Bistek Tagalog (Filipino Beef Steak)

Bistek Tagalog is almost very common to Filipinos' cuisines. This easy and savoury recipe is a great dish for Pinoys lunch or dinner. Thus, it is rarely prepared for a certain especial occassions.

It is not my first time to cook Bistek Tagalog, in fact I have cooked this for several times, but still nothing beats my Mom's recipe. It took me sometime to somehow get the right flavour. It is an easy recipe yet I always did something wrong that makes it salty. Today, I am indeed satisfied on how I cooked it. I should say, just the right flavour!

Ingredients :

• 1/2 kilo of beef (round, sirloin or tenderloin), sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 4 tbsp. of lemon juice / kalamansi juice
• 1/4 cup of dark soy sauce
• 2 small potatoes sliced
• ground pepper
• salt
• 1 tbsp. of minced garlic
• 2 large onions, cut into rings
• oil
• 1/2 cup water

  

Procedure :

1. In a mixing bowl, mix kalamansi or lemon juice and soy sauce.
2. Add beef and ground pepper. Mix well. Let sit in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.
3. Heat a skillet. Add oil. Lightly fry the potatoes. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
4. In the same skillet, lightly fry the onion rings. Remove and drain on paper towel as well.
5. In the same skillet, add a little more oil. Sautee garlic.
6. Add the beef and pan-fry it..
7. When the beef has been cooked, pour the marinade, water, salt and pepper into the skillet and boil for 2 minutes.
8. Add the potatoes and onion rings.
9. Serve with plain steamed rice.

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Adobo Chicken Liver, Gizzard and Quail Eggs

I would say that Adobo is one of the first dishes Filipinos learn to cook as it is simple and requires just a handful of ingredients. Indeed, Adobo is the Filipino national dish. The sauce is to die for. If we are talking about comfort food, Adobo is definitely the first one that pops into my head. In good-tasting adobo, none of the spice flavors dominate but rather the taste is a delicate balance of all the ingredients.

Aside from different variation in cooking Adobo, it is also not only limited to pork and chicken, other meats, seafoods, and vegetables (such as squid (pusit), goat meat, veal, beef, shrimp (hipon), river spinach (kang-kong) can also be cooked this way.

In this particular recipe I used Chicken Liver, Gizzard and Quail Eggs. This one could make a very good Pulutan (finger food). You will be licking your fingers the entire time you’re eating. =D

Ingredients:

• ½ KG Chicken Liver
• ½ KG Chicken Gizzard
• 1 can Cooked Quail Eggs (peeled)
• ¼ cup Vinegar
• ¼ cup Soy Sauce
• 3 Tablespoon Oyster sauce
• 2 Tablespoon Sugar
• 3 pcs Chilies (chopped)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 medium Onion chopped
• 1 head Garlic chopped
• Water
• Oil

Procedure:

1. Clean the Chicken Liver and Gizzard.
2. In a wok, boil the chicken gizzard with water. Let it simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Drain off the excess water after simmering the gizzard. Set aside.
4. In a new wok, sauté Garlic and Onion in oil until golden brown.
5. Add in the Gizzard and Liver. Mix well with the sautéed garlic and onion.
6. Pour in vinegar, soy sauce, pinch of salt, pepper, sugar, and chilies. Add a little water if necessary.
7. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the liver and gizzard are cooked. Gradually stir to avoid it from getting burnt.
8. Mix in the quail eggs.
9. Have a taste to judge if you need some adjustments in seasoning.
10. Topped with sautéed garlic and serve with rice.

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Spicy Chicken Wings

It is weekend and full-packed menu is in the house again. I’ve bought a kilo of chicken wings for tonight’s dinner. I planned to cook my version of Spicy Chicken Wings. It is easy to cook yet the flavour is so rich and tempting. Spicy Chicken Wings are appetizing as a main dish or as a finger food. Yes, as “Pulutan”. These would go great with a cold beer and can be eaten hot or cold. Not to prolong, here’s Spicy Chicken Wings recipe.

Once you taste it you’ll surely be an instant fan too!

Ingredients:

• Chicken Wings
• Iodized Salt
• Ground Pepper
• Chilli Powder
• Oil
• Sweet and Spicy Sauce

Procedure:

1.   Rub salt, ground pepper and chilli powder to the chicken wings. It would be better to let it marinate at least half an hour.

2.   Heat oil in a frying pan.

3.   Deep fry chicken wings in medium low heat fire. Cook ‘til golden brown.

4.   Brush fried chicken wings with sweet and spicy sauce.

5.   Serve with rice or as “pulutan”

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Burger Steak - Pinoy Style

I really miss one of my favorites in Jollibee, well of course aside from their breaded chicken, Burger Steak is surely a hit. And because we don’t have Jollibee here in Abu Dhabi I am stuck with my own recipe. I guess it turned out OK though.

Burger Steak is not an authentic Filipino food but it is indeed well accepted and became part of the menu of most Filipinos. It is an easy and inexpensive recipe. Some usually serve it with mashed potatoes but rice is still the best choice for me.

Ingredients:

• 8 Burger Patties
• 1 Liter water
• 2 Tablespoon flour
• 1 Sachet Mushroom Soup Powder
• 2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 Small Can Sliced Mushrooms
• Pepper
• Oil

Procedure:

1.      Heat oil in a pan.

2.      Fry Burger Patties in medium heat fire. Cook ‘til medium brown. Set aside.

3.      In a casserole dissolve Mushroom Powder and flour in water. Add the mushrooms and let it boil under medium fire.

4.      Put in the soy sauce and pepper.

5.      Once the mixture is thick enough (gravy like) add in the fried burger patties.

6.      Serve with rice.

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A Taste of India

It has been a busy day for me. So exhausted from work and had met some friends after office hours. I had no time to cook and for the fact that my husband and I are really starving. We want to rest right-away after dinner so we didn’t consider dining out. So the best option for us is to "take-home" cooked food. And since our last spot was in mall we had plenty of choices where to buy our dinner. We bought Indian Chicken Biryani.

Biryani is a traditional cuisine from India. It has a deep flavor and aroma. It is made from a mixture of spices, rice, meat or vegetables. So basically, Chicken Biryani involves chicken pieces marinated in a spice and curd mixture and cooked with basmati rice. I’ve watched a video on how to cook it and the preparation is quite lengthy but the outcome is surely simply amazing. It somehow looks similar from the usual Filipino fried rice mixture or from Chinese Chao Pan but the taste is far different.

Hunger solved! Thanks to the wholesome rice-based Indian cuisine we had. I won’t be able to give you a taste of Indian Chicken Biryani but I could indeed give u a glimpse of it =D

mouthwatering Chicken Biryani...
the aroma and spices will make you crave for more =D

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Thai Express in the Midst of the Desert

Thai cuisine emphasize on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic ingredients. It is also known for being spicy. Balance, detail and variety are important to Thai cooking. Thai food is known for its harmonious blend of the five fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: hot (spicy), sour, sweet, salty, and (optional) bitter. Thai cooking could also be called a “Fusion” style of cooking combining the freshest foods with flavors that go well together.

We could find Thai restaurants in almost any countries nowadays. And we are lucky to have plenty of those here in UAE. Thai dishes are really unique and I considered it as one of my personal favorites. My husband and I have a favorite spot whenever I craved for Thai cuisine. Thai Express in either Al Wahda Mall or Khalidia Mall is a great place to satisfy my cravings.

Thai meals typically consist of a single of a dish served with rice (khao in Thai). We often order in Thai Express are BBQ Chicken Thai Style (grilled chicken breast with Thai herb and fried garlic) and Panang Beef (Beef with Thai Curry).  Both were served with plain steamed Jasmine rice. They also serve a unique Lemon Grass Iced tea. It is quite helpful to relieve the spiciness of the curried beef.

Thai cookery is also much known to its curry recipes. Curry from different countries varies. I’ve tasted Curry cuisine from India but its taste obviously different from that of Thais. For me Thai Curry is more creamy and appetizing.

Here’s a glimpse of what we had for tonight’s dinner.



Panang Beef & BBQ Chicken Thai Style
side dished with chicken springrolls.......
YUMMY! =D



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Location: Al Wahda Mall Food Court & Khalidia Mall Food Court, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Food:★★★★☆

Price:★★★☆☆

Service:★★★☆☆

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Sautéed Radish with Beef (Ginisang Labanos na may Baka)

I already feel bloated for having so much meat these past few days (tea please =D). So I requested my husband to think of cuisine that includes vegetable. Well, no wonder what will be his answer for the fact that he rarely eats vegetables, and if he does, only very few would be on his list. One of it is Labanos (radish). He loves sautéed radish with pork or beef. It is quite easy to cook and the ingredients are very basic.

I’ve been asking some of my flat-mates if they knew about this recipe since they came from different provinces in the Philippines, but surprisingly, it is their first time to encounter this recipe. So I guess Bulakeños might be its chef in origin.

After cooking this cuisine I share some of it to my flatmates and as they judged, they said it taste good and I gave them an idea on how to cook radish in a different way aside from their usual recipe. =D

Ingredients:

• 3 pieces Big Radish (Labanos) Sliced
• 3 pieces Medium-Sized Tomatoes
• 1 Medium Onion (sliced)
• 1 Garlic (minced)
• 2 pieces Chillies
• ½ Kg. Beef Sliced
• 1 piece beef stock (powder or cube)
• Salt / patis (fish sauce)
• Pepper
• Water
• Oil

Procedure:

1. Heat casserole then put oil.
2. Sauté garlic, onion and tomatoes.
3. Put in the sliced beef, beef stock, salt or patis, pepper and ½ cup water. Let it simmer ‘til the beef is cooked.
4. Add in the radish and chillies.
5. Add more water. Let boil ‘til radish is cooked.
6. Serve with rice.

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Fried Tanigue with a Unique Dipping Sauce

It is a cold morning here in the desert and it is very difficult to wake-up to go to work. But as we say “what to do?” This is our life here abroad. I came late in the office (as usual =D) just to know that we were dismissed because of electrical shutdown in the whole building. So, I just go straight home to prepare something for lunch.

First, I checked what we have left-over from last night’s dinner to consider in what I should cook for today’s lunch. Well, I just found the dipping that my husband mixed last night. I decided to fry fish, for sure that would be a perfect partner for that dipping sauce. It actually match to almost any kind of fried meat or for Okoy =D. It has a spicy, a bit of sourness and saltiness, just excellent mixture that would make you crave for more.

Dipping Ingredients:

• 1 Small Minced onion
• 2 Minced chillies
• 1 Small Minced Tomato
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water

Procedure:

1. Mix the minced onion, chilli, tomato and salt.
2. Add in the water.

Fried Fish Tanigue

Ingredients:

• Sliced Tanigue
• Salt
• Cooking Oil

Procedure:

1. Wash the sliced Tanigue.
2. Rub the Tanigue with salt, just enough to taste.
3. Medium heat the pan and add cooking oil. (Make sure that the oil is hot enough before placing the fish on the frying pan.
4. Fry fish until medium brown.
5. Served with rice and the dipping sauce you prepared earlier.

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Pinoy Spaghetti - Lazy Style

Who says cooking spaghetti would be difficult and will take much time? Well, for my tight schedule I always see to it that I will allot at least an hour to cook for dinner except, of course, during our lazy nights =D. And tonight is one of my not-so-lazy nights. Meaning, I will cook but in the fastest way I can.

Tonight we had the lazy-style spaghetti. Yes, the short-cut version =D. Semi-Filipino style, sweet and tempting. Wondering how to do it? First, you should be lazy enough to do the quick cooking =D.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 8 pieces hotdog slices
• 1 Can Whole button mushrooms
• 1 big can of Chunky Corned beef
• 1 big pouch (1 litre) of Del Monte Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce
• 500 grams Pasta Spaghetti
• 3 Tablespoon of sugar
• Salt
• Pepper

Procedure:

1. Boil water with a teaspoon of salt. Put the pasta until cook. Set aside.
2. In a sauce pan, heat olive oil.
3. Sauté hotdog and mushroom.
4. Stir in the corned beef. Mix well to avoid getting burnt.
5. Add in the spaghetti sauce.
6. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Continue mixing. Wait until boil.
7. Serve pasta topped with sauce.

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Pork Tapa (TapSiLog)

Sometimes I don’t know if I should love or hate weekends. My week-long diet has just been ruined because of my 2 days-off meal plan. Especially, we only have pork in the fridge, so I really have to squeeze-off ideas in my mind to prepare something out of ordinary from our usual menu.

I have thin slices of pork in our fridge and the idea of Tapa just pop-up in my mind. Mostly, pork Tapa is made by stir fry. It is generally very easy to prepare. And what makes Pork Tapa as something out of ordinary is that, people often eat Pork Tapa as breakfast and for now we will have it for dinner =D. And when we say Tapa it is commonly chained with the idea of TapSiLog (Tapa + Sinangag + Itlog). So, TapSiLog for dinner coming-up!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 kilo pork tenderloin, thinly cut into strips
• 1/2 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon white sugar
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 1/2 Tablespoon vinegar
• Cooking oil

Procedure: 

·    Combine garlic, pepper, sugar, salt, soy sauce and vinegar in a mixing bowl.

·    Mixed in the pork strips. Make sure to coat all strips.

·    Arrange pork in a marinating pan. Pour in the marinade mixture over pork and refrigerate overnight.

·    When ready to cook, add a little water to the pan to parboil the pork tapa.

·    When the water is dry add up some oil in a frying pan.

·    Fry pork slices in batches, just until cooked through.

·    Drain pork on paper towels.

·    Serve with rice with fried egg and side-dished with veggies of your choice.

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Texas Chicken - One Lazy Night

Preparing dinner is not an easy task especially during weekends. He he he ;D  But I am so lazy that all I want is to sleep the whole day and just to have an instant dinner. Our laziness at times opens an opportunity to explore food outside our kitchen.

My husband and I were craving for a Jollibee style chicken but, unluckily, we don’t have Jollibee here in Abu Dhabi. There are lots of fast-foods here serving almost the same style of chicken cookery but no one beats the original Jollibee style of chicken from the Philippines. Nonetheless, we have our favourite fast-food were chicken serving is almost the same as Jollibee. Big, crunchy and spiced just the way we like it. Texas Chicken, yes, we also have it in the Philippines but fast-food competition way back there doesn’t give much room for Texas Chicken to lead the game. Fortunately, here in Abu Dhabi Texas Chicken remarkably break-out its name.

Actually, we just recently discovered Texas Chicken here in Abu Dhabi. Thanks to a friend who introduced where Texas Chicken is hiding. It is not located in the heart of the city and it’s not a bit parking friendly. But nothing will hinder us from satisfying our craved from Texas Chicken. And as what I’ve said we are so lazy tonight, thank God that I have Texas Chicken delivery hotline =D. Yes, it is just a dial away! Our desire didn’t wait long. Fast delivery only takes 20 minutes and the chickens were still hot. Nom nom nom…. He he he…. We finished our dinner for only 15 minutes. Indeed, we beat off the 20 minutes fast delivery. Well, who can resist this temptation? It is for you to know. ;D

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Location: Airport Road, Abu Dhabi, UAE (Home Delivery Hotline 600522224)

Food:★★★★☆

Price:★★★★☆

Service:★★★★☆

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