"TACOS"

With the Lakers vs Spurs games lately, I just had to make tacos for my husband and I to have during the games!

Here is a very simple taco recipe we really enjoy. I do not use the store-bought taco mix for the meat filling, but I use different spices instead. The meat filling here is made of ground beef, but you may use other kinds of ground meat that you prefer. Try this, and you'll love it too!

-CHICHAY

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"TACOS"

What You Need:

taco shells

Meat filling :

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 tbsp olive oil(I prefer ground chuck)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
• 1/2 medium-sized bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped
• 1 to 1 1/2 cup of water

Toppings:

• sour cream
• chopped tomatoes and onions (or salsa of your choice)
• shredded lettuce (optional)
• shredded cheddar or asiago cheese (or any cheese you prefer)

How To:
-In a heated large saucepan with olive oil, brown the ground meat and make sure you break the pieces with a wooden spoon, or you can use a potato masher to
make sure the meat will be cooked in big lumps.

-Once the meat is browned, add in the salt, chili power, garlic powder or minced
garlic, cumin, paprika and enough water to cover meat.

-Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil.

-Lower the heat and let simmer for about an hour.

-Stir the meat a bit several times while cooking.

-Add onion, bell pepper, stir well, and continue cooking for 20 or 30 minutes
more.

-Layer the fillings and toppings in the taco shell and serve with Cholula hot sauce for a spicy finish!

"PINEAPPLE RICE"

This Pineapple Rice is a refreshing dish that is perfect especially during these warm days of May!
It is basically similar to regular fried rice, but the pinapple gives it that sweet-tangy twist.
Try having with some grilled chicken or baked fish. But really, I ate this two days in a row, and I still want more!
Kids would enjoy the sweet pineapple taste of this dish too. What a simple way of incorporating fruit in their meal right?

-CHICHAY

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"PINEAPPLE RICE"

What You Need:

• 1 cup sliced or diced pineapple
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded or diced carrots

How To:
-Open the can of pineapple and drain juice.
-In a non-stick pan, heat the olive oil.
-Add the eggs and cook without stirring, until set.
-Slide eggs out of the pan to a plate. Cut into short, narrow strips and set aside.
-In the same pan, heat the sesame oil and stir fry the mushrooms, soy sauce,
onions, and carrots for about 2-3 minutes.
-Stir in cooked rice, pineapple, and egg strips.
-Adjust seasoning if necessary by adding salt and pepper.
-Heat until everything is heated through.

[CHICHAY TIP: 1. For more pineapple flavor, you may use the pineapple juice as part of the water to cook the rice with. 2. You can add cooked, chopped meat like chicken or pork if desired, or even chopped tofu as your protein.]

"DAING NA BANGUS (Milkfish)"

My husband's favorite thing to order from a Filipino restaurant is "Daing na Bangus"! Mmmmm!

So I looked for good boneless "bangus" fillets, and finally found good ones at Tambuli. But oh how expensive they are!

Well, I figured it is still worth to make our own "daing"...at least I can control the salt to be added to it, and it surely won't have any MSG!

Baking is an option if you want to use less oil. This is best if you will serve the "daing" right after it's cooked.

-CHICHAY

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"DAING NA BANGUS"

What You Need:

• 2-4 pcs whole boneless bangus (milkfish)

or bangus belly fillets

• olive oil

Marinade:

• 1 cup of low sodium soy sauce
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ cup of white vinegar
• ½ tbsp fresh ground black pepper

Prep:
-Mix together all the marinade ingredients in a deep dish/pan.

-Place the "bangus" skin side up, cover, and set it in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking.

How To:

Frying:

-In a large frying pan heat oil-Season the fish with some salt-Fry the fish skin side up first for a couple of minutes.

-Carefully turn the fish over, and let it cook for 3-5 minutes.

-Next turn it back skin side up and fry for an additional 2 minutes, or until the fish is golden brown.

Baking:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

-Lightly spray the roasting rack with olive oil.

-Arrange the fish pieces on the baking sheet, spray each lightly with olive oil, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish is golden brown.

"BEEF TAPA"

I asked my mom recently for her recipe of "tocino" and "hamonado"...but I ended up making "Beef Tapa"! I am telling you...I had to eat my "tapa" and "sinangag" Pinoy-style: "nakakamay" (using my hands), with a side of vinegar with garlic, sarap!
I skipped the "sun-drying" of the marinated meat...but it still tasted like the real "tapa". The trick is to sear the meat in a really hot pan!

-CHICHAY

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"BEEF TAPA"

What You Need:

• 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of thinly sliced beef (tender cuts)
• olive oil

Marinade:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Prep:
-Pound the meat slices to make them thinner and flat.
-Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl, and marinate/refrigerate the meat for 24 hours.

How To:
-Heat up a pan with oil on high heat.
-Layer the meat pieces on the hot pan (make sure the meat are not overlapping to avoid "sweating" of the meat pieces), and to make sure each piece cooks nicely. Cook in batches if necessary.
-Sear both sides of the meat and transfer to a dish and cover the cooked pieces with foil while cooking the rest of the meat.
-Serve with fried rice and eggs.
Enjoy your Tapsilog!

'HONEY-HOISIN CHICKEN"

It's been quite a long "rest" I took there huh? :-)

I have been having back and shoulder pains lately, so I just decided to take a break from typing for a few days.

'Am back and I hope you like this recipe - am easy dish that I prepared this weekend.

-CHICHAY

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What You Need:

• 1 whole chicken breast, skinless, boneless
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp sliced green onions
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt and pepper
• 2 tsps olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)

Prep:

-Prepare the "honey-hoisin mixture" by combining the onions, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, water and garlic in a small bowl.

-Pour 1/4 cup honey-hoisin mixture into a large ziploc bag, or a container with a cover (reserve remaining honey mixture for later use).

-Add the chicken to the container or bag, seal, marinate and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally.

How To:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

-Remove the chicken from the container, and discard marinade.

-Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.

-Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

-Coat the pan with olive oil.

-Add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, browning all sides.

-Brush 1 tablespoon reserved honey mixture over pork, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

-If your skillet is oven proof, place skillet in oven. If not, transfer to a baking dish (sprayed with some olive oil), and bake the chicken at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until your desired degree of doneness.

-Place chicken on a platter; let stand 5 minutes.

-Cut the chicken across the grain into thin slices.

-Drizzle the chicken with the remaining honey mixture and serve with rice or mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.

"GRILLED SHRIMP KEBABS"

These Shrimp Kebabs were a big hit during a party we attended yesterday.

We had the leftovers for lunch today, and paired it with garlicky fried rice! Soooooo good!

-CHICHAY

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Grilled Shrimp Kebabs

What You Need:

• 2/3 cup lite soy sauce
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs large shrimps, cleaned and peeled
• bamboo skewers (soaked in water)
• red, yellow and orange bell peppers, cut into 1-inch cubes

How To:

-Whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, ginger and black pepper in a
bowl. Marinate the shrimps for at least 2 hours.

-Thread the shrimps and sweet peppers on the on the skewers and brush or spray each with olive oil.

-Grill the skewers on each side until the shrimps turn orange, and are cooked
through, about 4-6 minutes per side

"GRILLED CHICKEN AND SAUTEED ASPARAGUS"

Been busy lately, sorry haven't been updating as frequently as I used to ha.

Anyway, here's what we had last night... simple, quick and of course tasty.
The chicken, I just marinated with the classic "quick" barbecue mix of soy sauce, sugar(splenda) and lemon juice (ok, kalamansi will always be better), and the asparagus are the leftover stems that some would normally discard after cooking the tips and thinner spears.
I peeled the thicker end of the asparagus spears and cut it into thinner slices, and sauteed it. Still taste good, and it surely feels good not to put them to waste.

-CHICHAY

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"GRILLED CHICKEN"

What You Need:

• 6 pcs of chicken legs

marinade:

• 3 tbsp lemon juice


• 1 tbsp soy sauce


• 2 tsp sugar (or 1 packet of splenda)


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 2 tbsp olive oil

How To:

-Whisk together the marinade mix in a bowl.

-Marinate the chicken legs for at least 2 hours.

-Drain the marinade from the chicken and grill this over medium-high.

-When the chicken are done, transfer to a dish and cover with foil until ready to be served.

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"Sauteed Asparagus"

What You Need:

• 1 bunch of asparagus stems (use the tips for another dish)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
• 2 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
  

How To:

-Peel the asparagus stems and cut them into thin sticks. Set aside.

-Saute the garlic in a hot pan with olive oil.

-Add the asparagus sticks and saute for a bout 2-3 minutes.

-Season with salt and pepper.

-Serve the chicken and asparagus with rice or with mashed or baked potatoes.

"STEAK WITH MUSHROOM AND WINE SAUCE"

This "Mushroom and Wine Sauce" is similar to "Marsala Sauce", and the difference is that here I used red Shiraz wine (my favorite) instead of Marsala wine. You can use any wine that you have/like for your sauce.
For the steak, you can use beef steak cuts, or boneless pork chops. You can cook the steak any way you like it: over the stove, on the grill or in the oven (broil). The steak is cooked separately from the sauce anyway. But I suggest you season it witl salt and pepper only, since the Mushroom and wine sauce is tasty enough to add more flavor to your steak.

[CHICHAY TIP: If you do not like using fresh garlic in your sauce, then use garlic powder instead of using the fresh garlic that is in the recipe here. When reducing the sauce, be careful and alert, as the sauce may dry out easily. In the recipe it says 3 minutes, but it really depends on how quick your sauce will reduce.]

-CHICHAY

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"STEAK AND MUSHROOM AND WINE SAUCE"

What You Need:

• 2 pounds steaks, well trimmed
• salt and pepper to taste 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup red wine of your choice ( I use Shiraz.)
• 1/2 cup broth (beef, chicken or vegetable) or water
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms of your choice
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Prep:

-Heat up a large, heavy skillet over high.
-Season steaks with salt and pepper to taste.

How To:

-Place steaks in the hot skillet, turn down the heat to medium high, and cook this for 3 minutes each side, or depending on your preference on steak doneness.
-Remove steaks from skillet to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.
-Remove skillet from heat. Quickly saute the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes in the skillet using residual heat.
-Return skillet on medium-low heat and stiir in the mushrooms, and cook for about 2-3 minutes
-Add the red wine and broth or water (if using water, add a 1/2 tsp of salt). Stir, and bring this to a boil.
-Once this boils, lower the heat, and let this simmer/reduce for about 3 minutes.
-Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter and rosemary.
-Serve mushroom and wine sauce over steaks.

"STEAK AND MUSHROOMS SALPICAO"

This twist to the "Salpicao" is so delicious...I added a lot of mushrooms and garlic! I remembered having some garlicky button mushrooms at a buffet restaurant, and since then I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I just had to make this garlicky Steak and Mushrooms Salpicao...wonderful with rice and a fried egg!

Try this with recipe with chicken meat cut in cubes and any mushrooms that you can find...you won't miss the great taste.

-CHICHAY

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"STEAK AND MUSHROOMS SALPICAO"

What You Need:

• 1 lb beef tenderloin, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (tender-cut strips are ok too)


• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms of your choice (shiitake, portabello, cremini, oyster...)


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 8 cloves garlic, minced (more if you like)


• 1/2 tsp Koshers salt


• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper


• 1/4 tsp paprika


• 1 tsp garlic powder


• 3 tbsp oyster sauce


• 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce


• 2 tbsp juice of lemon


• 3 tbsp unsalted butter


• extra 4 cloves garlic, cut thinly, like strips (optional - for toppings only)

Prep:

-Combine olive oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, the minced garlic, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika in a bowl.

-Marinate beef chunks in the mixture for a minimum of 2 hours in the fridge.

-Before cooking, add the lemon juice to the marinated beef, mix well, and then strain the marinade from the beef.Now that the marinade is separate from the beef, dilute it with 2 tbsp water and mix well. Set aside.

How To:

- Heat some oil on a pan, and saute the beef pieces.
-Keep stirring for a 2-3 minutes until beef pieces are browned evenly.

- Remove from heat and transfer to another dish, set aside.

-On the same pan, heat up the butter and sautee the thinly sliced garlic until golden brown (not burned), and set aside in a separate container, leaving the garlic

-flavored butter on the pan.

-Sautee the mushrooms on the heated pan, until softened, maybe for about 2-5 minutes.
- Add in the marinade, and simmer for 3-5 minutes
- Stir in the cooked beef for 2 minute and turn off heat, and transfer to the serving dish immediately.
-Top the salpicao with browned garlic strips.
-Serve with rice and fried egg, or a side of sauteed bell pepper and onions.
[CHICHAY TIP : Cooking time should be about 10 minutes or less to keep the beef tender.]