Gyudon (Beef Bowl)

So... I haven't been blogging for a while. Blame the parties and the parties and, did I mention, the parties?

It's crazy this time of the year...

Next month will be crazier.

Oh, and am I the only one who didn't like Skyfall? Most are saying it's the best Bond movie ever.

Ever? Really? I thought it dragged on for a while. I found myself shifting in the movie seat for sometime there. Boy was I glad it was over, when it finally was!

I did like Breaking Dawn 2, however. Big surprise there.

Skyfall? No surprise there.

Besides Breaking Dawn 2, I also like Japanese food.

Here's how I make gyudon, or thin slices of beef served over rice.

You will need:

Sukiyaki (thinly sliced beef)
Black mushrooms, soaked
White onions
chopped garlic
Cornstarch
Kikkoman
Brown sugar
Mirin

I grab a pack of sukiyaki, about 300 grams. I pull the thin slices of beef one by one because they are stuck together in the pack.

I prepare my sauce first, about 4 tablespoons brown sugar, half a cup of Kikkoman soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of mirin. I set that aside for later.

Oh and I don't know what mirin is. I just find it and buy it in the grocery, Asian section. Could it be vinegar? Rice wine? I don't know. It could be anything really. Lol. Just trust me on this. You need mirin.

In a medium size saucepan, saute a tablespoon of chopped garlic in cooking oil.

Then I throw in sliced onions, 1 whole. Slice them in such a way so that they are quite long. Like onion rings sliced in half.

Once the onions are nice and golden brown, transfer the whole thing to a plate.

In the same sauce pan, I add a cup of water and 1 beef bouillon cube. Then I throw in some black mushrooms, soaked, stems removed, and sliced. Let boil.

To the boiling broth, I put in my thin slices of beef one by one. I let the beef cook very quickly just until they change color.

Then I put the cooked beef aside and mushrooms aside with the onions. Turn off heat.

Make a cornstarch mixture: 2 tablespoons cornstarch in about 4 tablespoons of water. Mix until cornstarch is dissolved. Put this in your saucepan and mix with the broth. Remember I said turn off heat? Make sure you don't dump the cornstarch mixture in until you turn OFF heat.

If you don't you'll end up with Jello in your soup. Trust me.

Turn the heat back up again and let boil until broth is slightly thicker.

When it is, put back your beef, mushrooms, onions in the saucepan. I also add in some sliced green onions. I let this simmer. Then I crack 3 eggs on top. Some Japanese restaurants don't bother putting in the egg whites. But I put my egg whites. Because what will I do with egg whites? That's something I don't want to have to think about.

Who wants to think about what to do with egg whites, anyway???

I can begin to imagine myself thinking.... should I make omelette tomorrow morning? Should I make fish cakes with the egg whites? Make a meringue? Uh uh... I'm not going there. No.

I'm putting the egg whites in.

I let my eggs cook very close to well done because I am serving this dish to the kids. If you are serving this to adults, overeasy would be alright and more delicious.

I prepare some rice on my serving plate. Then I top the rice with my cooked beef.

Yummeh!!!!

Hot Shrimp Salad

Now I know what you're thinking... That it's not hot shrimp salad. It's hot PRAWN salad.

But I didn't use any prawns for this. I used medium sized shrimps because that's all I had.

I love making this dish. Or, err, I love EATING this dish. In the United States they call this Shrimp with Candied Walnuts, and it is very popular at P.F. Chang's.

Though I've never been to P.F. Chang's...

Come to think it, I've never even seen P.F. Chang's. Not in the four years that I've lived and roamed that country.

It's sad.

So sad.

How did that happen???

How can I miss P.F. Chang's when I love Chinese food so much?

Who doesn't love Chinese food!

It's the greatest thing China's ever come up with! And perhaps the only thing original from that country. Lol. I'm kidding.

Not really.

Here are the ingredients for this dish:

1/2 kilo shrimp
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 medium sized eggs
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp condensed milk


Start by cleaning your shrimp. Remove its soft shell and head. Then devein. The easiest way to devein is to run a sharp knife on the shrimp's back and slowly take out the black stringy substance that is the gut of the shrimp.

Rinse your shrimp a couple of times in cold water.

Then, prepare your batter. Make this by mixing 3/4 cup of flour to 1/4 cup of corn starch.

In another bowl, break 2 medium sized eggs and beat.

Beat them real fast because you're mad about never having been to P.F. Chang's.

Heat up a saucepan filled halfway with oil. I use soybean oil. It makes me feel a little healthier.

Just a little.

Submerge all your shrimp in the beaten egg. Because submerging them one at a time takes way too much time. Why not just throw all the babies in?

One by one, dredge your shrimp in the flour and cornstarch mixture. This one you can't cheat on. Don't dump all your shrimp here at once or you'll have one big mess. Trust me.

Deep fry your shrimp for no longer than five minutes. You want the shrimp nice and soft, not overcooked and chewy.

Let drain. Note that the batter is really light. You want just a tad bit of crisp.

For your candied walnuts, put 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water on a separate saucepan and heat until the sugar has melted. Don't keep stirring this mixture otherwise the sugar won't melt.

Once all the sugar granules has become invisible, throw in a half a cup of walnuts. Toss the walnuts around the syrup to coat.

Strain, then transfer to paper towel.

For the sauce, you will need a cup of mayonnaise, and two tablespoons of condensed milk, a little less if you're not very much on the sweet side. Mix the two together and stick in a microwave for a minute. Stir again.

Whew. I'm tired.

I want my husband to come to the kitchen and finish this for me.

One more thing I added, because this is good with it. And this is lettuce. Fresh, green, crisp lettuce. Just wash it, and chop if you like. Pat dry with a towel, and lay them nicely on a serving plate.

You may mix the shrimp and the sauce together. But this time I don't. Instead, I put the shrimp on top of my bed of lettuce, sprinkle the candied walnuts, and just spoon the sauce on top like a salad.

But you should mix the shrimp and sauce together. It is more delicious like that.

You can put this on a sandwich too.

I totally forgot to include my mangoes when I put this dish together. So I just served my mangoes on the side. You can add and kind of fruit you have. Diced mangoes or melon really go well with this dish. Some people I know even throw in a can of fruit cocktail, drained. But I don't like the taste of canned fruit of any kind. Fresh or frozen tastes better.

Eat and be happy!

Fish Fillet with Garlic and Tomatoes

When I started cooking fish I messed up a lot. And I mean, A LOT. I tried almost everything in the fish section and I failed.

I remember one time I was newly married and I bought sole fish because I love sole fish. My grandmother use to fry them up really nice and crispy. When I got home I fried mine up too. Except when I ate it, it was really bitter and nasty.

Because... because I forgot to clean and gut the darn things. Gross. Disgusting. Blech!

I decided I was a lot safer off buying a jar of Montano sardines and heating them up in a microwave. Back in the time, that was a winner!

Then I discovered packed fish fillet in the frozen food section and alleluia!

Life became a lot easier.

No need to clean, gut, scale, or skin the swimmers. Just defrost and slice away.

This packed fish fillet is called cream dory, also known as white river cobbler. It is so easy to cook. You can't fail.

Begin by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan.

Put 1 cup of flour and 1 tablespoon paprika in a shallow bowl. To this add just a pinch of chicken powder and mix together.

Dredge your cut up fish fillets in the flour mixture.

Fry in skillet for about ten minutes per side.

Don't worry. Unlike salmon or sea bass, you can't overcook these. If you undercook them (and you can tell because the inside is still pink), just throw them back in the pan. You can't fail with cream dory.

When the fish is nice and golden brown in color, transfer to a serving plate.

In the same skillet, add 3 tablespoons finely minced garlic. Let cook for a bit until the garlic browns.

Next throw in 3/4 cup of diced tomatoes and sliced basil leaves. I use fresh ones because my son grows two pots of this plant in the yard.

Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. But only because I ran out of red wine vinegar. Stir together for a minute then turn off heat.

Top your fish with the tomato and garlic. Serve and enjoy!

My kids love everything fish fillet, including this one!

Oysters and Spinach

Oysters and Spinach
by Cress Sia

I heart seafood.

All of them...

I heart shrimp.
I heart fish, eel included.
I heart crabs.
I heart lobsters.
I heart scallops.
I heart roe.
I heart seaweed.
I heart clams.
I heart muscles and legs.

Oops...!

I mean, mussels, and the crab kind. Gee what was I thinking!

And... I especially love oysters. I think nothing in this world can taste quite like oysters. It's sooo singularly can't-get-enough-of-it good.

I manage to get 3 kilos of oysters today. I'm so excited! (Rubbing my hands together!)

First, oyster shells have to be cleaned. I run warm water on the oysters and scrub their shells lightly with a dish sponge. Make sure every one of the shells are closed shut.

If it isn't, throw it away.

Now, now don't give me the "Oh what a waste!" reaction... Because it's not going to be a waste. It's going to be lethal. So away with it.

Fortunately mine are all fresh and nicely closed shut!

The reason why I scrub them is because their outside shells are mucky and icky, smells like crap and looks like crap kindda thing. Although frozen imported oysters don't have this mucky-ness on their outside shells. But why oh why does one choose to pay a fortune for frozen imported oysters when you can get fresh ones around the corner and just wash them clean? Boggles me.

So once they're all scrubbed and much less crappier (hahahaha!) than when you got them, lay them on a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan.

I know some people can eat this uncooked with a little lemon and vinegar. But not me. Uh-uh. I don't even like them cold like how fancy restaurants like to serve them. I prefer mine cooked and warm.

Now oysters aren't really for those with a weak stomach... or for the pregnant. If you think, suspect, or know you're one of them, find something else to cook. No joke.

I preheat my oven to 200 degrees celsius. Then I slide my oysters on the middle rack. It's going to bake for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, I get started on my topping.

Actually to be honest I don't like any topping on my oysters. I like them best straight out of the oven, with their distinctive taste of the sea and all. But that kind is way too easy for this blog.

So instead, I'm writing on the second best way I like them served.

To make the topping, I melt 2 tablespoons of butter on a saucepan over medium heat.

Then I throw in a tablespoon of flour. And a teaspoon of garlic salt.

Let the flour cook for two minutes.

Then add in a cup of milk. Let this boil.

Then I throw in a cup of shredded cheese. I'm feeling a little broke today so I use Quickmelt. If you're feeling quite the opposite use shredded parmesan. And I'm in a hurry too so I don't even bother shredding my Quickmelt. I chop it in to cubes.

It's going to melt anyway, right? Absolutely.

Once the cheese has melted and the mixture and has thickened, I throw in the fresh green spinach leaves. I have prewashed these in cold water. But I didn't bother to chop them. You should. Though I'm not one to mind chewing on big pieces of spinach leaves...

Let the spinach wilt and keep stirring for about 3 minutes more, then turn off heat.

At about this time take a peek inside your oven. Your oyster shells should have opened at least a quarter to a half an inch wide. If it is only just slightly open, add another 5 minutes to your baking time.

If at that time it still hasn't opened, it could be saying:

a) I'm lethal.
b) Don't eat me because something's wrong with me.
c) Throw me away.
d) All of the above.

That's it. That's all it could be saying. You can pick whatever answer you like. Depending on how gruesome you like to think.

Once they are opened, take them out of the open and let cool. Your oven will be very hot, take extra care when taking them out.

Look how beautiful the oysters are! Just begging to be shucked!

Pull apart the shell and lay the shell with the oyster on a nice serving plate.

Oh and stop praying you'll find a pearl. You won't. Pearls don't grow in the kind of oysters that is edible to us earthlings. It grows in a different kind of shell that is commonly called a pearl oyster. But even that is incorrect because it's not biologically an oyster but a different class of mollusk altogether. And it can be as big a dinner plate!

Now that we have established the fact that there is more chance of you finding an alien is in your bedroom than finding a pearl in your oyster, let's get back to business.

Spoon your still warm spinach mixture on top of each of the oyster. You can sprinkle this with toasted bread crumbs. But I ran out of bread crumbs.

Happy shucking!!

Roast Pork Steak with Mustard Gravy

I am experiencing a writer's block right now so I have no idea how to start this blog. The most difficult step is the first, or so they say.

Can I start by talking about the weather?

The weather's always a safe start.

How's the weather on your side of the world?

I've started using accuweather.com for forecasts now and it's so cool. Here's why. We were scheduled to check in at a resort the other weekend and a day before that most awaited day I receive a text message from my buddy: "Is it going to rain tomorrow?"

I thought, are you kidding me?

How in the world am I supposed to know if it will rain tomorrow?

I frown.

But I start to wonder too, if it will rain tomorrow.

I googled Cebu Weather, knowing this would be so totally useless because nobody cares to monitor the weather in this country.

Anyway I got on Accuweather.com for a forecast of Cebu and typed the forecast to my friend in reply. The next day it rained at the exactly time that accuweather.com said it would. I was amazed.

Sunday morning I went on accuweather.com again to see what the weather would be like. It said, "WARNING: 0.52 inches of rain on the way!" Or something to that tone. Now wait, it looked pretty sunny out. I rolled my eyes. But just in case, I ran outside.

And lo and behold!!!! After about three minutes of messing outside, 0.52 inches of rain tip tapped on my face!!!

 How cool is that???

No, duh, I didn't measure the rain! I'm not THAT geeky...

FINALLY, I told myself, there's one reliable weather forecast for a third-world country like the Philippines. Oh oops, I almost forgot! It's not right to use "third-world country" because it is so demeaning... etiquette says must use PROGRESSIVE country, instead.

In my progressive side of the country I make roast pork steak with mustard gravy for Saturday night's dinner.

I take out the pork meat. I use pork loin chops. Sometimes they call this pork tenderloin, pork prito cut, pork steak. I used to make this with pork chops, but now I discovered pork loin is so much better. But if all you've got is pork chops, use them.

Salt and pepper both sides and put on a baking dish.

Prepare your rub: honey, yellow mustard, dijon mustard, italian seasoning.

Mix together 3 tablespoons of yellow mustard, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard.

Rub this mustard mixture on the chops.

Lightly sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Flip your chops and repeat on the other side. Then throw in the oven and bake at 150 celsius for an hour.

When the chops are cooked, transfer them to a nice plate.

To make your mustard gravy, spoon about half a cup of the drippings to a saucepan on medium heat.

Add half a tablespoon of flour and stir. 

Let the flour cook for a couple of minutes.

Add half a cup of milk and bring to a boil.

Keep stirring until the gravy thickens. Season with 1 tablespoon worchestire sauce, salt, and pepper.

Turn off heat and spoon the mustard gravy on top of your chops. Or serve the gravy in a nice gravy boat alongside the pork loin. 

If you don't have a gravy boat you can use a magic lamp but leave the lid out.

Just kidding.

These steaks are so tender and good! Even your kids will love them!

Here's a close up.