Siacoy

This is one of my favorite childhood snacks. My mother was an expert maker of Siacoy but since I was only 5 years old that time I was not interested to know what she was doing, all I wanted to do was to eat and play. To this day I regretted for not getting the recipe from her. I was away and spent two decades abroad and I never bothered asking other favorite recipes from her.. I searched some recipes from the internet because this recipe is not available in local baking books. The recipes are not the same but nevertheless it was succesful

This was an experimental recipe, I was not satisfied with the taste(my Mom's siacoy was much better than mine) but I was glad because the dough have risen perfectly and the siacoy was soft.

SIACOY

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour (1/2 cup flour extra or more for dusting).
1.2 tsp salt
1 tbsp activey dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp. oil
1 1/2 cup cooking oil (for deep frying)

Procedure:

Mix flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.
Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside for 5-10 minutes until frothy. Stir and add to the flour mixture.Add oil. Mix and knead until smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and placed in a deep bowl covered. Let rise until double in size for about 1 hour. Punch down dough, knead on a floured surface and form into a log. Cut into pieces, Roll each piece to a long stick and twist. Place on on a baking sheet covered and let rise for another hour.
Heat oil in a frying pan, Drop each piece about 2 pcs at a time'don't overcrowd, Cook each side until light brown. Drain and sprinkle with sugar.

Dough after kneading

double in size after an hour

                                                                Punching the dough

                                                              Shaped to a log

                                                                  cut into pieces

Twisted

                                                           Sprinkled with white sugar

                                                                  Finished product

Chicken Inasal (Chicken Barbecue)

 Chicken Inasal

 Lemon Grass

 Achuete Oil

Annato Seeds

This is my first blog post since July 9 due to virus problems in my computer. I missed blogging and also missed posting the different dishes that I cooked for over three months.

This time my recipe is called Chicken Inasal (grilled roasted in charcoal)  I marinated four pieces chicken breasts with wings attached overnight. Marinade consisted of 2 cups of sprite or 7-up, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 2 tbsp. brown sugar, some minced garlic, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, dash of pepper, 1 tbsp. rock salt and 1 small bunch of lemon grass (white portion only). Marinade chicken at room temperature for an hour then keep it refrigerated overnight. The next day, grill on charcoal. Rub with achuete oil.while grilling.

To prepare annato oil: In a small pan heat about 3 tbsp. oil and 3 tbsp achuete seeds. Simmer in medium fire for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and leave for sometime and stir until the oil turns red in color, let cool and discard marinade.

Note: Lemongrass is optional, if its not available, you can use a thumb-size ginger instead.

Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omellete)

 the broiled eggplant(black color) the peeled eggplant(middle) and the flattened one

Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omellete)

Eggplant is one of my favorite veggies. This recipe is quite easy. The messy part is when you grill and peel the skin off the eggplant. This recipe is a popular Philippine dish. 

Recipe:
3 eggplants (long variety)
1 large egg, beaten
dash of salt & pepper
1/2 cup oil for frying

Procedure

Pierce the eggplant with a fork (3 on each sides). Cook the eggplants in many ways, you can broil it on a grill or open flame or by boiling until eggplant is soft. Turn eggplants on every side to char the skin until wilted. Cool the eggplants before you peel off the skin, retain the stem for easy handling during frying.

Flatten the eggplant by fork, set aside. Beat egg and season with salt & pepper. Heat oil in a medium pan. Dip each flattened eggplant one at a time in the egg mixture and slowly slide it into the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides.

Banana Chocolate Bread

I always use over riped bananas with freckles or black spots. Banana Cake or banana bread? Can't tell the difference. They all have the same ingredients except baking powder which is one ingredient for banana cake.

Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup veg, oil
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup Mix-ins: pecan, walnuts nuts, chocolate chips of your choice(optional)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F (150C)
2. Beat sugar, eggs,and oil at medium speed until combined. Beat in mashed bananas and vanilla at low speed
3. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa. baking soda and salt and beat into banana mixture at low speed just until well combined. You can add nuts if you want. Mix batter.
4. Spoon batter into a loaf pan.
5. Bake 1 hour or insert a toothpick to test if cooked. Remove from oven immediately. Cool on rack.

Happy Eating.

Tonkatsu Chicken with Java Rice

TONKATSU CHICKEN

 Chicken Breast Fillet

 Bread Crumbs

Tonkatsu with Java Rice

Ingredients:
3 pcs. chicken breasts, flatten each
1 egg beaten
dash of salt
dash of pepper
flour and breadcrumbs about 1/2 cup each for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

Procedure
Flatten chicken breasts, dash of salt and pepper on the chicken, dredge it in flour.to coat all over.
Dip each meat into the beaten egg and dredge with bread crumbs all over. Put meat in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Dip fry the chicken meat on a medium heat, careful not to burn the meat. Fry until medium brown.
Serve hot with Java Rice or Fried, steam rice of your choice. You can also dip in your favorite teriyaki sauce.

Vegetable Stir-Fry

 style of cutting sayote and carrots

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pork or chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 pc. Sayote, sliced diagonally
3 leaves Napa cabbage, sliced 1 inch size
1 pc. small carrot, sliced diagonally
1 onion, minced
1 head garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
dash of pepper
dash of  salt
1 tsp white sugar
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce or 1 tbsp soy sauce
Method:
Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a wok or a shallow pan. Add ginger, onions and garlic, saute for a few seconds. Add in the pork stir fry a few seconds, then pour in water and cover, let simmer for 3 minutes. Add sayote, carrot, cover about 2 min. Then season with salt, pepper, sugar and oyster sauce or soy sauce. Add lastly the napa cabbage.Mix a few seconds. Remove from heat. Don't cover the pan so veggies will not be soggy and overcooked. Serve hot.

Chicken Soup with Sotanghon Noodles

 Chinese Napa Cabbage

 Chicken Breast

Green thread noodles are available in supermarkets.

 a piece of the sotanghon (Bean Thread or Cellophane, or Glass Noodles) It is thin and transparent, slippery when cooked.

Chicken with Sotanghon Noodles

Napa Cabbage

This week I've been cooking different types of soups because of the rainy season to keep me warm. Sotanghon is the Philippine name for Bean Thread noodles.

Ingredients:


1 Chicken Breast fillet, sliced diagonally or thinly sliced or cooked shredded chicken about a cup
4 cups water
1 part of sotanghon noodles (about 150 gms)
5 leaves of Napa cabbage, sliced diagonally
1 small carrot, sliced diagonally
1 stalk celery, diced
slices of ginger
1 clove garlic minced
1 chicken knorr cubes
1 tsp. salt
a drizzle of sesame oil
dash of pepper
chopped green onions
2 tbsp oil

Procedure:


Saute in oil ginger, garlic in low heat to avoid burning the garlic, then add chicken, stir fry a little bit, add water, cover and let boil. Then add the noodles, salt, and cover. Once its boiling, stir a little bit to separate the noodles. Add chicken cubes, salt and dash of pepper. Add the carrots, celery and sliced cabbage. Turn off heat. Serve hot and garnish with green onions on top.

Note: I don't pre-soaked my noodles when I use it in soups. You can add some more water for the soup if you find that the water has been absorbed by the noodles, and check the taste once more. Add seasonings to your taste.

Clams Mallungay or Spinach Soup

It's been raining the past few days. According to the weather forecast, the typhoon has left the country but another storm is expected to enter the country soon. Well, I need to cook something hot and steamy for lunch. My brother gave me a kilo of clams. Timing is perfect.

Here's the recipe:
1 kg. fresh clams
3 cups water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 thumb sized ginger, sliced thinly
1 small onions, minced
a bunch of mallungay or spinach
salt to taste dash of pepper
1 tbsp oil

Method:
Wash the clams in water. Drain.

Heat oil in a deep pan, saute ginger, garlic, onions for a few seconds. Add clams and pour 3 cups water. Cover and let boil. Add mallungay or spinach immediately. Turn off heat and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Lumpia or Eggroll Wrapping 101

Here's a simple trick to wrap your springrolls, eggrolls, lumpia shanghai etc. Just follow the steps below and you are on your way to making your own springrolls. You can buy it in two shapes, one is square shape which is available in Asian grocery or Asian sections of supermarkets and the other is round shape commonly sold in the Philippines. If you are a beginner then simply defrost the pastry wrapper first. Then separate the pastry carefully one by one or you'll end up tearing the pastry. I'd drawn the illustrations below, so not perfectly a gifted artist LOL, but at least I made my own effort.

Place square with one corner towards you. Put  2 tbsp of the filling at the center of the pastry. Then fold bottom corner up.

Fold the side corners gently.

Roll tightly and brush the open flap with beaten egg. to seal the rolls.

Note: Prepare your own filling, it can be veggies or purely meat. Wrap and dip fry in hot oil.

Meatballs with Spinach

Delicious meatballs can be prepared as baked or deep fried or can be eaten as appetizers, as spaghetti mix, or meatball stew with tomato sauce, or with some veggies. I like mine as toppings for stir fried spinach. Try this simple recipe

Meatballs on a bed of Spinach

Ingredients:
1 lb minced pork or beef
1 tbsp chopped onions
1 egg
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 lbs spinach fresh
1 tsp. cornflour and 1 tbsp cold water (blend well)
dash of salt, ground pepper
2 tbsp. oyster sauce

Wash and pick over the spinach. Drain. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine pork or beef and chives, egg and soy sauce. Mix well till mixture binds together. Shape into 8 balls.

In a pan heat1 tbsp oil and stir fry spinach quickly about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat oil, add meatballs and fry over medium heat turning occasionally till browned. Add water and bring to boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes Pour blended cornflour to the meatballs mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens. If too dry, add a little water. Season with salt, pepper, sesame oil and oyster sauce.

Arrange the spinach on a serving dish and place the meatballs on top and spoon the sauce over the meatballs.

Lumpia (Springroll)

Lumpia or springroll has always been a favorite dish of mine. I make dozens of lumpia and keep it in the freezer.

Tawge (Mung Beans Sprouts)

 Sweet Potato

 Lumpia Wrappers

Fried Lumpia

Ingredients:

1/4 kg. mung beans sprouts (tawge)
1 pc. garlic, minced
1 pc. small camote (sweet potato), sliced diagonally
1 small pc. carrots, sliced diagonally
dash of pepper, salt, msg
pastry Wrapper
1 cup or more Oil for frying

Procedure:
Saute garlic in 2 tbsp. oil, add sweet potatoes, carrots and lastly the sprouts. Stir fry for a few minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Don't overcook the veggies. Turn off heat. Remove veggies immediately. Cool veggies before wrapping.

Lay wrapper on a flat surface. Put about 2 tbsp. of the veggies on the pastry wrapper. Roll and tuck both ends. Dip fry in deep hot oil about 3 pcs. at a time or until light golden. Drain on paper towel.

Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup whitevinegar

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 chili, crushed

1 tbsp. white sugar

dash of pepper

dash of salt

Mix all ingredients, stirring thoroughly until sugar dissolves.

Note: If bean sprouts is not available, you can replace it with a half head of cabbage, sliced finely.

Sweet and Sour Fish

 Tilapia Fish or you can use any fish of your choice. Make sure fish is fresh and properly cleaned.

 Carrots, onions, ginger, garlic

Sweet n Sour Sauce

Sweet and Sour Fish

Ingredients:

1 whole fish Tilapia

1 carrot, juliened

1 onion sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 thumb size ginger, juliened

1 medium tomato, sliced

For the sauce:

1/2 tsp salt

dash of pepper

2 tbsp. vinegar

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1/3 cup catsup

1 cup water

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup cooking oil for frying

Procedure:

1. Wash and clean fish, remove scales and guts. Wash properly, make 2 diagonal slits on each side of the fish then rub with salt.

2. Deep fry fish in cooking oil until fish is crispy on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. In a deep bowl, combine ketchup, water, vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, soy sauce and cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.

4. In a separate saucepan, saute in 2 tbsp. oil, ginger, garlic, add fry carrots, onions and sliced tomatoes for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

5. On the same pan, pour the prepared sauce ketchup-vinegar, bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and pour all over the fried fish or you can pour the sause later or before serving to retain the crispness of the fish.

 Note: you can veggies like mushrooms, bell peppers, pineapple chunks.

Angel Chiffon Cake

This is the second series of my topic about Chiffon Cakes.

Chiffon and Angel cakes are baked in tube pans. When I was in the US I had a hard time “pan shopping” for pans, so my sister ordered directly from the pan manufacturers such as Wilton. We waited for about two weeks before our orders arrived. Here in the Philippines the tube aluminum pan is easy to find.

I have 2 tube pans in my dozens of baking cookware. I seldom use this pan except for special occasions like birthdays & christmas holidays. It is easy to order special cakes in bakeries or cake shops but angel and chiffon cakes are no longer made in bakeshops, so making your own angel or chiffon cake is something special.
Tube pan and electric mixer are essential gadgets in making this kind of cakes. Don’t ever buy a non-stick pan as I did before or you’ll end up baking a fallen angel. The cake will collapse as it will not cling to the tube and sides of the pan. Do not grease the pan. I have posted a chiffon cake recipe in this blog.

What do you do with your egg whites??? Here’s the recipe for Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake Recipe

12 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups white sugar, divided
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp salt

Oven Temp ~ 375° Ore-heat oven
Cake Baking Time ~ 30 - 40 Min. Pan Type ~ 10 x 3 3/4-inch - Angel Food cake pan

Directions:

In large bowl, using a mixer, beat egg whites with cream of tartar at high speed until foamy. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are glossy and stand in soft peaks. Beat in flavorings.Sift together flour, remaining sugar and salt. Sift about 1/2 cup of the flour mixture over whites and gently fold just until flour disappears.
Repeat, folding in remaining flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Pour into ungreased 10 x 3 3/4-inch Angel Food pan. Gently cut through batter with metal spatula.Bake in preheated oven until top springs back when lightly touched with finger. Remove from oven immediately and invert cake as soon as possible to maintain its volume and to keep it from shrinking. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. With narrow spatula or knife, loosen cake from pan and gently shake onto serving plate.Top with fruit or frost, if desired.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake Recipe:

Omit almond extract and increase vanilla to 2 teaspoons. Reduce flour to 2/3 cup and sift in 1/3 cup Cocoa Powder. Prepare batter and bake as above.
Yield: 12 servings - 1 (10-inch) cake

Chicken Lollipop

Chicken Lollipop

 Dredge in flour

Cut joints of chicken wings & scrape, push meat down to form a ball.

 

Chicken Lollipops

10 pcs. chicken wings (upper portion of the wings)
Apply salt n pepper to the chicken
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper

Dredging mixture:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. garlic powder
dash of red chillis (optional)
Procedure
Cut chicken at the joints. Pull skin and scrape the meat and push it down to the other end of the joint to form a ball. Set aside. Reserve the ther parts for soup or other purposes.
Marinate chicken with salt and pepper for half an hour Mix the dredging mixture. Combine the chicken and coating mixture. Let rest for half an hour. In deep pan, dip fry chicken over medium heat until golden brown. Serve hot with your fave dips