Pork Sinigang

Continuing with my comfort foods postings, here is another favorite of mine--Pork Sinigang.
Needed:
3 lbs pork (I used pork belly and pork ribs for this recipe) sliced into 2 inch cubes
3 medium tomatoes, sliced coarsely
1 1/2 medium onions, sliced coarsely
salt and pepper, to taste
patis, to taste
4 cups water (enough to cover the pork while cooking)
Sinigang (Tamarind) soup flavoring (I usually use Mama Sita brand.)
2 ~ 3 pcs jalapeno peppers
baby bok choy (as much as you would like to eat)
eggplant (as much as you would like to eat), sliced into 2 inch sizes

1. Place pork, tomatoes, onions in a pot. Season with salt and pepper. Place over heat to let the meat "sweat" and until the meat loses its pink color. The pork will turn slightly brown while the tomatoes and onions will wither and turn transluscent.
2. Add the water (enough to cover all the meat) and about 1/2 of the sinigang flavoring. Let boil for about 10 minutes on high, then reduce heat to medium and cook for about 30 minutes or until pork is tender.
3. Add the vegetables.
4. Season with more sinigang flavoring, depending on how sour you would like. Add some patis for flavor, too.
5. Enjoy while still warm.

Optional vegetables to add: taro root, daikon, long beans.

Tip: The jalapenos will cook up nicely and even wither--you can use this as additional dipping sauce when squeezed with some patis and used for individual flavoring.

Nilagang Baka - Comfort Food

It has been cold and rainy here in the Bay Area as of late and what better way to enjoy home-cooking than to make some comfort food. One of my favorite Filipino comfort foods is Nilagang Baka (or "Nilaga" for short; Nilaga is Tagalog meaning "boiled"). "Nilagang Baka" is also called Beef Nilaga, loosely translated as Beef Boiled.

Here, I have made a big pot of nilagang baka using my favorite beef cut: beef short ribs. I love using beef short ribs in this recipe because of the fattines of the ribs that gives the broth that extra flavor.

I added cabbages, pototatoes, and carrots until they are well done. The flavorful broth served with rice just warms up my soul.

Here's how I made my Nilagang Beef Short Ribs.

Needed:
3 lbs beef short ribs cut into 2 1/2 inch square cubes (do not use the ribs for grilling)
4 c water (approximately, but the amount of water you will use to boil and cook the ribs in should be enough to cover the ribs and about a cup more)
1/2 medium onion, sliced coarsely
2 T peppercorns
salt and pepper to taste
3 T patis
1/2 head cabbage, sliced 2 inches thick
carrots, sliced (use as much as you would like to eat)
potatoes, sliced into 2 1/2 inch sizes (use as much as you would like to eat)

1. Start off by washing the ribs under cold water.
2. Place the ribs in a large pot (you will only use one pot, so make sure this is big enough). Add the sliced onions, peppercorns, salt and pepper to taste. Place over heat, covered, to allow the meat to brown slightly.
3. When the meat has lost its pink color, add the water. Again, use enough water to cover all the meat, plus one cup more. Add the patis.
4. Boil on high for about 10 minutes and remove the beef scum that surfaces to the top of boiling water. Allow the meat to cook for an additional 35 minutes on medium heat. Do not keep opening the lid as this will slow the cooking process.
5. Check for meat tenderness. Cook more if not tender. When almost as tender as you would like, add the potatoes and carrots.
6. When the potatoes and carrots are tender (easily breakable), add the cabbages.
7. Check for seasoning and add salt or patis to your liking.
8. Enjoy over rice!

Tip: My mom always made mashed potatoes out of these potatoes used here. The potatoes come out very tasty because they were cooked in beef broth. To make mashed potatotes, simply fish out the potatoes, mash with a fork (they should be very tender to do) and moisten with some of the broth and some butter. Yum!

Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

This is another of those recipes you can just prep and forget about it until it's time to eat. There are many versions of it on the web, but it's so simple, you really don't need a recipe for it.

Needed:
1 1/2 lb boneless chicken meat (dark meat is juiciest, while white meat is healthier)
1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c milk (or 1/2 the can of the soup)
2 T oil for frying
2 T butter
salt & pepper to taste
2 c sliced mushrooms (store bought, pre-cut mushrooms in 1 package works best)
splash of white wine

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Pre-fry the chicken. Season first with salt and pepper, then heat up the oil in a shallow pan. You do not to deep fry the chicken--you will only cook them halfway through. When the oil is almost medium heat, add the butter for flavor while you pre-fry. As soon as you remove the chicken from the frying pan, lay them in your baking dish.
3. When all chicken is half-cooked, check the amount of oil in the pan. Remove excess and leave only about 2 T oil/butter in the frying pan. Saute the sliced mushrooms.
4. Add the soup and the milk and let simmer for a few minutes until all the chicken bits left from frying come off the pan. Add the wine for flavor.
5. Pour this soup mixture over the chicken.
6. Bake for about 45 minutes uncovered.
Enjoy over white rice or egg noodles. Delicious!

Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce

Steamed spareribs with black bean sauce is my favorite dimsum dish. I always have to have it when we go for dimsum. Of course, I love the other dimsum offerings, too, but this one takes the cake.

This is usually made with ribtips--makes it easier to eat, but that day at the Asian market, they did not have ribtips, so I used regular pork ribs, cubed and cut by the butcher (ala sinigang style). This dish is so simple to make. Just marinade for 30 minutes and after placing it in the steamer for about 1 hour, you practically can forget about it and do other things (like chores). You will have no trouble remembering to eat it, because it's so fragrant and oh-so-mouth watering while cooking.

Here's how I made it. I got a basic recipe online and I added some "kick":

2 lbs rib tips or ribs, cubed with bone, cut crosswise into 1 inch sections
2 T garlic black bean sauce
1 T wine (red, white, Chinese, cooking sake--whatever you have on hand)
2 t cornstarch
1 T chopped up ginger (or grated on a microplane, if you have one)
1 t garlic (you can use the store-bought chopped kind, but careful not to use too much as you're already using garlic black bean sauce)
1/4 t black pepper
1 t sesame oil
1 T sugar
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like heat)
scallions for garnish

1. Combine all ingredients (except scallions) and marinade for about 30 minutes. Transfer to a heat proof dish that will fit in the steamer.
2. Steam for about 1 hour or until ribs are tender. Always ensure there is enough water in the steamer.
3. When ready to serve, garnish with scallions. The ribs will extract some water during the cooking process and you don't have to use this. I "fished out" the ribs from the sauce to serve it.

Tip: The Chinese bamboo steamer works just as great as an electric steamer. I tried this dish in both and both came out tender after about 1 hour in either.

Enjoy!

Jolly Breakfasts

Jollibee has always been known for it's crispy fried chicken and just recently they have come out with their breakfast selections. Breakfast is, undoubtedly, my favorite meal of the day and breakfast has been somewhat of a popular "new" item in many places these days, so I had to try Jollibee's offerings:

Jollibee Longganisa

I had this above for lunch actually and it was satisfying. It tasted very "fast food" though. The longganisa was cooked through (which is actually good), but the eggs were scrambled and I'm not sure if they used egg beaters or not.

Jollibee Crispy Bangus

This bangus I had for breakfast. The bangus is not crispy at all. (Take note: I did NOT have both on the same day.) It seems like it sat in the styrofoam container under the heat lamp for a while. Needless to say, like the longganisa above, it was satisfying.

These days, if food does not give me stomach trouble, then it passes my test. Lately, some foods have not agreed with me and I have gotten into some gastric trouble. Both of these Jollibee items satisfied my hunger and the price for each was around $5, so not bad at all!

Sticky Adobo

Unlike most adobo, I have been lucky enough to have been able to make "my own" kind of adobo and that's what I call the "sticky adobo." Bet you can already tell--it barely has any sauce or "sabaw" and the chicken and pork becomes sticky, you will just have to gnaw on the bone pieces. :)

Here's how to make my sticky adobo. Again, no exact measurements. These are approximates. You're cooking it, taste it!

Needed:
Approx. 1 1/2 lb chicken wings (wing tips included)
Approx. 1 1/2 lb cubed pork (meaty, but also some fatty country style pork is what I know this as, but I don't know the "cut" of pork)
Oil for frying
1/2 clove pounded garlic cloves (do not use the ready-made store-bought chopped kind)
1 c soy sauce (light or regular)
3/4 c white vinegar
5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 T peppercorns
dash ground pepper
1 pc bay leaf

1. Pre-cook wings and pork in oil. Careful not to use too much oil. The pork and chicken will render its own oil and you can still use this for frying.
2. When all pork and chicken is pre-fried, in the same oil saute the pounded garlic cloves. (Tip: pound fresh garlic for this and don't use the store bought chopped kind. The ready-made kind just won't do. Trust me.) As you saute, scrape the bits of pork and chicken that stuck to the bottom of the pan. This makes for great flavoring.
3. Pour the soy sauce and vinegar. Do not stir, but let simmer/boil for most of the pan bits to come off. Add th Worcestershire sauce. Let the sauce blend on its own.
4. Add the chicken and pork to the pan and cover. Put the heat to medium and allow the chicken and pork to cook (about 20 minutes unopened cover). The pork and chicken will "sweat" so you don't need to add any other liquid to let it cook.
5. Cook for an additional 20 minutes (or until done) without the cover to allow any sauce to evaporate. This will make the sauce nice and sticky, with some oil in the bottom of the pan as left over "sauce" that would be great to put on some hot, steamed white rice.
6. Eat with your fingers and enjoy!

Note: my sticky adobo is just chicken and pork or either one. I don't put vegetables, because adobo is not meant to have vegetables in them. For me, if you add vegetables, it's another dish!

Brickhouse Cafe's Wagyu Burger

I always pass by Brickhouse Cafe and Bar on my way to work that today, Drew and I decided to check it out for a quick lunch. It's a different atmosphere by many accounts--one would order food and drinks at the bar and find a table quickly if eating in.

What attracted me to the menu right away is that they had Wagyu burgers. I had to order that. Drew and I love Wagyu meat and while it's a bit pricey, if cooked properly, the meat literally just melts like butter in your mouth.

The Wagyu burgers here at Brickhouse Cafe and Bar were just okay. I actually could not tell they were Wagyu by tasting it, but sure enough, I paid Wagyu prices for it! The beef was slightly dense. I ordered medium well, because I was afraid the meat would be too pink. The burger was decent enough. They did not have American cheese, so I settled for Swiss. The fries were just the right amount.

The ambiance felt very homey, cozy, and I can see this place being packed in the evening hours for beer and ball. The service was good--we found seats right away and did not have to wait long for our food to arrive. The same folks behind the register brought us our food, found us with no problem.

Next time, I will order the "regular beef" burgers and maybe order them "rare." Overall, a good hangout. The weather was super nice, so that added to the nice feel of the place.

Got to go back to try some of their breakfast items!