These Wings were made to be devoured

When I was a child, I always wanted to have fried chicken for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  When people in the US watch the Superbowl, they munch on chicken wings be it buffalo, chili garlic ,or  garlic parm. The Koreans have their own style of cooking fried chicken thus, the birth of BONCHON. There are even fast food establishments which cater to fried chicken fanatics, there’s KFC (love their hot and spicy), Mcdonald’s, and of course the Filipino favorite, Jollibee!

Fried Chicken is an all-time fave of people young and old. Even dogs would finish off the bones for you (just don’t feed them the small ones, they might choke and you wouldn't want that on your conscience!)

The way I do my chicken, is I veer away from the commercialized breading mixes found on grocery shelves. It’s very high in sodium and lessens the nutritional value of the food. I just use the usual flour/egg/cornstarch/breadcrumbs mixture or just season it with salt and pepper then fry it “naked”.

In this recipe, I seasoned the chicken with a little extra love and care.

I’m kidding!

I've received a ton of requests for this recipe, even from friends and family and honestly I didn't want to give it away but due to insistent demand, here’s the recipe for my chili garlic and garlic parm wings! Yeeey!

So, for this recipe, I just fry the chicken “naked”. Meaning no bread crumbs, no breading. Just a few spices. The secret to this recipe is in the sauce.

CHILI GARLIC AND GARLIC PARMESAN CHICKEN WINGS

I tried to make it more presentable, but I was too excited to eat 'em wings. 

THE CHICKEN:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo chicken wings
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1  tsp pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• optional: MSG (but i don't use this)

What to do with the chicken:

1. Clean the wings and cut the wings at the joints, making it into three parts.
2. Place in a bowl and marinate with the remaining ingredients. Leave it for 15 to 30 minutes.
3. Heat the  oil in a pan.
4. Fry the wings until golden brown. Set aside on a plate lined with paper towel.

THE CHILI GARLIC SAUCE:

Ingedients:

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 stick butter
• 2-3 tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce 

How to:

1. In a small bowl, add garlic and butter. Pop in the microwave for about a minute or until the butter is melted. You may also heat the mixture in a pan if in case you don't have a microwave.
2. Mix in the hot sauce. You may add a few more tablespoons if you want it a little more spicier.
3. Pour the sauce on top of the wings and toss until homogeneously combined.

THE GARLIC PARMESAN SAUCE

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• chopped fresh parsley

How to:

In a small bowl, add garlic and butter. Pop in the microwave for about a minute or until the butter is melted. You may also heat the mixture in a pan if in case you don't have a microwave.

Pour the sauce on top of the wings. Add the Parmesan and toss until homogeneously combined.

Sprinkle with parsley.

Enjoy this as a "pica-pica" on a Saturday night with your friends while enjoying a bottle of ice cold beer, or at a meal with your family. I hope you love it!

Yum - Oh!

DIY: Steamed Pork Rice

Everybody knows that Cebu is famous for their tasty and succulent roasted pig, "Lechon". However, it is not known to tourists that Cebu is also popular for the Dim Sum dish, Steamed Pork Rice (a.k.a Pork Steamed Rice). During lunch hour, locals flock to the nearest Dim Sum resto and have a bowl of this famous dish. Its fast, easy, and delicious!

I remember when I was still in grade school, my mom used to bring me to Lumpia House or Harbor City everyday because I wouldn't eat anything else. I was addicted to this bowl of porky goodness, and to this day, it is still my go-to comfort food.

It's basically fried rice topped with a steaming  thick stew-like delicious mixture of pork and peas. The smell of the dish itself is enough to make my mouth water.Some like their steamed rice dry, but I love 'em soupy. I often pair this with fried wantons or shanghai rolls because they compliment the thick texture of the pork toppings, and if you add a little sweet and sour sauce it will make your taste buds roar. Trust me, your mouth is going to have a party once you taste this dish.

I tried this at home a few days ago, and it was gone in one sitting!

Try it and tell me what you think.

Steamed Pork Rice

Makes: 3
Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 green onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 cup green peas (frozen,fresh, or preserved)
1/2 cup dried shrimp (you may also use fresh medium sized shrimp, cleaned and deveined)
250 grams pork sirloin (cubed) - you may also use "adobo cut" pieces, just make sure to chop it into bite-size bits
1/2 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup of cold water
3 cups of water
1/4 cup soy sauce
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. sesame oil
3 cups fried rice
1 tbsp vegetable oil

How to cook:

1. Heat oil in pan. Saute garlic and onions until caramelized or until the onions are translucent.
2. Put in pork and stir occasionally until all sides are cooked. Season with salt and pepper. You may add the shrimps at this point.
3. Pour in water and bring to a boil.
4. Add in cornstarch mixture and let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Mix well.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve on top of fried rice.

Tips:

• Fry rice in a tablespoon of sesame oil and add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce to add color.Mix well.
• You can add artificial flavors (MSG), if desired.
• If you are using preserved peas or dried shrimp, make sure to wash thoroughly.
• You may add more cornstarch mixture if you want a thicker sauce.
• Best served when hot.

Enjoy!

請享用。

No Leftovers Please!

I hate throwing leftovers. There are people out there scavenging for food and starving to death, and some are just unconcerned and putting food to waste. My heart breaks every time I see kids sleeping on cold pavements, and knocking on car windows begging for food. So, every time I eat out and I can't finish my meal, I ask for a takeaway bag and give it to vagrants roaming the streets. They'll be more than happy to finish it for me.

If I'm at home and there are leftovers in the fridge, I deconstruct them and transform them into another dish or just make something else to compliment it instead of just letting food go down the drain. In today's case, I had some leftover Aglio Olio from yesterday. I decided to pair it with Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops to give my meal an "All Italian" feel.

PARMESAN CRUSTED PORK CHOPS

Ingredients:

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup Italian breading (if you can’t find that in the supermarket, you can use a mixture of breadcrumbs and Italian seasoning)

2-3 slices pork chop (deboned)

1 egg (beaten)

2 tbsp olive oil

Steps:

1.       Coat the chops in Parmesan cheese. Tap excess.

2.       Dip in egg until well coated.

3.       Coat with Italian breading.

4.       Heat olive oil in a pan.  Pan fry chops until golden brown. 5 minutes on each side.

 And if you still have leftovers (which I highly doubt), you can always make it into a Frittata!

BUON APPETITO!

Korean Spicy Bacon: Hot Hypertensive Heaven

I've always had a soft spot for Korean food. Next to that spot for Japanese food, and Filipino food, Italian….Okay, so I have a soft spot for food in general! But, there’s something about the dark red shades and distinctive smell of Korean cuisine that makes my mouth water. The hot and spicy soup bowls that make you sweat profusely. The fermented cabbage and radish that smells so bad, but tastes oh so good (it’s not that bad, really. It just takes getting used to). The smell of sesame oil in delicious Korean barbecue makes me feel like I’m in Korean heaven! Oh, and let’s not forget the FISH ICE CREAM!!! Better than that overrated Belgian chocolate crusted ice cream. And as my friend Xander always say, it’s better than sex (let’s hope my mom doesn't read this).

I was never really a fan of Korean food at first because I thought all of their dishes were fermented (forgive my temporary stupidity), but I tried a bite of kimchi in one of those over-the-top buffets, and It wasn't so bad. My friend Ozzie is a big fan of Korean cuisine and she would treat me to “Samgyupsal” every once in a while, I got hooked. Maybe it also helps that there are a lot of good Korean restaurants in the city.  

One of those Samgyupsal nights with Ozzie and Len.

It’s cold and wet out, a perfect day to make a fiery dish. So I decided to cook Daeji Bulgogi, its spicy bacon strips stir fried to hypertensive perfection. This will make your taste buds roar! If you think it’s too spicy for you, you can always eat more rice or drink cold water. Hahaha.    

KOREAN STIR FRY SPICY PORK “DAEJI BULGOGI”

Ingredients:

500 grams bacon

2 tbsp white wine

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

3 tbsp chili paste

3 tbsp bulgogi paste

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 green onion roughly chopped

Onion leaves chopped into one inch pieces

Chopped chili (for garnish)

Procedure:

1.       Combine all ingredients except onion, onion leaves and chili. Marinate for about 30 minutes.

2.       In a pan, saute onions and onion leaves until onion becomes clear.

3.       Add in the marinade and cook for 15 minutes with occasional stirring.

4.       You may add a little more bulgogi sauce if you find it a little dry.

5.       Serve in plate and top with chili. Serves 5 people.

DEUSEYO!

드세요

Vietnamese Fresh Springrolls Recipe

Surprisingly, I received a lot of recipe requests for this healthy roll of Viet goodness. I had fun making this because of the colors and the different textures of the ingredients, although the rolling part was a little tedious. This takes about 15 - 20 minutes to prepare just as long as you have chopped all the ingredients.

This is a great meal on it's own because it has a little bit of everything. meat, veggies, and noodles. Plus, the dipping sauce makes the dish a lot more refreshing.

VIETNAMESE FRESH SPRINGROLLS

Ingredients:

Rolls- Rice paper 

          Lettuce (preferrably Asian, and NO THEY DONT HAVE SMALL EYES!)

          Mint leaves 

          Chinese Basil (you may also use Italian basil)

          Chives (choose the small or slim ones )

          Cucumber (pealed and sliced vertically)

          Vermicelli Noodles (cooked as instructed in the packaging, and don't forget to drain!)

          Pork Sirloin / Pork belly

          Shrimp (about 3-10 pieces, depending on your preference),you may substitute shrimps with tempura   or squidballs 

          Salt and pepper

Sauce- 1 tbsp. Creamy peanut butter

            1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce

            1 tsp Minced Garlic

            1 tbsp Vegetable oil

            1 tsp Sugar

            1/2 cup water

Procedure:

Rolls

1.       In a pot, boil pork until tender and add salt and pepper. Take the meat out of the water and slice into thin pieces once it's cool.

2.       Cook shrimp in the pork broth until red. Devein and cut in half. If you opted for squidballs or tempura, make sure you slice them into thin bite size pieces. 

3.       Dip rice paper in warm water for 1-2 seconds. And place in a flat surface

How To Roll  (Run! Here comes the tricky part!)

Imagine that the paper has three parts. 

The first one is for the veggies and the noodles,

 the second is for the pork, and the third part is for the shrimp.

• Arrange vegetables and noodles in the first part. Roll and fold the sides (1-3). 
• Next, place 2 slices of pork. Roll.
• Arrange the shrimp in the third part. Roll (4).

How To Make The Sauce

• Coat pan with vegetable oil. 
• Saute garlic until light brown
• Add in Hoisin Sauce, peanut butter, and sugar. Mix well.
• Add in water and let it simmer until the sauce is thick.
• Serve in a bowl.

Done! Done! Done! I hope you enjoy this refreshing dish as much as I did.

BON APETIT!

Sources: Vietnamfood.org

              Google

A Taste of Vietnam in Palawan

What is a trip without a little culinary experience? 

They say you've never really experienced a place unless you've had a taste of the local cuisine.  So, whenever I get that chance to travel, I make it a point to go to the local food grubs and "do what the Romans do".

This is my friend Xander after finishing a spicy bowl of chao long. (WARNING: Do not put too much chili paste unless you can handle it. Else you would look like this guy after a few spoonfuls! haha)

Pretty Charm enjoying her first mouthful.

During my one week stay in Palawan, there was never a day that I didn't have a steaming bowl of Chao Long. Chao Long is Palawan's version of the Vietnamese noodles, "Pho", rice noodles in a clear broth of your choice (chicken, pork, beef, or beef ) with your choice of condiments on the side. This is Palawan's "batchoy", the go-to comfort food after a night of partying, breakfast, snacks, dinner, pretty much every meal. 

Beef stew topped with condiments. YUM-O!

There is a Chao Long House in almost every street corner in Puerto Princesa, and some are even open 24/7 for those who have late night cravings. The very first eateries who offered this mouth-watering soup bowl were owned by Vietnamese who sought refuge in Palawan during the war, then recipe was passed on and evolved into the Chao Long we now love to binge on.

Chao Long is best paired with garlic bread to counter the chili.

Now, I'm back in the queen city of the south, with no chao long house in sight. It's raining and I am craaaaaviiing for a hefty bowl of homemade noodles.

I tried to recreate the tasty beef Chao Long stew, unfortunately it takes 8 hours of intensive cooking before it's ready to be devoured and I do not have the time and patience to wait that long.  I guess we wont be seeing that cooking on the Master Chef kitchen anytime soon!(hahaha) So Instead, I opted to experiment on the chicken noodles and it was THE BOMB! It's filling and tasty. Nothing beats a steaming bowl of chicken soup on a rainy day. 

Here's the recipe for Vietnamese chicken noodles. Do not be deceived by the long list of ingredients. It's easy and it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes. 

VIETNAMESE CHICKEN NOODLES (PHO GA)

Ingredients:

Soup Base –            1 Green Onion sliced in half

                                3 inches Ginger sliced in half

                                2 tbsp. sugar

                                2 tbsp. salt

                                1 Liter of water

                                ½ kilo chicken (1 lb.)

                                A pack of Rice Noodles

Spices -                    1 piece Cinnamon bark

                                5 pcs. Star Anise

                                1 tbsp. Fennel seeds

                                1 tbsp. Cumin seeds ( you may also use powder)

                                1 tbsp. Coriander seeds

                                1 tbsp. Black pepper corns

                                2 cloves

·         Put all of the spices in a cheese cloth (if it’s not available, you can you use a sterile gauze) and make sure to tie it up. You may also toast the spices before you put them in the bag.

Condiments -           Bean sprouts (cleaned and with ends pinched off)

                                Basil leaves (Chinese basil is preferred, but you could definitely use Italian basil)

                                Onion leaves / scallions (chopped)

                                Chili (sili espada / labuyo / jalapeno) chopped

                                Red onions (chopped thinly)

                                Fish sauce

                                Chili paste

                                Hoisin Sauce

Procedure:

1.       Pour water into a pot and bring to boil. Add sugar and salt.

2.       Place onion and ginger in a bowl and cook in the microwave for 2-3 minutes then add to boiling water. Let it simmer for 3 minutes.

3.       Add chicken and let it boil for 7 minutes. (Be sure to take out the scum).

4.       Put in spice bag. Simmer for another 5 minutes then turn it off.

5.       Take out the chicken and debone. Cut into bite size pieces

6.       In a separate pot, cook noodles as instructed in the box. Drain.

7.       In a big bowl, put together the noodles, chicken, and soup.

8.       Serve with condiments on the side

ENJOY!