"GUISADONG GULAY (Sauteed Mixed Vegetables)"

Hi everyone! I apologize to those who have been asking me to post new recipes here...been busy lately. But that doesn't mean I stopped cooking! I have a long list of photos and recipes I have tried in the past couple of months, and I can't wait to share them with you. Well, let's start with this simple Sauteed Mixed Vegetables that I often make whenever I find fresh ingredients from the farmers market on weekends.
Quick and easy.
I just saute all the veggies together, then I add flavorings - depending on what's available in my kitchen, such as oyster sauce, or "bagoong"(shrimp paste), or "patis" (fish sauce, or Hoisin sauce, or garlic-chili sauce and the like. I sometimes add fresh shrimps (but you may add dried ones too!), or sometimes chicken or pork cubes. Isn't fun to pick your favorite veggies, and have all of it in one dish? Make sure you have variety of colors in your dish to make it look yummier, esp for kids.

-Chichay


"GUISADONG GULAY (Sauteed Mixed Vegetables)"

What You Need:

• 2 cups of vegetables cut in uniform lengths

(this time I used spinach, okra, long beans, butter squash, and bittermelon)

• 2 tsp bagoong (optional, use any other flavorings to your liking)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 6-8 pcs medium sized shrimps
  
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp ground black or white pepper

How To:

• In a large saute pan, heat up the olive oil and sesame and olive oil.
• Saute the shrimps until slightly cooked (when the shell is bright orange), stirring continuously
• Once slightly cooked, take the shrimps off the heat and put in a dish. Set aside.
• On the same pan, start to saute the vegetables, making sure you add on the pan the ones that will cook longer, such as the squash, long beans and bitter melon, then add the leafy vegetables last.
• Add the "bagoong" (or any other seasoning you may choose to use), water and shrimp to the pan, then stir, and lower the heat, and let this simmer for a few minutes.
• Adjust the seasoning by adding salt and pepper and serve while still warm.
• Best served with warm steamed rice!
  

"SHRIMPS AND TOFU WITH PINEAPPLE"

Here's another dish using tofu (for you, Delia and Tita Vi!)...and you'll be surprised how delicious this tastes with the sweet-tangy pinapple-flavored sauce!

You can use fresh pineapple, or any canned ones. I prefer using canned pineapple slices because it comes out really nice and pretty when I serve it together with the srhrimps and tofu.

[CHICHAY TIP: Make sure you do not overcook the shrimps, as it will get really tough. I like adding it last, then turning off the heat quickly after stirring it back into the sauce. If you are keeping left overs, separate the shrimps from the rest of the dish, reheat it without the shimps. Once the sauce and tofu are reheated, stir in the shrimps, and cover this with foil or lid and let the residual heat warm the shrimps. Or, put the cold shrimps in hot water, drain, and add into the reheated tofu with sauce.]

-CHICHAY

--------------------------------------

"SHRIMPS AND TOFU WITH PINEAPPLE"

What You Need:

• 1 tsp butter


• 2 tsp olive oil


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 1/2 small onion, chopped


• 1 lb medium shrimp


• 1 block hard tofu (tokwa), drained, cut into


• 1 inch cubes


• 1 cup pineapple slices or chunks


• juice of 1 lemon


• 2 tsp light soy sauce


• 1 tsp sugar or 1/2 tsp Splenda


• 3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro or parsley


• 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Prep:

-Mix together the garlic, soy sauce, pepper and sugar.

-Marinate the shrimps in the mixture for about half an hour.

-Drain the shrimp from the marinade and keep for later.

How To:

-In a large, nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

-Add tofu, and saute until all sides are browned a bit. Transfer the cooked tofu in a bowl, and set aside.

-On the same skillet, saute the shrimps for about a minute, only until the shrimps
are light orange in color. Transfer to another bowl and set aside.

-Add the butter on the skillet and saute the pineapple pieces over low-medium
heat until they are a bit browned.

-Add the reserved marinade and the lemon juice to the skillet, lower the heat,
and let this simmer for about 1 minute.

-Add back the tofu pieces to the pan, stir, cover and simmer for another minute.

-Add back the shrimps to the pan, stir well to coat the shrimps wth the sauce, cook for another minute. Taste and season with salt if needed.

-Stir in the cilantro, and turn off heat.

-Serve over warm rice or chow mein noodles.

'CHOW MEIN"

I cooked this today, as I have been craving for Chow Mein noodles lately, and I got so disappointed the last time I had Chow Mein in Chinatown - it was too oily and salty.

I used shrimps as my protein and added lots of vegetables too. You can always subtitute the shrimps with any other protein you prefer: sliced beef, pork, chicken, tofu...or mix in some other seafood pieces, like crab meat, fish or squid.

From now on, I will be cooking this dish more often, just because I like the fact that if I cook my Chow Mein at home, I can have the noodles with less sauce/toppings (to get the kind of style of dry noodles that I ate in Hongkong once). Sometimes I enjoy eating my Chow Mein kind of dry and with plenty of mushrooms, but sometimes I like it with lots and lots of my favorite vegetables...I mean lots of vegetables, that it is almost like a bowl of vegetables with only a few strands of noodles in it.

In the picture, you will see that I did not use bean sprouts (I didn't have it available in my stock). I still suggest you include that in your toppings, as it gives your Chow Mein an extra texture.

The cooked vegetables and sauce here is also good with white rice.

[CHICHAY TIPS: 1. If you want your Chow Mein to be saucy or more wet, double the quantity of your sauce mix. 2. If you are cooking a large batch of this dish, and if you intend to keep some for the next day or so, separate the shrimps from the noodles or the sauce, and just thaw the shrimps out by placing in a small bowl of warm water for a few minutes, then drain and add it to your reheated noodles and sauce or sauce and rice.]

If you really want to make the noodles dry, crunchy and less oily, cook it this way:

-Blanch noodles in large amount of boiling water for 1 minute or as per package instructions.

-Drain well and cool slightly.

-Fluff up noodles to allow drying.

-When dried, spread noodles loosely on large cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

-Heat oven broiler to medium-high.

-Broil noodles for about 5 minutes on each side, checking frequently, until crisped but not burned.

-CHICHAY

----------------------------------------

"CHOW MEIN (WITH SHRIMPS)"

What You Need:

• 1 small pack of chow mein noodles
• olive oil, as needed
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (canned will do as well)
• 2 medium ribs celery, chopped
• 1/2 lb snow peas1 lb bok choy (or broccoli, or any greens you prefer)
• 1 pound mung bean sprouts (togue), washed and drained
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green onion, diced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 lb shrimps, peeled

Shrimp Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup broth (chicken, veg or beef) or water
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (dissolved in 3 tbsp water)

Prep:

-Take off strings from the snow peas, and cut each in half, crosswise.

-Chop the bokchoy into small pieces.

-Mix the marinade in a small bowl and marinate the shrimps for at least 20-25 minutes.

-Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the broth (or water), oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper and cornstarch and water mixture and set aside.

-Cook the noodles based on package directions, or soften the noodles by placing them in boiling salted water. Plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process and drain thoroughly.

How To:

-Heat up a wok or frying pan over medium-high to high heat.

-Add 1 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the noodles. Fry in batches until a little golden. Remove the noodles from the pan and transfer to a serving dish.

-Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil on the hot pan and saute the shrimps over medium heat until both sides turns a bit orange. Remove from heat quickly and set aside (just par-cook the shrimps, do not overcook.)

-On the same pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the onions and garlic, and add the mushrooms, stir and cook over medium/high heat for about 3-5 minutes.

-Season with salt and pepper.

-Add in the celery, snow peas, bokchoy, sesame oil. Stir constantly and cook for about 1-2 minutes.

-Add the bell peppers and bean sprouts, stir/cook for another minute.

-Add the sauce mixture in the pan, and let this simmer, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes or until thickened.

-Add the shrimps, stir and let this simmer for a minute.

-Stir in the green onions and then turn off the heat.

-Pour the cooked vegetable and sauce mixture on top of the noodles and serve hot.

"SHRIMP AND MUSHROOM PILAF"

My husband and I are trying to alternate brown rice and white rice in our meals. "Shrimp and Mushroom Pilaf" is my favorite dish using brown rice. You can always substitute the shrimp with diced chicken or pork, or even crab meat. Or make this a meatless dish, and simply add more mushrooms and veggies. Hope you enjoy this tasty 'meal-in-one' dish!

-CHICHAY

------------------------------------------------------
"Shrimp and Mushroom Pilaf"

What You Need:

• 1 cup of brown rice (long grain)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms of your choice (portobello, oyster, cremini...)
• 8 pcs of medium-sized shrimps, shelled and cleaned
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp hot sauce (or ketchup)
• 1 tbsp scallion greens, chopped
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups stock (beef, chicken or vegetable) or water
• salt and pepper to taste

Prep:
-Marinade the shrimps in garlic powder, salt, pepper and hotsauce (or ketchup) for about 15 minutes.

How To:

-Saute the garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat.

-Add the shrimps, and cook until the shrimps turn light orange.

-Transfer the cooked shrimps in a dish and set aside.

-In the same pan, heat up the butter, and saute the onions and mushrooms for about 5 minutes .

-Add the rice and saute this for about 3-5 minutes.

-Add the broth or water, stir, lower the heat, cover and and let this simmer for about 35-45 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed by the rice.

-Once the rice is cooked, add the cooked shrimps and the scallions, season with some salt and pepper, mix with a fork, turn off the heat, let the rice rest (covered) for about 10 minutes, and then serve.

"SHRIMP AND TOFU IN ORANGE-HOISIN SAUCE"

My friend Delia told me she likes cooking Tofu, and is asking for a new simple recipe. Ok Del, here is one easy recipe for you, with your favorite Tofu, my favorite shrimp and oranges that are very much in season now.

I usually use hard tofu because I know that for people who are not used to eating this (like my husband), it would be difficult to appreciate the soft and mushy texture of the softer tofu.

[CHICHAYS KITCHEN: If you want to introduce tofu to somebody who has never tried it before, I suggest you par-cook the tofu before using it in your cooking (cut it into cubes, or slice it, and then brown it in olive oil, and pat-dry it with a paper towel to remove excess oil. This will give it a chewy texture, thus will blend well with the texture of your meat dishes and veggies, and you do not have to worry about it becoming soggy once cooked.]

I will post more tofu dishes in the future. You'll be surprised how versatile this protein-rich ingredient is, and you can use it in many dishes as a meat extender, or as a meat alternative.

You will also notice in my recent recipes, I used a lot of fresh orange juice. This is because my mother-in-law's orange tree bears a lot of really nice fruits... I just can't stop eating them, and I thought of using the really ripe ones for my cooking to take advantage of this sweet fruit while it's in season.

(If you want some freshly-picked oranges, call me! )

-CHICHAY

---------------------

"SHRIMP AND TOFU IN ORANGE-HOISIN SAUCE"

What You Need:

• 10 pcs medium-sized shrimps, peeled and cleaned
• 2 blocks hard tofu
• juice from 2 ripe oranges
• 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce (can be substituted with oyster sauce)
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium-sized tomato, quartered
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• salt and pepper to taste.

Prep:

-Drain the tofu and place in a strainer, and put something heavy on top of the tofu pieces, and leave then to drain more for about 10 minutes.

-Squeeze the juice from the orange, mix in the Hoisin sauce with the orange juice, and marinate the shrimps in this mixture for about 10 minutes.

-Strain the marinade from the shrimps, and set these aside.

How To:

-Heat up the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

-Add in the tofu pieces (make sure there is enough space for each piece to cook well), fry these for about 1 minute each side. Make sure all sides of the cubes are a little browned.

-Transfer the cooked tofu pieces in a strainer and set aside.

-In the same pan, saute the onions and garlic until softened, and stir in the tomatoes, a quick stir is enough.

-Add in the reserved marinade from the shrimp, cornstarch and water mix, and the cooked tofu, stir well. Lower the heat and let this simmer for about 5-7 minutes.

-Add in the shrimps and sesame oil, keep stirring for about 5 minutes, or until the shrimps are cooked.

-Once cooked, taste the sauce, season with salt and pepper if needed, stir in the chopped cilantro, and serve.

"CABBAGE AND SHRIMP STIR-FRY""

Stir-fried cabbage was a favorite dish that my mom used to cook when my brother and I were still kids. Easy and delicious. But now, I like it better with shrimps...perfect with fried rice, YuMmmmm!

If you are not fond of shrimps, you can always add cooked chicken or turkey meat (cut in cubes), or cooked pork cutlets. If you want this meatless, then add tofu as your protein, or just make it a simple vegetable dish (that's how my mom used to prepare cabbage).

-CHICHAY

----------------------------------------------

"CABBAGE AND SHRIMP STIR-FRY"

What You Need:

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 10 pcs medium-sized shrimps, shelled and cleaned (you can also use pre-cooked shrimps)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 stalk scallion (optional), chopped

How To:

-In a heated pan with olive oil, saute the onions until softened.
-Stir in the garlic, ginger

- Stir in the shrimps (if you are using raw shrimps, cook for about 1-2 minutes or until the shrimps turn light orange)
-Stir in the cabbage, and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly.
-Turn off the heat, drizzle with some sesame oil, sprinkle with the chopped scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions), and serve.