Chicken Menudo a la Kam

First and foremost, Happy New Year everyone! I hope you are all as excited for 2012 as I am. :)

My brother (let's call him Yams :b) from Manila is in town for the holidays and he is a complete health buff, so in an attempt to eat healthier, we have been tweaking rich and greasy Filipino dishes to make them lighter versions. I admire his discipline on food (FYI: this brother used to eat a whole bag of Hershey's kisses like potato chips). 

So here's my version of the Filipino Menudo, no it's not the same as the Mexican one. Filipino menudo is  a stew that is usually eaten with rice (like every other Filipino dish) while Mexican menudo is a spicy soup made with tripe (I bet it's a good hangover soup). 

What you need:

- Around 4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, cubed

- juice of 1/2 lemon (you will use the other half for the stew)

- 2 tbsp. dark soy sauce

- 1 tbsp. Olive oil

- clove of garlic, minced

- small onion, chopped

- 1 medium potato, cubed

- 2 carrots, cubed

- Around 1.5 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)

- juice of the other half of the lemon

- 1 small can tomato sauce

- green peas or cubed bell peppers  (optional, great for pops of color)

- salt and pepper to taste

How it's done:

Combine soy sauce and lemon and marinate chicken for around 30 minutes. 

Heat up a wok, add the olive oil. Saute garlic and onion. Once onion is translucent, add chicken and cook until all sides are brown. 

Add stock and let simmer for around 5 minutes. Add in potatoes, carrots, lemon juice and tomato sauce and simmer for another good 10 minutes. 

Add in green peas/bell pepper and simmer for another minute. 

Season as you wish, you can either do fish sauce or salt and pepper. I like adding a little bit of rosemary. 

Serve hot with rice :)

Kam's Tips:

- Like pork? Substitute the chicken with 1 lb. pork and add another 5 minutes simmer time. 

- Some add chick peas and raisins, two things that I am not a fan of, you can add them towards the end if   

  you prefer.

- Want it spicier? You can either add a little bit of red pepper flakes or a few drops of tabasco sauce :)   

Buco Pandan Chiffon Cupcakes

The idea of making cupcakes with Filipino flavors came into me after watching back to back episodes of Cupcake Wars in the Food Network. Every major city has a cupcake store so I wanted to be different and incorporate tropical and fruity flavors to my cupcakes. (FYI: I strongly disagree to anyone who says cupcakes are out this year)

So here it is! Buco Pandan salad flavors in a mamon-like cupcake :)

Buco Pandan Chiffon Cupcakes (tweaked this recipe by Kirbie Cravings)
(makes 24 cupcakes)

What you need:

(A)
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tbsp. baking powder 

1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar

(B)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 egg yolks
1/2 tbsp. Green food coloring mixed in
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp. Pandan flavor

(C)
6 egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar

How it's done:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Combine (A) in a bowl. Stir well to blend. Add (B). Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.

Beat (C) (egg whites and cream of tartar) in a separate bowl until soft peaks formed. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff and shiny peaks are formed. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolks mixture, fold to mix and then add the rest of the egg whites. Fold gently but thoroughly, so no white streaks remain. Scoop into cupcake pan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Kam's Tips:
- Always, always use room temperature eggs especially if you are using egg whites.
- Never open the oven door while the chiffon cupcake are baking (I know you are tempted by the smell, must resist!) Opening the door will result to sagging cupcakes.
- Frosting ideas: Vanilla buttercream topped with toasted coconut flakes - FTW!

Chewy Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies a la Kam

How do you like your cookie? Do you like it crunchy on the outside yet chewy on the inside? Or did you prefer it crunchy all the way? I like mine chewy all the way! This does not only lessen the occurrence of crumbs (which I hate because, in case I haven't mentioned yet, I am a major neat freak) but also because I like it tasting like it just came out from the oven.

Here's a quick cookie recipe I like to do when I crave for something sweet and comforting :)

What you need:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp. Salt

- 3/4 cup Crisco Shortening (added 1 tbsp. water to this)

- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup White Sugar
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups Dark Chocolate Chips

How it's done:

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 320 degress F.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt and then set aside.
Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, cream shortening, white sugar and brown sugar.
Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.

Mix in the sifted dry ingredients.
Stir in chocolate chips.

Form dough into 1.5" balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
Let cool on rack for few minutes.

Kam's Tips:
- I am planning on doing a Macadamia and White Chocolate version! Instead of 2 cups of chocolate chip, make that 1 cup white chocolate chip and 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts :) (Ohh yummy!)
- Everyone loves the smell of baking cookies! If you are expecting guests and want your place to smell amazing, make a batch!

Pork Adobong Gapan with Pinakurat

This is my default Adobo recipe, just because Piano man and I LOVE fried garlic. There's probably hundreds of Adobo versions out there but my palate is used to two versions, this one and the Cavite version. (FYI: Haven't really tried making the Cavite version but all I know about it is --> achuete is your friend)

My father's family is from Gapan, a small town in the province of Nueva Ecija up North. I remember spending weekends there enjoying the best pastillas, barquillos with ice cream, my lola's Chicken Afritada and Adobong Gapan. I was in awe everytime we go to their town market as I often see "unique" ingredients that are not only new to my eyes, but also to my smell. (Burong Isda FTW! Eekkk, I kid)

Dinuguan & Burong Isda. Pic taken from pinoy_pinay

What you need:
- 1 lb. pork (I use pork butt but this is better with pork belly)
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup Pinakurat**, optional
- 1 cup water
- 3 Bay leaves
- Salt & Pepper to Taste

- 5 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
- Another 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced

How it's done:
In a big sauce pan, add pork, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, Pinakurat, water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until meat is tender. Season to taste.

Remove meat and strain. Set sauce aside.

In a big wok, heat up the vegetable oil. Brown minced garlic, add in meat and brown all sides.
Add in the sauce. Serve hot with rice.

Kam's Tips:
- I add a bit of ginger powder for a bit more flavor.
- Craving for something salty? After browning the meat, add around 3 tbsp. of brown bagoong to make Binagoongan :)
- **Pinakurat is a vinegar mix of coconut sap (tuba) and small red chilies known as labuyo in the Philippines. You can always use ordinary vinegar of course. Always take note though: Filipino vinegar is what makes Filipino adobo tasty! You'll find some on most Asian stores.

Humble Banana Bread

This morning, I noticed 4 ignored and lonely bananas on top of my kitchen counter. They don't look very pleasing to the eye, thus no one wanted to eat them, but they are actually the perfect baking bananas for banana bread.

So here's a very simple banana bread recipe from my mother-in-law. I'm not sure why she called it humble (will ask the next time she visits).

What you need:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour, sifted
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 4 Ripe baking bananas, mashed
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

How it's done:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease 1 large loaf pan (12in x 4.5in) or 2 medium loaf pans (7.5in x 3.5in). Set aside.

Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, cream butter and brown sugar.
Add eggs and mix on low speed.

Combine flour and baking soda and then add to mixture.
Add bananas and mix on medium speed for about a minute.

Pour mixture into pan/pans. Top with walnuts (optional)
Bake for 1 hour.
Let cool before slicing. Great for afternoon snacks and tea :)

Kam's Tip:
- Are you a chocolate lover? Reduce the brown sugar to 3/4 cup and fold in around 1/4 cup or more of semisweet chocolate chips before pouring into loaf pans.

Tinolang Manok (Chicken Soup with Chayote and Spinach) a la Kam

As you may already know, I am HUGE fan of chayote, and so it's just obvious that I love any dish that has it. Tinolang manok is one of my favorite dishes to make, mainly because it is fast, easy and soothing (hmm ginger) especially when served hot over steamed rice.

Other versions use dahong sili (chili leaves) or malunggay (moringa), but if you live in the US, I would recommend using fresh spinach.

What you need:
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
A clove of garlic, minced
Ginger the size of a thumb, minced** (I hate having to take out pieces of ginger in my mouth)

4 Chicken Thighs (that I sliced into smaller pieces)
Around 2 cups of Rice Wash or Hugas Bigas (or you can use chicken broth)

2 Chayote, sliced
1 tbsp or more Fish Sauce
Bunch of Spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste

Here's how it's done:
Heat up a wok and add in vegetable oil, after around 5 minutes, add garlic. Saute.
Add in onions and ginger. Saute until onions become translucent.

Add chicken and saute until all sides are brown (My mommy calls this "sangkutsa").
Add fish sauce and mix to incorporate into chicken. Add rice wash or broth.

Simmer for around 20-30 minutes.
Add chayote and simmer for additional 10 minutes.
Add salt and pepper, or more fish sauce if you wish.
Turn off fire, and then add the spinach.

Serve hot with steam rice.

Kam's Tips:
** I ALWAYS use minced ginger when cooking, it is not only more convenient to eat, but also more flavorful.
** You can use green papaya or squash instead of chayote. Green papaya would give the tinola a sweeter taste.

Chocolate Crinkles a la Kam

About a month ago, I've noticed most of my friends posted a Baguio photo album and I can't help but miss all the goodies you bring home from a trip up North. I remember always getting sayote (which was 7 pesos A KILO!), peanut brittle (not really a big fan, preferred the Good Sheperd brand over others), choco flakes (I could finish half of a container in one sitting, what a whale) and chocolate crinkles. The last two were my fam's favorite, mainly because we are such chocolate lovers (or should I say addicts).

So here's a very simple crinkles recipe I got from my mother-in-law:

What you need:
1 2/3 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
1 cup White Sugar

2 Extra Large Eggs
2 tbsp. Sour Cream
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

2 cups sifted Confectioner's Sugar

How you do it:

Sift together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and then add in the eggs, sour cream and vegetable oil.

With the paddle attachment on your mixer, stir on low until evenly mixed. You can also do this by hand by using a spatula. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven 325F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Prepare confectioner's sugar, make sure you place 'em on a large bowl.

After an hour, remove mixture from ref. Lightly grease your hands. Using a small teaspoon, scoop some mixture and form into a ball. Drop on powdered sugar and completely dredge each ball. Arrange on baking sheet, around 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.
Best when served the same day it was baked (with some awesome black coffee)

Kam's Tips:
- Do not over-bake! You don't want dry crinkles. For a chewy version, bake for 8-10 minutes.