Soba Noodles with Unagi

This is another easy to prepare noodle dish. Do not be discouraged by its foreign sounding name. It is yummy. It is healthy. It is Japanese and the Japanese are known for their simple and nutritious dishes.

Soba is a thin type of Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour. The Japanese themselves prefer this type of noodles over rice or other kinds of noodles because it has a high amount of Thiamine (protection against beri-beri). Soba is readily available in major groceries and supermarkets here. I am sure it is available around the world in any Asian grocery as well. Here is the pack of soba that I was able to purchase.




The instructions were in Japanese!!! But I gathered that these noodles are to be boiled for 6 minutes (some Japanese words/symbols are similar to the Chinese). And from the pictures, I gathered that the noodles are supposed to be washed/blanched in cold water after boiling. So, that is what I did! And the resulting texture of the noodles were perfect al-dente!




We now make the dashi soup stock. You either buy a ready made dashi (which I did) and simply dissolve the pack in water. Or you can make dashi from scratch, which is simple, actually. Just boil some bonito (thin fish flakes) in water, strain the flakes out and you got your dashi soup stock!

To make the sauce, which the Japanese call "tsuyu," we combine an equal amount of dashi and a good quality Japanese soy sauce and some mirin (Japanese sweet wine). You can add some wasabi paste to the soup/sauce if you prefer. This is what we did to make our noodles more spicy!

(Shhh... I also found there is a ready-made tsuyu available in the supermarket! You do not even have to make this sauce anymore!)

Arrange the noodles in the serving bowl. Add the tsuyu. Top with slivers of nori (seaweed) and chopped scallions. Eat with chopsticks! Slurp! Slurp! Do you know in Asia, we consider it polite to slurp the noodle soup? Because it "tells" the cook that you enjoy your food! :)




That is the basic cold soba dish. It is more of preparing and combining the ingredients rather than cooking. There is also a hot version of soba. But usually the cold version is preferred because that is the best way to experience the texture of the noodles. If you put the noodles in hot soup, they may get soggy and change their consistency.

You may eat the cold soba dish as is. Or for a more complete meal, you can add tofu, steamed fish or any meat.

For our first soba experience, I topped it with Unagi (ready-made, it was bought frozen) cooked Japanese broiled eel!





I am sharing this easy and healthy noodles dish with the Presto Pasta Nights community, headed by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. This week's host is Psychgrad of the Equal Opportunity Kitchen. To see last week's delicious pasta recipe, please click on the round-up here.

Chayote Stir-fry

Most of the people I know "looks down" on this vegetable. They do not consider Chayote or Mirliton pear (locally known as Sayote) a good veggie. A friend even told me that Chayote does not contain any nutrition, it is just all water. In my family, we do not cook this often, because, as regular readers know, Hubby considers only vegetables that are "green" and "leafy" as true vegetables. Chayotes are also bland tasting, so aside from using them as meal extenders (i.e. for decoration or texture), I do not know what else to do with them.

Perpectives change of course. I have read from magazines about chayote fries, which are a lot better and healthier than the starchy french fries. I have read that chayotes can replace apples in apple pies. But I was convinced when a grandmother (lola) brought this dish to school (where our children and in her case, grandchildren go), to share in our weekly lunch potluck. Wow! Her stir fry chayote dish is so flavorful and yummy. All the mommies (and grandmas) were literally digging into her dish non-stop. :)

Aside from being yummy and inexepensive, I also found out that chayotes are rich in amino acids and vitamin C. So now, there is no reason why chayotes should not be served more often. Here is lola's recipe for Chayote Stir-fry:


2 pcs chayote, halved, seed removed, then sliced
200 gms shrimps, shelled, chopped
100 gms lean ground pork
4 T cooking oil
2 slices ginger
4 T garlic, minced
4 tomatoes, seeded, chopped
dash of fish sauce (patis)
salt and pepper to taste


1. Save the shells of the shrimps. Pound them with a little water (1 to 2 Tablespoons) to extract juice. Save the juice, discard the shells.

2. Heat up the cooking oil in a wok. Add the ginger and saute until fragrant. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant but not burnt. Add in the tomatoes and cook for a while, until some juices come out (around 2 to 3 minutes).

3. Add in the ground pork. Cook until meat changes color. Add in the shrimps and shrimp juice. When the shrimps changes color, add in the sliced chayotes. Mix everything up for a while and make sure all the chayote slices are covered with the sauce. Add in a dash or two of fish sauce (patis). Mix again and cover until chayotes are cooked and softened.

4. Adjust seasoning - salt and pepper, to taste. Dish up and serve hot with rice.



Being the lazy cook that I am, I omitted the first step of extracting the juices from the shells. :) The dish still tastes delicious. Of course with the added shimp juice, lola's dish was more flavorful than mine.



Sharing this dish with the featured Chayote to the Weekend Herb Blogging community. This foodie event was launched by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen to feature herbs and unique plant ingredients around the world and the dishes we prepare using these ingredients. This week's host is Zorra from Kochtopf . To see last week's featured plants and dishes, please see Gretchen's Canela Y Comino.

Orange Crumb Cake with Cinammon Crumb Topping

I did not take the photo above, I mean, I was the one who baked the goodies, but I was not the one who took the shot of that picture. It was my pre-teen daughter! If it was me, the picture would look like this:



I have a thing or two to learn from my daughter as well!!! :)

I had some extra ripe oranges in my refrigerator, and I was wondering what dessert can I make out of these sweet oranges. Before internet days, I would peruse my cookbooks. Nowadays, I would just google... :)

I found this very interesting recipe from About.com (Southern Food). Why is it interesting? Because it is a cake, but you do not need a lot of ingredients - just the basic and common ingredients in our pantry. You do not need a mixer. You just need 2 bowls. And you know what that means? Less utensils to wash! The instructions does not seem complicated. Isn't this ideal !?! Ideal for novice and lazy bakers like me who still craves for a dessert or two. :)

1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C granulated sugar
4 T butter, room temperature
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t baking powder
dash of salt
1 egg
1/2 C orange juice
1 t finely grated orange zest

1. Combine flour, sugar, and butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles meal.

2. Measure half cup of the crumb mixture and move to a separate cup or bowl. Blend in the cinnamon and set aside.

3. To the main crumb mixture, add baking powder and salt; blend well.

4. Beat orange juice with egg until well blended; stir with orange zest into the crumb mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into a greased and floured 8 inch square baking pan.

5. Sprinkle reserved cinnamon-crumb mixture over the batter.

6. Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.


Some tweaks: Have you noticed that whenever we cook or bake something from somewhere, we always have to make some little tweaks ? I do not think we deliberately change something, just to make the recipe more "ours." I think it is more to do with what ingredients we have on hand, or what tastes our families prefer.

1. I used freshly squeezed orange juice, as that is what I have on hand. I used 1 orange for the recipe. To make half-cup of juice, I added only a few tablespoons of water. This is why my cake is not too sweet. If this was made from ready-made orange juice, I think this cake would have been sweeter.

2. I did not use the zest. I have this thing (suspicion) about the skins of fruits being laden with pesticides, and other synthetic chemicals. Sorry, I am obsessive-compulsive in this area. So, what I did was, I added the pulp bits of the squeezed juice. I think the cake still turned out fragrantly orange-y.

3. I added probably 1/4 C topping mixture to the cake because when I added the juice/egg mixture, it turned too watery. Only 1/4 C of crumb topping mixture was left for the toppings.





The verdict? You would love this if you love the fragrant orange with a whiff of cinnamon! For me, this is an ideal snack/dessert. Easy to prepare, no fuss and no mess. Delicious paired with a cup of tea or coffee. It is not too sweet, just the way we like it!



This cake goes to the Bookmarked Recipes community. Bookmarked Recipes is a world-wide foodie event....where anyone from anywhere can blog about a recipe they had bookmarked from a cook book, food magazine, food blog, food website, from TV etc, make it and submit it to a weekly roundup. It is created and regularly hosted by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments. For last week's edition, Deeba of Passionate about Baking did a wonderful and beautiful round-up. This week, I will be guest hosting as well. This is my first time to host a food event, I am so excited about it. I hope you can join and play!

Personally, I enjoy taking part in this event and I enjoy reading all the entries. Because these are the recipes carefully picked and chosen by wonderful food bloggers around the world. The recipes have been tried and tested in real kitchens, commented and improved. In other words, these are the weekly compilation of one of the best recipes in the blogosphere!

It is so easy to play! If you have any recipes you got from another source, you cooked it, and want to share your cooking experiences with it, please blog about it and post it between now to Sunday, Sept 21. I will do the round-up on Monday, Sept.22. Of course, this is an ongoing weekly event, so in case, you were not able to participate this week, come join us the following week or the next, or the next... :)


To take part here's what you do.......
1. Pick a recipe from a book/magazine/blog/website/tv show and make it. (Note you can only submit 1 recipe per week)
2. Blog about it
- include where you got the recipe in your blog post (including a link to their website if possible)
- include a link to this post or this blog in your blog post
- include the logo (see above) for Bookmarked Recipes in your blog post
- include a photo of your recreation on your blog post
3. Email bookmarkedrecipes[AT]gmail[DOT]com with the following information:
- Your name and where you're from
- The name of your blog
- The permalink for your entry
- A photo of your entry
- A note of where you got your recipe from


I'll be looking forward to the dishes you're all cooking!!!

Seafood Canapes : A Blogosphere Party!

I'm late! I'm late! I'm almost, almost late - to one of the exciting blogosphere party yet! It is Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy's Blogiversary Bash! I started to read Sticky and Gooey Chef's blog just a few weeks ago, and I was hooked! Her stories are so personal and fascinating. Her pictures are so yummy and beautiful! Her recipes are easy to follow! If you drop by her site, you will see she gets lots of favorable comments from her many friends in the blogosphere. So, I am sure, she, as a person and friend, is as sticky, as gooey, as sweet as her food!

For her party, I am sharing this easy to prepare, almost-no-cook canapes. A Canape, according to Mr Wiki, is is a small, prepared and usually decorative food, held in the fingers and often eaten in one bite. Because they are often served during cocktail hours, it is often desired that a canapé be either salty or spicy, in order to encourage guests to drink more. Traditionally, a canape consists of a base (usually bread or crackers), a spread (usually cream cheese or butter, or any kind of pate); and the garnish. The garnish can be any kind of chopped vegetable, herbs, or if you prefer the high-end caviar or truffle oil.

Since I cannot afford caviar yet, can anchovies do? :)

I used slices of whole wheat bread. Each slice is cut diagonally in half to make a triangle, then cut each triangle in half again to make smaller triangles. So a slice of bread yields 4 triangles.

5 slices whole wheat bread
olive oil for brushing bread
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
green onions, chopped
1 T anchovies, mashed
1 T olive oil
20 pcs small shrimps, shelled, boiled
sprinkling of ground pepper


1. Spread some olive oil on the sliced whole wheat bread. Cook in the oven toaster until desired doneness.

2. In a bowl, mix together anchovies, olive oil, tomatoes and green onions. Sprinkle some ground pepper.

3. Arrange the toasted bread on the serving platter. Top with the anchovies/tomatoes mixture. Arrange 1 cooked shrimp on top for garnish.


You can sprinkle some more salt if you prefer. The kind of anchovies I have are already salty so I did not add salt anymore. Ideally, the bread should be toasted until golden brown. But my kids does not like "hard" bread. So, I just heated them up only a bit. :)


This freshly made canape is joining the fun, fellowship and food over at Susan's Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy's Blogiversary virtual cocktail party. Happy anniversary SGCC!!! Food at the party will be served on Sept 17, so be sure to drop by her site!

Photography Practice: Beijing Olympics Cups

I have never been a real sports fan. When I watch some games, I do get excited and all, but it is also alright with me if I do not get to watch. It's no big deal for me. I know for many people, sports and supporting a team or two is very important. But not for me... I suppose that is because I am too lazy to do any sports myself. :)

Of course, perspective change when your kids are big enough to join sports. Now, I know participating in sports and games is very important, a very important part of growing up... but that is another story. Before I digress, let's go back to the Beijing Olympics.

Now, this is one show I definitely did watch - on TV. The Opening Ceremony is truly a must watch, if only to understand a little bit of China's history and culture. And one cannot help but be impressed with the pomp and pageantry that the Beijing people and government prepared.

I required my kids to watched too. It is important for me that they learn to appreciate their Chinese roots. They thoroughly enjoyed the show and even if it was already late (time for bed), they insisted on finishing the show. I have turned them into sports fans!

That is why, they were so excited to receive these Beijing Olympics Souvenir cups from Ah-pe (older brother of kids' dad). Thank you, Ah-pe! Ah-pe (Uncle) and cousins came back from a trip to Hong Kong and brought back these two cute dainty cups, one for Princess and one for Optimus Prime. Guess which is whose? :)

Lemongrass and Ginger Iced Tea

I'm sure you have heard of mint iced tea. But have you heard of Lemongrass and Ginger iced tea? It is a refreshing drink that is so easy to make. If you know how to brew a regular cup of tea, then you can easily make this as well. But first, let's talk about the health benefits.

The lemongrass is a bushy plant that is easy to grow. I should know. I do not exactly have a green thumb and yet, I was able to grow these pots in my balcony "garden." I have written about the health benefits of lemongrass before. Post here. Early studies have shown that lemongrass can fight cancer. Lemongrass contains "citral" the component that gives lemongrass its citrusy scent and aroma; and that this component causes the cancer cells in our body to die. The cancer cells die while the healthy cells live, thus helping the cancer patient to be healed. Thus, we should take advantage of this plant's healing properties even while we are still healthy. We usually use the leaves to make tea.

In the Philippines, Ginger is believed to cure cough and sore throat. Warm ginger tea (salabat) is usually prescribed to people with minor irritations of the throat, and from personal experience, it does work! Ginger may also decrease joint pain from arthritis and may lower chlolesterol, and is usually helpful for those who have heart disease. Gingers are also easy to grow. In fact, the very first plant that I grew successfully is the ginger. Why? Because they do not have to be watered often. You do not have to pay attention to the leaves and stems. And the roots (the ginger) just grow all by themselves! Of course, I think one major thing we have to do is to make sure that our soil is rich and organic so we can produce big knobs of roots. :)

For the iced tea today, I used black tea. Though in Chinese, it is called "red" tea. All real teas are made from the camellia sinensis plant. The black tea is fermented (the green tea is not) and therefore retains its flavor for a long time, is darker in color and contains more caffeine than the other kinds of tea. But of course all teas are rich in polyphenols, which means all teas are good sources of anti-oxidants.




To make this refreshing cup of tea, I used a coffee press. Am I wierd? Brewing tea in a coffee press? But it is very convenient to use! I just put into my (500 ml - size) coffee press:

the black tea leaves, blanched
2 pcs lemongrass leaves, washed, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 inch knob of ginger, peeled, julienned
sugar or sugar substitute, to taste, optional

Boil a pot of water. And pour into the coffee press. Steep everything for 4 to 5 minutes. Strain out the tea leaves, lemongrass and ginger. Let the tea cool down. Pour into glasses and add ice. I do not take sugar with my tea or coffee so I did not add any for myself. But the kids do add sugar to their teas.

Easy, is it not? You just add ginger and lemongrass when you brew your cup of tea, and you get a more healthy kind of drink! You can drink this hot or cold.

Another thing. I do not know why I have this habit of blanching my tea leaves first. I pour a little amount of boiling water into the leaves, just enough that all leaves are submerged, then, swirl the leaves and water together, and pour the hot water out. I will only drink the brew of the second (or third) hot water. This is to make sure the leaves are "cleaned." Am I considered an obsessive-compulsive then? My mother said she knew of an Auntie who makes this blanching and cleaning three times. Do you blanch your tea leaves, too? Of course I am talking about loose tea leaves here. I do not think those tea bags need blanching.


I am sharing this refreshing drink with the Grow Your Own Community, hosted this time by the one and only "soon-to-be-master-chef" who cooks a lot - NoobCook! Grow Your Own, the brainchild of Andrea of Andrea's Recipes, is a twice-a-month blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. To see last week's anniversary edition round-up, please check out Andrea's Recipes here.

Honey Mustard Glazed Tofu

Here is another easy to prepare, easy to cook dish. Best of all, it is made from the very popular and healthy tofu!

Tofu, Doufu (Chinese Pinyin spelling) or Beancurd (English), is made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the resulting curds into blocks. It is a very good source of protein, low in calories, no saturated fat and no cholesterol. It also contains iron and a very significant amount of calcium. Not only does the soybean itself contain calcium, but the process of coagulation needs additional calcium sulfite. This addition of the calcium sulfite is the most widely used so that tofu manufacturers can market their products as a good source of calcium. But this is actually the traditional way of making Chinese tofu. How do I know this? Because when Hubby and I were newly married, we lived with my in-laws for a while. They have a very good neighbor and friend who manufactures tofu from his backyard!

There are three kind of tofu: the soft silken tofu, usually used in soups are appetizers, which most people call Japanese tofu. There's the medium firm tofu, which most people call Chinese firm tofu. And the firm tofu (tokwa) or the dried tofu. In our family, we prefer the soft silken tofu and the Chinese tofu. We only use the dried tofu for frying, which we do not cook a lot.

It has been a while since I have cooked tofu again (since we have moved to a house on our own, that is.) But when I saw Maggie of Dog Hill Kitchen's recipe, Honey Mustard Glazed Tofu, I knew I must rekindle my tofu love affair. The recipe sounds delicious. What can go wrong with honey and mustard? And it looks so easy to prepare, easy to cook. So, I tried it.

And the result? Truly delicious! Hubby said it is the best tofu he has ever tasted. Tofu in itself is bland and flavorless. But with the addition of honey and mustard, the kids want to eat more and more. Since it is made from healthy tofu, I knew I am one happy mom. Thanks Maggie for the wonderful treat! This recipe is a keeper. :)


Some tweaks:

I do not have mustard powder, so I used the "liquid" Dijon mustard. It still tasted good. Maggie mentioned that it might be vinegary, which is okay with us. We like spicy things.

As usual, I was too lazy to fire up the oven, so I pan fried the tofu instead. I used non-stick skillet, and I only used a little canola oil. So, this dish is still considered healthy, right? :)

Since I am pan frying the tofu, I added a sprinkling of flour to the tofu. This gave the cooked tofu a nice crunchy texture on the outside. (Soft in the inside. Need I say more?)


1 block Chinese medium firm tofu
3 T Dijon Mustard
3 T honey
salt and pepper to taste
flour
dried parsley, optional

1. Cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes. Pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.

2. Combine honey and mustard in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, put in some flour.

3. Dip the tofu pieces in the honey mustard. Make sure all surfaces are covered. Then dip both sides in the flour. Fry in a hot skillet with a little canola oil. Turn over once one side is cooked and golden. Dish up once both sides are cooked. This takes only a little time (a minute or two) so you have to watch over the tofu carefully.

4. Dish up and sprinkle with some dried parsley leaves (optional).




Sharing this delicious and healthy dish to Bookmarked Recipes, a foodie event launched and hosted by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen's Experiments. This week's guest host is the lovely Indian blogger Deeba of Passionate About Baking. To see last week's delicious round-up of tried and tested recipes, please click here.


Guess what? I will be guest hosting the next edition of Bookmarked Recipes! I feel honored that Ruth would invite me to host. I am so excited as this will be my first time to host any foodie event. Bookmarked Recipe is a world-wide foodie event....where anyone from anywhere can blog about a recipe they had bookmarked from a cook book, food magazine, food blog, food website, from TV etc, make it and submit it to a weekly roundup. It is so easy to play! If you have any recipes you got from another source, you cooked it, and want to share your cooking experiences with it, please blog about it and post it anytime between Sept 15 to 21. Email me or at bookmarkedrecipes@gmail.com and I will do the round-up on Monday, Sept 22. Will be waiting for your entries! :)

Korean Chap Chae (Noodles w/ Beef Bulgogi)

I must apologize for my anemic-looking noodle dish. The noodles and the beef pieces are supposed to be darker brown. I was supposed to use dark soy sauce, but ran out, so I used the light one instead; resulting in such light colored noodles and meat. Even if they do not look as appetizing as they should be, the taste of this dish is actually wonderful. This is one of Hubby's favorite noodle dish.

Chap Chae is a Korean stir fry noodles dish. It is very popular here, as the Filipinos generally love noodles. More plus factors of this yummy dish are the salty-sweet taste of the sauce and the delicious fragrance of the sesame oil.

The good news is, it is so easy to cook. The trick to get the authenticity of this dish is to get hold of the original Korean glass noodles. The noodles look like thick mung bean vermicelli (sotanghon) the size of spaghetti pasta. But the taste and texture is entirely its own. It is chewy to the bite and yet firm at the same time.





This is the pack that I was able to buy from a big supermarket here in Manila. The noodles are quite a lot. I cooked only half the pack, and it was more than what five people can consume. The noodles does not look thick yet. You have to boil them in water (just like the spaghetti pasta) according to package directions. Then drain and wash in cold bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to cook the noodles only until al-dente. It would not be nice to eat soggy noodles. When cooked, the noodles will swell and look shiny like this:



1/2 pack of the Korean glass noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 C soy sauce (use good quality)
1/2 C sesame oil
4 T sugar (or more, if you prefer it sweeter)
1 large knob ginger, grated (or julienned, if you're lazy like me :)
5 T garlic, minced
200 gms snow peas
1 small carrot, peeled, julienned
dashes of Japanese sesame oil with chili, optional

Korean Bulgogi, recipe here.


1. In a small amount of sesame oil, saute ginger until fragrant. Add in garlic and saute until fragrant but not burnt.

2. Add in the carrots and snow peas. Stir fry for a minute. Then add in the soy sauce, sugar and the remaining sesame oil.

3. When the mixture boils, add in the cooked glass noodles. Mix very well, letting the noodles absorb all the sauce. Adjust the amount of soy sauce, if needed.

4. Turn off heat. Serve on individual plates topped with Korean Bulgogi. Add dashes of the Japanese spicy sesame oil if preferred. (Hubby loves this spicy version!)






Bulgogi literally means "fire meat." Thus, we can use any meat like pork or chicken to substitute for beef. But beef is most often used, specially thinly sliced sirloin because it provides the flavor and soft textue that bulgogi lovers are looking for. Bulgogi is traditionally associated with barbeques and grilling. But broiling and pan frying are also accepted. Using the bulgogi to top the chap chae provides the meat flavor that enhances the noodle dish.

The Chap Chae noodle dish is also very flexible. This can be adapted to vegetarian if so preferred. Just omit the bulgogi part. You can also add in a variety of vegetables like napa cabbage, mung bean sprouts, spinach, and other vegetables that you prefer.

















Serving this dish to the Presto Pasta Nights community, created and hosted this week by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. To see last week's delicious round-ups, please check out Abby of Eat the Right Stuff.

Snow Pea Sprouts Two Ways: A Stir Fry and A Salad

Snow Pea Sprouts are the tender, new, young shoots of the snow pea plant. It is known as Dou Miao in other parts of Asia. Maybe in your countries, this is a common ingredient. But here in Asia, it is considered a delicacy primarily because it is not always available even in the advanced Asian countries like Hong Kong.

In all my life, I have never seen Snow Pea Sprouts - the real ones, here in the Philippines. The only times we get to taste this delicious veggie is when we go to Hong Kong in winter, around December, January and February. It is also not available year-round there. So, we do not get to taste it if we go to Hong Kong during other months.

You can imagine my scream of delight when I found several packs of this snow pea sprouts being sold at Santi's Deli. Did I mention that this is my favorite, ultra-favorite veggie? So, you can now imagine that my scream is a little louder than a quiet scream :) Snow pea sprouts available locally? Wow! Santi's is an upscale deli store that sells mostly imported produce. It has several branches around Metro Manila, mostly in upscale villages and suburbs. I emphasize the word "upscale" because, well, as you guessed it, their food prices are also "upscale."

I am not a regular customer of the place, but I wanted to buy some German sausages for a German missionary couple who were going to share their experiences (as missionaries to the Philippines) for the Missions Night of our Couples@Work Fellowship. I thought giving them food from their home would give them comfort and familiar enjoyment that they do not usually have. This German lady friend is also the one I mentioned in a previous post, she was the one who taught me how to make Quiche. :)

Back to my Snow Pea Sprouts. I only bought a pack. The sprouts from Hong Kong have more leaves than stem - more greens than whites. The ones I got here have smaller leaves. Would they taste the same? I was not sure if they are still tender, how long have these greens stayed on the store's shelf? I know after three days storage life, these sprouts would not be tender anymore. As, I said, this is an upscale store. How many people would deliberately buy an expensive pack of snow pea sprouts when they can buy mung bean sprouts at ninety percent less the price? Probably, just crazy old me, craving for a taste in my memory... :)

I have to maximize my very expensive sprouts, so I prepared them two ways. One is a simple stir-fry. This is very easy to do, and it brings out the delicate flavor of the snow pea sprouts.



100 gms snow pea sprouts
6 T minced garlic
1 T soaked dried shrimps (hebi), drained, optional
soy sauce to taste
4 T cooking oil
sprinkling of pepper powder


1. Heat up the oil in a wok or skillet. Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant but not burnt.

2. Add in the softened dried shrimps. Stir for a while. Add in the snow pea sprouts. Mix for a little while (just a few seconds!), add in soy sauce to taste. Turn off heat as soon as the greens are starting to wilt. Do not overcook the veggies. Sprinkle with some ground pepper if preferred.





Snow Pea Sprouts are also delicious raw. So I added them to sliced cucumber, sliced onions, minced garlic. I made some Creamy Soy Ginger Dressing, but this time, I added some chopped cilantro.

These sprouts are also yummy, though of different variety from those I was used to. They have a delicate flavor, with a hint of nutty-ness.

Why should we eat more of snow pea sprouts? Because they are high in protein and provide a good source of calcium vitamin B1, C, and niacin. If only they are less expensive...



Sharing these delicate snow pea sprouts with the Weekend Herb Blogging community. This foodie event was launched by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen to feature herbs and unique plant ingredients around the world and the dishes we prepare using these ingredients. This week's host is Gretchen of Canela and Comino. She features interesting sites and food from Peru. To see last week's yummy round-up, please click on Ulricke of Kutchenlatain.

Fried Shrimp Patties (Ukoy)

Since we started with fried crablets yesterday, let me continue with more "guilty" food. (Drumroll please!!!) Presenting the Deep Fried Shrimp Patties! This is also one of the popular Filipino appetizers.

Actually, from the same trip to the market, I saw these super fresh tiny shrimps. And I could not resist! Besides, I figured I am going to fry them in the same oil anyway. So, might as well go ahead with these "sinful" delights. :)

The crablets are easy to do. But I wanted the shrimps to be super crispy too. So I searched my old trusty cookbooks and found one recipe from "The Filipino Cookbook" of the Maya Kitchen. I think I have this book ever since I was single. Every page is now yellow and many with stains. I must not have "consulted" this book for a long time as I have already forgotten its poor conditions. :(

In today's edition of Bookmarked Recipes, I think I should give you the original version's list of ingredients first, as I have made a lot of tweaks. You might want to cook using the original version:

1 C all purpose flour
1 C cornstarch
1 and 1/2 t baking powder
1 and 1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 C atsuete water (or red food coloring)
1 1/2 C Shrimp juice
1 egg, well beaten

2 C mongo sprouts
1 C chopped spring onions
2 pcs firm tofu, cut into strips
1/4 K small shrimps, cleaned



Some tweaks:

I did not add any vegetable, as I have more than enough shrimps already. If I had added vegetables, I would have more pieces than we can consume. So my shrimp patties were purely made from shrimps.

Since it was already full of shrimps, I omitted the food coloring, I know my patties would turn out the pretty orange-pink color of cooked shrimps. I also omitted the shrimp juice (additional flavoring).

Other than that, I basically followed the instructions given.

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add in the beaten egg and beat until smooth. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil for deep frying.

3. In a small saucer or plate, arrange a bed of shrimps, then spoon in some batter (around 3 spoonsfuls). If you are including the veggies, arrange the veggies with the shrimps as well before adding the batter.

4. Slide the mixture carefully into the hot oil. Fry until crisp and brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil. Do the same with the rest of the shrimp and batter.

5. Serve with organic coconut vinegar with chilli and garlic dip.




I think the use of saucer to make the shrimp batter is a good way to keep the patties into more or less equal manageable sizes. And they also come out flat, and therefore crispy.

Aside from the veggies mentioned above, I have seen some shrimp patties (ukoy) made with strips of squash, or sweet potatoes, or even raw papaya.


Sharing this dish with the Bookmarked Recipes, a food event where anyone from anywhere can blog about a recipe they had bookmarked from a cook book, food magazine, food blog, food website, from TV etc, make it and submit it to a weekly roundup.
Originated and hosted by Ruth's Kitchen Experiments, last week's collection of tried and tested recipes can be found on her site.

Fried Crablets

I know, I know, I have always been a proponent of healthy food. Our family food motto actually is "Life is too short to eat bad food." And guiltily, what I am showing you today something that is not actually healthy!!! Full of cholesterol! Arrrgh! Please stop my conscience from throwing darts at me!!!

How can I resist these cute crablets? I purposefully added my chubby finger in the picture so you will have an idea on how small these baby crabs are. Around 1 inch body width, plus a little more for the legs. Actually, they were cute little lumps when they were not yet cooked, but not photogenic, so I omitted the picture :).

These crablets are usually offered in restaurants around Manila, but I never found them in the markets. So, I have never cooked them myself. Imagine my surprise when I found them in the Suki Market in Quezon City. A friend referred me to this market when I was lamenting the lack of native chickens, Chinese vegetables and live seafood in our area. (These are easily available in downtown Manila's Chinatown where the traffic congestion is pretty famous.) Maybe this market can be a subject for Gay's To Market to Market event. But that is another story... :)

So, I brought them home and cooked them just the way the restaurants cook them - fried, as appetizers, dipped in our favorite organic coconut vinegar with chilli (siling labuyo/chilli padi). I console myself with the thought that I am using organic vinegar anyway. So, this dish is partly healthy, right? Crispy, salty, flavored with spicy and sourish vinegar - YUM!


1/2 Kilo crablets
garlic salt and freshly ground pepper
sprinkling of flour
cooking oil


1. Wash the crablets well. I removed the outer shell, as they will be tough to chew, and remove the inedible organs. Drip thorougly in a colander and later dry with kitchen towels.

2. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Sprinkle with a little flour.

3. In a pan, heat up the oil. When hot, fry up the crablets, one batch at a time. It cooks very fast, it will not take long. Immediately dish up and drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.

4. Serve with vinegar/chilli dip on the side.

Brownie Cupcakes

My heart swells with joy when a friend tells me they have tried cooking my recipes or that they got the recipe from my blog and found them delicious. I guarantee that all the dishes here are produced from my own kitchen and photographed by yours truly. If I get the recipes from other sources, such as those featured in the Bookmarked Recipes, I acknowledge the source and link back to them.

You know, I cook three meals a day and not all of these dishes are featured in this blog. I choose the tried and tested ones (unless otherwise specified), and I talk about my real kitchen experiences and recommendations or improvements that can be done. Most of the time, commenters leave their various food tips too. (I appreciate all the comments and feedbacks! Thank you!)

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you these lovely Brownie Cupcakes that my little (5th) sister (who is not so little anymore) baked, based on my Chocolate Fudge Brownies recipe. I think she made these as a gift for a friend. She told me she followed the exact recipe except that she made it into cupcakes, removed the nuts and instead added frosting on top. It looks so pretty and dainty. She makes a better food stylist that I do! And a better food photographer, too! She said the cupcakes tastes moist and chocolately, just the way she like it. :)

Watch out for more of my sisters' kitchen experiments!