Boy in the Galley: Microwave Mug Cake

The Boy made a chocolate mug cake, recipe from here. It was for a school assignment to make an instructional video. 

Ingredients

1. Mix everything in a mug, dry ingredients first then wet ingredients. 

2. Microwave for 1 minute and 50 seconds. 

We ate his homework. 

Next in the Galley: Cemita Poblana

I want to make this sandwich for the Boy. Ok, for myself, but the Boy will surely like it too. Recipe is from here, but modified for my circumstances.

Ingredients

beef, pork, or chicken cutlets (e.g., Taiwanese chicken chop or German Schnitzel)
avocados, halved, pitted, and sliced
cemita buns, sesame-seed buns, or brioche buns, halved
string cheese, divided
raw onion rings (about 1/4 inch thick)
chioptle chiles or pickled jalapeños
fresh cilantro leaves
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1. Spread avocado slices on bottom bun halves. Top with fried cutlets. Mound half of the cheese on the cutlets.

2. Arrange onion rings on top of cheese. If using chipotles, tear into pieces and arrange on onion rings; alternatively, arrange pickled jalapeños on top of onion rings. Top with cilantro and mound the remaining cheese on top. Drizzle with olive oil.

3. Close sandwiches and serve right away.

Had to make do with what I could find at the neighbourhood FairPrice. No sesame seed buns or brioche buns, so used whole wheat burger buns instead. Replaced with Oaxaca cheese with Bega Stringers and the nopales with cilantro. The Boy loved it: https://www.instagram.com/p/BrZ6qC6BdnL/

Retaking the Kitchen: Mac and Cheese

It's been about 3 years since I last cooked a meal. For most of the past 3 years we had a helper who was a very good cook but also very OC about the kitchen. She saw the kitchen as kinda her turf, so even if it was in our house we weren't very welcome there. Which was fine with us since she was a very capable cook, and I can't even begin to compete with that cooking. However, she left us a few months ago (May, to be exact) to take care of her bedridden sibling. Her replacement was a less capable cook, but less OC with the kitchen too. So, after a few months of hawing and stewing, I have decided to retake the kitchen. However, after 3 years out of the galley I'm not exactly an Iron Chef (never was), so I began my offensive with a dish so simple my 3-year-old could make it. This mac and cheese is not the classic American mac and cheese made with bechamel; rather, it is a gooey version of the classic Italian cacio e pepe. Way easier to make than the American mac and cheese, and cheesier.

Ingredients:

pasta
cheese, grated (preferably medium hard like Monterey Jack or gouda so they're amenable to melting)
salt
freshly ground pepper (optional)

1. Cook pasta; put some salt in the water for taste.When cooked, drain the water but don't dry it out too much. You want just a little of the steam and hot water to remain with the pasta so it will melt the cheese.

2. Put (lots of) grated cheese on the piping hot pasta. Mix thoroughly. Your pasta will turn into a gooey, cheesy mess. Which is exactly what you want.

Garnish with sauteed mushrooms, crisp bacon bits, or whatever you think goes well with cheese. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve to 3-year-old boy with a voracious appetite who wouldn't share.

Hong Kong, Day 2: Stinky Tofu

It's our second day in Hong Kong (see previous posts here and here) and our feet are killing us.  Started the day with some breakfast at a Honk Kong-style pastry shop then went up to The Peak, followed by some brief shopping at Causeway Bay, a long walk along Nathan Road, and a lot of shopping at Ladies' Market (see my Dear's post here).

We've had a lot of good meals here at the Fragrant Harbour and hopefully I'll get to writing about them soon, but as the title suggests this post is about my experience with stinky tofu.  I've heard a lot about this delicacy from travel show hosts, particularly Andrew Zimmern, Anthony Bourdain, and Janet Hsieh.  It's reputed to be one of the world's more adventurous foods, often placed in the same level of funkiness with balut and century egg. Now, I like balut and century egg, so I thought stinky tofu shouldn't be that bad.

So there I saw stinky tofu on one of the street stalls around the Ladies' Market, deep fried and sitting on a strainer-- two large, greasy pieces skewered on bamboo satay sticks cost HKD 15.00.  It was crisp and golden brown, not unlike the other deep-fried tofus we get at Chinese restaurants or at home.  It did start reeking its fermented smell at that point, but it's still ok.  Nothing horrid. Yet.

The real assault starts on the first bite-- it has the same texture as other fried tofu, but with the taste of what I think would be the taste of thick cotton socks used for one week straight on a trek through a humid jungle then left in a cupboard with raw fish for a month.  No, I have to correct myself-- the stinky tofu was worse than that.  

Being true to Zimmern's philosophy I finished one piece, which was all I could take.  I just had to throw away the other one, and if you know me you'll know that's something I do not do with a light heart.  The worst part was the aftertaste-- it stays with you in your stomach for a long time and, several hours and more than a few drinks and dishes after, I can still taste it especially when I have a burp.

So, yes, my adventurous tastebuds have met their match.  I wouldn't want to have to eat (or smell) stinky tofu again, but I have to say I'm glad I tried it.  At least I can relate with Zimmern, Bourdain, or Hsieh when they say how disgusting it is.  Being a foodie isn't all about gourmet dishes and haute cuisines.  Sometimes, well, stinky tofu happens.

Great Guatemalan Guacamole

This recipe is from my colleague Eliana. She is actually a Colombian living in Australia, but the guacamole recipe is Guatemalan due to the addition of mint.

Ingredients:
avocados (2)
lemon or lime juice (1 spoon)
vinegar (1 spoon)
onion (about 2 spoons, finely chopped)
tomatoes (about 2 spoons, finely chopped tomatoes)
coriander (about 1/3 cup)
mint (about 1/3 cup)
chillies
salt and pepper
garlic (one clove, if you don't have a date that evening)

Mash the avocados with a fork. Finely chop the onions, tomatoes, chillies and garlic. Chop the coriander and mint. Mix everything and add the lemon juice and vinegar. You may also use a blender or food processor to mince and mix the ingredients, but you'll end up with a very smooth guacamole.

A mixture of chopped coriander, onion, tomatoes, chillies, and garlic with a dressing of lemon and vinegar is called pico de gallo. Guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream are three essential ingredients for authentic tacos. Recipe for chicken and beans to follow.

Simple Spinach Surprise

Here's a simple spinach dish I concocted a while back. I was happy with this one because I expected very little but it turned out surprisingly well. Very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
spinach (and loads of it)
red bell peppers (paprika to some people)
garlic
black olives
freshly-ground black pepper
Worcestershire sauce
virgin olive oil (just enough to brown the garlic)

1. Roast the bell peppers in the convection oven, turning occasionaly, until the skin starts to brown on all sides and the peppers are soft. If you have a paper bag, put the roasted peppers in the bag and crumple the top; if you don't, just leave the peppers in the oven after you turn it off. The idea is to let the peppers steam and sweat-- this'll make the skin easy to peel later on

2. Peel the skin off of the roasted peppers. This can be time-consuming, but, believe me, it's worth it. Throw away the seeds and juilienne the flesh (yeah, I did a poor job).

3. In a skillet (or wok), heat the oil and fry the black pepper until you can smell it. Sautee the garlic (I just halve or quarter the cloves) until it starts to soften but not yet brown. Add the roasted peppers and olives. This'll cool down the pan, so allow the heat to build up to sauteeing heat.

4. Add the spinach and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and cook until it starts to wilt, then turn off the heat. Don't let them wilt totally-- the remaining heat will do that. You'll see that the spinach will be a small fraction of the original bulk. You can see from the picture that I underestimated my endpoint remaining spinach.

Goes great with grilled meat or fish.

Dagupeña Bangus Belly

One of my favourite ulams these days is bangus belly made by Dagupeña. I usually buy it at SM or Shopwise, and one bangus belly costs around P120. Relatively expensive considering that a kilo of pork liempo (good for at least four meals) costs only P150+; however, if you like bangus belly (which I do) it's really worth the price given the size. Their bangus bellies come in four flavours: (a) honey mustard, (b) pesto, (c) teriyaki, and (d) Thai green chili. Notwithstanding my reservations about the stability of preference relations, I'd say my ranking of the four flavours is b > a ~ c > d (> reads "is preferred to" and ~ reads "is indifferent to").

It's very simple to prepare and very bachelor-friendly. First I thaw it in lukewarm water-- this takes around 20 minutes-- but instead of frying the belly I broil it. Since broiling doesn't give even heat (all from the top), I fold the belly in half and broil each side (both of them skin side) for around 10 to 15 minutes until the skin is browned and crisp. Finally, I reopen the belly and broil the meat and belly until it's browned. I often add granulated garlic to the pesto and Thai green chili bellies, while I add unagi sauce on the teriyaki belly.
---
While searching the web I found Anne Castro's blog. Perusing her appropriately-named blog and IP address, I gather that she (or her family) is the owner of Dagupeña Bangus. Nice food blog too, I should say.