Honey Ginger Pork with Noodles

I have been quiet and in hiding again for the longest time - almost a year.
Things have been busy with moving from one place to another, getting re-adjusted with the environment and trying to find friends and comfort zone. Now that I am back home to where everything began, I can write again. Of course, in the span that I have been gone, I have tried a number of recipes which deserves sharing... I will of course in due time write everything down else I may forget. Besides, this beats bringing along tons of cooking books and magazines for reference. :)

So allow me to start with this sweet, gingery tender pork with taste rice noodles. I am now challenging myself to use the opened bottles/cans of sauces or what not that have been ignored in the refrigerator. So for this challenge, I had to use the sweet soy sauce. It turned out pretty good thanks to a recipe came across online. Of course, I didn't follow everything to the letter. So here is my version:

2 tbsps. honey
1 1/2 cm piece ginger, peeled and minced or grated
4 large cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup kecap manis or sweet soy sauce
500g pork fillet, trimmed, sliced into 1/8" wide strips
4 tbsps. canola
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 large chayote, peeled and sliced into 1/4" wide sticks, blanched.
250 grams rice noodles (in this case, I used bihon)

Marinate pork strips in honey, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and kecap manis for atleast 4 hours. (I prefer to marinate it overnight to have a more flavorful meat).
In a wok, place 2 tbsps. oil and stir fry the marinated pork. Reserve the marinade and set this aside. Stir for about 3 minutes until the pork is seared through.  (If you are not sure if the pork is cooked, add about 1/2 cup water and let it simmer with a cover. Let the liquid dry up.) Set this aside once done.
Pour remaining oil in the wok and add in onions, bell pepper, marinade and noodles. Add enough water to cook the noodles through. Mix in the pork and chayote. Serve hot.

Pork can be replaced with chicken or beef.

Roasted Chicken with Lemon Grass

Back in the day, whenever my late aunt would come and visit, she would pass by and buy a whole roasted chicken from the local rotisserie a block away from our home. This would come with their own special gravy sauce and a small container of atchara (pickled papaya). I thought why not relive it by turbo broiling a whole fryer. It didn't taste like the one my aunt bought. It tasted like the competitor's recipe hahaha.

Ingredients:

1 whole fryer (about 1.2 kilo grams or more)
3 stalks of lemon grass, washed, tied into a knot
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon or calamansi juice
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsps. flour

Clean chicken really well. Dry cavity and skin with paper towels. Rub the black pepper in and outside the fryer then stuff with the lemon grass (stalks and leaves). Combine soy sauce and lemon juice then pour over the chicken. Massage the chicken in its marinade for 5 minutes. Store in the refrigrator for atleast 4 hours, covered. For best results, marinate the chicken overnight.

Preheat the turbo broiler to 350F and cook the chicken for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 250 - 300F and continue cooking for another 30 minuted or until the juices are clear. Transfer chicken to serving dish. In a sauce pan, melt butter and add in flour to make a roux. Add in drippings and stir until sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Serve on or on the side of the chicken.

Beef Salpicao

1 lb pound beef (sirloin, tender loin tips), sliced into 1/4" cubes
half a head of garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tbsps. olive oil
2 tbsps. Worchestershire sauce
1-2 tbsps. oyster sauce
1 tbsp. butter

Marinate beef with minced garlic, salt and pepper and 1 tbsp. olive oil for atleast 30 minutes. I prefer to marinade this longer for about 4 hours. Heat the remaining olive oil in a non-stick pan. Sear the beef for about 3 minutes then add the Worchestershire and oyster sauces. Stir occasionally and let the beef cook in the liquids in low heat until tender. Once the beef is cooked to fork-tender, add the butter and stir for another minutes. Serve hot with rice.

*Fried garlic may be added to the finished dish for a more garlicy taste.