In the Kitchen: Tortilla Empanada with Tamarong Fish Filling

Good morning moms! How are you doing on a Monday?

Yesterday, I decided to have a relleno. Not exactly though, just the filling only...and since there's no bangus these days in town, I just use the tamarong fish. I don't know how you call this fish in your own dialect or in Tagalog, but that's it's name in Hiligaynon. See this photo from Flickr.What happens in town kasi, is pag yun ang kuha ng mga dakilang fishermen sa amin, yun na lahat ang isda na mabibili mo from the vendors. Unless during our marketing day, Wednesday and Saturday that vendors flock in a place and offer a variety of fish which they get from other towns.

So, it seems that these days are tamarong days... =) That's why if you stick to the common ways of cooking this kind of fish, always, your taste buds are going to crave for something different. What I like to do with this is to fry it and cook vegetables with it like laswa, or just sauteed vegetables with fried fish. 

OK. Let's go back to relleno...I'm not gonna call it with that anymore because when we say relleno, what comes to mind is always the fried bangus with a filling inside. So, let's say it's a Tamarong Fish Filling. =)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten

4 medium sized tamarong, boiled, bones and skin removed (fillet) mashed

garlic and onion

cooking oil

salt and seasoning

black pepper

1 medium sized carrot, diced

1 small potato, diced

raisins

1/8 cup water

Procedure:

1. Mix thoroughly the mashed fish meat and egg. Set aside.

2. Saute the garlic, onion, carrot and potato.

3. Put a pinch of salt and seasoning, add water. I just needed a very small amount of water enough to tenderize the veggies.

4. When tender and almost no water is left, add the fish and egg mixture.

5. Season to taste, you may add a little black pepper  and raisins and just mix until it is cooked.

Yan na ang filling, pero inulam namin yan and I'm so happy napadami ang kain ng niece and son ko! =D

But then, I found some flour in the kitchen and just made a tortilla dough  and stuffed it with this filling, sealed and fried it just like an empanada.

Not bad for the first time, right?

Guys, I'm not born in a family of cooks or chefs, but I am teaching myself, experimenting, trying, documenting, and always inspired to make it. Just like my sister who has become a pastry chef in a cruise ship. 

As long as the people I love enjoyed the meal I prepared, I'm satisfied with what I made and I'm happy to share them with you. If you happen to have suggestions to make the dish better, I am happy to read it from you. Please feel free to comment on. I love learning!

I'd like to leave you with a quote that has inspired me not to be hopeless in the kitchen ever since I heard it:

"Anyone can cook"

                                                                                                   - Gusteau in the movie Ratatouille

In the Kitchen: Pork Adobo with Banana

 

It's rainy today and I felt like I wanted some pork on the table. I couldn't leave the house because as you know it's only me and K here during the day. Fortunately, our suki pedicab driver, happened to pass by so I requested him to buy me ingredients from the wet market.

He bought 1/2 kg of pork and sliced unripe jackfruit. I was craving for that eh. But then I found some saging na saba in the tray which were already too ripe. No one in the house likes to eat them in that state but I thought it would be better to cook them rather than throw them away.

I remember Mark cooked adobo with this banana plus sweet potato, so I decided to cook the other half of the pork like that one minus the sweet potato.

Ingredients:

1/4 kg pork

salt

Ginisa Mix (seasoning)

3 cups water

1 cup sliced saging na saba banana

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup soysauce

1 bulb onion chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

Procedure:

1. In a pan, saute the garlic onion and pork.

2. Put a pinch of salt and seasoning.

3. Add the water and boil until pork is tender. Add the vinegar and soy sauce. Simmer.

4. If only a little water (sauce) is left, add 1 more cup and put the banana. Let it cook.

5. Taste and adjust according to your preference.

Guys, I'm not born in a family of cooks or chefs, but I am teaching myself, experimenting, trying, documenting, and always inspired to make it. Just like my sister who has become a pastry chef in a cruise ship. 

As long as the people I love enjoyed the meal I prepared, I'm satisfied with what I made and I'm happy to share them with you. If you happen to have suggestions to make the dish better, I am happy to read it from you. Please feel free to comment on. I love learning!

I'd like to leave you with a quote that has inspired me not to be hopeless in the kitchen ever since I heard it:

"Anyone can cook"

                                                                                                   - Gusteau in the movie Ratatouille

In the Kitchen: Maja Blanca

I love to share this merienda recipe I just learned to cook. Actually, back in high school, I sold these everyday to my classmates for one peso per slice which is as big as the slice above. Imagine?  How cheap it was back then. It was my mom who used to cook this and never did I try to cook it on my own.
I know how, though.
She used cornstarch or third class flour mixed with coconut milk, refined sugar and young coconut meat, sweet corn or crushed peanuts.

I got curious of the ingredients other folks use because the way they tasted, there's really a difference in the consistency of the maja blanca and I like the other's taste better. Good thing I found an old recipe book owned by my grandmother and discovered that instead of flour or cornstarch, they have used probably the soaked rice ground finely.

After trying it on my own, here's the recipe you may also try:

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups coconut milk
1 cup white/refined sugar

Procedure:

1. Soak the rice in the water for at least 4 hours. I did mine for 8 hours because I was a bit busy. Before grinding, wash the rice first. Just make sure that the amount of water mixed with the rice which is like 1 1/2 cups is still the same.

2. Mix all the ingredients and bring to a boil until thick.

3. Smooth over in medium heat for about 20 minutes and place in a plate. Top with cheese.

Variations:

You can also mix to it nuts, buko (young coconut) meat, sweet corn or cheese. I mixed cheese in mine.