"Namnama" Ilocos in Binan Laguna

Empanadang Ilocos, superb longanisa, bagnet and some other munchies.... Who would ever imagine that we could enjoy it even here at San Antonio Binan Laguna XD. So come to namnama and have a piece of their superb empanadas, bagnet, and longganisa! X)

Neck-neck balls XD!

Street Foods 101
Location: Pacita, San Pedro Binan Laguna
Food: Breaded chicken neck "aka neck-neck balls" 3 php per piece
Good for: inumang kanto and for those about to rock!

Hello... Its another blog from your's truly... I just have to share this its the famous neck neck balls of pacita complex... I just came across this when i saw a group of guys queing to line up on a pedicab vendor to get these munch... i Ignored it at first.. but had a dose of it when they had these as a snack in pacita complex... surprisingly i got addicted to these and offered these as beer match food.. it was a blast  even though its only breading XD! 

A youtube Cordon bleu!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2SY4nXJRFs&feature=feedrec

Guest recipe: Crispy Kankong

Guest recipe: Crispy Kankong 

Contributor- A.Ruiz

Ingredients:

• 4 bunches kangkong leaves, cleaned

• 3 cups corn starch

• 5 cups cooking oil

• salt and monosodium glutamate ( MSG) to taste (vetsin)

• 1-1/2 cup water

• 1 cup flour

• 1 pc boiled egg, grated medium 

For Mayonnaise Dip:

1 cup mayonnaise

3-4 drops Maggi Savor liquid seasoning

Dash of pepper

Directions:

1. Clean kangkong and draw off leaves thoroughly.

2. Remove leaves from stem. Set aside.

3. Combine cornstarch, flour, egg, MSG, salt and water ( batter mixture ) in a clean mixing bowl.

Mix until smooth in consistency.

4. Heat oil to 250°F and reduce fire to medium. Dip kangkong leaves one by one in batter and deep fry until crispy.

5. Put fried leaves in a plate lined with table tissue to drain oil from kangkong leaves.

Serve with mayonnaise dip on the side.

Alden Notes.... Seems this could be also used for eggplant and spinach.

Shop wise at Shopwise.... or any other shop

Binan Market freshness

     Market duty can start at any part of the day, I used to wonder why does the older peeps tend to wake up early and i mean really early to go to market places, groceries and wet markets. Based on my experience as a Dad fond of going to the wet market and groceries i have came to some important points when it comes to shifting to the palengke mode on status.

1. freshness of food
2. most of the choice stuff are released in the morning
3. the exotics and the rare stashes (e.g. shark meat/skatefish meat) are available
4. morning marketing gives good vibes to the vendors especially if you are one of their first few customers... they believe that you are good luck.... haggling is on easy mode.
5. markets are not that jampacked when you are an early bird.
6. there is a feeling of a good market atmosphere everythings cool but still be careful of pickpockets.

For people in San Antonio Binan Laguna our local wet market tips are  the ff:

1. Veggie trucks come it at night time- 10 o' clock trip to the market will give you a good stash of green leafy veggies.... fruits are also delivered at this time... it will be nice to be there by exactly 10.
2. Buy pork, beef, and chicken at 5:30 am exotics are also seen at this time like octopus, shark, skatefish, and good snails for escargot. Papaitan package as well as dinuguan and bopis  package are available and is still warm.
3. Whatever you do don't initiate eye contact with beggars.... sometimes there are incidences of budol budol daw.

this is a pic of the local market near the fruit zone (taken from the net)

Shopwise freshness

8 am is the opening time for shopwise it is an advantage just look at the pics below:

actual pics!!!

Oh yeah!

neat!!

absolutely nice!!

Ninja Turtle drink recipe

recommended glass is highball glass... contains 8-12 oz 

Ingredients

Place desired level of ice on highball half glass would do

 add

1 1/2 oz gin

1/2 oz blue curacao

 fill with orange juice and serve

COWABUNGA!

 its supposed to look like this.. sample pic is not placed in a highball though!

hmmmmm kulay turtle sya  noh!

Tried to serve this twice already its good if you also have some Zamboanga hummer prepared..... this does not give a strong punch but it is really a point of discussion.... why because its color is unique... cute yung pagka green... if you serve this on an afternoon the rays of the sun would make this drink look like water with moss XD.... i presume that oscar the grouch would really like to have this.. cheers!

PS... Do not recommend this drink to those who have hyperacidity.... make sure to have a full meal before drinking.

A dose of Kung-fu!

Was grocery shopping the other day when i stumbled upon these weird tonic like drink stuff called siok tong...  nobody was even looking at the stuff.. well then i was curious so i took a nifty snapshot of the 2 bottle of siok tong i found at puregold XD.

Well my curiosity did not stop there i took some research... sabi ng iba pampamacho.... sabi ng iba pamparegla... sabi naman ng iba pampajerbs, pampapogi, pampabango?, pampalambing, pang gayuma, pampastroke etc. because the data i have gathered was all just hearsay from local old school hippie tambays and several senior citizens... I made an ultimate decision to end the inquiries i have about siok tong that is to GOOGLE it!

WikiPilipinas

Sioktong was the brand name of the medicinal wine that was the flagship product for many generations of Destileria Limtuaco, a distillery that was founded by a Chinese immgrant named Lim Tua Co. Within two years after his arrival in 1850 Lim Tua Co concocted a secret recipe that he carried with him from AMoy. It was a concoction of bittersweet herbs that was in the family for five generations. It was first named Vino de Chino, then later Sioktong. It was distilled in 135 Gandara Street, Binondo for many years. It became a bestseller for its legendary qualities of imparting stamina in the same way that energy drinks are consumed now.

Sioktong has many popular qualities among the rural folk that consume it in prodigious amounts. A Pinoy komiks character by Rico Bello Omagap for example was named Susanang Siyoktong who was a toughie girl transformed into a beautiful girl by the alcoholic elixir she ingests.

... there ya go case closed XD I even get to know Susanang Siyoktong!

zamboanga hummer

this one is for the drinkin' does not pack so much of a punch but it could get naughty after a few collins filled widda stuff....

first off prepare the collins:

this is not the actual pic of the concoction but i just wanna suggest that it should be prepared like this just to make it fancy for a party.... a beer tower will do as a container of the bulk prep.

the ingredients...

1/2 oz rhum (gold)

1/2 oz gin

1/2 oz brandy

1/2 oz curacao (not the blue one) or triple sec

2 oz orange juice

2 oz pineapple juice

1/2 oz lemon juice

1 tsp. brown sugar

1. fill glass with 3 oz ice

2. add all ingredients

3. shake well

4. strain into collins glass filled with ice

enjoy.

Oddly shaped food...... XD nyahahahah!

My friends.... this is a dish it is really oddly shaped but most of us especially those who are fond of street foods have already eaten this.... yep this one is really rampant and is often disguised under heavy breading deep fried in skewers...... it is 

Proven (sometimes also "Chicken proven", or spelled "Proben") is a type of street food popular in some regions of the Philippines. It consists essentially of the proventriculus of a chicken, dipped incornstarch, and deep-fried. It is served either in a small bagful of vinegar, or skewered on bamboo sticks to be dipped in the vinegar just before it is eaten.

Proven is particularly favored among towns in Laguna, and by students of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, where enjoying a taste of the snack in the afternoon has become a popular part of campus culture, similar to the iconic status given to Isaw at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

"starch or breading seems to be the chin chun su of most street foods"- Alden

Chic-Boy Peculiarity @ San Pedro Laguna

Garlic Goodness!!!

only @ Chicboy

One peculiar thing that i've seen exclusively at San Pedro Laguna Shopwise

Tinatakal na ito XD har har har 

anyway good munches could be eaten here at a fair price

chow time folks!!!!

Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta

We all know that when dining out we could savor meals that we cannot indulge at home...but in these modern times "kaching" is something that should be preserved.. thats why I developed the talent of eating out for the purpose of food espionage operations XD.

I will share a version of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta that i have seen on the net.. of course i have made changes and mods so i have footnotes at the end of the recipe.

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 bottle java sauce (I prefer Aristocrat's)
• Lots of garlic, minced
• 4-5 pcs. red pepper (the small hot ones)
• butter
• 3-4 pcs. Shiitake mushroom (soak in water for 20 mins, de-stem, and cut into thin strips)
• 2-3 pcs. chicken strips (breast or thigh)
• oyster sauce
• salt
• 1/2 cup roasted nuts
• 1 pack spaghetti noodles

The Procedure

Cut the chicken breast or thigh into strips, and marinate in oyster sauce for 10-15 minutes.

Over low heat, in a non-stick pan, melt butter.

add the minced garlic until it turns brown (still over low heat so as not to burn them)

Add the chicken strips and mushroom strips.

Add the roasted nuts.

Pour 1 bottle java sauce.

Taste the sauce, if it already tastes good for you, then add in the noodles. If not,

Add little amount of oyster sauce and salt.

Serve hot.

Note: Add little amount of oil while boiling your spaghetti noodles. So the dish will not be dry.

ALDEN NOTES....... in my variation i use barbecue sauce (preferably mama sita)  with a little distilled water and worcestershire sauce... i also add onion leeks to let the oriental flavor stand out. it would also be a blast if sesame oil is added for the flavor.

Kikufuji Japanese Restaurant Makati... Yup this is the real deal!

     This is a non-recipe blog post but it is really informative, my brother know that anything japaneesy would be my ultimate weakness so he informed me of a real nice place in Makati named Kikufuji.. where sushi servings are monstrous and there seems to be a never ending selection of sashimi types to choose from.

     http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/17/unforgettable-sushi-at-kikufuji/

     As for my rating for this place I give it a 4 thumbs up... including foot thumbs XD

Daddy A's Epic kickass BBQ sauce/marinade


Emeril's Essence 1 1/2 tbsp
3/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp muscovado sugar
approximately 1 pinch of chili flakes
1/2 lemon optional


>>> simply combine all ingredients on a container.... this is really kickass!! 

Basic pizza dough

makes 3  12-inch (30 cm) pizzas 

* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, 

        or 1 oz (25 g) brewer’s yeast

* 1 1/2 cups (350 cc) warm water

* 3 1/2 cups (500 g) flour

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

* pinch of salt

The temperature in the kitchen should be around  68–75  F (20–24 C) for the dough to rise properly.

1. activate yeast in 1 1/2 cup of H20

2. set aside for about 5-10 minutes be sure it is frothy

3. prepare 3 1/2 cups of flour combine the activated yeast.... pinch of salt and olive oil....

4. optional.... you can add beer and herbs at this point

5. knead the dough 10 mins is fine the more kneading the better the texture... you can whistle while kneading the dough.... : )

6. form a ball with the dough let it stand for about 1.5 to two hours.

OKONOMIYAKI

History

Okonomiyaki was invented in Japan prior to World War II and evolved and became popular during and after the war.  The earliest origins of a basic crepe-like pancake date back to the Edo period (1683-1868) period where these were a special desert served at Buddhist ceremonies called Funoyaki.  This then evolved during the Meiji period (1868-1912) into a sweeter dish called Sukesoyaki.  During the 20's and 30's the dish continued to evolve with more emphasis put on the sauces added and the name Yoshokuyaki began to be used.  The name Okonomiyaki started in the late 30's in Osaka.  In Hiroshima at this time a similar crepe-like food was popular - it was topped with onions, folded over, and served to children as a snack item.  Okonomiyaki, in it's different variations, started to become more popular during the war when rice became scarce and residents had to be creative in using other more readily available ingredients.  The simple wheat pancake fit the bill and during and after the war, people started to add more ingredients such as eggs, pork, and cabbage.  A restaurant from Osaka claims to have been the first to add Mayonnaise in 1946.

Read more: http://okonomiyakiworld.com/Okonomiyaki-History.html#ixzz1UOnjGyhM

Daddy Alden's Mini Okonomiyaki!

1 egg large

1/2 cup steamed mung bean sprouts

1cup flour 

3/4 cup dashi stock

1 large sugpo

okonomi sauce

chicken meat steamed approximately 1/4 cup

1. place egg , dashi stock,steamed mung bean sprouts and flour on mixing bowl, mix till batter is fine with no lumps... set aside

2. mince the prawn as well as chicken meat and stir fry with approx 3 tbsp of vegetable oil... if cooked na combine the batter... use ninja skills if neccesary it will take some practice... check for consistency and adjust heat if necessary..

3. top with okonomi sauce and mayo...... enjoy XD.

The basics... Emeril's essence

Emeril's Essence

     Yup its from Mr. Emeril Lagasse "Baaaaam!!" if possible make as many batches as you can. I consider this as the ultimate rub for about almost everything i place on the grill... Flame on!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. If possible store in a dry place... Do not refrigerate.