Caramelization and cooking solo

(Written on 04 April 2012)

Fresh Roma tomatoes sizzling away in a pan. One step to a most perfect sauce!

IT’S 12:25 AM on a Wednesday morning.  I was so excited to finally get my hands on this T-Shirt that apparently can only be purchased in Malaysia, that I decided to have it washed.  Then I will have to pray real hard for it to dry so that I can wear it to the office later.  Now I’m hungry.

The nearest 24-hour McDonald’s is still quite a considerable walk from my place.  And, didn’t I just say it was way past midnight already?  Good thing is, I do know how to cook.  Knowing how to cook has its perks – foremost of which is not having your sustenance at the mercy of somebody else.

And while the thought of cooking for one’s self may sound so solitary, much worse, sad, I actually find it quite a joy.  Especially since you will have yourself to reap the rewards right after.

For tonight, my only resort could only be pasta.  In one sweeping and scooping motion, I’ve got all that I needed – from the chiller: three fresh, crisp Roma tomatoes, and hydroponically grown sweet basil; from the refrigerator shelf: a wedge of Perfect Italiano parmesan cheese; and from the cupboard:  Bertolli extra virgin olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes and San Remo angel hair pasta.  Oh, there was one more, a bottle of this prepared pasta sauce I suddenly fancied at the grocery shelves the other day – Agnesi Sugo Basilico.  I think it was the “Product of Italy” mark that made me snap it up.

I can whip up angel hair pomodoro – my angel hair pomodoro – in my sleep.  Every time, I would find a way to put a twist to it.  Tonight, I suddenly felt the urge to put a char on the fresh tomatoes.  If I had an oven, I would’ve probably roasted them first until they achieve sweet caramelization on the cut surfaces.  For now, the blistering them on a hot pan with a thin film of extra virgin olive oil would do.

I have a sweet spot for this pasta dish.  It’s one of those dishes that helped further develop my confidence in cooking, making me attuned to the rhythms of the kitchen.  Which, at this every late hour, began with the clanking of pots and pans against the burner grill.

For this one, I seeded the tomatoes before peeling them by first charring the skins.

The tomatoes are turned over once, to allow for the cut surfaces to achieve some caramelization.

There's the char I'm looking for!

I've always been partial to parmesan cheese that is shaved or torn. Something really rustic. That is why I would but wedges of cheese instead of pre-grated ones.

Done in a few minutes! Not even ten!

The pasta is al dente. The sauce is really chunky. Just the way I like it.

Agnesi Sugo Basilico Pasta Sauce, a new fave.

Copyright © 2012 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved

Inception

“WHAT IS it that you really like to do?”

“Eat.”

 

Just one of the many incarnations of my Shrimp Sinigang (shrimps in a tamarind-soured broth, with lots of fresh vegetables)

That was asked of the late Julia Child over a dinner of Sole Meunière.  I could be asked the same question, and I would’ve said that same thing – E–A–T.  It was exactly this same unbridled passion for food that fueled the inception of this blog.  I may be writing about so many mundane things but I never lose sight of what I really like to do – food and eating it.  Lots of it.

I’ve been going through my archives and I realized that I have snapped some rather nice photos of food which, apparently, are some of those that I’ve been missing too.

So I thought about putting them all together here.

I must love shrimps so much that I must have photographed every single dish of “sinigang” (meat, fish or shrimps in a broth soured with tamarind, with lots of fresh vegetables) that I have ever made with it in recent memory.  Sometimes I would cook shrimps “sarciado” style (a sauce of tomatoes with a hint of soy sauce) or just poached in a heady mixture of soda (Sprite or 7-Up) and beer (Corona is best, San Mig Light would do).

A good pot of sinigang starts with the freshest catch.

 

My family is well aware of my "shoot-first-eat-later" policy.

 

A different batch of my Shrimp Sinigang

 

These two were ready for their close-up. So I snapped a tight shot.

 

I told you, I would take photos of every single Shrimp Sinigang I would make. Haha!

 

I made this one here in Singapore. The shrimps are of the "white" variant, against the "black tiger prawns" I would usually get in the Philippines. The greens are garlic chives which I sort of re-discovered here in the Lion City. I love it and it goes with most anything.

 

This one is "sarciado" style.

 

Shrimps, this time steamed (or poached) in clear soda and beer. Yum!

 

Once I made them with oyster sauce and thought they would be perfect tumbled in a serving bowl full of fresh coriander leaves. They looked so rustic and so tasted so delicious!

I cannot love shrimps and totally forget about shellfish.  I’ve always loved Manila clams in a ginger broth.  And mussels that are just steamed with lots of finely minced onions.  As for fish, my Mama has this recipe of tilapia that is poached in lots of fresh tomatoes and calamansi juice that I just find to be truly and utterly divine in its simplicity.

Fresh Manila clams ("halaan" in Filipino)

 

Manila clams in a ginger broth. This is one of my all-time favorites!

 

I would have this dish with lots of steamed white rice that would soak up all the sweetness from the natural juices of these bivalves.

 

Mussels ("tahong" in Filipino). Here in Singapore, I learned that when referring to these I have to be very specific as to call them "green" mussels.

 

This is again one very simple dish but it is something I love love L-O-V-E to bits. Again, lots of steamed white rice completes this. And oh, the dipping sauce of pure calamansi juice should not be forgotten. I don't put fish sauce in the dip anymore because I want the natural saltiness of the mussels to shine through.

 

I didn't make this dish but I thought about putting this photo here, sort of to just underscore just how much I love seafood, shellfish in particular. This is seafood ramen, a "pasalubong" from one of my brothers.

 

This is my Mama's original, simple recipe. One of those five-ingredients-or-less thing that would turn out to be truly, utterly divine. It's called "Pangat na Tilapia sa Kamatis at Kalamansi" which I loosely translate as Poached Tilapia in Tomatoes and Calamansi.

While I may throw fancy names of salads made with delicate designer greens when I make orders at some posh restaurant, at heart I’m just really a simple boy who derives ultimate pleasure in simple greens tumbled with a generous squeeze of citrus, a splash of cheap vinegar and a sprinkling of coarse salt and sometimes, a couple of grinds of the pepper mill.  I wouldn’t even bother to put in extra virgin olive oil when I make my salads at home.  My staples have always been cucumbers, tomatoes, and obviously, lots of fresh coriander.  When I fancy having okra, I would have it steamed first.

Some of my Filipino salad essentials – spring onions, tomatoes and fresh coriander.

 

Fresh Coriander Salad. This one, I made to go along with my Adobo (pork or chicken braised in vinegar and soy sauce).

 

Fresh Salad of Cucumber, Tomatoes and Onions. I would usually have this with fried or grilled fish.

 

We eat with our eyes first. And isn't the contrast of red on pale green, against purplish hues so inviting?

 

Didn't I say I could make this everyday? Here, in this one, the shallots were sliced differently.

 

Sometimes, I would make this salad with fresh seaweed which is plentiful in the Philippines.

 

This salad literally bursts in your mouth that it can give even a simple meal a festive feel – even if just within the confines of one's palate.

 

Steamed okra would be nice in these salads too. I had this salad for about almost a month when I was going through one of my crash South Beach diets. Hahaha! (The two weeks of that diet actually prohibits tomatoes!)

I love making my pasta sauces from scratch.  And for that, I use the best Roma or plum tomatoes I could find.  Just a good coating of extra virgin olive oil at the bottom of the pan, lots of minced garlic, many dashes of cayenne pepper, a bunch of roughly torn fresh basil leaves, and a snow cap of the best parmesan cheese and I would have a supper that is as Italian as it could get wherever zip code I may be at.

I had this tomato pose for me before it had to serve its ultimate purpose – to be in my fresh pomodoro sauce!

 

The tomatoes have been "cored" and scored, ready to be blanched, the first step to making my fresh tomato sauce.

 

I may reach for a bottle of Prego or Ragu or Bertolli from time to time, but nothing beats making pasta sauce from scratch.

To me, the lowly instant noodle packs are not lowly at all, especially when prepared not according to package directions but to my exacting, idiosyncratic specifications, and topped with a heap of steamed fresh spinach.

Steamed fresh spinach, the perfect accompaniment to a couple of packs of instant noodles.

 

I love spinach so much that sometimes, they end up overwhelming the plate. They would be even so much more than the actual noodle dish.

 

When there wasn't fresh spinach in the market, I'd settle for onion leeks. Here, I had them cut on a bias, then steamed before being mixed with the noodles.

And this chance to go through my archives reminded me that I don’t mind making my chicken broth the old-fashioned way – which, I have to say, has been the same way Tyler Florence and Gordon Ramsay make theirs.  I use it for my “tinola” (chicken in a ginger broth with fresh green papaya and chili tops) and for my “mami” (Hong Kong style egg noodles in soup).

My broth always starts with the holy trinity, the mirepoix of onions, celery and carrots.

 

The mirepoix is added to a deep pot where the chicken is. I usually used a whole chicken.

 

When I don't have a whole chicken, bits and pieces will do. To the holy trinity of mirepoix, I would add a head of garlic, peel and all, and a palmful of dried thyme. I add water just enough to cover everything and then bring the pot to a boil for a good two hours – at least.

 

This noodle dish, which was simply "mami" but I decided to call "long-life noodle pot", was one of those that would make use of my chicken broth.

 

I think we have the best, most flavorful, most comforting Chicken Congee recipe at home!

 

I miss this a lot – "Tosilog" (TOcino, SInangag, itLOG). This is a Filipino combo plate of sweet cured pork, garlic fried rice, and a sunny side up.

 

I made this Cold Sesame Peanut Noodles. My recipe is an adaptation of Tyler Florence's.

I love food.  And sometimes, I feel like I could do something great with this passion when the right time comes.

I want my food, like life, to have a kick. Now that's taking the expression "spice of life" literally.

 

Copyright © 2012 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved

P.S. I love you

Three Cheese Penne, PS. Café, Paragon Mall, Orchard Road, Singapore

I’VE LONG been in search of the perfect macaroni and cheese.  Here in Singapore.

With all due respect to that familiar blue box that I’ve loved for the longest time, sometimes, what I long for is macaroni and cheese made the old-fashioned way.

I’m taking about starting with a roux of butter and flour, cooked just enough so that the flour is toasty before whole milk – that has first been simmered to the point that a skin has formed on top – is added.  A few minutes over low fire and the sauce will have thickened, at which point it can be seasoned with a pinch of cayenne pepper and a few scrapes of nutmeg on a microplane.  It will be taken off of the fire before at least two cheeses will be added.  I’m thinking Gruyère and cheddar.

Then, to this sauce will be added perfectly cooked penne, and in the context of the macaroni and cheese on my mind, “perfectly” means a couple of minutes under what the package instructions tell you.  Everything will be mixed well so that the sauce coats every single piece of pasta.  This is now ready to be tipped over on to a large baking dish, and then topped with more cheese.

Into the oven it will go where the inside will get even creamier, as the top gets to a golden brown color.  The sauce and the cheese will bubble over.  And that’s when it is ready to make it to the table.

That’s when it is ready to be devoured by me.  And that was exactly the image in my head as I waited there, at a corner table at PS. Café at Paragon Mall on Orchard.

And how was PS. Café’s “Three Cheese Penne”?  I sum it all up with, P.S. … I love you.

The macaroni and cheese is served with a side salad of baby greens, highlighted with sections of a Valencia orange.

I washed everything down with a tall glass of Iced Moroccan Mint Tea.

Apart from the iced Moroccan mint tea, I enjoyed the restaurant's water. It is "spiked" with slices of cucumber, lemon, carrot, and sprigs of mint.

Everything in this water is meant to "cool" it down.

I saw "Triple Cheese Penne" on the menu and didn't have to read any further!

PS. Café at Paragon has both an indoor dining section and this kiosk that overlooks the heart of the mall.

I love how Paragon went with this upside down Christmas Tree to be the focal point of their holiday decor.

Paragon Mall on Orchard Road has dressed up for the season!

Chicken Tau Kwa, Paragon Mall, Orchard Road, Singapore. This was The Boy Wonder's dinner.

So, who's the "Boss"?

Great company makes a sumptuous dinner amazing. Here, with Partner.

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved

Chicken afritada

The perfect bell peppers in red, green and orange, from Cold Storage.

IT’S BEEN raining almost everyday here in Singapore that it’s starting to feel like Seattle.  I’ve been staying up really late into the night, losing sleep too.  So yeah, it’s like Seattle ‘round here.

But I’ve never been the type to sulk.  So what do I do in a situation like this?  I go to the kitchen and cook.  I swung the refrigerator door open and realized one thing – I’ve never been to the grocery for quite a while.

So one rainy early evening just off from work, I walked into Cold Storage, saw the most beautiful bell peppers I’ve ever seen – in a rainbow of red, green and orange – and knew exactly what I wanted to make.

These bell peppers were so beautiful I didn't want to cook them!

One of my serious comfort dishes is called chicken afritada.  They would always make it perfect back home in the Philippines.  And they know exactly what I truly love about it – the sauce and the bell peppers added just a mere couple of minutes before the flame is turned off.  I would spoon the sauce generously on to steaming hot white rice, and heap the bell peppers on top of it.  Instantly, it’s like having my favorite blanket wrapped around me on a chilly night.  I would be warm and comforted.

But it's inevitable that I'd cook with them because, after all, they inspired the evening's dish. Here are the bell peppers with the root aromatics garlic and onion, and some "washed" potatoes from Australia.

 

Bell peppers on the chopping block, I mean, board.

 

A tighter shot of these beauties.

 

Washed, with the stems, ribs and seeds taken out. These are good to go!

I think “afritada” is one of those words that don’t really translate to English.  But the dish chicken afritada can be easily described as a chicken stew with potatoes and bell peppers in tomato sauce.  It’s very Filipino, but I highly suspect it to be of Spanish provenance.

To make my chicken afritada, you will need chicken (wing, breast, thigh and leg parts), half a head of garlic, a large white onion, a 14.5-oz. can of Hunt’s diced tomatoes, three small cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce, potatoes, and bell peppers.  (Though the Flash would always tell people that I would keep to myself whenever I’m cooking, appearing not wanting to be bothered, it’s actually quite the opposite.  I fancy myself as the host of my own cooking show.  And the “garbage” bowl beside my chopping board is testament to the fact that I’ve seen a lot of Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals.)

Start with a low flame and use a pot that is wider rather than deeper (which we don’t have a home).  Coat the bottom with a thin film of vegetable oil.  Sauté the (finely) minced garlic.  Doing a lot of chopping and prep work while already having something on the burner could pose quite a challenge.  Just make sure to keep an eye on the sauté and not allow the garlic to brown.

Sauté the garlic in a thin film of vegetable oil.

Add the large onion, finely diced.  Cover the pot for a short while to allow the onions to sweat, become translucent, release some of its natural sugars and become sweet.  Again, no browning!

Add the finely diced large white onion.

Once the garlic and onions have cooked down, make a well in the center.

The garlic and onion have cooked down. Make a well in the center to sear the chicken pieces.

Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, making sure to make only one layer.  I made a huge pot so I had to work in batches, searing the chicken as much as I could.

I realized we didn't have a wide-bottomed pot, so I had to work in batches, making sure that I would only have one layer of chicken at a time.

As you can see, the chicken let out a lot of its juices.

These are juicy chicken pieces.

Add a little water just enough to cover and bring it to a simmer.  Then, pour in the diced tomatoes.  (This is my own tweak to the recipe.  I want a chunky sauce, an homage to when this dish was made with only fresh tomatoes available).  At this point, I started with the steamed rice so that both would be ready at about the same time.

I'm partial to Hunt's and I love their diced tomatoes!

 

The diced tomatoes are in!

After the chicken has been simmering for about 10 minutes, add the quartered or halved potatoes and the tomato sauce.

Pour in the tomato sauce. I used a total of three small cans.

 

The potatoes I got were Australian, already perfectly washed, and with barely a skin on them. I thought about dunking them in as is, but since I was sharing the dish with my housemates and friends, I thought I'd peel them just to be sure.

 

The potatoes are peeled!

 

...Halved, then added to the pot!

Check the chicken and the potatoes for doneness.  Once the potatoes are fork tender (takes about 10 minutes or so), that’s the time you add in the bell peppers.  Adjust the seasoning if needed (probably just a pinch of salt).  Cover the pot and allow to simmer for at most five more minutes.  Nothing more!

The bell peppers are ready to be sliced into wedges.

 

These bell peppers breathe life and meaning to the fact that we eat with our eyes first.

 

Finally, the bell peppers are added!

The chicken afritada is now ready to hit the table!

Dinner is served!

 

What's not to love?

 

It's even better the day after it's made. And this shot was taken the day after!

 

This dish is inspiring me to cook more often.

 

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Chicken tinola for the soul

IN THE city, when you’re single and living on your own, your friends are your family.

I picked that up from the epilogue of the series finale of “Friends” about eight years ago.  Obviously, it has stayed with me.  For its semblance to truth…  it has stayed with me.

I consider myself fortunate that I’ve made a new family here in Singapore.  And from my end, the best that I could do to express my appreciation is through food.  Either I can give someone food, or I could cook for them.  After all, I firmly believe that the greatest gift is a portion of one’s self or simply, a portion of one’s time.  It’s something I wrote about in “Cooking for someone,” here.

Yesterday, I finally had the chance to treat these nice people to my cooking.  And chicken tinola was just the perfect choice for the taste of home and the sense of comfort it could bring.

Chicken Tinola that I made for really good friends.

We had a Malaysian guest for dinner so the foodie and chef wannabe in me wanted to sound articulate in describing the dish should I be asked.  I thought about saying that it’s “Filipino Hainanese Chicken Rice.”  Except that the chicken is left in the soup, that instead of sliced cucumbers it comes with sliced green papaya or chayote squash, that instead of a bed of shredded lettuce it has chili leaves thrown in, and that instead of three condiments – thick sweet soy sauce, sambal chili, and grated ginger in oil – it comes flavored with fish sauce, with the ginger kept in the broth.

I looked up to the ceiling of Darryl & Brenda’s well-appointed kitchen, and read the thought bubble above my head: “There goes my Hainanese Chicken Rice parallel!”

I had to ask our Malaysian guest how the chicken tinola tasted like.  “It’s like a chicken bak kut teh.”

I’d take that comparison any day.

 

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Rachael Ray would be so proud

Angel hair pomodoro in a jiffy!

EXAMPLE’S “KICKSTARTS” had been blaring into my ears – by way of my Blackberry Bold 9780 on full volume – but all that I could really hear playing in my head is Semisonic’s “Closing Time.”  True enough, by the time I got to stand in front of Formosa Delights’ stall at Nex Mall in Serangoon, the staff and crew – much as they love me (haha!) – just couldn’t turn the fire on and put a pot of broth on it to boil.  I guessed, unless I would be so heartless as to let them rinse off all of the foam and cleaning disinfectant they had been scrubbing on the stoves and countertops just so they could accommodate me.

I am not that heartless.  Not at 10:00 PM.

So I said goodbye, still with a smile on my face, though the grumbling in my stomach couldn’t be ignored.

Good thing I’m not entirely at the mercy of the food court or somebody else cooking for me.  Cooking is something that I can do in my sleep.  Unfortunately, on a night like this one when I would have surely dozed off the moment I turned the key and shut the door behind me, cooking would be quite a challenge.  Quite, but not entirely impossible.

So off I went to Fair Price Xtra upstairs, walked through the door, and waited for inspiration to kick in.  It did.  In the form of a tub of hydroponically grown Italian sweet basil.  Pesto first came to mind.  It came to mind just as fast as I threw it away.  For a pesto “purist” like me – mortar & pestle only, never a blender (ever again!) – there simply was no time for intensive manual labor near midnight.

Hydroponically grown Italian Sweet Basil, from Oh Chin Huat Hydroponic Farms PTE LTD, Product of Singapore... my moment's inspiration.

Good thing that one quick scan of the produce section revealed my all-time failsafe option – tomato and basil sauce for angel hair!  With just my bare hands, one actually holding my three mobile phones, I grabbed all that I needed to whip up a quick late supper – a jar of San Remo Tomato, Onion & Garlic Homestyle Pasta Sauce, fresh sweet basil, Millel shaved parmesan cheese, and of course, San Remo Angel Hair pasta!

Grabbed in one go! All the ingredients to whip up a quick pasta favorite.

 

I decided to add a can of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes (I stock up on these) to make up for not adding fresh plum tomatoes to the dish.

With just five to six minutes on the flame to make the sauce – the last couple of which also used to cook the pasta to al dente – no other dish could satiate my soul that very moment and fit to the limits set by the timepiece on my wrist.  I had my red Technomarine on.  How appropriate.

 

*For my recipes on Angel Hair Pomodoro, you may run a search here in my site.

With two pans on the burners... done in six to ten minutes!

 

My angel hair pomodoro, crowned with basil leaves, gilded with shaved parmesan cheese. Wonderful!

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Noodles and dumplings to make friends over

Shi Lin's Noodles with Sesame and Peanut Sauce

IT WARMS the heart whenever my friendships extend to the better halves.

And when someone’s hubby tells her something like, “Let’s have dinner out.  I’m craving for those noodles from eNTeNG,” I feel like my being a foodie wannabe – not to mention my current fixation with a restaurant – gets the validation it hasn’t sought deliberately.

I think there’s also such a thing as the elusive x-factor when it comes to food.  Sometimes the palate is enticed by a secret ingredient that could make you go “mmm …” and ask, “What is that?”  And before you know it, you’re hooked.  Sometimes, it’s all a matter of excellent execution of a dish that you’ve always had at home, or for which you have your own recipe (which you purport to be the best).

For me, lately, this one dish has been Noodles with Sesame and Peanut Sauce, something I’ve been whipping up to considerable success at home.  It’s been haunting me incessantly these past couple of months that I’ve often found myself suddenly turning to the superhero to my right, in the middle of a hectic workday, blurting out, “Let’s have dinner at Shi Lin!”  And as of last check, we’ve had for three nights, each one spaced just a couple of days apart from the other.

When you realize the kind of commute that I have to take to make it to Shi Lin – from all the way down south of Manila to Mandaluyong, braving the rush hour, unperturbed by unpredictable tropical weather and the parking lot that is EDSA – you will come to acknowledge the passion I have for this bowl of noodles.  After all, I console myself with the thought that Spaniards centuries ago did commission expeditions that circumnavigated the world in search of spices.  My little sacrifice to make it to the third floor of The Podium where Shi Lin is on, clearly pales in comparison.

I discovered Shi Lin on my own and have since dined there by my lonesome on four occasions.  I would relish every opportunity to say “table for one, please” and every time demanding to be seated at the booth section.  I was not trying to be a difficult customer.  I just always knew I needed all that table space.  I may only be one, but I eat for two – sometimes, more.  This is a fact that cannot be denied when I go through my receipts – my lists of “constants” around which “on-the-whim” selections would be made.

My “constants” make my first round – the Noodles with Sesame and Peanut Sauce, the Mushroom & Vegetable Dumplings, and the Fresh Tofu.  The star of the noodles is the noodles itself – Chinese in provenance, but almost Italian in texture.  I say “almost” because unlike Italian pasta taken off the boil a few minutes short of package instructions, Shi Lin’s noodles don’t have a slightly uncooked center – but do have that “give” that at first would seem resistance to your bite.  I love how the noodles’ paleness becomes awash with the deep orange hue of the sesame peanut sauce, perfectly thinner than I had expected.  The lone bok choy felt more ornamental than intended for sustenance.  But the generous sprinkling of onion leeks more than made up for the greens, its sharpness the perfect counterpoint to the sweetness of the sauce.  I could go through a couple bowls of these easily, as had almost always been the case.

My first bowl

What usually becomes of my first bowl. Hehehe.

This was a second bowl. Yes, I eat for two! So sue me! Hahaha!

I’d borrow The Flash’s reaction to the mushroom & vegetable dumplings.  “Boss, ma-umami talaga yung mushrooms, noh?  And ano kaya yung greens?  Medyo may konting pait sya pero very nice with the mushrooms and the dipping sauce.”  (Boss, the mushrooms really burst with umami goodness!  What could the greens be?  They’re kind of bitter but go very nicely with the mushrooms.)  A quick check with the kitchen revealed the greens to be bok choy.

Mushroom and Vegetable Dumplings

The dumplings are chockful with real fresh shiitake mushrooms and bok choy. No extenders!

The fresh tofu was freezing cold, but its temperature was never an issue in enjoying it – I actually think it wouldn’t work as well when hot – unlike its delicateness that put my chopsticks skills to a test the first time.  But the difficulty the dish’s texture foisted on me only made the first bite worth it.  Silken tofu, swathed all around with a special dark sauce (hoisin?), served as the canvas Jackson Pollock-ed with savory bonito flakes and thinly sliced onion leeks.  Jiggly in my chopsticks on its way to my mouth, the gleaming smooth curd danced in explosions of creamy and sharp flavors.  Such a tease!

Fresh tofu... super love love L-O-V-E this!

This first round, with all its scrumptiousness, actually satiates – but not quite.  Not because the portions were lacking.  But because food at Shi Lin is just so good.  My second round usually consists another noodle dish – either the Braised Beef Noodle Soup, the Beef Noodle Soup, or another one of the sesame peanut – and a couple more dumplings – the Xiao Long Bao (finely ground pork dumplings in broth-filled dumpling wrappers) and the Pork & Shrimp Shaomai (pleasing to the eyes in its artistry, as to the belly in its soupy goodness).

Xiao Long Bao

Freshly shredded ginger is taken with the xiao long bao! Ninong super loves ginger!!!

Pork & Shrimp Shaomai

Now, that really is an edible work of art!

Dumplings galore!

Sometimes, we'd ask for the Salt & Pepper Squid.

Being in Shi Lin makes me feel like I’m in the shrine of amazing Taiwanese cuisine that I’m bound to follow my own tradition.  The first round.  The second round.  Then, a couple of drinks.  The Organic Plumberry Iced Tea and the Organic Passion Berry Iced Tea wash everything down perfectly.

It’s amazing how my fixation has made me dine here for three times in the space of seven days.  What’s more amazing is that I’ve forged, over noodles and broth-filled dumplings, new friendships that’ll last me a lifetime.

And yes, the kind that extends to the better halves.

Bonding over great food recommended by me: The Flash, Thea (my newfound friend and SunLife Advisor), and Iron Man. And oh, "the LV Speedy" in a special participation.

The Flash, my one and only Ninong, me, and Thea.

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Waxing lyrical about shrimps and tomatoes lasting for days

Sinigang na Hipon (Swahe)

IT’S TRUE for adobo (pork or chicken or both, braised in vinegar and soy sauce).  It’s true for sopas (chicken macaroni soup).  Even the Martha Stewart herself says that there are some things – her scrumptious Applesauce Snack Cake being an excellent example – that are better the day after you make them.  She admonishes, resist eating it the day you baked it.

For me, it’s also true for sinigang na hipon (shrimps in a broth soured with tamarind or cucumber tree fruit, with lots of vegetables).  As I write, I’ve been subsisting on this dish for the past three days already!  To think that I just feasted on the same last week, only thing was that it had huge black tiger prawns.

I sent for a kilo of the freshest, juiciest white shrimps the local fishmongers call “swahe”.  What came back was a batch so huge and so fresh that I felt a simple “halabos” wouldn’t do justice to.  I wanted the sweetness of the shrimps to infuse a broth soured with the goodness of some more of the Amadeo tomatoes I had purchased a couple of days prior.  It was an all-natural dish spiked only so little with a hint of Knorr® original sinigang flavor mix.  That hint turned out to be a heaping tablespoon, nothing more.

The Amadeo tomatoes made for a really deep red broth. This was so delicious and hearty!

The secret to cooking shrimps in a broth is to take the dish off of the fire the very moment the shrimps turn a bright orange after the first boil.  The secret to making them last a number of meals – still sweet, with the flesh not turning stringy at all and clinging to the shells – is to get the pot out of the refrigerator about half an hour from serving, removing the shrimps from the broth and allowing only the latter to be reheated.  The reheated still boiling broth is then poured over the shrimps for instant resurrection.  Delicious many many…  many times over.

Right after curling and turning bright orange, these shrimps were good to go!

 

A tight shot of the shrimps

 

With just five of these really sweet swahe, I was able to finish one rice cooker's batch of piping hot steamed white rice!

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Amadeo pomodoro

My angel hair pomodoro made with fresh tomatoes purchased from a "coffee place". No parmesan cheese, no cayenne pepper... but perfect just the same!

PILES OF fresh produce taking up residence in close proximity to fruit-bearing trees seem to have irresistable appeal.  The setup easily conjures images of “from the tree to the table in no time.”  Though tomatoes, regardless of their provenance, never fail to consume me.

My friends and I have been frequenting this “coffee place” near work.  It’s originally a coffee place until it morphed into a casual dining place proud of its homecooked meals.  But this post is not about lunch here just yet.  This post is about the fresh tomatoes I got from them, with which I made one of the more unforgettable incarnations of my self-proclaimed specialty – eNTeNG’s Angel Hair Pomodoro.  With parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper conspicuously absent from the recipe, the tomatoes and their literally bursting freshness shone bright in a sauce made deep red by the fruits’ natural color and not by nature-identical food dyes.

A kilo of fresh tomatoes!

 

This tomato was the first I picked out from the lot.

 

Preparing the tomatoes for this sauce was quite a departure from my usual method of blanching. This time, I "flash-steamed" the tomatoes before I peeled and seeded them. Of course, by "flash-steamed" I mean simply using the steamer, not some highly industrial process.

I noticed right outside this restaurant a couple of tomato plants, their weak stems sprawling over loose rocky, sandy soil parched under the unforgiving heat of the midday sun.  I lifted my head right after capturing their image with my trusty Canon IXUS 860IS, and that was when I noticed the pile of bright red and yellow tomatoes.  I couldn’t care less whether they were picked fresh.  Moreso if they came from the plants outside.  I just had to have them.

Tomato plant right outside the "coffee place".

At a measly twenty five pesos a kilo, I actually felt I stole them.

The tomatoes were so fresh and red (the flesh at least), they made for this delicious, really generous sauce.

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Counterstrike by way of food

Sinigang na Sugpo sa Kamias

FICKLE WEATHER is such a bitch.  After smarting under the lash of 30-plus-degree temperatures last week, we now find ourselves reaching for a warm blanket.  Now that’s like having our bodies go through temperature cycling.  Good, another bitch.

@Rambuc, who I follow on twitter, couldn’t have put it any better: “Thanks to this bi-polar weather, my nose is so red, I could definitely guide Santa’s sleigh! *sniff sniff*”

Clearly, these atmospheric conditions deserve a counterstrike – by way of food.  And I couldn’t think of anything better than the warmth of sinigang.  Sinigang na Sugpo sa Kamias!  With all due respect to sinigang mixes, sinigang soured with the goodness of fresh fruit – tamarind, guava, calamansi, or in this case, kamias (cucumber tree fruit) – soothes like no other.

Best had steaming hot, the tang never fails to tingle from the inside, radiating warmth to the outside.  Perfect for when your favorite blanket is at the cleaners, sinigang can give all the comfort you need.  Just couldn’t wait to make one tonight!

Kamias

 

A medium onion and lots of tomatoes go to my sinigang broth!

 

This tomato is so cute!

 

Fresh prawns!

 

The sinigang's ready!

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.