Beef Spinach Curry

Love curry but Mom can't handle the heat. This doesn't stop us from having a bowl once in while on the kitchen table :)

1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsps. mild curry paste
500 grams ground beef
1 grated onion
1 peeled and grated carrot
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 cup rough chopped parsley
3/4 cup water
150 grams baby spinach leaves

Mix ground beef, onion, carrot, garlic and parsley. Set aside.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the curry paste and stir until browned. Add the beef mixture, cook stirring to break up the lumps for 5 minutes until brown.
Stir in water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes or until the beef is cooked through. Add spinach and cook for a minute or until just wilted.
Serve with hot basmati rice and pappadums*.

*Note: Pappadums are thin-like crackers or flat-bread that are common in Indian cuisine. You can buy this from Indian grocery stores.

Another Baked Macaroni

I guess we are just fanatics for baked macaroni so I made with what was available in the kitchen. It came out pretty well - a Filipino-style sauce which mom likes.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo (1 lb.) lean pork, ground
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup onion, minced
1/3 cup green and red bell pepper, minced
1 kg tomato sauce
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsps. sugar
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup milk
500 grams elbow noodles, cooked
1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese
2 tbsps. parsley, chopped

In a sauce pan, saute meat on medium heat until everything is brown. Keep sauteing until the meat is dried out of its juices. Set aside. Add 2 tbsps. olive oil and saute onions, bell pepper and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add in the meat and continue to stir until the ingredients are well blended. Add the soy sauce, salt and black pepper. Pour the tomato sauce and stir until it boils. Reduce the heat and add the sugar and chili pepper and bay leaf. Simmer the sauce for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid the bottom from sticking and burning. Adjust the seasonings based on your taste then add milk to make a creamier sauce. Simmer for additional 3 minutes then turn heat off. Let the sauce cool and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to allow the spices to marry together with the sauce.
Cook noodles and drain. Mix the noodles with the meat sauce. Pour into a baking dish and top with the grated cheese. Sprinkle the parsley and bake at 350F for 5-8 minutes until the cheese melts and tops slightly turns brown.

Sweet and Sour Pork

I am trying to think of what to cook this weekend and decided to try this recipe out. I know when we were growing up as kids, this was one of the dishes my mom and helpers prepare. My sister and I never liked it as a child because of the pineapple chunks. Of course, growing up made me over come this. But I don't think my sister ever did. (^-^)

1/2 lb. pork
1 egg yolk (or the whole egg beaten)
7 tbsp. and 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic, chopped
3 tbsps. sugar
4 tbsps. water
2 tbsps. pineapple juice
2 tbsps. white vinegar
2 tbsps. ketchup
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix the 3 tbsps. sugar, 3 tbsps. water, 2 tbsps. pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup and 1/2 tsp. salt.
Cut the meat into 2/3" cubes and slightly tenderize meat. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Mix meat with egg yolk, 1 tbsp. cornstarch and soy sauce. Dredge meat in 6 tbsps. cornstarch then deep fry the meat for 3 minutes. Remove from the oil and reheat the oil until very hot but not smoking. Refry the pork for 30 seconds. Remove and drain out excess oil and set aside.

Heat the wok with 1 tbsp. oil. Stir-fry the bell pepper and add 1 tbsp. water. Remove and drain. Add 3 tbsps. oil; stir-fry garlic until fragrant. Add the onions and pineapple; stir-fry briefly then add the sugar mixture. When the mixture begins to boil, add 1 tbsp. water mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch. Add the fried meat and toss lightly.

Notes: Pork may be substituted with beef or chicken or a combination of meats. The pineapple may be substituted with fresh tomato or bite-size pieces of carrot. If using fresh tomato, omit the 2 tbsps. pineapple juice and increase the white vinegar to 3 tbsps.

Beef on the Run

I was running out of ideas on what to cook over the weekend. With only 2 hours and a limited supply, I had to come up with something that would satisfy our hunger. Since the beef brisket was placed out to thaw, and we had a large bottle of BBQ marinade, I would just throw in a few slices of garlic and onions to make a simple dish.
If I was not mistaken, I had about 3/4 kilo of beef brisket that was sliced into 2 x 1 1/2 x 1 inch cubes. In a hot casserole, I placed about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and seared the beef until all sides are brown. I then threw in about 4 cloves of garlic that was minced along with 1 medium minced red onion. The three ingredients were mixed together under medium heat until the onions were tender. I added about 1/2 cup of the BBQ marinade and 1 cup of water, 1/2 tsp. of black pepper. Once it has reached to a boil, I lowered the flame, covered the casserole and let it simmer until the beef was tender for about 20 minutes. If the beef happens to be tough at this point, just add more water and continue to let it simmer until it is fork-tender. I removed the cover and let it simmer until only 1/2 cup of the liquid was left. Transferred this into a serving dish.

We ate this with hot rice and guinisang ampalaya (sauteed bitter gourd). If I were to make this again, I would serve this with mashed potatoes and fresh garden salad. Or apply the same procedure with chicken drumsticks (hmmmm sounds yummy).

Spicy Spanish Fetuccini

Iberico mortadella is an Italian-style sausage made of very finely chopped, cured pork and beef with cubes of white fat. The mixture is delicately spiced with garlic and anise. It is smoked at high temperature then air dried.

"Mortadella" is thought to derive from the word "mortaio", which is Italian for "mortar". Before, it is said that the mixture was produced by pounding with a mortar and pestle. Monks in Bologna would grind their meat till it achieved a fine consistency. The grinded meat is then stuffed into a casing and cooked to make sausage.

20 slices Iberico mortadella, cut into julienne strips
10 slices of honey-cured bacon, finely chopped
1/4 cup butter
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
3 cups of bechamel sauce
2 tbsps. all-purpose cream
1 cup grated cheddar
1/8 tsp. basil leaves
salte and pepper
500 grams fetuccini noodles, cooked according to the package directions

Stir-fry the sausages, bacon and mushrooms in butter and bechamel sauce. Add the cream and half of the grated cheese. Season with bsil, salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes. Pour sauce on noodles. Top with the remaining grated cheese. Bake for 10 minutes.

Bechamel Sauce:

1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp. of all-purpose flour
3 cups broth
1 eggyolk
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsps. white wine, optional
1 1/2 tbsps. all-purpose cream
a dash of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Melt roux out of butter and flour. Gradually add the broth, eggyolk, milk, white wine and cream. Continue stiring until thickened. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat at once and set it aside.

Notes: This recipe was made by Senor Anastacio de Alba for Iberico Exclusive meats.

Ox Tongue in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

During the summers of my younger years, I would spend it in the province with my mom's sister. She loves to cook and bake. She would prepare kilawin, hardinera, baked chicken, humba, and many delicious main dishes. For dessert, I remember the logs of brazo de mercedes and custard rolls. One of the dishes we would request her prepare is Lengua or ox tongue. I would help her prepare the tongue, which I am grateful. I ask my mom and she said she didn't know how to cook the dish. So here is my version which my brother raved :D.

Ingredients:
1 (850 - 950 grams) ox tongue
2 tsps. salt
1 head of garlic, 1/2 of the head is crushed and the other half is minced
2 tbsp. olive oil or butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (284 ml) can cream of mushroom soup
1 - 1 1/2 cup beef stock
2- 3 potatoes sliced into 1/4" thick rounds
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup all-purpose cream
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the tongue well. Place enough water to cover meat in a pot and 2 tsps. salt. Boil the tongue for about 40 minutes. Let it cool then remove the tough skin. Boil the tongue in a fresh batch of water with 1/2 head of garlic, crushed. Continue to boil until it is fork tender. Slice the meat to 1/3" thick. Set aside. Reserve the stock for later use.
Saute the remaining garlic in olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender and caramelized. Pour in the cream of mushroom and beef stock. Add the potatoes. Let the sauce simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Add the sliced mushrooms and the all purpose cream. Simmer for about 3-5 minutes then add the meat. Season to taste. Simmer again until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. If the sauce is too thick, add more beef stock. If the sauce is too thin, allow it to simmer until the excess liquid has evaporated.

Pork in Tomato, Potato and Carrots

I am currently far away from home and I miss the familar surroundings specially the kitchen. When mom called, she began sharing a recipe that I should try. I did and would like to share it with you. It is almost similar to Afritada/Mechado in my opinion and was easy to prepare. I will just call this Pork in Tomato, Potato and Carrots.

Ingredients:
1/4 - 1/3 kilo pork, sliced into 1/4th-inch cubes (lomo or kasim)
2- 2 1/2 tbsps minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped onions
5-6 pieces Roma tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
3-4 tbps soy sauce
ground black pepper
1 cup peeled and chopped potatoes
1/3 cup peeled and sliced carrots
1/8 cup sliced leeks
1 tbsp. sugar

Marinate the pork in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and ground pepper according to taste for 4 hours. Saute garlic, onions and tomatoes in a hot pan with about 1 tbsp of oil. Saute until the tomatoes are tender. Add the marinated pork, reserving the marinade sauce. Saute well until all sides of the pork are brown and no longer pink. Add the remaining marinade and enough water to cook the meat until fork tender. Add the potatoes and carrots and adjust the taste by using the remaining 1 tbsp soy sauce, ground pepper and sugar. Once the meat and vegetables are tender but not soggy, add in the sliced leeks. Serves 3-4.

Notes:
The leeks may be substituted with 1/3 cup sliced bell peppers. If a more rich tomato taste is desired, tomato paste may be added.

Estofado Experiment

Whenever there are celebrations at my co-worker's place, her mom would prepare Estofado. I have asked her how her every time how her mom prepares the tasty dish. It's sauce is thick and you could distinctly taste the liver and beef. Though my co-worker's mom palette is on the salty side, it is a dish you would look forward to eating on a daily basis. :)

When she gave me the instructions on how to make it, my mom revised the whole recipe thus the taste was not the same. It had no liver taste and the color was bright red than dark brown. The sauce was thick as well. Mom added vegetables to the recipe.

Let me share with you my mom's version of the Estofado she made. (How much I wanted to replicate the original recipe, I didn't dare interfere with her while she was in the kitchen.)

1 kilo pork, cut into cubes, about 2x2 inches
1/2 of the small can of liver spread
pineapple juice
1/2 of 250g box cheese, grated
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 250g tomato sauce
1 bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
salt and pepper for seasoning
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large carrots, cubed

Marinate pork cubes in liver spread, pineapple juice, cheese and soy sauce for at least 1 hour. Make sure that pork is submerged in the pineapple juice. Saute garlic and onions. Add the marinated pork plus the marinate sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes then add tomato sauce. Continue to simmer until the pork is tender stirring occasionally. Add the pepper, pickle relish to the pork. Season with salt and pepper to taste then simmer for another 3 minutes.

Pancit Molo Soup

My grandmother would make this dish on special occasions. My dad would brag that Lola Paz was the best cook ever. I remember as a child, she would constantly be in the kitchen whipping up something for lunch or dinner. Mom said that she was blessed to have learned her technique in making Pancit Molo Soup.

Pancit Molo Soup

The Ingredients:
1/2 kilo ground pork
1/3 cup onions, minced
1/3 cup waterchestnuts (or singkamas), minced
1/3 cup shrimps, shelled, deveined, minced
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons spring onions, minced
1-1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 egg
1 package molo wrapper (around 40 pcs.)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onions, chopped
1/4 kilo chicken breast, boiled, deboned, and shredded
4 cups chicken stock
salt
white pepper
water
cooking oil
extra garlic, chopped or minced,
toasted

Cooking Procedure:

Boil the chicken in 5 cups of water with a little salt. Cook the meat until it is tender. Reserve the chicken broth and remove the chicken meat. Once cool, shred the meat into strips. Set aside.

Mix the following ingredients together in a bowl: ground pork, minced onions, waterchestnuts, shrimps, 1/3 cup spring onions,soy sauce and an egg. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together. Take a teaspoonful and place on the center of a wanton wrapper. Take the four corners and pinch together, forming a pouch. Repeat this until all of the meat mixture have been wrapped in the wanton wrapper. If there are excess wrappers, tear into strips and set aside.

With a 3/4 tablespoon of cooking oil, saute the chopped garlic and chopped onions until the onion is translucent. Add the chicken strips and saute for a minute or two. Pour in the soup stock and season the liquid with salt and a little pepper. bring the liquid to a boil, then drop the molo dumplings one by one. Make sure that the water is roll-boiling. This will prevent the dumplings from sticking together. Add the remaining stipped molo wrapper. Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 5-8 minutes. If the liquid is not enough, add more chicken stock or warm water. Season to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes or until the molo dumplings are done. Turn off the heat. Transfer into a soup bowl or individual serving bowls. Top with minced green onions and toasted garlic.

Callos- Asian Style

I was inspired to surprise my mom with another dish when she arrives from visiting my brother. She requested that I cook Ginataang Hipon with Kalabasa. Rummaging through the freezer, I found ox tripe, choirizo de bilbao, potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, tomatoes, tomato sauce and a bottle of garbanzos. I remember seeing a recipe called Callos in www.pinoycook.net and decided to try that. I had most of the ingredients in the recipe except for some items. I went to the wet market to get the missing ingredients but I forgot to buy the herbs (basil and rosemary) so I replaced it with coriander. While preparing ingredients, I discovered the bottled garbanzos were the sweetened kind (the one you add to your halo-halo). Poking in the pantry, I saw a can of pork and beans and I decided to use it in place of garbanzos.

The Ingredients:

Set 1
1/2 k. of ox tripe, cleaned, trim off the fat
1 k. of ox leg, clean the skin from any existing hairs, chopped into 1" rounds (I used pork leg since this is what I had at hand at the moment)
1/2 head of a garlic, peeled and chopped
1 medium whole onion, peeled and halved
5 pcs. of peppercorn
1 bay leaf

Set 2
1/2 head of a garlic, minced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
4 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 piece of chorizo de bilbao, thinly sliced into disks
1 medium bell pepper. julienned
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can of pork and beans
1/3 c. of frozen sweet peas
500 g. of tomato sauce
1 piece of chili pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of beef stock, from the boiled meats in set 1
salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1 bunch of coriander (kinchay), chopped

Cooking procedure :

Place the meats in a large casserole and cover with water. Bring it to a semi-boil. Remove the scum floating on the surface. When you have a clearer stock, add the rest of the ingredients from Set 1. Cover and lower the heat. Simmer until the meats become tender (in my case, I boiled the meats approximately 1.5 – 2 hours until the meats are tender and the leg meat falls off from the bone). Add water if necessary. I didn't use a pressure cooker since I used the pork leg instead of an ox's but you may use it to shorten the cooking time.

Set aside the meats and strain the soup stock. Reserve 2 cups that will be used later. You may freeze the remaining stock for future use. I have cut the tripe into strips, about 1/2” x 1” size.

In medium heat, sauté garlic, chili and onions in olive oil. Add the bell peppers and tomatoes; continue stirring until the tomatoes are cooked through. Add the chorizo slices and cook for 1 minute or until the color brightens. Increase the heat and add the meats and stir for about 2 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce and continue to stir. Add in the broth, carrots, and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper according to your desired taste. Cover and boil until the potatoes are cooked. Add in the pork and beans, and peas. Simmer for a minute to two. Sprinkle in the coriander, stir once and turn off the heat.

My notes :
It turned out similar to callos that mom use to make for my brother. But the taste of coriander blew me away because it made a distinct Asian taste. So I guess I will call this dish Callos-Asian style. Hope you could give it a try and let me know how you find it.

The verdict:
Mom said that the callos tasted good but why did I add the pork leg. It should only be purely made out of tripe. My sister, J, and L loved it. J even brought some home.