Racquel's Sinigang na Ulo ng Salmon sa Miso (Salmon Head in Miso)

Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning paste.  This is made from fermenting rice, barley and/or soy with salt and fungus.  The result is a thick paste used in sauces, spread, pickling veggies and meat. 

Miso is a staple ingredients in many Japanese dishes that calls for soup.  The earliest miso is made basically from grain and this is called "hishio."  It is believed that this grain and fish miso has been around Japan since the Neolithic Period.  However, there is also a study that miso has actually started during the 3 century BC or even earlier in China.  It is very interesting to know that it was later introduced in Japan around 6th century AD just as the same time when Buddhism was also introduced in Japan.  Miso is quite very high in protein, vitamins and minerals and had become a part of the nutritional diet of feudal Japan.
This miso soup is also popular in the Philippines.  I would remember my father cooking fish in miso.  He didn't use the ready made miso soup base but he would use the miso paste that you can buy from the vegetable stalls in Hagonoy Town Market or palengke.  Here in australia, you can buy miso from Asian Store at McWhirter's in Brunswick, Brisbane or any Asian stores around.  I am not that confident in using the paste though.  I think I have used it before when we were still in the Philippines.  The result was nice...but I must admit, my tatay's (father) and my Ate Susan's or her hubby's miso soup are better.  I have a number of Mama Sita's miso soup base in my pantry but I never had the time or the urge (?) to cook one.  I would probably cook one when my hubby's able to get me a nice fish head.

Racquel, a cooking enthusiast and a lover of food, has shared with me this recipe.  I should really try it!  I think you should too!

Here's the recipe...

Ingredients
1 k salmon head
30 g ginger (squashed)
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
2 medium size tomatoes, diced
green chillis
1 horse radish (labanos), sliced diagonally
1 bundle spinach (mustasa)
30 g fresh tamarind (boiled, juice)
miso paste

Procedure
Boil tamarind and squeeze juice.  Remove the tamarind skins and seeds.  Add the miso to the tamarind juice and boil them together.
Sautee garlic, onions, ginger and tomatoes.
Put in the fish. 
Pour in the tamarind - miso soup mixture.
Put in the veggies. Simmer and serve hot.
I hope I did a good job in fixing and translating the recipe Racquel =)

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Si Marie,Ako at ang Puno ng Bayabas (Marie and I and the Guava Tree)

One of the childhood memories that I would always treasure was the time when I can still run and laugh and climb a tree with one dear friend, Marie.  Marie and I are childhood friends. 

Her mother is actually a niece of my mother thru her cousin so that makes her my niece?  We were classmates throughout elementary years.  We were inseparable.  We would always to school and go home together. On weekends we'll go to their house to get heko (a smooth fish paste) and go to our favorite tree --- the guava tree at the back of the bungalow of Anda Isko and Anda Ising.  We would climb the tree without any fear of falling.  All we cared then was the joy we got from climbing that tree, picking up the guavas and eating them while we sat and clinged to its branches.  Dipping the guava to our heko was sooo yummy.  We would stay up in the tree without a care...time was not important to us. I'm sure Marie still remembers how we would go down the tree whenever an old lady shouted at us.  She's not from the bungalow so probably she's a neighbor.  Well anyway, we would ran so quick with our pockets or plastic bags full of guavas. 

My parents had forbidden me to climb trees or go near the river but this rule was soooo difficult to follow.  I would always break the rules hehehe (the joys of childhood).  They would always look for me....and when I went home with guavas...they knew that I broke their rule again hahah.  Oh how I wish I could climb guava trees again.  We used to have 3 guava trees in our backyard. The guavas were soooo sweet and juicy.  I don't really know  what happened that they all died.  Nanang Abe and Nanang Osang said, Ate Susan (my oldest first cousin) craved for them when she was conceiving.  At that time I really tried to understand why...I mean what's the connection of the death of the guava trees and ate susan's craving during her pregnancy?  They said, "napaglihian".  How I wish we still have those trees. 

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Sweet and Sour Pork

My husband fell in love with my sweet and sour pork when I cooked it for the first time.  He said that's better than the ones from chinese restaurants.  Of course, my head swelled a bit hheheh!  My darling daughter who doesn't really like eating much except

when we have sinigang or nilaga loved it too so I thought it must be really good!  I thought this dish was a complicated one when I first tried it.  Maybe because I only see this dish on restaurants, or if the food is catered.  When I was still working in Miriam College, sweet and sour pork or fish would always be served whenever we have a celebration.  That's where I got this recipe...well not exactly the recipe from the caterer but the recipe according to what I have tasted and what I have seen in the dish before.  This one is tried and tested and tasted.  I hope you will also enjoy the dish.

Pork
500 g pork, cubed
1 capcicum (bell pepper), julliene or diced
1 medium size carrots, thinly cut (diagonal)
1 medium size onions, diced
1/2 C pinapple chunks
1/2 C cornstarch + 1/2 C plain flour
1 egg, beaten
soy sauce (to taste)

Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/3 c vinegar
1/3 c pineapple juice
1/2 c brown sugar
4 tbs ketchup (banana or tomato)
4 tbsp cornflour or cornstarch
1 tbsp soy sauce

Procedure
Pork
Marinade the pork with soy sauce for 15 - 20 minutes.
Beat 1 egg.
Mix cornstarch and flour.
Heat a pan with oil enough for deep frying.
Dip pork in the egg.
Roll the pork into the flour mixture.
Fry until golden brown.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
Mix all ingredients in a pot with a whisk except the cornstarch.
Heat over low fire until boiling.  Pour in the cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 c water.
Stir until thick.

Pour the sauce in a heated pan. Add carrots, onions, capcicum and simmer until half cooked.  Put in the pork. Add water if you must.  Simmer.

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Crumbed Beef Schnitzels

Let's go Austrian this time!  Schnitzels are meat without bones.  That's the wonderful side of it -- no bones!  So you can just dig in with all gusto without worrying about biting into bones. 

These are thinly sliced meat from the leg or round. They are made more thin by pounding the meat with a meat mallet or rolling pin.  By doing this, the meat doesn't need to be cooked for a long time.  In this recipe 2 minutes frying on each side is already good.  Since I do not have a meat mallet, I used my ever dependable rolling pin. 

This recipe is quite an easy one to follow. Try and enjoy your schnitzels!

Ingredients
2 pcs of beef schnitzel beef cut
1 egg, beaten
1 c breadcrumbs
1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 c mint, minced
1/4 c parsley, minced
1/2 c plain flour
1/4 c mixed seeds (sunflower kernels,poppy seeds, mustard seeds,sesame seeds)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Procedure
Combine the breadcrumbs and the herbs, mixed seeds and parmesan. 
Add salt and pepper to the flour.
Roll the beef into the flour.  Pat with the palms.
Dip the beef into the beaten egg.
Roll the beef into the breadcrumb mixture.  Pat with the palms.
Fry in the heated olive oil until golden in color.
Add parmesan toppings on your schnitzels and serve with side veggies and rice or potatoes.

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Mini - Fishballs (bolabola)

Fishball is one streetfood that you can't miss when you are in the Philippines.  Everywhere you go, you would always find a pushcart of fishballs.   I love them! 

I guess that's the first thing I bought before we took the Jeepney at Malolos Crossing.  I can't believe that after 2 years the same manong is still the one selling fishballs and samalamig in that place.  He also sells kikiam and chickenballs but still fishballs are the best....and the best seller too.  I would always buy Php10 and he would put them in a plastic cup.  It's funny that he didn't bother to ask me what sauce would I want for my fishballs.  His memory is amazing!  He remembers how I used to want them.  My husband, who never had one before in his life, gladly joined me in eating the fishballs and drinking the gulaman samalamig.  He loved them!  Hmmm wait til I take you hun to UP tusok tusok isawan at fishbolan haha!

I tried to find the recipe for the street fishballs on the internet and I did.  The problem with it is that it's a recipe for commercial purposes.  It has lots of preservatives which I don't think we would all like (e.g. phospate).  Since I am cooking for a big boy and 2 little girls, I'd rather use the healthy ingredients.  I remember my sister making fishballs for us when we were all still single and when we were still living in our old house in Sagrada.  They were so yummy.  I am not sure what kind of fish did she use but it's the one that's similar to bangus (milkfish) but with lots of bones though.  I would watch my sister painstakingly removing the bones one by one.  Goodness, I would definitely go crazy If I were the one doing that!  Well anyway, here is the recipe that I concocted that I hope is similar to the one that she made years ago. 

Ingredients
1/4 K Fish Fillet
1/2 bunch kinchay (parsley),minced
2 stalks spring onions,minced
1/3 c milk (fresh or evaporated)
6 tbsp plain flour
salt to taste
pepper to taste (optional)

Procedure
Flake the fish fillet or mince it.
Mix the fish with the dry ingredients in a bowl. 
Pour in the milk.  Mix well.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate until it resembles a dough.
Make small balls (half a tbsp)
Heat a pan with enough oil to deep fry the fishballs.
Fry the fishballs and cook to your liking.

Note:  If kinchay is not available you can use the dried flake ones in small McCormick jar (which I used).  For the DIP , click the dip label.

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Fishball Brown Dip

Ingredients
1/4 c vinegar
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c pinapple juice
2 tbsp cornstarch
Bird's eye chilli or cayenne (siling labuyo),minced
1 small onion (minced)

Procedure
Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, pineapple juice and cornstarch in a small pot before cooking it in a low fire.
Allow to boil, and add the onions and the chillis.  Continue stirring until thick enough to your liking.

Note:  It would depend on you how much chillis do you want to add to your dip.

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Rocking the Kitchen with Racquel

Having someone who would really cook the recipes that you have on your foodblog is quite flattering.  Hearing them say that the dishes are "masarap" "yummy" or "delicious" would really make your heart swell. 

Racquel is also a mother, a wife and a teacher like me.  She was my batchmate in high school in a Catholic School in Hagonoy.  She did a very good job in cooking 3 dishes. Hats off to her!  Just looking at the photos would really make someone ravenous.

“There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves.” (Thomas Wolfe)


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Pinoy Biko with a twist

I am not really a biko lover.  Even when I was younger, whenever my tatay or nanay or Nanang Abe would buy biko and kalamay hirin from the town center, I would always choose the kalamay hirin.  So when I decided to cook a biko, I was surprised myself maybe because the feeling of homesickness got into me? 

I've found this recipe at panlasangpinoy on how to cook biko the easy way using a rice cooker.  It's a great help indeed.  I was thinking though whether I would use caramel toppings but I decided that maybe I should try leche flan topping.  I just followed my recipe in making a custard but added coconut cream for more flavor.  This biko with a twist turned out really yummy that my husband and daughters couldn't stop eating.  I loved the taste too.  I would probably make more biko in the future.   Maybe next time I will use mangoes as toppings? hmmm....interesting!

Ingredients
Biko
2 c glutinous rice (malagkit)
4 c coconut cream (2 tins or kakang gata)
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
pandan leaves (2)

Toppings
Coco-Leche Flan
1 c coconut cream
1 c condensed milk
1 c evaporated milk
2 tbsp plain flour
5 egg yolks
lime rind

Procedure

You have the option to cook rice in a rice cooker with 1 1/2 c water or you can add the uncooked rice to the coco-cugar mixture and cook it together with it. 
Combine the coco-sugar- salt mixture in a pot before you put it on the fire. 
Make sure that the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is a little bit thick when you add the uncooked rice.  If you are going to add the cooked rice, the mixture should be thick enough to your liking. 
The important thing is the rice is cooked and the most of the liquid has evaporated. 
Remember to keep stiring the rice-coco-sugar mixture (put the pandan in) to make sure that the liquid is evenly distributed and that it doesn't get burn at the bottom.
Put the biko in a foil pan or any pan that is oven proof

Coco - Leche Flan
Beat the egg yolks and put the lime rind on it.  Set aside
Whisk the coconut cream, evaporated and condensed milk, and flour in a pot before cooking them.  Put the pot over  a low fire and continue whisking until it gets thicker.  Put the egg yolks (remove the lime rind) in and continue stirring until it's thick enough to your liking.

Spread the coco-leche flan into the biko.  Use a big spatula to do this (or a turner).
Bake the biko in a 175C preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the top is a little bit brownish in color.

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