The typical Chinese style sweet and sour fish is usually cooked whole including its head. Since it requires a lot of oil in frying, I opted for the frozen fillets commonly found in supermarkets. To keep the batter crispy, I employed the typical British style of frying fish fillets.
Ingredients:
1 lb. fish fillet (grouper or cream dory) sliced to 5-6 pcs
per fillet
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup corn starch
1 bottle cold beer
1-1/2 cup peanut cooking oil
pinch of salt
Sweet & Sour Sauce
1 small can of pineapple chunks
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tspn sesame oil
1 tblspn light soy
1 tblspn dark soy
2 tblspns wine vinegar
1 tblspn corn starch
1/2 cup water
2 tblspn ketchup
pinch of salt
1 red bell pepper sliced to 1 square inch
1 green pepper sliced to 1 square inch
1 large white onion sliced to 1 square inch
2 slices ginger
2 garlic cloves
In a bowl, combine the flour and corn starch mixture. Add beer while stirring until you get a thick consistency. Heat a frying pan and pour the peanut oil until it reaches 370 f, then set the heat low. Dip the fillets 3 to 4 pcs at a time in the batter and fry until the fillets start to float. Set aside on a strainer. Keep the pan at 370 f and after a few minutes, refry the fillets until golden brown. Drain the fillets and set on a deep platter.
In another pan, saute the garlic, ginger for a minute and add the onions, green pepper and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the sugar, vinegar, ketchup, light and dark soy, and sesame oil and stir. Add the tablespoon of corn starch into the 1/2 cup of water and stir. Add the corn starch mixture to the pan until the sauce start to boil and thicken. Set aside for a few minutes to cool. Pour the sauce over the fish fillets and serve. Bona petit!
Derived from the Spanish menudo, this Filipino version sets it apart with a bit of Middle Eastern twist by adding raisins, thus making this dish a bit sweeter.
Ingredients:
1 kg. pork butt (cut into 1 in. cubes)
2 pcs. Spanish chorizo, sliced
1 small box of raisins
2 potatoes (cut into 1 in. cubes)
1 red bell pepper, sliced julienne
1 large carrot (cut into 3/4 inch cubes)
5 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 to 3 tblspns tomato sauce or ketchup
2 cups of white wine
salt & pepper
Recipe:
In a pot, heat olive oil. After a minute, add garlic and chorizo and stir for another minute. Add the pork until brown, then add the white wine and bring the heat to low. Simmer the meat (approx. 30 mins.) until tender while adding some water. Then add the rest of the ingredients until both vegetables and meat are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. You may add some grated parmesan cheese if you want tthe taste a bit sharper. Enjoy!
In French, it means an assortment or a mixture. This New Orleans dish, sometimes called "Seafood Gumbo" contains simple ingredients to bring out the flavour of the seafood. Try this recipe and I guarantee you'll enjoy it!
Ingredients:
1 kg. Manila clams
4 medium crabs (chopped to quarter pieces)
1/4 kg. peeled shrimps (set aside the heads)
1/2 kg. fish fillets sliced to 1 inch sizes (catfish or cream dori or grouper)
1 cup diced green pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 tspn. saffron powder
1 tspn. turmeric
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tblspns. flour
5 cloves chopped garlic
salt & pepper
2 tblspns. butter
chopped parsley
Recipe:
Pour olive oil in a pot and set on high heat. Fry the shrimp heads for 3 minutes pressing them to release flavor. Take out the shrimp heads and saute the green peppers, celery, garlic, saffron and butter for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil, then add the rest of the seafood. Mix well until the clams open up and the broth thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the chopped parsley and serve on a bowl with French garlic bread.
The secret to a good fish fry is in the batter. The thickness of the batter really depends on you, but to get it crispy and crunchy is a no brainer. Here is the secret...
Fish Fry Recipe:
1/2 kg fillet cream dori sliced (substitute either grouper or snapper)
1 cup flour
1 cup corn starch
1 can warm beer
1-1/2 cup peanut oil
slices of lemon
Defrost the fish and cut to 1/3 slices per fillet. Place in a strainer until the fillets are thawed and pat dry using a paper towel. In a bowl, mix the corn starch and flour. Add the warm beer until the right consistency depending on how thick you want the batter to be.
Heat up the fryer and pour about a 1-1/2 cup of oil. When bubbles start forming, set the heat on medium. Dip the fish in the batter and cook until golden brown. Set aside on a strainer and sprinkle some salt.
Coleslaw Recipe:
1 cabbage sliced julienne
1 small carrot sliced toothpick sizes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
In a bowl, mix the cabbage and carrot slices. In a cup mic the cider and sugar and if too strong, you can add some water. Toss the vegies and cider for about a minute and add the mayonnaise. Refrigerate for an hour.
When ready to serve, add some lemon on the platter along with the fish fry and some coleslaw. Bona petito!
There is nothing bitter about Bitter Gourd...if you know the right technique! Bitter gourd or Ampalaya, as we Filipinos call it, is very refreshing and tastes great when applied as a salad and eaten with chips and salsa as condiment, makes a great meal with any meat.
Ampalaya Salad ingredients:
1 Ampalaya or Bitter gourd cut in half lengthwise
1 cucumber cut in half lengthwise
1 medium Spanish onion cut in half and sliced thinly
1 small carrot sliced thinly
1/2 cup sugarcane vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of salt
1 tspn. black pepper
Recipe:
Using a spoon, scoop out the inside of the bitter gourd and apply a tablespoon of salt on each half and set aside for 10 minutes. In a deep pan, boil water and blanch the bitter gourd and carrots for about half a minute. Pour out the boiling water and set aside. In a bowl mix the water, vinegar, sugar and black pepper and pour the other ingredients and set aside in the refrigerator to cool.
Salsa ingredients:
1 pound of tomatoes, diced
2 spanish onions, diced
3 to 4 tablespoons, chopped cilantro
4-5 green jalapeno peppers or Thai red chiles, diced
1 tspn salt & pepper
1 tspn sugar
1/2 cup sugarcane vinegar
1 tblspn soy sauce
Recipe:
Mix all the ingredients, then in a blender, lightly blend to about 4 split seconds and set aside in the refrigerator to cool. Serve with corn chips.
One of my favorite ethnic foods is Mexican and during my 20+ years in Chicago, I made it a point to go across the street from my place at ""El Taco Loco" and order my favorite chicken burrito. Ever since I moved back to Manila, I've been experimenting this dish using ingredients that are not native to my hometown like the Jalapeno and Serrano pepper which is native in Mexico. But there are specialty stores in the Metro area where you can find sauteed Chipotle peppers, pickled Jalapeno peppers and refried beans in a can.
INGREDIENTS:
For the Burrito roll-
1 large flour tortilla
1 breast of chicken
1 can of Chipotle peppers
pinch of salt & pepper
1 medium sized Spanish onion, diced
1 small can of refried beans
For Toppings:
1 6 oz sour cream
1/2 stick of grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 6 oz can tomato sauce
For the Salsa:
1 small can of Jalapeno peppers, diced
1 medium sized Spanish onion, diced
3 ripe tomatoes, diced
sprig of cilantro, chopped
a dash of Worstershire sauce
dash of salt & pepper
RECIPE:
Mix all the salsa ingredients and set aside. In a medium sauce pan, add the chicken breast, diced onions with a cup of water and the Chipotle peppers and bring to a boil. After boiling for 15 minutes, set the heat to low or simmer until the water is partially dissolved and the chicken breast is tender. Set aside the chicken breast, discard the bones and dice the meat and mix it back in the sauce pan.
Heat the flour tortilla for about a minute, lay it on a platter, spread a couple of tablespoons of refried beans and place some chicken filling. Roll the tortilla resembling a large eggroll. Position the burrito in the middle of the platter and pour the small can of tomato sauce on top of the roll, and layer on top the cheddar cheese. Microwave for about 3 minutes until the cheese melts.
Remove the burrito roll and set on a table. Put a generous amount of salsa on the roll and top it with a spoonful of sour cream and serve. Bona petito!
This simple Japanese comfort food consisting of simple ingredients will surely put a smile in your tummy! It may be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner and only takes a few minutes to prepare.
INGREDIENTS:
Pork Loin (2 slices)
1 large egg, beaten
Bread crumbs
1 medium sized Spanish onion, sliced
1 tspn light soy
1 onion stalk, cut to 2 inches
pinch of salt and pepper
2 tablespns vegetable oil
1 cup, cooked Japanese rice
RECIPE:
Pound the pork flat and sprinkle salt and pepper. Dip the meat into the egg batter and onto the bread crumbs. Heat oil in a pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side. Set aside and saute the sliced onions for 2 minutes. Set the rice onto a bowl and place the onions, pork and onion stalk on top. In a cup, mix 2 tablespoons of light soy, 2 tablespoons water and a teaspoon of sugar and pour over the pork and rice bowl mixture and serve.
