This is one of my favorite dishes. It is simple and easy plus you only need one pan to cook it, less washing for me. :o) The secret to a great Paella is the Saffron. It gives this dish an exquisite flavor in my opinion. Saffron is quite expensive but is essential for a real Paella. I also have a Paella pan to cook it in. If you don't have one, you can use any saute pan that is big enough. You can also cook it in a regular wok and transfer it to a baking dish. I took this photo while the Paella was still cooking so it has some liquid left.

The recipe I used didn't call for shrimps but I added it anyway since I love it and I'm the cook. LOL If you are adding shrimps, do it at the last 5 or so minutes of cooking, depending on the size of your shrimps. If you'll notice in the photo, only one half of the Paella has green peas, that's because my husband hates it while I like it. LOL The recipe also calls for roasted chicken but if you don't have left-over chicken, you can use fresh chicken. I put salt and pepper on fresh chicken and fry it it a little oil.

Here is the recipe I used from Epicurious.

This is one of those foods that is an acquired taste. As you can tell from its' name, this egg is very salty. I don't even dare to find out how much sodium per serving it contains. That is why I get to enjoy this rarely. Duck eggs are ideal to use when you want to make salted eggs. For me it has a different taste and has more flavor. Uncooked duck eggs are usually available in some Asian supermarkets. You can purchase these already cooked and sold in packs of six. There are also uncooked salted eggs available, boil them as you would boil a regular egg. The ones I've seen is imported from China or Taiwan. The taste is the same as the ones in the Philippines. My relatives always brings me back a tray of salted eggs from Pateros, the city where these salted eggs became well-known for.

This is a Roast Pork dish that is usually served by our catering business in Pasig. It's simple to make yet elegant enough to serve in parties.You have to start with a good cut of lean Pork Loin, it has to be large enough so it won't disintegrate when you cut it after it had been tenderized. We don't have a special name for this dish. We call this dish 'pork loin with mushroom sauce'. Big thanks to my mom for teaching me how to make this dish.

Ingredients:
1 large slab of lean Pork Loin
salt and pepper
4 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 can of small tomato paste
5 cups of chicken stock
1 stick of butter
1 small onion, minced
2 tbsp flour
1 cup broth from the cooked pork loin
1 small can of Cream of Mushroom (use regular not low fat)
1 cup grated cheese (any kind)

Wash and dry the pork loin. Season with salt and pepper. Heat cooking oil in a large pot, brown all sides of the pork loin. Add the tomato paste and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and stir until the tomato paste is dissolved. Cook until the pork loin is tender, stirring the pot once in a while and adding chicken stock if the liquid becomes too low. Set aside 1 cup of the broth to be used in the next step.

Heat the oven to 350 deg F.

In a smaller pot, in medium heat, add butter. When butter is melted, saute the onions until it's cooked but not browned. Add the flour and cook for a minute or two. Then add the broth (that was set aside from the pork loin) a little at a time to prevent lumps. Wait for it to boil. When it's boiling, add the Cream of Mushroom and stir thoroughly.

Take the roast pork loin and cut it into 1/4 inch slices. Set aside. In a pyrex dish, pour 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom. Arrange the roast pork loin slices in the pyrex dish. Pour more sauce on top of the pork loin. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the pork loin. Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, just enough for the pork to be reheated through and the cheese to melt. Serve with rice.
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Someone emailed me and asked me for a quick recipe that can be made with vegetables and meat. This is my 'fall back' dish whenever I'm in a rush or just too lazy to think of what to cook for dinner. This very basic dish can be made with any available ingredients in your fridge. For this recipe, I used beef tri-tips and broccoli. I blanched the broccoli in boiling water for one minute to keep the bright green color. You can adjust the amount of oyster sauce depending on your taste and the kind of chicken stock you use (canned stock are already salty.)

2 long strips of beef tri-tip, sliced thinly about 2-in. long
2 bunches of broccoli, cut into pieces and blanched for 1-min. in boiling water
1/4 onion, sliced thinly
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp Oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand, for example)
2 tsp Chinese rice wine (or sweet rice wine like Mirin)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 tsp sesame oil
pinch of chili pepper flakes (optional)
1 tbsp canola oil

Mix oyster sauce, rice wine, sugar, cornstarch, chicken broth, sesame oil and ground pepper, set aside. Heat oil in a large pan or skillet. Saute garlic and onions over medium heat until limp. Add beef strips and chili pepper flakes, cook until no longer pink (this cooks quickly since it is sliced thin). Add broccoli pieces, and cook until broccoli stalk is tender but still crunchy, about 4 minutes or less. Add the sauce mixture, stir and mix until it thickens, about 1-1/2 minutes. Serve with steamed rice.

Tip: I purchase the family-size beef tri-tips pack and use the FoodSaver vacuum system to re-pack it in small portions, each pack is just enough for one dish.
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One advantage of living in New England is the seafood. Since we are on the coast, the price of seafood here is comparatively cheaper than let's say Nebraska. Every summer, dh and I always look forward to having lobster. Lobster can be bought all year round of course, but it is expensive. During the summer months, you can get lobster for $5.99/pound if it is on sale. The most popular way to cook lobster is to steam it (don't boil it!) and another popular restaurant dish is stuffed lobster. I use the steam method if I feel lazy and don't want to spend too much time prepping. But if I'm in the mood to cook (just like the other day), I cook lobster the Cantonese way.

This recipe is from Eileen Lo's Chinese Kitchen. The original recipe calls for fresh live lobsters to be chopped up. I tried this the first time but found it disconcerting. First, I felt guilty cutting up something that is still 'alive' and second, it grossed me out. So the next time that I cooked this dish, I steamed the lobsters for about 4 minutes so it's partially-cooked. You can also use shrimps in lieu of lobsters. Read more for the recipe.

I omitted the part which calls for ground pork and eggs. It's just personal

preference, I think this dish is best with just the lobster and the sauce. If you like sauce on your rice, then double the marinade. Yummy!

LOBSTER CANTONESE

by Eileen Lo

The Chinese Kitchen

Marinade:

1 3/4 tsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

3/4 tsp salt (I omit this since it's already salty for me)

1 1/2 tsp sugar

pinch ground pepper

2 tsp sesame oil

Lobsters, chopped into pieces

1/4 lb lean ground pork

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/8 cup peanut oil

2 tsp minced garlic

3 large eggs, beaten

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

2 tbsp Chinese white rice wine

2 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced

1. In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients. Place the lobster in the marinade and allow to rest 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lobster from the marinade and reserve both separately. As the lobster marinates, mix the ground pork with the salt and sugar thoroughly; reserve.

2. Heat oil over high heat and add 1 tsp of minced garlic. When it browns, add pork mixture. Stir to separate and cook for 3 min. When the pork changes color, add the eggs and mix into a soft scramble. Turn off heat, remove all the ingredients and reserve.

3. Using a clean pan, heat oil and add minced ginger. Add the remaining garlic and stir until brown. Add lobster pieces. Spread in a thin layer. Turn the lobster pieces. Add the wine at the edge of the pan and mix thoroughly. When the lobster meat reddens, add the pork-egg mixture and mix all ingredients thoroughly. Add the reserved marinade and stir. Add the scallions and mix well. Turn off heat, transfer to a heated platter, garnish with cucumber and serve with steamed rice.

I love shellfish, shrimps and lobsters in particular. We usually have lobsters during the summer months, when it is plentiful therefore at their cheapest. Shrimps, meanwhile are available all year round. One of the dish I like to cook during the summer months is sauteed shrimp with corn. It is a super quick dish, no cooking skills required. Fresh corn is best for this recipe and some green vegetable like Spinach or Bokchoy. In the Philippines, my mom use Malunggay for the greens. If you're lucky enough to live in Florida or California, then use this for that unique taste.

I am always on the look-out for simple shellfish dishes like this. I know that there are a lot of recipes on the net but you're not really sure if it's good or not. What's your favorite seafood recipe? If it's unique and inventive, maybe you would want to enter it in the Great American Seafood Cook off . It's great that they hold this contests for seafood lovers, it gives amateur cooks a chance to show off their skill and win great prices. This will also help showcase all seafood that are available locally which would in turn help our economy. I'm lucky enough to live near the largest fishing port in the nation so I know that the seafood I get from the local fish monger is fresh and local.
Read more for the recipe.



Shrimps with Corn

10 pcs shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 1/2 cup corn kernels (2 ears of corn)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 small tomato, chopped
1/3 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt or fish sauce, to taste
ground pepper
1 cup spinach or any green, leafy vegetable
2 cups chicken stock
2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp chicken stock

Saute garlic, onion and tomatoes in oil until tender. Add shrimps and cook until pink, set aside the shrimps. Mix in the corn kernels, chicken stock, fish sauce and ground pepper. Bring to boil and cook about 5 minutes, just until the corn kernels are tender. Bring back the shrimps to the pan, add the spinach and the dissolved corn starch. Cook until the sauce thickens (less than 2 minutes). Serve with steamed rice.

Mangoes! This is what I've been having for breakfast. You should have seen my eyes light up when I walked in at KamMan Asian grocery and saw boxes of mangoes right by the entrance. This is the closest that I can get to mangoes that tastes like the ones back in the Philippines. It's close but it's not the real thing of course, nothing beats the taste of Philippine mangoes. These mangoes are grown in Mexico and they call it 'Champagne' mangoes. One box has 20 pieces and I paid $14.00 They probably got the seeds from our mangoes since it's very similar. I will post a mango dessert later. I tried it when we spent New Year's Eve at Dakak Beach Resort in the Philippines years ago.

Do you have a favorite dessert featuring mangoes?

As with most Filipino food, Caldereta originated in Spain. They have the same dish and almost all the ingredients are similar with the exception of Cinnamon stick, which is called for in the Spanish recipe. This dish can be made with beef, goat meat or even chicken. I prefer using beef for my version of Caldereta. Some recipes call for the use of vinegar as a marinade, along with salt, garlic and pepper. This is advisable if you are using a tough part of the beef as vinegar acts as a meat tenderizer.

Browning the beef as the first step of the cooking is very important. Do not use a non-stick pot or pan for this since you want the brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan. These will add a lot of flavor to your Caldereta (or any kind of beef stew). Instead of tomato sauce, I prefer to use tomato paste (about 2-3 tbsp depending on how much water you add and how much sauce you want at the end) since I find that the resulting sauce has more depth and flavor. It is also important to let it simmer for a long time since this will allow all the flavors to meld and make the sauce thicker (you don't want a sauce that is watery).

The nice thing about Caldereta is you can omit some or most of the ingredients. As long as you have beef and tomato sauce, you'll still end up with a good dish. It's okay if you don't have liver sauce or olives or green peas. I for one do not add green peas, just because dh does not like it. If you like a Caldereta with a kick, add some chili pepper flakes or chili peppers.

This recipe is a combination of recipes from my mom, aunts and cook books. You can tweak this recipe to accomodate your taste

BEEF CALDERETA

2 lbs beef cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 3/4 cups water
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
additional 2 1/2 cups water
3 medium-sized potatoes, quartered
1 large carrot, chopped
1 red Bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup canned liver spread
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup whole olives (optional)
Chili pepper flakes (optional)

- Marinate the beef in soy sauce, garlic and pepper for at least 1 hour. Drain and reserve the marinade.
- Heat the oil in a large pot.
- Fry the beef cubes until brown in all sides. Set aside.
- Add the onion and saute until limp.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce and reserved marinade.
- Bring to boil and then lower the heat to simmer until the beef cubes are tender (approximately 1 1/2 hours). Add more water if needed. You should end up with an oily and thick sauce just like what is shown in the photo at the right. Skim the fat off the sauce.
- Add potatoes and carrot, cook for 10 minutes.
- Add Bell pepper and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Add salt if needed.
-Serve over rice.

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Have you heard? There is rice shortage everywhere. Sam's Club, a warehouse club here in the US is limiting the number of rice bags that customers can purchase to four. Apparently, there are a lot of people sending rice back to their relatives in other countries. All food prices have gone up, what's next, a flour shortage?

In the Philippines, there are demonstrations to protest the rice shortage.The government said that the main cause of this is hoarding. A lot of unscrupulous merchants are keeping the rice and waiting until the price is high enough for them to sell. I cannot comprehend why the government will not do something about it. Ok, they say that they trying their best to curtail this problem but I don't think they are doing enough.
Photo Credit:Romeo Ranoco

What do you think is causing this global shortage of rice? One cause could be the popularity of using BioFuel which they said is better for the environment. Governments are giving subsidies to farmers to plant grains that can be used to produce biofuel. So fewer food crops means higher food prices. They are doing this all over the world, including Asia and North America.

I heard on the morning news that here in the US, most farmers are now planting corn instead of rice. Why? The government gives the farmers subsidies to plant corn which can be converted to Ethanol. Ethanol on the other hand is used as an additive to fuel here in the US which makes the US less dependent on oil. It also makes the oil burn more efficiently and cleanly. But what they are not telling us is that making Ethanol cost more energy to produce. It is so convoluted that you need to take notes to remember the pros and cons.

Now the question is, what is more important, feeding the people or keeping the environment clean? It certainly is a double-edged sword. In my opinion, we need to tackle the rice shortage and rising food prices first and then figure out other ways to keep the environment clean.

1. Place the water in a pot and bring to boil over high heat. Add the noodles, stir and cook for 2-4 mins. for fresh noodles and 4-7mins. for dried noodles . depending on the size. Turn off heat and run cold water into the pot and drain.

2. Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.

3. Heat the oil and add the garlic and stir. When the garlic is golden brown, add the onions and cook for a minute. Add the pork and shrimp. Saute for a minute or until the shrimp turns pink. Add the carrots, celery and Bokchoy stems. When these have softened slightly, add the Spinach and Bokchoy leaves. Make a well in the middle,stir the sauce mixture and pour into the pan. Stir well and cook until the sauce thickens.

4. Add the cooked noodles into the pan and mix until the noodles are coated with the sauce and vegetables are evenly distributed.

5. Serve in a platter with sliced lemons and soy sauce on the side.