Fortune cookies for the new year

Fortune cookies for the new year
Originally uploaded by Jepster

Fortune cookies for the new year

[Recipe] Chicken Arroz Caldo

Chicken Arroz Caldo

It was raining hard a few days back and sometimes the weather would remind me of a particular food that I would like to eat. The wet and cool atmosphere made me think of 2 things. Hot Chocolate and a steaming bowl of Chicken Arroz Caldo. The next day I was in the grocery near my home hunting down what I would need to cook this dish back home. I was not able to find some of the ingredients (like the safflower or kasubha - so made do with turmeric for the distinctive pale yellow color of the dish), but I think I was able to make a decent enough dish. I am therefore pleased to share this recipe with all of you. :) (OK I admit that by the time I cooked this dish the weather was so hot but that did not prevent me from enjoying a piping hot bowl of Chicken Arroz Caldo in the confines of my air conditioned room with the thermostat set to very cold haha).

Ingredients:
1/2 Kilo Chicken Wings (or whichever parts you prefer cut into small pieces)
5 pcs Hard boiled eggs, shelled
1 Cup Uncooked Rice, washed and drained
2 liters chicken stock
1 small finger sized Turmeric, peeled and cut into fine strips (used primarily for coloring) 
2-finger sized Ginger, peeled and cut into big sticks then lightly crushed (I prefer them big so that I can set it aside and not accidentally eat it)
4 cloves of Garlic (minced)
1 medium sized white Onion, roughly diced
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 teaspoons Dried Safflower (or Kasubha)
Salt and Pepper to taste


Toppings:
Minced Garlic, fried golden brown
1 Tablespoon spring onion (or alternately chives), chopped


Preferred Condiments:
Calamansi, squeezed over the bowl
Patis (Philippines Salty Fish Sauce - or alternately can use Thai Fish Sauce)


Optional: Try substituting 1/3 of the rice above with glutinous rice for thicker texture


Directions:
In a big pot, heat the vegetable oil in high heat and saute the garlic and onions with salt and pepper. Mix in the turmeric and then the chicken pieces. Brown the chicken slightly in the oil then pour in the chicken stock and the ginger and cover until it boils. Add the rice to the pot and let it boil without the cover for another 10 minutes. Lower the temperature and cover the pot and let simmer stirring occasionally for another 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked (should be soft). Add more water if necessary (if the porridge is becoming too thick - the amount of water the rice will absorb will depend of the variety of rice used). It is OK if the porridge is a bit bland since you can add the Patis on the dish later. Stir in the Safflower and the hard boiled eggs just before you turn off the heat. Top with crunchy fried garlic and spring onions. Enjoy while piping hot with your preferred condiments (I suggest Patis and Calamansi).

Fruits for the New Year

Fruits

It is a family tradition of our to always have 12 fruits on the table when welcoming the New Year and this year is no exception. With my parents visiting we went out and explored what fruits are available here in Malaysia favoring those that are not too common back in the Philippines. So what did we have in our list of fruits for the new year?

1. Rambutan 
2. Langka 
3. Kiwi 
4. Grapes 
5. Mangosteen 
6. Apples 
7. Pear 
8. Grapefruit 
9. Navel Oranges 
10. Durian 
11. Lanzones 
12. Dragon Fruit  

Pomegranates

plus Pomegranates since I actually thought they were Persimmons (haven't seen one before) and I was curious what it tasted like. My parents have gone back home and now I still have all these fruits in my refrigerator. Durian-Kiwi shake anyone? :-/

Oh and I don't know if I would ever get rid of the smell of Durian in the refrigerator.

[Recipe] Pato Tim (Duck)

Pato Tim

I had my parents come over and visit me over the Christmas and New Year holidays and that meant good home cooked meals (actually it is more of me cooking for them rather than my mother cooking for me). We were contemplating on what will be the main dish of our New Year feast and considering the availability of local ingredients, we decided on making Pato Tim which is very similar to the Pata Tim. It is a Filipino-Chinese dish with a savory-sweet sauce traditionally prepared during special occasions. I actually did not have much experience cooking duck but I do have a recipe for Pata Tim so I based it from there. I needed help in finding out how to prepare the duck though (thanks Google) to render out the duck fat from that fatty layer just underneath the skin. Hope you all enjoy the recipe and feel free to add suggestions in the comments section. Oh by the way, my parents loved it and my mother asked me to write down the recipe here :)


Ingredients:
1 to 1.5 Kilos Dressed Whole Duck (I cut out the head and the feet but it all depends on your individual preference of course)
1 small can pineapple tidbits in syrup (about 300 grams) do not drain
1 cup sliced straw mushrooms
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
2 cups roughly chopped Chinese Pechay
1 cup Asparagus tips
1/2 cup celery stalks chopped
3-5 pieces Star Anise (optional) 
1-2 rolls of cinnamon bark (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sized onion, quartered
1/2 pinkie finger sized ginger cut into strips (not your standard cooking measurement and you may want to adjust that since I have a big finger haha)
3 pieces Bay Leaves 
2 teaspoon ground black peppercorns
2 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
2 Tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon ground dried oregano
1 can 7-UP or Sprite (or alternately you can use brown sugar to sweeten to taste)
1/4 cup thick Soy Sauce or 1/2 cup Light Soy Sauce
1/3 cup Oyster Sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
Salt to taste


Directions:
Preparing the duck: After thawing the duck (if you bought your duck frozen like what I did), poke holes on the skin of the duck all over with a pointed knife so that the fat can render out during cooking. On a steamer, steam the duck for at least an hour to let the fat render out.


On a separate pot (a big Wok in my case - big enough to fit in the duck and you can still cover it properly), saute the garlic and onions in vegetable oil until garlic is golden brown, add the mushrooms into the mix then the ginger followed by the whole can of pineapple tidbits, syrup and all. Add the Bay leaves, cinnamon bark, Star Anise, ground peppercorns, oregano and pour in the rest of the liquid ingredients namely the oyster sauce, the soy sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, the white vinegar and the 7-Up or Sprite. Bring to a simmer while waiting for the duck.


After an hour has passed, place the steamed duck on the pot with the simmering sauce. Try to bathe the duck with the sauce inside out (using a pair of tongs to firmly hold the duck)then let simmer in the sauce first on one side then on the other so that the duck gets all the flavors all over. Cook for another hour or so. Then place the duck on a deep baking dish (I use a non-stick Tefal pan with removable handles for this) and broil in the oven until brown. Let the remaining sauce reduce in the pot and do all the necessary last minute adjustments on the taste (at this point you may want to remove the star anise, cinnamon bark, and bay leaves). Add the Pechay (stalk first then the leaves) and the chopped asparagus and on a small bowl dissolve the corn starch in water and combine with the reducing sauce to let it thicken. Pour the sauce into the browned duck on the baking dish and bake for another 10 or so minutes.

[Recipe] Peanut-Cashew Kare-Kare

Peanut-Cashew Lare-kare

I first thought about this recipe when I was wandering around the grocery looking for ingredients for my weekend meal (usually I have no time to cook during weekdays and weekends are sort of special because I have time to play around the kitchen). I am still not very familiar with most of the local ingredients here so I was pleasantly surprised that they offered frozen precooked clean beef tripe. I have not cooked kare-kare from scratch before since I always relied on the mixes available back home. Of course, I couldn't resist giving it a twist of putting ground toasted cashew nuts but interestingly enough after doing a quick search on the internet, I wasn't the first one to think of adding cashew in this dish. The recipe below is the one I would have made if I had all the ingredients but unfortunately I haven't had luck finding banana heart just yet and ox tail. Perhaps if I go to the big markets and not just rely what's available in the grocery I would have better luck. I have those small cans of bario fiesta bagoong brought over from home and sad to say my stash is getting depleted fast. I should remember to buy a few of those whenever I get a chance.

Ingredients:


1 Kilo Beef Tripe (cleaned and cut into strips) and/or sliced Ox Tail
2 big onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Cup eggplant sliced about half inch thickness
1 Cup Pechay, roughly hand shredded
1 Cup Sitaw, cut into 3 inch segments
1 Cup banana heart, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Beef bullion
3/4 Cup unsweetened peanut butter
1 Cup Toasted Cashew Nuts, grounded using a mortar and pestle
Salt and pepper to taste
Bagoong Alamang (shrimp paste) as side dish


Directions:

In a pressure cooker, cook the beef tripe or oxtails with some salt and pepper until tender. The cooking time would vary depending on the type of meat and for my case I buy my tripe precooked so I would need about 20 to 30 minutes to make it tender. If cooking oxtail you may keep the stock but for tripe I usually discard the broth and use beef bullion instead for flavor.

In a big pot, saute garlic and onions until garlic is light brown and onions are caramelized. Pour in the beef stock (or stock made from beef bullion of about a litter). Add in the peanut butter and dissolve completely. Add the tenderized meat and then the ground cashew and let it boil while stirring from time to time for about 20 minutes.

Place the banana heart first followed by the sitaw and cook for about 7 minutes, drop in the eggplant and pechay then lower the heat and let simmer covered for another 5 minutes.

Serve piping hot with rice and bagoong on the side. It is meant to be a bit bland and you have to season it with the shrimp paste as you eat. Enjoy!