Chicken In Pandan Leaves

I think this is the most real time entry I have ever made in my almost 2 years of (inconsistent) blogging :)

We had this for lunch last Monday and the little boy liked it that he ate it again the following day (there were some leftovers hihi.)

I was introduced to Thai restos back in college. I used to eat with my dad in Dusit Thani and my cousins in SukoThai. My all time favorite in the menu of both restos are the chicken pandan and bagoong rice. I would very much like to make my bagoong rice soon as it is a great pair for the chicken!

Since the sesame sauce needs tamarind paste, I wasn't able to try it yet a few years ago. There were limited to no Asian ingredients available in groceries back then and they are only available in specialty stores. Now I am happy to say that both supermarkets of SM and Robinson's near our place already offer Asian ingredients (yey!) Sheila and I spotted the Tamarind paste while we were doing our grocery and of course we grabbed it right away. :)

This came from my ever reliable Yummy Mag from the May 2009 ish. It can also be found online. The original recipe used chicken breasts fillets, but I used thigh fillets instead since I like it that it absorbs more flavor than white meat. Maybe that's why the little boy liked it as it's so tasty! Of course, I liked it just as much! :)

For the chicken you will need:

1/2 kilo chicken thigh fillets cut into squares (2X2 inches)
Pandan leaves for wrapping chicken, washed and towel dried
vegetable oil for frying

For the marinade:

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

For the sesame sauce:

3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup tamarind paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Procedure:

In a bowl, combine ingredients for the marinade. Add chicken and marinate for at least 20 minutes or overnight. (I marinated it for about 2 hours and it was really tasty, maybe because of chicken thighs?)

While the chicken is marinating, I already prepared the sauce: In a small saucepan, pour warm water over tamarind paste and let it sit for 5 minutes and add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve on the side.

After the marinating process, wrap the marinated chicken in pandan leaves. It's actually good to use long pandan leaves so you can tie both ends to lock it. Deep-fry in medium hot oil until golden brown.

I loved the smell of the kitchen while i was frying the chickies. The sweet smell of pandan really rocks!

Best served with hot rice... better yet, bagoong rice! :) Enjoy!

Lemongrass Chicken Barbecue

Goodbye March and hello there April - well, it's already almost goodbye too. I didn't know it would take me this long to come back here. Well, aside from my clingy little boy getting clingy-er everyday, there's still a lot more going on. Happenings so nice to know and chat about. Some you'd rather not even think about - though they haunt you in your sleep blah blah blah! :P

I need to get back to my sanity. Like right now. So, here I am again. I don't have any more excuses!

Before I continue - I just want to share some blessings during the past month: Archie got me a flat screen for my PC as a "wala lang" gift (MS Excel is more fun!) , a long keyboard wrist pad with massage beads (because I am scared to have carpal tunnel syndrome) and a small LED light lamp (so I can sneak in my station while the little boy is asleep and no big lights on!). Yey! Thank you bunnywabbit! :)

Ok back now.

My kitchen adventures have been intensified because of this wonderful magazine, and great food blogs and recipe sites. I have always been using usual Barbecue commercial marinades but when I found this, I felt like I have to try it right away, and it was a success indeed!

Lemongrass Chicken Barbecue
original recipe: page 30, Yummy Magazine Jan/Feb 2010

8 pcs boneless chicken thighs/breasts, trim excess fat and cut into 1 1/2 inch pcs
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass/tanglad
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp spring onions, chopped
3/4 cup barbecue marinade (I used Mama Sita's)
2 tbsp brown sugar for a little sweetness (optional, not part of original recipe)

- lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. I had mixed chicken thighs and breasts (Archie likes white meat, while I like red)
- in a bowl, mix together lemongrass, minced garlic, spring onions and barbecue marinade. You may want to add brown sugar if (like me) you like your barbecue sweet :) Mix well.
- Pour marinade on chicken and mix altogether with your clean hands. Marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Skewer chicken , about 3 to 4 pieces per stick, grill over charcoal or grill pan, for about 5 to 6 minutes skin side down, then for another 3 to 4 minutes, on the other side. Brush chicken with left over marinade once in a while, while grilling.

For my friends who use turbo broiler - this is my homework. I shall update you all as soon as I get this done! :)

This is something new and something to look forward to on the next grilling session!

Belated happy summer to all. The heat is really scorching hot, so is the barbecue!

Chicken Afritada: A Karinderia Moment

When I was younger, I have thought of a lot of careers - I wanted to be a doctor, a pilot, a stewardess, an architect, a painter/ an artist and a showbiz superstar. Later on, I wanted to become a chef. During my time in college, taking up Culinary Arts was the latest craze... only to find out that the course of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (in my school) required 2 College Algebra subjects, 2 or 3 Accounting subjects and another term for practicum, aside from the humongous amount of tuition fee.

Huwag nalang! (never mind!)

With that, I decided to take Human Resources Management. I said to myself anyway, I can still continue cooking even without a degree in culinary. The dream to be called Chef Jam flew in the air and now in the milkyway. OK lang. Promise!

Well, if I did pursue culinary, I might have not met my darling hubby and not have our little J, right? Aww, destiny! :) HAHAHA!

Cheesy aside... Since I find extreme joy in cooking, and despite that I do not have the toque... Still, I really want to have a food business. Not a fancy resto but Karinderia or a Canteen that serves the masses. I would partner with my Mommy Tess, Ate Jeng or my friend Sheila who are all great cooks! We just need to save up for a capital, and a good good place for it.

What do Pinoy canteens/karinderias serve? Easy. Pinoy Comfort Food! What else, right?

So let me then share with you another favorite in our household: Chicken Afritada

I play with the name by sometimes calling it Chicken Africhado (chado, from Mechado), Chicken Caldechado (Caldereta and Mechado) Chicken Caldetada (Caldereta and Afritada) because they taste so close to each other! I realized this after reading Bob Ong's ABNKKBSNPLAKO)

For this dish, I used:

canola oil
1 small onion, minced
about 1 tsp of garlic, minced
1/2 kilo of chicken, cut in serving pieces
3 medium sized potatoes, cut in quarters
1 big carrot sliced in bite size pieces
Fish Sauce to taste (careful with the Salt!)
Pepper to taste
1 250 grams pack of tomato sauce
about 1/4 tsp of brown sugar to taste (optional)
about 1/2 cup of grated cheese (Eden MeltSarap)
1 tbsp of McCormick Caldereta Mix (optional)
1 cup of water/chicken stock/rice wash (hugas bigas)
about 1/4 cup of green peas
1 Red Bell Pepper sliced in strips


The Way:

On Medium to Low heat, sauté onions and garlic in canola oil. Throw in the chicken and wait until it becomes a little brown in color, the chicken will release its own juice while you are frying it. Then add the potatoes and carrots. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then season with fish sauce and pepper, pour the tomato sauce, add sugar (optional), add the cheese, a tablespoon of caldereta mix and 1 cup of water/chicken stock/rice wash. you may want to add water little by little if you want a thick consistency. Taste your afritada once in a while so that you can decide whether or not it already suits your palette. I like my afritada with a thick sauce (aka ma-sarsa). Lastly, add the green peas and bell pepper and simmer for more or less 3 minutes to avoid the bell pepper to overcook.

You might want to garnish it with cheese just before serving. :)


'Till my next Karinderia entry :-)

Herbed Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

I'm back my friends! As you can see, this previous post has been long over due and has been in my draft for a while. Yeah, I once got a "pending" here! ;-)

Kidding aside, I have been sick for quite some time and been catching up on my sleep, chasing (Piolo and Hugh Dancy in) my dreams (just kidding, honey!) and trying to recover and get that energy back. I was not able to hang out in the kingdom for around two weeks.

So here I am, after two weeks of recovery. I think I am back! Thanks to Nafarin A (for my colds) as recommended by Karren, Mucosolvan for my cough, Katinko and Vicks Inhaler and a few capsules of the ever famous Fern C, the wonder drug! (I really think I should get a box of this moving forward!)

Screeeeeeeeech! Let me not fail to mention hubby's and Little J's TLC, plus prayers!!! + Amen!+

I told Ross, I'm a bit scared because being addicted to sleep is not me so I thought maybe I need to get myself checked. I hope I am still normal. :P

Ok. after all this mellow dramatic intro, let me start and share with you my comeback dish, which was happily made last Saturday for lunch (as if I was gone for years hehehe! feeling artista ang lola niyo?)

Herbed Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

1 whole Chicken

Marinate it for at least an hour (preferably 4 hours, best overnight) with:

about 3 to 4 pinches of salt
crushed pepper to taste
2 dashes of dried basil, oregano, marjoram and spanish paprika
2 tbsps of minced garlic (you can add more if you like)
1 glug of olive oil (make this the last installment)

Rub the chicken with all these with love and affection :-)

After marinating, set your turbo broiler on high (240C or 475F) and cook the chicken for about 45 minutes to an hour on until well done, with breast facing up (as it is the thickest part of the chicken and longer to cook).

For the vegetables, I used sliced carrots (2 pieces), baguio beans (about 1/4 kilo) and baby potatoes (about 1/4 kilo) (potato marbles)

Place the carrots and baguio beans for only two minutes in boiling water to soften them a bit, take them off the water by a slotted spoon and cold shock them. Then set aside for a little stir fry later on. Do not dispose the water yet please!

For the baby potatoes, just boil them in the water you used to boil the carrots and baguio beans (save water!) for about 10 to 15 minutes until tender but not too soft to mash. Check it by inserting a toothpick, on the 10th minute. After this process, drain and let cool. You may opt not to peel it. (Just add some more water if the saved water is not enough to boil the potatoes)

As soon as the veggies are ready, melt a tbsp or two of butter and throw in the veggies, then add a dash of each herb: dried basil, oregano, marjoram, about half a tsp of garlic and an itsy bitsy pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Just do this in about a minute and a half at the most.


Serve the chicken with veggies surrounding it or may be on the side of you like. Best with warm rice or eat it with the veggies on the side. You may want to start your meal with this as your appetizer soup!

You will love the smell of your kitchen, believe me. Herby yum yum!

Happy luchtime to all! :-)

Little J's 2nd Birthday

My little boy just turned 2 years old last July 6 and he is at the prime of his toddler stage.

Javie is our greatest joy and the best blessing in our life as a family. He makes us (hubby and i) more complete than ever!

Never mind his little tantrums and his fuzzy moments. Everyone goes through that anyway! I learned from Irene, my former boss, that it's best to focus on what our toddler can do and NOT on what he/she cannot do. Focus on your kid's positive side! With that, she erased the "terrible toddler" mentality and she called her toddler her Terrific Two! Please allow me to apply that with my own :-)

For my terrific two's birthday, our family had a get together last Sunday (as an advanced celebration). Then come his birthday, on Monday noon, we had a feast at Pepper Lunch at the Shang. Our boy liked the croutons from his dad's Caesar salad, slurped on his own order of miso soup and shared the Double Beef Pepper Rice with mom.

He likes playing with the chopsticks and he thinks they are drum sticks. He says "drums! drums!" acting like a little drummer boy!

Didn't end there. He had dessert of course! So we headed right up to the ice cream stall. He can't stop eating the rocky road. He wants to steal my pistachio and coffee crumble ice cream by the way. (He says: Ice shweee!!! Ice shweee!!! )

Look at that funny little mess!

In the afternoon, we brought pancit palabok for merienda to my in-laws' and headed home to get ready for dinner. His Ninong AG and Ninang Rica (aka Ninang Ganda) came to visit after work to spend some time with their chung chung. Thanks Ninong and Ninang! ( chung chung is a term of endearment that they call little J)

As a pinoy family tradition, I have to prepare something for long life. Hubby likes Spaghetti Bolognese. I have seen a lot of great recipes but I chose this one because of its simplicity as well as most of its ingredients are readily available at home. :-)

As much as I wanted it to be really authentic, I couldn't. Fresh parmesan cheese is expensive. Grabe. It's only as small as a 1/4 size of intermediate pad paper and only about 1/4 inch thick or less and with that you will say good bye to 139 pesos.

OK. We're good for now with Kraft's Parmesan and Romano Cheese! Not bad at all!

I have been wanting to make my own version of Green Tomato's Chicken, Pesto and Garlic Pizza for quite a long time now. It was my superfriend Owen who introduced me to it a couple of years back. It's one of my favorite pizzas aside from H-h-h-Hey Jude!'s Margherita Pizza!

It was a lovely match for the pasta...for a change. Instead of the usual garlic bread.

For the Chicken, Pesto and Garlic Pizza:

Pre baked Pizza Crust
about 2 cups of Chicken breast cut into small chunks
a combo of about 1/4 cup of Eden Melt Sarap and 2 tbsp of mozarella
2 tbsps minced garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Basil Pesto

marinate the chicken in a few tbsps of pesto then set aside.
drizzle the pizza crust with olive oil, put pesto on top
followed by the marinated chicken, cheese and minced garlic.
use some more garlic if you want.
bake for about 10 minutes at 230C or until crust is lightly toasted.


For the pesto, either you use the bottled pesto from the grocery
or you can make your own pesto pinoy style:

Fresh basil leaves (I used 2 packs from Rustan's Supermarket)
about 1 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
about 1 tsp of minced garlic (add more if you want it to be garlicky)
a few pinches of salt and pepper to taste
about 2 tsps of parmesan cheese
about 1/2 cup of cashew nuts

mix all ingredients together in your food processor or blender until smooth.

if you have some more money to spend, use pine nuts! There are actually a lot of options. I believe you can use any kind of nut. whatever nut you like.

this recipe makes about 4 pizzas

Over dinner, the little birthday boy joined us and got his shares of pasta and pizza, drank soda, then ran to his dance floor (our living room) and made his dance moves: a combo of feet stomps and clapping hands and another funny step that only he can do. I could not put it into words.

We like the way he says "Dance! Dance!". He says it like a brit says it. Promise!

Then he invited his ates to dance with him, as well as his Ninong AG, went back to the dining area, had his bites and soda, and went back to his dance floor. This went on for about an hour or more. He slept at half past 10. Went really low batt! ;-)

So that was how we spent our terrific two's birthday last Monday. I can say he enjoyed his day a lot as much as we did! Wonder what we will be up to next year!??!

He is growing up so fast and I wish I can hold on to his childhood, stop the clock and savor the moments as much as I can! (Ok, I'm getting cheesier than my pizza)

Happy birthday Javie! No matter how old you are, you will always be mommy's and daddy's baby dudels. (dudels - another term of endearment)

Kahit trenta ka na tabi parin tayo matulog. JOKE!!!


P.S. What did Lady Gaga do to my son? Just Dance and Poker Face are his favorite songs now! Where did Incy Wincy Spider go??? :-) Anyway, happy weekend!!!

Another P.S. Coming very soon: The belated and imperfect square chocolate birthday cake!

Daddy Day! Hurray!

It was Father's day last Sunday and
we hosted a luncheon to celebrate it.

Same drill, different event - there is always
menu brainstorming with Rica.

So what happened? We came up with a couple of dishes that are manageable to cook
and will not add to our current stress levels! HAHAHA!

As a start, we had Nido Soup.

I admit I was quite lazy to sport a chowder or a boullabaise soup.
I am so glad to have my Knorr collection of instant soups, got the Knorr Nido Soup (cooked per instructions in the pack)
and just added quail eggs, peas,
corn and carrots to add more life and color to it!


I requested Rica to cook one of my favorite dishes of hers. I call it Talong and Lasting Love.

in reality, we have no idea about its official recipe name.
So I guess we can call it: Ground Pork with Mushrooms & Eggplant in Bean Paste - Chinese style. Yum!

Then I cooked Cream Dory in Lemon Butter Sauce,
a new family favorite

This was my second time to cook this, so the mastery of the subject was kind of already there... and all I can say is I can never get enough of it! How I wish I can breed this fish in our pond! *sigh*
A gazillion thanks to Mr. Marketman for sharing this recipe! Thank you!

We also had Chicken Barbeque...

The dream grill is still in the store waiting for hubby's return. So in the meantime, I used my ever reliable churbo (turbo) broiler. Is it still called Chicken Barbeque then?
Ok, it's Churbo Chicken Barbeque with Papaya Atchara on the side! ;-)
For this, I used the delicious Barbeque Marinade of Mama Sita's
and added lots of fresh pepper in the marinade.

OK, so my dad loves pancit canton. In lieu of the occassion,
I know he will be very delighted to see
this waiting for him on the table.

Since his (my dad's) ancient times, he orders pancit canton in any resto, as long as he sees it on the menu. Hindi siya nag sasawa. As in. Just like me with KFC, Jollibee Chicken Joy or Adobo.
May pinagmanahan ang lola niyo!

For a little change, I tried the Crispy-Fried Pancit Canton. Thank you TaGa_Luto for sharing your recipe! I just made a few changes using what I had available that day ;-)

Note: Put the snow peas as the grand finale to keep its crunchyness and its green lively color.
That, I failed to do! Look, o, the snow peas lost some of its happy greeness :(


Daddy Dino (hubby's dad) brought some Lechon cuts from Lydia's.
It just disappeared.
I think it lasted for only 5 minutes or less on the table.
I was not able to lay a finger on it.
So therefore, no photo op for the piggy = No lechon for me. Waaah!


Dessert was definitely effortless. Rica brought delicious cookies made by her cousin Aika and the famous Rocha's Delicious Puto-Kutsinta - Marikina's pride! My dad brought cake rolls and macapuno candies from Red Ribbon. Can you just imagine my blood sugar rising???
BOTH-FAMILIES-ARE-DIABETIC.
'nuff said. ;-)

This luncheon is another JUBIS episode in my life.

I WILL NOT EAT ANYMORE

You Know I'm Just Kidding!

~*~*~*~

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what food you have on the table. What matters most is how you shared it happily and lovingly with one another. What matters most is that your family sticks together
through thick and thin (in all aspects!).

And I am proud to have a family like that!

To my Papa Pepe and Daddy Eddie, to my daddy in law Daddy Dino and my dearest hubby,
thank you for being the great dads that you are!

There's this quote that says: a Mom is God's love in action...

And I say, so is a Dad!

Happy Father's Day! :-)

Football Photo of Little J with Dad courtesy of Kitty Buñag Photography

~*~*~*~

Chicken Pastel Weekend

When I finally had the guts and courage to use my oven, I thought about baking CAKE. NOT. Thanks to my friend Yvonneski, for the "how to" via chat, and to Tita Alma Buñag for the true to life demo. Thank you, thank you!


Yeah, that's how scared I was! I really needed to see a demo!


Sabi nga sa TCP 101 (Trainer Certification Program: Adult Learning Principles and Methodologies), "Adults Learn By Doing"

Yan naman! (That’s it!)


I like desserts, no doubt about it. But I loooove main courses more!


So my first baking project was to cook Chicken Pastel, with a pie crust on top.


This is a showcase dish in parties, from where I am. An all time family favorite.


It is usually cooked as is, just the chicken pastel but for more awesomeness; it is covered with a pie crust. Just like the photo here! So with the crust included, then maybe you won't have to look for your cup of rice!


uyyy... low carb daw!?


The first chicken pastel that I made last March was a success but the photo does not give any justice to it.


Thank you to Mr. Ron Merlin of The Merlin Menu for the enlightenment and tips - that the food can still look pretty even with your simple camera...and the amazing light box!


I craved for chicken pastel once again this month and I am happier that I cooked it using my new white ceramic pot! (Pa-gourmet effect ever!?) Thanks to hubby for this fabulous gift, among the other gifts hihihi! Mmmwwwwaaaaaahh!!!


While others cook pastel with Ox tongue (Lengua), I prefer to use chicken as I am chicken person. Cooking an ox tongue dish for me is another scary cooking event because it’s really delicate! So maybe the Ox tongue pastel would just have to wait for.. for.. forever? HA!


The original recipe, that served as my guide came from www.pinoyrecipe.net. Thank you!


On the photos, I used what was left in the freezer, the pantry and what I could grab from my "suking tindahan" (neighborhood store), and some simple twists:


About half a kilo Chicken breast cut into chunks

soy sauce

juice of 1 lemon (can use about 4 to 6 pieces of calamansi juice)

about 2 tbsps Butter

1 medium onion minced

about 3 cloves of garlic minced

Potatoes, diced

Carrots, diced

1 can of mushroom, cut in quarters

1 small can of vienna sausage (this was from my suking tindahan!)

grated cheese (quick melt) about 3/4 of the block

about 1 cup Chicken Broth

salt

pepper

Cream of Mushroom

about half a cup of fresh milk

For the Pie Crust:

2 to 3 cups of flour

about 5 tbsps of softened butter

about 1/4 cup of water

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of sugar (I like my crust with a little sweetness)

egg wash for brushing the crust (for the glazing effect)


The Way for the Pastel/Casserole :


Marinate the chicken breast in lemon juice and soy sauce for an hour.

After marinating, melt the butter and sauté the onions and garlic, add the mushrooms and sausage and the chicken, then add the broth, potatoes and carrots and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Then add the cream of mushroom, the grated cheese and milk, salt and pepper to taste, and then cook for another 10 minutes.

After cooking, transfer the casserole to a baking dish and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 450F or 232C


It's dough time!!!


The Way for the Pie Crust:


Mix altogether the dry ingredients: the flour, salt, sugar. Then add the butter and water. Mix into a ball, knead a little, and then roll flat the dough on a clean, floured, flat surface.

The dough can become really sticky so just put a little flour every time the dough sticks on your fingers or onto the surface. (Thanks to the pinoy cooking shows and to my Mommy Tess – I have seen her done this while I was a kid!)


I am quite OC when rolling the dough so I cover it with cling wrap :P


When the pastry crust is ready, transport it carefully by your loving hands onto the chicken pastel and cover it. Seal the sides and cut any excess dough with a knife.


Using your fork, punch holes on the pastry to let out steam. You can also use your fork to "design" the crust. Just like the empanada hehehe!


Bake it for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.


On the photo below, the crust was like saying to me, "smile before you open!" And so I did.

And even smiled again afterwards :-)


Happy Weekend!