Chopsuey with Prawn

You love vegetables? Then you are surely a chopsuey fanatic! A very flexible dish - it can be as extravagant with quail eggs and chicken liver on it, or it can be so simple with purely no-meat on it. I opted to cook it with prawn.



Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Cauliflower
Chukos (sayote)
Carrots
Cabbage
Prawn
Chicken broth
Soysauce



Procedure:
1. Stir-fry garlic and onions.
2. Add the cauliflower, chukos, carrots and prawns.
3. Pour the chicken broth and add soysauce and salt according to taste.
4. Add the cabbage and simmer for another 5 minutes.


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Gambas Aglio

A very famous appetizer, Gambas Aglio can be a main dish/ viand also. Best served sizzling and spicy.



Ingredients:
Prawns
Garlic (lots of it!)
Ginger
Tomato sauce
Tabasco or chili power




Procedure:
1. Stir-fry minced garlic and ginger.
2. Once garlic and ginger turned brown, add the prawns and continue stirring.
3. Pour little amount of tomato sauce.
4. Add tabasco or chili power and salt according to taste.


Perfect with hot steaming rice and beer. =)

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Chicken Afritada

Another all-time Filipino favorite. I decided to prepare this dish for my weekday office lunchbox.



Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Cubed potatoes
Cubed carrots
Chicken cutlets
Tomato sauce




Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onions.
2. Add the chicken, put the carrots and potatoes once meat is tender.
3. Pour the tomato sauce and put it to boil.
4. Add little soysauce, pepper and salt according to taste.
5. Simmer for another 5 minutes before serving.


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Eggplant Omelette (Tortang Talong)

With tomato or banana catsup dipping, eggplant omelette or tortang talong in tagalog is a nice budget-friendly viand good for either breakfast, lunch or dinner.



Ingredients:
Medium-sized eggplants
Beaten eggs



Procedure:
1. Grill or boil the eggplants, remove the skin.
2. Soak the eggplants on beaten eggs (don't forget to put salt on the eggs)
3. Make sure the oil is very hot before frying the omelette.
4. Topped with tomato or banana catsup before serving


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Menudocillo

While menudo is pork cooked in tomato sauce, menudocillo is minced pork cooked in tomato sauce. A classic filipino dish - you can find this dish being served on major festive celebration. Moreso, I bet that menudo/meducillo is present at any filipino family dining table at least once a week.

Ingredients:

Garlic

Onion

Diced carrots

Diced potatoes

Minced pork

Tomato Sauce

Sliced hotdogs (optional)

Salt and pepper

Procedure:

1. Saute garlic and onions.

2. Put minced pork and hotdog (optional), stir until tender.

3. Add diced carrots and diced potatoes.

4. Pour tomato sauce and put to boil.

5. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.

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Chicken in Baked Beans

This is one of my mom's very own original recipe. I remember her preparing this dish for us even our early schooling days. Would you believe that even my son love this meal also?

Ingredients:

Garlic

Onions

Baked beans

Chicken cutlets

Salt

Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onions.

2. Put chicken and stir until tender.

3. Pour 1 can of baked beans and bring to boil.

4. Sprinkle with salt according to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes.

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Tilapia in Coconut Cream

Not everyday you find black tiplaia in NTUC Fairprice (as red tilapia is more common here in Singapore). So i decided to buy one at 59cents per 100grams and call my mom.

Me: ma, what to do with black tilapia?
Mama: either ginataan or pesa.
Me: let me try ginataan. teach me how.

Ginataang tilapia is fish in cocount cream. In Philippines, we also use other fishes like "tulingan" and/or "tambakol". Perfect partner with rice and fish sauce.



Ingredients:
Onion
Ginger
Green Chili
Tilapia Fish
Coconut Cream
Salt to taste



Procedure:
1. Pour coconut cream, little amount of water, onions and ginger - let it boil.
2. Add the tilapia fish when boiling.
3. Put geen chili and salt to taste. Simmer until fish is cook.

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Breakfast for Dinner

Last week, my Man requested something light for dinner - so light that he just want me to buy his favorite delifrance fuit tart. But I find it too easy to prepare so I disagree and told him - "just come home at 8:00pm Baby, will prepare your super light meal don't worry". Wink!




I prepared breakfast set consist of:
3 lightly toasted bread
egg-mayonaisse sandwich spread
steamed chicken sausage
mr. bean unsweetened cold soyamilk

Very simple and light... still i force my Man to finished everything, including the soyamilk. Hehe... He already told me what he wants on our next home dinner - prawn! So Baby, ready for cereal prawns? Haha! Just kidding, don't get scared. =)



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Mee Goreng

I have extra carrots and cabbage as excess on my last creamy chicken macaroni soup ingredients so I decided to cook mee goreng.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Diced carrots
Beansprout
Shredded cabbage
Instant mee goreng (I used indomie brand)



Procedure:
1. Cook noodles as package instruction. Set aside.
2. Heat oil and saute garlic, onions, cabbage and carrots.
3. Add the pre-cooked noodels and the instant me goreng soysauce and seasoning.
4. Pour the beansprout and keep stirring until seasoning is evenly spread.
5. Serve with omellet and/or buttered toasted bread.

Ampalaya con Itlog (Bittergourd with Egg)

I still have bittergourd left, excess on my yesterday sauted green mung beans ingredients. So I decided to cook ampalaya con itlog (or bittergourd with egg in english).

Ingredients:

Diced bittergourd

Beaten eggs

Salt

Prodecure:

1. Saute garlic, onions and bittergourd. Add beaten eggs and continue stirring until cooked. Add salt accorfing to taste.

Some put tomatoes on it and you can substitute pork with egg if you want. We Filipinos normally eat this with rice. Enjoy!

Sinigang na Baboy (Phil. Pork Tomyum)

Like adobo, Sinigang can be considered as one of Filipino's all-time favorite viand. It is the Philippines counterpart for Thailand's famous tomyum. You can make sinigang out of pork, beef, shirmp or even chicken. It is basically meat in sour soup. Either you use tamarind, green lime, raw mangoes or guavas, it doesn't matter as long as the soup is sour. But as a beginner in the kitchen, instant powder mixes will always do the trick. =)



Ingredients:
Onion
Kangkong leaves
White raddish
Long beans
Pork cubes
Sinigang instant mix (i used ajinomoto brand)
Salt to taste

the sinigang instant mix i used

Procedure:
1. Boil 1liter water together with onions and pork cubes.
2. Once meat is tender, pour the sinigang instant mix and all the vegetables.
3. Add salt to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes before serving.


I'm happy with the result. My sinigang really taste sinigang. Haha! Only problem is I put alot of water (common error everytime I cook). So what ot do with the extra sour soup?

Sopas (Creamy Chicken Macaroni Soup)

Conversation with my Mom awhile ago:
Me: ma, what to do with leftover penne & roasted chicken?
Mama: recycle it. make sopas.
Me: wow! nice idea. will do, but how? hehe...

Creamy Chicken Macaroni Soup or Sopas in tagalog is an anytime-anyday meal.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Elbow Macaroni (or any preffered noodle/pasta - i used penne)
Flaked roasted chicken meat
Chicken broth (or normal water will do)
Cubed carrots
Shredded cabagge
Evaporated milk
Salt/ pepper


Procedure:
1. Cook the elbow macaroni according to package instruction.
2. Saute garlic & onions then add flaked roasted chicken.
3. Put 1liter chicken broth (or normal water) and bring to boil.
4. Pour evaporated milk and the pre-cooked elbow macaroni.
5. Add the cubed carrots and shredded cabagge.
6. Put salt and pepper to taste.
7. Simmer for another 5minutes before serving.

Munggo Guisado (Sauted Green Mung Beans)

This dish is one of my mom's specialty. Green Mung Beans paired with cruncy deep fried fish - perfect! Miss my mother's home-cooked food so I tried to prepare one myself.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Ginger
Green mung beans
Bittergourd
Pork strips



Procedure:
1. Saute garlic, onions and ginger.
2. Add pork strips.
3. Put 1liter water when meat is already tender.
4. Let it boil then put the green mung beans.
5. Once beans are cook, add bittergourd.
6. Put salt according to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Green Mussel Soup

Green mussel or tahong in tagalong is one of my all-time favorite seafood. It's been a long time since I last ate this. So I decided to prepare a hassle-free Green Mussel Soup (so famous easy dish that even kids can cook it).

Ingredients:
Fresh green mussel
Ginger



Procedure:
1. Heat 1liter water with crushed ginger. Put green mussel once ginger broth is boiling. Sprinkle with salt according to taste. Remove from heat once mussel shell opens

Spicy Mushroom Pasta w/ Dry Red Wine

My man loves pasta and I'm trying my very best to please him by cooking. I already cooked penne marinara and carbonara for him long time back. Just the other day, he requested for another pasta dish for our home dinner. So after so much browsing on some food websites, I decided to prepare Spicy Mushroom Pasta with Dry Red Wine.


Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Minced button Mushroom
Assorted cheeses ( i used parmasan and cheddar)
Penne pasta
Puree tomatoes
Dry red wine
Chili powder

Procedure:
1. Boil and cooked penne pasta as package instruction. Set aside.
2. In a pan, heat oil. Saute garlic, onions and minced button mushroom.
3. Put 1 cup of dry red wine, boil until well absorbed by onions and mushroom.
4. Add the puree tomatoes, put the cheese and add little water.
5. Sprinkle with chili power according to taste.
6. Simmer for another 3 minutes and pour over cooked penne pasta.

My man loved what I prepared and finished one single-plate serving of it. Hehe... Luckly I cooked 500 grams pasta, I had enough leftover to bring for office tomorrow. =)

Mushroom Bhurji

Bhurji is a famous egg dish from india. Tried to customize it a little as I have extra button mushroom (excess from the recent pasta I cooked.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Minced button mushroom
Beaten eggs
Chili powder
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Heat oil. Saute garlic and onions until brown. Put minced button mushroom and add the beated egg. Sprinkle with chili powder and salt. Stir continously until cooked.



Budget-friendly and easy-to-prepare dish perfect for rice or bread. Enjoy!