foodpassions

Siacoy

2013-10-04T15:08:00.004+08:00

This is one of my favorite childhood snacks. My mother was an expert maker of Siacoy but since I was only 5 years old that time I was not interested to know what she was doing, all I wanted to do was to eat and play. To this day I regretted for not getting the recipe from her. I was away and spent two decades abroad and I never bothered asking other favorite recipes from her.. I searched some recipes from the internet because this recipe is not available in local baking books. The recipes are not the same but nevertheless it was succesful

This was an experimental recipe, I was not satisfied with the taste(my Mom's siacoy was much better than mine) but I was glad because the dough have risen perfectly and the siacoy was soft.

SIACOY

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour (1/2 cup flour extra or more for dusting).
1.2 tsp salt
1 tbsp activey dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp. oil
1 1/2 cup cooking oil (for deep frying)

Procedure:

Mix flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.
Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside for 5-10 minutes until frothy. Stir and add to the flour mixture.Add oil. Mix and knead until smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and placed in a deep bowl covered. Let rise until double in size for about 1 hour. Punch down dough, knead on a floured surface and form into a log. Cut into pieces, Roll each piece to a long stick and twist. Place on on a baking sheet covered and let rise for another hour.
Heat oil in a frying pan, Drop each piece about 2 pcs at a time'don't overcrowd, Cook each side until light brown. Drain and sprinkle with sugar.

Dough after kneading

double in size after an hour

Punching the dough

Shaped to a log

cut into pieces

Twisted

Sprinkled with white sugar

Finished product

Chicken Inasal (Chicken Barbecue)

2011-10-09T13:23:00.000+08:00

Chicken Inasal

Lemon Grass

Achuete Oil

Annato Seeds

This is my first blog post since July 9 due to virus problems in my computer. I missed blogging and also missed posting the different dishes that I cooked for over three months.

This time my recipe is called Chicken Inasal (grilled roasted in charcoal) I marinated four pieces chicken breasts with wings attached overnight. Marinade consisted of 2 cups of sprite or 7-up, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 2 tbsp. brown sugar, some minced garlic, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, dash of pepper, 1 tbsp. rock salt and 1 small bunch of lemon grass (white portion only). Marinade chicken at room temperature for an hour then keep it refrigerated overnight. The next day, grill on charcoal. Rub with achuete oil.while grilling.

To prepare annato oil: In a small pan heat about 3 tbsp. oil and 3 tbsp achuete seeds. Simmer in medium fire for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and leave for sometime and stir until the oil turns red in color, let cool and discard marinade.

Note: Lemongrass is optional, if its not available, you can use a thumb-size ginger instead.

Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omellete)

2011-07-09T19:25:00.001+08:00

the broiled eggplant(black color) the peeled eggplant(middle) and the flattened one

Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omellete)

Eggplant is one of my favorite veggies. This recipe is quite easy. The messy part is when you grill and peel the skin off the eggplant. This recipe is a popular Philippine dish.

Recipe:
3 eggplants (long variety)
1 large egg, beaten
dash of salt & pepper
1/2 cup oil for frying

Procedure

Pierce the eggplant with a fork (3 on each sides). Cook the eggplants in many ways, you can broil it on a grill or open flame or by boiling until eggplant is soft. Turn eggplants on every side to char the skin until wilted. Cool the eggplants before you peel off the skin, retain the stem for easy handling during frying.

Flatten the eggplant by fork, set aside. Beat egg and season with salt & pepper. Heat oil in a medium pan. Dip each flattened eggplant one at a time in the egg mixture and slowly slide it into the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides.

Banana Chocolate Bread

2011-07-06T06:08:00.000+08:00

I always use over riped bananas with freckles or black spots. Banana Cake or banana bread? Can't tell the difference. They all have the same ingredients except baking powder which is one ingredient for banana cake.

Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup veg, oil
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup Mix-ins: pecan, walnuts nuts, chocolate chips of your choice(optional)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F (150C)
2. Beat sugar, eggs,and oil at medium speed until combined. Beat in mashed bananas and vanilla at low speed
3. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa. baking soda and salt and beat into banana mixture at low speed just until well combined. You can add nuts if you want. Mix batter.
4. Spoon batter into a loaf pan.
5. Bake 1 hour or insert a toothpick to test if cooked. Remove from oven immediately. Cool on rack.

Happy Eating.

Tonkatsu Chicken with Java Rice

2011-07-03T10:38:00.000+08:00

TONKATSU CHICKEN

Chicken Breast Fillet

Bread Crumbs

Tonkatsu with Java Rice

Ingredients:
3 pcs. chicken breasts, flatten each
1 egg beaten
dash of salt
dash of pepper
flour and breadcrumbs about 1/2 cup each for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

Procedure
Flatten chicken breasts, dash of salt and pepper on the chicken, dredge it in flour.to coat all over.
Dip each meat into the beaten egg and dredge with bread crumbs all over. Put meat in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Dip fry the chicken meat on a medium heat, careful not to burn the meat. Fry until medium brown.
Serve hot with Java Rice or Fried, steam rice of your choice. You can also dip in your favorite teriyaki sauce.

Vegetable Stir-Fry

2011-06-27T07:09:00.002+08:00

style of cutting sayote and carrots

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pork or chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 pc. Sayote, sliced diagonally
3 leaves Napa cabbage, sliced 1 inch size
1 pc. small carrot, sliced diagonally
1 onion, minced
1 head garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
dash of pepper
dash of salt
1 tsp white sugar
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce or 1 tbsp soy sauce
Method:
Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a wok or a shallow pan. Add ginger, onions and garlic, saute for a few seconds. Add in the pork stir fry a few seconds, then pour in water and cover, let simmer for 3 minutes. Add sayote, carrot, cover about 2 min. Then season with salt, pepper, sugar and oyster sauce or soy sauce. Add lastly the napa cabbage.Mix a few seconds. Remove from heat. Don't cover the pan so veggies will not be soggy and overcooked. Serve hot.

Chicken Soup with Sotanghon Noodles

2011-06-24T11:52:00.001+08:00

Chinese Napa Cabbage

Chicken Breast

Green thread noodles are available in supermarkets.

a piece of the sotanghon (Bean Thread or Cellophane, or Glass Noodles) It is thin and transparent, slippery when cooked.

Chicken with Sotanghon Noodles

Napa Cabbage

This week I've been cooking different types of soups because of the rainy season to keep me warm. Sotanghon is the Philippine name for Bean Thread noodles.

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Breast fillet, sliced diagonally or thinly sliced or cooked shredded chicken about a cup
4 cups water
1 part of sotanghon noodles (about 150 gms)
5 leaves of Napa cabbage, sliced diagonally
1 small carrot, sliced diagonally
1 stalk celery, diced
slices of ginger
1 clove garlic minced
1 chicken knorr cubes
1 tsp. salt
a drizzle of sesame oil
dash of pepper
chopped green onions
2 tbsp oil

Procedure:

Saute in oil ginger, garlic in low heat to avoid burning the garlic, then add chicken, stir fry a little bit, add water, cover and let boil. Then add the noodles, salt, and cover. Once its boiling, stir a little bit to separate the noodles. Add chicken cubes, salt and dash of pepper. Add the carrots, celery and sliced cabbage. Turn off heat. Serve hot and garnish with green onions on top.

Note: I don't pre-soaked my noodles when I use it in soups. You can add some more water for the soup if you find that the water has been absorbed by the noodles, and check the taste once more. Add seasonings to your taste.

Clams Mallungay or Spinach Soup

2011-06-24T10:48:00.000+08:00

It's been raining the past few days. According to the weather forecast, the typhoon has left the country but another storm is expected to enter the country soon. Well, I need to cook something hot and steamy for lunch. My brother gave me a kilo of clams. Timing is perfect.

Here's the recipe:
1 kg. fresh clams
3 cups water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 thumb sized ginger, sliced thinly
1 small onions, minced
a bunch of mallungay or spinach
salt to taste dash of pepper
1 tbsp oil

Method:
Wash the clams in water. Drain.

Heat oil in a deep pan, saute ginger, garlic, onions for a few seconds. Add clams and pour 3 cups water. Cover and let boil. Add mallungay or spinach immediately. Turn off heat and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Lumpia or Eggroll Wrapping 101

2011-06-21T10:51:00.001+08:00

Here's a simple trick to wrap your springrolls, eggrolls, lumpia shanghai etc. Just follow the steps below and you are on your way to making your own springrolls. You can buy it in two shapes, one is square shape which is available in Asian grocery or Asian sections of supermarkets and the other is round shape commonly sold in the Philippines. If you are a beginner then simply defrost the pastry wrapper first. Then separate the pastry carefully one by one or you'll end up tearing the pastry. I'd drawn the illustrations below, so not perfectly a gifted artist LOL, but at least I made my own effort.

Place square with one corner towards you. Put 2 tbsp of the filling at the center of the pastry. Then fold bottom corner up.

Fold the side corners gently.

Roll tightly and brush the open flap with beaten egg. to seal the rolls.

Note: Prepare your own filling, it can be veggies or purely meat. Wrap and dip fry in hot oil.

Meatballs with Spinach

2011-06-21T10:17:00.000+08:00

Delicious meatballs can be prepared as baked or deep fried or can be eaten as appetizers, as spaghetti mix, or meatball stew with tomato sauce, or with some veggies. I like mine as toppings for stir fried spinach. Try this simple recipe

Meatballs on a bed of Spinach

Ingredients:
1 lb minced pork or beef
1 tbsp chopped onions
1 egg
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 lbs spinach fresh
1 tsp. cornflour and 1 tbsp cold water (blend well)
dash of salt, ground pepper
2 tbsp. oyster sauce

Wash and pick over the spinach. Drain. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine pork or beef and chives, egg and soy sauce. Mix well till mixture binds together. Shape into 8 balls.

In a pan heat1 tbsp oil and stir fry spinach quickly about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat oil, add meatballs and fry over medium heat turning occasionally till browned. Add water and bring to boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes Pour blended cornflour to the meatballs mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens. If too dry, add a little water. Season with salt, pepper, sesame oil and oyster sauce.

Arrange the spinach on a serving dish and place the meatballs on top and spoon the sauce over the meatballs.

Variations of Chiffon Cakes

2011-06-15T11:44:00.001+08:00

This is to continue my series about chiffon cakes. My sis said why am I so obsessed with chiffon cakes. I usually advise my friends who asked me to teach them how to bake a cake. For first timers, bake simple cakes first, simple means you don't have to separate the egg yolks from white which is the toughest part when you're a neophyte baker. Underbeating egg whites will not produce a good meringue and this will make your sponge a flop, its either it will not rise or it will collapse.

Then when you became a master in chiffon making, baking will just be a lot easier, you will have more confidence and have the guts to try, experiment and do other complicated cakes. Chiffon cakes are a mark of American culinary achievement. These cakes with their characterestics airiness such as Angel, Sunshine, Chiffon which are always cooked in Tube Pans.

Half and Half Chiffon Cake

Pink and White Marbled Chiffon Cake

Coffee Chiffon Cake

I will post the recipes later.

Lumpia (Springroll)

2011-06-10T07:53:00.000+08:00

Lumpia or springroll has always been a favorite dish of mine. I make dozens of lumpia and keep it in the freezer.

Tawge (Mung Beans Sprouts)

Sweet Potato

Lumpia Wrappers

Fried Lumpia

Ingredients:

1/4 kg. mung beans sprouts (tawge)
1 pc. garlic, minced
1 pc. small camote (sweet potato), sliced diagonally
1 small pc. carrots, sliced diagonally
dash of pepper, salt, msg
pastry Wrapper
1 cup or more Oil for frying

Procedure:
Saute garlic in 2 tbsp. oil, add sweet potatoes, carrots and lastly the sprouts. Stir fry for a few minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Don't overcook the veggies. Turn off heat. Remove veggies immediately. Cool veggies before wrapping.

Lay wrapper on a flat surface. Put about 2 tbsp. of the veggies on the pastry wrapper. Roll and tuck both ends. Dip fry in deep hot oil about 3 pcs. at a time or until light golden. Drain on paper towel.

Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup whitevinegar

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 chili, crushed

1 tbsp. white sugar

dash of pepper

dash of salt

Mix all ingredients, stirring thoroughly until sugar dissolves.

Note: If bean sprouts is not available, you can replace it with a half head of cabbage, sliced finely.

Sweet and Sour Fish

2011-06-10T07:16:00.001+08:00

Tilapia Fish or you can use any fish of your choice. Make sure fish is fresh and properly cleaned.

Carrots, onions, ginger, garlic

Sweet n Sour Sauce

Sweet and Sour Fish

Ingredients:

1 whole fish Tilapia

1 carrot, juliened

1 onion sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 thumb size ginger, juliened

1 medium tomato, sliced

For the sauce:

1/2 tsp salt

dash of pepper

2 tbsp. vinegar

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1/3 cup catsup

1 cup water

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup cooking oil for frying

Procedure:

1. Wash and clean fish, remove scales and guts. Wash properly, make 2 diagonal slits on each side of the fish then rub with salt.

2. Deep fry fish in cooking oil until fish is crispy on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. In a deep bowl, combine ketchup, water, vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, soy sauce and cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.

4. In a separate saucepan, saute in 2 tbsp. oil, ginger, garlic, add fry carrots, onions and sliced tomatoes for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

5. On the same pan, pour the prepared sauce ketchup-vinegar, bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and pour all over the fried fish or you can pour the sause later or before serving to retain the crispness of the fish.

Note: you can veggies like mushrooms, bell peppers, pineapple chunks.

Angel Chiffon Cake

2011-06-08T16:03:00.000+08:00

This is the second series of my topic about Chiffon Cakes.

Chiffon and Angel cakes are baked in tube pans. When I was in the US I had a hard time “pan shopping” for pans, so my sister ordered directly from the pan manufacturers such as Wilton. We waited for about two weeks before our orders arrived. Here in the Philippines the tube aluminum pan is easy to find.

I have 2 tube pans in my dozens of baking cookware. I seldom use this pan except for special occasions like birthdays & christmas holidays. It is easy to order special cakes in bakeries or cake shops but angel and chiffon cakes are no longer made in bakeshops, so making your own angel or chiffon cake is something special.
Tube pan and electric mixer are essential gadgets in making this kind of cakes. Don’t ever buy a non-stick pan as I did before or you’ll end up baking a fallen angel. The cake will collapse as it will not cling to the tube and sides of the pan. Do not grease the pan. I have posted a chiffon cake recipe in this blog.

What do you do with your egg whites??? Here’s the recipe for Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake Recipe

12 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups white sugar, divided
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp salt

Oven Temp ~ 375° Ore-heat oven
Cake Baking Time ~ 30 - 40 Min. Pan Type ~ 10 x 3 3/4-inch - Angel Food cake pan

Directions:

In large bowl, using a mixer, beat egg whites with cream of tartar at high speed until foamy. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are glossy and stand in soft peaks. Beat in flavorings.Sift together flour, remaining sugar and salt. Sift about 1/2 cup of the flour mixture over whites and gently fold just until flour disappears.
Repeat, folding in remaining flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Pour into ungreased 10 x 3 3/4-inch Angel Food pan. Gently cut through batter with metal spatula.Bake in preheated oven until top springs back when lightly touched with finger. Remove from oven immediately and invert cake as soon as possible to maintain its volume and to keep it from shrinking. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. With narrow spatula or knife, loosen cake from pan and gently shake onto serving plate.Top with fruit or frost, if desired.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake Recipe:

Omit almond extract and increase vanilla to 2 teaspoons. Reduce flour to 2/3 cup and sift in 1/3 cup Cocoa Powder. Prepare batter and bake as above.
Yield: 12 servings - 1 (10-inch) cake

Chiffon Cakes Basics & History

2011-06-08T15:40:00.000+08:00

Use the funnel or bottle method (softdrink bottle), if the cake has risen higher than the feet of the pan, to avoid mashing the cake down. Cooling of chiffon cakes upside doen over a funnel or bottle, is to keep the cake light and light.

Tips on making Chiffon Cakes:

* Have eggs at room temperature, to get the maximum volume when you beat them.

* Beat egg whites in a dry mixing bowl.

* Once the cake is done, remove the pan immediately from the oven and invert it to cool the cake.

* When completely cool, loosen cake around the edges and the tube sides. Use a serrated knife to slice the cake.

* Place circles of waxed paper on the bottom of the pan, but don't grease the sides. The cake clings to them to rise.

The Origin of Chiffon Cake

In the baking world, chiffon cake once had it all.

It had history. It had glamour. It had a secret ingredient. It even had publicity agents.
General Mills introduced the chiffon cake to the world in 1948 with the headline "The first really new cake in 100 years!" It was so big, sales of cake flour went up 20 percent.
And then, like an escaped party balloon, chiffon cake drifted away. No more orange cake with glaze down the sides. No more tall cakes lording over the bake sale.
Why should we breathe life back into the chiffon cake? Well, it's quick. If you're not intimidated by separating eggs and whipping egg whites, you can put together a chiffon cake almost as fast as you can make a cake from a mix.
But maybe the real reason we should rescue the chiffon cake is just because it deserves it. Because it's light and not too sweet and it looks great on a cake stand.

INVENTED BY AN INSURANCE AGENT
Who knows who made the first chocolate cake or fruitcake? But chiffon cake is different. It was invented by an insurance agent in Los Angeles. His name, believe it or not: Harry Baker.
Baking was Baker's hobby. In 1927, he came up with an unusual cake. It was light and fluffy, more tender than angel food, more flavorful than sponge cake. It became the toast of Hollywood. Baker sold it to stars for their parties, and he made cakes for the Brown Derby restaurant.
The cake got so popular, Baker was selling as many as 40 a day. For 20 years, he wouldn't tell the secret ingredient. Finally, in 1947, he agreed to sell the recipe to General Mills, so "Betty Crocker could give the secret to the women of America."
Jean Anderson researched the story for her book, "The American Century Cookbook." General Mills tinkered with the recipe for about a year before releasing it.
"Knowing home economists," she says, "they probably made it foolproof."
When the company finally released the secret recipe in the May 1948 Better Homes and Gardens magazine, it did it with a splash. Calling it "high, light and handsome," General Mills declared the cake "light as angel food, rich as butter cake."
The secret, it turned out, was vegetable oil. Baker had replaced the usual butter with oil and skipped the step of creaming butter. Instead, you make a flavored batter, and then you fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. The egg whites puff up in the oven, making a tall, fluffy cake.
You can also make it in almost any flavor. Through the 1950s, General Mills sponsored chiffon cake contests. People came up with rainbows of flavors _ orange, lemon, walnut, marble, coconut.

HEYDAY IN 1950s, `60s
Through the 1950s and `60s, chiffon was the cake to make.
"It was terribly, terribly, terribly fashionable," Anderson says. "Everybody was doing it," particularly lemon and orange.
She thinks the idea of a secret recipe originally attracted people, "Whenever there is a secret recipe, everybody has to have it," she says, like Mamie Eisenhower's fudge or the Waldorf Astoria cake.
"But this cake was a really good cake. It was such an impressive cake. It was a showy, show-offy cake."
General Mills tinkered for a decade and came out with a chiffon cake mix in 1958. But it really wasn't necessary. Chiffon cake's beauty was its simplicity.
It's easy to put together, Anderson says, and it doesn't even need frosting.
"I frankly think chiffon cake doesn't need a thing. I like it straight up. Maybe with a scoop of ice cream on top."

TWO TRICKS TO MAKING IT RIGHT
There are only two tricks to making chiffon cake. The first is beating egg whites. If the egg whites aren't stiff enough, the cake will be tough.
The other trick is using cake flour, which is lighter. The original General Mills recipe was developed using Softasilk, although any cake flour, such as Swansdown, will work.
Although the cake is best known as a tube cake, made in an angel food pan, it can also be baked as a layer cake. Just line the bottom of the pan with waxed paper and cool the cake in the pan upside down.
The pan is ungreased, so the cake can cling to the sides while it bakes. And the pan is always cooled upside down, so the cake doesn't flatten. Stand the tube pan over a funnel or a small-necked bottle until it's completely cool.

Chiffon Pans

Chicken Lollipop

2011-06-04T09:35:00.000+08:00

Chicken Lollipop

Dredge in flour

Cut joints of chicken wings & scrape, push meat down to form a ball.

Chicken Lollipops

10 pcs. chicken wings (upper portion of the wings)
Apply salt n pepper to the chicken
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper

Dredging mixture:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. garlic powder
dash of red chillis (optional)
Procedure
Cut chicken at the joints. Pull skin and scrape the meat and push it down to the other end of the joint to form a ball. Set aside. Reserve the ther parts for soup or other purposes.
Marinate chicken with salt and pepper for half an hour Mix the dredging mixture. Combine the chicken and coating mixture. Let rest for half an hour. In deep pan, dip fry chicken over medium heat until golden brown. Serve hot with your fave dips

Guava Jelly

2011-06-04T08:42:00.000+08:00

The Making of Guava Jelly

The finished product!

We made five bottles..
Beautiful & pungent smell...

Bottles of Guava Jelly

Fresh Guava Fruit

Guavas are one of the rich sources of Vitamin C. They contain more than 5 times Vitamin C as oranges or fruits listed in the vitamin C categories. They are cheap when in season. For two consecutive days, my brother gave me a bagful of native guavas. My sister suggested that I make a guava jelly.

The pictures shown above is a testimony that we were able to perfect the guava jelly.The smell of guava was overpowering that our next door neighbors where curious as to where the pungent smell is coming from.

Choose green and ripe guavas. Wash and slice into halves. To every kilo of guava, add 2 litres of cold water, cheese cloth, let it drip (overnight), do not squeeze the bag to obtain a clear juice. To every cup of juice extract, add 3/4 cup white sugar. Boil once to dissolve the sugar. Cook over high heat until a soft ball is formed when the jelly is dropped in a cup of water. Immediately pour into sterilized dry glass jars. Let cool before covering the bottles.

To sterilize bottles: Wash bottles with soap and water. Rinse properly. Place the bottles in a pot and cover with water. Bottles may stand up or lie on their sides. Bring water to a boil for about 20 minutes. Remove the bottles immediately and drain.

Now it's ready to be used as spread on crackers and brea

Marble Pound Cake

2011-06-04T07:53:00.000+08:00

Marble Pound Cake

MARBLE POUND CAKE

I made a Marble Pound Cake today using a 10-inch tube pan instead of a loaf pan and it turned out well.

Here's the recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter, at room temp.

1 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 ounces chocolate bittersweet, melted & cooled

Procesure:

Preheat oven to 325 deg. Butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix and beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla and mix gently.

Transfer half of the mixture in another bowl and add the melted chocolate. Blend well.

Alternate large spoonful of dark and light batters in the pan. To marble: Run a knife through the batters. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. Remove cake from oven and let cool and rest for about 30 minutes. Run a knife both sides of the pan and turn the cake out to cool.

My Baking Gadgets

2011-06-02T13:08:00.000+08:00

Dough Scraper

5 sets of Egg Separator - I use the above gadgets to separate the egg whites from the yolk.

Four sets of measuring spoons

Set of measuring cups

Few kitchen gadgets that makes my baking easier.

Sinigang Na Isda (Fish in Sour Soup)

2011-05-24T11:10:00.000+08:00

The vegetables and other souring agents for the soup

Fresh Fish (the real Maya-Maya) which cost 200 pesos per kilo in the wet market

Cooked Fish Sinigang

Fish Sinigang is a famous Filipino recipe. The broth is flavored by any souring agents like kamias, tamarind, vinegar, lemon or kalamansi. and lots of ripe tomaties. The ways to cook it varies from the different regions in the country and to the taste of the individual. In Visayas and some places in Mindanao they add tanglad (lemongrass) and lots of ginger for a more flavorful taste. The kind of fish to cook depends on your choice of taste, the quality and freshness of the fish. As for veggies, it varies to what is customary and seasonal veggies available.

Mustasa, okra, stringbeans, pechay (bokchoy), mallunggay leaves, kangkong, eggplant, radish and camote tops are best plus don;t forget to add finger chili. I like the hot flavor.

Ingredients:

3 pcs sliced fish
1 pc. onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
calamansi juice (optional)
kangkong, sitaw, okra, radish, etc
2 pcs. tomatoes, sliced
2 pcs. sili pang sinigang (finger chili)
Water about 3-4 cups
salt
oil
ginger,sliced
2 tbsp cooking oil

Procedure:
In hot oil saute garlic,onions, ginger,tomatoes. Add water and let boil. Add the fish and let simmer. When fish is half-cooked add okra, sitaw. Season with salt Lastly add the chili. Remove from fire. Serve hot.
TIPS:
1. Rub fish with some salt.
2. Use rice washing as soup stock or you can use plain water.
3. Souring agents (tamarind, Kamias, vinegar)

Tricks on Cooking Rice

2011-05-14T08:38:00.000+08:00

water should reach the first line of your knuckle

You can cook rice by this nethod as shown in the photos. First you have to find a good variety like Jasmine or Japanese rice, Basmati etc.
1. Measure rice in cups, the size of pot depends on the amount of rice that you will cook. For example 2 cups of rice serves 4 persons.
2. In a pot, put rice and rinse in cold water 2 times by moving your fingers through the rice then drain.
3. Add water to the rice and measure the knuckle test as shown in the photos above, the first kunckle (don't dip your fingers in the bottom of the pot, middle fingertip will just dip on the surface of the rice.
4. If you're using the rice cooker - wipe the pot dry, set the rice to cook setting. If electric or gas stove bring the rice to boil, covered, when it boils uncover it then stir it once, then cover it and turn the heat to the lowest setting for about 10 min. Avoid burning the rice.
Fluuf rice before serving. You can also make fried rice.

Sitting Chicken (Pinaupong Manok)

2011-05-10T17:27:00.000+08:00

Pinaupong Manok (Sitting Chicken)

This is a Philippine dish that I haven't cook for many years now. It was simply disregarded and completely forgotten in my recipe box. This morning as I was dusting and sorting my files, I found this recipe tucked in a cookbook.. A Kapangpangan friend of mine handed this recipe to me 10 years ago).There is a traditional way of cooking this chicken (without water, just let the chicken sit on the bed of salt and steam it) but I prefer my recipe with 7-up. Note: You can lay the dressed chicken in a lying position, not literally on a sitting position.

Pinaupong Manok Recipe
Ingredients:
1 whole dressed chicken
1 bottle 7-up or sprite
1 pc. onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 pcs. whole peppercorn
3 pcs. calamansi or 1pc. lemon juice
1 pc. chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup margarine or butter
achute for coloring or 3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp. salt.
Procedure:
In a deep pan, boil chicken with 7-up, onions, calamansi or lemon juice, chicken cube, margarine and salt, enough water to cover the chicken. Cook in medium fire until chicken is tender. Cook for about 1 hour for a kilo of chicken. Let chicken sit in the pan for 30 minutes. Remove from pan Make sure to lift the chicken carefully to avoid breaking the body of the chicken. Reserve soup for sauce, You can actually thicken the sauce bymixing 2 tbsp cornstarch dispersed in 3 tbsp cold water and heat the sauce in low fire until it thickens. Remove from heat to avoid burning the sauce.