Sinigang na Hipon at Bangus

The weather here is Gensan is getting colder nowadays owing to the  rainshowers every now and then.  On days like this, I always make sure that  the kids have a  soupy dish to partake on at meal time.  I tried  combining fish and shrimp for sinigang and the result was simply irresistible!

Ingredients:

1 pc boneless bangus (around 400 gms)

1/2 kilo of fresh shrimps

sitaw, talong, kangkong (the vegies available in my garden)

souring agent ( sampalok/kamias/kalamansi)

tomatoes, onions, green chili, and a little vegetable oil

fish sauce to taste

• Saute the onions and tomatoes.
• Add the fish and the shrimp and put in water.
• Bring to a boil for a few minutes.
• Add in the veggies (make sure you don't overcook it ;-D)
• Add  lastly, the souring agent (sampalok/camias/kalamansi) and the fish sauce.
•  Serve with newly cooked plain rice!  Enjoy!

Shrimp and Sweet Corn Soup

Whipped up this very delicious soupy dish over the weekend. So easy to make and so good for chilly mornings ;-D

Ingredients:
5 pcs. sweet corn on the cob (freshly picked - if bought,
make sure with outer green covering on)
25o g shrimp
butter and vegetable oil
garlic, onions, red bell pepper, spring onion
egg
corn starch
pepper and thai fish sauce

- Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add butter and oil
- Saute garlic, onions, bell pepper. Add shrimp
- Add water and let it boil. Add the sweet corn kernels
- continue boiling for around 5 to 10 minutes then reduce heat. Add in pepper and Thai fish sauce
- Taste and adjust seasonings. Add beaten egg
- Continue stirring. Add the corn starch to thicken the soup.
- Garnish with finely chopped spring onions.

Serve while still hot. :-D

cooking tip: add a little iced cold water to the beaten egg before you put it in your soup for better texture.

Cooking Rocks

Simple Christmas Feast

Noche Buena

Barbecued spareribs

appetizer (chili spring rolls)

lumpia shanghai

shrimps in chives and chili sauce

steamed blue crabs

Merry Christmas, everyone!

from: your cooking mom and her family!

Another Yummy Weekend Brunch

Again, woke up very early last Saturday and had my morning walk at Gensan's wet market. Fresh seafoods spread out by the vendors in front of the bustling supermarket crowd made me wish for more weekends to come :-D

Here are my top picks for our Saturday brunch!

Seaweed (lato) salad

This is very rich in iodine and several minerals. Best served with sliced fresh tomatoes, calamansi, onions and Thai chilies. Drizzling it with organic vinegar is a welcome add on.

Paksiw na Buntot ng Tuna (Tuna Tail)

This is not only tasty but budget-friendly as well :-D

Ingredients:
ginger, garlic, pepper corns, thai chilies, fresh from the garden talong/eggplant
organic vinegar, vegetable oil, water, salt

Best cooked in a pot that is open while it is boiling - to let the acid escape. After awhile cover the pot again and simmer over low heat.

This dish is best served with plain rice (lots of it!) :-D

Crisp Squid Calamari

Crispy squid calamari is easy to make! This is good for appetizer or party food recipe.

I went to the market last Saturday morning to scout for fresh seafoods. True enough, seafoods of all shapes and sizes were available (octopus, squids, tuna, anchovies, sea eels, mussels, etc. :-D name it and you have it!)!

My purchase for the day was composed of the following:

Big squid
(we call this kobotan - the kind with the cuttlebone for feeding to the birds)
Imbao
( a type of white clams - good for soups or may be grilled or cooked in butter and garlic)
Seaweeds
( we call this guso - good for kinilaw)
Sliced blue marlin
( best for tinola/prito/steak)

I will be sharing now with you my calamari recipe for the squid . . .

Ingredients:

• 3/4 kilo squid (sliced 1/2 inch thick)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 2 pcs. calamansi (squeezed)
  
• 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
  
• a pinch of ground black/white pepper

• flour
• 2 pcs. beaten eggs
  
• bread crumbs
  
• 1 cup (or more) vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients and marinate for at least an hour.
   
2. Coat one by one the marinated squid with flour. Place floured squid on a clean plate next to the beaten eggs, bread crumbs and stove.
3. Pour vegetable oil (about 1 inch deep) into a medium-sized frying pan. Once the oil heats up, turn the stove fire into medium-low to avoid oil splattering.
4. Dip the floured squid in beaten eggs and coat with the bread crumbs. Then it's ready for frying.
5. Fry coated squid slices for about 1 or 2 minutes. The calamari should turn light golden brown before taking out of the pan. Avoid over-cooking, or your calamari will turn rubbery.
6. When done frying, remove from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.

Serve immediately while still hot. Best served with mayonnaise and catsup as dip.
ENJOY!

Recipes of my other market finds will also be featured here soon :-D

Sunday Meal

I love weekends because they mean a lot of time for me to prepare special recipes for my family. Just like last Sunday, I was able to serve these simple but special seafood recipes at lunchtime.

tuna kinilaw

Our home, General Santos City, is best known for tuna aside from being Manny Pacquiao's hometown. The cut I used in making this kinilaw is intended for sashimi but since I have no kikkoman and wasabi available in my cupboard it ended up as kinilaw (raw fish seasoned with vinegar, salt, ginger, onions, cucumber, radish, lemon and chilis).

shrimps with green pechay

My kids and I loved this recipe most. Organically grown pechay from a friend's backyard seemed to be the most perfect pair for fresh shrimps. Sauteed the shrimps and green leafy veggie in garlic, onion and tomatoes and seasoned with Thai fish sauce - very easy to prepare piece.

ripe lacatan for dessert

We all know that banana is a good source of potassium and Vitamin C. Having it as dessert completes our weekend lunch as family.

Seafoods Galore

If you have six pieces of fat crabs and 12 pieces fresh prawns - what are you going to do with those sea creatures?

A good friend gave me half a dozen fat crabs straight from Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat last Friday afternoon and I bought from Fitmart Gensan supermarket 12 pieces of fresh prawns for only Php123.00 ( wise buy for me because at the other supermarket - prawns of the same size costs P550.00 a kilo while at Fitmart - it's only P340 a kilo!)

The cooking mom wasted no time in preparing special dinner for the evening. I made two recipes with almost the same ingredients (the only difference was that the crab's meant for adult eaters while the prawns were for the kids!)

here's my recipe for super spicy crabs:

6 pcs. crabs (pre cooked)
butter/margarine
lots of garlic
ground pepper
chili powder
tabasco
DM catsup (original blend)
Thai fish sauce

Saute the garlic in butter/margarine until it's good enough to eat ( I hate over frying garlic since I love to eat this :-) ). You reserve some of it for garnishing. Put the crabs and all the other ingredients in the pan. Simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens. Then, it's good for serving. Garnish with previously sauteed garlic.
note: The spiciness and saltiness can be adjusted according to your taste buds... just be innovative!

The prawns were prepared with sweet and sour garlicky sauce:

12 pcs. prawns
butter/margarine
lots of garlic
DM catsup (sweet blend)
Thai fish sauce

very easy to prepare - you just have to cook it just like the way I cooked the crabs!


happy cooking, everyone!

Squid and Seashells on a Saturday

Early Saturday morning walks for me usually means finding the freshest bounty from the sea inside the Gensan wet market. ( I got this habit of waking up early on a Saturday from my dear lola!)

These are simple dishes made out of freshest catch from our seas!

sinabawang aninikad

adobong pusit

and I usually buy ibos from a dear suki of mine
sa may kilid sa bularan. . .

My kids love Saturdays because of these!

Kung Hei Fat Choi from my Family to Yours!

My family joins the entire community in wishing everyone "Kung Hei Fat Choi!". I took advantage of this celebration by doing some special dishes relevant to the occasion for my kids and husband.

Recipes of the foodies I cooked will be made available in my upcoming posts. Meanwhile, I am sharing with you, my friends, pictures of what I prepared for this evening!

Bon appetit!

Crave for Steamed Fresh Crabs

A very good friend from Kalamansig supplies me with fresh crabs and prawns. If I'm not in the mood for cooking (although once in a blue moon), this is what I do with my crabs!

The easiest way to cook crustaceans, by steaming!

missing feet and claws courtesy of my little kittens in the kitchen (oh how they love it!)

This is so easy to prepare. you just need
water
vinegar
salt and pepper( or whatever seasoning you want)
a large boiling pot and of course,
fresh crabs

Over mixed vinegar and water and topped with sprinkled seasonings, steam the crabs for 20 - 25 minutes and voila! Bright red, tasty crabs ready to be served right before your eyes...

Happy eating!