Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:
1 large chicken, cut up
3 T sesame seeds

Marinade:
5 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 egg

Cracker Mixture:
1 1/2 c crushed crackers
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated onion
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Procedure:
1.  Preheat oven at 350F.
2.  Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry.
3.  Marinate chicken pieces in garlic, Worcestershire sauce and egg.
4. Combine crackers, Parmesan cheese, parsley, onion, salt and pepper.
5. Coat chicken thickly all over with cheese and cracker mixture.
6. Place chicken skin side up in baking pan.
7. Dot with butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
8. Bake uncovered at 350F for 1 hr or until tender.

My notes:
I mix Fita and Skyflakes together for the crackers. Sometimes, I use cornflakes. For the sesame seeds, I sprinkle all 3 tbsp on top of the chicken or add 2 tbsp to the cracker mixture and 1 tbsp on top of the chicken. I serve this with Sweet Chili Sauce on the side.

You can halve the recipe for the cracker mixture because it's really a lot. My son loves crunchy food and so he insists that leftover cracker mixture should be spread on top of the chicken.

Binagoongang Baboy (Pork with Salted Shrimp Paste)

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs pork shoulder or butt cut into 2" cubes
2 T cooking oil
1/2 head garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium tomato coarsely chopped
3/4 c water
1/2 t sugar
5 T bagoong (shrimp paste)
2 T vinegar
black pepper to taste

Procedure:
1.  Saute garlic, onions and tomatoes in hot oil. Add pork and saute until pork is no longer pink.
2. Add water, cover and cook for about 45 minutes. Add bagoong and sugar and continue cooking for another 15 minutes or until pork is tender, stirring occasionally over low heat. 
3. Season with black pepper. 

Crispy Baked Chicken

Ingredients:
2/3 c breadcrumbs (Plain, Italian or Panko combined)
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
5 t oil
1 large egg, beaten
8 drumbsticks, thighs or leg quarters

Honey Mustard Sauce:
1/4 c sour cream
2 T Dijon Mustard
2 T honey
freshly ground pepper

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven 475F
2. Combine breadcrumbs, paprika, onion and garlic powder, salt, pepper and oil.
3. Dip chicken in egg.
4. Press in breadcrumb mixture.
5. Bake until meat thermometer reaches 165F or bake for 25-30 minutes.
6. Serve with Honey Mustard Sauce

Thai Fish Basil

Ingredients:
1 T vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-3 sili labuyo or dried chili peppers, seeds removed and minced
1/2 small onion
1/2 lb fish, cubed into small pieces or 1 lb ground beef
1 T fish sauce
1 T oyster sauce
2 t brown sugar
pinch of pepper
handful of fresh basil, chopped
some cilantro
2 eggs

Procedure:
1. Heat oil. Cook 2 whole eggs, sunny side up. Remove.
2. Add garlic, chili, onion until fragrant.
3. Add fish or meat.
4. Season with sauces, sugar and pepper.
5. Add basil and cilantro.
6. Add cooked eggs to mixture.
7. Serve.

Rack of Lamb or Lamb Chops

Ingredients:
Texas Jack No. 2
1 T Dijon mustard
3/4 c breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c parsley
1 T rosemary
1/8 c olive oil

Procedure:
Season the lamb with Texas Jack No. 2 or just plain salt and pepper if you don't have Texas Jack No. 2 Seasoning. Rub with 1 T Dijon mustard.
Combine the rest of the ingredients and dredge the lamb in it.
Roast 10 min at 450F then 10 min at 400F in Turbo oven or panfry in 2 Tbsp olive oil until golden brown, approx 3 min. per side.

Serve with mint jelly.

Cantonese Steamed chicken (Cantonese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo)

Ingredients:
3/4 lb chicken cutlets
2 Chinese sausages, washed, dried, and sliced diagonally into 1/4-inch pieces
12 small Chinese black mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 min., washed, squeezed dry, with stems discarded, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 t ginger juice mixed with 1 T white wine
1/4 t salt
1 t sugar
1 t sesame oil
2 t light soy sauce
2 t peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 T oyster sauce
2 t cornstarch
pinch of white pepper
3 T chicken broth
Chinese cabbage
6 sprigs fresh coriander

Procedure:
1. Place all the ingredients except the cabbage and coriander in a large mixing bowl and mix together thoroughly. Allow the mixture to marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Line a heatproof dish with Chinese cabbage. Place the chicken, sausages and mushrooms on top of the cabbage and pour the marinade over it. Place in a steamer, and steam until cooked.
3. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately with cooked rice.

My notes:
This recipe is pretty straightforward. It's very good as is. Sometimes, I sub Chinese sausage with Majestic Ham bits.

If you don't have a heatproof dish, you can temper your pyrex in my "how to" blog.

How to temper porcelain and Pyrex for steaming

Fill a large pot with 5-6 cups of cold water. Place a cake rack inside and stack the dishes to be tempered on the rack, making certain they are completely covered by the cold water. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Let the water boil for 10 minutes, turn off the heat, and allow the pot to cool to room temperature. The dishes can now be placed in steamers without fer that they will crack.

Once tempered, the dishes will remain so for their lifetime. They need not be tempered again.

Caesar Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
1 T garlic
2 egg yolks
1 T mustard
1 c corn oil (or 1/2 c corn + 1/2 c olive oil)
3 pcs anchovy fillet
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 lemon approx equal to 2 pcs calamansi
Parmesan cheese
Dash of Lea & Perrins Worchestershire sauce
Bacon bits

Procedure:
Mash garlic and rub around the wooden bowl. Remove from bowl and set aside. Blend egg yolks (approx 1 yolk for 2 persons i.e. use 3 yolks for 6 persons but all other ingredients nd measurements should remain as is). Add anchovies, mustard and gradually add oil in thin streams. Remember, stir only in one direction. Add the rest of the ingredients including garlic to taste.

You can use a small food processor to save time. However, be very careful with the garlic. Add a little garlic at a time or it could end up too overpowering.

Spaghettini Carbonara

Makes 4 full portions

Ingredients:
3-4 T olive oil (if the bacon is very fatty, use less oil)
100 g bacon or pancetta, cubed
2 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise
300 g spaghettini, preferably De Cecco
3-4 pcs egg yolks
Parmesan or Pecorino Romano or both, freshly grated, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-2 T cooking cream (optional)
Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish

Procedure:
1.  Boil pasta in a pot of vigorously boiling, salted water.
2. In another heavy saucepan, warm the olive oil over a medium flame making sure the oil does not smoke.
3. Add the bacon and garlic and cook until bacon is nearly crisp and the garlic nearly golden. Set aside.
4. When pasta is al dente, drain, leaving a bit of pasta water to drip, and add immediately to the bacon and garlic.
5. Toss quickly over a medium flame. Remove pan from flame.
6. Add egg yolks, cheese, parsley, pepper. Add cooking cream 1 T t a time, if using. Add some pasta water.
7. Toss gently.

My notes:

For variety, I sub bacon with Vigan longganisa. I boil 3 longganisas in water until all of the water evaporates. I crumble the longganisa and fry it in its own oil. I add 2 cloves of sliced garlic and 1 Tbsp olive oil. I drain the whole wheat spaghetti which has been boiling for 8 min and add this to the meat mixture. I toss this for 2 min. I turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients.

My husband liked the twist to my usual Carbonara pasta dish. Unfortunately, my son was not home for dinner and so could not give me a feedback.

Japanese Tofu Steak

Ingredients:
2 300 g tofu (soft not firm)
cornstarch
Japanese-style bread crumbs (Panko)
2 Tbsp olive oil

Marinade:
1/4 c soy sauce
2 t sugar
2 Tbsp mirin

Sauce:
1/4 kg ground pork
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small onion, sliced thin
4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced (if using dried, soak in hot water until soft. Remove stem and slice)
1 1/2 c dashi stock (1 1/2 c water with 1 Tbsp dashi powder)
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c mirin
2 t honey

Procedure:
1. Wrap tofu in paper towel to remove as much water as possible. Steam 5 minutes (this keeps tofu moist inside). Then marinate for at least one hour.
2. Remove from marinade. Dredge in cornstarch then Japanese breadcrumbs. Panfry in 2T olive oil until crispy on the outside. Set aside.
3. Make the sauce by frying ground pork. Add garlic, onion and mushroom. Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Add salt/pepper to taste. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch slurry (1/4 c water, 3 t cornstarch). Pour over Tofu steaks.

My notes:
I use the soft tofu for this dish. Although firm tofu is easier to fry, it does not give you the melt in your mouth, soft/crispy texture of the dish. I cut the tofu in half or sometimes quarter for ease of handling. Also try not to steam it for more than 5 min because it gets really soft and a pain to panfry. Lastly, I don't like anything to go to waste and so I reuse my marinade. I pour it into a glass measuring cup and add 2 parts soy sauce to one part mirin to make 1/2 cup.

This is one of my favorite recipes.

Korean Beef Ribs

Ingredients:
1 3/4 kilo beef shortribs
1 t salt
oil
1 Tbsp atsuete oil
1-2 t chopped red chili peppers (siling labuyo)
1/3 c Kikkoman soy sauce
3 T sugar
2 t minced garlic
1 t minced ginger
3 T toasted sesame seeds
1 T sesame oil
1 T rice wine
4 c water or enough to cover ribs
2 T chopped green onions

Procedure:
Season ribs with salt then panfry in atsuete oil until lightly browned. Set aside.

Put the remaining ingredients except for the green onions. Add the beef. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer until beef is tender. Season to taste. Top with chopped green onions before serving.

Serve with Kimchi.