Chicken Embutido - when other ingredients are not available

The absence of some ingredients from the Supermarket by the time you purchase will make you think if it is still possible to pursue with what you want to cook. However, there's no harm in trying. Never let your disappointments affect your will to do things - hey hey it's just cooking and nothing else! I mean never let the absence of some ingredients affect your determination to cook. Who knows, you'll always find an alternative :) 

Normally Chicken Embutido is composed of pickles and raisins. Depending on your preference, you can remove one (or more) or add another if you like. In my case, I don't like pickles in an Embutido so I decided not to include it anymore. Raisins were not available from the Supermarket by the time I did my grocery; and when I tried looking from a cold store near my flat, it was hard for me and the store personnel who doesn't speak well in English to understand each other - the result, no raisins :)  

However, you may try this Chicken Embutido with very few ingredients; good for busy people with limited time searching and looking for the lacking ones. 

Chicken Embutido

What You Need:

- mini chopper (optional) 
- mixing bowl
- aluminum foil for wrapping
- steamer

Ingredients: 

400g ground Chicken
1 pc medium sized carrots
1 pc medium sized bell pepper
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
1 70gms pack of tomato paste (alternative for Tomato Sauce)
1/4 cup Cheese (any)
1 Egg
1 tsp Salt 
1 tsp Pepper 
1 cup Bread Crumbs (add more if needed)

Procedure: 

- Peel carrots and cut into small size
- Cut bell pepper, onion, and garlic into small sizes
- Using a mini chopper, chop them altogether to mince
- If you don't have a mini chopper, use a knife and patiently mince the ingredients
- Put the ground chicken and the minced ingredients into a mixing bowl; mix well
- Add the egg and tomato paste; mix well
- Add the cheese; make sure it is fully combined with the mixture
- Add salt and pepper (add more if you desired, to taste)
- Add the bread crumbs until the mixture becomes drier
- Steam for 1 hour 
- Remove from heat and cool down
- If you want to eat your Embutido fried, slice it and dip into a beaten egg before frying
- Serve and enjoy! 

Remaining Embutido wraps can be placed inside the refrigerator for later use, or inside the freezer if you want to eat it after 24 hours. Frozen Embutido should be thawed before re-heating or frying.  

Chicken Liver and Gizzards Steak

Our flat owner owns a poultry and gives us fresh gizzards and liver whenever he can. Aside from Adobo (Philippine's very popular type of cooking process for either meat, fish, or vegetables), what else can I cook for with the bunch of fresh gizzards and liver that I have right now? I thought of trying a steak out of it. 

Chicken Liver and Gizzards Steak

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 kilo of liver
- 1/2 kilo of gizzards
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 medium sized lemon
- 1 onion, cut into halves
- pepper (to taste)

Preparation: 

- Check How to Clean Chicken Gizzards if, like me, you got it fresh from the poultry; otherwise just wash them
- Cut liver and gizzards into smaller sizes
- Chop first 1/2 of onion 
- Cut second 1/2 of onion into rings, set aside
- Extract the juice out of the lemon, set aside

Procedure: 

- In a cooking pan, put gizzards and soy sauce, mix well
- Add the chopped onion
- Cook on a medium heat until gizzards becomes soft, stir occasionally 
- Lower the heat and add the liver until cooked
- Add lemon juice and pepper, mix well
- Let it boil for about two minutes
- Remove from heat and enjoy with hot rice.  

How to Clean Chicken Gizzards

For those of us who love Chicken Gizzards, we simply go to the market and buy. Have we ever wondered how to clean it fresh from the poultry, out of its chicken's body? 

Fresh Chicken Gizzards

Please find below the steps (in photos) on how to clean gizzards. Warning: some photos may be disgusting to see :) 

Step 1: Have the amount you want to cook and wash them. 

Step 2: Hold a piece of a gizzard, remove other parts that are not meat (perhaps its plastic-like covering), and look for the harder part. 

Step 3: Cut a small portion of it until the inner part is slightly exposed. 

   

Step 4: Using both hands, peel the parts away from each other until the dirt comes out. Throw the dirt away.

Step 5: Repeat the steps until the bunch of gizzards that you want are done. 

Step 6: Wash them all thoroughly with water. 

Cook as you preferred. 

Home Made Litson Manok

I miss Philippines' Andok's and Baliwag Lechon Manok. Why not try my own, especially in this Arab side of the world where too many Chicken (frozen or fresh) are available. 

Be patient in defrosting your frozen chicken for several hours, better if you have bought it fresh; be more patient in marinating it overnight. :) 

Home Made Litson Manok

Ingredients: 

- 1 Whole dressed Chicken
- 4 stalks Lemon Grass (cut into halves to fit inside the Chicken)
- Margarine (to taste)

For Marinade: 

- 1 250ml 7-Up (Softdrinks)
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 medium sized Lemon (extract the juice)
- 4 cloves of Garlic (pound) 
- 1 medium sized Onion (chopped)
- About an inch of Ginger (sliced and pound)
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- Ground Pepper to taste

Procedure: 

Marinating the Chicken: 

- Use a marinating pan and combine garlic, onion, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, and pepper; mix well

- Add in 7-Up; mix well

- Put in the dressed chicken, massage with the mixture of the marinating juice

- Keep in a covered container, put in the fridge overnight

Cooking the Chicken: 

- Preheat the oven to 200°F for about 8 minutes

- Remove the marinated chicken from the marinating juice and transfer to a plate

- Take the garlic, onion, and ginger from the marinating juice and put into the inside of the chicken

- Put in the Lemon grass (tanglad) inside as well

- Roast the chicken for one hour; while brushing it with margarine once in a while

best used with Oven Turnspit

- Remove from heat and transfer to serving plate

results vary depending on the heat (actual photo, not filtered)

Enjoy with hot rice, iced tea, and catsup (best with Mang Tomas)! 

Chicken Tofu

Try this simple but healthy chicken and tofu recipe with mushroom and broccoli. Just to share with you some health benefits of brocolli, mushroom, and tofu that is why I love to eat them. Broccoli is good for the eyes, it improves our immune system, prevents colds for its vitamin C content, helps build bone mass for its more calcium contents, and since it has high fiber content but low in sugar, it helps fight against diabetes. Both Mushroom and Tofu help lower cholesterol level, they also help in preventing cancer.  

Chicken Tofu

Ingredients:

- Chicken breast, cubed

- Tofu, medium

- 1 medium sized onion

- Garlic powder

-  Brocolli

-  Sliced Fresh Mushroom

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp oyster sauce

- ½ cup water

- pepper to taste

Procedure:

-  fry tofu till medium brown

-  heat oil in a separate pan

-  sauté onion

- add chicken, cook until color turns brown

- sprinkle garlic powder

- add mushroom and stir fry until cooked

- add broccoli

- add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and pepper, mix well

- add water, let boil

- remove from heat

- transfer to a bowl, combine the tofu and enjoy!