Mashed Potato Recipe

One of the best way to pair a slab of meat or steak is Mashed Potato.

Mashed potato is one of Matthew's favorites every time we dine. Unfortunately, due to community quarantine imposed because of the pandemic, having meals outside is not yet feasible.

Why not make mashed potato at home? Madali lang naman gawin.

In making mashed potatoes, the Russet potatoes are the good variety to be used.

Russet potato is large, dark brown skin with minimal eyes. The flesh is white, dry and mealy making it best for baking, mashing, and fries. It is also starchy and easily fall apart upon cooking making it easy to mash.

To cook it faster, peel the potatoes and cut into 4 and boil in cold water

Once cooked, let them sit about 5 minutes or so to completely drain or even drain well.

Mashed by hand. You can use a hand masher or a potato ricer. This is because using a hand mixer, stand mixer or food processor can break down the starches in the potatoes and cause a very gluey or gummy texture.

Use may use salted or unsalted butter. Adding butter helps mashed potatoes get a creamy and buttery texture.

Heat your milk/cream before adding to  keep the potatoes hot and absorbs better.  Then add cream/milk a little a time to get the right consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

This is best paired with steak or fried chicken.

Mashed Potato Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/3 cup salted butter

1/2 cup milk (you can add more)

salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions:

1. Place the peeled and cubed potatoes in cold salted water. (For even cooking)

2. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered 15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well.

3. Heat milk on the stove top (or in the microwave) until warm.

4. Add butter to the potatoes and begin mashing. 

5. Pour in milk a little at a time to reach desired consistency.

6. Season with salt and pepper. 

Serve hot topped with gravy sauce and paired with steak, fried or grilled chicken.

Serving size: 2-3

Read More »

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Here is another easy-to-do snack recipe. The Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls.

This snack uses loaf bread, white or wheat bread will do, and banana as two of the main ingredients.

The Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls  is a great for your kids nowadays that most of them are attending online school because of the pandemic.

Actually, you can also encourage them to help you prepare and cook in the kitchen.

Slices of banana is first cooked in little amount of butter and sugar.

It is then wrapped in a flattened loaf.

Dipped in a cinnamon-milk-egg mixture.

Then fried until golden brown.

This is not only good as merienda but can also served as breakfast paired with a cup of coffee or chocolate.

You can prepare the wrapped banana, stored in the fridge then fried in the morning.

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Ingredients:

3 medium banana (Saba)

6 Bread slices
2-3 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon Sugar (brown/white)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon powder

Cooking Instruction:

1. Trim the edges of slices bread, then flatten each bread with a rolling pin. Set aside.

2. Cut the bananas into half, melt one tablespoon of butter in the pan. Add sliced bananas, 1 tablespoon of sugar and cook both side of the banana.
3. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk and cinnamon.
4. Wrap the fried banana with the flatten bread.
5. Dip each roll in egg mixture.
6. In a pan over medium heat, melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter. Fry each roll until sides are golden.
7. Drain on a paper towel. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Serving size: 2

Read More »

Dulce De Leche Recipe

Over the weekends, I made Dulce De Leche as requested by Mommy.

Making this one will test your patience because you need to cook condensed milk for 3 to 4 hours.

Doing this recipe needs you to check first what you are going to use. Condensed Milk is often replaced with "Condesada" since it is cheaper but ending to a liquid rather than a thickened milk.

Why replacing Condensed Milk with Condesada is not recommended in making Dulce De Leche? 

Here are some notes.

Condensed Milk is different from Condensada

Although condensed milk and condesada look and taste the same when opened, their composition is entirely different. Condensed Milk is milk with sugar while Condensada is condensed creamer.

Like Condensed Milk, Condensada is also sweetened condensed milk but commonly mixed with vegetable oil, whey powder, skim milk, maltodextrin, carrageenan, salt, and lactose.

After cooking

Condensed milk and Condensada will both become dark brown when cooked. However, condensed milk will become thick while condensada remains liquid.

What to use? (Got from Chef Jackie Ang Po )

Condensed Milk is good for Dulce de leche, yema filling for brazo de mercedes, for baking, or anything that needs to be thickened.

For other recipes, you can use either condensed milk or condesada like Leche flan, halo-halo, fruit salad, sauces, and anything that does not need thickening like spreads and dips.

There are several ways of doing dulce de leche – the traditional way, opened can of condensed milk, unopened can of condensed milk.

Traditional Way

This method uses raw milk mixed with sugar, baking soda, and vanilla or other flavorings. It is cooked until thickened.

Opened can of condensed milk

The milk is either baked in an oven, cooked in a microwave oven, or cooked in a double boiler.

Unopened Can of Condensed milk

The entire unopened can of condensed milk is submerged in water and simmer 3-4 hours. A pressure cooker can be also used to reduce the cooking time from hours to 30-40 minutes.

Here what I did for the Dulce De Leche:

Dulce De Leche

Ingredients:

1 can Alaska Condensed Milk

Cooking Instruction:

1. In a sauce pan, submerge at least 3/4 of the can with water.
2. Bring to boil and simmer for 4 hours.
3. Remove the can from the water and cool at room temperature before opening.
4. Transfer in a glass container.

Serving size: 370 ml

Read More »

Lemon Chicken Recipe

Tired of the usual dish made to chicken?

Here is a simple recipe that you can try - Lemon Chicken.



The best part to be used in this recipe is the leg quarter.

It is marinated in salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, and lemon of course. It is better to marinate the chicken with the spices, except the lemon, overnight in the fridge to have a more flavorful taste in every bite.

Instead of frying or grilling, it is baked together with marbles potatoes brushed with melted butter.

The finished products has a brownish crispy skin with tender and juicy meat inside.

Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

2 pcs leg quarter, skin-on, bone-in

2 teaspoons lemon zest (about zest from 1 lemon)

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves

2 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons melted butter

Lemon slices for garnish

Cooking Instruction:

1. Place lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a bowl, whisk to combine. Place the chicken legsin the bowl and turn to coat with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 1 to 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 425°F (around 200°C). Remove chicken from marinade and place in a baking dish, skin side up. Brush each legs with butter: Reserve the marinade. 

3. Bake for 20 minutes and baste the chicken pieces generously with the reserved marinade. Continue baking for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the skins are crispy brown. Prick the chicken with a fork. If the juices running is already clear, it is cooked.

4. Let rest and serve in the same baking dish or in a serving plate. You may also add marble potatoes while baking.

Serve with rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.

Serving size: 3-5

Read More »

Bibingkang Kanin Recipe

Here is a Filipino dessert that every one will truly love especially those with a "sweet tooth". The Bibingkang Kanin.

Bibingkang kanin or some called bibingkang malagkit is made of glutinous rice, coconut milk, and brown sugar.

Cooking this delicous dessert will need a lot of patience and strength in stirring or mixing the glutinous rice.

The glutinous rice is first half-cooked using 2nd extract of coconut milk.

After the glutinous rice is done, it is then tranfered in a wok with brown sugar dissolved in coconut milk.

Cooking is done with continuous strirring until the glutionus rice becomes chewy and stricky.

Once it is ready, the mixture is poured in a mold then topped with creamy coconut caramel then baked in oven until toppings becomes brown.

Baking can be done in an oven or placing a thin sheet of pan with charcoal on top until the coconut caramel turn brown.

Bibingkang Kanin

Ingredients:

¾ kilo glutinous rice

5 cups coconut milk, first extract

5 cups coconut milk, 2nd extract

¼ kilo brown sugar

½ cup butter

2 tbsp. vanilla

For the topping:

3 cups coconut milk

¼ kilo brown sugar

2 tbsp. vanilla

Cooking Instruction:

1. Cook the glutinous rice in 2nd extract coconut milk. Just like cooking ordinary rice. Set aside.

2. Dissolve brown sugar in first extract of coconut milk, add vanilla and let it boil.

3. Add the cooked glutinous rice and butter.

4. Continue stirring them for about thirty minutes or until it become sticky.  Set aside. (I bet you will get your biceps work here)

5. In a greased rectangular pan, put the cooked rice and level it leaving space for the topping. Set aside.

For the toppings:

1. Mix all the ingredients and cook in low fire stirring continuously until it becomes thick.

2. Pour over the cooked rice.

3. Bake in a pre-heated oven (130C) using the tope heater only until the toppings become brown.

4. Cool and cut into about 1.5in x 1.5in using greased knife and serve.

This can be served chilled too.

Read More »

Pancit Malabon Recipe

It weekends again and time to make special dishes.

Here is a simple yet mouth-watering snack. Pancit Malabon.

Pancit Malabon is a Pinoy dish made of another variety of noodles originated from Malabon City, where the name probably came from. It is also known as Pancit Luglug.

The noodles is round and thicker compared with pancit bihon.

The sauce is yellow-orange due to the annatto or achuete seeds. The sause is flavored with shrimp broth and fish sauce or patis. It is further thickened by adding ground chicharon and beaten eggs.

Pancit Malabon is commonly topped with cooked shrimp, squid, boiled eggs and tinapa flakes and garnished with chopped spring onions, toasted garlic. It is best served with calamansi.

Pancit Malabon

Ingredients:

For Sauce:

1/4 kg giniling

2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 small onion, minced

1 tablespoon achuete powder, dissolve in 1/2 cup water

2 pork cubes in 3 1/2 cups waters

6 tablespoons flour

crushed chicharon

pepper and salt to taste

Toppings:

3 hard boiled eggs

spring onions

crushed chicharon

calamansi

Pancit Malabon noodles (454 g), cooked according to packaging instruction

Direction:

1. Saute garlic and onion. Then add giniling and cook until brown.

2. Add dissolved achuete powder and pork broth. Let simmer for 2 minutes.

3. Slowly add the flour with constant stirring to achieve it's sauce texture consistency. Simmer for 1 minute.

4. Add the cooked Pancit Malabon noodles and add the crushed chicharon.

Serving size: 4-5

Read More »

Chicken and Ampalaya Guisado Recipe

The Ehanced Community Quarantine is extended until May 15, 2020. This means this is another half-month challenge to every one.

During this period, one of the challenges we are facing is wat to serve on the table.  Halos lahat na yata ng alam na lutuing ulam at nagawa na.

Here is another suggestion that you may include in your week's meal. Chicken and Ampalaya Guisado.

Some may think na mapait because of the amplaya. One tip for you to get a less bitter amplaya, you need to pick the ampalaya with larger wrinkle gap.

Chicken and Ampalaya Guisado Recipe

Ingredients:

2 large amplalaya, sliced into about half inch thick

1/2 kilo chicken, tinola or adobo cut

2 medium-sized tomato, sliced

1 medium-sized onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

salt to taste

Direction:

1. Saute onion, garlic and chicken until no more traces of blood in the chicken meat.

2. Add tomatoes and let it cooked.

3. Pour about 1 cup of water and bring to boil.

4. Lower the heat and add ampalaya.

5. Season with salt and simmer until ampalaya is cooked.

Serving size: 3-4

Read More »

Crispy Chicken Skin Sisig Recipe

In the previous post, we shared how to make Crispy Chicken Skin. Since there are some left-overs, medyo nakakasawa na din if you are going to serve it the same.

Here is another must-try recipe on chicken skin. Why not make it as sisig.

This is not only good for main dish but as an appetizer too.

Although a bit tedious like making the pork sisig, the finish product is definitely great.

After making the chicken skin crispy, it is then finely copped.

It is then sauteed together with lots of onions.

To make the dish quite healthier, finely chopped fried tokwa is added.

Serving this in a sizzling plate topped with egg will surely make your meal satisfying.

Here's the full recipe.

Crispy Chicken Skin Sisig Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo chicken skin, deep-fried and finely chopped

6 pcs tokwa, fried and cut into small cubes

1 medium sized onion, chopped

1 egg

1/4 cup calamansi juice

Oi, salt and pepper

Cooking Instruction:

1. Saute onion.

2. Add chopped crispy chicken skin and tokwa.

Continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

3. Add calamansi juice, salt and pepper.

4. Simmer for about 1 minute. Set aside.

5. In a sizzling plate, add little oil and butter. Add the cooked chicken skin and tokwa sisig.

6. Cook for a few minutes. Then topped with egg, mayonnaise and chili.

Serving size: 4-5

Read More »

Crispy Chicken Skin Recipe

During our last visit to the grocery, in the fresh section, I was able to find chicken skin. Medyo matagal na din ako hindi nakakabili nito.

The chicken skin is best fried until crispy and served with either lechon sauce or simply spiced vinegar.

To achieve its crispiness, I used Ajinomoto's Crispy Fry Breading Mix.

Crispy Fry Breading Mix is available in different flavors. Previoously, we used the original flavor in Air-Fried Chicken. This time, we tried the garlic flavor.

Making the Crispy Chicken Skin is very simple. Be sure to drain excess water from the skin then toss it with Crispy Fry Breading Mix.

Deep frying is the best way to cook this.

Here's the full recipe.

Crispy Chicken Skin Recipe

Ingredients:

1 kilo chicken skin, washed and drained

1 pack Crispy Fry Breading mix

Direction:

1. Mix chicken skin with Crispy Fry Breading mix until chicken skin is coated.

2. Deep fry until chicken skin is crispy and golden brown.

3. Drain excess oil in a strainer or paper towel.

4. Serve with spiced vinegar.

Serving size: 5-6 

Read More »