lemongrass chicken nilaga

     i will be trimming my lemongrass plant which has grown very lush and so i asked who among my friends would want to have some.  a handful "raised their hands" (well, it was an fb status post and a handful commented that they wanted some) and so i will be giving away about 20 bulbs for both planting and cooking.  

     one of those who asked also asked if there was a recipe to go with the lemongrass.  well, here it is: SERVES TWO hungry tummies !!!

500 grams chicken legs (2 pcs)
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 medium sized onions sliced
4 bulbs leeks, white parts sliced
2 bulbs lemongrass

    

500 grams potato, peeled and quartered
4 leaves cabbage (whole leaves)
150 grams carrots (medium size) julienned
100 grams baguio beans
1/2 cup kernel corn

     this takes some rocket science to do:

PAN FRY chicken until brown.  reduce oil to about 2 tablespoons (chicken still in pan).

ADD garlic, onions, and leeks and continue frying in medium fire.
ADD 1 liter water and bring to a BOIL.
ADD lemongrass and potato.
BOIL and reduce heat to medium.

REMOVE potato from the soup.
MASH potato in a small bowl.
SET ASIDE.

SCOOP cooked spices (garlic, onion and leeks) with about 1 cup of soup stock and put in a blender.
BLEND with 1/2 tsp patis and 1/2 tsp kalamansi.
SET ASIDE.

ADD kernel corn to soup.
SIMMER until served.

BLANCHE cabbage.
DRAIN cabbage. 
MOLD 2 cabbage leaves in a small bowl leaving edges outside the bowl.
(BLANCHE carrots and baguio beans while doing this procedure.)
FILL cabbage leaves with the mashed potato.
FOLD OVER the edges of the cabbage on the mashed potato.
TURN OVER on the side of plate.
REPEAT MOLD, FILL, FOLD OVER and TURN OVER for other serving.

DRAIN carrots and baguio beans.
ARRANGE carrots and baguio beans on center of plate.
PLACE chicken on top of carrots and baguio beans.
POUR blended spices on chicken and vegetables.
SERVE with the soup.

 good eats !!!  =D

fish fillet with mushroom in oyster sauce

     There are a number of items that always come in handy and very useful - if you have them in your kitchen cabinet - if you enjoy cooking quick stir-fry (chinese) dishes: a bottle of good (cooking) rice wine, a bottle (or packet) of oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, peanut oil (if you can afford it, and if no one in your family is allergic to peanuts), garlic, ginger root, chilis (or chili flakes).  If you have these, you can stir-fry anything you want - anything you can eat.

     Fish fillet goes well with almost any vegetable, mushroom, or vegetable-mushroom stir-fry.  Simply pan fry the fish fillet, then either top it with whatever vegetable you stir-fry or top the vegetable stir-fry with the fried fish fillet - any way you want it!

     My mixed vegetables was topped with fried fish fillet.  But with this recipe it's the other way around, the fried fish fillet is topped with the stir-fry mushroom.

     500 grams fish fillet.  Pan fry (shallow oil).  Drain and set aside.  
    
     Saute 2 cloves garlic crushed and 1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger (optional) in oil.
     (Add chilis or chili flakes at this point.)
     Add mushroom and continue frying in high heat for half a minute to a minute.
     Add 2 teaspoons rice wine.  Flame (optional).
     Add 2 teaspoons oyster sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil.
     Stir well then turn off heat.
     Set fish on platter.
     Top with stir-fry mushrooms.
     Serves two.

good eats !!!

ilocos 2013 - day 2

     As I write this, I have been overtaken by a lot of events, by every other thing except the neighborhood turtle.  Pa'ano oras mga langaw : How time flies. 

First Stop: Vigan, Ilocos Sur, home to the Heritage Village... and Brother Vio. 

     As usual, we left around 9 am.  It was for a small reason : the “boss” of Tess, her three year old son, Kendong.   

Kendong

Blah, blah, blah...  Off we go to Vigan, windows down, the wind blowing on our faces.

     We met with Vio, we were soooo late, but Vio was very gracious in accommodating us in his very busy schedule.  We discussed a couple of church issues and asked directions to the various places we had planned to visit.  We also asked him where we could get our hands on the popular Vigan empanada.

First Stop in Vigan: Baluarte. 

     The animals here are quite friendly.  

No Angry Birds here

They’ve probably gotten used to the backward pace of life in the region.  Meet "Sleepy Hoof". 

Sleepy Hoof

There was a Tiger, but it was in chains... in the background, quasimodo!

Jane (foreground) and the Tiger (background)

But beware!  The Velociraptor isn't that welcoming!

Look out !!!

Next Stop in Vigan: Heritage Village. 

Picturesque View of Calle Crisologo

     When in Vigan, ask where McDo is and you will find yourself a few step away from Vigan Empanada any way you want it!  (The Heritage Village in Calle Crisologo is just a couple of blocks away.)

     The Vigan Empanada is made with a flour dough rolled to a circle (1/8-inch thin and 8-inches in diameter); it is then filled with cabbage coleslaw, crumbled longganisa, and a raw egg yolk; then the dough is folded over the filling to make a half-circle and the edges are sealed; then it is deep-fried in hot oil.  The finished product has a yellowish crunchy crust, with a creamy, spicy, meaty and veggity filling - it is very, very oily!  Dip your empanada in spiced vinegar and you’ve gotten through one mouthful Vigan experience.

     The Heritage Village proved (to me) to be (partly) a let down - dampened nostalgia.  The restored relics of houses that lined Calle Crisologo were distinctly marked by a lot of modern improvisations, e.g. split-type air-conditioners, aluminum-glass jalousies, unpainted wall “palitada” and ballast-type fluorescent tubes hanging on strings outside the time-worn brick walls and age-old hardwood window frames and door jambs.  It was a souvenir market, left and right.

     There was a stop we needed to make on our way back to Ilocos Norte.  It was another one of those relic bell towers we passed by on our way to the Sur - the Masingal Bell Tower outside the Masingal Museum.

Masingal Bell Tower outside the Masingal Museum

Second Stop: Paoay, Ilocos Norte.

     There were still a couple of places we need to go to before the daylight receded - San Agustin Church and Malacanang of the North.

San Agustin Church

San Agustin Church Bell Tower

Third Stop: Malacanang of the North.

     We were told by the tourist guide stationed at the tourist hut on the lawns of San Agustin Church that the Malacanang of the North closes at 6 pm.  We had ample time - it was just before 5 pm and Malacanang was only about 20 minutes away.

     But we had to make a stop - a photo stop - a 3-minute photo stop at the scenic Paoay Lake.

Scenic Paoay Lake

     Run and gun, we were off to Malacanang in a huff.

     "Drat... and double drat!" said Dick Dastardly.  Malacanang closes at 5 pm, and not at 6 pm as we were told at the tourist desk at San Agustin Church.  Blind guides!  We made PR the guard at the gate to let us in, then we made PR the cashier (shooing us away with the motion of her hands when we were still about 50 meters away from her) who collects the P30- entrance fee at the door and the guard (also shooing us away with the wave of his hands) guarding the cashier and all the money that the cashier collected for the day.   Blah, blah, blah... 
    

The Cashier and the Guard no longer at the door.

     The guard who was shooing us away earlier was (a bit later) kind enough to regard us as tourists and toured us through all the rooms of the big house.

Not the Oval Office

Jane fascinated by the antique wooden closets

Children's Bedroom

Scenic view of Paoay Lake from a window

 
     What can I say?  I didn't really want to go there, but what the heck!

OK na rin !!!

     Fort Ilocandia Resort was along the way going back to Fort "Valdez" Ilocandia in Sarat so we took a swing at the place and found the shiny red floor tiles concretely antiquarian.  We weren't allowed to go near the pool.

Fort Ilocandia Resort (FIR)

     We had an early dinner at a grilled-chicken house a bit before it got dark, and planned to rest a while upon reaching home, pack our bags and take a shower before leaving for the airport which was half an hours drive away.  Plenty of time since our flight was at 2200H or 10:00 pm and it was only 7:40 pm.

     When Jane checked our tickets for the flight schedule, she asked me what time 2030H was because that was the time printed under DEPARTURE - 8:30 pm, I said.  It was now 7:50 pm.  2200H was under ARRIVAL.  The clock was now ticking... LOUDLY!  But it was not yet 20 Minutes Before Take-off!

     We threw all caution to the winds, packed our bags, and in 5 minutes we were gone... for good!  My heart was pounding out of my chest!  No, not really.  But it was one of those "panic modes" when you wished you had taken PAL instead of Cebu Pacific - because PAL is Plane Always Late, and I was praying that our flight would be delayed.  Ok, it was delayed.

     And so while awaiting - almost an hour! - the anti-climactic arrival of our airplane, I began writing the blog in Jane's blueberry... ok, ok! blackberry.