of condensed milk
3/4 cup crushed toasted cashew nuts
3/4 cup nata de coco
3 cups 250g all purpose cream
1 pack of 90g unflavored gelatine (colorless)
1 pack 180g cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
1 3/4 cup water

Procedure:
 1. Mix 6 packets of brown coffee into a casserole of boiling water. Mix using the whisker.
2. Add unflavored gelatine and mix well with whisker. Transfer to a cookie tray and let cool. When it's cool, cut into bite size cubes.
3. In a large bowl, combine all purpose cream, condensed milk, nata de coco and cheddar cheese. Add cubed coffee gelatine and mix them altogether.
4. Transfer to each serving cup and garnish with crushed cashew nuts.

Mr. Duck Salted Eggs - Itlog Ni Kuya

Salted eggs may not be listed as one of my favorite foods but there's actually a brand that left a good impression on my taste buds. My mother once brought home a dozen of salted eggs that she bought from an officemate who turns out to be one of the dealers of Mr. Duck - Itlog ni Kuya. The brand may not be commonly heard from a majority of consumers but I am now among those who love their salted eggs.

Here is how Mr. Duck salted eggs look like:

Usually salted eggs are dyed in red but Mr. Duck eggs are white. When I cut the egg in half, the yellow core has a deep orange yolk compared to a hard-boiled fresh egg's. The consistency is soft and is very tasty that it actually melts in my mouth. 

 

I would order again if I was given the chance to pass by the small store (Itlog Ni Kuya) in Victoria, Laguna. For orders/dealership and inquiries on Mr. Duck Salted Eggs, you can reach them on the following details:

Contact Information: 

 +63 917 2424547 (Josephine Dator) / 0918-957-5696 /  +63 915 6468134 (Leo Dator)

Email Address:

itlognikuya@yahoo.com

Website:

http://itlognikuya.com

Seaweed Salad with Onion and Tomato

Looks delicious, isn't it? This premium seaweed salad consists of fresh seaweeds (not processed into laver - used for making sushi) mixed with sweet oil (probably sesame oil), dried chili flakes, and sesame seeds. I have added some onion and tomato slices as healthy garnishes.  I've had this seaweed salad for lunch as an appetizer and as side dish for tuyo (dried fish) and rice. If tuyo is not available, I would substitute it with salted duck eggs (itlog na maalat). from Mr. Duck (Itlog Ni Kuya). The salted duck eggs and seaweed salad go well with my tastebuds because of their salty-sweet taste combination.

To buy premium seaweed salad, you will find it on the Cold Storage Seafood section of your local supermarket in the Philippines. Here's how the package look like:

The premium seaweed in a package may be costly for an average grocery shopper (from Php100 and up) but that explains how delicious the salad is.

Pinakbet

For those who love eating colorful vegetables, here's a dish that combines them with shrimp paste as the soup base, hence the name Pinakbet. The dish comes from Ilokano word "pinakebbet", meaning it is shrunk.

Ingredients:
1/2 kg pork belly, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pc medium eggplant, cut into 1 inch stick
1/4 squash, sliced into small pieces
1 pc medium bitter melon, seeded and sliced 1 inch thick
3 pcs okra, cut into 1 inch length
3 pcs string beans,  cut into 2 inch length
1 medium onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 pc medium tomato, sliced
1 thumbsize ginger, julienned
1/4 cup shrimp paste
1/4 cup water
pepper

 Procedure:

1. Saute garlic and onion until the aroma comes out and the color of onions become translucent.
2. Add pork, ginger, tomato and shrimp paste. Stir.
3. Add string beans, eggplant, okra, squash and bitter melon. Mix well.
4. Pour water and stir. Add a dash of pepper and cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
5. Serve hot.

Pork Menudo

A meat dish consisting of pork meat, pork liver,  potatoes, carrots, raisins and tomato sauce is called Menudo. This dish is usually cooked as a simple viand for lunch or can be served at parties or special events.

Ingredients:
1 kilo pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup pork liver, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups tomato sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried raisins
2 medium potatoes, diced into 1 inch cubes
1 large carrot, diced into 1 inch cubes
2 cups water
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1/4 cup green or red bell peppers, diced into 1 inch cubes
salt & pepper
1 tbsp. fish sauce

Procedures:
1. Saute garlic and onion in oil until the onion becomes translucent. Add pork shoulder and liver and cook until slightly brown. Add fish sauce and cook for 3 minutes.

2. Add tomato sauce and water and stir. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add raisins, potatoes, bell pepper and carrot. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the carrot and potatoes are tender.

3.  Add salt and pepper. Adjust according to your taste. Cook until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened.

4. Serve hot with plain rice.

Ar-Arosep or Lato Salad

Finally, I got to eat Lato or Ar-Arosep salad for lunch as appetizer paired with our Rellenong Bangus main dish. It's been a long time since I've last ate ar-arosep/sea grapes. I think it was last June 17, 2011. Since the lato salad has a salty taste, there's no need to add salt. I only garnished the dish with sliced tomato and onion.

Anyway, I had a great lunch meal!

Sarciadong Tilapia

This popular fish viand is a typical favorite among Filipinos who are not into eating meat. The process of cooking is easy to prepare and cook. Basically this is simply a makeover of fried tilapia, adding sauteed tomato and onion sauce. You can eat it plain or with steamed rice.

Ingredients:
3-5 pieces medium tilapia, cleaned
3 pieces medium ripe tomatoes, diced
1 pc medium onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pieces fresh eggs, beaten
3/4 cup water
salt & pepper
1 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp flour

Procedures:
1. Coat the cleaned tilapias with flour and deep-fry on both sides until golden brown. Transfer on a serving plate and set aside.
2. Saute garlic, onions and tomato in a pan until the tomato has wilted.
3. Add fish sauce, salt and pepper. Stir and add water. Bring to a boil.
4. Add beaten egg and gently stir.
5.  Pour the sauce over the fried tilapias and serve hot.