Cook and Brew.

My boys prefer soupy dishes that’s why whenever I draft our weekly food menu, it’s a must that most of the dishes should be of that kind.  I’ve included Chopseuy as one of our dishes next week and a variation just like this (from overseaspinoycooking.blogspot.com) will have to be my guide:

Ingredients:

Ingredients:
1 cup pork, boiled, sliced thinly
1 cup medium size shrimp, shelled
12 pcs. cooked quail egg
150 grams oyster mushroom, trimmed
2 medium size patula, peeled, cut crosswise
2 medium size sayote, peeled, sliced
1 small size carrot, sliced
1 small size cabbage, cut into wedges
1 small red bell pepper, cut into wedges
1 small green bell pepper, cut into wedges
1 small bundle kinchay, chopped
1/2 head garlic, chopped
1 medium size onion, chopped
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper
cooking oil

Cooking procedure:
In a wok sauté garlic and onion, add pork and shrimp, quickly stir cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until shrimps are cooked. Add in salt to taste, pepper, sugar and 3 cups of broth or water, bring to a boil and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add sayote, patula and carrots stir cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add in cabbage, bell pepper, kinchay, mushroom and quail eggs, stir cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are cooked but firm. Add in sugar and season with salt and pepper, thicken sauce with cornstarch diluted in 1/4 cup of water cook for another minute or until sauce thickens. Serve immediately with steaming hot rice.

This isn’t the first dish I’ve cooked since we have moved in here in our new house but this dish is a special one for me..my personal top pick among the dishes I’ve cooked for the week.  My taste buds (and the husband’s and the little one’s) gave an o-kay sign.  In fact, I’ve consumed 2 cups of rice last night.  I’ve never been this proud of my own cooking.  Well, it’s suffice to say, that it’s the first “perfect” dish I’ve ever cooked. LOL.

I’m sharing the recipe for you to find out how yummy it is.  By the way, the crappy photo doesn’t do justice since I’ve taken it just a while ago..meaning, it’s a leftover of last night’s. The original finished product was a lot more inviting and looks really scrumptious.  It even made me and the husband to click here after devouring our dinner.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1/4 kilo ground pork
1/2 cup singkamas finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 pc small onion finely chopped
1 pc raw egg
salt

Soup:
1 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pc small onion, coarsely chopped
4 cups water
2 pcs Pork Broth Cubes
1/2 cup carrots sliced thinly
1/2 cup repolyo sliced thinly
1/2 cup sayote sliced thinly
ground black pepper

Procedure:
1. Combine all ingredients for the meatballs.
2. Mash together and shape into balls.

Soup:
1. Saute garlic and onion.
2. Add water and broth cubes. Wait until the cubes melt and water about to boil.
3. Drop in meatballs and simmer until well-cooked.
4. Add carrots, repolyo, sayote and simmer until the vegetables are cooked.
5. Season with pepper.

For sure, our loots when we get back from Baguio will contain loads and loads of carrots, sayote and cucumber. As La Trinidad is called the Salad Bowl of the Philippines, vegetables grown there are sold a lot cheaper. Among these vegetables, we stock cucumber the most to make our favorite, Cucumber Salad. Also, my sister use cucumber as a simple home remedy for her dark eye circles. Here’s a simple recipe that I learned from my stepmom.

Ingredients:
* 3 large cucumbers, peeled, thinly sliced
* 1 cup white vinegar
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients. Store covered in refrigerator.

You’ll love the contrasting sweet and sour taste.

Lumpia is a type of stuffed spring rolls. They are served fried or non-fried and fillings vary: pork, beef or vegetables served with sweet and sour sauce. This is Chinese in origin and other Asian countries have their own lumpia versions and variations as well. In Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, it is called “popiah”. In Vietnam, it is known as “cha gio”. In the Philippines, it is called lumpia. The Filipino lumpia is further categorized to two: Lumpiang Ubod – served fresh and wrapped in a crepe-like sheet; and Lumpiang Shanghai, or Fried Spring Rolls or Fried Lumpia.

Here’s how we usually prepare our Fried Lumpia:
* 1 lb. ground pork
* 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
* 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
* 1 small box of raisins
* 2 whole eggs
* 3 dashes of sesame oil
* salt and pepper, to taste
* 3 tbsp. soy sauce
* lumpia wrapper (1 pack usually has 50 sheets)
* vegetable oil, for frying

Procedure:
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix until well blended.
2. Wrap into thin rolls with a lumpia wrapper. Fry in deep hot oil.
3. Serve with your favorite ketchup or make your own Sweet and Sour Sauce recipe.

To make sauce, combine vinegar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, sugar, water, ginger and garlic in small saucepan. Bring to boil. Stir in cornstarch paste and simmer 5 minutes, or until thickened. Season to taste with salt. Keep warm.

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.

Source: Christine Lee’s Best Loved Foods For Everyone

Mai’s kitchen notes:
For my first trial of salad, I didn’t follow the exact proportions of the ingredients as I didn’t have raisins and whipping cream that time.. I made some adjustments on the quantities of the other ingredients. And luckily, I still managed to pull it off. Hubby liked it so much.