It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve been back in the kitchen and have been cooking weeknight dinners but have not been able to take pictures. Tonight I made sure to take pictures. This is tonight’s dinner (which I didn’t cook haha). The Girl cooked this wonderful stuffed eggplant. Eggplants are one of our favorite vegetables in this house. Tortang Talong is a very weeknight dinner. It’s easy to make and quite stuffing. I’m so full right now as I’m writing this post.

Amounts serves 2-4 people (depending how hungry you are)

Ingredients:
2 Asian eggplants
1/2 medium white onion diced
1 medium tomato diced
1 stalk scallion
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

1. Broil the eggplants until the skin is crispy. To make it easier to peel the skin. This takes about 5-6 minutes.
2. Let the eggplant cool down before peeling.
3. Peel. Take a fork to flatten and spread the eggplant.
4. Place the diced tomatoes, onions, and scallions on top.

5. Beat the egg in a bowl (use 1 egg per eggplant). Pour the egg over the eggplant.
6. Heat the oil medium-high and slide in the eggplant from the plate into the pan. The Girl’s tip: Sliding the eggplant from the plate prevents oil splashing.

7. Cook until the eggs are set and it looks golden brown (or a little darker if you want a little bit more crispier).

Thanks for cooking dinner tonight babe!

Eat Filipino Food!

One of the exciting things here that I found are the markets. The last couple of weekends I’ve gone to two markets and had lunch. The first one is Borough Market which has been around since the 13th century and is frequented by the local chefs, foodies and practically everyone.

It’s winter so most of the goods that the farmer’s had were root veggies and these huge lettuce

When I saw this I knew this was what I was going to have for lunch. It looked ridiculously good Cheeeeese!

Here’s the raclette: melted cheese over potatoes and pickled baby cucumber and pearl onions. Yum!

Everything here is extremely fresh….which one do you want? Pheasant, duck, rabbit, hare or the deer? I can still almost see the heart beating in these animals haha. I think you can adobo and sinigang anyone of these Adobo Pheasant now that would be something I need to make.

It was raining all day yesterday and I didn’t feel like going out in the rain too much. However, today was really nice so I went to the Mayfair Farmer’s Market which is close to where I’m staying.

They had quite a variety of honeys, fresh meats, and vegetables. I got a bottle of apple and black currant juice. Haven’t tasted it yet but I will open it very soon and post an update here.

One of the meat vendors was selling a lamb sandwich which looked ridiculously good so I had to try it. It was lamb, spinach, chili sauce, apricot chutney and pineapple chutney on a ciabatta bread. It was a fantastic lunch!

It’s been great to explore the markets here in London. If anyone has info on where to get good Filipino food in London let me know. I’m here for a few more days.

Friday night dinner is a ritual for The Girl and I to take time and eat and enjoy the meal and not rush. In the last few months everything has been extremely hectic and busy that I have not had many chances to cook meals. Friday night is the only time her and I can sit down and enjoy a meal. Tonight, I cooked fried butterfish and she made a quick pickle of cucumbers and tomatoes. 20 course tasting menus at fancy restaurants have their place but I’ve found that it’s the simple meals with the ones that you love that always become the best meals. I call this a poor man’s friday night dinner but it makes you feel like a million bucks when you’re eating it with loved ones.

What did you have for dinner tonight? Who did you eat it with?

Ingredients:
1 lamb shank
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup palm vinegar
1 tbsp peppercorn
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 head of garlic (i like garlic you can reduce if you don’t want too much garlicky taste)
water
2 sprigs cilantro for garnish (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients in a pot an add enough water to cover the lamb
2. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 1 hour or until the meat is tender
3. Remove lamb shank from pot and reduce the sauce
4. Return lamb shank to pot
At this point you can either serve and eat or let cool and store in refrigerator for later consumption. To reheat just put in a pot and bring to a simmer for about

Eat Filipino Food!

It’s only been a couple of weeks but not having been able to be in the kitchen has been very weird. It’s like something is different. It’s almost like I’m wearing the wrong size shoe. I’m sure I’ll be able to find a solution for it along the very soon. Please keep the communication lines open.

Eat Filipino Food!

In this episode, The Girl shows us how to make a great snack, fried bananas.

I’m extremely happy that after a little over a year of blogging my goal of sharing Filipino food with everyone is definitely in full motion. That’s thanks to all you guys who read, subscribe comment, email, and message. It’s very much appreciated and it really does help me keep up with the posts even if I’m swamped with work. If you weren’t able to listen to the show liveclick here to listen to the recording. You can also listen to past episodes of The Recipe Box and you might pick up a thing or two for your next dinner.

Eat Filipino Food!

Hello!! It’s been a while. I’ve missed you guys. In this epsiode, I made ukoy (shrimp fritters). Perfect for an appetizer or with beer while watching the game. This recipe is from the restaurant Cendrillon in Manhattan. Cendrillon is no more so I’m sad and that’s why I’m making this dish. Don’t worry they are moving to Brooklyn as a new restaurant called Purple Yam. I hope you like it.

Batter:
3/4 cup rice flour
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup water

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat the egg together with the water. Mix the dry and wet ingredients and until smooth. Let cool in the fridge for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Filling:
1 cup shrimps
1 cup leeks white part julienned
1 cup carrots julienned
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup snow peas julienned
1 cup cabbage julienned

frying oil
4-inch square banana leaf

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl. Pour enough batter just to coat. Having too much batter will make the ukoy cake-y unless that’s what you want (not my kind of thing). Oil one side of the banana leaf. Place banana leaf on a spider and put a little bit of the mixture on top. Fry in 300-350 degree F oil. After about 1 minute of so take the banana leaf out. Continue frying for about 1 minute. Then flip over. Serve with vinegar, garlic, and salt sauce. Or eat with achara.

Eat Filipino Food!

For a sneak preview and insider look on the show tonight check out these links:
No Reservations - Travel Channel site
Sneak Peak
Tony with MarketManila in Cebu

Can’t wait to see Tony Eat Filipino Food!