Overseas Pinoy Cooking

Tofu with Black Fungus and Bamboo Shoot . To Pinoys there are not many ways to cook tofu or tokwa. In contrast to the Chinese they have countless ways to cook tofu. In fact my tofu dish is something I replicate from a dish I just recently had from one of the Chinese restaurant here. The dish can be cooked with out the pork for those who are vegetarian. I used moderately firm tofu but a silken tofu can also be used, but it has to be stirred extra gently to avoid crumbling of the delicate tofu. The black fungus I used are already cut into strips which save a lot of time and also gives a uniform size of the strips. The dried red chili can be substituted with fresh one, but I prefer the dried chili. The bamboo shoots are in can, again it save time pre-cooking. All the ingredients should be available in any Asian store where ever you might be. Here is the recipe, enjoy. Ingredients: 2 blocks (600 grams) firm or silken tofu, cut into thick strips or cube 1 cup pork cut into thin stri

Sweet and Sour Shrimps . Here is a special sweet and sour shrimp using plum sauce. Plum sauce is a sweet and sour condiment popularly used in Chinese cooking. Don’t be discourage by the long list of ingredients, the recipe is fairly easy. The only hard part is the ingredients are to be cook in stages. The shrimp has to be deep fried separately, the vegetables has to be stir cook separately so with the sauce and in the final stage all the ingredients are then stir cook together. I would suggest that the shrimps are just moderately coated with the cornstarch mixture, a thin coating is necessary to make the shell extra crispy when fried. The reason is the sauce is so delicious that you will be tempted to eat the shell. Okey here is the recipe. Ingredients: 1/2 kilo medium size shrimp, whiskers and horn trimmed 1 small size red bell pepper, cut into diagonal strips 1 small size green bell pepper, cut into diagonal strips 1 medium size white onion, cut int

Asparagus and Mushroom Spaghetti in White Sauce is a vegetarian spaghetti in white sauce that is not only yummy but nutritious as well. I am fascinated by the abundance of mushrooms in the fresh vegetable section at Woolworths Supermarket. The sight of those fresh button mushrooms that occupy a large section of the vegetable racks always make me think of what dish I could make out of them. Today I decided to make a spaghetti dish in white sauce with assorted mushrooms. I wanted a variety on the type of fresh mushrooms so I used button, oyster and shitake mushrooms. To liven up the colours and flavours I added grilled bell pepper and asparagus. For the white sauce I just used sour cream and some white wine. Here is the vegetarian Asparagus and Mushroom Spaghetti in White Sauce recipe. Ingredients: 500 grams spaghetti cooked as per package directions 200 grams fresh button mushrooms, sliced 150 grams fresh oyster mushrooms cut to pieces 100 grams fresh shi

Seafood Lomi . This is now my third lomi recipe, The first, pansit lomi recipe using the instant lomi noodles and second special lomi uses local squid ball and kekiam . For my lomi seafood version I used fresh mixed seafoods which are readily available here, fish balls and fish cake that are available in Asian stores. These fish balls are firm compared to the local fish balls and squid ball that are sold in Metro Manila when boiled it crumbles and disintegrate. If you are from Manila there are however imported fish balls like the Toto brand but of course it cost more. I could not find a similar Pinoy fresh lomi noodles so I used the fresh Hokien noodles which are readily available in most supermarket here. Cooking is basically the same on my special lomi recipe. Ingredients: 250 grams fresh lomi noodles or thick Hokien noodles 1 cup fresh mixed seafoods 12 pcs. fish balls 1cup fish cake, cut into small slice 1 small size carrot, cut into strips

Seafood Hokien Noodles Stirfry . Fresh Hokien noodles is always available in most Australian supermarket. It is one of the more popular type of Chinese noodles, it is usually cooked stirfry with medley of fresh vegetables by Chinese take away food shops and restaurants. This seafood version of Hokien mee or noodles stirfry is easy to prepare, I just used mixed seafoods that are available fresh in supermarket and those prepacked mixed stirfry vegetables saves time not to mention savings in term of cost. Should you can’t find them in your location then, there is no other choice but to source the seafoods and vegetables individually which is of course cost more. Here is how I cooked my version of Seafood Hokien Noodles Stirfry, enjoy. Ingredients : 1 pack, 440 grams thick fresh Hokien noodles 250 grams mixed stirfry vegetables 150 grams mixed seafood 1 thumb size ginger, cut into thin strips 1 medium size onion, chopped 1/2 head garlic, chopped 1-2 pieces

Sinabawan nga Isda is similar or even referred to as tinowa or tinolang isda . The only difference from my previous tinowang isda recipe in my sinabawan nga isda the lemongrass is omitted. The recipe is down to earth simple, fish boiled with ginger, onion, tomato and spring onions or leeks and seasoned only with salt. The addition of spring onions or leeks is the secret of the dish it adds the fresh aroma of the fish soup. For this recipe used tanguigue steak slices but any white fish will do. Here’s how I cooked my sinabawan nga isdang tanguigue. Ingredients: 1/2 kilo king fish steak slices 1 medium size onion, quartered 2 medium size tomato, quartered 2 thumb size ginger, sliced 1 bundle spring onion or leek, cut into 2” length 2-3 green chili salt Cooking procedure: In a medium size pot boil 3 to 4 cups of water. Add in ginger, onion and tomato and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until tomatoes start to crumble. Now add in the fish, green chili and leeks, continue to

Shrimp Cocktail . Have you wonder if you could also make those shrimp cocktails served as an appetizer at fancy restaurants? There is actually no special about the way it is made except perhaps the way it is served, they are usually served in glasses where the shrimps are intricately arrange around the edges of the serving glasses. Today I would like to share a simple shrimp cocktail that can be prepared by anybody. The sauce is just made up of ordinary mixture of tomato ketchup, sweet chili sauce or ketchup, mayonnaise and some lemon juice and some herbs if you have them. Ingredients: 250 grams cooked medium sized shrimps, shelled 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup tomato sauce/ketchup 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce/ketchup 1 tbsp. lemon juice 2-3 stalk parsley, finely chopped lettuce, sliced tomato and onion as serving garnishing Method: In a medium size bowl mix thoroughly all the ingredients except the shrimps until fully blended, add in the shrimp and toss until the shrimp

Tuna Steak with Butter Garlic and Parsley Sauce . This time of the year Catholic Christian are celebrating the Lenten Season. Traditionally Pinoy’s celebrate The Holy Week with abstinence of meat specifically on the Good Friday. There are a number of fish and sea food dishes on the archive should you are looking for something to cook this Holy Week. Today I am posting a special fish dish that I have prepared the other day. I was at the fish market and I just couldn’t resist those fresh full sized tuna steak. I just pan grill the tuna steak with a non steak pan. It would have been better if I had a griller. Tuna are supposed to be cooked quickly, overcooking it will render it hard and dry. So it is best to just quickly sear the tuna they are fresh any way. Here is how I cooked it. Ingredients: 1 kilo tuna steak, about 3 slices. salt and pepper 1 piece lemon 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup butter 1/2 head garlic, minced 1 small bundle parsley, chopped finely Cooking procedure: