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