I have a thing to tell you and I will tell you this because I am quite proud. Sometimes when I cook, and I taste what I've cooked, I cannot believe how good I've become. I am proud of this because I did not grow up cooking and I did not learn to cook, anywhere. Most of the things I cook in the kitchen, I cook for the first time in my life, and what's amazing --- after that still very unfortunate bout with the monggo --- is that everything's been awesome ever since!
Come on, let's check out what's been cooking in my kitchen!
BUTTERED CHICKEN WITH YOUNG CORN & SITCHARO
Chicken, sitcharo, young corn, butter, tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Saute onions and garlic in a pan. Add chicken and tomatoes and fry until browned or tender (Add water if needed). When the chicken is cooked, and water has evaporated, add butter then the sitcharo and young corn. Stir until half-cooked.
I believe that everything cooked in butter tastes good. Plain mushrooms sautéed in butter tastes awesome and if you want your chicken stir fry to taste better, you can drain much of the oil and then replace it with butter. Yummy and simple, believe me.
ARROZ ALA CUBANA
Ground beef, bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, raisins, tomato sauce, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, saging na saba, eggs, salt and pepper
Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat oil in pan and sauté garlic, onions and tomatoes. Add meat and bell peppers and cook until meat is browned and tender. Add the tomato sauce and allow it to simmer. Season with spices (to your liking) and add the raisins. Finally, to complete the dish, fry the bananas and the egg.
I made this dish for my friend, Didi, when she visited from Dubai. It’s her favorite dish, and I wanted to surprise her, so cooked Arroz ala Cubana!
SWEET & SOUR PORK
Pork loin, can of pineapple chunks, onions, bell pepper, soy sauce, peanut oil, cornstarch, sugar, salt and garlic
Season the pork with salt and boil it in water until tender, then drain. Mix cornstarch and soy sauce together, and coat the pork with it before frying it until golden brown. Set aside. Dissolve another 2 tablespoons of cornstarch on the pork stock . In a new pan, sauté garlic and onions. Add bell peppers, pineapple chunks with syrup, ketchup, sugar, salt and the dissolved cornstarch until the sauce thickens. Pour this over the fried pork.
This, I am not so proud of, because my favorite yaya used to do it differently, and my version is far less superior! I will try to do this again, and I’ll try to do what she does.
CHICKEN CURRY
Chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, coconut milk, curry powder, chili powder, sugar, salt and pepper.
Fry chicken until it is light brown and tender. Set aside. In another pan, fry the potatoes and the carrots, until cooked and then set it aside. Sauté garlic, onions and ginger. Add the chicken, coconut milk, curry powder and allow it to simmer. Add chili powder, sugar, salt and pepper (to taste).
The best compliment I got for this was when Bon said: “I can’t even tell the difference between yours and my mom’s!” Haha! He even said my one is better because the vegetables are bite size, so that makes me happy.
MIXED VEGETABLE STIR FRY
Mixed vegetables (carrots, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, onions and young corn), mushrooms, oyster sauce
Stir fry the vegetables in hot oil, really quickly, so as not to overcook it. Add the mushrooms and then add oyster sauce and serve on hot rice or just it eat on its own. For this one, it would be smart to cook the vegetables when they are still fresh and do not (this very important) overcook it.
TUNA SPRING ROLLS
Tuna in vegetable (lite), carrots, garlic, bell pepper, onions, raisins, salt and pepper, soy sauce, chili sauce, lumpia wrapper.
Sauté garlic and onions. Add bell peppers, tuna, carrots and raisins. Season with soy sauce or knorr seasoning. Set aside until dry. Get the lumpia wrapper and create your spring rolls. Fry the rolls and then serve with sweet chili sauce.
I served this when my best friend, Mabeth, came to visit the house and she liked it. It is a good version of the classic lumpiang shanghai and it’s very easy to make.
CRUNCHY KARE-KARE
Pork belly. achuette (annatto), onions, garlic, pork or beef broth, peanut butter, toasted malagkit rice, fish sauce, string beans, eggplant, bokchoy, bagoong, salt and pepper
Heat oil and add achuete until red, then drain. Add onions and sauté it until translucent. Add garlic until fragrant then add broth and wait for it to boil. Whisk peanut butter until the sauce is smooth and add ground malagkit rice until sauce is thick. Season with fish sauce, sugar, saly and pepper. Add vegetables and mix well. On a deep pan, fry pork belly in oil and then aside to dry. Serve on top of the kare-kare sauce along with the vegetables.
I love KARE-KARE and I love crunchy kare-kare even more because it is more fun to eat. It’s crunchy and full of surprises, hahaha!
MENUDO
Pork chunks, pork liver chunks, potatoes, carrots, raisins, paprika, pork or chicken stock, fish sauce, atsuete, tomatoes, garlic and onions
Heat oil and add atsuete until red, then drain. Sauté garlic and onion. Add pork and liver and brown. Add tomatoes, paprika, fish sauce and stock and bring to boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until pork is tender. Add potatoes, carrots and raisins until vegetables are cooked.
This is a simple dish, so there’s nothing special about it. I wanted to try it for the sake of trying it, but I am not really a fan of menudo, that much.
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