I miss rice puto (cake). It's one of my favorite "kakanin" back in the Philippines. I looked for recipes online and even tried to make one. It was good, but not very close to what I grew up to. Thankfully, a Filipina friend of mine gave me a great recipe and tips on how to make this awesomely tasting rice puto which also can be cooked as bibingka (bingka). This recipe absolutely tastes like it's directly from home. If you are from Mindanao or Visayas (and is currently living abroad), this is the recipe that you can appreciate. Just make sure you follow every bit of tip that is suggested.


RICE PUTO RECIPE

3 cups white rice (Buy the cheapest, ordinary kind you can find. I bought the Walmart brand white rice. Do not use Jasmine rice.)

1 cup coconut milk

1 pack yeast

1 cup and 1 tbsp white sugar (use brown sugar for bibingka)

1/4 cup rice-soaked water

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak rice overnight. Drain rice but reserve 1/4 cup of the rice water,'
2. Warm the rice water to lukewarm temperature. Pour and mix in yeast and 1 tbsp sugar. Let rise (10-15 minutes)
3. In a blender or food processor, grind rice with the coconut milk until rice is VERY FINE.
4. Mix rice and yeast mixture, pour in white sugar and stir. Use brown sugar for bibingka.
5. Set aside mixture and let rise (double the size, 2-3 hours).
6. Stir mixture thoroughly and make sure there are no bubbles before pouring in the puto mold.
7. Put a tablespoon of vinegar in water before steaming. Steam 30-45 minutes. Bigger mold takes longer to cook. For bibingka, bake at 400° for 30 minutes.

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My egg cravings brought us to The Egg & I this morning for breakfast. When I told my husband last night that we will have breakfast there the next day, he said that I have to wait for a few more weeks because our special day is coming. He reminded me what I said before that we will only eat at The Egg & I on special days. But I was insistent. Besides, I will be paying the bill. :)

Indeed this morning we had our breakfast there. It looked like they are out of staff. When we arrived, no one was there to seat us, and there were 2 other people waiting. It's also strange to me that they only have men serving. And there's only two of them. Is there a strike from the female employees? I don't know. Just unusual to me. I remember there was a female server who was so bubbly. The place was so quiet without her. :)

I tried their Popeye's Frittata. It's got lean ground beef, spinach, and topped with parmesan cheese. I actually liked it with Tabasco. The heat was dancing in my mouth. As always, I loved their potatoes that came with the dish, and their raisin toast. My husband just ordered the typical breakfast food: eggs, bacon, English muffin, potatoes, and a glass of fresh orange juice that costs $3.00 (without refill).

I like The Egg & I until now. We do not go there often, but everytime we do, their food never fails to satisfy my cravings. Perhaps we'll go back there in few weeks again. We'll see.

• Soak the pork chops in fresh milk for 30 minutes. Add salt in the milk for flavor. Milk helps tenderize the meat.
• Season the flour using Italian seasoning and garlic and salt powder.
• Choosing the right bread crumbs is very important in able to create the perfect crisp that you are looking for in your pork chop's breading. The kind of bread crumbs that gave us the perfect light crunch of the meat's breading is the Panko Bread Crumbs Japanese Style. It's got the texture that traditional bread crumbs don't have.
• Use well beaten eggs to help the breading stick on the meat as well as to add flavor. Drench the whole piece of meat in the egg, dredge both sides in the flour mixture, drench it again in the egg, and finally, coat both sides with the bread crumbs.
• Make sure that the oil is hot enough before you fry the pork chop, or else, you won't get that nice crisp you want.
  
  

Perfect Side Dish for Pork Chop

• 4 oz fresh shitake or oyster mushrooms (or portabella)
• 1 lb asparagus
• 2 tsps cornstarch
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsps minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Garlic Chicken Wing Drumettes

1. Cut the chicken wings at the joints to make 3 pieces.
2. In a small bowl, mix well all the ingredients, except the chicken. Pour in the chicken and marinate 1 to 2 hours. Tip: Marinating it overnight allow the wings to absorb the marinade seasoning making it more flavorful.
3. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
4. Bake for 40 minutes in a shallow roasting pan. Use foil for easy cleaning. Turn over 3 to 4 times each wing while baking. Tip: Break the 40-minute cooking time to 10 minutes each when turning over the chicken wings. I like my wings caramelized on top, but it's up to you if you want yours a little bit dark brown or not.

Source of this recipe is from the "Everyday Chinese Cooking" cookbook.

Our daughter checking her supply of rice.

I love siopao (steamed pork bun) and missed it a lot. It's available in Red Ribbon Arizona Mills, but I don't have the luxury of time and transportation to go there just to buy siopao. So, today I decided to make it my own.

I got the siopao recipe from the Panlasang Pinoy website. I first saw the video demonstration on YouTube and was inspired to make it. The ingredients are very common and the preparation looked so doable.

I decided to use just half of the ingredients' measurement listed on the website. Mainly because, 5 cups of flour would too much for me to eat. The dough turned out good, but I think it needed more kneading to make it firmer.

Wrapping the filling was the hardest challenge. Even if there's a video on how to do it, I still had a hard time following the demonstration. A few were wrapped better, but the rest looked terrible. I also added a wedge of boiled egg on the filling for each siopao. It enhanced the flavor. The end product was very tasty. It's the taste that I had been wanting to achieve and successfully got it. I was able to make 12 pieces. Obviously, I will not be able to eat it all even if my husband will ask for his share. So, the leftovers will be stocked in the freezer. And when I want some to snack on, all I need to do is reheat it, either through a steam or microwave, wrapping it in a damp paper towel.


If you're interested to make siopao, I suggest that you visit the website mentioned. All the ingredients and instructions are there. Lastly, I want to thank Panlasang Pinoy for their generosity to share how to make popular Filipino food. Will surely visit the website from time to time and cook some.

So, I woke up early today to make "leche" flan. Leche flan is a popular Filipino dessert made of eggs and milk, drenched in caramel sauce. I was inspired to make the dessert after I visited my Filipino friend last week. She made yummy leche flan and was motivated to do some for my husband.

Actually, it's very easy to make. All you need are:

1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
6 pcs egg yolks
aluminum bakeware pan/molds
steamer (make sure that the pan/mold you will use fits on the steamer)
aluminum foils

Preparation instructions:

1. Make the caramel sauce using white sugar and butter (optional). Here's a great video of Chef Gordon Ramsay on How to Make a Caramel.

2. Preheat oven to 350°. Put steamer in the oven.

3. Mix thoroughly the milk and eggs. Pour the caramel sauce in the pan/mold. Slowly pour in the mixture on top of the caramel sauce. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.

4. Bake up to 1 hour, or until the flan is cooked.

5. Let it cool down. Use a big plate or tray to flip over the flan. To do this, put the plate/tray on top of the pan, then turn upside down—exposing the luscious caramel sauce.

Bon appetit!

 I was quite inspired to make saging (banana) turon last night because my husband has been wanting to eat some after he had few bites in a Filipino restaurant weeks ago. Actually the banana turon they have is prepared differently from what I was used to back in the Philippines. Theirs don't have caramelized sugar coated on the wrapper. Instead, they pour caramel sauce on top of the banana turon. The caramel sauce makes it messy to pick up with bare hands. When eating banana turon, you are supposed to eat it with bare hands and not with fork.

Banana turon is one of my favorite Filipino desserts. Turon is so good when eaten while it's still warm. My mom is the expert when it comes to making this dessert. Glad I watched her made banana turon before or else, I would be clueless on how to make it.

My husband envisioned bite sized banana turon. So I decided to cut the lumpia (egg roll) wrapper into two. Each piece looked cute (which I liked). His idea was brilliant! I melted natural cane turbinado sugar in the hot oil with the banana turon in it. It's easier for the sugar to stick on the wrapper when it's melted.

I was happy of the outcome. The wrapper turned so crunchy and the melted brown sugar coated around the wrapper made it yummier. It was a great treat—my husband loved it!

One of our favorite Chinese dishes is the "Shredded Beef with Red Jalapeño Peppers." Well, I prepared it last night. As usual, we fully enjoyed the sumptuous meal. Side dish is of course steamed rice. A perfect dinner if you want something not ordinary. It's actually very easy to make—one of the reasons why I love preparing this food. We got the recipe from Everyday Chinese Cooking cook book. It does not require a king or queen in the kitchen. Just buy the ingredients and follow the simple steps, and wallah, a dinner that will surely satisfies your palate and hungry tummy.

Where can you find cheap sweet strawberries in Mesa, Arizona? Superstition Ranch Market! That's where we got ours for an unbelievable price of 3 lbs for a buck today. If we go to Fry's, Basha's, or Fresh N Easy,  typically a pound would cost $2.99 - $3.99. Now, think of the price difference!

We went home carrying three boxes of strawberry (well, aside from other cheap fresh fruits and veggies we got). It's absolutely a great deal not only the low price but most of all the vitamin C, antioxidants, folate, fiber, protein, and other nutritional benefits we gained from eating this yummy fruit.

I love strawberries. I eat them with salt. My husband thinks it's weird because as far as he knows most people prefer to eat these type of berries with sugar. I don't belong to the crowd he mentioned.

Strawberries are quite expensive in the Philippines. A box (= to 1lb) could cost 250 - 350 Php. Fruits that cost that much is already a "big deal" for typical Filipinos. Only a few people can enjoy eating this fruit. Who? Rich people, or people who have substantial income. I myself, rarely buy strawberries because of the price. My income could afford to buy one box for a month if I wanted to, but the financial worth made me think twice. Except if I really craved to eat strawberries, that's the time I wouldn't mind the cost.

Now, I've got lots of strawberries to munch before they get bad. It's crazy to think that the abundance of strawberries here made my appetite for this fruit go down, that sometimes, they remain in the fridge until they become inedible. I hope this time, I'd be able to consume everything without a single berry going to the trash. Wish me luck to attain my goal! :)

Hubby made a oh-so-yummy roast chicken for lunch today. The veggie stuffing added great flavor to the meat. He used celery, carrots, onions, and garlic. Rubbed salt and pepper on the inside and outside, and drizzled the skin with olive oil; poured a good amount of chicken stock on the aluminum tray and spread the same kind of veggies used for the stuffing and cooked in the oven for an hour and a half. He made a gravy out of the remaining liquid in the tray after the chicken was done. It was gooooood!

Of course, I claimed the wings! They're my favorite part of (any) chicken. It was crispy (even the tiny bones) and quite tasty. My husband always go for the breasts. Perhaps because of its richness in meat.
We have baked potatoes to eat with the roast chicken. Topped it with melted cheddar cheese and butter, sour cream, crispy crumbled bacon, and chives.

Lunch was heavenly!

It's funny how I wrote yesterday about how my husband does not like seafood. I was surprised when he came home carrying a big paper bag with a live lobster! Yes, alive indeed. He also got a tray of fish and clams. He's going to make broth out of those.

Well, he's not going to eat it. He bought it for me. He will make me seafood risotto tonight (my husband makes the best mushroom risotto in the world!) Isn't that sweet?

Now came the part of slaughtering the lobster. It actually reminded me of the movie Julie & Julia where Julie was having a hard time putting the live lobster in a big pot of boiling water and how she panicked when the sea bugs were banging inside.

Last night was my husband's first time to kill a lobster. And yes, it's my first time to see a lobster being murdered. It was an adventure for both of us. One of the "firsts" that we shared together. Seeing parts of the poor creature dislodged was a little bit creepy. But watching my husband doing something that he had not done before in cooking was a truly a joy. I knew he was not comfortable about it. It was out of his comfort zone. However, it's a cooking experience which I am sure he's proud about.

When he watched the video I took, he commented that he will not be able to make it to Top Chef or Hell's Kitchen because he was too slow of dislodging and cleaning the sea bug. I responded with an encouraging words and told him "Give yourself a break! It's your very first time to kill a lobster!"

Now, he needs to kill more lobster in able for him to become a pro lobster killer. :)