Paella/Valenciana

It’s been a while since I wrote another recipe for my blog. It feels good to be back.

Remembering to cook Paella is really heart warming. This is a dish introduced to me by my family circle. In almost all special occasions, this dish is prepared in so many faces, like the black paella, all seafood, chicken and all sorts of combination.

This is considered a festive food, back in the Philippine-Spanish time, the color of this dish sets the mood of the banquet!

This is easy to cook that makes a one complete meal.

Ingredients:

Sticky rice (wash separately)
Chicken cut into strips
Port cut into strips
Shrimp peeled

Ginger cut in flat
Onions cut in strips
Garlic cut in strips
Spring Onions sliced
Tomato sliced
Olive Oil
Sesame seeds
Basil leaves (whole leaves)
Annatto seeds soaked in water for 30 mins (water same amount as the rice, 1:1 cup)
Salt
Pepper
Fish Sauce
Soy Sauce

Procedure:

1. Sautee Garlic,Onion, ginger and tomato in good amount of olive oil.
2. Add chicken, pork and shrimp.
3. Add salt, pepper, fish sauce and soy sauce.
4. Continue the sautee process until pork and chicken looked pale and shrimp turned red.
5. Add the water from annatto soak, do not include the seeds.
6. Add the sticky rice, the rice should be soaked in water. Water is 1:1 ratio with rice.
But if rice is not soaked enough, add about 1/2 cup more of water.
7. Taste the mixture’s saltiness, add fish sauce or salt if needed, then mix.
8. Flaten the mixture, so that the rice is totally soaked with liquid.
9. Cover the pan with the lid and cook in a very low fire.
10. This will cook like a regular rice.
11. When cooked, top with spring onions and basil leaves then cover the lid again.

NOTE : Annatto seeds soaked in water is a healthy way of giving yellow color on your paella, but if
you are in a hurry a little pinch of yellow food color is always available. Annatto has also good appetizing smell, that will make your paella smells more delicious.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Paella for your table

Pork Shrimp Molo Noodle Soup

This is a total Ilonggo cuisine or maybe the Chinese culture has influenced us on their Wonton Noodles.
I learned this from my Aunts who are making this on the weekends or the holidays. I can remember the whole clan enjoying the dish with Pandesal or puto.

I am glad, I was able to get some perfect wonton noodles next town.

Ingredients 1:
Wanton Wrapper
Shrimp finely sliced
Ground pork
Finely Chopped onions
Finely Chopped spring onions
Finely Chopped garlic
Salt and pepper
egg

Ingredients 2:
sliced onions
sliced garlic
sliced spring onions
salt and pepper
sliced tomatoes
sliced and peeled shrimp
chicken fillet strips

Procedure:

For Molo:

1. For the filling, combine all Ingredients 1 in a bowl except for the wanton wrapper .
2. When thoroughly combined, in each sheet of the wanton wrapper,
3. Put a small amount of the filling and fold in triangular shape, see picture.
4. Put two edges of the triangle together and seal with water, see finished wonton.
5. Wrapp all filling into the wanton wrapper.

Cooking Procedure:
1. Sautee garlic, onions then tomatoes.
2. Add chicken and shrimp.
3. Sautee until chicken and shrimp turned pale.
4. Add salt and pepper.
5. Add Water for the soup.
6. When the water boils, add all the wrapped molo.
7. When all the wrapped molo surfaced the soup, they are already cooked.
8. Final taste the soup and add the spring onions.
9. Serve hot and enjoy!

Molo Filling mix

filling on the wrapper

Molo Triangular wrap

finish wrapped molo

Soup stock just after putting the wrapped molo

Soup almost done, molo surfacing

serving molo soup on my table

Pork hocks soup with corn and peanuts

I’ve found the right name for Pork’s feet, It’s Pork hocks! It sounds like kitchenomic this time!
When we bought one from the grocery, the cashier was so puzzled what it was for, “it cost little costly for
some bones.” He thought it’s for the dogs and he was not kidding. 🙂 “$4 for 3 pieces of bones for your dog? I think it’s expensive!” He didn’t know that we have the tastiest recipe for this!

Ingredients:
Pork Hocks

Cut corn cobs
fresh peanuts (not cooked)

Salt
Pepper
Cilatro chopped
Basil chopped
Spring Onions chopped
Ginger sliced
Onion sliced

Procedure:
1. Put all ingredients in the deep pan with Water.
2. Boil in low heat for 1.5 hrs, until the pork hocks are tender.
3. Final taste with salt and pepper.
3. Serve hot and top with chopped basil and cilantro before serving.
Enjoy the soup with rice!

Boiling and Making the soup

Soup Ready!

Baked Lemony Pork Steak and Veges

Lemon is nice and easy marinade for grilled meat.

I only used Lemon and salt as the based flavoring. No other sauce added aside from herbs and spices.

Ingredients

Pork Steak

Lemon peel strips
Lemon Squeeze
Salt

Onions
chopped Basil leaves
chopped Cilantro
steak spices (dried red pepper flakes, ground pepper, paprika)

Veges:
Asparagus
Cut corn cob
Mushroom

Olive oil
butter

How we arrange before baking

Procedure:

1. Rub Salt, lemon squeeze, steak spices to the pork steak. Stay for 1 hour.
2. In the baking pan, oil the surface with olive oil.
3. Arrange the steak and top with chopped with chopped basil, cilantro and lemon peel.
4. Put the corn cobs at the side as seen on the pictures and sprinkle it with salt.
5. Arrange the mushroom and asparagus on the other side and sprinkle with salt.
6. Top with butter
7. Bake for 60 mins @ 300F

Serve hot and enjoy the dinner!

Ready for Dinner!

Deep fried pork chops with nutmeg, lemon and chili

Nutmeg looks like new to me, but i just discovered that is one of the ingredients my grandmother used in her “mama”. It is something that she chew with tobacco, lime, and “buyo” (betel pepper leaves). It is difficult to explain it further, but I have known and been familiar with it since I was five.

With some spices search, I discovered that nutmeg is good on grilled or fried meat. It’s nutty and spicy flavor is a perfect compliment for meat.

Try this at home.

Ingredients:

Porkchops

lemon
scraped nutmeg

scraping the nutmeg

dried chili
salt and pepper

sesame seeds for toppings

Procedure:

1. Rub the porkchops with salt, pepper, dried chili and nutmeg
2. Soak it in lemon.

Marinating the meat

3. Let it stay for 1 hour until the flavors are absorbed.
4. After 1 hour, deep fry in a half-filled pan with heated oil.
5. Wait until turned brown

fried porkchops

Serve hot and top with sesame seeds