Korean Beef Stew (Yukkae Jang Kuk)

Here in Manila, we do not usually stew beef in soy sauce (adobo). Pork adobo, yes. Chicken adobo, yes. Beef adobo? Very rarely. We always cook our beef as steaks, or in soups, or smothered with tomato sauce or peanut sauce (as in Kare-kare). But then, my knowledge of Filipino food is limited to the Tagalog and the National Capital region :)

The Koreans have this mildly spicy and sweet soy sauce braised/stew beef dish. The sauce is so delicious and flavorful with rice. The kids love it. The good news is, this is so easy to prepare at home. Just dump all the ingredients in a pot and simmer away. :) Or you can add all the ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning before you go to work, (or when you do your errands) and when you come back, you will have melt-in-the mouth beef stew that goes very well with fragrant jasmine rice. :)


1 and 1/2 kilo beef ribs or beef shank, chopped (I used beef shank)
1 C soy sauce
1/2 C sugar (or more - up to 1 cup, if you prefer sweeter sauce)
1 whole garlic, peeled, chopped coarsely
1 onion, chopped
1 large knob of ginger (about 2 inches), sliced
3 -4 pcs green peppers (siling haba) or jalapeno peppers (more or less according to taste)

2 pcs radish, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
2 stalks spring onions, chopped
2 T sesame seeds
dash of sesame oil, optional


1. In a deep pot, add in the beef, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, onion, ginger, and green peppers. Add enough water (around 1 to 2 cups) to cover the beef pieces. Bring to boil and simmer for 1 to 1 and a half hours until beef is soft. Alternatively, you can use slow cooker and simmer for 4 hours or longer.

2. Add in the radish and cook radish in beef for 15 minutes more. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Ladle up in a serving dish. Add in a dash or two of sesame oil. Sprinkle sesame seeds and spring onions. Serve hot with rice.




Other Korean dishes I have made:

Korean Bulgogi
Korean Chap Chae (Noodles with Beef)
Kimchi Fried Rice


Sharing this melt-in-the mouth beef stew with Regional Recipes, a food event created by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok. This edition's host is Wandering Chopsticks. Please check out her blog after June 15 for the round-up of delicious Korean recipes.

Easy Peasy Apple Crumble

Maybe you are laughing at the picture. How can I present a dish (in this case, a dessert) to you on paper plate??? Here's the story...


My daughter has just graduated from elementary school (primary school) recently. (Ahem, as a proud mother, allow me to brag a little here, she graduated top 10 of her batch, awarded with excellent star medal. To God be the glory!!!) Her honors class celebrated their milestone by having a swimming party!

And this easy-to-prepare dessert was what she requested me to bake as her contribution to their potluck. Of course I had to prepare the crumble in several big trays. (Please see pictures below.) I was not able to cut a slice for my blog picture. The picture above was taken by my daughter during their party. (Isn't it sweet of my daughter to do this even while enjoying her party?) And well, the only plates available at the party were paper plates! :)





6 large apples, cored, sliced
1/2 C water
1/3 C sugar
dash of cinnamon

2 C all-purpose flour
1 C quick cooking oats
1 C butter, softened, or at room temperature
2/3 C sugar


1. In a large microwavable bowl, mix the water, sugar and cinnamon. Add in the sliced apples. Microwave for 3 -4 minutes on high.

2. Arrange the cooked apples on the tray. Add in the sugar-cinnamon liquid. (See the photo above.)

3. Mix the flour, oats, and sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Top the apples with the flour-oats mixture, making sure that all the pieces are covered. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in a 375 F preheated oven or until top is lightly browned.

5. Serve warm, with ice cream, if preferred.


You can halve the recipe for a family-sized serving. But this is so yummy, a whole tray will be gone in no time. :)




Sharing this apple dessert with the Regional Recipes community, headed by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok. This month features American food. And well, in this part of the world, anything that has got to do with apples is considered American... ha ha ha!!! This month's hosts are TS and JS of Eating Club Vancouver. Please check out their blog after the 15th of April to see delicious American dishes.

Shrimp Veracruzana

I have this recipe in my old recipe notebooks (pre-blogging days) but I have not tried it yet until now. I am truly sorry that I do not remember where the recipe came from. Before food blogging, I never bothered to write down the sources of my recipes, because I thought it was only for my personal use. Nowadays, I truly take care to note down the recipe source. Because I know, if I am sharing the recipe with the world, I have to acknowledge the source. And now, I am sharing a recipe with you, which is not mine and I do not know where I got it. :(

But I do know that the recipe originated from Veracruz, Mexico. Because that is the name of the dish! :D

I know we associate chillies and beans and tacos with Mexican food. So, this recipe (with a little amount of jalapeno peppers) is a delightful find. Since Veracruz is a large port city, they have lots of ocean-fresh seafood. Seafood with jalapeno is one of this region's trademark dishes.


2 T olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 onion, cut into eights
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced (more or less, depending on taste)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 kilo shrimps, peeled, tails intact
2 medium tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper, to taste


1. Heat oil in a non-stick wok or skillet. Add onion, and cooked until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the bay leaf, tomatoes, jalapenos and cook for about 3 minutes until tomatoes are softenend.

2. Stir in the shrimps. Cover and cook until pink. Stir for a while, season to taste. Remove from fire, remove bay leaf and serve while warm.



Sharing this dish with the Regional Recipes community, launched by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok. This month's recipes features Mexican dishes. Host of the month is Wandering Chopsticks. Please check out her site after the 15th for the round-up of delicious Mexican dishes.

Apple Tart (Tarte Aux Pommes)

Here in Asia, when you say French cooking, it is either associated with wine as an ingredient in cooking, or the methodology is as complicated and as difficult as the dishes' pronunciation. :)

So, I set out to find recipes that have no wine, and very simple to prepare. As always, this blog would like to focus on easy-to-prepare recipes that are healthy; delicious and yet takes only a fraction of the time it would take to prepare complicated so-called-gourmet dishes. Another reason to find simple, fuzz-free recipe is that, admittedly, I do not have as much free time to experiment (like last year). :)


3 pcs apples, peeled, cored, sliced
3 T butter
1 T sugar

for the pastry, I halved the pate brisee recipe I used here.

1 C all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 C cold butter
2 T cold water


1. Melt butter in the saucepan, add the sugar and apple slices. Simmer gently until softened.

2. For the pastry, cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or a large tinned fork until mixture resembles a coarse sand. Sprinkle water evenly over the mixture and toss gently a few times until the dough holds together.

3. Roll the pastry out flat and put in a tart pan. Crimp the edges. Prick the dough with a fork.

4. Spread the apple slices on the pastry, reserving the syrup (from cooking the apples). Bake in a hot oven (400F) for about 20 to 30 minutes, until apples and dough are slightly golden brown.

5. Pour the remaining syrup from cooking the apples on to the tart and return to the oven for 5 minutes.





6. You can serve the tart on its own or with creme chantilly (whipped cream). Or with scoops of ice cream like what I did. :)


Result? A lovely and impressive dessert that is easy to make. The kids devoured it in no time. :)





Sharing this delicious dessert with the Regional Recipes community, headed by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok. This month, featuring French dishes, is hosted by Susan of Open Mouth, Insert Fork. To see last month's delicious Thai dishes, please check out the round-up here.

Thai Stir Fry Chicken with Basil (Gai Pad Grapow)

I met a friend at the supermarket the other day. She was recommending me to buy a cut of chicken meat called "Chicken tenders." Accordingly, the cut is already boneless and the meat is truly tender. Ideal for kids. Most mothers usually use it to cook their own chicken nuggets. Of course it is more expensive than the regular whole or cut chicken. But I figured, if it does not include any bones, and if the meat is truly tender, it can be worth the price. I bought half a kilo to try, without really planning what recipe I will use to cook the chicken. My kids are not really crazy about chicken nuggets, so that would be out of the picture.

I decided to use it in a Thai dish because the cuisine we're trying this month for Regional Recipes is Thai. We love Thai food in restaurants. But the most I did at home is the Tom Yum Soup. I was quite surprised myself. Because I know Thai food is not difficult to do, specially since I am a little familiar with the cuisine and the herbs and spices used in Thai cooking. Maybe I will start exploring more Thai cuisine next year. :)

This is an easy Thai stir fry dish you can prepare in 15 minutes or less.


1/2 K chicken tenders (or chicken breast fillet) cubed
fish sauce, pepper and cornstarch

4 slices fresh ginger
4 T garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 C fresh thai basil leaves
2 T fish sauce
3 pcs finger chillies (substitute chili padi for more spice), sliced


1. Add some dashes of fish sauce to the chicken meat. Season with ground black pepper. Add in some cornstarch. Set aside.

2. Heat some cooking oil in a wok, or cooking pan. Saute the ginger until fragrant. Add in the onions and garlic and saute until fragrant but not burnt. Add in the chicken.

3. Stir fry for a while. Add in the chillies and the fish sauce. Add in some water if it gets too dry. Cover until chicken is cooked. Stir frying and checking once in while. This should take less than 10 minutes.

4. When chicken is cooked, add in the basil leaves. Cook until basil leaves are wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with jasmine rice.


This is an easy weekday dinner dish. Fuss-free, tasty and delicious.



Sharing this Thai chicken dish with the Regional Recipes community, with this month featuring Thai recipes. Regional Recipes is launched and hosted this month by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok. To see last month's delicious Japanese dishes, please check out the round-up done by Wandering Chopsticks.

Unagi and Udon Noodles in Miso Soup

Hubby was impressed with the simplicity of the miso soup we cooked here. It was clear, fresh yet tasty and full of flavor. He bought several packs of fresh udon and wanted me to use the same soup base we cooked before. Easy peasy.

This dish is very simple to prepare. It is more like combining the different ingredients more than the cooking itself. First you prepare the miso soup stock. Then you cook the udon noodles (according to package directions) then add the topping. In this case, it is the grilled Unagi.

Unagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eels. I was able to buy pre-cooked grilled unagi, which I used as topping. You can also use various seafoods like I used before. You can also use meat like chicken or pork. See? This dish is so super versatile!

There are several popular kinds of Japanese noodles. First is the Ramen, the instant version is the most popular here in the Philippines. These are thin wheat-based noodles. Second is the Soba noodles made from buckwheat flour. I have cooked soba noodles before. Recipes and pictures here. Then we have the Somen. I have not tried cooking Somen yet. It is very thin wheat-based noodles. I believe this is similar to angel hair. Finally, we have the Udon noodles, the thickest noodles of them all, which is also wheat based. This is the noodle that we used for this dish.


Sharing this Japanese noodles dish with the Regional Recipes food event, launched by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok. It is a blogging event that celebrates food from all over the world! Each month a region will be selected - this month being Japan. Food bloggers are invited to prepare and post a recipe originating from that area. Then, we can learn different Japanese dishes by the round-up time! This month's host is Wandering Chopsticks. To see last month's delicious dishes from Greece, please click here.



400 gms fresh udon noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 pc pre-cooked grilled unagi, sliced
1 pc soft tofu, cubed
nori sheets, cut
1 stalk green onion, chopped

for the soup base:
4 T garlic (optional)
5 C water
2 T mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine)
1 T miso paste
2 T dashi granules (Japanese broth concentrate, available in Japanese or Asian stores)
salt and pepper to taste


1. Boil the water in a pot. When it boils, add the garlic, mirin, and the dashi granules.

2. When the dashi granules are dispersed, turn off heat and add the miso paste. (The healthy benefits of the fermented miso will be rendered useless when coooked.) Mix thoroughly until miso is dispersed. Add salt and pepper to taste. I did not add salt anymore because miso is already salty.

3. In individual serving bowls, arrange the udon noodles. Pour in the soup stock. Top with the grilled unagi, nori sheets, tofu. Sprinkle with green onions. Serve immediately.


Delicious and tasty one-dish meal anybody can prepare in a hurry. :)


Sharing this noodles dish with the Presto Pasta Nights community, headed by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. This week's host is Chef Melissa, the Cooking Diva. To see last week's array of delicious pasta dishes, please click here.






Here are my other Japanese recipes:

Sukiyaki Inspired Beef Udon Soup

Seafood and Noodles in Miso Soup

Soba Noodles with Unagi

Grilled Fish with Miso Glaze