SAWCLicious: Stir-Fried Asparagus with Chicken

It's going to be Christmas in 4 days! Unfortunately, I don't even feel it as I've been busy with a lot of work that I forgot vacation is starting tomorrow.

While the holiday eating season has not kicked in yet, I'm still into healthy cooking and healthy eating. Recently, I've tried an Asian recipe with my favorite vegetable - ASPARAGUS! Easy to cook and served well with white rice.

SAWCLicious: Grilled Scallops with Pea Puree

Christmas is in the air! It's almost December and my weekends are already packed with so much activities. I am looking forward to reunions, food, gift-shopping and gift-giving. Not to even mention more holidays and vacation days....weee!

Anyway, I'm on to my cooking adventures... Yes, you heard me right. In spite having to work for 12 hours a day, I am still able to set some time to cook. My aim nowadays is to cook healthy and nutritious food.

This time I tried a Jamie Oliver recipe with a twist. Grilled scallops sitting on a bed of pea puree and topped with spinach sauteed in garlic can make a perfect refreshing appetizer on a weekday. In my case, a perfect breakfast before going to the office. You might be wondering, pea puree?!? I had the same reaction until I tried it. Eating just the pea puree is not that good but it is perfect with the scallops and spinach. What do you think?

Scallops with Pea Puree and Sauteed Spinach

SAWCLicious: Zucchini Spaghetti in Bolognese Sauce

Catching up with friends have been a priority past time lately. Not only as a result of being away for 18 months from my home country but also because I recently lost a friend. A friend who I was supposed to meet 2 months back but didn't have the time to do so because of work. I promised to meet her when she comes back after her US vacation which didn't happen because she passed away during her vacation. She was my college classmate and we majored on the same course. We are not very close but we do meet for dinner or drinks to catch-up. It is difficult to see someone my age pass away but it was reassuring to know that she lived a good life and has now joined our mighty God. 

So, let me go back... catching up with friends, yes. I caught up with a close office colleague who I haven't seen for (guess what?) 18 months! To my surprise, she is so SEXY! She went for some diet that worked and she gave me an idea to use Zucchini as spaghetti as a means of lessening carb intake.

I know it sounds bizarre. I am not a fan of zucchini myself except when served as a soup.  Yes, I eat it but there is something with this vegetable that I didn't like nor will I crave for it. I hesitated trying it and was even having second thoughts after I prepared it. But, tasting this instantly changed me (isn't the picture below enticing?). Nowadays, zucchini is something I would look for in the vegetable section. 

I simply used my bolognese recipe and substituted spaghetti with zucchini. I used a melon scraper to shred zucchini which I then washed and allowed to dry for a few minutes. Then I poured over the bolognese sauce topped with parmesan cheese and served with toasted garlic bread on the side. 

On one occasion I tried blanching the shredded zucchini in chicken stock for 2 minutes and it tasted even better!

 Loving Zucchini....   Try it and let me know what you think!

SAWCLicious: Beef Pita

I am back with my cooking explorations. After taking time off for a few months, I've started cooking again and this time I wanted to focus on cooking some healthy food. I don't know how long this fad will last but I've started to eating a lot of fruits for snacks, avoiding rice, and trying out healthy and delish food. 

So, I've tried to cook beef pita. It's actually a lot more chopping and mixing than cooking. It turned out to be really good and very fulfilling too!

 Beef Pita

SAWCLicious: Pickled (Salted) Vegetable Stew

Kiam Chai is one of my favorite chinese vegetable. Kiam Chai is the Fookien word for Chinese Pickled or Salted Vegetable. In Manila, you can find it in Chinatown soaked in basin and very smelly. You would know that a store sells one through your nose. I'm fortunate that the Chinese stores in Brussels sells it as well. Of course, they pack it in nicely sealed covers like the one on the right. In Wikipedia, it is called suan cai or Chinese Sauerkraut.

My family was not a fan of this and I think I'm the only one who loves to eat this. Most of the time, this is used as a side for noodles or congee (rice porridge). I like this as a stew and my mom cooks this really good. I adopted her recipe and sharing it in my blog. The key to making this dish delicious is to have a balanced taste of the sweetness, sourness, and saltiness.

SAWCLicious: Tomate Crevette (Tomato Crevette) Salad

One of my colleague was sent to Brussels for a business trip. So, before he went home, I invited him and some friends for dinner at my place. I know I had to serve mostly Belgian Food! So, I prepared Tomate Crevette for appetizer, Belgian mussels and Vongole pasta (Yes, it's Italian!) as my main. 

First to share is the easy appetizer that I've made. I used the grey shrimps (Crangon) which are the ones caught in the North Sea along the Belgian Coast. These small grey shrimps are normally bought in grocery in small packs and peeled. You can substitute with normal small shrimps instead. One of my Belgian friends told me that there is a cheap and expensive version of the grey shrimps. The cheaper grey shrimps are caught from the North Sea and shipped to Morocco. They are peeled by the Moroccans which have lower labor costs thus becoming cheaper. Those that are caught and peeled by Belgians are apparently more expensive. I don't know how true this is but I guess it should be a valid source. 

Tomate Crevette (Tomate Crevette) Salad

SAWCLicious Recipe: Chicken Lettuce Wrap

Lettuce wrap is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. The wrap can be minced duck meat, ground pork, or ground chicken. This would normally be the 2nd course for a peking duck menu commonly served at the Chinese restaurants in Manila. I am always amazed with the perfect round circles and enjoy wrapping my own lettuce wrap. At home, my mom would normally cook this version with ground pork. I often see a number of varieties of this dish but always having the lettuce and the hoisin sauce to top it off. Last Sunday, I made my version from ground chicken and I enjoyed this!

Chicken Lettuce Wrap

SAWCLicious Recipes: Salad with Pan-Fried Steak, Crispy Bacon, and Potatoes

Salad with crispy bacon, sauteed potatoes, and pan-fried steak & creamy vinaigrette dressing. Simple and delicious appetizer. 


What I did is to crisp 4-6 pieces of bacon sliced in 1/2 inches width. Once crispy, I set that aside and used the oil from the bacon to cook my potatoes. Once cooked, in the same pan with bacon oil, I pan-fried my steak. The steak was a normal new york strip steak seasoned with coarse salt and pepper. 


To plate, I poured some ready-made mixed salad, crispy bacon, potatoes, and creamy vinaigrette dressing. Then, I laid a few sliced of the steak, seasoned some salt and pepper and drizzled extra virgin olive oil.

SAWCLicious Recipes: Beef with Bittergourd in Oyster Sauce ( Beef with Ampalaya)

I'm sharing the other recipe I've cooked for bitter gourd from my post a few weeks ago. I liked the results of the eggs and shrimps with bitter gourd better than this recipe. Maybe this is because I like beef with broccoli better than bitter gourd.

Beef with Bittergourd in Oyster Sauce ( Beef with Ampalaya)

SAWCLicious Recipes: Bittergourd with Shrimps and Eggs (Ampalaya with Shrimps and Eggs)

By chance, I happened to see bitter gourd (ampalaya) in one of the Asian stores at Den Haag, Netherlands. You should already know what I would have done, right? I quickly grabbed one and was already excited thinking what I can do with it. Bitter gourd or bitter melon, famously known as ampalaya in the Philippines, is one of the most bitter "fruits" that is widely grown in Asia.  Yes, it is a fruit amidst being brought up and taught by our parents that it is a healthy vegetable!

To remove the bitterness of the fruit, we would soak it in water with salt before cooking. It is one of the "vegetables" that my parents or grandparents would force any kids in our house to eat because of the nutrition that comes with it. Even worse, sometimes, bitter gourd will be boiled and the soup drank like tea. I hated drinking this until I grew up and learned to eat them. Once you get the hang of the bitterness, you'd actually enjoy eating it. Try drinking the soup from a freshly boiled bitter gourd and you will feel rejuvenated the next day. It seems to work in wonders! 

It's the first time that I cooked bitter gourd and my food testers enjoyed  it! I took half of the bitter gourd and prepared a twist to a commonly cooked Filipino dish. Wait for the next post where I will share how I cooked the other half. Here is my version of bitter gourd with shrimps and eggs.

Bitter Gourd with Shrimps and Eggs (Ampalaya with Hipon and Eggs)

SAWCLicious: Wintermelon Soup

I went to the Asian Grocery Store last week and to my surprise I saw wintermelon being sold in Brussels! I was so excited to buy it and try my Mom's wintermelon soup recipe. I really miss this as we don't cook it that often as well in Manila. One thing is for sure though, this is perfect for winter!

Wintermelon is a fruit that is served as a vegetable when it matures. The soup is cooked and normally served in the fruit itself just like the picture below. I don't have that luxury as I only saw sliced wintermelon in the store. The ingredients of this soup can vary depending on the chef's preference. I'm sharing today what my mom normally cooks at home.

SAWCLicious: Stir-fry Pork with Celery

When I came to Europe, I am amazed by their vegetables. They all come of the same sizes and their ideal colors. One of those are celery. It is so green, each stalk is quite wide and has the same length as my arms. So imagine my hesitation to buy one as I just eat alone most of the time.

I do eat celery but I am not a fan. I always see the importance of putting some on certain dishes to bring good aroma and make it more delicious but that's about it (at least for me). So when I bought one last time because I wanted to put some of a Chicken Macaroni Soup, I had a huge left-over of the celery. So I thought to myself, what to do with it? I remembered this dish when I would go to China so I just tried to replicate it with what I think will work best, and here you go.

Stir-Fry Pork with Celery

A Healthy Lunch!

I just liked how it came out in this picture!

While working from home, back 2 back meetings so no time to cook. 
Salad with cherry tomatoes, emmental cheese, and crevette (shrimps).

SAWCLicious: Gising Gising

I remembered the first time I cooked this recipe was in Cincinatti, 3 years ago. I was on a month long business trip and I visited my friend during Thanksgiving. She wanted this dish, so I tried to cook it and it was close enough with the one I ate in Recipes (restaurant). I didn't research for any recipe at that time and only guessed what I should put in it. 

For those who are not familiar of this dish, it is a Filipino vegetable dish cooked with coconut milk and originally very spicy. The word gising means wake up in English so then I can translate the dish to Wake Up, Wake Up!

Gising Gising

SAWCLicious: Tortang Talong/ Eggplant Omelette

One of my favorite dishes since I came to Belgium, simply because it's so easy to make and taste so Filipino as well.

Tortang Talong/ Eggplant Omelette

SAWCLicious: Stir-fried tofu with vegetables

I really don't know how I should call this dish. This is one of my invented dish with my imagination of what I think can work together. I normally would have broccoli in my fridge as I eat it almost every day. Then, I was talking to my friend (Pia) who was going to have dinner at my place when she mentioned that she misses young corn and wants to eat it. Automatically, I thought of putting tofu, young corn, and broccoli together and it turned out to be a good dish. So, I'm sharing the recipe after I have recreated it again yesterday night.

Stir-fried Tofu with Vegetables

                         

SAWCLicious: Mapo Dofu/Tofu

Last weekend, I went to Dusseldorf with Hungry Trotter Couple to simply eat ramen. Yes, I was motivated  to drive 2 hours for a good ramen. (Blog post to come about the food!) Anyway, going back, before I left Dusseldorf, I went to this Japanese Restaurant named Na Ni Wa. I was sitting at the bar and looking at the Japanese Chefs cooking and saw them preparing mapo dofu. It made me drool and crave for it. I was just too full to order more food. So, I decided to take some notes and I tried it out. It turned out to be really really delish!

For those of you who do not know, according to Wikipedia, "Mapo doufu, or mapo tofu, is a popular Chinese dish from the Sichuan (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu (bean curd) set in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, and often cooked with minced meat, usually pork or beef. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or Judae's Ear (aka Jelly Ear, a mushroom)."


Mapo Dofu/Tofu!