Sinigang Na Hipon (Shrimp Stew)

One of my favorite sea foods is Shrimp, making it Sinigang (stew) would mean a very diet-less-conscious weekend. 

Sinigang na Hipon

As an OFW, the absence of some ingredients in the country we are in, would always make us find the alternatives. Traditional Sinigang is cooked with boiled and mashed real tamarind fruit that would make Sinigang truly sour. But since Tamarind fresh fruit is not available anywhere here, thanks to Knorr Sinigang Mix for helping me out on this. 

Ingredients: 

- 1/4 kilo Fresh Shrimp

- 2pcs small Aravi (Gabi), chop into smaller sizes

- About 10pcs String Beans, cut into smaller sizes

- 2-3pcs chilli, cut into halves

- 1 medium sized onion, chopped

- 1 medium sized tomato, chopped

- 2 cups rice water

- 1 cup water

- 1 tsp salt 

- Knorr Sinigang Mix

For tastier Sinigang, when you cook your rice, set aside the water you used for washing it. This will be used as the soup of the Sinigang that you will cook.  

Procedure: 

- Put tomato and onion in a bowl, add salt and using your hand, extract the juice

- In a cooking pot, put the small Aravi, extracted tomato and onion (with the juice), and 1 cup of water and put on a medium heat

- Continue cooking until Aravi becomes softer that can be mashed

- Get at least some 1-2 cuts of Aravi from the cooking pot, put in a bowl, mash, and set aside 

- Add Shrimp, rice water, and string beans; let boil until Shrimp and string beans are cooked

- Combine the mashed Aravi back to the cooking pot to make the water becomes thick

- Add Knorr Sinigang Mix and Chilli, let boil for 2-3minutes

- Serve and enjoy! 

Sauteed Vegies with Chicken Gizzards and Liver

Vegetables or Vegies give a lot of benefits to our human body. It helps with the constipation, digestion, and other health concerns of our body. Can be eaten raw as a side salad to other meals, sauteed as is, or cooked well combined with fish, or other meats. 

Vegies with Chicken Gizzards and Liver (sorry for the blur photo)

Ingredients: 

- 2pcs medium sized Carrots

- 1 small cabbage

- 1 small cauliflower

- 1 small bell pepper

- 1/8 kilo Chicken Gizzards

- 1/8 kilo Chicken Liver

- 1/2 cup of water

- 1 small sized onion

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp fish sauce

- salt and pepper to taste

For those (like me) who get their Chicken Gizzards fresh and need to clean, visit How to Clean Chicken Gizzards post to know how to clean it yourself. 

Procedure: 

- In a cooking pot, on a medium heat, pour olive oil

- Saute garlic, and onion

- Add chicken gizzards, pour fish sauce, add salt and pepper, and stir fry every now and then until cooked

- Add carrots and cauliflower, saute for 2-3 minutes

- Lower the heat at this point

- Add the chicken liver on top of the ingredients, do not stir; follow it up with few amount of water. Only few from the 1/2 cup required just enough to help cook the liver

- Cover the pot at this point; check every now and then until chicken liver turns lighter in color indicating that is already cooked. Add more water if there's a need to. 

- Add cabbage, the remaining water, and salt to taste

- Remove from heat, serve and enjoy! 

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.  

Paksiw Na Bangus with Bitter Gourd

Paksiw - is a Filipino term which means to cook and simmer in vinegar (wikipedia). Paksiw na Bangus (Milkfish) is a classic menu of typical Filipino family. There are other kinds of fish that can be used for paksiw. We can also add vegetables like eggplant, bitter gourd, or okra, and put some spice by adding green chili on it. 

This version is classic paksiw with ampalaya (bitter gourd).  

Paksiw Na Bangus with Ampalaya

 Ingredients:

- 1 whole Bangus, cut into smaller sizes

- 1 medium sized Bitter Gourd, cut into small size

- 1 Onion (chopped)

- 4 cloves of Garlic (pound)

- 1 cup of Vinegar

- 1/2 cup of Water

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1 medium sized Bitter Gourd (cut into smaller sizes)

Procedure:

- Layer onion and garlic at the bottom part of a cooking pan

- Put the fish over the layered onion and garlic

- Scatter bitter gourd around and beside the fish

- Add vinegar

- Add salt and pepper

- Heat on a low fire until fish turns semi-cook

- Add in water

- Let it boil for few minutes or until fish turns fully-cooked

- Remove from heat and serve

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)!