Quick Veggie Side Dish ~ Chunky Tomato Tuscan Kale



Only takes around 20 minutes to cook (^_^)b

Tonight I thought to have Kale prepared differently. Most people prefer this in green juice or salads but ever since I had this at work I made it a mission to decipher and deconstruct this dish. This is what I came up with --- a dish that literally has 5 ingredients, minus the water and seasoning.

Ingredients:

1 bag (10 oz.)  Kale, rinse thoroughly
2 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup diced tomato with basil, garlic and oregano (canned) - I used the Del Monte brand
1 Knorr chicken cube, divide in half
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet heat oil on medium heat, sauté garlic and onions, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook till translucent. Add in the kale, increase heat to high and cook till leaves wilt down 50 %. Then add chicken cubes and water to bring to a boil. Pour in the tomatoes, let boil for a minute then lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes or till kale stalks are tender to your liking. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Plate, Serve and Enjoy!

Kitchen Confidentials - Leftovers: Pork Sisig

When you're  pressed for time and cannot prepare a decent meal for the day but you need something on the table rapido, bust out with them leftovers and don't  feel bad about it! :)

It'll take some jazzin up with items you may already have at home in your refrigerator and pantry, a few minutes of your time and Voila! You've got a revamped dish that might just be 'Mom and Pop cafe' worthy!

Last night's leftover: 

Pork Sisig

I placed a single serving amount of leftover Sisig on a plate with a scoop of rice garnished with a couple pinches of crispy fried garlic flakes, topped with one sunny side up egg and cracked black pepper. Prior to plating I reheated the Sisig stove top on a skillet to render the excess fat, discard this. I like to serve this with a side of chili garlic sauce dipping and a tall glass of ice cold water - Sisig is best when heat is mild to moderate spicy. 

Kitchen Confidentials - Salmon Sinigang

In most Filipino kitchens rarely would they run low on onions, garlic, tomatoes or ginger; toyo (soy sauce) and/or patis (fish sauce) - good God I think we have bags of these that would last us the whole month. Not to mention some sort of "sour soup"  (Sinigang) base powder. 

This morning I did an inventory check of the pantry and saw that I was still good with the "usual suspects", the only thing I had to do was find out from my tribe which kind of Sinigang they wanted - beef, pork or fish.

Since it's been a while this is what they requested...

The usual suspects:

1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup sliced ginger
3 medium tomatoes, chopped into 8 piece wedges each
Tamarind soup base
patis
salt (if needed)


Accessories:


Tamarind leaves, 1 pack (1/2 lb.) 227 g
Okra, 12 pieces
Petchay, 1 bag - cleaned and trimmed of white stalk, green leafy part only
*optional: Banana pepper for spice


The Culprit:

3.5 - 4 lbs. Salmon head + cheeks

Pork Nilaga

This dish is near and dear to me as it was the first I've ever cooked without my mom's guidance or her telling me what to do next. In my sophomore year in college I dared to cook this for my housemates and I'm pretty sure it wasn't as awesome at the time, but since then and several pots later... this is how I cook pork Nilaga for my family now ---

Ingredients:
5 garlic cloves
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
1 pork cube
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp whole pepper corn
1/4 cup patis (fish sauce)
2 tsp sugar
2 yellow potatoes, cut into quarters
1 pack (approx. 2.75 lbs) pork shoulder country style ribs
1 small cabbage head, roughly chopped
10 cups water, for soup

 

Load pork into an 8 Quart pot or any large pot you have, cover in water, set heat on high and bring to a boil.

When it starts to boil, the fat and protein will surface to the top, skim off as much as you can and toss. Adjust heat to low, add in the garlic, onion, whole pepper corn, pork cube and patis. Cover and let this simmer for about 35 minutes or till meat is tender.

Then add the chopped potatoes, bump up the heat to medium-low, add salt and sugar, let boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes slightly covered.

Turn off the heat, add in the cabbage, mix well and set aside from heat.

one of my "go to" comfort meals rain or shine!

How to cook Fried Rice using leftovers

Sometimes you run out of ideas for a meal or have some leftovers you would want to recycle in your next dish... but what?

How about making FRIED RICE!

I put this video up last year and want to share how I recycle day old food or leftovers in general into a dish that can stand alone or be served with another to complete a full meal!

Ingredients:

Garlic
Eggs
Crab meat
Beef (leftovers)
Frozen vegetables (peas and carrots)
Leftover refrigerated steam rice (mashed)
Soy sauce or Oyster sauce
Salt
Pepper
Chopped green onions
Fried garlic flakes
Sesame seeds

Lengua / Beef Tongue with Savory Mushroom sauce

OMG this is a dish I almost always make for parties or potluck and is such a hit with my friends! I always get asked "what's your recipe Cat?" ... so here it is ---

 This dish is close to my heart because my dad taught me how to cook this! Here is what I used in putting this dish together...

Kare Kare / Oxtail & Pork Spare Ribs in Peanutbutter Stew

This is a dish I could never grow tired of and here I combined both meats - beef and pork for that extra special taste for my family!

Just remember to cook the oxtail ahead of time till tender via a pressure cooker or if you're like me, I simmered the meat over low heat for 2-3 hrs to retain it's natural flavor. Also steam of cook slightly the vegetables for less time consumption at the stove top.

This is Capampangan cooking at home.

Ingredients:
pack of beef oxtail
pack of pork spareribs
canola cooking oil
garlic
onion
fish sauce
water
beef cubes
sugar
ground Annatto, diluted in water
Veggies: eggplant, bak choy sum, baby bak choy, green beans
stock, made from boiling the oxtail and ribs a second time
Bagoong (shrimp paste)

Corn in Sweet Rice / Ginataang Mais

This is a sweet treat that brings back memories of "mirienda" (snack or desserts) being sold by walking vendors who prepare and cook them at home and make a living by selling them on the streets, walking throughout villages and rural neighborhoods. This is Filipino comfort food at its simplest!

Preparing this with all natural ingredients is such as freshly made coconut milk/cream and corn preserves its authenticity but since living in an "instant" world where nearly everything is readily prepared, I opted to share a quick and easy version of making Ginataang Mais! 

Ingredients:
1 cup sweet rice
1 can coconut milk
1/2 can coconut cream
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
1 can sweet corn cream style

Pork Giniling / Torta

This is such a quick and easy dish to prepare and can literally be served in various ways - with rice, with flat leaf or red leaf lettuce as a wrap for a more healthier food option, also can be wrapped with a warm tortilla as a kind of breakfast burrito, can be filling in an omelet or scrambled eggs in your huevos rancheros.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground pork
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup calamansi
1/2 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
1 tbsp patis (fish sauce)
1 pork cube
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1.5 cup frozen veggies - peas and carrots (more if you prefer)
2 cups frozen diced potatoes


Note: precook ground pork seasoned with salt and pepper, to render fat and discard this.

Sinigang

Hello! I've decided to take a step into the blogger world seriously and I will do my best in updating this routinely as my work schedule permits. I will be linking videos here and there of what I have been up to and would like to share because I think visuals are important and add a little variation to the monotony of reading. I am a foodie at heart and if given the choice to choose between working full-time or part-time, I would pick part-time and utilize the rest of my day cooking and just trying out other recipes where I could incorporate into the Filipino palate creating a fusion dish but prepared and made at home! I really would like to change up or liven up dishes for my family so not to dine out too frequent which is why whenever me and my family do go out to eat, I really savor the flavors of the food and start thinking of ways to marry this with Filipino food.

 

 

 

But going back to simple and basic dishes, this is one of my faves and could be made pretty much with anything like beef, chicken, fish and shrimp.


Here are the ingredients I used for this Pork Sinigang dish:

2 lbs pork side with bone
8-10 cups water (for soup)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large tomato, sliced
1 banana pepper
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
packet of Knorr tamarind soup mix
1 Knorr chicken cube
Veggies: bundle of bok choy sum and green beans