Ensaladang Mangga

I had a very bad craving for green mangoes yesterday. I was imagining eating green mangoes dipped in alamang (shrimp paste) since morning. Not that I’m pregnant, it was just plain craving! I guess green mango dipped in shrimp paste is every Filipino’s favorite. Just the thought of it makes us drool! Luckily, I found some apple mangoes at Walmart. It’s a good substitute to the Philippine’s Indian and carabao mangoes. They are priced at 58cents each. But almost all of them are ripe so I just bought 3 pieces…and last night, I made Ensaladang Mangga (mango salad). I added chopped cilantro, green onions, garlic and ginger  to the usual tomatoes and onions...and it was so good!  We paired it with grilled liempo (pork belly) and bratwurst. Mango salad paired with any grilled/fried meat or fish is just divine! We had a very appetizing dinner. Even Clarise and Cherlin ate some Ensaladang Mangga, but not with shrimp paste. They pour some soy sauce on it.

This salad is very easy to prepare. If you don't like the thought of it having shrimp paste, try it with soy sauce. 

Prep Time: 15 minutes                  Servings: 6-8                                                            

Ingredients:

• 2 green mangoes (indian, apple or carabao), peeled and diced
• ½ cup tomatoes, diced
• ½ cup onions, chopped (I prefer yellow onion for this)
• 1/8 cup garlic, minced
• 1/8 cup ginger, minced
• ¼ cup, fresh cilantro, minced
• 1/8 cup green onions, chopped
• alamang (shrimp paste) of your choice (I prefer, the spicy Barrio Fiesta) - the amount of which depends on your taste preference

Almond & Pandan Sapin-Sapin

I recently joined Food Frenzy, a community for foodies…and it is holding a St. Patrick’s Day contest. It’s so easy to join! If you are a registered member, you just have to post your favorite St. Patrick’s Day food on Food Frenzy website and you’re already entered into the contest. The winner will receive free publicity on Food Frenzy just below their header section on their Home, Archives, and Single Posts pages. Being a newbie in the food blogging world, I really want to join...primarily for exposure of course! I’ve been thinking of the perfect food to post. I want it to be “Filipino” and at the same time related to St. Patrick’s Day. This morning, I finally decided what my entry would be --- Sapin-Sapin! But with a twist…I came up with the idea of making almond and pandan* sapin-sapin. What could be more perfect for St. Patrick's Day celebration than green food, right?

So what is sapin-sapin? Sapin-Sapin which means "layers” is a Filipino layered dessert made from rice flour, coconut milk, sugar and flavorings with coconut flakes or fried coconut milk curd sprinkled on top. The usual sapin-sapin has a deep purple colored bottom layer which is ube (purple yam) flavored, an egg- yolk yellow middle layer which is langka (jackfruit) flavored and white top layer.

This version of sapin-sapin has green top and bottom layers which is pandan flavored, and a white almond flavored middle layer. I modified this recipe for Food Frenzy’s St. Patrick’s Day Contest and it turned out really good! The almond flavor blended well with the taste of pandan. And the ground almonds gave this sapin-sapin an unexpected and subtle nutty flavor.

Visit Food Frenzy and vote for my Almond and Pandan Sapin-Sapin!  Voting is open to the public and starts Sunday (February 27, 2011) at 10:00am and ends Monday (March 14, 2011) at 9:00pm, Eastern Time Zone (UTC-05). I would be very grateful to all of you if you will vote for my entry! Thanks so much in advance! :)

Ingredients:

For the Sapin-sapin:

• 1 ½ cups glutinous rice flour
• ½ cup rice flour
• 1 tsp pandan extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• ½ cup ground almond
• 3½ cups fresh coconut cream or 2 cans coconut cream (14 oz. each)
• 1 can condensed milk (14 oz.)
• green food color 

For the latik:

• 1 ½ cup fresh coconut cream or 1 can coconut cream (14 oz.)

For coconut flakes:

• 1 cup grated coconut
• 4 Tbsp sugar

Pork Adobo

Last Friday, I posted Adobong Pusit recipe. Today, I’ll be sharing with you another variety of adobo which is Adobong Baboy (Pork Adobo).  Pork Adobo is simply pork cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic. This is a very popular dish in the Philippines because of its ease in preparation.

There are different variations in cooking pork adobo. I’ll share with you some regional versions like the Batangas Adobo which makes use of atsuete (annatto) or  dilaw (yellow ginger) instead of soy sauce and Bicol Region’s Ginataang Adobo (Adobo with Coconut Milk) in my future posts. For now, let me share with you the most common and simplest of all pork adobo recipes I know. I got this from my mother who loved cooking her pork adobo with eggs. My daughters love it so much! Whenever we have this kind of adobo, they don't talk so much and they finish their food really quick. I'm not sure if it's really the pork adobo they like or they just love eggs! (^.^)

*  I Shared this recipe on Friday Potluck @ EKat's Kitchen.

Prep Time: ~40 minutes         Cook Time: ~1 hour          Servings: 4-6                           

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 1-1/2" cubes
• 9 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium-sized onion, sliced
• 2 pcs whole dried bay leaves
• 1 cup vinegar (I use ½ cup regular and ½ cup spicy one)
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• salt to taste
• 4 eggs, hardboiled and peeled (optional)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Vietnamese Egg Rolls

Just as I promised my youngest daughter, I cooked Vietnamese egg rolls (Cha Gio) yesterday. I found a number of recipes in the internet so I combined the ingredients which I think will suit our taste. It came out good! Cherlin said my Vietnamese egg rolls tasted better than the store bought ones that she ate last week. I’m so glad! :)

So what’s the difference between Cha Gio and Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino egg roll)? Both have vegetables and meat, the kind may vary depending on who is cooking. There's a slight difference in size --- Cha Gio is bigger than Lumpiang Shanghai. The big difference for me is the inclusion of vermicelli noodles in Cha Gio, and Cha Gio is often served with lettuce leaves and slices of fresh cucumbers and other garnish like fresh cilantro and basil leaves. I omitted that part last night but I included it here.

Let me share with you the recipe. My family loved it…maybe yours will love it too!

Prep Time: ~1hour          Cook Time: 10 mins.          Yield ~32 pcs.                               

Ingredients:

Egg Rolls:

• 1 lb ground pork
• ½ cup shrimp, cleaned, peeled and cut lengthwise then crosswise into about 1 inch length
• ½ cup imitation crab meat, cut into 1-inch length and flaked
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup onion, minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded
• 6  green onions, chopped
• 2  Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2  tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 oz vermicelli noodles (I used bean threads vermicelli, but the Lungkow one is fine)
• 2 large eggs, beaten and sprinkled with a pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• Spring roll wrappers (Original Cha Gio makes use of rice paper but I used 150mmx150mm wheat spring roll wrappers)
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil for sautéing
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Sweet Fish Sauce:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced or smashed
• 1 fresh Thai Chili, chopped
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime/lemon juice
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp shredded carrots

Lettuce wrap fixings (optional):

• 1 washed head of lettuce (crisp head, butter head or red leaf)
• 1 cucumber julienned
• 1 bunch of cilantro

Lumpiang Shanghai

My youngest daughter, Cherlin asked for lumpia yesterday. After making sure that I still have lumpia wrappers in the freezer, I promised her that we’ll have lumpia for dinner. After picking up my eldest daughter from school, I started preparing it. Since Lumpiang Shanghai is the lumpia variety that I frequently cook, I thought that it's what Cherlin wanted. I was almost done wrapping when she asked me why I’m doing the small ones. She said she wanted the bigger kind of lumpia, like the ones we had last Saturday at a friend’s birthday party. So I realized she was asking for Vietnamese egg rolls. I explained to her that I haven’t cooked that kind of egg roll so I still have to find the recipe. Good that she understood mommy! We all enjoyed Filipino egg rolls for dinner with matching crab and corn soup. But she made me promise that I’ll cook Vietnamese egg rolls today. In times like this, I’m really glad that there’s the internet where I can search for anything in a matter of minutes.

So today, I’m sharing with you the recipe for Lumpiang Shanghai that I did last night, and tomorrow, the recipe for Vietnamese egg rolls that I’ll be doing later.

Lumpia is the Filipino version of egg/spring rolls. There are a lot of lumpia variations in the Philippines and Lumpiang Shanghai is one of them. Lumpiang Shanghai has pork as its main ingredient. Other variations are Lumpiang Sariwa(the Filipino version of spring roll which contains lettuce and peanuts as well as other vegetables and meat), Lumpiang Ubod (it has the same ingredients as lumpia sariwa but differs in the addition of coconut shoots), Lumpiang Hubad (unwrapped Lumpiang Sariwa) and Lumpiang Basah("wet spring roll" which means spring roll without frying. It is similar to the Vietnamese spring roll with bean sprouts, carrots, shrimp and/or chicken, and served with sweet tauco sauce).

Lumpiang Shanghai is another party favorite and such a great appetizer. It is typically stuffed with pork, shrimp, and vegetables. Most of the ingredients to make Lumpiang Shanghai fillings are easy to find, but the Filipino lumpia wrappers can be difficult to find here in Texas so I’m using Chinese spring roll wrappers that can be bought in Asian Stores.

My husband and I enjoy dipping lumpiang shanghai in spicy vinegar with crushed garlic and chopped chili pepper. My daughters love it with sweet and sour sauce.

Try this Lumpiang Shanghai recipe! I'm sure you'll love it!

* I linked this on  Melt in Your Mouth Monday .

Prep Time: ~1hour          Cook Time: 10 mins.          Yield ~45 pcs.                               

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground pork or ground beef
• 1 cup shrimps,minced
• ½ cup onion, minced
• ½ cup carrots, minced
• 1/8 cup garlic, minced
• ½  tsp salt
• ½  tsp black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp  Fish Sauce
• Lumpia Wrappers (I use 125mmx125mm size)
• 2 Tbsp Olive oil for sauteeing
• 2 cups  Vegetable Oil for frying

Chicken Asado Siopao

We had leftover Rotisserie chicken, and all the siopao I made last Friday are gone...so I thought of making siopao again. But this time, chicken asado siopao.

Since all the recipes I've found on the internet  made use of all-purpose flour, I tried using it myself just so I would know the difference. It's good...but the texture of the buns made from bread flour is better.  Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has very small amount of malted barley flour. The barley flour helps the yeast work and the high gluten content causes the bread to rise and gives it shape and structure. All-purpose flour doesn't give the same effect on siopao. So next time, I'll stick with bread flour.

Here's the chicken asado filling recipe. Actually, it's the same as the Pork Asado...just substitute pork with chicken. :)

Chicken Asado Siopao Filling:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups boneless chicken breast, cubed or 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or flaked
• 3 Tbsp lard or shortening
• 1/8 cup garlic, minced
• ½ cup onion, minced
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch, diluted in 3Tbsp water
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• ¼ tsp blackpepper
• 3 pcs. hard boiled egg, peeled and quartered crosswise

Siopao

Siopao is another food of Chinese origin that became a favorite snack in the Philippines. It refers to steamed buns with meat filling. There are two common siopao varieties in the Philippines: Asado and Bola-Bola. Asado can be chicken or pork with sweet thick sauce while bola-bola or meatball can be beef or pork.

Siopao is one my husband’s favorite snacks. He said he loves siopao because his mom ate a lot of it when she was pregnant with him and he even has a white birthmark near his right knee which looks like a siopao. He has been asking me to cook siopao for him, so I’ve been trying to find the perfect recipe. Finally, I found one at Panlasang Pinoy which seems good, and I got the chance to try it last Friday. I made adjustments to the recipe though! Instead of all-purpose flour, I use bread flour. I was thinking that bread flour would make it fluffier, and I was right! I also added some ingredients to the filling so it would taste like the siopao I remember from Ma Mon Luk and Kowloon House. 

This is my first time to make siopao…and I am so happy that it turned out almost perfect. I said “almost” for 2 reasons. First, I am not satisfied with how they look. It looks ok compared to other siopao I’ve seen here in the US but not as good as the ones from the Philippines. It’s my first time so I guess I just have to practice how to beautifully lock the dough after filling it. I like the twisting way of locking it and I just have to learn to do that perfectly. Second, I didn't have parchment paper so I used wax paper. I don't know why but we had a hard time taking it off from the siopao. But the siopao tasted really good and the texture of the buns was awesome!

I’m so excited to share this recipe with you! It takes time to prepare but I’m telling you, it’s all worth it!


*I shared this on Let's Break Bread Together, and Made It On Monday.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 5 cups bread flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 ½ tbsp sugar (for yeast mixture)
• 1 pouch dry yeast (0.25 oz)
• 1 ¼ Tbsp baking powder
• 6 tbsp shortening

Bola-Bola Filling:

• 1 1/2cups ground pork
• 1/4 cup shrimps, chopped
• 1/4 cup onions
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Blackpepper
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 raw egg
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 3 pcs chorizo, cut into 1 inch length
• 3pcs. hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered crosswise

OR

Asado Filling:

• 2 cups pork, chopped into small pieces
• 3 Tbsp shortening
• 1/8 cup garlic, minced
• ½ cup onion, minced
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 3 Tbsp water
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• ¼ tsp blackpepper
• 3 pcs. hard boiled egg, peeled and quartered crosswise

Siopao Sauce:

• 2 cups water
• ¼ cup onions, minced
• 1/8 cup garlic, minced
• 5 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 pcs star anise
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 tsp vegetable oil

Adobong Pusit

I didn't get to eat enough squid from our Valentine's dinner --- my daughters love calamares so much and they ate almost all of it. So I thought of cooking squid again last night. But not calamares anymore. I cooked adobong pusit (squid adobo).

Adobo is a Spanish word which means seasoning or marinade. In the Philippines, it refers to the popular dish and cooking process that involves meat or seafood marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and other spices then browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade.

Pusit (Squid) is the most common seafood that can be cooked with adobo method, and adobong pusit is the quickest-to-cook adobo dish. Pusit is done in less done 10 minutes and medium-sized squid can easily absorb flavors so in cooking adobong pusit, there’s no need for marinating.

If you are using fresh squid, your squid adobo will have purplish-black sauce due to the inclusion of squid ink. Since fresh squid is not available here in our area, I used frozen squid so the sauce is just brownish like other adobo dishes. You can use any kind of squid for this recipe, but small to medium sized squids are better because they are more flavorful compared to large ones. Just be sure not to overcook the squid to preserve the tender texture.

Adobong Pusit is the most popular way of preparing squid among Filipinos. It’s really good! Try it!

Prep Time: 10 mins          Cook Time: 15 mins.          Servings: 4-6                                 

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs small to medium sized pusit (squid)
• 1 small bay leaf 
• ¼  tsp. peppercorns
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• ½  Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 3 stalks green onions, cut into 1 ½ inch length
• 1 Jalapeño, seeds removed and sliced into rings(optional)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1.Clean the squid. When I’m cooking adobong pusit, I don’t remove the squid's skin. Neither do I remove the innards. I just remove the beak (which is a bony piece of inedible cartilage that it is located at the base of the tentacles) and the thin transparent cartilage from the body of the squid. Carefully remove the ink sac and set aside.

2.Wash and drain bodies and tentacles. Some cook the squid whole. I like cutting them into bite size. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. In a saucepan, sauté garlic in 2 Tbsp oil over medium heat until light brown. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add squid. Stir fry for a minute.

4. Add the ink, fish sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaf and peppercorns. Mix well and cook over medium low heat for 5 mins.

5. Add sugar and salt to suit your taste. Add Jalapeño and green onions. Cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve with hot rice.

Sinigang na Baboy

In the Philippines, sinigang refers to any dish with sour broth. The most common variations of sinigang are pork, beef, fish and shrimp sinigang. There is also the chicken variation but it is most commonly called sinampalukang manok. Tamarind is the most popular and common souring ingredient but guavas, kamias, kalamansi and lemon can also be used.

When cooking sinigang with pork or beef,  you can use any cut you want but it’s better to add a cut with bones to add more flavor to the broth. There are also a lot of vegetables that you can use depending on the type of sinigang, including kangkong (water spinach), spinach, daikon (labanos), sitaw (string beans), green beans, talong (eggplants), okra and gabi (taro). Add all of them or some of them, it’s really up to you. 

Today, I’m going to share with you sinigang na baboy (pork in sour broth) recipe. Because of the unavailability of fresh tamarind, I used Knorr Sinigang Mix.  And for the vegetables, I used spinach, green beans and gabi.

Check it out!

Prep Time: 10 mins          Cook Time: ~1hour & 15mins.          Servings: 6-8                    

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pork (belly, ribs, butt or shoulder roast)
• 1 bundle spinach (or kangkong)
• 3 Tbsp fish sauce
• 10-12 pcs string beans or 20pcs green beans, cut in 2 inch length
• 2 pieces medium sized tomato, quartered
• 2 pcs jalapeño pepper or banana pepper
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 pcs taro (gabi), quartered
• 1 pack (0.71-oz) Knorr Sinigang Mix (you can use more if you want it more sour)

Chicken Pastel

It's another ordinary day! But who says you can't prepare a special meal when there's no special occasion? Here's another hearty dish that is served during fiestas and special occasions in the Philippines. It’s easy to prepare and you you can cook this any day you want.

Chicken Pastel or Pastel De Pollo in Spanish, is the Filipino version of Chicken Pot Pie. The main difference is that chicken pastel doesn’t have a bottom crust, only top crust.

My mother used to cook chicken pastel often but not with the pie crust on top because we didn’t have an oven then. It is a very creamy dish that my brother and I love when we were growing up.

I’m going to share with you the original version of this dish wherein the chicken stew is topped with a pie crust and then baked. It is more elegant to serve chicken pastel during special occasions with the crust on top. But I know that we, Filipinos love to eat everything with rice. So let me tell you that you can omit the crust part and just serve the chicken stew with rice.

If you are looking for a scrumptious chicken dish, this is a must-try!

Prep Time: 30 mins          Cook Time: ~1hour           Servings: 4-6                                

Ingredients:

• 2 big boneless chicken breast, cubed
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 pc lemon
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 pcs Chinese chorizo, bias sliced
• 2 pcs beef franks, bias sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sized onion, minced,
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 1 big potato, cubed
• 1 regular sized carrot, cubed
• ½ red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1 cup button mushrooms, cut in half
• 6 to 10 pcs green olives
• ¼ cup grated  cheddar cheese
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• Salt & pepper to taste

For the crust:

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup butter, cut into cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/8 cup water

Our Valentine's Day Dinner

Valentine's Day happened to be on a weekday this year so we had our pre-Valentine's dinner at our favorite Japanese Restaurant last Sunday. And yesterday, I prepared a special four-course dinner for us. Want to know what that is?

We had Calamares(Deep Fried Squid Rings) for appetizer, Crab & Corn soup, Salmon and Asparagus in Garlic Butter Sauce for the main entree and Marble Cupcakes for dessert. The soup and the main entree are my original recipes and has become my family's favorite. My eldest daughter, Clarise requested for a Salmon dish and my youngest daughter, Cherlin requested for Calamares. So I decided to make an all seafood dinner...except for the dessert of course. 

Check out the recipes and let me know what you think!

• Calamares(Deep Fried Squid Rings)
• Crab & Corn soup
• Salmon and Asparagus in Garlic Butter Sauce
• Marble Cupcakes

Calamares

Calamares which is the Spanish word for squid is what the Filipino Deep Fried Squid dish is called. It is another most favorite dish in the Philippines, either with rice or with ice cold beer (as pulutan that is). It is very easy to cook. Perhaps this explains the increasing number of street vendors selling calamares nowadays.

This is usually served as an appetizer but in the Philippines, it is considered as a main dish. Calamares is delicious, simple, and really easy to cook. Try it!

Prep Time: 15 mins          Cook Time: 5 mins           Servings: 4-6                                   

Ingredients:

• 12 pcs medium-sized squid, cleaned, innards removed and sliced into rings (You can include cleaned tentacles as well. Just remove the beak and eyes.)
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cup panko bread flour
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ Tbsp fresh lemon extract
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1Tbsp garlic powder
• Salt
• blackpepper
• 1 pc lemon, cut into wedges for garnishing
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Crab and Corn Soup

This is my very own version of crab and corn soup that my husband and my girls love. It is very good especially when fresh cracked crab meat is used, but imitation crab meat is a good substitute.

It is so delish and really easy to make! Try it!

Prep Time: 5 mins         Cook Time: 25 mins         Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 cup freshly cracked crab meat or imitation crab meat, cut into 1½ inch length
• 1 ½ cups whole kernel corn, fresh, canned or frozen(I used frozen corn cobs. I cut the kernels off the cob using a knife) 
• 4 cups whole milk (I sometimes use 2 cups whole milk and 2 cups evaporated milk)
• ¼  cup butter
• ¼  cup all-purpose flour (if you want it thicker, you can double the amount of flour)
• ¼ cup chopped green onions
• ¼  tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp season salt
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce sauce
• 1/8 cup ground parsley

Salmon and Asparagus in Butter Garlic Sauce

Salmon and Asparagus in Butter Garlic Sauce is a very simple recipe that I can call my own. I created this recipe in 2005 when we were just new here in Texas. Salmon became my eldest daughter’s favorite and she used to ask for it almost every day, hence the need to think of different salmon recipes. I originally cooked this with salmon alone. I’ve shared  the recipe with some friends and they love it. I tried adding vegetables in it, and I found asparagus to be the best match. Since then, I usually cook it with asparagus.

This is a very simple dish that your taste buds will surely love! Try it!

Prep Time: 20 mins          Cook Time: 20 mins           Servings: 8                                 

Ingredients:

• 8 pcs Pink Salmon fillet
• 1 bundle asparagus (20-24 pcs), washed, trimmed and cut into 2
• 1½ head garlic, minced
• ½ cup butter
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• Salt
• Blackpepper

Marble Cupcakes

I found this recipe from a magazine, and I tried it for Valentine's Day. It turned out quite well...my daughters loved it. But I think it's not as good as other marble cupcakes I've tasted. I don't know what's lacking. I'll share it with you and if you have suggestions on how I can improve this recipe, let me know.

Prep Time: ~30 mins(including frosting)       Cook Time: 15 mins         Servings: 15

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• 2¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾  cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• ¾  cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup butter
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5-oz semisweet or dark chocolate, melted (I used semi-sweet)

Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner is 1 month old!!!

It's February 14! Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 

It was January 14, 2011 when I created Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner. It is exactly one month old today. I consider today a very special day and I can’t let it pass without saying thanks to all my blog followers and loyal readers. I'm thinking of you all and I want to share with you how it has been for the past 1 month.

Since January 14 until last Friday, I've posted a total of 21 recipes. 20 people are already subscribing to my RSS feed. Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner got 104 "Likes" on Facebook so far, 25 followers on twitter and 22 followers on google connect...many of which are old friends and some are new ones from Flickr, TheBlogFrog and Networked Blogs. 

This is a snapshot of the first month’s statistics by Google Analytics. 

Honestly, I'm so happy about it! For a newbie like me, I didn't expect such a lot of traffic. 892 Visits, 439 Unique Visitors, 3699 Pageviews in just one month..not including the 5 days where Google Analytics wasn't running on my page because I changed my blog's template and I forgot to put the code back! :)

I would like to thank all of you for joining me on my new journey as a blogger. When I started this blog, all I wanted to do was to share recipes to Filipino food lovers around the world. I didn't realize how much fun it would be to be able to connect with wonderful people around the world with the same passion as mine. I'm truly happy to be meeting new friends from the blogging world. To my Flickr Contacts, BFF's(BlogFrogFriends) and to my FB's Networked Blogs fellow bloggers, thank you so much for following my blog! I hope to know you guys more! 

I do hope you all enjoy visiting my blog. Please stay with me and take a moment to leave a comment – I’d love to hear from you! And for those who are not yet subscribed to Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner's RSS feed, please do so now for instant updates. 

1 month gone and ready for the next month. I hope that next month will be better...I hope that my blog will last...I'm wishing for more months and years of being able to share recipes and food photographs with all of you!

Since noodles do symbolize longevity, I'll be sharing with you a noodle recipe today --- another pancit recipe that we Filipinos call PANCIT CANTON. Check out the recipe as you wish me more wonderful months and years of blogging via Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner! ;)

Pancit Canton

Pancit Canton is another dish of Chinese origin that has very much become a part of Filipino cuisine. Just like pancit palabok (the very first recipe I shared with you here), pancit canton is one of the many pancit variations in the Philippines. In pancit palabok, we use bihon or rice noodles, while in pancit canton, we use canton or egg noodles, which is the dried type that is flavored with crab or shrimp.

When cooking pancit canton, there are several ways of preparing the noodles. The most common method is to blanch the dried noodles in boiling water for a few seconds then draining them before stirring into the sauce. Some blanch the noodles, and after draining, lightly fry them in oil. Some like it crispy so they plunge the dry noodles in plenty of hot smoking oil until puffed, after which the meat, vegetables and sauce are poured over the fried noodles arranged on a serving plate.

Pancit canton is my daughters’ all-time favorite noodle dish so I cook it very often. Based from experience, blanching the noodles makes them soggy so I don’t do it. I prefer that they cook in broth so that they can absorb the flavor of the meat and/or seafood that I'm cooking it with.

Pancit canton is a very flexible noodle dish. You can cook this with whatever vegetables, meat or seafood you want. Want cauliflower? Bell pepper? Broccoli? Shrimp? Squid? Chicken? Pork? Go for it! No matter what you decide to add on it, it will surely be yummy!

Prep Time: 20 mins          Cook Time: ~30 mins           Servings: 6                                 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pancit canton (egg noodles)
• ½ cup pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ cup squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
• ¾ cup boiled chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• ¾ cup boiled pork, cut into strips
• 1 medium size carrot, julienned
• 1 bundle small pechay, washed & trimmed
• ½ cup snow peas. washed & trimmed
• ½ cup green beans, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken & pork broth (I use the broth from which I boiled the chicken & pork.)
• 1 cup shrimp extract (I made this from shrimp heads mashed using mortar and pestle then mixed with a cup of chicken broth and then strained.)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 4 Tbsp. fried garlic (optional - for topping)
• 2 pcs. Lemon or 4-6 pcs calamansi (optional)
• 1 cup egg omelet strips (cooked from 2 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt. This is optional. We just love topping our pancit canton with this.) 

Valentine's Day Dessert

It's Friday! Three days 'til Valentine's Day! Since Monday, I've featured Filipino recipes that are really easy to prepare and won't stress you out. For Valentine's Day dessert, I've chosen another very simple Filipino favorite --- the budget-friendly, YEMA. But instead of the usual ball or triangle shaped ones, I made them heart-shaped of course!!! :)

Yema is a type of custard candy made from egg yolks and condensed milk. I'm sure you'll be wondering what to do with the egg whites. Well, here's another easy-to-prepare dessert that you can make --- MERINGUE. To make them more perfect for Valentine's Day, I added 3 drops of pink food color and a little red sprinkles and white morsel on top and made them heart-shaped instead of the most common kiss-shaped ones.

 

YEMA and MERINGUE are desserts that the whole family will surely love! Try it!

Check out the recipes here:
* YEMA
* MERINGUE 

Note: Making Valentine's Day meaningful and special doesn't mean stressing yourself out to make elaborate preparations. Remember, nothing says "I love you" better than giving out your best and putting your heart to whatever meal you prepare. Anything you prepare with your personal touch will make Valentine's Day special to you and your loved ones!