FOOD HACK: Japanese Tuna Sando

I happen to have lots of bread the past week from Fuwa Fuwa and I thought of something that I really crave -- Japanese sandwiches. I haven't been to Japan and the Tokyo Olympics was just a few weeks ago so I decided to create something Japanese-inspired.

There is still some Whole Wheat Loaf from Fuwa Fuwa's Gold Series and I looked upon my cupboard to see what I still have for the filling. Here's what I got:

• Whole Wheat Loaf from the Gold Series by Fuwa Fuwa
  You can also use the Everyday Japan Tasty from the regular series
• 1 can of tuna flakes in oil, heated or sauteed
• Nori sheets
  I cut the nori sheets into around 2"x 4" smaller sheets, then I cut them again to thin smaller sheets just like a confetti for aesthetics.
• 1 bottle of Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise

I just assembled everything to this liking: Lay your slices of whole wheat bread, spread your tuna flakes, top with the nori sheets and drizzle with Kewpie mayo.

 

Actually, the taste is not bad at all. It tastes like the tuna onigiri that I buy from convenience stores but with bread instead of rice. Flavors are still defined in every bite, the bread is soft and doesn't sog even if it gets wet with the tuna's brine/oil. The best thing here is that you can find the items easily in the kitchen. Now I am thinking of more ways to enjoy Fuwa Fuwa breads.

You can find Fuwa Fuwa breads in the following stores: www.fuwafuwa.com.ph/stores. 

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How to turn your Kale into a yummy drink

Kale is a leafy food that makes wonders to your body. Considered wonder food by nutritionists and food experts, kale has benefits that include lots of vitamins, antioxidants, boost immune system, reduces the risk of heart disease among others. However, some people especially kids do not tend to eat leafy vegetables just because they don't like it. Here is a tip which can help you turn your supply of kale into something yummy and perfect to start the day.

You need:
1 bag of kale (I usually prefer the organic ones and bought from Nurture Wellness Village. It costs around Php 180 for about 1 kilo)
1/2 cup of chocolate powder, any powdered chocolate will do
1 cup of water
honey, to taste - optional

Remember to wash the kale thoroughly Remove the kale leaves from the stalk and combine all ingredients into a blender until the leaves are completely disintegrated or liquefied. This mixture can produce up to 4 glasses and best served when chilled.

There are also other options that you can use to substitute chocolate with kale. You can use fruits like mango, strawberry, pineapples and more. There is no vegetable aftertaste too.

But if you are on the go and have less time to prepare this recipe from scratch, there is also O'kale Chocolate drink from Nurture Wellness Village.

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How to make your own Gelato Affogato?

when we had our vacation in Puerto Galera this weekend, i just realized how Italian recipes are so easy to make. in my excitement to share you this yummy dessert in this hot weather, here is the recipe for Gelato Affogato:

you need the following ingredients:
Vanilla ice cream
1 shot of Espresso coffee
chocolate syrup
marshmallows (optional)

directions:
1. drizzle chocolate syrup in a goblet. turn the goblet like you're making a swirl.
2. get 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream.
3. pour espresso on top of ice cream.
4. drizzle again with chocolate syrup and top with marshmallow. serve.

see? it's so easy! i'm definitely doing this at home. thank you to my friend who showed us how to do it.

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HOLDAK: falling in love with real Korean chicken

it was a traditional story of a passionate foodie of bringing in his favorite dish in his hometown. but for Carl Tan, President of Holdak Philippines, his story is not just about passion for food but falling in love with it. in his business venture, Holdak, he shares his story of how he brought home a piece of what he loves and he also shares the moments of being in love with his favorite chicken dish.

Holdak, from a Korean phrase "Holdak ban hada" which means "to fall deeply and madly in love with something" and Dak in Hangul dialect which means chicken. so it's a play on words of "falling madly in love with chicken." in his special invitation, i really now understand why he is in love.

started just last January 2013, Holdak first opened at the foot of Mezza residences in Manila where people pass by. thus, the willingness of Carl Tan to share and spread his happiness to the passers by and even visitors make it standing in store today. he first tasted Holdak in a chilly night in Beijing and finding out it's franchising terms even encouraged him to bring it here. how excited is he reminiscing back memories of watching a movie in Beijing with friends eating Holdak chicken on their laps.

the restaurant is easy to find on its location. the chicken head icon makes its mark on the glass window of the restaurant. of course, you'll never get confused with its orange appeal. a very inviting atmosphere and cozy interior for everyone.

his chicken party became more livelier when courses of Holdak chicken is being served on the tables. 4 different flavors to choose from: Yang-Nyam, Spicy Yang-Nyam, Padak and Jack Daniels. all dishes are well-done boneless chicken thighs with a crispy breading. the different flavors will satisfy your palates with different heat intensities and sweetness. my personal favorite is the Padak chicken which has to be eaten with spring onions. a little bite with chili for that satisfying kick.

Clockwise from Top left: Spicy Yang-Nyam, Jack Daniels, Yang-Nyam and Padak

Padak

other than these yummy chicken dishes, you can also try other specialties like their Regular and Cheese Ramen, the Curry Fries (another ♥) and their salad. all perfectly complement the taste of their chickens and you will not get used to the taste.

soon, Holdak Chicken will be available thru delivery in a 5-kilometer radius from its position. you can call 354-2195 for a minimum order of Php 250. you can also take home a box of 6 (single-flavor) or 12 (2 flavors) for a very reasonable but affordable price.

Ramon and Spicy Yang-Nyam

for more information about Holdak Chicken, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HoldakChicken or follow them on Instagram @HoldakPh

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first baking attempt

counting down to 2013 is more progressive with this first attempt to bake. since we bought our new oven for Christmas, what more fun to use it to baking. for a muffin recipe turned into a cake, i also made a new twist by adding grated bitter gourd and carrots.

here are the ingredients to my first baking project:

4 cups of flour
8 eggs
8 teaspoons of baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup of pineapple juice
3 cups of brown sugar
4-5 teaspoons grated bitter gourd and carrots

Directions:
1. preheat oven for 20 mins at 175 degrees.
2. mix the eggs, sugar, pineapple juice well. set aside.
3. mix all dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, salt) and combine it with the wet ingredients. also add the grated bitter gourd and carrots.
4. put the mixture in the oven and bake for 30 mins or until the top is brown and not burnt. use a toothpick to check if the inside is already baked. serve.

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food art attack: one thing to do with CLARA OLE Choco Syrup

i was looking for something to eat for late night snack and i found suman inside the refrigerator. i ate two pieces and i felt kinda bored. it's then i remembered eating suman with chocolate fondue in a restaurant. i looked out for CLARA OLE Chocolate Syrup in the ref and went a little creative on the presentation of the suman.

i placed 1 suman on a plate and decorated it with the chocolate syrup. i made the suman into a coconut tree. haha!

it's just so fun to be creative when you have all you need. it is also a great idea to enjoy your food and share it with kids.

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SHRIMP in catsup sauce

cooked something new for lunch today. with a little inspiration with Thai food, i managed to do a very yummy dish.

sorry for the bad pic. this is a leftover already.

Ingredients:
1/4 k shrimp;
2 green chilis, sliced diagonally;
3 tbsp minced ginger;
1 tbsp minced garlic;
1 medium sized onion, minced;
1/2 cup catsup dissolved in
1/2 cup water

salt and black pepper to taste
butter for frying

Procedure:
1. sprinkle salt and pepper to shrimp and fry in butter over medium heat. set aside.
2. saute onion, garlic and ginger. add the shrimp and catsup sauce. simmer for about 5 minutes. add half of chili and simmer more.
3. garnish with remaining chili.

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Yapatoots' Green Smoothie

a simple healthy beverage that can be taken anytime of the day. rich in vitamins and minerals like potassium from bananas and antioxidants and proteins from malunggay.

Ingredients:

Bananas
Chinese Cabbage
Malunggay leaves
Mangoes
1 cup yogurt

Directions:

1. it's best if you have all your ingredients chilled before the preparation.
2. blend all ingredients together making a puree. amount of ingredients depends upon your taste.
3. add yogurt for more health benefit. serves 4-6 people.

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Chili Prawns by The Cookery Place

this is my favorite dish we cooked at The Cookery Place. large prawns in spicy Thai sauce, I can eat the whole thing through dinner. Mmm! though some people like me cannot tolerate much chili and heat, you can put in less.

Cooking method: Stir-frying
Serves 4

Ingredients:
200 g prawns, peeled, deveined
¼ cup shrimp stock
¼ cup tomato catsup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp chili paste
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp shallot, minced
2 pcs bird’s eye chili, sliced
1 pc egg, beaten

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the stock, catsup, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili paste and sugar. Set aside.
2. In a hot wok or pan, add the oil and stir-fry the prawns until cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Using the same work or pan, add oil, garlic, ginger, shallots and bird’s eye chili. Stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add the sauce and stir a few seconds before adding the egg in a circular motion to thicken the sauce.
5. Add the cooked prawns and mix well with the sauce.
6. Remove from the heat and serve.

check out their Facebook page or you can contact them at (02)8220768. The Cookery Place is located at Unit 2GH, Kensington Place, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

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Pineapple Fried Rice from The Cookery Place

how about cooking this early in the morning. it perks you up the whole day!

Cooking method: Stir frying
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 cups rice, cooked
½ cup coconut milk
1 cup pineapple, diced
4 tsp curry powder
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 stalks spring onion, sliced
1 tsp bird’s eye chili, sliced
2 pcs tomato, sliced
¼ cup ham, diced
2 tsp cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Pour the coconut milk in to a wok or pan on medium heat and cook until the oil surfaces. Add the curry powder and stir until fragrant.
2. Add the pineapple and stir-fry, mixing everything together.
3. Add the rice and stir-fry. Season with the sugar and soy sauce. Stir to mix everything together. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
4. Transfer the rice to a place. Top with sliced tomatoes, spring onion, ham and chili before serving.

check out their Facebook page or you can contact them at (02)8220768. The Cookery Place is located at Unit 2GH, Kensington Place, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

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Grilled Beef Salad by The Cookery Place

Cooking method: Grilling
Serves 4

Ingredients:
350 g Beef, tenderloin
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
2 tbsp Oyster sauce
salt and pepper
¼ cup Water
2 tbsp palm or brown sugar
2 pcs bird’s eye chili, sliced
1 pc cucumber, sliced thinly
½ pc onion, thinly sliced
40 g long beans, sliced
½ cup mint leaves, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp thai fish sauce
2.5 tbsp lime juice
2 pcs tomato, quartered
50 g kinchay, sliced

Directions:

1. Marinate the beef in oil, oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Grill beef according to desired doneness, turning once. After both sides are cooked, allow the beef to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing thinly.
3. To make dressing, in a small skillet, heat the water with sugar, stirring until dissolved. Transfer to a large bowl. Add garlic, fish sauce, lime juice and Thai red chili. Let cool.
4. Add the cucumber, onion, tomatoes, sitaw, kinchay, mint and sliced steak. Toss well and serve right away.

check out their Facebook page or you can contact them at (02)8220768. The Cookery Place is located at Unit 2GH, Kensington Place, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

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foodie experience at The Cookery Place

i just had a great time to experience this wonderful cooking experience with the chefs of The Cookery Place located at the Bonifacio Global City.
though the place is a little small, this matches the objective of focusing on the chefs' pupils as they cook. the merging of contemporary and any theme you want is feasible in its design. doodles in the kitchen makes it child-friendly.
looking at the samples presented makes me want to eat them already. i enjoyed the Pork Balls and Chili and Sesame Noodle Salad. Ube Cheesecake is my favorite for dessert.

Pork Balls, Chili & Sesame Noodle Salad, Ube Cheesecake
as i've invited myself to come in and check out the place, the 3 chefs were already preparing the ingredients for that night's class. and we are the students! i always wanted to have this cooking events myself and i think this will be the best hands-on food event for me. on the menu are Grilled Beef Salad, Pineapple Fried Rice and Chili Prawns. these are Thai dishes and seeing just the ingredients are already mouth-watering and i was so excited to get my hands on those.
and as we begin the class, each chef demonstrated how to cook each dish. some ingredients are already pre-mixed so all we have to do is dump it in the pans. also, i have learned that we cannot just use utensils like chopping board for all to avoid flavor contamination. that's a learning for me for i was not a culinary degree holder myself.

preparing the 3 dishes is very easy as i love the kitchen smell myself. and afterwards, we got to taste all our products ourselves. Alex did a wonderful job plating them as well.

CCW: Grilled Beef Salad, Pineapple Fried Rice and Chili Prawns
the venue is available for booking and cooking parties. they also have scheduled learning sessions every night. check out their Facebook page or you can contact them at (02)8220768. The Cookery Place is located at Unit 2GH, Kensington Place, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

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Mom's recipe: my CHICKEN MECHADO

I found the opportunity to reinvent a recipe. I don't know if this was the typical recipe but the bottom line is, it tastes good.

Here's the recipe for my Chicken Mechado:

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo of chicken
2 pieces of bell pepper, diced
2 pieces medium-sized carrot, diced
1/4 kilo string beans, cut into 2-3 inches
4 pieces tomatoes, diced

1 pouch tomato sauce
1 can liver spread
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup water
soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Saute garlic, onions, tomatoes and add chicken.
2. Add soy sauce, sprinkle with salt and pepper and add water. Cover and simmer or until chicken is cooked.
3. Add tomato sauce and liver spread.
4. Add other vegetable ingredients, potatoes, carrots and beans. Let it simmer for around 5-8 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

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get your CDO HOLIDAY HAM now!

anywhere in the world, the Christmas feast isn't complete until there's the lean ham. it may be roasted, broiled or even raw out of the package, it tastes just as good. for me, i like to make a healthy sandwich with lettuce leaves, mayo and tomatoes. but there's a lot of things we can do with the Christmas ham.

CDO is taking us the holidays again as it bring the CDO Holiday Ham. you are sure you're getting the best quality ham because it is packed with meat, and not much fat. also check that it's real. you can see the net markings on the skin of the ham. and when you heat the ham, the fats drip on the sides of the meat so the flavor is maintained in the ham itself. finally, CDO Holiday Ham has no extenders, so you are guaranteed that you are getting all meat. that's what celebrity chef Rob Pengson told us.

Chef Rob also shared to us one recipe you can do with CDO Holiday Ham. this is his Healthy Green Salad with CDO Holiday Ham.

you just need:

thin slices of CDO Holiday Ham
salad greens (lettuce or soft cabbages)
red cabbage for color
chopped dried cranberries
apple slices
vinegrette (balsamic vinegar and olive oil)

just mix all ingredients and enjoy. this is a healthy combination of meat and vegetables and more special with CDO Holiday Ham. it is already available in supermarkets so you can enjoy any recipe you like even if it's not Christmas yet.

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Chili Cheese Rolls

Chili Cheese Rolls is one very easy recipe to team up with beer. it is also called Dynamite because it looks like a dynamite. here's how to make this crunchy and palatable recipe.

Ingredients:
green chilis (seeded, stems intact)

cheese, small julienne strips

lumpia wrapper

oil for frying

Procedure:
1. stuff in the cheese strips inside the slits made on the chili.
2. wrap the chili with the lumpia wrapper exposing the stem.

3. fry the rolls until golden brown or crunchy.
4. serve with sweet chili sauce.

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how to make BIBINGCREPE

i've learned this when i was in Baguio. the staff of Half Moon Cafe is generous enough to share to us how to make the dessert. all we need are the following:

Ingredients:
1 pack of your favorite hotcake mix, prepared using the package instructions
baking soda
margarine

filling may include all or any of the following, these can be substituted by other :
cheese (shredded)
marshmallows
chocolate bits

Procedure:
1. get 1 1/2 cups of hotcake mix. mix a pinch of baking soda.
2. on a hot non-stick pan, (or glazed with butter or fat) pour the hotcake mix and spread it up to the rim. then allow to bubble and then cover after 1 minute. spread a little margarine to taste.

3. wait for around 30 seconds then slowly take out the hotcake and transfer it on a plate. divide the cooked hotcake into two. fill the first half with cheese, chocolate bits, marshmallows or anything desired then cover with the second half like a sandwich.

4. cut the sandwich into bite-sized pieces. enjoy.

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Chefography: Pau Sia

Chef Pau Sia is the sous chef of Unilever Food Solutions, and a 'suki' of SM Hypermarket, where he buys most of his ingredients. he is one of the judges of SM Hypermarket's SUPER CHEFS tournament and shares her recipe of Menudo.

Menudo

Ingredients:

1 kilo of pork, chopped into cubes
150 ml Knorr liquid seasoning
5 g ground pepper
40 g chopped garlic
40 g chopped onion
800 ml tomato sauce
100 g carrots, chopped into cubes, blanched
100 g potatoes, chopped into cubes, blanched
3 g sliced chorizo bilbao
30 g liver spread
40 g Knorr pork cubes
Water
600 g green peas (fresh or frozen)
5 g kasubha
30 g raisins

Procedure:

1. In a mixing bowl, marinate the pork with Knorr liquid seasoning, ground pepper and garlic. Marinate overnight.
2. Saute the pork until half-cooked. Set aside.
3. in a sauce pan, sauté the onion and garlic. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 5 mins.
4. add the remaining ingredients including the pork and simmer for another 5 minutes until the pork is fully cooked.

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Chefography: Caren Bayhon-Yrastorza

Caren Bayhon-Yrastorza is a former news anchor, a mom and a foodie who enjoys going to the grocery. She authors the site, theeatingroom.wordpress.com - a blog for cooking enthusiasts where one can find easy to prepare recipes and must try dining places. she is one of the judges of SM Hypermarket's SUPER CHEFS tournament and shares her recipe of Caldereta.

Caldereta

Ingredients:

1 kilo beef brisket
About a dozen medium-sized tomatoes, cubed
1 pc calamansi
Half cup soy sauce
1 head of garlic, minced
Laurel leaf
2 large onions, minced
3 pcs siling labuyo, chopped
5 medium-sized potatoes, cut crosswise
2 pcs red bell pepper, julliened
A small bottle of pitted and stuffed olives
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup tomato sauce (for coloring)

Procedure:

1. Season beef with salt and pepper then marinate in soy sauce and calamansi for 30 minutes. Set aside.
2. Layer the ingredients in a casserole such that tomato is at the bottom, then marinated beef, garlic and onion at the top of the whole ensemble. This way, flavors lock in the beef that’s in the middle of the assembly.
3. Pour in about 3 cups of water to help liquefy and wilt the tomatoes at the bottom. Bring to a moderate simmer.
4. Once drying out, continue pouring in water until beef tenderness is achieved.
5. 5. Add the bell peppers, laurel leaf, sili and the pitted olives. Mix in the tomato sauce. Set aside.
6. Meantime, deep fry the potatoes.
7. Pour the beef mixture onto a pyrex dish. Garnish with fried potatoes on top.

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