Street Food: Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

3 large unpeeled russet potatoes, cut in wedges

1 Tsp. onion powder

1 Tsp. garlic powder

1 Tsp. dried parsley

1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and Pepper to taste

Oil for frying

Bacon grease for frying

Procedure:

1. Boil the russet potatoes until tender but not mushy in enough water with a pinch of salt.

2. Drain the potatoes in a colander and shake to remove excess water. Set aside.

3. In a large pot, heat 2 cups cooking oil and 1 cup bacon grease.

4. Season potatoes with onion powder, garlic powder, and salt.

5. Deep fry the potatoes. Potatoes are done when the edges turn brown.

6. Drain on paper towel. Place the potatoes in a ziplock bag and add in dried parsley, cheddar, and pepper. Shake until everything is incorporated and the cheese has melted. 

7. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with parsley and grated cheddar cheese.

Serves 1 hungry person.😂🤣👌

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This fries is so heavenly. In a matter of minutes, it will be gone.🤣 It was made delicious because of the bacon grease. When purchasing bacon always make sure to store the rendered fat from it because it can be used in so many recipes especially in frying french fries, fried chicken, pork chops and even in cooking your favorite pasta.

It's best to use russet potatoes for french fries and mashed because they're starchy and rich in taste.

How about you any techniques you wish to share?

SWEET TREATS: Layered Fruity Jelo

Ingredients:

-1 pack unflavored gelatin powder

-1 pack lychee flavor gelatin powder

-4 cups evaporated milk

-14 cups of water

-3 cups of sugar

-fruit cocktail

-sakura essence

-red food coloring

Procedures for Lychee Gelatin Layer:

1. Dissolve 1 pack of lychee gelatin in 4 cups water with 2 cups evaporated milk and 1 cup of sugar. 

2. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 2 drops of food coloring and stir.

3. Transfer to molding cups or tray and let it set.

Procedure for Sakura Gelatin Layer:

1. Dissolve 1 pack of unflavored gelatin in 6 cups water and 1 cup sugar. 

2. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 drop of sakura essence.

3. When lychee gelatin is already set, add fruit cocktail and pour in sakura flavor gelatin and let it set.

Procedure for Lychee Gelatin Top Layer:

1.  Dissolve 1 pack of lychee gelatin in 4 cups water with 2 cups evaporated milk and 1 cup of sugar. 

2. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and when the Sakura layer is already set, pour in the lychee gelatin and let it set. Chill in the refrigerator before serving.

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One of the best ways to end a meal is dessert. May it be fruits, cakes, ice cream, rice cakes, and et cetera but gelatin is definitely a good one to finish a meal. Especially if it's made intricately and not the typical one layered drizzled with condensed milk which is kinda boring... You can have a multi-colored, multi-layered gelatin dessert, a 3d gelatin cake, or gelatin mixed in sweet milk topped with coconut or fruits and nuts which is more appetizing. 

There are 2 types of gelatin that I know. The healthiest is the agar-agar powder or seaweed gelatin which is sourced locally. Not only Koreans are fond of using seaweed in their cooking but Filipinos as well. We use seaweeds to make desserts and drinks but it can also be used in making savory dishes. And the other type of gelatin is made from animal bones, tendons and skin which is boiled for several hours until the mixture create a thick, condensed and cloudy consistency. I know it's a bit disgusting but most of the gelatin mixture you buy in the groceries that came from other countries like the USA are made of this one. So if you're the type of eating healthy or opt for a healthier version always READ LABELS 😄 and go for the locally sourced products. 

In this recipe, I tend to use a lot of sugar because gelatin is bland in nature and if you add sugar in it and gets cooled in the fridge the sweetness tends to lessen a bit. So this recipe is not for you if you're on a  diet. 😂

Breakfast Ideas: Scrambled egg with bitter melon

                                                                                               

Ingredients:

- 1 small bitter melon, sliced thinly

- 2 whole eggs, beaten,

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 small tomato, sliced

- Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Saute garlic, onion, and tomato until tomato is about mushy.

2. Add in bitter melon and add a bit water cook until water evaporates and bitter melon is about tender.

3. Season with salt and pepper. (NEVER season salt and pepper when you already added in the eggs so season it first)

4. As you add in the egg continuously add in the eggs this is to avoid uneven lumps.

5. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy.

Makes 2-3 servings

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This is one way for me to enjoy eating bitter melon or what we call ampalaya in Tagalog, parya in my native tongue, Ilokano. Most kids would not want to eat this vegetable because of that bitter taste. But this ugly looking, bitter-tasting vegetable is really good for the body. It's known to help people suffering from diabetes, high cholesterol level, obesity and the like because it's full of antioxidants and can help as well in clearing the skin.

We have the common practice of salting the bitter melon to remove that bitter or acrid taste which is very effective. BUT, this process is not helping your body get the maximum health benefits from the vegetable because it was already rendered through salting, so never do that.  But if you're health-conscious, it's good to mix it with your power shakes, juice it alone or eat it raw.

If you want this to feed to your child and they're familiar with its appearance and taste, what you have to do is to chop it finely and mix it with meat and form to meatballs or add eggs to it. Very effective, my child eats ampalaya with egg and never notices the bitter taste of it or I put it on meatballs. YES, mommies, THERE'S A MAGIC IN MEATBALLS. You can ADD VEGETABLES TO IT so that your kids can eat the right amount of veggies and nutrition in their bodies since we all know they're such a picky eater. 👍

NOTE not to season salt the entire recipe when you already added the egg always, always season salt first on the sauteed bitter melon before adding the egg or else the salt will be tasted on the eggs, not on the entire dish.

I do have a lot of meatball recipes to share with you which I will share soon specifically the healthy ones.

How about you? any recipe to share? Enjoy cooking everyone! ❤😋

FIESTA: No Tipid Spaghetti

                                                       

                                                                                 

Ingredients:

400 grams of spaghetti noodles

500 grams of spaghetti sauce, Filipino style or Sweet style

1 cup ground beef

1 cup cheese hotdog, sliced

1 cup button mushroom, sliced

1 cup beef stock

1 cup water from the cooked spaghetti pasta

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 large onion, chopped

1 garlic bulb, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

2 tbsp. dried parsley

2 tbsp. paprika

Pepper to taste

Procedure for Spaghetti Sauce:

1. Saute garlic and onion until onion is translucent.

2. Add in the ground beef and continue stirring until the meat turns brown.

3. Add in the carrot and mushroom and cook until the vegetables are slightly brown.

4. Add in the parsley and paprika and continue stirring for 1 minute.

5. Pour in the beef stock and water and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

6. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and add in the hotdogs and simmer for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

7. When the spaghetti sauce comes to a gentle simmer, add in the grated cheese and continue cooking.

8. Season with pepper. If the taste is a little bit bland, you can add salt. Spaghetti Sauce is ready when the consistency is a bit thick but not too thick and the cheddar cheese is completely melted.

9. Place cooked pasta in a serving dish and pour spaghetti sauce. Garnish with cheddar cheese and parsley. Makes 9 servings.

Procedure for Spaghetti noodles:

1. Boil enough water and add in a handful of salt. NO OIL! why? because the spaghetti sauce will not coat the pasta and will just slip through.

2. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package. wait.. not really.😁 It depends, to be honest on what kind of ingredients used and of course your preference on how firm and soft the pasta can be. If durum semolina is the main ingredient for the pasta it's al dente for 7 minutes but I cook it for 8-10 minutes. But if you use pasta made from wheat flour it can be al dente when cooked for 12 minutes.

Note: It's best to cook spaghetti sauce in a non-stick casserole.

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Filipinos love their spaghetti, sweet style and if with hotdog, tons of hotdog. 😂 A well-known brand here in the Philippines and now a global empire started this recipe and sold internationally and loved not only by Filipinos but foreign people as well.

Spaghetti is always served during birthdays, christening, fiesta and almost all event gatherings you can attend. No birthday is complete without spaghetti since kids love it so much. My early memory of spaghetti was when I was in grade 2 during our Christmas party and I can only have Jollibee spaghetti once a year until high school that is when we buy our school supplies in San Fernando La Union which can take 45 minutes to an hour ride from my hometown. So much waiting for a spaghetti right.😁

I have other spaghetti sauce recipes but this one is THE BEST sauce I've ever made because my family loves it so much and I make sure that I don't compromise the taste.

Choosing pasta for spaghetti shouldn't be taken lightly because if you want to make the best tasting spaghetti choose pasta wisely. In cooking pasta, there are brands that tend to expand in a drastic way and some tend to be soggy and mushy despite following package instruction while some brands when cooked retains its shape and size and don't expand so much. So, in my opinion and base on my experience, I go with pasta made from durum semolina because it doesn't expand so much and they don't stick together when left for an hour. I cook my spaghetti pasta last because I tend to cook a portion of the sauce with the pasta to coat every strand so that the pasta can absorb most of the flavor of the sauce.

The spaghetti sauce has lots of ingredients on it that is why it is a NO TIPID Spaghetti recipe. I normally use cheese hotdog rather than the regular ones and instead of oregano for the herb I used parsley because kids are not used to the aromatic scent of oregano. If I'm eating spaghetti with kids this is my recipe but if I eat spaghetti alone, I normally use loads of herbs in it like oregano, basil parsley and instead of spaghetti sauce, I use stewed tomato and I replace meat with shrimp. 

How about you, how do you like your spaghetti? 

Native desserts: Kakanin

Ingredients:

- 2 cups powdered glutinous rice

- water

- brown sugar

- 3 cups shredded coconut 

- sesame seeds (optional)

Procedure:

1. In a large bowl, pour in glutinous rice. 

2. Pour water little at a time. The dough to be formed should be soft and smooth, not hard and not runny.

3. Form the dough into small balls around 17 pieces. 

4. In a large pot, boil enough water.

5. Flatten the small balls and dunk one at a time into boiling water. Do not crowd the pan. Pick up the flattened dough when it floats.

6. Dip into sugar with coconut and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy.

Makes 17 pieces

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Palitaw is one of the easiest native delicacies you can prepare at home and less tedious compared to other delicacies. Recipes made from glutinous rice is a staple in most Southeast Asian countries even in the grand palace of the King of Siam most of the desserts prepared are made from glutinous rice.

Here in the Philippines, every region has its own recipes made from glutinous rice which I will share on my upcoming blogs. 

I made palitaw because  I saw Lyra, a youtuber which I follow made one so I craved for it. Instead of buying, I made my own like she did. It was so good and I shared some to my in-laws. 👍

What native delicacies you want to eat and share? Enjoy cooking everyone! ❤😋

Kanin Serye: Fried Rice with Chorizo

Ingredients: 

- 2 cups leftover rice (preferably stored in the fridge)

- 2 pieces chorizo de bilbao, chopped
- 1 leeks, chopped

- 3 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp. Oyster sauce
- 1 egg, beaten

- Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Saute garlic and onion until onion is translucent (use oil from the chorizo)

2. Add in chorizo, leeks, and leftover rice.

3. Season with oyster sauce, salt and pepper.

4. Add egg and saute for 3-5 minutes and transfer to a serving dish.

Makes 1-2 servings.

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Chorizo De Bilbao which is very popular here in the Philippines was named after the City of Bilbao, the Basque region of Spain. But did you know that Chorizo de Bilbao did not really originate from Spain nor was produced any in Spain? 😕 A Filipino businessman, Vicente Genato, coined it from Genato family from Bilbao, Spain, his family's home town. 

This semi-cured sausage pork was so popular in the Philippines and can be recognized mostly from all Spanish dishes.  Chorizo De Bilbao is different from the Chinese sausage Lap Cheong or Chorizo Macao don't get confused. 

Chorizo De Bilbao is peppery because of paprika and pepper, very meaty and has that intense red color. Lap Cheong is a bit pale red, very oily and gelatinous in texture and a bit sweeter in taste.

For some fried rice recipe that includes cured sausage, you can add veggies as well like carrots, peas, and carrots.

How about you, how do you want your fried rice? Enjoy cooking everyone!❤😋

Fiesta: Chicken Lumpia

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup ground chicken 

- 1 small carrot, finely shredded

- 1 small onion, finely chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 3 tbsp. green beans, chopped

- 1  tbsp. leeks, chopped

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 1 egg, beaten

- lumpia wrappers

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients except the lumpia wrapper.

2. Season with salt and pepper depending on your taste.

3. Scoop 1 teaspoon of the mixture in a lumpia wrapper and wrap it tightly. Secure the ends with water and press gently to seal.

4. Repeat step until all chicken shanghai mixture is done.

5. In a deep pan with hot oil, deep fry all chicken shanghai until golden brown.

6. Drain on paper towels and transfer to a serving dish and serve it with your favorite dipping sauce.

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Lumpia, as we call it here in the Philippines, was influenced by the Chinese which they called egg rolls/ spring rolls can be found every part of the country and in every festivities, lunch, snacks, breakfast, and dinner. There are different kinds of mixtures stuffed in it.

 The most common ones are minced pork lumpia, fresh lumpia (fresh rice wrapper with veggies drizzled with peanut sauce), and lumpiang togue (deep-fried lumpia with mung bean sprout and other veggies dipped in vinegar). Lumpia can either be deep-fried or can be fresh depending on the stuffing or mixture you put in. The dipping sauce can be different as well depending on your stuffing like if deep-fried lumpia with meat stuffing, you can use ketchup, mayo with ketchup or garlic mayo. But if you use vegetable stuffing you might want to use vinegar which is the most common dipping sauce but if you use fresh veggies and fresh wrapper peanut sauce is the best partner.

During birthdays or any events, lumpia is always a part of the food choices because it's really good and we Filipinos love eating it. 😊

How about you, how do you want your lumpia? Enjoy cooking everyone!

Kanin Serye: Tuna Fried Rice

Ingredients:

- 2 cups leftover rice (preferably stored in the fridge before using) 

- 1 can tuna (adobo flavor)

- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

- 1 small onion, chopped

- green onion for garnishing

- Pepper for seasoning

Procedure:

1. Saute the garlic until slightly brown.

2. Add onions and saute until translucent.

3. Add tuna in adobo sauce and saute until slightly dry.

4. Add in leftover rice cook for 3-5 minutes.

5. Season with pepper and transfer to a serving dish and garnish with spring onion.

Makes 1-2 servings.

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This recipe is one of the most budget-friendly, fast and easy to prepare food.  This is one of the simplest recipes which you can say, "Kanin pa lang, ulam na." 😂 because everything is in it, you have the rice and the ulam in one dish. You can top it sometimes with a fried egg.

If you're a student this recipe should be on your list like if you don't have anyone to cook for you especially if you're renting an apartment, dormitory or condo. I came to learn this recipe from a friend of mine while I was staying with her in a boarding house in Makati. We're both lazy to go out and don't want to go out so she decided to make fried rice. I was surprised she used canned tuna in adobo sauce which I'm not familiar at that time and it was possible to combine the two.😂😂 I was surprised because it really tasted good. 

In this recipe, I used 555 Tuna Adobo but you can use other brands, plain tuna, or the simply favored canned tuna from the gold seas brand. I like the rice here if it has that crispy bottom because it adds texture to the dish. You might want to use leftover rice straight from the fridge rather than freshly cooked because it's much easier to separate and will be thoroughly coated by the sauce during cooking. If the rice is not placed on the fridge or you used freshly cooked rice, it will be too sticky and it would be difficult to saute with the other ingredients and sauce will not coat the rice properly. I also love eating this with a fried egg with a runny yolk. It's so yummy..👌😋

How about you how do you like your fried rice? Enjoy cooking everyone!

Vegetarian: Pumpkin and Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

- Half of a small pumpkin, chopped

- 1 medium-sized carrot, chopped

- 6 garlic cloves, chopped

- 1 medium-sized onion, chopped

- 1 cup coconut cream

- 2 cups of water

- pinch of Italian seasoning (optional)

- Half of chicken broth cubes

- 1 tsp. of paprika

- Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Saute garlic, onion, pumpkin, and carrot.

2. Add Italian seasoning and paprika. Sweat the herb before adding the water and chicken broth cubes.

3. Boil until pumpkin and carrot are soft.  

4. Transfer into a blender and puree. There should be no lumps.

5. Return to the pot and simmer over low heat and add coconut cream. Season with salt and pepper. 

6. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy while it's hot.

Makes 3-4 servings.

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I already prepared some recipes using pumpkin and this recipe is one of my first.😉 I can it's not that bad since my daughter loved it so much and ate 2 bowls of it. I usually feed her soup in this manner if I think she wasn't able to eat enough vegetable which is required for her diet. Don't go loco with the Italian seasoning because it might overpower the taste of the pumpkin and carrots. 

This recipe guys, is another vegetarian recipe because there is no meat and mostly plant-based. Have your kids eat plenty of veggies because it helps in their growth and mental development. If you can't feed them the usual way of cooking, try making this soup not only pumpkin but other veggies as well. 

Instead of using dairy milk for this recipe, again I used coconut cream because it's a healthier option plus the texture is more different and the taste is different as well. If you use dairy milk, it's lighter and silkier in texture but since there are other dairy products, it will result in different outcomes as well but if you use coconut milk it's denser and creamier. 

I enjoy my pumpkin soup with garlic bread. I make my own garlic bread with pandesal, not the typical baguette or loaf bread. 

How do you enjoy your soup? Have a recipe to share? 😊 Enjoy cooking everyone! ❤😘

FIESTA: Beef Stew

Ingredients:

-Half kilo of beef brisket cut into cubes

-1 large red onion, sliced

-2 cups napa cabbage, cut into quarters

-2 potatoes, cut into quarters

-1 cup green beans cut into half, diagonally

-1 large corn, cut into portions

-Thumb-sized ginger sliced thinly

-Whole peppercorns

-2 tbsp. fish sauce

-1 beef broth cube

Procedure:

1. Parboil the briskets with salt and peppercorns to remove gunk. Rinse after.

2. In a large pot, saute ginger and parboiled beef brisket. 

3. When brisket turns brown, add in the peppercorns and onion and saute for 1 minute. Season with fish sauce.

3. Add in water (enough to cover the whole pot) and add the corn and beef broth cubes and simmer over low fire until brisket is tender. Cover the pot properly. Add water if necessary.

4. Add-in potatoes and cook until potatoes are soft but not crumbly or mushy. 

5. Add the rest of the vegetables and simmer for 3 minutes and do not cover.

6. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy while it's hot.

 Makes 5-6 servings.

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Beef stew or nilagang baka is a very popular dish in the Philippines. We usually eat it with a dipping sauce of patis with calamansi and red chili and eat it with a cup of steaming rice. It's a very comforting food during the rainy season. It's a must to prepare this dish for guests let's say a bit practical because it has everything, soup, meat, and lots of veggies.  😊👍 It will be best if you have firewood to cook this because it tastes best when cooked on firewood and you can save up your gasul.

Way back home, my parents prepare this dish over the weekends. We use the rib part and cooked over firewood and simmered for hours and we usually put taro or saging na saba which adds more flavor and taste so fantastic and lots of veggies can be added on it. Every time we eat this with the family over the weekends, it feels like fiesta and the dining table looks so festive because we sometimes accompany this dish with grilled fish, boiled camote tops with tomatoes, chopped onions and bagoong isda, chargrilled okra and sometimes my dad will prepare fish kilawin (tanigue in calamansi and onion) or fresh oysters.😋 I think I was in grade 6 or highschool when I first tasted beef nilaga because beef is very pricey guys. 

For this recipe, I parboiled the beef brisket to remove gunk which I mentioned in one of my blogs before because it's very important in making a clear broth. You don't want those brown foam floating into your food not realizing that those are dirt and whatever you think you don't want to eat right? 😂😂

It's a must to put onion leeks in it to give that depth of flavor ( iba lasa pag meron leeks mas masarap) but I need to work on what's on my kitchen. 😉

How about you guys? what's your beef stew recipe? Enjoy cooking everyone! ❤😘

Vegetarian: Pumpkin and Winged Beans on coconut cream

Ingredients:

- Half of a small pumpkin, cubed

- 1 cup winged beans, cut diagonally

- 1 medium-sized onion, sliced

- 5 garlic cloves, chopped

- Half slab of dried labahita fish, soaked in water and shredded (optional: white bisugo)

- 1 cup coconut cream

- 1 cup water

- 1 tbsp. fish sauce

- Thumb-sized ginger, sliced thinly

- White pepper to taste

- pinch of sugar

Procedure:

1. Saute garlic, ginger and onion.

2. Add in shredded labahita. Once onion turns translucent.

3. Add in the pumpkin and fish sauce. Saute for 1 minute

4. Add in the coconut cream and water and bring to a boil. 

5. Once it boils, add in the winged beans, sugar, and season with pepper and boil for 1-2 minutes or until winged beans are tender but not overcooked.

6. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy.

Makes 2-3 servings.

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This dish is one of my husband's favorite because it's a dish made of coconut cream or gata since he is a Bicolano and very easy on the wallet because the ingredients are so cheap.👍👌 It's a healthy dish because basically, it's plant-based and NO MEAT. Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A and relatively low in calorie and the winged bean is rich in folate, low in calories as well, contains protein and healthy fat. 

NEVER peel the pumpkin because the skin has lots of vitamins as well and fiber too. For the winged beans, remove the tips and a strand on its side will come off with it. That part is tough so it's best to remove as well. When using dried fish, better soaked it in water to remove excess salt. You might ask, why would I soak it and then add fish sauce after? Because it's better to be safe, if the dried fish is too salty it can ruin the dish boiling it for a long time renders those salt. So if the dish is not that salty after using soaked dried fish, you can add salt or fish sauce.

Pumpkin or squash? What to use for cooking? Are you confused? Well basically, pumpkin is one type of squash. Pumpkin is a fruit and squash has so many varieties but both came from the same family of genus cucurbita. Squash has many varieties depending on the climate and to which part of the world it grows you have butternut squash, kabocha(japan), honey bear squash, yellow summer squash and so many more.

Enjoy cooking everyone! ❤😘

COMFORT FOODS: Twice Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

- 1 kilo chicken legs
- brine solution
- breading mix

Brine Solution Ingredients:
- 1 liter of water
- 1 cup or more salt
- 1 tbsp. peppercorns
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 whole garlic crushed
- 3 laurel leaves
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning (optional)

Breading Mix Ingredients:
- 1 to 2 cups cornstarch
- 2 tbsp. white pepper
- 2 tbsp. paprika
- 2 tbsp. onion powder
- 2 tbsp. garlic powder

Procedure:

1. Prepare the Brine Solution first. If brine solution boils and the sugar and salt are completely dissolved, set aside to cool.
2. Prick the chicken legs and marinate in the brine solution for 6 hours or overnight.
3. Remove the chicken legs from the brine solution and rinse. Pat dry with a kitchen towel.
4. Prepare the breading mix by combining all ingredients.
5. Roll each chicken legs in the breading mix and shake off excess.
6. In a deep pan or casserole, heat enough oil and make sure that the oil is really hot.
7. Deep fry chicken on medium to high heat by batches. Around 25 minutes to cook.
8. Once all chicken legs are cooked, deep fry again over high heat to achieve crispy fried chicken. 
9. Place on a serving dish and enjoy with gravy or any dipping sauce you like.
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This fried chicken recipe is superb, and your family will definitely love it. It's no ordinary chicken because I used cornstarch as a breading instead of flour because it makes the chicken skin crispy plus it was fried twice to make it really crispy. You can also use potato starch for that crispy Korean-style chicken but since potato starch is a bit expensive, I opt to use cornstarch instead.

The brine solution makes the chicken extra special because it makes the chicken very aromatic and flavorful. It tastes like the best-fried chicken ever. 😂👍 Every time you use brine solutions always wash the meat before frying to remove excess salt. 

When deep-frying, always make sure that the oil is really hot. You will know if it's really hot when you put sliced garlic and the oil starts to bubble up and that the garlic floats to the top immediately. 

How about you, how do you cook your fried chicken? Share your recipe with me and let's all enjoy cooking.

FISHY TREATS: Milkfish nuggets

Ingredients:

- 1 whole deboned milkfish, boiled and shredded

- 1 large red onion, finely chopped,

- 1 whole garlic, minced

- 1 large carrot, finely chopped

- 3 whole eggs, beaten

- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- half cup breadcrumbs

- 4 tbsp. flour

- 2 tbsp. paprika (optional)

- salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Mix well all ingredients in a bowl and form into a nugget shape. 

2. Dust each nugget with flour to avoid sticking from the pan and to lessen oil splash.

3 In a frying pan, heat enough oil and fry nuggets until golden brown. Do not crowd the pan so that each nugget will be cooked properly. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.

4. Place on a serving dish and enjoy it with your favorite dipping sauce.

Makes 25 medium-sized nuggets.

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You can recreate this dish with other fish like tuna, blue mackerel scad, tilapia or dory, and others. This is one of the dishes you will prepare if you're tired of the usual sinigang na bangus, paksiw na bangus, fried bangus, sarciado or bangus in tausi.

I put a lot of veggies on this dish because I want it to be healthier since the process of cooking is deep frying. You can have your kids eat veggies with this dish without them noticing it. and maybe they might think it's chicken nuggets like my daughter. 😂😂

This dish is a bit tedious because of the chopping and shredding which consumes most of your time doing but it's all worth it once you have that bite. I enjoyed my fish nuggets with banana ketchup with mayonnaise or sweet chili sauce.

Your family will definitely love this.  Share your recipes with me and let's all enjoy cooking. 😋😋😘

CHEAP EATS: Odong

Ingredients:

- 1 can sardines in tomato sauce (fishbones removed)

- 1 onion chopped

- 4 large garlic cloves, minced

- 1 tomato, sliced

- 2 packs odong noodles

- 2 tbsp. fish sauce

- 3 cups of water

- Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Saute garlic, onion, and tomato, on medium heat.

2. When the tomato slices are already soft or mushy, add fish sauce and add sardines.

2. Pour water then bring to a boil.

3. Boil it for 5 minutes and add the odong noodles. (Add water if not enough)

4. Once odong noodles are soft,  season with salt and pepper.

5. Crack one egg, cover, and turn off the heat after 1 minute. (optional)

6. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy while it's hot.

Makes 1-2 servings.

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Filipinos are no stranger to sardines. It's a staple on every Filipino household to have canned/bottled sardines on their pantry. Canned sardines may be a lifesaver because it is affordable and very accessible especially for the masses. Major groceries and sari-sari store sells sardines in a can or bottle. 

Small but the mighty sardines can be cooked hundred-ways from simple saute to a gourmet dish like pasta con sardinas or sardinas croquetas. Canned sardines can be unhealthy because of the high salt concentration used during the preservation process but you can add veggies to it to absorb or lessen the saltiness of the dish. You can add malunggay leaves, chayote tops, pumpkin leave tops or any leafy vegetables or you can add papaya or chayote to it.   

For this dish, instead of the usual misua noodles, I used odong noodles because it's a bit bigger and chewy in texture like typical noodles. Udong noodles can be bought at any local market and costs around Php10.00 only, very cheap right? 😊 I had my officemate buy me since it's available on their market. 😂😂😂 Thanks to Ren. 😘

How do you enjoy your sardines? Do you have any recipes to share? Enjoy cooking everyone!

Merienda Serye: Ladyfinger Cream Floats

Ingredients:

- 125ml all-purpose cream (chilled to achieve thick consistency)
- 200ml condensed milk
- 250ml soy milk
- 1 tub ladyfingers 
- lemon zest, grated
- few drops of vanilla essence 

Procedure:

1. Whisk together all-purpose cream and condensed milk until thick.
2. Add in lemon zest and vanilla essence and fold gently.
3. Assemble the cream float on a 4x4 container with the following steps accordingly:
       -Pour enough cream to cover the bottom. Next,
       -Dip the ladyfingers in soymilk, make sure it will not get soggy. Dip about 3 seconds then layer soaked ladyfingers on the cream. Pour another layer of cream and repeat. The top layer should be cream. 

4. Refrigerate for 2 hours or more. Serve chilled. You can top it with nuts or add your favorite fruits like mango, cherry, peach et cetera Makes 3-4 servings.

This recipe can create 2 layers only. If you want to make a bigger batch adjust the measurements of milk components into two.

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We are very familiar with Mango float or so-called "Graham cake" but aren't you tired eating the same thing all the time for dessert or snack? 😒

In this recipe, I tried another variation using ladyfingers, Savoiardi in Italy or locally known here in the Philippines as Broas, a spongy, airy, eggy crispy biscuit dusted with icing sugar and baked to perfection. Ladyfingers for some countries are used to make desserts like tiramisu, trifles, and charlottes.  You can add fruits of your choice or nuts like peanut, almond, pecan or walnut for extra flavor or texture but for this recipe, I made it simple yet tasty because a bit of lemon zest and vanilla essence can make it already extraordinarily tasty.😋

Broas is a bit more expensive compared to the graham for this dessert cake but it's worth it because of the texture it gives in every bite.  This dessert/snack I made is heavenly because of its taste and texture. Zesty in taste because of the lemon zest but creamy at the same time. The broas is very soft like a pillow and slightly sweet because of the soy milk and very spongy.

By the way, when using zests of lemon or any citrus fruit, make sure to wash it with lukewarm water or soak them in lukewarm water with salt for 2-5 minutes to remove that thin layer of wax covering the fruit.😮 Yes guys, there is a thin film of wax used on oranges, lemons, limes, and even apples to protect them during the long days of shipping and transportation and to maintain the freshness of the fruit as well.

You want to share your dessert or snack recipe? You can post it below and I'll give it a try as well. Enjoy cooking everyone!❤😘