Japanese Noodle Soup

 A rainy night calls for hot steamy soup! So when Glenn asked what he can have for dinner quickly, I rummaged our pantry to find some ingredients for some home made japanese noodle soup.

  I love going to Japanese restaurants for some ramen but what makes it great when you make it at home… you can put whatever you want! :-)

(I hope to make the egg slicing perfect next time. :-)) 

Good for 2 

  Ingredients:

For the soup:

1 pack bonito dashi

3 cups water

3 tbsp soy sauce

salt to taste

1/4 pack of japanese noodles (ramen or udon)

2 hard boiled eggs

1/4 cup bacon

4 nori strips

 Directions:

1.  Cook noodles based on package directions

2.  Put some water in a pot and add the bonito dash, soy sauce and salt. Let boil for 7-10 minutes.

3.  Fry the bacon

4.  Transfer the noodles in a bowl.

5.  Cut the hard boiled egg in half and put on top of the noodles

6.  Position the bacon and nori strips on top of the noodles

7. Pour soup and serve

ENJOY!

Five-Spice Beef Noodles

  From the July 2011 issue of Yummy Magazine, my first try for the month is Five-Spice Pork Noodles on p. 27. For my version though I used beef sirloin and native pechay coz I had those in my fridge then.

   I like the taste of this dish... It's a bit dry though but I enjoyed it. It's simple and easy to make. Try it out.

   Serves 2
   Ingredients:
    1 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
    1/4 lb beef sirloin sliced
    1/2 tsp Chinese five spice poweder
    1/2 red onion, cut into thin wedges
    1/4 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
    1/2 tbsp grated ginger
    1 clove garlic crushed
    100 grams egg noodles, cooked according to package instructions
    1 bunch pechay native chopped (separate leaves and stems)
    1/8 cup oyster sauce
    1/2 tbsp sherry

    1.  Heat half of the oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Stir-fry beef and spice for 2 to 3 minutes or until well-browned.  Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
    2.  Heat remaining oil in wok over high heat. Stir fry onion, bell pepper, ginger and garlic, about a minute or until just tender. Return beef to to wok with noodles, pechay stems, sauce, and sherry.
    3.  Stir fry for about a minute, to heat through. Add bok choy leaves, tossing for 1 minute or until wilted.

   I found this bottle of sherry in Rustan's Makati for P189. I've been looking around for Shao Xing Wine but could not find it in Rustan's and Waltermart.

Beef Kaldereta (Slow Cooking)

We got a slow cooker a few weeks ago and I have been experimenting on different recipes but none made me and Glenn happy. So I'm trying this recipe right now (its slow cooking on low as I write).

Thanks to Sheryl Cababa for this recipe. I modified it a bit to add some cheese.

  Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
1/4 kilo beef shoulder blade
1/2 cup of tomatoe sauce
1/2 cups water
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp minced ginger
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (use a tablespoon balsamic vinegar if you don’t have tamarind) (optional)
1 tablespoons liver pate (optional)
2 small cubed, peeled red potatoes
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Rinse and dry the beef. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

2. In a pan, heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil over high heat. Brown the meat on all sides, doing this in batches to avoid crowding. Set it aside.

3. In the same pan, add a little bit more oil, and fry the onions over medium-low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tamarind, garlic, ginger and red pepper and stir for another minute. Dice the tomatoes (or, if they’re soft enough, shred them with your hands over the pot), and add them with the juice, and the liver pate, if using. Add the water, salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer.

4. Pour the sauce and the meat in the slow cooker. Set it to 8 hours in low.

5. Add the the potatoes and grated cheese on the 7th hour.

6. Serve with rice the next day.

*** I have to say, this is one of the best dishes I have cooked so far. So yummy!

Chicken Schnitzel

Making use of left over whole wheat bread, I cooked some chicken schnitzel. My inspiration... Junior Masterchef Australia. :-) And since my boyfriend wants to eat it with rice and sauce, I made chicken liver adobo on the side.

You can find the original recipe here, For the pinoy version, check below. :-)

Good for two.

Ingredients:

4 pcs. chicken thigh fillet

3 pcs whole wheat bread

3 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 tsp rosemary

salt and pepper

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

1/2 cup plain flour

2 tbsps olive oil

Directions:

1. Process whole wheat bread and parmesan in a food processor until fine crumbs. Add rosemary and season with salt and pepper, process until finely chopped. Transfer to a plate.

2. Cut the chicken thighs horizontally into thin steaks. Place in between 2 sheets of cling film and lightly pound with the flat side of meat mallet to flatten.

3. Whisk egg and milk together in a bowl. Coat one piece of chicken in flour and shake to remove excess. Then dip the chicken into the egg mixture. Then coat the chicken in breadcrumbs, pressing firmly to coat. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken and crumbing mixtures.

4. Heat olive oil and fry chicken thighs for 4 to 5 minutes each side.

5. Serve with rice or salad.

Mini Quiche Lorraine

My pack of puff pastry has been sitting in my freezer for a few months now. I've been planning to make quiches but never had the chance. This weekend, I made it my experiment.

Ate Lilian, Kuya Marlon and Rosie, visited us (minus Glenn though coz he had to set up for Ate Lally's party) and I was so happy to serve them my Quiche Lorraine with freshly ground and brewed coffee. Thank you, Rose for mixing the coffee... pang Starbucks owner ka talaga! :-)

Recipe is from Yummy Magazine May 2010 but I doubled the recipe to make more.

Ingredients:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (325g), thawed

1/4 cup butter

1 onion sliced

6 strips bacon, chopped

4 eggs

1 cup cream

1 cup grated tasty cheese (such as cheddar)

nutmeg

spinach leaves to serve

balsamic vinegar as sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Lightly grease muffin pans and pie tins

3. Using a rolling pin and sprinkling flour on the puff pastry, flatten the pastry

4. Arrange pastry into prepared pans.

I used 6 cups muffin pan, 4 mini tart pans

5. Fill each with either kidney beans or rice grains.

6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until pastry puffs a little bit (don't allow it to be golden brown)

7. Remove kidney beans or rice grains. Make sure that nothing is left.

8. Reduce oven to 350F

9. Melt butter in a frying pan on high. Saute onion and bacon until onion is tender.

10. Fill each prepared pastry with an even amount of onion mixture.

11. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Sprinkle some pepper. Pour into prepared pastry.

12. Sprinke with nutmeg and then cheddar cheese.

13. Bake for 20 mins or until firm and pastry is brown and crispy.

14. Garnish with spinach leaves

15. Use balsamic vinegar as sauce if desired.

Improvements:

1. I'll use kidney beans as weights next time. It was so difficult to remove all the rice grains from the pastry

2. Will bake the pastry puff longer on the ones on tart tins.

3. I won't put water in the pan while I'm pre-baking the pastry to make it puff a bit more

Notes:

1. Don't use too much salt since the bacon, butter and cheddar will give the needed saltiness.

Little Lemon Meringue Pie

So thankful that I was able to find a Lemon Meringue Pie recipe good for two people. We would not have been able to finish the whole pie. Found this recipe in http://allrecipes.com.

Glenn and I are not big fans of lemony desserts but this was pretty good. :-) Also, the colder it is, the better it tastes. Of course, its best to have it on the same day.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 1 tablespoon cold butter (no substitutes)
• 1 teaspoon cold water
• FILLING:
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• MERINGUE:
• 1 egg white
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening and butter until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide in half. Roll each portion into a 5-in. circle. Transfer to two 10-oz. custard cups. Press dough 1-1/8. up sides of cups. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees F for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown

Crust before I placed them in the oven.

2. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. gradually stir in cold water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat. Stir half of hot filling into egg yolk; return all to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in lemon juice and butter. Pour into pastry shells.

3. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg white and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Spread evenly over hot filling, sealing edges to crust. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour; refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Things to improve on:

1. I would have used smaller custard cups (ramekins) so its not fattening in one meal.

2. Lesser sugar for the meringue

3. Use iodized salt for the crust

** For custard cups, you can get it in Landmark, Makati at P40.00 each

All Meat -Hand Rolled Pizza with Home Made Pizza Dough

After Glenn and I had a nice date in Mona Lisa, Alabang a few weeks back, he asked me if I can make the super yummy Pannize that we ate. I said I'll give it a try... and so I did. Here's the result! :-)

I did a combination of a Yummy recipe (Jan/ Feb issue p.44) and a cream sauce recipe I found online. No pizza pans were available but used our pyrex dish. I'm pretty sure the dough would have booked better in a pizza pan but it still tasted yummy according to my siblings. :-)

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

2 tsp instant yeast

3/4 cup lukewarm water

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Combine flour, yeast, water, oil and salt

2. Mix until just combined

3. Transfer dough to a light floured surface and knead for about 5 mins until well-mixed. Cover with a kitchen towel. Set aside and let rise for about 10 mins. Punch the dough down and knead for another 5 mins.

4. Divide dough into 2 parts and form into 2 small balls. Knead for about 1 minute.

5. Dust a flat work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, flatten the 2 dough balls and slowly roll into desired shape and lay out in a pizza pan.

Cream Pizza Sauce:

1/4 cup butter

3 cloves garlic minced

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup all purpose cream

some Italian seasoning and oregano

pinch of salt and pepper

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat

2. Add garlic and saute for 3 mins

3. Stir in the cheese, cream, salt and pepper

4. Add Italian seasoning and oregano

5. Remove from heat

6. Spread on pizza dough

Pizza Topping

1/4 cup Pork sausage removed from skin

1/8 cup burger bits

1/8 cup pepperoni

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Spread pizza topping on pizza dough with cream sauce.

Preheat oven at 190C and place pizza for 5 to 10 mins or until the crust is completely cooked.

Toppings for a roll:

Alfalfa sprouts

Arugula

Olive oil

Chili oil

Parmesan cheese

Add a little bit of everything on the pizza slice and roll like paper. Stuff in your mouth. :-)

Areas of Improvement:

1. Use either a pan used for pizzas (stone or aluminum should be ok, I guess)

2. Make the pizza crust thicker (just a tad bit so that its easier to roll)

3. Since its a rolled pizza, maybe lesser toppings