Modified Adobong Manok with SkyFlakes

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I cook what's available in the ref, and today, there's not much inside.

Today's dish comes from my father and sister's cookbook.  One time we wanted to have a turkey-like feast for the New Year's media noche, but since this is the Philippines and there are no readily available turkey, we used whole chicken covered with -- SkyFlakes crumbs.

In a pan, I cooked the chicken with a ladle of oil, sliced ginger, crushed garlic, black pepper, bay laurel leaf, a spoon of vinegar and a quarter cup of water... wait a minute, looks like we're doing adobo without the soy sauce.  Well, we are.

When the chicken's almost cooked, I added chopped onions, butter, chicken broth cubes and 2 packs of SkyFlakes Onion and Chives crumbs.  In the original recipe, we used the regular M.Y.San SkyFlakes.  The only reason why I used Onion and Chives, which you might have guessed by now, is that it is what's available.

M.Y.San SkyFlakes Onion & Chives.  Picture taken using iPod touch.

The original recipe of this dish also calls for red bell pepper and potatoes, but since neither is available, we'll do without.

After mixing in the SkyFlakes crumbs and you find that the crumbs have absorbed most of the oil, add more oil and butter.  We also add some soy sauce just enough to colorize the chicken so it won't look pale.  I also added about 2 spoons of kalamansi juice, though you don't have to.  Cook until done.

The dish looked very plain, so I sauteed in butter some Baguio beans thinly sliced to look like chopped chives. Why Baguio beans?  Because it's the only available vegetable in the ref.

The end product is edible, and again, I ate a lot.  This is the reason why I don't like cooking, I tend to eat a lot when I cook.

Modified adobong manok with SkyFlakes.  Picture taken using iPod touch.

Pakbet Tagalog

Notice that I used the title pakbet and not pinakbet to what I cooked today. Although some people would take the two terms interchangeably, being an Ilocano, I would like to delineate the two.

Yes, there is a difference between pakbet and pinakbet.

To me, pakbet is the southern vegetable stew while pinakbet would be the northern vegetable stew.  So as you go north (Ilocos) it's pinakbet and as you go towards south (Tagalog) it becomes pakbet.  There is also a difference in cooking.  Pinakbet is stewed while pakbet is more stir-fried.  Pinakbet uses bagoong (fish paste) while pakbet uses bagoong alamang (shrimp paste).  Aside from the staple vegetables: eggplant, string beans, okra, ampalaya and tomatoes, pakbet may also have squash.  And pakbet doesn't use ginger while pinakbet does.

Cooking pakbet is easy enough.  I fried pork in used oil (note that I recycle ingredients) and garlic.  Then I added my vegetables: onion, eggplant, string beans, ampalaya and tomatoes -- these were the only available vegetables in the ref and are almost inedible.  To complicate matters, I added ginger.  I then added the bagoong alamang from the other day's kare-kare.  I used patis (fish sauce) and instant ginisa granules to taste.  I cooked the vegetables until done or have an identity crisis, whichever comes first.

My grade: yummy!  Ate a lot.

Pakbet Tagalog.  Picture taken using iPod touch.

Kalderetang Baboy

Bored, bored, bored.  Bored with Farmville too.  I guess it's almost time to go back to real life.

Sorry, I digressed, today I made pork caldereta.  Since the original kaldereta uses goat meat, and the Ilocano for goat is kalding, I've always thought that the dish's name came from there.  Only later did I find out that the dish's name came from caldero or pot.  In a general sense, caldereta is simply a spicy meat stew.

Again I made use of ready-made mixes (I use McCormick powders btw ).  The packet's instructions are again simple: boil meat until tender, add vegetables and powder mix, simmer and serve.

For vegetables, I added potatoes and carrots and I also added chili for that extra extra kick.  I later on added some salt and pepper, then tomato sauce when I tasted it and it was a bit spicy.

An unadulterated kaldereta recipe would ask for green peas and bell pepper which we don't have, so I have to make the dish without.

Kalderetang baboy.  Picture taken using iPod touch.

Just some feedback on the previous dish I made:  The mashed squash was untouched when I returned to the kitchen the next day.  Well, that's the last time i'll be doing that.  Half of the squash is still in the ref, I'll probably make some soup out of it.

Kare-kareng Baboy

I've learned the value of store-bought instant mixes in cooking and today, I cooked kare-kare (meat stewed in peanut sauce).

The packet's instructions are simple enough.  I boiled the meat, in our case, pork, in water until cooked.  I added the instant mix powder then the vegetables: eggplant, string beans, and puso ng saging.  Simmer until the the sauce is thick.

But here's where I deviated:  I added patis and ginisa mix powder to taste -- which I shouldn't have since the ginisa taste now seems to overpower the peanut-y taste.

Kare-kare.  Picture taken using iPod touch.

The secret to kare-kare is actually the interplay of taste:  the sweet taste of the peanut sauce and the saltiness of the bagoong alamang -- which I also bought ready-made from the store.

I've searched the internet and everywhere for the legend of kare-kare.  I mean who would have thought of cooking meat with peanut sauce to begin with?

Since I couldn't find the story of its origin, I'm going to write one -- a romance -- and hopefully post it here someday.  For now, I'm doing a research on the subject, and if you are reading this blog and knows its peculiar story, please send me a message or comment. :)

Pork Nuggets with Mashed Squash and Potatoes and Experimental Eggplant Parmigiana

Okay, I was so giddy that I went down early to cook at 3pm and I finished cooking by 6pm

First part of the dish is the pork nuggets.  Quite easy to do actually:  rub pork nuggets in ground pepper, salt and flour.  Dip it in whipped egg, then cover with store bought bread crumbs.  Fry until golden brown.

For the mash, boil squash and potatoes.  When cooked, remove from water, then mash squash and potatoes in separate container, add melted butter, some milk, salt and pepper to taste.

The eggplant parmigiana is a bit tricky.  Cook the eggplant which is cut into half in open flame.  I poked some holes using fork on its skin, though I don't really think it makes a difference.  For the sauce, just mix tomato paste, some garlic powder and seasoning.  Paint the open half of the eggplant with the paste then cover with cheese.  Place in the oven toaster until the cheese is melted.

Pork nuggets with  mashed squash and potatoes and experiment eggplant parmigiana.  Picture taken using iPod touch.

Taste-wise, the mash is good, however the squash consistency is too Gerber-y.  The parmigiana is way off because of the sauce, it seems to lack something, probably real tomatoes and onion.  The nuggets are fine.

I was a bit dismayed by the color combination of the dish so I stir-fried some Baguio beans, and here's what the people will be eating tonight:

Looks much better, don't you think?

Chicken Curry

Okay, we're back.  The maid left us so I'm back to cooking dinner.  Her leaving us makes me really sad because she cooks so well. *sigh*

Today I made a quick and easy chicken curry.  The usual ingredients: chicken, potatoes, carrots, curry powder and milk.

I initially quick fried the cut potatoes and carrots in oil then set them aside.  I then quick fried the chicken, adding some garlic, ginger, onions and pepper.  When the chicken meat turned white, I added water and the curry powder, then later the potatoes and carrots. When the chicken's cooked I added evaporated milk then some instant seasoning to taste and chili for some kick.  I added the milk last because it tends to curd if overcooked.

Chicken curry.  Picture taken using iPod touch.

The dish came out fine, though the chicken's a bit old.

Anyway, I'm excited for tomorrow's dish as I plan on doing something complicated. :-)

Temporarily Decommissioned

This blog is temporarily decommissioned as we got ourselves a new maid.  Oh boy! I could smell her cooking from the second floor, and it has me salivating. :-)