Luto Ni Nanay

Congee Using Leftover Rice

2021-02-20T22:33:00.000-08:00

I always hear from my mother, “do not waste food.” She is indeed right. Foods are blessings from God, not to be wasted but to be shared and enjoyed.

If you remember the bible story when Jesus feeds the 5000, Jesus thought us not to waste anything. Even if He can recreate the miracle of food production, He did not consider those foods less important.

“When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” —John 6:12

With that in mind, I do all my best to cook enough (not too much) for a family of three. Any leftover will definitely not go to bin. New recipe can be made out of yesterday’s food if not serve again.

Today’s Recipe “Congee Using Leftover Rice”

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoon rapeseed oil (vegetable or sunflower oil will do)

10 gloves of garlic, chopped

1 medium size onion, chopped

2 tablespoons sliced ginger, julienned
3 cups rice, cooked
1.2 litre water
2 tablespoons of fish sauce

2 chicken cubes

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon safflower / kasubha (optional)
Salt and pepper
Spring onion, for garnish

METHOD:

STEP 1

In a small pan, fry garlic until brown. Set aside 1/2 of it some of it for toppings. Add onion and ginger. Sauté for another minute or two.

STEP 2

Stir in the cooked rice and fish sauce. Then add water and chicken cubes. Bring to boil and reduce to low heat to simmer for 20-30 minutes. Occasionally stir the rice to avoid sticking at the bottom of the pot. You may need to add more water as to your desired consistency.

STEP 3
You can served lugaw (congee with your favourite side dish like spring roll, tofu or boiled eggs.

KITCHEN TIPS

How to avoid wasting food:

1. Do food inventory before shopping so you will only buy what you need.

2. Make meal plan and try to use whatever ingredients you have in the cupboard or fridge.

3. Stick to your grocery list when shopping. You are not only avoiding to buy unnecessary stuffs but also you are saving a lot of time and money.

4. Avoid bulk buying. There is no value to that if you don’t really need it or use it often. You will just waste money, not to mention a space in your storage.

5. After shopping, store foods accordingly and properly. Freeze perishable good,if possible, to use for later.

6. Keep leftovers In covered containers in the fridge. Put date on it if not to be consumed sooner.

7. Share home cooked meals if you can.

Please remember that food is a miraculous gift from God. Let us be grateful by doing our part not to waste food or even reduce food waste. Stay blessed and stay safe.

Easy Fluffy Pancakes

2021-02-15T23:26:00.000-08:00

Get ready because Pancake Tuesday is here although everyday is Pancake Day in our house.

Pancakes have been a breakfast staple food in our house. Here's a confession, years before I become a mother, my idea of pancake are those mix bought in a box. Don't get me wrong, those ready mix pancakes are seriously good and very convenient. You just have to add egg, milk or water and you are ready to go. Now that I have a daughter who request pancake every other day (if not everyday), I believe having my own nutritious yummy recipe is not a bad idea.

But what is Pancake Day and when do Christian people observe it?

Pancake Tuesday is actually the Shrove Tuesday. It is the day before the Ash Wednesday which is the first day of lent. Shrove Tuesday is observed by Christians all over the world. It is the day to acquire absolution to one's sins through confession and do some sacrifices like fasting and abstinence. Different countries have their own tradition on this.

Traditionally, Christian in Britain and Ireland (if they choose to), serve and eat pancakes as a reminder of the beginning of Lent. Historically, Christians need to give up all ingredients such as eggs, butter, milk and other fats which are not allowed to eat during Lenten Season or for the next 40-days. Churches will ring the bells on Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, to remind people to repent their sins before the solemn season and it is also an invitation to fry a pancake, thus the name Pancake Tuesday.

In other countries like, South America, France and Germany, Pancake Tuesday is known as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras which is basically the same idea. They have carnival day or parades on streets before fasting period of Lent.

If I remember right, in Philippines, Christians abstain from eating meat from the beginning until end of Lent. If you have anything else in mind, you can share on the comment section below.

Now that we somehow have an idea about the history of Pancake Tuesday, let's start cooking.

EASY FLUFFY PANCAKES

⏲Preparation time: less than 10 mins

Cooking time: 18-20 mins

🍳Serves: Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

160 g plain Flour

30 g caster sugar

7 g baking powder

pinch of salt

237 ml milk

30 ml butter, melted

1 medium egg

Small knob butter for frying

Toppings of your choice

METHOD

STEP 1

In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

STEP 2

In a large bowl, mix the milk, butter and egg.

STEP 3

Put the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

STEP 4

Mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth batter.

STEP 5

Rest the batter for 2 minutes before frying.

STEP 6

In a medium frying pan (or if you have a pancake pan), put butter. Make sure that you are on medium heat.

STEP 7

Scoop 3 tablespoons of the batter and put in the pan.

STEP 8

Flip the pancake after 40 seconds. Cook the other side for another 40 seconds.

STEP 9

Serve while hot and enjoy your pancakes with your choice of toppings.

RECIPE TIPS

If you intend to serve the pancake in one go, there are two ways to keep the pancake warm while you are still frying the rest.

1. Heat the oven in 50° C and keep them inside.

2. Stack the pancake on a plate and cover with foil.

Happy Pancake Tuesday!

Chicken Breast Kare-Kare

2021-02-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

On the road to healthy eating without missing delicious Filipino Foods like Kare-Kare. I used chicken breast with generous amount of spinach in this recipe. One good thing about chicken kare-kare, it is so easy to cook. In a matter of 30-40 minutes, food is ready to serve.

Ingredient List:

750 kilograms chicken breast, cubed
400 millilitre of water
4 cloves Garlic - minced
1 medium sized onion, chopped
250 grams long beans (sitaw), cut into about 2 inches long

2 medium sized eggplant/aubergine, sliced
200 grams spinach

2 tablespoons toasted rice (or kare-kare mix)
1 tbsp annatto powder (atsuete), dissolved in warm water
8 tablespoons peanut butter (preferably smooth)

2 tbsp rapeseed oil (you can use your preferred cooking oil)

salt and pepper to taste

optional ingredients:

1 banana bud or blossom (puso ng saging)

Shrimp paste (dip)

Preparation Method:

In a large skillet, put 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil and cook the chicken breast until tender (approximately 8-10 minutes). Set aside.
Put the rest of the oil and sauté garlic and onion for 2-3 minutes. Then add in the long beans and aubergine. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Add the chicken and water. Stir-in the peanut butter and the dissolved annatto powder. Set the heat on low and simmer again for another 5 minutes.
Add the toasted ground rice and stir until it is well mix. You can use kare-kare mix as alternative but you may need to adjust the amount of peanut butter according to your taste. Simmer for another 2-4 minutes.
Finally, put the spinach and cook for 1 minute.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with boiled rice and shrimp paste.

Spanish Bread

2021-01-28T08:13:00.007-08:00

What comes to your mind when it’s snack time (meryenda) in the Philippines?

Honestly, my mind is loaded with lots of options for snacks. There's bananacue, turon, congee, pansit, puto, kutsinta, palitaw, lomi, spanish bread, pande coco, Jollibee 😁... I can go on all day. But one of my favourites is the Spanish bread.

Spanish Influence in Filipino Kitchen

As we all know, Spanish have great influence in Filipino kitchen. We probably know as well that bread is always present in Spanish table. It is basically part of their every meal. These breads also comes in different variety.

Pan basico is the traditional Spanish bread in Spain. It is made by mixing flour, sugar, warm water, active dry yeast, egg and salt. Then, baked in an oven. Out of this basic bread recipe, arise the Filipino version of Spanish bread. The delicious buttery and sweet filling made it a winner to every Filipino palate.

Proper Timing on Kneading

The technique and timing is essential in baking. I have learned this after so many tries and failures. But I am happy to say now, "Bring it On!". The kneading itself is something you need to pay attention. It does not only to mix the ingredients well but importantly, it add strength to the final product.

Flour has the glutenin and gliadin proteins. These proteins expand to make strands of gluten giving texture to the bread. That will happen on kneading. The process needs a good effort on pressing, stretching with the heel of the hand, folding over and doing it repeatedly until the dough become elastic and smooth.

Windowpane Test

Two things to remember, too much kneading will lead to tough and chewy bread while dough that is not kneaded enough will become a flat-looking, heavy and dense bread. That is why timing is essential too. I normally do the windowpane test. This is done by simply stretching a lump of dough. If it tears easily, then you need to knead more. If it stretches without tearing apart and it creates a windowpane, then you are good to go. Time to rest the dough and let it rise.

Proofing

When it comes to proofing (also called proving), I trust my handy CleverChef especially on colder months. (Disclaimer: not a sponsored post, just really happy with this kitchen gadget) I just simply put the dough in, cover and set to "Bread Rise", adjust time to 1 hour and Voila! Dough is ready to cut and fill. As we all know, the effectiveness of proofing rely on the temperature and I choose the machine for steady and controlled 40° C. Otherwise, you can still do proofing the traditional way. That is, putting the dough in a bowl, cover with linen proofing cloth and setting it aside for an hour in a warm spot in your kitchen.

Spanish Bread Recipe

Ingredient List

For the Dough

1 cup warm milk

1 medium egg

2 tablespoon butter, softened

2 teaspoon instant yeast

3 cups bread flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling

1/2 cup All Purpose Flour (Plain Flour)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preparation Methods:

For the Dough

In a large bowl, mix warm milk, egg, butter and instant yeast. Then, gradually add the bread flour, sugar and salt. Mix everything until you get a thick dough. Note that I used instant / dried yeast in this recipe. So, no need to reactivate the yeast.

Mixing the ingredients

Sprinkle flour on your clean counter top or board. Turn over your dough and start to knead until you achieve an elastic and smooth texture. This will take about 8-10 minutes.

Kneaded Dough

Then put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with tea towel and set aside in warm spot in the kitchen for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Proofing Dough

Punch down the dough to release some gas bubbles formed during proofing. Cut the dough in 20 portions. Use a rolling pin to create a flatten oval shape dough. Then, spread 2 teaspoons of filling on each portion and roll it to form a log. After that, roll it over the tray of breadcrumbs. Finally, arranged in a greased or lined baking tray, cover loosely with cling film and do final proofing for 20-40 minutes.

Final Proofing

In a pre-heated oven, bake the Spanish Bread at 180° C for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve while hot.

Baking at 180° C

This Spanish Bread is best consumed within 3-4 days. Keep at room temperature.

For the Filling

In a small bowl, combine all purpose flour, sugar and softened butter. You aim to create a thick paste like mixture. Set it aside. You might consider doing this few minutes before your final proofing ends.

Spanish Bread Filling

The famous Spanish Bread of Philippines

The sweet lovely aroma of Spanish Bread brings me back to Philippines; where I can easily buy delicious bread for snacks. However, being away from home, gives me the privilege to enjoy the art of baking. I got to say that I am one of the Filipinos who have brought Philippines in other countries through our delicious bread.

How about you? What is your favourite bread from our Filipino Panaderya (bakery)?

Penne Carbonara

2019-06-27T07:28:00.002-07:00

Besides rice, pasta is my second love when it comes to food. But I don't like preparing pasta meals that will take much of my time and at the end I will not enjoy. I would rather stick on the idea of cooking pasta dishes in a matter of 15 minutes.

You may find this recipe different from the Italian dish you probably know. I do not use egg in this recipe because I do not like the texture of the sauce with egg on it. But it's up to you as traditionally, it should have one.

Ingredients:

300 grams penne pasta (or spaghetti)

150 grams unsmoked bacon (rashers) (chopped into small pieces)

4 cloves garlic (minced)

250ml Double cream

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions:

The idea of cooking this meal is so simple. In a pot with boiling water, add salt and teaspoon of cooking oil then put in the penne pasta. Cook the pasta depending on the instructions in the packaging.

Meanwhile, using a sauce pan, put the stove in medium heat, sauté garlic and chopped rashers in olive oil for about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the double cream and parmesan cheese. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes. You may wish to add a little milk to make the sauce a little runny. It really depends on your preference.

Finally, mix the pasta into the sauce. Best served with grated parmesan.

Baked Stuffed Flat Mushroom

2017-07-04T07:41:00.004-07:00

Everyday the big question in our house is, "What's for breakfast?" To be honest, we're tired of having just bread or bowl of cereals in the morning. From time to time, we treat ourselves with Full Irish Breakfast; egg, sausage, bacon or rashers, black and white pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes and baked beans with toast bread. You see, it's all too much if served every single day. But we love it. (Again, from time to time meaning once or twice a month.)

Filipino breakfast on the other is another good choice but a bit too much in the morning. If you heard of Tapsi Restaurant in the Philippines, you'll be amazed how sumptuous and filling Filipino breakfast can be. It is like eating your breakfast and lunch at the same time. But then again, these meals are also available any time of the day and night.

One of the popular combos are tosilog, tapsilog, longsilog, cornsilog and many of these in the menu. The combo is like one kind of fried meat (tocino, tapa, longganisa, cornedbeef), a cup of fried rice and a fried egg. Take note, a cup of rice may not be enough. (I can do this once a week.)

Another popular Filipino breakfast is congee (lugaw) with your choice of ulam (side dish) boiled egg, tokneneng (boiled egg covered with orange batter and then fried) or tokwa't baboy (tofu and pork). This is my favourite back home. I can cook this but not very often because husband is not a big fan. (Twice a month for this.)

For some who don't have much time to cook or run in carinderias because you snoozed your alarm clock, Pandesal with whatever palaman (filling) will do. (Sadly, it's a challenge for me to make pandesal at the moment but I'm in the process of perfecting it. If that happened, we'll be more likely to have this breakfast very often.)

As you can see, there are many options for breakfast. The list is getting longer because of so many fresh food available in this country.

Thinking of something new for breakfast and I come up with this, Baked Stuffed Flat Mushrooms Topped with Cheese and Poached Eggs.

Ingredients
4 Flat Mushrooms
1 clove Garlic (chopped finely)
4 Bacon
1 cup Breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Olive oil
30 g Butter
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese (grated)
4 Eggs (Poached)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cooking Procedures
In a pan, sauté garlic and bacon in olive oil. Add butter and breadcrumbs. Mix them very well. Season with salt and pepper depending on your liking and taste.
In washed and dried mushrooms, put the mixture and topped with cheese. Then place on a baking tray in a pre-heated oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
Once the mushrooms are cooked, remove from the oven and topped each mushroom with poached egg.
Now, it's ready to eat.

Cooking Tips:
Avoid putting too much garlic as it's taste is overpowering. If you don't like strong garlic flavour stick to 1 clove.
Normally, I don't wash mushrooms if I am going to fry them. I just clean every piece using a damp kitchen towel. I don't soak, peel or remove stalk as it absorbs water. But for flat mushrooms to bake, I wash and dry them.
For breadcrumbs, I make my own as I got to choose what type of bread to use.
This dish is not only good for breakfast but can also be served on lunch and dinner with salad on the side.

Pork Barbecue Marinade

2017-06-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and friends are busy organizing barbeque parties here and there. Time for good laugh and good food.

Nothing beats a good barbeque when your choice of meat is marinated ahead of time. Plus the great skill in grilling makes a big difference.

Here's my recipe for barbeque marinade. Check it out and hope you'll like it .

Pork Barbecue

Barbecue Marinade Ingredients:

For 1 - 2 kg of pork belly, pork picnic (kasim), pork ham, or the best part is the pork neck fillet

1 cup Mama Sita's BBQ Marinade (or 1 Cup of Sprite)

6 tablespoons UFC Banana Ketchup (or 4 tbsp of Tomato Ketchup)

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

4 teaspoons Kalamansi Juice or Lemon Juice

4 tablespoons Honey Syrup

10 cloves garlic

2 medium sized onion

1 teaspoon salt (adjust based on your taste)

1 teaspoon pepper (adjust based on your taste)

Procedure:

Just mix all the ingredients and marinate the pork pieces at least 2 hours. You'll achieve more tastier barbecue if pork is marinated for over 2 hours or overnight.

Beef Tapa

2016-12-02T02:12:00.001-08:00

One of many things I missed back home is the availability of good food any time. When I said anytime, I mean even on 12 midnight. Oh yeah, small restaurants that we called carinderia (eatery) are open 24 hours a day. They can really make my tummy happy always.

These eateries normally serve foods like congee (lugaw) and rice combos such as ToSiLog, LongSiLog, CornSiLog, TapSiLog and the menu continues. The rice combo meals compose of meat of your choice, fried rice (sinangag) and fried egg (itlog). That is where the names came from.

I am a big fan of these dishes so imagine my dismay waking up late and wanting to have them but no eatery around to serve me those. Well, I'm far away from home but I can keep some in my fridge for rainy days. There is a solution for every craving.

Beef Tapa

Easy

Serves: 2

Prep: 12 - 24 hours

Ingredient List:

½ kilograms sirloin beef (thinly sliced)

4 tbsp soy sauce

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

4 tbsp white sugar

1 whole lemon (squeezed)

Preparation Method:

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, salt, ground black pepper, white sugar and lemon juice.
Slice the beef thinly and put in a container with lid.
Pour the pre-mixed seasonings and mix thoroughly.
Put in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
After marinating for the 24 hours, the tapa is now ready for frying.

Recipe by : Luto ni Nanay (Mom’s Cuisine)

15-minute Pasta and Pesto Recipe

2016-11-23T02:54:00.003-08:00

Normally, I just go to a nearby shop to buy pasta and pesto. Not anymore. Out of my curiosity to cook new recipes, I ended up pulsing my food processor (you can also use mortar and pestle), trying to create a pesto sauce. I'm so delighted I tried it because the end product was so good.

Pasta and Pesto

Pesto Sauce can go with any kind of pasta you like. May it be penne, farfalle, spaghetti or macaroni. Since it's so easy to make, freshly prepared is better rather than buying a ready-made in the grocery. Plus, making your own gives you the liberty to adjust the taste based on your liking. You can even change few ingredients if you want. Just like what I did in this recipe. I incorporate cashew nuts instead of using pine nuts.

In cooking pasta, I always love mine 'al dente', meaning a little firm or with some bite. I heard from one of my favourite chefs that pasta is easily digest if cooked in such way. Besides, who wants mushy pasta? I don't.

For me, Pasta and Pesto is better served with other side dishes. I tried mango salsa and boiled egg. The combo was near to perfection. You can also try other side dishes like garlic bread, coleslaw, tuna salad and plenty more to choose from. But you can also have it on it's own.

Here's the recipe for 15-minute Pasta and Pesto. Hope you'll like it and remember sharing is caring.

Easy

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 12 minutes (for the pasta only)

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta or any other kind of pasta you desire

For Pesto

½ clove Garlic (chopped)

½ Lemon (squeeze the juice)

½ cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Fresh Basil leaves picked and chopped

¼ cup Cashew Nuts (or pine nuts)

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Using a food processor, pulse the basil leaves and salt.
Then add the garlic and cashew nuts or pine nuts.
Transfer in a bowl and add ¼ cup of parmesan cheese.
To bind the ingredients, pour extra virgin oil. Adjust it until you have an oozy consistency.
Add some salt and ground black pepper based on your taste.
Add the rest of the parmesan cheese and stir more oil.
Squeeze some lemon juice, just enough quantity to create a little sour kick. (this is optional)
Finally, mix the pesto sauce into a cooked pasta of your choice.

Recipe by : Luto ni Nanay (Mom’s Cuisine) http://www.lutoninanay.com/2016/11/15-minute-pasta-and-pesto-recipe.html

Mango Salsa

2016-11-08T07:12:00.004-08:00

Salsa is a Spanish word which means sauce. Normally, it is tomato-based with few add-on ingredients. This can be spicy or not (depends on what you prefer). In some occasion, salsa can be made of different fruits and vegetables. One of this is Mango Salsa. With the name itself, you already know that the main ingredient of this dish is mango.

This is my first time to share with you a simple yet sumptuous dish that can be eaten on it's own or as side to any food you like such as pasta, barbeque or any fried foods. Do not just take my word that it is delicious, you have to try this, really.

Mango Salsa @lutoninanay

Mango Salsa

Easy

Serves: 3-4

Prep: 15 - 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 whole mango (diced)

2 tomato (diced)

1 cup cucumber (diced)

½ cup red bell pepper

½ cup green bell pepper

½ cup yellow bell pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp granulated sugar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp of honey

Method:

Diced the mango, tomato, cucumber, red bell pepper, green red bell pepper and yellow bell pepper.
Mix all the ingredients stated above in a big bowl.
Season it based on your preference.
Served cold or hot ( whatever you like) on its own or as side dish.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this recipe. You can leave a line or two below. Thank you and don't forget sharing is caring. Bon Appetit!

Recipe by : Luto ni Nanay (Mom’s Cuisine) Mango Salsa

Filipino Cakes on All Saints Day

2016-11-01T06:58:00.001-07:00

The smell of freshly made latik (solid coconut curds) bring me back to the celebration of Undas (All Saints Day and All Souls Day) on my childhood days. The food, the lighted candles, the candle wax balls, flowers and short break from school. I clearly remember all that.

These days means extra time to play with cousins and friends. But when I smell the aroma of the coconut coming from my nanay's (mom's) kitchen, I hurried back home as fast I could. That's because I want to be around whenever mom is cooking . I was so interested on what and how she's doing (and for me to taste it first). I normally helped my mom in the kitchen even on my early age. From mixing to eating. :)

Being away from my family is sad especially when there's an occasion or holiday. But being away also gives me the courage to try things on my own like cooking different Filipino dishes and delicacies. Besides, my nanay is just a call or text away to guide me on my kitchen adventure.

Here are some of the famous Filipino delicious cassava and glutinous rice cakes on All Saints Day.

These cakes are pretty heavy on stomach. I suggest, get your tea or coffee ready on the side if your having a slice and don't forget to share no matter how good it is.

Quick Garlic Sauce

2016-10-25T07:58:00.006-07:00

Breaded mushrooms, fish and chips , shawarma. These foods call for delicious garlic sauce. To be honest, this is so easy to make. Few notes though, do not put too much lemon juice as it will ruin the whole batch. Another thing, little salt and pepper will be just fine. Otherwise, adjust to your own taste.

Quick Garlic Sauce

Easy

Serves: 3-4

Prep: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic (very finely chopped)

8 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon parsley (finely chopped)

Salt and pepper

Method:

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients. Let it stand for few minutes and your dipping sauce is ready to enjoy.

As you see, making this garlic sauce is pretty easy. In that regard, I don't prepare much of this sauce. Besides, freshly mix sauce is better.

Breaded Mushroom

2016-10-24T03:05:00.005-07:00

If a restaurant offers Breaded Mushroom for a starter, it's definitely what I'm getting.The first time I had it, I immediately told myself, I should learn how to cook such. To my delight it is a very simple recipe to get familiar with. Just five to six ingredients and you're all set to deep fry.

I know, deep frying is not the healthiest method of cooking. But with the right oil and temperature, deep frying can make a delicious and healthy meal. I posted a different blog about this, just go to the following link for more tips. Oil for Deep Frying

Breaded Mushroom by Lutoninanay.net

Breaded Mushrooms

Easy

Serves: 3-4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cooking: 15 - 30 minutes

Ingredients:

300 grams button mushrooms

300 grams plain flour

300 grams bread crumbs

4 medium eggs (beaten and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

500 ml Sunflower Oil for Deep Frying

Method:

Using a kitchen towel, clean the mushrooms thoroughly.
In a big bowl season the flour, toss the cleaned mushrooms. Then coat them in beaten eggs. Finally, coat in breadcrumbs. (In seasoning always trust your own taste buds. Meaning adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.)
In a deep heavy-bottomed pan, heat 500 ml of Sunflower oil. Keep in mind that the temperature should be 176-190°C (350-375°F) before you start frying.
Deep fry the coated mushrooms until they are golden brown. Once cooked, remove from the oil and drain on kitchen towels.
Serve the mushrooms with garlic sauce.

Be extra cautious in taking your first bite. The juice coming out of the mushroom can be very hot. It scalded my tongue always. :)

Enjoy every bite and remember sharing is caring.

Oil for Deep Frying

2016-10-13T05:06:00.001-07:00

I've bee itching to share this with you since I started my online course about cooking. You all know that I love to eat and I love to dine out. What we eat in restaurants is not entirely as healthy as the food we can cook at home. Especially the deep fried food. But I got to admit, there are plenty of good food when it comes to deep fried. In fact, the list can go on and on and on. Even in Filipino dining table, there are many of this kind like the vegetable spring roll, fried chicken, lumpiang shanghai, fish, and many more delicious foods.

Photo by LifeisGood at Morguefile.com

As far as I want to avoid deep frying (believe me I really want to), I can't because I can't stay away from sumptuous dishes my nanay (mom) taught me. In this regard, I still prepare and cook few of my family's favourites but in healthier option there is.

Just to give you an idea, the ideal temperature on deep frying should be 176-190°C (350-375°F). So cooking thermometer is your best friend in deep frying (get the best one, I mean it). If food is fried in this temperature, the outside part cooks immediately. But it seals the food, make it impenetrable by the oil. What cooks the inner part is the steam created by the natural moisture of the food.

Temperature lower than 176°C (lower than 350°F) will absorb the oil, thus making the food greasy. On the other hand temperature higher than 190°C (higher than 375°F) will oxidize the oil, giving dried or burnt food.

What if you don't have a cooking thermometer? No worries. Just grab a wooden spoon and dip the handle into the oil, bubbles will appear around the stick and you're good to fry. Another method is to drop a popcorn kernel and if it pops, the temperature is said to be between 350 and 360 °F. (I would like to know your techniques on this, just comment below.)

In choosing the kind of oil to use, I can narrow it down to three characteristics. It should be stable, palatable and available. Maybe you heard this many times but I will still say it anyway. When it comes to most stable oil, meaning oil that can withstand the heat of continuous deep frying. Oil with high smoking point level is better for our health. Among these oils are refined olive oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil and almond oil.

Photo by deegolden at Morguefile.com

Smoking Point

Refined Olive Oil - 199° - 243°C (390° - 470°F)
Avocado Oil - 270°C (520°F)
Sunflower Oil - 227°C (440°F)
Almond Oil - 216°C (420 °F)

However, there are many claims that coconut oil is the healthiest option when it comes to deep frying. Sure is as long as it is refined. Why? Because it has higher smoking point (325-375°C ) compared to unrefined coconut oil. In addition to that refined coconut oil has neutral scent and flavour leaving your foods taste as it supposed to be. It can be used at continuous frying up to 8 hours at 365°C. Shop around first which is the best brand of coconut oil for you before considering it for deep frying.

How about the most common deep frying oil available and use such as vegetable oil, canola oil (rapeseed oil), soybean and corn oil?

Some of these are not as expensive as the recommended types mentioned above but it is most likely to result in huge amounts of oxidized fatty acids and other compounds that is potentially harmful for us.

Conclusion:

The oil you choose to use for deep frying can affect the quality, taste and nutritional value of the food. It has to be neutral in taste and should have high smoking point. If you don't mind buying expensive cooking oil, the best one is refined olive oil. But it can be hard to find in grocery stores. On the other hand, sunflower oil is not that expensive and doesn't smoke unpleasantly. If you opt to use sunflower oil regularly, make sure get enough Omega 3s in your diet. Re-using the oil is until two to three times. Actually, this depends if the oil smokes faster as before, that oil is no longer good to use. Put in a sealed container and labeled it not good or better yet toss in the garbage bin right away (of course in a container and cooled). Not in the sink either unless you want to call a plumber.

Our health is very important. What we eat dictates what kind of health we have. I'm not a nutritionist or something. But I don't need to be one to know what's best for me and my family.

Disclaimer:

All information written here is based on my own research. Lutoninanay admin do not intent to replace any advise of nutritionist, chefs or any professional who knows the topic. Lutoninanay admin just want to share her thoughts and knowledge learned along the way. Lutoninanay do not take responsibility on any decision you made based on provided information.

Seafood Chowder

2016-09-20T06:03:00.002-07:00

Autumn is here. September in Ireland is still a mild temperate month so the heater is not yet timed but I can use a nice soup to keep me warm. In times like this, I couldn't bring myself to cook fancy meals. A 15-minute meal is what I need. Here's my all time favourite Seafood Chowder.

Seafood Chowder

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion

2 cups cubed potatoes

700 ml water

2 tbsp fish sauce

350 grams fish pie mix

250 ml double cream

parsley

croutons

This is one easy meal to cook. In a big pot, saute the onion and potatoes in little oil. Pour the water and let it boil. Then stir in the fish pie mix along with 2 tablespoons of fish sauce. Set the heat to medium and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Finally for a rich smooth mouthfeel taste of the soup, add the double cream. Give it another 2-3 minutes over the heat and that's it. Your soup is now ready to serve with croutons and parsley on top.

Please note that I use a big quantity of double cream here as I want it more creamier. But you have the choice to reduce it to a quantity that you prefer. Another thing is that I do not use fish stock in this soup as I felt that the fish pie mix is tastier enough to make the whole batch good. If you opt to use fish stock just replace water in my ingredients with it. Some use milk in Seafood chowder with few tablespoons of single cream, again that can be an option but it is not as thick as this recipe.

Cooking is not like baking that you have to be specific on your ingredients. As a master of your own kitchen, cook as you will.

Favourite Summer Foods

2016-06-15T03:55:00.001-07:00

Every single year, I'm waiting for summer like a child waiting for rain to stop in order to play outside. I have ny reasons to wait for the sun. As a wife and mom, my first reason is that I can properly dry my laundry (wink 😉). Second of all, summer is my chance to wear light clothes. I'm not an avid fan of layering. Third, sun means more time exploring nature. More fun in the sea and mountains.

The list can go on and on but one thing that excite me the most are the foods and the people to share them with. Imagine my joy when I see red sweet watermelon or husband setting up the barbeque grill.

Here are few of my favorite foods during summer...

Watermelon

Halu-halo ( Filipino dessert)

Strawberries

Grilled Aubergine with Japanese Sauce

Ice Cream (lots of it)

Chicken Barbeque

Chocolate Fudge Served with Vanilla Ice Cream

How about you? Do you have any favorite summer foods?

Birthday Celebration

2016-05-20T03:40:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to say "Thank You" to my family and friends for your love this special day.

God bless us all.

Chocolate Fondant

2016-05-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

I got to be honest here, I am a choco-lover. There is no day that I don't crave for something chocolatey. If I have all the time in the world, I will definitely turn my kitchen upside down to invent new chocolate dessert recipes. But I got to accept, my 20 month old child is keeping my hands all tied up.

When I try or do new recipe, I always make it in a small batch. Less waste and gives me more room to try it again. It is my first time to try this chocolate fondant recipe. I'm a bit hesitant to serve it to my husband. But I got a kiss so I guess I did it right.

Chocolate Fondant

100 dark chocolate (chopped into pieces)

100 g butter (in small pieces as well)

100 g caster sugar

100 g plain flour (all purpose flour)

2 whole eggs

2 yolks

25 g melted butter (for brushing)

Cocoa powder (for dusting)

(Makes two ramekins)

First, you need to brush the melted butter all over inside the ramekins. Then put it in the freezer. After few minutes, brush more butter and dust with cocoa powder covering the inside of the dishes.

Second, in a bowl over a pan with simmering water, melt 100 grams of butter and 100 grams of dark chocolate together. Remove from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.

Third, whisk 2 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks and 100 grams of caster sugar until thick in one bowl. Sift 100 grams of plain flour in the egg mixture and beat together.

Finally, transfer into the ramekins and bake for 10-12 minutes in an oven of 200C (fan-assisted).

One way to know whether the fondant is ready to come out of the oven is when it forming a crust and the chocolatey sauce is starting to come out of the moulds. Do not turn it over yet after coming out of the oven. Just wait for a minute. That's it. Hope you like it.

Next time around, I'll serve it with ice cream and strawberry on top. What do you think?

Oliver St. John Gogarty Bar

2016-01-15T07:28:00.004-08:00

I've been living in Dublin for more than seven years now. With that, I'm so grateful for the privilege given to me to see the other side of the world. Being apart from home means missing a lot of traditional foods and delicacies. But being in a totally new environment means a great chance to try new foods.

One of the famous spot to visit in Dublin is the Temple Bar Street. There you can find fabulous bars and restaurants which offers not only good food but also fun and entertainment. Just like "The Oliver ST. John Gogarty Bar and Restaurant".

Lasagne served with fresh salad and chips

Sausage served with salad and chips

We went to the bar area to have some lunch. There's too many choices at the bar menu. I had Lasagne with salad and chips. While my husband had Sausage with salad and chips. We didn't get any starter because we already know that the serving is very big. We will never have room for main course if we did. Both dishes were delicious. All worth the price, I believe. €11.95 each meal is normal amount in any bar around city centre. When it comes to service, I'm pretty much happy with it.

Will I go back again in The Oliver St John Gogarty Bar and Restaurant? Definitely yes, but will try different sumptuous dishes next time around.

Lomi (Egg Noodle Soup)

2015-10-16T01:59:00.001-07:00

Way back home, when it's rainy and cold, a bowl of hot sopas (chicken noodle soup), hot mami (beef noodle soup) or hot lomi (egg noodle soup) will be nice to keep us warm. In fact, even if the weather is fair and sunny, still these foods are so good to feed a hungry lady like me.

When my mom visited us here, I made sure that she will pass on to me her lomi recipe. I'm glad she did. Now I'm sharing it to all who reads this and I hope you'll enjoy this.

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic

1 small size onion

150 grams of pork belly or loin chop (cut into small cubes)

1 medium size carrot

150 grams of green beans (sliced)

200 grams of cooked egg noodles

1 stem of spring onion (chopped)

2 boiled egg

1 fresh egg

1 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp Fish sauce (optional)

2 tablespoon of cooking oil.

800 ml of water

1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)

Procedure:

This dish is so easy to cook just make sure you got everything ready and at hand. In a pan, boil the pork in about 6 tablespoons of water. When dry enough, pour in the cooking oil. Fry the pork until golden brown or just the way you want it. Then stir in the garlic followed by onion for 1 minute.

After than put in the green beans and carrots and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Transfer in a large sauce pan with 800 ml of water. Let it boil. Then put the egg noodles along with salt, pepper and fish sauce. Make sure that you wash and drain the noodles to remove natural oil from it. Adjust seasoning based on your taste.

Finally, after 5 minutes, put the fresh egg and stir. Let it boil again for 3-5 minutes. You may want to add some cornstarch (dissolve in water) to thicken the soup.

Topped with boiled egg and spring onion before serving.

By the way, other recipes of lomi have different ingredients. But this is how I cook it. You probably have your own version. Care to share? Please comment below, I would love to here it and try it as well. Thank you.

Basa Fish Fillet

2015-07-10T03:13:00.001-07:00

Bangus, tilapia, galunggong or Gg, alumahan, dalagang bukid, trout, mackarel, tuna and salmon are the most common fish I knew and trust. I seldom bought unfamiliar ones except recommend by family and friends.

When my mother visited me and my family here in Dublin, she introduced to me this called Basa Fish. In case you don't know either, it is native to countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, China, Cambodia and Laos. With their abundance, other countries around the world are also getting them through importation.

My nanay (mom) taught me to cook it like fish and chips style. But sometimes I don't have the luxury of time to make batter and fry them, I tried a very easy way to cook it or I should say bake it.

Using a baking tray lined with kitchen foil, lay down your basa fillet. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Massage gently with butter of your choice ( I used light butter.) Sprinkle generously with sliced spring onion. Put inside a pre-heated oven at 180 deg C. Cook for 20- 30 minutes. Don't over cooked it as it will dry up the meat.

You can topped it with mayonnaise before serving with chips or rice. Hope you like it.

Crispy Chilli Beef

2015-05-14T09:30:00.001-07:00

The Daily meals doesn't have to be fancy all the time. But if I can make one in less time and effort, why not.

Every week I spend an hour planning for our 7-day meal. It's easier that way to budget and check if I'm serving nutritious dishes for my family.

I'll be sharing my menu for next on a different blog post. For now, just to give you an idea of what simple meal I cook for not more than 30 minutes, here's a recipe of Crispy Chilli Beef.

Ingredients:

250 grams of beef (sliced)

Cooking oil

2-3 birs eye chillies (depends on how hot you want it to be)

1/4 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

Marinade:

3 cloves of garlic

3 thumb sized ginger

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce (dark or light)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sugar

1 egg

250 grams corn flour

Sauce:

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp ketchup

5 tbsp mirin (sweet japanese vinegar)

4 tbsp honey

I normally marinate the beef for 10 minutes. Then deep fry it and drain excess cooking oil. In a different pan, transfer the fried beef. Finally pour over the sauce to the crispy beef, stir in the chillies and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes. Serve with boiled rice.

Yes, that is so easy. So why not give it a try. I'm sure you will love it.

Craving for Street Foods

2014-05-05T03:11:00.000-07:00

I simply miss the warm afternoon back home. That's the perfect time to grab something for snacks or street foods. Although, I can find something like fishball, siopao and dumplings here in North-West part of the world, still they're not good enough or let's say, I just truly miss what we have in Philippines.

But these will do for now. "Kain tayo!!!"

Lumpiang Shanghai Recipe

2014-04-30T03:21:00.002-07:00

When it comes to spring rolls, I often had two versions. One is using vegetable and the other is minced pork. When I was a child, I used to watch my nanay (mother) while making lumpiang shanghai (the version that uses minced pork). Her amusing way of mixing every ingredient in a bowl got me curious. Then I'll help her wrapping each one of them in a lumpia wrapper bought in local wet market. The annoying part is that the wrapper was so thin that it breaks so easily. Good thing I can buy a Chinese-made wrapper here. It's reasonably thicker and even easier to use.

My mother's magic in cooking is unbelievable because she don't use measuring devices to measure each ingredient. But her end products always taste delicious. As I intend to pass on the recipes to my kids and friends, I measured all ingredients religiously and had it written. Having said that, here's my recipe of Lumpiang Shanghai derived from my mother's own recipe. Hope you like it.

Lumpiang Shanghai

Ingredients:

1 kg minced (ground) pork
2 medium sized potato
1 large carrot
1 red bell pepper
2 stems of celery (or kinchay)
1 medium sized onion
3 gloves of garlic
2 eggs
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp of ground black pepper
Cooking oil

Cooking Procedure:

1. Finely chop potato, carrot, bell pepper, celery, onion, garlic and garlic. If you have chopper or food processor, you can use it for making the task easier and faster.
2. I always wash meat before cooking or preparing them. In this case, I washed the minced pork and drained it using a colander to ensure proper straining off liquid. (We certainly do not want to have watery mixture.)
3. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly.
4. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of mixture in each spring roll wrapper (depending on the size of wrapper you have). It should be 1/2 inch thicker so it will be cooked evenly inside the wrapper. Roll them as shown in the picture above.
5. Heat the cooking oil in a deep fryer or thick based frying pan. Set the heat to medium before putting the rolls. Make sure that the level of the oil is enough to cover the lumpia. This is again ensure the lumpiang shanghai to be cooked evenly.
6. Put on a plate with kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
7. Serve with sweet chilli sauce, tomato or banana ketchup. This can be served as starter or main course.

Palitaw

2014-04-17T04:32:00.001-07:00

Palitaw

One easy Filipino dessert to make is what we called "Palitaw". It's a glutinous rice cake with shredded coconut all over. It is best served and eaten with sugar and sesame seed dip.

Ingredients:

2 cups Glutinous Rice Flour
3/4 - 1 cup Water
3 cups Shredded Coconut

For sugar dip:
5 tablespoons sesame seed
2 cups white granulated sugar

Procedure:

1. Mix glutinous rice flour and water.
(Remember to add water little by little. You may need to add few spoons of glutinous rice flour if mixture is too sticky.)
2. Boil water. Put the rolled dough and wait for them to float.
3. Cover with shredded coconut once remove from the boiling water.
4. Make the sugar dip by roasting the sesame seed. Then mix with sugar.

The last time I made this dessert was with my 7 years old lovely niece. She practically did it by herself. I was just there to assist her especially during the boiling step.

Our little baker.