Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Caldo Gallego (Gallician soup)


Typical soup of the Gallician region northwest of Spain, this flavorful dish constitutes a meal in itself. You can modify this and use any meat or combination of meats and vegetables you desire and still maintain that Gallician flavor.

Ingredients:
  1 chicken breast (with bones)
  1 Spanish chorizo (cubed into 1/4" sizes)
  1 ham bone
  5 cloves garlic (diced)
  1 carrot (cubed into 1/4" sizes)
  1 large potato (cubed into 1/4" sizes)
  2 celery stalks chopped
  1 small cabbage (sliced)
  1 cup hot pepper leaves (sili leaves)
  1/4 cup olive oil
  2 mid sized tomatoes (cubed into 1/4" sizes)
  1 madium sized Spanish onion chopped
  1 tblsn. pimenton (red pepper powder)
  1 tspn. salt.
  dash of black pepper

Recipe:
In a soup pan, heat olive oil, pimenton, tomatoes, celery, onions, garlic, ham bone and chorizo. Once the garlic turns brown add carrots and 4-5 cups water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken breast. Turn heat on low to simmer for 45 minutes. Take the chicken breast out while adding the rest of the vegetables and cook for another 15 minutes. Debone the chicken, dice it and put it back on the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve while hot!

  

Monday, October 14, 2013

Beef Bok Choy with Pho Noodles


I discovered an easy economical 30 minute Vietnamese dish using a P60 package of Filipino beef tapa. First you have to purchase 2 strands of Tagalog Pechay costing P15 pesos and a P60 package of Pho rice noodles at your favorite Oriental store. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
  1 lb. of beef tapa sliced
  1/4 k or 1/2 package of Pho noodles
  2 tblspns. flour
  2 trands of bok choy (Tagalog pechay), sliced 1 inch long
  2-3 tblspns. oyster sauce
  1 tblspn. sesame oil
  2 tblespns. crushed dried hot peppers
  3 cloves of garlic, diced
  1/3 cup white wine
  dash of black pepper

Instructions:
Boil noodles for 3 to 4 minutes and set aside in a bowl. Mix the sliced beef with flour, hot peppers, garlic. Heat pan and pour 1/4 cup cooking oil and sesame oil and saute the beef for 2 minutes adding the oyster sauce. Add the white wine and stir until sauce thickens, then add the bok choy.  Continue stirring for about 2 minutes then add the black pepper. Pour the mixture over the noodles and serve while hot. Enjoy!


Saturday, October 5, 2013

Dining on a Banana Leaf


Picnics are a thrill especially in the days of my youth, and
dining on banana leaves brings me back to those memories. On the second floor of the Podium is a Thai/Singaporean/
Malaysian restaurant called Banana Leaf... and you literally dine on the leaf.

As you enter and sit on your table, you are given a free Roti bread with a dip to entice your palate. Our first order was the Tom Yum soup, similar to the Filipino version of Tamarind soup but instead, they use lemongrass for sourness. Next was their signature Garlic Crab dish where they pour mounds of sauteed garlic on the crab. I particularly loved the Grilled Pompano being an avid amateur fisherman myself. We also had their Curry Chicken, Pad Thai Noodles, Egg Rolls, Fried Calamares.

Average cost per entree is between 250 to 350 pesos except for the crab dish which was around 120 pesos per gram. A great place especially for a family dinner or just for two!