Cook and Brew.

With the internet and iphone technologies nowadays, cookbooks and cooking reference materials can now be ditched.  Here’s one iphone app that is especially made for those who wish to learn and cook basic Filipino foods: the Filipino Recipes.

If you don’t have an iPhone, iPad or iTouch, you can also access the recipes on the web through this link.

My sister, who’s based in Qatar buzzed me over at YM yesterday and shared her recent web find.  It’s a recipe of Salisbury Steak which she has tried just recently and got from a Pinoy Food Blog .  She’s raving about it, of how easy it was to prepare and cook and of how it was so delectable.  She said that I should try this one of these days.  Well, actually, as I indeed found it easy to follow, this will be the dish I’ll cook for tomorrow.  I have already saved the recipe in my laptop computer but I’m publishing this in here as well for backup purposes.

Salisbury Steak (Recipe from http://www.overseaspinoycooking.blogspot.com)

500g 100% beef burger, about 4-6 pieces
1 can, 420g Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup
200g fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 small size onion, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup full cream milk
2 tbsp. butter
salt and pepper

For the side dish:
mashed potatoes
mixed vegetables

Cooking procedure:
In a deep frying pan heat butter until it start to melt, pan fry the beef burgers in batches 2-3 minutes on each side, remove from pan and keep aside. Using the same pan, suttee onion and garlic until fragrant. Add in the soy sauce and stir cook for a minute. Add in mushrooms and stir cook for another 2-3 minutes. Now add in the Campbell’s mushroom soup and milk, simmer for 3-5 minutes at low heat while constantly stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the fried beef burgers and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Arrange beef burger with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables in a plate and pour over the sauce on top, serve immediately.

This is what we had last Friday.  Again, please bear with the crappy photo as I just used my camera phone (too lazy to bring out the DSLR).  I got this recipe from Del Monte’s 2010 Celebrate Planner, which I already forgot how I obtained that.  I think it was a freebie from a magazine I’m subscribed to.  First, let me share the recipe then my personal notes to follow: basically on how easy it is too cook and how the fda approved diet pills might be a requisite after meal.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo fresh whole labahita, filleted and cut into chunks
1 tbsp calamansi juice
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp sesame seesds
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp oil
150 g sayote, sliced
150 g carrot, sliced
1 (234 g) can pineapple chunks, drained (reserve syrup)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in pineapple syrup

Procedure:
1. Marinate fish in calamansi juice, salt, and pepper for 15 minutues.
2. Combine flour, garlic and sesame seeds. Dredge fish into the beaten egg then coat each piece of fish in flour mixture.
3. Fry until golden brown. Set aside.
4. Saute vegetables in oil.
5. Add 1/2 cup of water, toyo, brown sugar and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Add pineapple and cornstarch. Simmer until thick. Pour over fish.

Personal notes: I used tilapia fillet because that was the only available in fillet cut at the grocery that time. I should not have used the whole 1/2 kilo because it was too much for the proportion of sauce indicated above. Nevertheless, I love the sweet and sour combination of the sauce plus the sesame and garlicky taste of the fillet. The cooking process was simple and quick. The preparation takes more time though because of the various veggies that have to be peeled and sliced separately.

I forgot to take a picture of the dish I cooked last night but this is how it should look like:

100 g tofu, cut into 6 chunks and fried
1 pc beef bouillon cube
2 pc laurel leaves
200 g fish fillet (salmon or any lean fish), cut into 6 chunks
2 pc semi ripe saba bananas, each sliced into 3
100 g kamote, cut into 6 chunks
100 g Baguio beans, sliced
1 pouch 200 g DEL MONTE Original Style Tomato Sauce
100 g pechay, stalks separated from leaves

Procedure:
1. SPRINKLE fish with ¼ tsp iodized fine salt (or ¾ tsp iodized rock salt). Set aside.
2. BOIL 1-1/2 cups water with bouillon cube, laurel leaves, saba and kamote. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add DEL MONTE Tomato Sauce and patis to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. ADD fish, Baguio beans and tofu. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add pechay. Allow to simmer.

My personal note: Be sure to add a bit hefty amount of patis or better yet do not put all the contents of the 200g pouch of the Tomato Sauce because it tasted too sour when I tasted it. But other than that, this is one easy recipe to follow.

Picture and recipe lifted from here.

Easter Sunday’s near and so, have you planned yet what to serve on your Easter table? As for us, we don’t normally celebrate it with bountiful meals but instead we go out, let the little one enjoy Easter activities for kids then have a special lunch or dinner in our favorite resto. But I’m planning to make my special coleslaw which I haven’t prepared for quite some time now. The husband suddenly missed it and so with his help on Easter morning (by rinsing the cabbage and carrots with water from the faucets), we’ll come up with an Easter coleslaw.

This is how I usually do it:

Coleslaw

Ingredients:
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/3 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup white sugar

For dressing:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup thick whipping cream

Procedure:
1. Put all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix well and chill before serving.