Beef Bulalo

I haven't found the right proportions to get the taste that I wanted. This is still a work in progress.

One thing is for sure though, I like to do this the old fashioned way: slow cooking. No beef cubes for me.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg beef, preferrable with the bone marrow
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion , chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 3-4 pcs potatoes, diced
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 L water
• cabbage, chopped
• salt, pepper, MSG and fish sauce to taste

Instructions:

1. Thirty minutes before cooking, add salt, pepper and MSG to the beef to add flavor.
2. Heat the oil and saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
3. Lower the heat, add the beef and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the water, lower the heat further and filter the bubbles that form until the water boils. This will help 'clear' the soup. Once the water starts to boil, leave it to simmer for at least 2 hours.
5. Add the potatoes and cook for another 60 minutes (until the potatoes are cooked).
6. Add the cabbage and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Variations:

Adding saba bananas and/or pieces of corn gives the soup a richer flavor.

Chicken Adobo

I never really measure things when I cook this recipe, it always depends on my mood at that moment. I finally decided to determine the exact proportions that I really like.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 kg chicken, cut into pieces
• ginger (around 1-2 thin slices)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 9 tbsp Datu Puti vinegar (or any brand of cane vinegar)
• 9 tbsp Marca Pina soy sauce
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 4 pcs laurel leaves
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Instructions:

1. Over medium heat, saute ginger and garlic in oil for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the chicken, lower the heat (to low heat) and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes.
3. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, pepper and laurel leaves. Do NOT stir, just simmer for about 30 minutes over low heat.
4. Remove from heat and set aside for about 10 minutes. Serve with white rice.

You can add pineapple chunks for more sweet-and-sour flavor to your adobo. This makes 4-5 servings.

Tuna Carbonara

Ingredients

• 1 can tuna (in oil)
• 200 g pasta, cooked
• 1/6 cup cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Saute garlic using the oil in the tuna, then add the tuna. Cook for about 2 mins over medium heat.
2. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the cheese.
3. Remove pan from heat. Add the egg mixture into the pan. Afterwards, mix in the cream.
4. Put salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over cooked pasta.

For added flavor, I added a small onion. I sauteed it with the garlic before adding the tuna.

Crab Tomato Soup

More ways to dispose of my crab sticks and the remaining tomatoes in my refrigerator. This recipe makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:

• 10 crab sticks, chopped finely
• 1/2 cup semi-thick cream
• 190 g tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup onions, chopped
• 1 cup tomatoes, diced
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute garlic, onions and tomatoes in oil until softened.
2. Stir in tomato sauce, water and crab meat. Add all the spices (basil, salt and pepper).
3. Stir in the cream until bubbly.

The semi-thick cream can be replaced by light cream (just reduce the amount of water). For more flavor, I heated the crab sticks in water for about 15 minutes.

Lemon Kani

This is a variation of Dianne's Crab recipe (as shown here). It is easy to make, and a perfect way to dispose of all the crab sticks I bought recently. This is good for 1-2 servings.

Ingredients:

• 12 imitation crab sticks (approx 200g), coarsely chopped
• 1-1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• grated cheese (for topping)

Instructions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat butter until melted.
2. Add garlic and saute lightly.
3. Add the crab sticks and cook over medium heat, turning gently.
4. Add lemon juice and pepper and continue to cook until hot.
5. Add grated cheese and serve.

This is good as rice topping, or served with toasted bread. I tried using parmesan cheese in this recipe. I think it would be better to use quickmelt cheese.

Warning: The quality of the crab meat decreases upon reheating. It is advisable to consume everything that you prepared.

Buttered Prawns

This recipe was inspired by Bituin while we were staying over Manjo's house last weekend. The recipe was ridiculously easy, I just had to try it. A little Google-fu led me to the origins of this recipe at Dampa. Of course, I had to reduce the proportions so that it would be enough for 1 or 2 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg prawns
• 1 cup Sprite
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Season the prawns with salt, and marinate the prawns in Sprite for at least 1 hour.
2. Under medium to high heat, simmer the prawns and soda for 4-5 minutes or until the prawns are cooked. Remove the prawns and set aside.
3. In a separate pan, sauté the garlic in butter. When the garlic is cooked, pour the remains of the soda into the pan. Reduce until you achieve the desired consistency. Pour the mixture over the cooked prawns.

Leche Flan

Since I can't figure out how to dispose of the condensed milk in my refrigerator, and since I ran out of snacks, I decided to try one of my mom's recipes. Luckily I had some eggs in stock, and I just hoped that I can get the proportions right.

With the ingredients mentioned here, I managed to do 6 small servings of leche flan.

Since I have a microwave and a microwave steamer, I placed the moulds in the microwave, 3 at a time. After 10 minutes on medium heat, it was already cooked. However, I think I added too much water, or maybe because I forgot to buy some aluminum foil. Anyway, the consistency of the bottom part of the leche flan was not very good. But the upper half is yummy, so I guess I did it right. I'll tell you about it in the second attempt. Haha.

Ingredients:

• 0.2 liters condensed milk
• 0.1 liters water
• 6 egg yolks
• vanilla extract

For the caramel:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions:

1. In a stainless steel pan, dissolve the sugar and water over medium heat. Bring to boil until sugar caramelizes. Pale brown means sweeter and too dark means bitter. When you have achieved the desired color, pour the syrup in the mould, making sure to coat all the parts of the mould.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolk, condensed milk, water and vanilla. Use a whisk to mix thoroughly but gently to prevent bubbles from forming.
3. Pour the mixture in the mould, filling it up to about 1 to 1-1/4 inch thick. Cover it with an aluminum foil, so that the moisture from the steam won't come in the mould as it will become watery.
4. Steam cook for 20-25 minutes, or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove the mould and let it cool at room temperature. Then refrigerate for several hours before serving.
6. To serve, run a sharp knife around the edge of the mould and carefully invert it on a serving dish. Let the caramelized sugar flow over the leche flan.