Pan-Fried Oriental Fish

Every Saturday, I try to have lunch at my old home with my family. Since I started to learn how to cook, my mom tasked me to try out some of my “experiments” during our Saturday lunches. For this particular Saturday, I decided to cook some cream dory fish fillets.

I love cream dory. My mom would buy these cream dory fish fillets from SM Supermarket and then deep fry them. On a whim, I bought a bag during one of my grocery trips but decided to surprise my mom with another way to cook them.

I found this on my new favorite online recipe source: yummy.ph.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 8 pieces (about 660 grams) medium tilapia fillet or any white fish like cream dory

Procedure:

1. Make the marinade: Combine and stir together the olive oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, and green onion. Set aside.
2. Toast sesame seeds on a dry sauté pan over medium heat until brown.
3. Mix toasted sesame seeds with marinade. Set aside.
4. Lay fillets in a pan. Pour marinade over fillets. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
5. To cook the fish, heat a frying pan with about 1 tablespoon of corn/canola oil. Place fillet on the pan and cook one side for about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip it over using a spatula. Generously baste each side of the fish with the marinade.

Mom bought some asparagus from the market and I asked her to steam them with just a bit of salt. It totally complemented the tasty fish fillets.

Needless to say, the dish was a hit! My mom loved them so much that she asked me to make the marinade for her since she has fillets in the freezer. I loved that this is a healthier alternative to the deep fried cream dory we love. 🙂

Asian Sesame Pork Strips

I got this recipe from this month’s issue of Yummy Magazine.

My husband and I were supposed to go out last night to have dinner and watch a movie. But by 6pm, we decided to just stay in and do a Supernatural marathon (it’s a new addiction). I wasn’t in the mood for anything fried and I really wanted to eat something “new” so I scoured my sources for possible recipes I can spruce up for a quick dinner.

I had a bit of pork tenderloin left from last time so I stopped at a recipe which featured them as the main ingredient. I decided to try this out when I saw that among its ingredients were mirin, honey and sesame oil–ingredients I just LOVE!

Ingredients:

For the sesame sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 (1/4 inch thick) slices ginger
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons sliced red and yellow bell pepper
• 200 grams pork tenderloin, sliced into 2x 1/2 x 1/2-inch strips
• chopped spring onions for garnish
• toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Procedure:

1. Make the sesame sauce: Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in pan, saute garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add bell pepper and saute for a about 2 minutes. Add pork strips and cook until almost done. Add sesame sauce and stir-fry for a few minutes.
3. Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds.

*All of the ingredients I had available at home except for the spring onions and the yellow bell pepper.

I really pick the easy ones. 🙂 This was so easy I didn’t even break a sweat. Perfect for the quick dinner I had in mind (the dish was ready BEFORE the rice was cooked).

As expected with mirin and honey, the dish tasted sweet. The toasted sesame seeds were a great touch since it added that crunchy taste to the sweet and tender pork. And it smelled just wonderful!

Hawaiian Baby Back Ribs

I’ve been itching to try out my oven but I really don’t want to learn how to bake (not yet anyway). My husband requested that I try out baby back ribs which is one of his favorites. I found this easy to follow recipe at yummy.ph:

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 kilos baby back ribs
• 1 head garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 can Sprite
• 1 pork broth cube, crushed
• 1/3 cup calamansi juice
• 1 bottle pineapple jam

Procedure:

1. Mix all ingredients for marinade in a big stainless bowl.
2. Put in baby back ribs and rub marinade all over. Let stand for 6 hours, preferably overnight in the refrigerator to allow flavors to develop.
3. Preheat oven to 400°F.
4. Cut a large piece of aluminum foil and place ribs in the center.
5. Bring up the sides of the foil and pour in marinade.
6. Wrap foil around ribs and place in a greased roasting pan. Place inside oven for 50 minutes to one hour.
7. When done, open aluminum foil and continue cooking until ribs are brown in color.

I don’t really like pineapple so I used orange marmalade instead (pasaway). I guess this made my version not so Hawaiian.

I borrowed a roasting pan from my mom but what she had was too small that I had 2 layers of meat on the pan. I realized later that this was a mistake since the meat on the top layer was too dry when cooked. 😦

The ribs on the bottom layer, on the other hand, was juicy, tender and delicious.

For my first oven attempt, I’d say that wasn’t so bad. 🙂

Pork Teriyaki Don

I take time to cook for my husband when we’re both at home. I’ve been wanting to try this particular recipe for a while now. The dish required one of my favorite ingredients: mirin.

I got this recipe from yummy.ph

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
350 grams pork tenderloin, cut into strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 bell pepper, sliced
sliced green onions, for garnish
cooked rice

Procedure:
1. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and grated ginger. Add pork strips to marinade; toss to coat. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Remove pork from marinade; reserve liquid.

2. In a wok, heat vegetable oil over high heat. Stir-fry pork strips for 1 minute. Remove from the wok.

3. Add sesame oil to the wok. Sauté the vegetables for 1 minute. Add the pork and reserved marinade. Stir-fry for another minute. Serve as topping over hot, cooked rice.

I used muscovado as a sugar substitute (we’ve been using this at home for a while). I also used ground ginger instead of grated ginger. 🙂

I was able to marinate the pork for around 4 hours. I’m a fan of pork tenderloin–the meat is tender and really easy to cook.

This was a very easy dish to prepare. My husband and I loved it!

Chicken Teriyaki

I’ve been so busy for the past 2 months that I had no time to blog. But I’ve tried several recipes over the last few weeks and I even had the courage to experiment.

I tried this out last April and my dad loves it. (He’s actually been requesting the dish every few weeks).

Ingredients
1 kilo boneless chicken thighs
1/2 cup oyster sauce (less sodium)
1/8 cup of soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ginger, grated

Procedure:
1. Mix the ingredients to make the marinade.

2. Marinate the chicken thighs for at least one hour. Grill chicken until cooked.

3. Serve with rice.

This dish has become a favorite in our household. It’s tasty, delicious and very easy to prepare.

This first time I cooked this, I served the chicken with white rice and dried Korean seaweed.

Asparagus with Tuna

My desire to eat healthier encouraged me to try out cooking my favorite vegetables in a variety of ways. We had some asparagus and cans of tuna at home so I decided to make a simple dish for my lunch ‘baon’.

Ingredients
A bunch of asparagus
1 can of tuna flakes in vegetable oil
1/2 scallion, minced
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Heat oil in skillet. Sauté scallions and garlic. Add tuna and some of the oil from the can. Stir, then let it simmer.

2. Add the asparagus. Stir into the tuna’s vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer. Make sure that asparagus isn’t overcooked.

This was so easy to prepare. The asparagus was quite crunchy and it complemented with the tuna. It was also surprisingly filling.

Verdict: love this! Perfect dish when you’re trying to watch your weight.

Potatoes and Green Beans with Shrimp

I got this recipe from the my good housekeeping cookbook. I was looking for something simple and easy to cook for dinner. I love shrimp and I’m a big fan of potatoes so this is perfect.

Ingredients
1/2 kilo potatoes, peeled, cut into quarters
2 cups water
2 cups green beans, cut in 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 kilo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, boil potatoes in two cups of water for about 10 minutes or just until fork tender. Add green beans. Cover. Cook for another 3 minutes. Drain any liquid left. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle garlic powder and paprika over shrimps. Heat pan to medium high heat, add oil and quickly pan fry shrimps. As soon as shrimps turn pink, add potatoes and green beans. Stir. Season with salt and pepper.

I added some salt to the water when I boiled the potatoes so they’d have a bit of taste. I would probably use some chili the next time I try this out. I think I’d also prefer to saute the shrimps in garlic cloves instead of using the garlic powder.

The dish is already a meal in itself. With the potatoes, it’s quite a heavy dish. I didn’t bother with rice anymore.

Verdict: I will definitely try this again but with some modifications.

Marinated Chicken Thigh with Glazed Carrots

This chicken recipe is similar to Sesame Chicken. I got the recipe for the chicken and the carrots from this iPad app.

I’ve been on a diet for the past two weeks and for someone who just loves to eat, it’s been torture! I was seriously craving for something dripping in fat. But since I didn’t want to ruin my diet, I looked for a recipe that wouldn’t be too “sinful”. Decided to try out this recipe for chicken thighs (grilled, not fried).

Recipe below is good for 2 people.

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken thigh
4 tbsp mustard
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp wine vinegar
1 pinch thyme or rosemary
Salt & pepper

Directions
1. Prepare the marinade by mixing together the mustard, olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper and thyme.

2. Put the chicken into the marinade and coat well. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

3. Remove the chicken from the marinade. Remove any excess marinade and discard.

4. Cook the thighs on a preheated grill or in a pan for 12 to 15 minutes.

The chicken was so delicious! This is probably one of the best tasting recipes I’ve tried. I marinated the chicken for around 2 hours before grilling and the marinade had seeped into the meat.

I wanted to eat something sweet but chocolates, ice cream or cake was out of the question. It was by chance that I found this recipe for Glazed Carrots. I decided to make some as a side dish.

Ingredients
200 g carrots
2 tsp butter
1 tsp sugar (I used coconut sugar)
Salt & pepper

Directions
1. Cut the carrots diagonally. Cook the carrots in salted boiling water until they are al dente (cooked but still crunchy), then strain them.

2. In a pan, melt the butter and add the sugar.

3. Add the carrots and sauté them evenly, until they glazed and shiny. Add salt and pepper.

4. Serve immediately.

If you have a sweet tooth but on a diet (like me!) you’d love this. This is great specially if the carrots are cooked just right.

Verdict: both were very easy to prepare and cook. I will definitely try them again. The chicken is a definite winner. 

Food Find: Dayrit’s at The Fort

I visited my husband at his workplace at The Fort. Since we haven’t seen each other for a while, he set aside some time to have dinner with me. He took me to Dayrit’s, a restaurant he’s been going to since he started working there.

My husband recommended the Roast Beef Plate. It comes with thin slices of roast beef, baked potato with bacon & cheese, and choice of rice or buttered bread. Gravy is served on the side.

I had my Roast Beef Plate with bread. The beef was a little tough for me (probably my fault because I asked for my meat well done). It tasted a bit sweet and the gravy was too rich for my taste–good thing they served it on the side. The best part of this dish was the baked potato. The texture was perfect–my knife just slid through. It was also the perfect complement for the beef.

My husband ordered their Mandarin Pork Spareribs with rice and coleslaw. The pork was tender and sweet and I liked it better than my order.

I plan to try their Caldereta next time. 🙂

Dayrit’s is located along 31st Street at The Fort, right beside Pancake House.

Broccoli and Cauliflower stir-fry with Chicken

I specifically looked for a healthy dish to prepare this Sunday. I found this recipe in the January-February 2011 edition of Everyday Food (Emeril’s Broccoli and Cauliflower Stir-fry). The original recipe didn’t include chicken so I modified it a bit.

Recipe below can serve up to 4 people.

Ingredients
2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 kilo boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
3/4 pound broccoli
3/4 pound cauliflower
(cut broccoli and cauliflower into bite size florets)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 chicken cube, diluted in 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup oyster sauce

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add chicken. Saute until chicken is cooked and tender.

2. Add broccoli, cauliflower and bell pepper. Stir for about 4 minutes.

3. Add broth and stir continuously until vegetables are crisp-tender.

4. Add oyster sauce and stir for about a minute. Season with salt if needed. Serve with rice.

The magazine boasted that it’s a great dish to prepare for kids if you want them to eat their vegetables. The dish tasted a bit sweet because of the oyster sauce and when cooked perfectly, the vegetables are crunchy-good.

VERDICT: This is one of those dishes that I can cook over and over again. I think I can even replace the broccoli & cauliflower with other veggies (since both are quite expensive). Healthy and delicious: win-win! 🙂