Adobong Manok Tagalog Version (Chicken Stew)

Dear Mom,

Whoopee! I finally have reason to believe that I can cook! I can hardly believe that I was able to conquer my holy grail, our pride, our national dish - the Adobong Manok. Last week, I whipped up a batch which Arns polished off with gusto. He reminded me of KFC's official slogan - "Finger lickin' good!" Watching him savoring every mouthful, punctuated by praises to the cook (that's me!), almost put tears to my eyes.

I have been trying to cook adobo before and the tasters always gave varied appraisals. Even I admit to myself that I never got it right. Arns taught me his version that is saucy and has ginger but I kept comparing it to the version that I grew up with at home, which I know to be the Tagalog version. Our version was dry and does not have ginger. I remember that the original recipe only uses garlic and vinegar. But my take includes onion, soy sauce and green chillies minus the bay leaf. Oh, there are bay leaves here but they are somehow too pungent to my liking. This goes so well with kaning lamig (cold rice).

I whipped up another batch last night and got another commendation from Kuya Jhun which sent me to the clouds. I feel ultra victorious! If I get this kind of reaction every time, I'll be wearing an apron 24/7!

Love,
Roni

Ingredients:
500g chicken, cut into pieces
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium red onion, quartered
2 pcs green chillies, sliced
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup water
a dash of freshly cracked peppercorns
salt and sugar (optional, only if you want it sweet) to taste
1 tbsp oil (optional)

Procedure:
Put the garlic, onion and chillies on the bottom of the pot. Arrange the chicken pieces on top so that they cover the entire bottom of the pot. Add pepper, vinegar, soy sauce and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer while turning the chicken pieces so that both sides soak up the broth. When half the broth has disappeared, add salt and sugar to taste.
When almost dry, add oil and saute the chicken pieces until all is coated with it. This is optional especially if the chicken's own fat is enough to make the dish oily.
Serve warm with cold rice.

Romancing the Scallion (aka Spring Onion)

Dear Mom,

Before, I was only acquainted with the normal, round, red bulb that is known plainly as 'onion' in the kitchen. I used to abhor the task of slicing it for it's one tear-jerker of a task (it always gave me the sniffles). I read somewhere that you can slice the onion under running water from the tap but I found that simply cutting the onion while it's wet with a wet knife is enough. Onions add a nice spicy flavor but never mind the smell.

Learning to cook with Arns introduced me to scallions, he uses them a lot. Scallions not only give a spicy flavor to a dish, salad or soup, they also impart a lovely smell. It's a pleasant garnish for a lot of dishes, from noodles to soups. You'll be seeing a lot of these aromatic stalks in my recipes. Now, I keep scallions along with garlic, onion, ginger, chilli, lemon, eggs and tomatoes as kitchen staples.

Love,
Roni

Paksiw na Galunggong (Blue Mackerel Scad Stew)

Dear Mom,

This dish reminds me so much of home. It's perfect for lunch with hot steamed rice on a rainy day, bananas for dessert are in order. Good thing I let Arns convince me to add scallions, the smell was so lovely!

Love,
Roni

P.S.
I asked everyone in the house what 'galunggong' is called in English, nobody was able to give me an answer. I said it's probably mackerel and googled the fish... I was partially correct. ☺

Ingredients:
250g fresh blue mackerel scad, gutted and cleaned
4 cloves of garlic, crushed (optional)
1 medium red onion, quartered
1/4 cup ginger, sliced
scallion, about 3-4 stalks, cut in half crosswise
3-4 pcs large green chilli (optional)
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp oil (optional)

Note: This dish tastes better when cooked using a clay pot.

Procedure:
Put garlic, onion, chilli and ginger in a pot. Place the blue mackerel scad on top, aligned neatly side by side in layers so as to cover the entire bottom of the pot. Add salt and pepper. Pour in the vinegar and water. Place the scallions on top. Cover the pot and cook on medium heat.
When fish is cooked and broth reduced, add oil and simmer further until almost dry. I usually serve this with Maggi Savor or Knorr Liquid Seasoning.

Crispy Prawn Tempura

Dear Mom,

When asked what I would like to have for lunch, the image of crispy hot tempura sprung to mind. I already made this before after researching several recipes from the internet which I modified according to our Filipino tastes. But this batch I made today also surprised me, they're better than the first one. I could not even count how many times Arns uttered "Ang sarap ah!" in between mouthfuls. He asked me whether I made any changes to the original recipe, I told him 'no' and that maybe I just got it right this time. Here's a photo of the first batch:

And here's today's batch:

I thought of adding sliced cucumbers as garnish but the cucumbers were all consumed several days before. I'm too lazy to go out and buy some, plus my teeth can't wait to sink into those golden, crispy, succulent nuggets! Bon appetit!

Love,
Roni


Ingredients:
500g fresh prawns, shelled and heads removed but tails left intact
sugar, pepper, salt (measure according to your taste)
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp oil
oil for deep frying, about 1 quart
breadcrumbs (I used Hearty Seasoned Breadcrumbs with parmesan)

Procedure:
Marinate prawns in sugar, pepper and salt for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Heat oil for deep frying.
In a bowl, add baking powder to flour then sift. Make a well in the center, put 1 tbsp oil first and then water. Mix to a smooth batter. Season with salt.
Dip marinated prawn in batter, roll it on breadcrumbs then deep fry.
Serve with sweet chilli sauce for dipping.

Adobong Pusit (Fricasseed Squid)

Dear Mom,

Arns bought fresh squid from the fish market at my request. It's been a while since we last had adobong pusit. Arns is very particular when it comes to cleaning this cephalopod. Before, I thought you only have to remove the skeleton and the beak but Arns painstakingly removes the sac that contains the ink, the transparent skeleton, beak and the slimy membrane that covers the squid's mantle. He wouldn't eat it any other way. I do not remember seeing scallions in our adobong pusit and we only used plain soy sauce, but Arns' version with scallions and oyster sauce is easier and more flavorful.

Love,
Roni

Ingredients:
500g fresh squid
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large yellow or red onion, sliced
1/3 cup scallion, chopped, halved
1/4 cup ginger, sliced
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 tbsp oil
salt & pepper to taste
2 -3 pcs green chilli, sliced (optional)

Procedure:
Clean and slice squid crosswise into 1 inch pieces. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Saute garlic, onion, chilli, then ginger. When ginger becomes fragrant, add squid. Saute until the meat becomes opaque (be careful not to overcook). Add half the scallions. Stir in oyster sauce. You can adjust the amount depending on how saucy you want it. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for a few more minutes. When done, remove from heat and top with remaining scallions.

In the bud

Dear Mom,

Thanks for the Maggi Magic Sarap you sent me. Did you ever imagine that someday your unica hija will finally learn to cook? Well, she did! The result of being away from home for 6 years.

Growing up, no one ever really pushed me to work in the kitchen. In our house, men rule the kitchen, women are just good for washing dishes... and scrubbing pots. Dad and Kuya Vener are adventurous and innovators, Kuya Volts is ingenious and Kuya Vince is... well, let's just say he's a better cook than me. I was ashamed to tell anyone that I only learned to cook rice at the age of 12 (we didn't have a rice cooker then), and fried my first egg a little later after that.

I wish I had written to you all about my journey into the culinary world from the start - all cuts, burns and clothes stains included, so I can feel more proud of my achievement.

Hey, I got 2 new recipes to try - one for Gnocchi and the other is Pad Thai which I can't get enough of at the moment. It's a very tasty noodle dish with chicken and prawns. Arns is already making a list of the dishes he wants me to cook on our next vacation. Till then!

Love,
Roni