Manila Bibimbap Recipe

 Lately there seems to be a Korean fad in the restaurants all around the Metro.  I like Korean foods. I like that  the cuisine centers more on vegetables.

This Sunday, I had too much time on my hands.  So I made Bibimbap.  I called this recipe Manila Bibimbap because the- piece de resistance- in this dish would be my favorite COSMOS ASADO.

No, I didn't cook the  asado.  I just bought it in Soler Street, Manila.  From Cosmos Panciteria.

The sauce that would tie this dish into one would be Macjang Sauce:

 The recipe for Macjang Sauce is as follows:
Mix together the following ingredients to taste ( no more cooking) -

1.  Djenjang paste (Korean brown tub of fermented soya bean paste or miso)
2.  Samjang paste (Korean green tub of fermented soya bean paste with chili paste)
3.  Karo syrup or Korean bottle of sugar syrup
4.  Rice vinegar (just a tweak)
5.  minced fresh garlic
6.  Sesame oil

All Korean ingredients can be found in Wang Mart .  They import Korean products that can be found in those leading supermarkets.


The different vegetables that can be added to a Bibimbap would be:

1.  Bean sprouts- sauté in sesame oil and garlic in high heat (to take out the moisture)

 2.  Dried shitake mushroom revived in water and sliced into strips- also sauté in sesame oil, water and garlic

 3.  Straw mushrooms in can, sliced and saute in sesame oil , water and garlic

 4.  Fried beancurd- slice into strip

 5.  Cucumber- sliced thinly

 6.  Julienned carrots- blanched in water

7.  Taiwan petchay- saute in sesame oil and garlic

8. You will need an egg - cooked sunny side up with yolk still runny...

and

9.  Asado- leave as such, no prep needed.  no picture too :(

Everything goes in a bowl and mix with how much ever Macjang Sauce you prefer and dig in!
Yummy!

Xuhui Caoheijing Hongruncal Market in Shanghai 2

Some more pictures of the Xuhui Caoheijing Market in Shanghai.  The Philippines has abundant seafood, so when I saw this woman selling clams, I wasn't as impressed.  We have more variety.  

I was a little intrigued and shocked that I saw a guinea pig in the wet section of the market.  How are these done? steamed? fried? boiled.  When I asked the lady seller beside it, she said:

 " That's just for playing"  Whew!  What a relief! I don't think I would try them anyway they are done.

I saw this shop selling pre marinated fresh meat and seafood on the second floor.  Think of it like shabu shabu ingredients that can be bought in the market.  Great Idea!

Xuhui Caoheijing Hongruncal Market in Pudong Shanghai

Xuhui Caoheijing Hongruncal market is located in the residential district of Cao Dong Zhi Lu.  It was a stone's throw away from my sister's flat in Shanghai, China.

 And since I really cannot visit a country without first diving into their markets, I find myself waiting at 6 in the morning for the shops to open.

I was a tad too early- it seems.  Shanghai markets opens at 7:00 to 7:30 AM.

 The market is subdivided into 2 floors.  The ground floor houses the wet market selling fish, meat and produce.  And the second floor houses the dry goods, where we can find rice, canned goods and pre marinated- ready to cook- items.

Since Shanghai is famous for their dumplings, I think it only fitting that dumpling wrappers are hand made each day in the market.  These gentlemen are slicing their dumpling wrappers into squares or circles to fit the client's  orders.  They also make their own noodles out of the same dough and slice them very thinly or thickly.

Did you notice the moisture from their pre packed dumpling wrapper?  They were just finishing up at 6 in the morning.  I wonder what time they started making the dough.

 Shanghai dumplings have a chewy texture to them.  Unlike our dumpling wrappers which can be paper thin, theirs are thicker and have more bite to them.

As I went around, I saw these coagulated chicken blood blocks sitting in a water bath.  We used to have chicken blood sautéed in kutchay leaves or swimming in breakfast congee when we were small, So I understood where we would cook these.

But I didn't understand what these were.  This looked like a mound of beans sitting in a trough.  Anybody know what these are? How are they cooked?

    

These bamboo shoots are so fresh!  They looked like they were just picked from the ground.  I like them sautéed or added in my soup for that fibrous, nutty bite.  Where else other than China can we find such ingredients prepared with LOVE.

I didn't take a picture of the assortment of mushrooms I saw in the market.  But since we visited Shanghai during spring time.  Mushroom were all around the restaurants we went into.  And they were dirt cheap.  I bought 40 pesos worth of  fresh shitake mushroom and it took me 3 days to finish them.

 I think it will be worth visiting Shanghai if only for the mushrooms.

Did I mention that mushrooms are my favorite?

These gigantic garlic stalks can be added to dumplings and pork mince.  They impart a garlicky aroma. They are different from kutchay or green onions. There is a bundle of kutchay beside it.

 It must be garlic stalk harvest season.  They have them everywhere!

Here's the last picture I got from the wet section of the market.  The same familiar vegetable we have here only BIGGER.  The onions are probably 100 grams per bulb.
                                    

Adobong Boneless Bangus Belly

 I used to buy bangus (milkfish) from the wet market.    I would choose the fattest bangus, have them take out the scales and the fish bones, and have them cut "daing- style" (butterfly cut).

My favorite part would be the belly with its fatty center. Often, not all the fish bones are perfectly taken out.  And the bangus comes home soft and wilted.

That was before we discovered  Sarangani Bay Prime boneless bangus belly.

Now, we head off to the freezer section of the supermarket and stock up on these favorites.

It takes around 20 minutes to defrost these beauties and another 20 minutes to cook them.

 Easy fast food.

 It comes unsalted, so it is like a blank canvas for me to play with.

I tried them Boiled, Steamed, Broiled,  Fried, and Baked.  I love that they have really fatty belly. Yum.

Here's one of my favorite recipe:

Adobong Boneless Bangus Belly

Ingredients:

1 pack 400 gram Bangus Belly- unseasoned
1/2 cup Knorr Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly and fried in oil
3 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt and pepper
1 pc finger chili ( optional)

Procedure:
1.  Season bangus with salt and pepper, coat with flour and fry.
2.  In a saucepan, mix together seasoning, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, and fried garlic.  cook in low heat.
3.  Dip fried bangus in warm sauce.
4.  Enjoy!  Easy Peasy! :)

Sunday Lunch- Broccoli with Truffle Cream Pasta

 Another lazy Sunday at home.   It is the Sunday before exam week, so today is Review Sunday.

We have decided to have pasta for lunch.  So I whip up this quick Creamy Spaghetti with Truffles.
 I remembered the truffle paste I bought from Rijeka, Croatia.

Truffle goes exceptionally well with cream sauce, the pungent mushroom-my flavor gives a kick to the quiet cream.  To give this recipe a variation, I added Broccoli.

And since it's LAZY Sunday, I don't like to be bothered with making Bechamel ( flour, butter and milk sauce) and substitute it with Campbell Cream of mushroom soup instead.

Broccoli with Truffle Cream Pasta

Ingredients:
1 T oil  (right now I'm using rice bran oil)
1 pinch of butter
1 Cup Lean Bacon
1 Can Campbell Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 Can of Evaporated Milk
2 Tbsp Minced Onion
2 Tbsp Minced Red Pepper
1 Tbsp Truffle Paste
250 grams Broccoli flowers, blanched and shocked in cold water
1/2 Can Button Mushrooms, sliced
450 grams cooked Spaghetti, al dente
pinch of salt, pepper and paprika

Procedure:
1.  Heat in low flame oil and butter.
2.  Saute mushroom in high heat ( this brings out the flavor of mushroom).
3.  Add onion, red pepper and bacon.
4.  Dump the Cream of mushroom soup and evaporated milk. ( You can add chicken stock to liquefy the dish).
5.  Add truffle paste and blanched broccoli.  Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
6.  Add cooked spaghetti and close the fire before you mix.  ( To prevent the spaghetti over cooking)
7.  Enjoy!

Kawan Puff Pastry Block in Manila!

Puff pastry is defined by wikipedia as " a light flaky leavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in its solid state at 20 degrees.  In raw form, puff pastry is a dough layered with solid fat and repeated folded and rolled out. "  

The cooked product produces a pastry that is  light, flaky and crispy.  Some of the world's best loved bread are made of puff pastry,   Studel, Croissant, Turnovers, Vol au Vent, Sausage rolls, Danish Pastries, and  Beef Wellington are some of its example.

It will be time consuming and difficult to make puff pastry at home, since the fat should be rolled with the flour COLD, and with our summer, that will be virtually impossible. 

Santis Delicatessen has a brand of puff pastry named "Pampas" which costs around 900 plus pesos and packaged at one kilogram.  

Too expensive for me. 

 So imagine my excitement when I saw this Kawan Puff Pastry of Malaysia in Puregold Supermarket.  It costs 180 pesos for a 400 gram pack in the freezer section.  I took it home and tried it out.

I cut it into squares and rolled it with a hotdog for "pig in a blanket" .  Brushed it all around with an egg and milk wash to give it a little color.  Pop it in the oven on 240 degrees 

and....

wa- laah!  I love it! You can never go wrong with it! Fantastic!

I also took some slices of chicken sausage and cheese on a square pastry,

sealed it with egg wash and the tines of a fork.

Pop the whole thing in the oven and ...

Wa- laah! again...I think I am in love with Kawan.  :)

The pastry is light and flaky, buttery and tasty.  PERFECT!  

My kids love it and I love that it is so easy to make at home.  As far as I'm concerned, my sons can have puff pastry everyday for snack. 

 You can put any filling inside.  Peanut butter and jelly, Chicken salad, adobo, corned beef, cheese , fruits, chocolate, even smores ( marshmallow and chocolate).  The possibilities are endless.

love. love.....

http://www.kawanfood.com/kawan/puff.html

http://www.facebook.com/kawanfood

Ramen Cool, Kapitolyo, Pasig

 We are always on the look out for good japanese restaurants that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.
 So we tried this "cool" joint in Kapitolyo, Pasig named  Ramen Cool .

 The first impression we got upon entering is the well lit interior and the etched glass panels with its cute japanese sakura flower designs.

 Although the place was small, they have good business here because diners keep coming. There's always something interesting to look at like these lighting fixtures which resembled a paper lantern cut out, but  it was made of steel.  Interesting.

There were also Japanese cartoons on frames scattered all over the entrance.  One thing to take note of is the well -Lighted interior.  You could wear a sunglass at night and still see everything.

 We had to have SUKIYAKI (215 pesos) which was quite good.  The broth didn't taste too sweet ( like dessert sweet) which sometimes happens with other restaurants.  Korean glass noodles are perfect for this dish, they don't overcook and become soft on you.

Brian like anything with tofu.  So we ordered  TOFU SPECIAL (170 pesos) with its spicy sauce garnished with red pepper, aubergine, and mushroom bits.  It was good on my rice.  If I can order only one dish with my rice, I would pick this one.

I can't remember how much the gyoza was, it was ok.

I asked if I could photograph their menu, which was a work of art in itself.  You need not ask what's in the dish for they took a picture of each one and printed them all along with the price. Overleaf is a picture of a Japanese girl or man similar to a deck of card.  Cool!

Ramen Cool address :  #25 East Kapitolyo Drive corner West Kapitolyo, Pasig.

telephone number: 636- 0972