The CookMobile

Nilagang Corned Beef

Lalaine — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:36:13 +0000

As I am tired of sauteed corned beef day in, day out and have yet to go through the dozen or so cans left from what my mother brought last July from the Philippines, I had to resort to creative cooking for today’s lunch. Up came two meal ideas: one is this nilaga-style here and the other will be going out to Panlasang Pinoy in a few days as my guest post. Yep! Yep! You read it! Vanjo, the popular churner of Filipino cooking videos at YouTube has graciously agreed to share to his legion of fans my recipes! See you there in a while.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

12 oz corned beef, chunky-style ( 1 can)
1/2 cabbage, quartered
1 medium potato, peeled and quartered
1/2 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 to 3 peppercorn, crushed
1 tbsp fish sauce (patis)
1 tsp oil
4 cups water

Procedure

In a pot, heat oil. Saute onions and garlic until softened and aromatic. Pour in fish sauce and allow to cook for about a minute.

Pour in water and bring to a gentle boil. Add crushed peppercorn. Add potatoes and allow to cook until softened. Add corned beef and cabbage. Continue to cook until beef is heated through and cabbage are tender yet crisp. Serve hot.

More Recipes to Try here at The CookMobile:

Adobong Manok sa Patis

Atsarang Pipino (Pickled Cucumber)

Adobong Manok sa Patis

Lalaine — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:39:05 +0000

I was hankering for good mighty adobo and had a whole chicken already cut-up nicely thawing in my refrigerator today when I opened my pantry only to discover that I was out of soy sauce. Sigh. What I had lots of, however, at two bottles even, was patis or fish sauce. Well, it has to make do as I was gonna have my adobo, by soy or by fish sauce. I am not going, though, to claim ingenuity or resourcefulness here as the idea sprouted from having tried adobong manok cooked in patis before and having enjoyed it well to remember now. I guess, not only I run out of soy sauce in the house.

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

3 to 4 lbs whole chicken, cut-up to serving pieces
1/4 cup patis (fish sauce)
1/2 cup vinegar
5 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
2 to 3 peppercorns, finely crushed
1 cup water
1 tbsp oil

Procedure

In a pot, heat oil. Saute onion and garlic until soft and aromatic. Add chicken and lightly brown, turning occasionally.

Pour in fish sauce. Bring to a slow boil, stirring once or twice to coat chicken pieces. Pour in vinegar and continue to cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Pour in water, add in bay leaves and peppercorn. Lower heat, cover pot, and simmer until chicken pieces are fork-tender and sauce is reduced, stirring occasionally. Serve hot with rice.

More Food to Try:

Spinach-Ricotta Chicken Roll

Asparagus and Crab-Stuffed Dover Sole with Tarragon Cream

Turon na Saging (Banana Eggroll with Honey, Cream Cheese and Mint)

Lalaine — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:40:10 +0000

Don’t get me wrong, I love turon na saging as we’ve always known it. You know, with the typical fillings of sliced bananas and sweetened jackfruit strips, all caramelized with sugar. In fact, this classic Filipino sweet treat will be another recipe you will be seeing here at The CookMobile in a few days. But good food doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon or varied a bit. I was enjoying a serving of caramelized bananas with mascarpone cheese, honey and mint late this afternoon when inspiration hit me. Why not wrap all these deliciousness in an eggroll? Oh. My. I took a bite and found heaven.

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

2 Cardava Bananas (Saging saba in the Philippines, burro bananas in Hispanic stores)
8 pcs spring roll wrapper
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup honey
3 to 4 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
vegetable oil
powdered sugar

Procedure

Peel and slice bananas lengthwise into four.

On a clean, flat surface, position spring roll wrapper like diamond, wherein points are up and down, and left and right. On the bottom point closest to you, arrange one slice of banana, drizzle lightly with honey, top with a dollop of cream cheese and sprinkle with chopped fresh mint.

Take bottom of point wrapper and fold over top filling. Roll tightly until middle of wrapper. Fold in sides of wrapper towards the middle and continue to roll tightly to up to 1/2-inch of top point. Dab corner with water and press lightly to completely seal eggroll. Arrange prepared eggrolls in a single layer with seam side down and keep covered until ready to fry.

In a wide skillet, heat about 1-inch of oil. Gently slide in turon packets and fry, turning occasionally, until until golden brown and crisp on all sides. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Arrange fried turon on serving plate, lightly dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with honey to serve.

More Sweet Treats here at The CookMobile

Fried Plaintains with Refried Black Beans and Crema Mexicana

Cheese-Pineapple Sandwich

Lalaine — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:15:55 +0000

It’s been awhile since I’ve last written about my daughter or posted pictures of her here. The reason is simple, really. She asked me not to. She said her friends do visit my cooking blog and it gets pretty embarrassing. I gotta respect the kid’s request. I’d hate it, too, if this was my photo being circulated for all to see. .

I understand you, kiddo. But just this once, just today, I gotta write about you as you have made me awfully proud! Thank you, daughter, for always striving to be a better, smarter, kinder and happier person than your mother. And as kudos to all your hard work, here’s to your favorite cheese-pineapple sandwich!

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup shredded quick-melt cheese (or mild cheddar)
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 tsp granulated sugar
dash or two of pepper, freshly-ground
bread of choice for sandwiches

Procedure

Drain juice of crushed pineapple well.

In a bowl, combine crushed pineapple, mayonnaise, shredded cheese, sugar and ground pepper. Spread on bread of choice.

Hungry for More?

Parmesan Tilapia

Pork Pozole

Pickled Cucumber (Atsarang Pipino)

Lalaine — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:34:04 +0000

A few days ago, I received an email from a reader regarding the Max’s fried chicken recipe we have here at The CookMobile. He lamented that, “although the skin of the fried chicken was almost like Max’s, the meat, however, was lacking in depth of flavor”. He asked if I have any suggestions and hinted on the possibility of using a flavor injector. Ohh, how I appreciate feedbacks like these! Readers, I may not answer emails and comments as fast or as often as I should, I do, however, read and take everything you have to say and share to heart! Anyhoo, I promised this said reader that over this weekend, I am going to work on the recipe, see how I can tweak and give it a little more ummmphh (and take a better photo while I am at). Tomorrow is the day, folks! Two whole chickens are thawing in my refrigerator as I type. So, what does this chicken thing have to do with this pickled cucumber AKA atsarang pipino, you ask? Well, in my humble opinion, one can’t have Max’s fried chicken without atsara on the side. It’s like french fries and ketchup, they go hand in hand.

Ingredients

2 cucumbers, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced
4 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp ginger, peeled and minced
1 jalapeno or serrano chili, sliced thin
1 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper, ground

Procedure

Prepare vegetables and aromatics as directed.

Bring about 2 cups of water to a rapid boil over high heat. While waiting for the water to boil, fill a medium bowl three-quarters full with ice and pour enough water to cover. Remove blanched vegetables from ice bath and in a colander, drain well.

Drop prepared sliced cucumber, carrots, onions and chili pepper into the boiling water. Boil vegetables in water until tender yet crisp, about one minute. Quickly remove vegetables from hot water and submerge in ice bath to stop cooking process.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring vinegar, salt, sugar, garlic and ginger into a boil, whisking regularly until sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove liquid mixture from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a bowl, combine blanched vegetables and pour in vinegar mixture. Transfer into a container, cover, and allow to cure for at least a day before serving. This atsara will keep in the refrigerator for about a week but if you want longer life, store in sterilized canning jars.

How to Sterilize Mason Jars (Please visit the Ball website for more information)

Wash jars, lids and bands in hot. Rinse well. Dry bands and set aside.

Sterilize jars by submerging in water and boiling for 10 minutes. Maintain sterilized jars at a simmering temperature (about 180 F) until they are used.

More Good Food!

Filipino-Style Spaghetti

Shrimp with Oyster Sauce

Sisig na Bangus

Lalaine — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:18:43 +0000

My mother is your typical mother who believes if you are well-fed, you are well-loved. On her visit last month from the Philippines, she lugged, over tens of thousands of miles, two fifty-pound balikbayan boxes worth of various canned, bottled and dried meats and seafood as pasalubong for my daughter and I, my brother and his family. Purefoods corned beef, tuna in hot oil, dried squid, pastillas, Eden cheese, you name it, she brought it. God bless her caring soul, while the rest of USA would be chewing on grass in a holocaust, my clan would remain fat and content. Anyway, this recipe was inspired by one of the canned delicacies she brought, bangus prepared sisig-style. Have it with steamed rice for dinner or enjoy it with ice-cold beer as an appetizer. Chow! Mothers rule!

Ingredients

1 large bangus (milkfish), about 2 to 3 cups fish meat
1/2 cup red onion, peeled and diced
1/2 cup red pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup green pepper, seeded and diced
juice from 2 lemons (about 2 to 3 tbsps)
2 to 3 thai peppers, minced
frying oil
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

In a pan, heat oil. Slide in fish and fry until crisp and golden brown. Remove from pan and drain excess oil on paper towels. When cool to touch, flake fish to small pieces, discarding bones, head and tail.

In a bowl, combine fish meat, onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with lemon juice.

Enjoy other The CookMobile recipes!

Pork Tocino

Filipino-style Spaghetti

Lalaine — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:10:11 +0000

Banana ketchup in the sauce? Wait, it gets weirder. Hotdogs with the meat. Yep, folks, that is Filipino-style spaghetti for ya. Sweet and chunky and cheese-y, it is not your typical bolognese. And I won’t have it any other way.

Ingredients

2 lbs spaghetti
2 lbs ground beef
5 to 6 jumbo hotdogs, sliced diagonally (preferably, Filipino-style hotdogs)
2 cups banana ketchup
3 cups tomato sauce
1 cup tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup quick-melt cheese (such as Velvetta), grated
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
water

Procedure

In a pan, heat oil. Add sliced hotdogs, stir and cook to lightly brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Adding more oil as necessary, saute onions and garlic until tender and aromatic. Add in ground beef. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally and breaking into small pieces.

Pour in tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup and beef broth. Stir the sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, uncovered, until meat is fully cooked and sauce is thickened, around one hour (Here’s to patience! The longer it simmers, the better the sauce!). Add more broth or water as needed to achieve desired consistency. During the last 10 minutes of simmering, stir in browned hotdogs to heat through. Adjust seasonings with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Meanwhile, in a deep pot, bring about 10 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt into a rolling boil. Add spaghetti noodles and cook until full to the bite or al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse with tap water. Never add oil to the water when cooking pasta as the oil will keep the sauce from adhering to the pasta. To prevent from sticking, stir noodles occasionally during cooking.

Place spaghetti on serving platter. Spoon sauce over noodles and top with grated cheese to serve. Alternatively, you can stir in cheese into the sauce until melted. Toss spaghetti with the sauce until well-combined and garnish with additional cheese. Serve hot.

Try These!

Avocados and Cream

Ginisang Sardinas at Miswa

Biscotti with Butter (Biscocho)

Lalaine — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:52:52 +0000

There are two things, (alright, three, if you count Virginia Slims Lights Menthol) I have an addiction to, two things I have to have in the morning and indulge in many times during the course of the day or I’ll be Miss Attitude: ice-cold diet Coke and sweet, buttery biscotti from Goldilocks bakeshop. If you are a coffee drinker with a ritual of java in the morning, you would relate to my angst yesterday when, upon crawling out of bed at 7AM and anticipating to start a glorious day with a brain freeze and sugar high, I found the bag of toasts I presumed half-full to hold but half a piece and crumbs! Over late night Facebooking, a hungry mouse I call daughter sneaked and snacked on my precious loot. To add to the angst, the bakeshop that sells them opens only till mid-morning! Good thing mercy comes in many forms: there, lying unappreciated on my kitchen counter, was the bag of pandesal a friend of mine brought over as pasalubong on his last visit. A cup of butter, spoonfuls of sugar and jugs of patience later, I was sitted on my veranda, sipping my diet Coke, crunching on my biscotti, and finally starting a glorious day indeed.

Biskotso are defined as “baked bread topped with butter and sugar originating from Iloilo province. The etymology of the word itself is related to the English biscuit and Italian biscotti in that it is derived from the Latin phrase word ‘bis coctus’ which means twice-baked.” As we are using day-old bread, we are not going to delve here on the initial breadmaking stage but on the second baking which is the “drying” process. I used pandesal to make my biscotti but any sliced bread or dinner roll will do. If you prefer savory over sweet, replace the sugar with garlic powder and dried herbs of choice. The second step does involve plenty of time in the oven but it dries the bread enough for longer storage. So, go ahead, double the recipe and have them handy for weeks on end.

Ingredients

5 to 6 large pandesal rolls
1 cup butter (one stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Procedure

Slice pandesal into 1/2 inch thickness. In a small bowl, combine sugar and butter until creamy and smooth. Spoon tablespoon’s worth of the butter-sugar mixture over bread and with the back of a knife, spread on bread slices, covering surface all the way to the edges. Repeat on other side of bread.

Arrange buttered bread slices, single layer, on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 200 F oven until very crisp and dry, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending on thickness of bread.

Try other The CookMobile recipes!

Shrimp with Oyster Sauce

Pork Menudo

Garlic Fried Rice

Lalaine — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:26:58 +0000

After years of steadfastly believing conjugal life is the beginning and end of all things, and months of shamelessly bemoaning the demise of mine over the world wide web, the day has come when I am ready to say and mean: SINGLEDOM IS BLISS. There is, indeed, beauty in being “un-coupled”. I no longer have to chase after socks inconsiderately strewn a few inches away from the hamper. I no longer have to fret over the toilet seat left up by an aimless shooter who thinks it is longer than it really is. I no longer have to buy new shoes and need justify why I need another pair. And most importantly, I can enjoy as much garlic to my heart’s content in my fried rice as fluffy, down pillows don’t complain. Woot hoot! Rejoice with me, this gal has moved on!

Garlic fried rice completes the trinity of the classic Filipino breakfast called silog, which is a combination of cured meat (tapa, tocino or longganisa), SInangag (fried rice) and itLOG (fried egg). Like most fried rice, it is an excellent way to re-vamp leftover rice (tip: always best to start with chilled, day-old rice!) and can, of course, be enjoyed any time of the day. Pair it with grilled pork chops, tortang talong and sliced tomatoes, and my, oh my, you’ve found chow heaven!

Ingredients

4 cups cooked rice
5 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
oil
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

With the side of a knife, crush garlic cloves. Remove the loosened skin and discard. Chop garlic to bits.

In a thick, heavy-bottomed skillet or wok and over medium-high, heat enough oil to cover minced garlic. Add garlic and cook until pale gold (do not burn as garlic will be bitter!) and crispy, stirring frequently. With a slotted spoon, remove garlic bits and drain on paper towels.

Remove some of the oil from skillet leaving about 2 tablespoons. Add the loosened rice and distribute across surface of skillet. Allow to cook, undisturbed, until grains start to crackle, around 1 to 2 minutes. Stir, spreading again across surface of skillet. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss in toasted garlic bits and stir well to combine.

Remember the toasted garlic bits from making garlic oil? Aren’t you glad you saved them for this?

Delicious Finds in The CookMobile Archive:

Cassava Cake with Custard Topping

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

Chicken, Mushroom and Spinach Sandwich

Lalaine — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:19:11 +0000

With the temperature horribly, terribly, horrendously high at 94 degrees today, sitting down to partake of the usual heavy meal of rice and meat, much more cooking it, was just too, too much to ask from me who would rather remain plastered on the sofa to wilt. Thank heavens for these chicken, mushroom and spinach paninis I keep handy in the freezer exactly for days like these, in a matter of minutes, I had lunch and was again plastered on my sofa to wilt, this time, satiated.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (3 oz each)
1 medium red pepper
1/2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup spinach leaves
1/2 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsps butter, melted
8 slices french bread

Procedure

Grill chicken breasts until juices run clear when pierced. Allow to cool to touch and cut into small cubes.

Over an open flame, roast pepper on stove top until skin is charred. Remove from heat and with a fork, carefully peel burnt skin. Wash under running water, cut open, remove seeds and finely chop.

In a small pan, saute onions in hot oil until tender and translucent. Add spinach and continue to cook until just wilted. Remove from pan and coarsely chop.

In the same pan, heat more oil as needed. Add mushrooms and saute until tender. Remove from heat.

Butter one side of each french bread slices, divide chicken cubes, mushrooms, spinach, peppers and mozzarella on unbuttered sides of four of the bread slices, and then top with the other four slices, buttered side up.

Heat a thick bottomed pan over medium heat. Grill assembled sandwiches buttered side down, flipping once to lightly brown both sides of sandwich. Cook until cheese is melted. Serve hot.

More Sandwiches?

Blackberry Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Smoked Ham and Brie Sandwich