Baon food: chicken sandwich

All of my life, I had had nothing but tuna sandwich spread. My older brother used to make it--mayonnaise mixed with tuna in oil (sans the oil), with sliced onions. Then I learned it and tweaked it to my taste--with pickles to make it a bit sweeter (or I used sandwich spread). Further along, I modified it again--added carrots cut in tiny cubes.


Then maybe I got fed up with tuna. I don't know. I replaced it with cooked chicken.

Entering a time space warp from an eternity of tuna:
chicken sandwich spread (shigi-shigi-makashigi-uma...)

One time I was doing groceries, I grabbed a bottle of capers more on impulse and curiosity more than anything else. If eaten on its own, it's weird--sour, salty, blech (the one I got is in vinegar). But I mashed a few pieces (again out of impulse and curiosity) and tossed it into my chicken spread.

Food for the aliens: capers

I was certainly surprised how the capers behaved with the rest of the ingredients of the spread. It made the flavor more full. I even popped a few more pieces into the container.

The lovely Japanese mayo, made lovelier by thestar-shaped hole on the bottle.

Another recent discovery for me was Japanese mayonnaise. It's rather expensive, so I use it sparingly. But even if I skimp on it, it adds just enough of its presence to make a lovely sandwich. I also add chopped parsley now, making the spread taste "fresh".


Chicken Sandwich Spread (the way I do it)
Cooked chicken (in a bit of salt), shredded
Mayonnaise (can be Japanese mayo) or sandwich spread (or both proportioned to your taste)
Carrots, chopped
Capers, mashed
Parsley, chopped (optional)


*BB*

Odes: An attempt at healthy eating

23 FEBRUARY 2011. I admit, I am not much of a healthy eater. I really want to start eating healthy, but "healthy" food often comes with higher price tags. =| Of course, as Danes would put it, I could look at it as an investment for my health. But I would need to work it into the budget. Plus we've got other people in the house to consider (my younger brother for example, is much less of a healthy eater than I am). And usual conditions aren't that conducive to healthy eating (canteen fare, guilty treats constantly circulating in the office, fast food choices along the way home, etc). Unless I prepare our baon food everyday, which I can't do yet. I can only whip up a quick breakfast for hubby and me and prepare his morning and afternoon snacks, and I do so with ready-made stuff like store-bought peanut butter, hotdogs and the like.
Hubby and I went out on a quick dinner date on Wednesday (payday!) evening. We dropped ourselves off at Festival Mall. After walking past several restaurants, we settled for Kenny Rogers Roasters, where we don't usually eat, on the third floor. Originally, we wanted to have the baby back ribs and the usual things we order.

Then, we caught sight of Kenny's Healthy Meals menu. For some reason, we took a fancy to it and chose our dinner from there. All meals already come with drinks so I must say the price is reasonable.

Wow, this is new. Haha!

I tried the Classic Healthy Plate (P185). It consisted of a quarter of KR's signature roasted chicken, a vegetable salad, a corn muffin and fruit salad.

My plate. A classic beauty indeed. Just looking atit made me feel good already.

Hubby went for the Low Calorie Meal (P185) composed of grilled fish (not sure what kind of fish it was) with a salty sauce, rice and steamed vegetables.

A pretty simple-looking meal (but costs as much as mine).

I find the staff at that branch pretty attentive, ready with a glass of water, asking if we'd like the dessert to be served. We were seated at one of those round cushion benches (meant for a group of 6 or 8) and I really felt comfy and cozy.
Near the end of dinner, we had dessert brought in. We shared a cup of frozen yogurt. At P55 for a "large" cup (plus P10 for your choice of topping), it must be one of the cheapest yogurts out there (as some would go over P100).

The perfect dessert to cap off a healthy meal: yogurt!

I commonly find yogurt too sour so I'm not much of a fan. I once tried that P25 cup of Nestle Fruit Selection Yogurt and ended up just forcing it all down kasi sayang naman. Those were one of my healthy-eating attempts. But I never bought that again. So I was certainly glad to discover Kenny's tasted good. Even hubby, who I know isn't into yougurt, enjoyed it. There are around five different kinds of toppings like chocolate, but since the implied theme for the night is "healthy food", I chose fruits. My classic plate included a small fruit salad similar to the toppings we had on our dessert. So I dunked the remaining pieces into our yogurt cup and we need not fight over the fruit. =)
After the meal, I was full but I didn't have that sort of heavy (and guilty...and lousy...and regretful) feeling which I would have after a usual big meal.
Will be back to try the other healthy plates. And the yogurt. I'm sure hubby will like that. =)
*BB*

ILYS: It's chicken day once more

19-20 FEBRUARY 2011. I promise myself to cook a bit more beef, pork or fish next time. Because today, it's chicken once again.

I was finally able to try Chicken Satay with Cucumber Salad recipe on Yummy Meals in Minutes. I got myself to buy--at last--a bottle of satay sauce, a small bottle of which costs P98.00. Ouch. O_O I also purchased breast fillet at SM Southmall supermarket on my way home after work on Friday.


Saturday found me in the kitchen once more, bent on finally cooking this dish I have earmarked a long, long time ago (since I bought the cookbook, so that's more than one year ago already).

The stage is set for another yummy meal.

Cut the chicken breast fillets (skinless, 1 kilo) into
bite-size cubes and wash 'em real clean!

Although I find the nutty scent of satay sauce yummy, my mom was alarmed by it. Even hubby thought something smelled spoiled. =)

Prepare the marinade. Combine 1 tbsp. chopped garlic,1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup peanut butter,
1/4 cup satay sauce, and 2 tsps chili-garlic sauce.
Season with sugar, salt and pepper as needed.
Mix 'em real well!

Toss the chicken cubes in the marinade.

Make sure the chicken is mixed well in the nutty marinade!
Set aside for about 15 minutes.

Easy cucumber salad. Combine 2 diced cucumbers,
2 tbsps lemon juice, 3 tbsps minced red onion
and 1/4 cup sesame oil.

Hubby joined me in the kitchen after a while. He wanted to help out so I requested him to do the frying. I think it would help to use a non-stick pan. The one we used was no longer non-stick, so the marinade did stick until there was an accumulation which soon toasted into a black mess inside the pan (some of the chicken had burnt spots on them).

Pan fry the marinated chicken.

This dish deserves porcelain plating. Dinner time!

Long after I managed myself to stop scooping rice into my plate, I still found myself popping chicken pieces into my mouth as we were still hanging around the kitchen table listening to mom's story (I think it's one of those from her dalaga-days again, which we've heard a half dozen times already and which she is repeating for hubby's benefit). It's addicting. Ang sarap papakin. Hahaha! And the cucumber salad really goes well with the chicken.

The recipe above was for 1 kilo of chicken. As we're a family of five (hungry people), I used about half a kilo more (so if you'll do the same, just adjust the measurements). There was still more than enough of it until the next day when my kuya's family came over for lunch, and even for our breakfast on Monday. =)

Chicken Satay with Cucumber Salad
Find the recipe on the Yummy Meals in Minutes book


*BB*

ILYS: High-calorie Saturday

11 DECEMBER 2010. I think I did nothing today except cook. My goodness. And eat. OH MY GOODNESS.


We had a few relatives coming over and choir practice later in the evening. On top of that, mom and dad had cake orders to do.


Early this morning, I got up and started. I made my so-easy carbonara with an extra shortcut... Del Monte Carbonara sauce. Hahaha! It wasn't really a shortcut though. More of an "extender". I still used all-purpose cream and cream of mushroom. I tried putting in parsley this time. It was good.

The luncheon meat carbonara was for:

1. Our breakfast this morning

 2. Our guests' snack in the afternoon

3. The choir's after-practice merienda (late night)

And we still have half a pot full of carbonara sauce for breakfast tomorrow. LOL


Mom made nilagang baka and fried chicken wings, as we were expecting our relatives for lunch. The latter dish I spiked with chili garlic sauce.

Mom's favorite fried chicken recipe is very yummy

but very simple: calamansi + patis.

Telltale signs that Renn Xu was here: chili bits

The chicken didn't turn out to be spicy (or maybe it was just me...little bro always comments that I've burned my tongue with excessive intake of chili a long time ago). But the taste did change. I served it with a dip made of mayo and sandwich spread, Worcestershire sauce and minced garlic on the side.

Looks like my relatives liked it. Only five pieces
were left.

I ended up with the task of frying the chicken, after which I vowed I shall steer clear of frying until after the wedding. I have so many spatter marks on my hands. And they hurt! =(


Mom and dad were starting to bake when our relatives arrived. I think I got a bit stressed helping the bakers and serving the guests at the same time. But I did get a treat. After mom poured the cake batter into the baking pans, I asked her for the mixing bowls. I got three of the four bowls (I wasn't able to catch the mixing bowl for the carrot cake in time): mango (my favorite!), ube (we have one mini-loaf! Yay!) and chocolate (sugar high...). No picture of me "cleaning up" the mixing bowls. It's kinda gross. LOL

I admit I'm not in a very artistic mood today. Little

bro's cake order/gift turned out to be a confusion of
multicolored edible flowers and gold pearls. But it
was still cute anyway. And delicious.

Me tired. Bride-to-be must get some beauty rest (which is impossible as it's midnight already. Pfft.) and dream up a game plan how I shall lose all those calories...


Thirteen days to go till the wedding! Oh, make that twelve days to go, because it's midnight already.


P.S. Happy 1st Birthday to my nephew, Zeus! ^_^ *BB*

SQF: Char-Xu

19 OCTOBER 2010. The moment I popped open the lid of my bottle of char siu sauce, I knew at once that we were going to have a fantastic lunch.

Chinese barbecue sauce "char siu"

Char siu sauce is my latest discovery. It's a Chinese barbecue sauce which is quite common in Chinese restaurant dishes, usually with pork or chicken. It can be used as a sauce, added a marinade or basted while grilling meat.


I planned ahead that I will make fried rice. It's only me and dad at home. Hubby-to-be, a rice monster, was on his way and would be joining us shortly. Mom and little bro are already out of the house, and we'll meet them in Makati after lunch.


Having a recent meal at Mongolian Quick-Stop in mind, I derived my favorite ingredients and pulled out cucumbers and tomatoes from the fridge. I also borrowed some carrots from mom's stock. I still have chicken breast and a piece of chorizo. And of course, the usual suspects for stir frys: garlic and onions. And my newly opened jar of char siu sauce.

Ready!


Chili garlic sauce has been a trusted friend when it comes to fried rice, but this time I skipped it in favor of siling labuyo. I only put two pieces, sliced, but the effect was immediately recognizable. It enhanced and "heated up" the barbecue taste.

The ingredients make for a deliciously colorful dish.

I served dad and hubby-to-be a plate each. We were supposed to eat light, as we were going to a birthday party. But they went for seconds.


Their only request. Make it spicier! Next time, I'll double the labuyo. XD


I had some leftovers, which I packed for baon the next morning. Sarap!

Char-Sue: Spicy Barbecue Fried Rice

Spicy Barbecue Fried Rice (ala Renn Xu)
As always, no exact measurements! Hehehe
4-6 cups of leftover rice (or as much as you like)
1 head garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced finely
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 Chinese chorizo, diced (can be optional)

Char siu sauce + water

1 cucumber, diced
1 carrot, julienned
2 pcs (or more, if you want it hotter) bird's eye chili (siling labuyo), sliced
Peppermill (or just pepper) and salt to taste
Sesame oil (can be optional)


*BB*

SQF: My chicken is Asian

(Hindi ako masyadong mahilig sa chicken, ano? Hehehe)

12 SEPTEMBER 2010. It was Sunday again, and little bro and hubby-to-be were home alone again. My uncle and cousin had arrived the past week from Leyte and Cebu respectively to attend the Manila leg of the Villareal fiesta. They were scheduled to fly back home Wednesday, so they were maximizing the remaining days by visiting relatives scattered in and around Metro Manila.

Just like the Italian version, I've meaning to cook Honey Ginger Chicken since I got a booklet of McCormick recipe cards with the March 2010 issue of Yummy (and that was way back in March). I already shopped for ingredients I could store, like rice wine, but I kept on either using some of the ingredients for other dishes.

But this particular Sunday, everything just happened to be available, like the lemons, which we would only have because I would buy. I put the thawed chicken wings in a very Asian-smelling marinade. The marinade needed at least an hour, so hubby-to-be and I went to church.

When we came back home, it was frying time. It's supposed to be deep fried, but for some reason I'm not very comfortable with deep-frying. I just fried away, so there were still pale spots on the chicken. Hahaha!

The recipe calls for whole chicken parts, but I used wings.

Stolen shot by hubby-to-be.
Oh, I'm wearing that house dress again...

Hubby-to-be helped me with preps for the sauce. And by taking pictures.

Loaded with fresh ginger bits, the sauce is every bit as Asian as possible.

The sauce is easy. Just put together the ingredients. I was tasting it as it was simmering in a pot, and it was weird. I mean, it wasn't the taste I was expecting so I was rather concerned it wouldn't turn out well. But wait until you toss it with the rice wine marinated chicken.

No need to go to an Asian restaurant! Kain na!

But when I tossed the cooked chicken pieces into the sauce...wow! Ang sarap pala. The three of us all had a great Asian dinner. =)

You can do this dish ahead of time by half-frying the marinated chicken and storing in the freezer, as I did with the leftover chicken. I put away the leftover sauce in the refrigerator. That same week, mom requested me to make dinner and I was able to whip this one up in almost a flash. They like it. Little bro even requested me to cook it for his birthday next year. Puwede na raw pang-handa. ^_^

Honey Ginger Chicken (Wings)

Honey Ginger Chicken

www.mccormick.com.ph

If you want to try it, I can scan and email the recipe card. ^_^

*BB*

WCS: Good morning! =)

2010 JULY 29 to 30. Nothing beats a filling breakfast. Although I still personally consider lunch as my most important meal, I attest how having breakfast before leaving the house does make a difference.


But whipping up a nice breakfast for little bro and myself is a particularly big challenge, as I always maximize the hours of sleep I can get (currently with Queen Seon Deok eternally forcing me to keep awake until almost midnight). We usually end up with crackers or sometimes nothing at all.


The weekend before, I attended a great weekend-long seminar, or "careshop" it was called. The careshop made me realize, among many other helpful things, that I haven't been taking very good care of myself. I've been letting myself wander off to face the day without taking time to see if I'm OK. Last month, I was sick for almost three weeks. One thing that I promised to do for myself is make sure I always have a nice meal. I hit two birds with one stone with this: I get to practice cooking in "real time", and I do something good for my own health.


When I was on my way home from the second day of the careshop it was raining. Umbrellas moved frantically across the streets. I felt how nice it would be to have a hot bowl of sopas the next morning. I had ingredients on hand at home.


I suddenly had an idea. Why not make the dish two-step? Meaning, I start the recipe that evening (just the soup) and put it in the refrigerator, then cook the pasta the next morning. And that's just what I did. I spent the night in the kitchen (I didn't do my careshop assignment, hehehe). The next morning, while waiting for my driver who will take me to Quezon City, I finished the soup recipe and made more than enough for my driver and the three people I'll be leaving at home. My aunt and nephew, who visited later that day, even got to have some of the soup.


The week after, I decided to cook the same thing again. However, we did not have evaporated milk, so I used all-purpose cream. Either way resulted in a delicious soup. The difference was with evap, there was this faintly sweet milky taste, and with cream, the texture was almost like pasta white sauce, so you may want to add more water (or chicken stock) to make the soup less thick. I had a bit of leftover frozen mixed vegetables. On a sudden whim, I dunked them in.

I did the soup the night before while having dinner.
Mom didn't realize I didn't eat much dinner. Hehehe!

The second step--cooking the macaroni--I did the next morning while little bro was in the bath.

One of the pasta brands I love. Cheap but delicious.

Doing the dish two-step gave me enough time to fix myself up. Even take pictures around our kitchen. Hahaha!

We're not Lock & Lock addicts, are we? Those are mostly mine,
except the bigger ones.

Mom bought a nice kitchen bookstand.

She also bought an extra piece for my future house.

Breakfast was ready even before little bro finished ironing his polo shirt. Even his cup of coffee was ready for him. =)

Good morning!

"Good Morning" Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 4 or more
Variation 1
1-2 cups macaroni pasta, cooked according to package instructions, set aside/chill
oil (regular cooking or olive oil)
half a head of garlic, minced
cooked chicken breast, shredded (saute this with the garlic, then add the rest of the ingredients to make the soup)
1-2 cups (or as needed) chicken stock or water
half a pack of powdered cream of mushroom, diluted in water
half a small can evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt (almost did not use any) and pepper (used around 1 teaspoon) to taste


Variation 2
Same ingredients as variation 1, but in place of evap, use All Purpose Cream
1/2 to 1 cup frozen or "takal-takal" mixed vegetables (carrots, green peas, corn kernels)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano


Note: all measurements are approximate quantities only. Go ahead and do it your way! =)


*BB*

SQF: My chicken is Italian

2010 JULY 11. My parents were leaving me, little bro and hubby-to-be home alone. A cousin who lives in Makati is celebrating her birthday. I had to pass--even if a quick trip to Market! Market! was tempting--because of colds and my still-heavy head.

I intended to cook Italian-Style Chicken Wings for Monday evening, but I didn't want to eat sardines or corned beef just now. This is the first recipe under the "Take 5 Ingredients" section of Meals in Minutes. This is actually the first recipe I earmarked, but because I kept on using the spaghetti sauce for pasta or chicken wings were constantly absent from our freezer, this got delayed.

The Italian-style sauce is composed of sauteed garlic,
sweet-style spaghetti sauce and Italian seasoning. I also
added a dash of cayenne pepper powder. So easy, right?

I prepared the sauce. I guess I didn't mince the garlic enough. LOL. Also, the recipe called for 500g of sweet-style spaghetti sauce. I only had 250g, so I added a 250g pack of a Three-Cheese version, which did make the dish a bit cheesy.

Coat the chicken wings with breading mix and fry.

Frying the coated chicken took a long time because I made the mistake of using a small pan. And I didn't want to deep-fry. Hubby-to-be already arrived; good thing he ate before he left. But little bro was starving. I decided to toss the cooked ones with the sauce while the last few pieces were still cooking so we can already eat.

Voila! A great alternative to your usual fried chicken.

The dish was simple but flavorful. I was already full after just two pieces as I ate a lot of rice with it. Three pieces were left for dad's lunch tomorrow. Later, I texted sis-in-law, who also owns a copy of Meals in Minutes, to try the recipe. Sayang, my baby nephew can't try it yet. I'm sure he'll love it.

Italian-style Chicken Wings

Find it on Yummy Meals in Minutes

*BB*

SQF: Charlie Tsong

27 JUNE 2010. I woke up with the usual pasta itch. Now that our choir's no longer serving at church in the morning and I attend mass in the late afternoon, I have more time to cozy up in the kitchen.


I'm a fan of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta. Whenever I have extra budget, I'll always try to get one (or nag my fiancé to get one, hahaha). True, it doesn't really go well with pizza; it's more of a "stand alone" dish. But well, it's something different from your usual pasta fare, and my subconscious (even at the time I wasn't even learning to cook yet) made a mental note to discover the recipe sometime soon.


And that sometime soon was now. I remembered there was leftover chicken in the fridge. But it was like...2 Sundays old? LOL. I cooked the pasta first (I find adding a bit more salt to the water than usual gives the pasta extra flavor, which is a good thing when you're making dull/bland sauces). I shredded the chicken and tossed it in a little water just enough to boil the shreds with a bit of salt and pepper. I set the chicken, stock and all, aside.


It starts with the usual sauteing of garlic and onions. The chicken came next. As usual, I did a trial-and-error on the addition of the soy sauce and chili garlic, so the thing tasted too soy saucy, making me put in a few tablespoons of the chicken stock. I added the pasta and on a whim, put in some oyster sauce, a couple of tablespoons, I think. A bit of salt (which I should've eliminated because I already seasoned the spaghetti while cooking), pepper a bit more water...and whoops, I forgot the mushrooms, in you go. And I turned off the heat.

Apologizing for the bad photo. Haven't yet charged my newly-repaired
but very-much-loved digicam at this time so I just used my phone.

Initially, I called it "Charlie Chan-Chanan". LOL. My mom forgot what Charlie Chan was, so I had to explain to her that it was the pasta we liked at Yellow Cab. She recalled it was the one with the peanuts.


She, dad and little bro were the first to try it. Mom commented I was a fast pasta maker already (and I used to be so afraid of doing pasta!). Dad admired how I can whip up new things out of the blue, and with the "recyclables" and the few ingredients we actually have on hand. And little bro complained it was too spicy (which I expected him to say--everything's too spicy for him, LOL).


Several factors did affect the taste. One, the leftover chicken I used was turbo-broiled with a soy sauce and lemon grass marinade so it already had its own flavor (and I shredded it with utter abandon that some pieces looked like sahog for pancit, LOL). And I used a bit too much soy sauce (which permeated the dish distinctly) and a bit too little oyster sauce (which didn't make through the soy sauce taste that much). Then I forgot to add the mushrooms; I tossed them in when I was done cooking. LOL. When I was trying to resolve the saltiness, I used the chicken stock, which I forgot I seasoned with salt. Hahaha. I also used sliced pieces and stems, not shiitake, which our fridge never had. Maybe I will get some for the next attempt... Oh yeah, peanuts! I didn't put peanuts...because the ants got first to the bag of peanuts we have here. LOL


My big brother and sister-in-law came over during lunch (another unplanned SQF!) and I had them sample the pasta. What's left of it, that is. They both liked it; big brother suggested adding something, which I took note of. He also christened the dish "Charlie Tsong". LOL

Charlie Tsong, formerly known as Charlie Chan-Chanan

I would've loved to have my baby nephew try it, but then, apart from Cerelac, he's only allowed to chew on his fingers. LOL


This dish will need just a few more tweaks. At the end of the morening, I was pleased with how it turned out. I never expected to get this close to it when I was cooking recipe-less. It was indeed "Charlie Tsamba"! =)


Charlie Tsong
serves 4 (and a bit more)
half of a 400g Spaghetti pack
half a head of garlic, minced
half a small onion, sliced (I think this can be done away with)
half a can of mushrooms (try shiitake if you have!), drained and sliced as you like
Leftover chicken, shredded
Soy sauce
Oyster sauce
Chili garlic
Ground pepper to taste (easy with the salt now!)
Peanuts (sana, hahaha)


P.S. So sorry, no measurements! Very Xu, hahaha! I'll put them in next time I cook it again. Oh, I Googled for a Charlie Chan photo and found other blogs trying to do the recipe. Funny, I am actually really close to the real recipe after all. =) *BB*

Sunday Quick Fix (SQF): Pasta ala *recycled* breaded chicken with lemon glaze

25 APRIL 2010. Cooking is a wonderful skill. I've always admired (even envied) people who can cook. I love watching cooking shows, but I would oftentimes feel depressed afterwards because I don't cook.


Cooking is a special ability that can make people happy. But to be able to whip up something new out of an old dish--recycle, if you will...now that's talent.

So I made Breaded Chicken with Lemon Glaze for lunch yesterday. We had it again for dinner, but because my younger brother came home late, he didn't eat anymore when he got to the house. Three pieces remained, plus almost a mug-full of lemon glaze.

What to do? What to do? Hmmm...

Must cook...must turn this into a new dish!

Guess what happened?


Whipping up my favorite basic recipe (olive oil + garlic + tomatoes, but + parsley this time, not basil), yesterday's lunch ulam turned into this morning's pasta. Wahahaha!

Breaded chicken with lemon glaze spaghetti. LOL

Verdict: Well, it was OK for me (God, is that my standard answer?). The rest of the family liked it. Even Don, who's not a fan of sauce-less pasta, devoured the rest of the pot. I guess it was a good change from the usual saucy pasta we have here at home. Same reason why the accidental pasta was also a hit.


But this new discovery is subject to improvement (mainly because I had leftover chicken only, the topping was scarce). Will keep you posted on further developments. *BB*