Mongo with Sotanghon (Mung Bean Soup with Glass Noodles)

It was Friday. I knew the girlfriends were waiting for my text message about dinner. I was planning to cancel it as I didn't have a dish in mind. Also, I hadn't gone grocery shopping. I composed a quick message but before pressing the "send" button, I hurried over to the kitchen to check the fridge and see if I could find  any thing to cook. There's nothing else but a head of cabbage, tomatoes and 5 pieces of mackerel. I saw a small pack of vermicelli. If I could find mung beans in the cabinet, then dinner would push through. I was so happy I did. Two hours before the appointed time, I sent a text message to the girls.

I fried the mackerel. I cooked  mung beans soup with cabbage and vermicelli. The girls arrived  when I was setting the table. We enjoyed a simple yet  delicious Filipino meal.

Ve-G-Choplets Adobo with Potatoes

Yesterday when I woke up from a quick siesta, I felt a little pain in my right shoulder. I changed my dress and went to get a massage nearby. When I arrived at the massage parlor, only two massage therapist were working. I was asked to wait for a few minutes. I informed my sister of my whereabouts in case I couldn't come back early to cook for dinner. Twenty minutes had passed before my name was called. At least I didn't have to wait  forever but I knew I would be late.

When I opened the door to my apartment, I saw my sister in the kitchen  preparing dinner. I asked her what she's cooking. She told me she's cooking adobo. I told her I hadn't blog about it so she waited until I came back to get my camera.

 Adobo is considered as the national dish of the Philippines. The stew can be made with either chicken, pork or both cooked in vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorn and soy sauce. In my family, both mom and sister are vegetarian so we use soy protein in place of meat whenever we cook adobo. We cook it the easy way too!

Banana Spring Roll (Turon)

Bananas can be made into satisfying snacks. In the Philippines where bananas are readily available all year round, people have invented ingenious ways of turning these fruit into something delicious.Take this turon for example. Turon or banana spring roll is a popular Filipino snack. The bananas are cut lengthwise, sugar is sprinkled over a piece of banana, then wrapped in spring roll wrappers and  deep fried.



Turon is a favorite afternoon snack of my family. Last night as I was wrapping the bananas, I had the childhood flashbacks to when  my aunt cooked this so often while there  were abundance of bananas at my grandparents farm. I remember feasting on turon with my sister and cousins after siesta.  How I wish to turn back time when I could eat them without laboring over it :)

Sarciado Red Tilapia

I was born and raised on the island. I grew up on a diet which consisted mostly of rice and fish, loads and loads of fish.  One of my family's homemade favorites is fish sarciado, a delicious recipe that has tomato-based sauce.

Fish sarciado is uniquely Filipino. The dish was invented as a way to give leftover fish a new twist.  The thick, rich tomato sauce and the eggs when added rehydrate the leftover fish and give this dish a boost of flavor.

I served this during our Friday night dinner.  I didn't have leftover fish. I used a freshly fried red tilapia instead. The sauce works  great with both.

Ginataang Mongo (Mung Beans in Coconut Milk)

There was a time during my childhood years when mung beans in coconut milk was part of my staple diet. Mom was assigned to work in another town. As mommy's little girl, I would always tag along on weekends and holidays. Sometimes, my vacay would fall on the time when  mung beans were in season. During those times, the caretaker of mom's office  would bring kilos of newly harvested mung beans from the farm her family owned. She would cook them once a day until our stocks last. I tell you, I had never gotten tired of it. In fact, I would always look forward to meal time as I knew there's mung bean dish on the table waiting.

For Friday night dinner last week, my sis and friends requested mung beans in coconut milk. Being the obedient personal chef, I cooked this dish and served it with fried fish and  tofu as  side dishes.

Salmon Sinigang ( Salmon in Lemon Based Soup)

Despite my love affair with cookbooks,  I seldom consult them when I cook. I like the spontaneity and creativity in constructing dishes from scratch. The amounts and tastes are mostly my estimation.

Friday night dinner was salmon sinigang. I have been using salmon in my sinigang  since I learned that rendered salmon oil adds rich flavor to soups. I was at the grocery Thursday and found salmon head and scraps in the shelf. My sis and I had been craving for sinigang so I bought the fish instantly.

What is sinigang? It is a Filipino dish of meat or seafood which uses sour as the base of the soup. Although the original recipe calls for tamarind, I use lemon juice each time I make sinigang as lemons are readily available in stores and markets year-round.

Vegetarian Siopao for Saturday's Breakfast

My sister and I have been hosting Friday night dinner to our closest friends for 2 weeks now. Our usual bonding time in the kitchen on a Friday is put off until later. But since I get Friday off, my kitchen journey continues.On my day off, I made siopao, the Filipino version of steamed buns stuffed with savory shredded chicken or minced pork.We don't eat pork due to our religious beliefs so I used vegetarian filling.