PORK ASADO

Today April 1, 2013 I made this "Pork Asado" which is different from the "Chicken Asado" I posted the other day. This is the sweet one and is usually used as filling for siopao asado.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kilo of Pork tenderloin
4 potatoes (quartered) (optional)
3 medium size onions (chopped)
1 head of garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
4 bay leaves (Laurel)
3 cups of vinegar
1 cup soy sauce (toyo)
cooking oil
salt to taste
2 red bell peppers (diced) (optional)
¼ cup of annatto water (optional if you want to have that reddish color)
3 tablespoon of tomato sauce (optional)
1 cup of brown sugar
2 ½ cups of water
1 tablespoon 5-spice powder
1 small can pineapple tidbits (optional)

PROCEDURE:

1. In a pot, put the pork, vinegar, pepper, 1 teaspoon of minced ginger, 5-spice powder, salt, bay leaves and soy sauce.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer until the pork is cooked.
3. In a pan, pour some oil and fry the potatoes. Set aside and in the same pan, saute garlic and onion. 
4. Add tomato sauce, sugar and ½ cup of water. Stir well.

5. In the pan, add the pork, bell pepper, annatto water, pineapple tidbits - depending on your taste, actually the dish is already sweet - and bring to a boil. Simmer for another 5 minutes finally remove from heat and serve.


HAPPY EATING!!!

CHICKEN ASADO

Last Saturday, March 30, my son Harold and his family Lenlen and kids Raizen and Reiyumi came for a visit at our home. I was at a loss on what to serve them because I want to cook something new that they haven't tasted yet which they will remember for a long time. So I thought of whipping up Chicken Asado or "Asadong Manok". This dish is not your usual kind of beef or pork asado which is sweeter in taste and just as reddish brown in color. This explanation I got from the internet and it says, "The recipe calls for the use of tomato sauce. In fact it is similar to chicken afritada. Cooking is fairly simple except for the frying of the marinated chicken and sautéing part everything is just stewing until done...because of the similarity with afritada it is most of the time mistaken as afritada. Chicken asado is more of a brownish red in color because of the use of more soy sauce. Chicken afritada is more of reddish orange color."   

The first time I cooked this dish was two years ago when I was looking for an alternative to the usual chicken dish like tinola, nilaga, afritada, adobo and the never ending taste of the fried chicken from the popular food chains in the country. When I looked at the recipe I was a bit puzzled at first, because I could not find any thing that could sweeten the dish (actually I got the explanation above from later research into the chicken asado recipe from various internet sites). The good thing about it was after cooking the dish and tasting the result I could highly recommend it as an alternative chicken dish that one can easily cook at home. 

When I asked my grand-daughter Reiyumi if she liked the chicken she just said, "That's why I'm eating it". She is a very picky eater and if she doesn't want the food she won't go beyond a mouthfull of it, but she enjoyed and ate heartily of the asadong manok which I prepared for the family, so is her brother Raizen.

INGREDIENTS:


1 k. chicken cut into serving pieces
¼ cup kalamansi juice
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
2 medium size onion (chopped)
½ head garlic (minced)
4 potatoes, quartered
3 pc. bay leaf
1.2 teaspoon spanish paprika (optional)
1 can pineapple tidbits (optional) 
salt and pepper
cooking oil
2-3 cups of chicken stock or water 

PROCEDURES:


1. In a bowl marinate chicken with kalamansi, soy sauce, salt and pepper for 10-20 minutes before cooking. 
 2. In a sauce pan fry chicken for 3-5 minutes or until colour turn to golden brown in batches. Remove from pan, set aside. 
3. In same sauce pan sauté garlic and onion, add in chicken, stir fry for 2-3 minutes, Add tomato sauce, paprika and bay leaf, stir cook for 1-2 minutes. 
4. Pour in 2-3 cups of water and simmer for 10-15 minutes. 
5. Add in potato and pineapple tidbits (optional) then simmer for another 5-10 minutes or until chicken and potato are cooked and tender. Serve hot.

As you can see I added some optional ingredients to the dish like Spanish paprika which I like to use sparingly in my dish specially when it involves tomato paste or sauce except on spaghetti. Another one is the pineapple tidbits, you see in my childhood I wouldn't even think of eating adobo with pineapple tidbits. Because as I believed then pineapples are for dessert.

 HAPPY EATING!!!

CLASSIC RESTAURANT FRIED RICE

Fried rice comes in many forms and taste. Filipino fried rice has a more garlicky taste. I tried to fry my rice once using ginger as one of my main ingredients and it taste differently from the regular fried rice and I like it's exotic taste. But unfortunately I was the only one who appreciated it. My family like to eat the regular stuff made by sauteing garlic and for the flavoring either salt or soy sauce to give that reddish glow. You know much like that soy sauce T.V. commercial of Manny Pacquiao together with mom Dionisia.

Anyway this one is more westernized with its green peas and carrot and I tried this so many times. My wife called it "chao fan" after the fried rice of Chow King because I added minced or cube pork. This fried rice is a bit yellowish because of the egg. Try this sometimes the kids would love it.

Ingredients:

1 cup green peas fresh or packed
1 cup carrots cut into small cubes
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup pork (cubed or minced)
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground pepper
seasoning (optional)

Procedures:

In a small saucepan boil 1 cup of pork minced or cubed. When done take the pork then boil in the pork stock 1 cup of green peas and 1 cup cubed carrot. Heat a wok and saute garlic till it turns a bit brownish add the pork stirring constantly then add beans, carrot and rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the egg slowly while stirring the rice to make the absorption evenly. When everything is cooked and the rice turns to to a light yellow color turn off the heat then serve. Best serve for breakfast together with longganisa, tocino or tapa and even with fried fish like tinapa, daing or even tuyo.

HAPPY EATING!!!

CHICKEN CURRY

This is one dish that I like, not only to eat but also to cook, it's one of my fave. Made this one last March 19, 2013 for our lunch.

You know there are so many ways to cook this dish. But the one I'd like most is using coconut milk extract to boil the ingredients and adding pineapple tidbits to the whole dish thus enhancing the sweetness of the coconut.

Some people like to pre-fry their chicken and potatos to make it looks appetizing. But I don't. I just want to put them all into a saucepan and boil the lot. Here's how I do it.

 Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp. oil

3 potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 lb. chicken, cut into serving pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, sliced thinly

1 tbsp. fish sauce (patis)

3 tbsp. curry powder

salt and pepper

1 cup coconut 1st extract (kakang gata)

2 cups coconut 2nd extract

1 small can of pineapple tidbits

3 long green pepper (siling berde panggisa)

Procedure:

In a shallow saucepan pour 2nd extract of the coconut milk, add garlic, onion, chicken and fish sauce. Cover and bring to a boil. Season with curry powder, salt and pepper. Stir for 2 minutes. Lower the heat; add bell peppers and potatoes. Simmer for 3 minutes or until half done. Add the coconut 1st extract or kakang gata together with the pineapple tidbits and simmer again for another 7 minutes or until the coconut is well cooked. Remove from heat. Serve hot.

HAPPY EATING!!!