Shrimp Tempura

One of the Japanese specialties I love... Shrimp Tempura!

Last weekend I went window shopping and ended up on a book store. I like to read novels... I wish I have more free time for that. I checked the recipe section and found two great recipe books for very affordable prices. It is best to invest in cookbooks (at least for me because I like to cook and experiment) rather than novels. So I bought those and went home.

I shared the excitement about my new cookbook with my friends in Facebook by writing something on my wall. And one of my dear friends commented and reminded me of my blog. She said “All the best Lerrie! Keep updating ur site.. I'm a huge fan! =)”. I felt so glad that finally (FINALLY!!!) someone acknowledges my blog and is really looking forward to my next recipe. I got inspired and prepared my next post right away.

Of course, she is not the first who has done that. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my friends that really appreciate and love my every post and recipe… for all your comments, private messages. I am not really fond of mentioning names but you know who you are. ^_^ (More hugs and thanks!) You all make my heart pounding!

Well, back to business, the recipe I am sharing right now is not on the cookbook I bought.. hehehe.. yeah!! Tricky, right?! I had the ingredients for this recipe weeks ago… I just didn’t have time to do it. Now, here is my chance to finally do it.

Tempura is made by deep-frying vegetables, seafood, meat or other foods in a light batter. What makes it unique is that it uses tempura batter and the Japanese bread crumbs. People usually serve it with  soy sauce but I tried doing it with mayonnaise and catsup dip and it tasted great!

Let’s all enjoy Shrimp Tempura this weekend! Yum! Yum!

Ingredients:

Large raw shrimps, shelled, leaving tails on

Tempura batter mix, powdered

1 egg

Japanese bread crumbs

Dip

2 tbsp. Mayonnaise

1 tsp. Catsup

Instructions:

1.   1. Clean the shrimp by removing the head and the shell. Leave the tail on. Drain and dry using paper towel.

2.   2. Prepare the deep frying pan. Heat the oil to 340 F. (To check the temperature of the oil; drop a little tempura batter into the oil. If the batter comes up right away instead of sinking to the bottom of the pan, it's about 360 F degree. If the batter goes halfway to the bottom and comes up, it's about 340F degree.)

3.   3. Prepare the tempura batter mix (powdered), beaten egg and Japanese bread crumbs each in a separate bowl. 

4.   4. Roll the shrimp in the tempura batter mix.

5.   5. Dip into the beaten egg.

6.   6. Roll generously in Japanese bread crumbs

7.   7. Deep fry in the heated oil until golden brown.

8.   8. Mix the mayonnaise and catsup and put on the saucer.

8.   9. Serve with mayonnaise and catsup dip on the side.
 

Baked Scambled Egg

One Sunday morning, I woke up so early. Surprisingly, I slept late the night before. With one eye still closed, I noticed that my computer is on... so bad of me! I have forgotten to turn it off. Still half asleep, I went to my favorite spot and did some web browsing... while trying to get into my senses.
 
I checked my mail and saw an e-mail from All Recipes newsletter. All Recipes is an online community where people post, try and test people’s recipes. Their recipe for that day seemed too easy and looked so yummy! I was suddenly hungry... I rushed into the kitchen to see whether I had all the ingredients. Unfortunately, I didn’t have everything but I knew I could improvise.

As I always say, don’t be afraid to try new things and experiment. If you are a vegetarian, you can exclude the meat and continue to with the rest of the recipe.

Ingredients: 

3 eggs
½ cup ground beef
3 tbsp. onion, chopped
3 tbsp. bell pepper, chopped
3 tbsp. grated cheese
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Instruction:

1. Prepare the oven at 350 degrees F.
2. In a pan, cook the ground beef (or meat of your choice) over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
3. In bowl, beat the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients including the beef.
4. Transfer the mixture into a baking pan. And cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the knife inserted near the center comes out clear. 

Chicken Teriyaki

Today, I am preparing Chicken Teriyaki as a continuation of my last post. Teriyaki is one of the famous Japanese cuisines, usually served with fish or meat – chicken, lamb, beef or pork.

According to Wikipedia.org, the word teriyaki is derived from the noun teri, which refers to a shine or luster given by the sugar content in the tare, and yaki, which refers to the cooking methods of grilling or broiling.

Teriyaki is a sauce made by mixing and heating soy sauce, sake or mirin, with sugar or honey. The sauce is boiled and reduced to the desired thickness. Sometimes ginger is added and can be garnished with green onions or sesame seeds. Teriyaki sauce is what makes it perfect and actually the secret of the dish.

The first time I tried this recipe, it turned out too salty, maybe because of too much soy sauce. Or maybe, I was just too careful and nervous because it’s my first time to prepare a dish to impress that someone. Well, I can say... the more careful I am, the clumsier I become. Yeah, that’s the funny side of me! Haha..

With a little bit of my magic, adding water, walla! It did the trick. I cansay it’s not perfect but just fine to satisfyl our stomachs. We were starving so maybe it didn’t matter how it tasted. :)

The second time I tried this dish was all by myself. (congratulate me! lol) I was more relaxed and it turned out just fine. Actually, by the third or fourth attempt, I can say it was really good. I was so happy to finally get it right because it’s my favorite dish. First, it is chicken and I was mesmerized by the sauce.

Well, giving up is not an option. As long as you set your eyes to the price, you’ll probably have it in time. And I believe that truly, practice makes perfect.

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Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken, cut into pcs.
6 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbps. vinegar
2 tbps. sugar
2 tbsp. cooking oil
6 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
salt and pepper to taste
sesame seeds (garnishing)

Preparation:
1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes.
2. In a pan, put the mixture, let it boil and simmer until chicken is tender and sauce thickens as desired.
3. Add cooking oil and teriyaki sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Garnish with sesame seeds.
 

Stir-fry Bean Sprouts

Stir-fry is one of the easiest and fastest ways of cooking. It is fast because you can spend as minimum as 5 minutes for the preparation and cooking. Isn’t it amazing?! It’s an Asian method of cooking meat and vegetable quickly to retain the texture and flavor. Frying over a high heat while stirring is the key.

When I was in college, I and my friends, we had a favorite Japanese restaurant frequented by us for lunch. My favorite menu was their Chicken Teriyaki with the side dish of stir-fry beans sprout. It’s really yummy… the teriyaki sauce was amazing and beans sprout was so delicious and crunchy. Actually, that restaurant is so memorable… funny, crazy things happened those days. Every time I remember it, I can’t help but smile, even on my own. I am wondering if the restaurant is still open. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant. Yeah… I forgot! So bad of me! :)

Bringing back the old days and also out of curiosity, I tried my very own stir-fry beans sprout. And it was a huge success!

I am planning to do the Chicken Teriyaki again to match my stir-fry beans sprout. Yeah, again… I tried it before but unfortunately didn’t turn out right. I am hoping that next time it will. Giving up is not an option! l.

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Ingredients:
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/8 cup onion, sliced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, sliced
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:
1. Wash and drain mung bean sprouts, trim the ends if desired.
2. Add oil to heated pan (wok or heavy skillet).
3. When oil is ready, add the onion, stir-fry briefly.
4. Add all the bell pepper and mung beans sprouts and stir-fry briefly. 1 minute or so.
5. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.


Notes:
1. Wash and drain mung bean sprouts ahead of time to make it drain thorougly.
2. You can use kitchen towel or paper towel to drain and dry mung bean sprouts.
3. Do not overcook; sprouts should remain crunchy but lose their raw bean taste.

Baked Tahong

The other day, I went to H-Mart to do my weekly grocery routine. I bumped into mussels in the wet section. It’s quite rare to have mussels here, so I took the opportunity and bought a bag. I remembered my mother as soon as I saw the mussels, and her recipe, “baked tahong”… so yummy and delicious.

Instead of the usual way of steamed, grilled or have it as a soup… “baked tahong” is really a good deal. My sister and her family will probably like it. I wish I could visit them right now to let them taste some. Unfortunately, because of the weather these days, the roads are not clear yet… wet and slippery.

Funny thing is, I keep teasing my brother-in-law that the reason he wants me to be there and cook for them is because he wants to be free from cooking not because my cooking is good. Well, aside from the fact that I love cooking, I like it, when I cook for them. They are so appreciative and honest. Sometimes I cook good, sometimes it’s not, even though I am making the same dish. And they tell that to me. Actually, I noticed, my cooking depends on my mood. If there’s something bothering me, my cooking is bothered as well.

This dish takes a lot of time for preparation, but it’s all worth it. The drawback of this recipe is that I don't know the exact measurements... or maybe we don't need one. So let your creativity and taste buds works a bit more.

Another FACT. Too much of Mussels/Tahong is not healthy if you have high blood pressure. But, you can try adding more garlic to help lessen the effect.

Give it a try… my mother’s very own “Baked Tahong”.

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Ingredients:
Fresh large Tahong or Mussels
Mayonnaise
Minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated cheddar cheese

Instructions:
1. Soak the Mussels/Tahong with water for at least an hour to get rid of the dirt inside the shell. Clean and brush each shell. 
2. Drain it and place it on a pan with no water, cover and cook over moderate heat until shells opens up.
3. Drain and remove the top shell.
4. Mix the mayonnaise, garlic and salt and pepper. Make sure to taste it to have the perfect mixture.
5. Brush or put some mayonnaise mixture on top of each Mussels/Tahong meat. Top with grated cheese.
6. Arrange Mussels/Tahong on a baking sheet.
7. Bake in pre-heated oven with 250 degree heat for 10-15 minutes.

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts

One of my friends visited last July and she shared her expertise in baking. She baked chocolate cake for us at my place. It was awesome and we all loved it. I was fascinated how she made it so simple. I thought baking is so hard and this one was no sweat at all. Actually, a funny thing happened that day, since I don’t bake, I haven’t used my oven ever since I moved in to my new place. So when we tried it that day, we all found out that it’s not working. Luckily, I have an electric oven, a small one that does the work.

Donna's Chocolate Cake [courtesy of Donna]

From that day onwards, we both shared some baking recipes we have. My first experiment was Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. And I tried many things after that… Plain Cookies, Soft Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Crispy Cookies. [I don’t like cookies, you know! ;)] I also tried other stuff like brownies. I even borrowed some cook books in baking from the library. That’s how dedicated I am. I was thinking… I’ll make some simple but delicious and healthy homemade snack for my kids in the future like muffins, cookies, brownies and etc. These days will be my training ground, and I am the taste tester myself. The latest one I made is Oatmeal cookies with Chocolate Chip. That’s what I’m going to share with you today.

With that idea, I think my niece and nephew will probably like it, the way I like them. So, I thought of bringing some when I visit them. But someone told me, rather than doing it ahead of time; why not do it with them, it’s more fun and makes it mean a lot more for them. That’s really a great idea but first I thought, is it feasible? After I set everything up, including asking my sister if it’s ok with her for us to bake, I am good to go. I told my niece and nephew a day before I visited them… I felt their excitement and wanted me to be there soon. I’m glad I did it because we all enjoyed it… including my sister and brother-in-law. My nephew wore the apron and we were all laughing in the kitchen while doing it. And we all enjoyed our cookie afternoon. It’s one of my precious moments with them. All thanks to him. 

I’ll share a secret about me. Sweet stuff is one of my weaknesses. Every time I see something sweet, my body gets so excited and I just can’t help but get one. If there’s someone who wants to make me smile, they’ll just give me a piece of chocolate or something sweet. I know it sounds ridiculous and so childish but it works more often and I like it. It’s more effective back home, especially to those people who are close to me and knows me well.

But I know eating only chocolate is not so healthy, so I am aiming to have more fruits like strawberries, blueberries, apple and the likes in the future.

For today, enjoy my Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chip and Walnuts.
Have fun! l.
 

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Ingedients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown-sugar
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:
1. Combine sugar, brown-sugar, oats, flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Blend accordingly. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, egg and vanilla.
3. Add the powdered mixture. Mix well.
4. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts. Mix well.
5. Shape into one-inch balls and place two inches apart on an ungreased cooking sheet.
6. Bake at 350 degree for 10 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Grilled Salmon with Mustard Sauce and Asparagus

Grilling is cooking of meat using a grill suspended above a heat source. It is often performed outdoors with a grill (an open wire grid with a heat source above or below), a grill pan (similar to a frying pan) or a griddle (a flat plate heated from below). [1]

Grilling is fun. It’s one of my bonding moments with my brother back home. He used to prepare the grill, and I used to do the cooking/grilling. Or mostly, he used to continue with the cooking/grilling because he didn’t want me to get burnt. Over here, it’s easy since I use the grilling pan. You just need to put it on top of the stove and you’re ready to go. Though it’s easy, I still like the old way… it’s more fun.

For my dish today, I use salmon. I first came across this recipe while I was watching a cooking show during a weekend at home. It looked easy to prepare, and yummy as well, so I thought, why not give it a shot.

I have tried this once before for someone. I was a bit nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous because it’s a new dish and I had no idea of the outcome and excited because I wanted to try it. His first impression? “Hmm... yummy” but while we were eating, the fish bones disturbed him. Since it was a piece of salmon steak, it had some fish bones. Well, it was not as much as whitefish (‘bangus’ in Tagalog) has. So, I suggest, if you are like him, try salmon fillet. But all in all, the dish tastes really good and I like it more I guess.

To start, you need to have the grilling basics. l.

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Grilling Basics:
Grill or grilling pan
Long-handled utensils such as tongs
Brushes

Ingredients:
4 pcs salmon steak
2 1/2 asparagus
1 tbsp. cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
½ cup mustard
2 tbsp. Vinegar

Do the asparagus:
1. Prepare the asparagus by cutting the hard part at the end.
2. In a bowl, put the asparagus, add oil, salt and pepper to taste and mix.
3. Place the asparagus in a grilling pan and cook for 8 minutes.

Do the salmon:
1. Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients.
2. On one side, put salt and pepper to taste, spread some sauce using the brush and put on the grill pan. Cook for 4 minutes.
3. While on the grilling pan, put salt, pepper and sauce on the other side. Cook for 4 minutes.

Source:
[1] Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grilling

Chicken Adobo with Honey

Adobo involves stewing with Vinegar and Soy Sauce. As we all know, Adobo is one of the famous and easiest dishes to prepare that comes from the Philippines. People love it with Chicken and Pork and they call it “Chicken-Pork Adobo”.

For my dish today, I only have Chicken. I learned the dish from my mother who has been devotedly cooking for us since I was a little kid. She is the best cook in the world, for me at least. Before, when I get a chance, especially while I was still living with them, I used to help her with the preparation of ingredients. She taught me how to clean fish, wash meat, and slice vegetables depending on the dish we’re making. She also taught me how to choose fresh meat from the market. When we’re cooking together, she explains every single detail of the dish. I really liked this aspect of our cooking time; she shares what she knows and always tells me not to be afraid to experiment. I hope she will have a chance to read my blog, so she can be proud of me. And this is all because of her.

With regards to marketing and bargaining, it is my father’s expertise. Some people might consider it cheap, but that’s a very smart approach actually. I can’t forget the day when he got an item for almost half the price. I really pitied the vendor. But my father explained why I shouldn’t. First of all, we didn’t force or threaten him, just bargained. And last, the vendor willingly agreed with the price.

Ok, let’s go into business. There are two (2) things that make this dish very special. First, you fry the meat. And second, you add a little bit of sweetener. Before, I used to add sugar, but now I prefer to add honey. Someone gave me this idea because he noticed that I love sweets. And I agree with him because honey is more nutritious than sugar.

Let’s talk a little FACT here. Sugar is a manufactured sweetener where honey is a natural sweetener. Also, honey has a certain beneficial antioxidant and antimicrobial properties which are not present in sugar that makes it very good for our health.

Here’s how to make Chicken Adobo. l.

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Ingredients:
1 lbs. Chicken tenderloin; cut into bite size
2 gloves Garlic
1/2 cup Soy sauce
1/8 cup Vinegar
1/4 cup Water
few pieces of whole black pepper
2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
2 tbsp. Honey
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions:
1. In a pan, combine the chicken, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, water, and whole pepper. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the stove. Separate the meat from the sauce.
3. Use the same pan and add oil and the chicken. Let it fry for few minutes or as desired.
4. Add the sauce, honey, salt and pepper to taste.
5. Ready to serve.

My Time in Kitchen

Welcome to my blog! :)

 “My Kitchenomics 101” is all about my time in kitchen, spent enjoying my favorites and sharing experience with everyone.

 Every week, I plan to prepare a special cuisine with a recipe and my very own secret notes. Since I am from the Philippines, expect more Filipino foods but look forward to the Italian, Japanese, Chinese and the likes as well!!!

I love been in the kitchen. The first very obvious reason is… I love to eat. Everyone does, I believe. I want to know how they made those mouth watery dishes that I see in magazines and restaurants. But this time, with a little twist of my magic touch.

So... let me start. My debut recipe… my favorite and specialty… Chicken Adobo! l.