HAM AND POTATO CHOWDER

Lately I have been addicted to soup, I dont usually like soup that much because I came from a tropical country...(honestly? I dont even know what lentils are for!:-)but now that I live in this cold weather, (especially winter) I managed to learn (and still experimenting some) how to cook different types of soup.

When I was in Muscat (Oman) my friend took me to this coffee shop it was somewhere in Qurum I think, it's just a simple coffee shop with limited food on the menu list, but my friend said, their clam chowder is to die for...

So I went to order this soup and when they served it, the presentation was amazing. See the picture above (it was similar to that.)

I tried and copied their soup, but ofcourse there's no way they'll give me the recipe...I googled for the recipe but my kids are not so keen of clams so I thought I will revise it...

this is almost close to the taste of clam chowder:

HAM and POTATO CHOWDER soup.
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2tbsp Butter or margarine
1/4 c Onion -- chopped finely
1/4 c Green pepper -- chopped
4 md Potatoes -- washed, peeled &
- cubed (3 cups)
1/4 tsp Paprika
3 tbsp corn flour (dissolved in 1/2 cup water)
2 cup Milk
1 can (12 oz) Whole-kernel corn
- undrained
1 1/2 c Ham -- cooked & diced
2 1/2 c -Water

chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

HOW TO COOK:

Melt butter in 3-1/2-quart saucepan. Saute onion and
green pepper until tender. Add potatoes, 2 cups
water, salt, paprika and pepper. Cover and simmer
about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Combine cornflour and 1/2 cup water in small bowl; blend
well. Stir into potato mixture. Add milk. Simmer
until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Add
corn and ham; heat through. Sprinkle each serving
with parsley.

Chicken Adobo

If you go to the Philippines every household probably know how to cook this recipe..Again there are different versions already- I experiment using different sauce like 7-up, pineapple juice, coconut milk etc..but for everyday cooking try this simpler version:

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs and legs
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 large potatoes cut into chunks (see photo above)
Preparation
1. Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, then turn over and cook an additional 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
2. Pour off all but 1 tbsp. of pan drippings and return pan to low heat. Add garlic and sauté until soft, about 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate. Return chicken to pan and add potatoes -cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
3. Uncover, increase heat to medium-low and cook 15 to 20 minutes more, occasionally spooning sauce over chicken, until sauce thickens a bit and chicken is tender and nicely glazed with sauce. add a tspoon of sugar (it taste great) Remove bay leaf before eating.

Serve with rice..

Bistek (Beef Steak Filipino style)

In the Philippines where I come from (Central Luzon) we have this version of BISTEK (Beef steak) but we call it "BISTIG"

This is my family recipe...with my revise version: Lols :-)

Ingredients
1/2 kilo of beef (round, sirloin or tenderloin), sliced

2 medium size of lemon juice

1/4 c. of dark soy sauce

1tbsp of lea n perrins sauce

freshly-ground pepper

1 tsp. of minced garlic

2 large onions, cut into rings2 tbsp.

a dash of paprika (optional)

spring onions for garnishing

Procedure:

In a glass mixing bowl, mix the lemon juice, lea and perrins and soy sauce. Add beef, garlic and ground pepper. Mix well. Let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Heat a heavy skillet. Add oil. Lightly fry the onion rings. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Keep warm.
Reheat oil until smoking. Pan-fry the beef slices in batches, removing them as they brown. When all the beef has been cooked, pour the marinade sauce into the skillet and boil for 1 minute. (add the paprika)

Arrange beef slices on a plate. Place the onion rings on top. Pour the sauce over the onions and beef.

garnish it with spring onions if you like...(sarrappp!)

Beef Caldereta

This is probably one of the most popular dishes from the Philippines- it was a mixture of a "spanish cuisine" too. this is how I cook mine...

You need:

1 kilo beef, cut into chunks
1 small can (350g) liver spread
2 big onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tomato sauce
4tbsp tomato puree
1 large green peppers, diced
1large peppers, diced
2 large potatoes-cut into chunks then fry (set aside)
2 large carrots-cut diagonally
4 pieces hot chilli peppers, (if you want it spicy chopped the chilis)
3/4 cup grated cheese
2 cups beef stock or water
1/4 cup cooking or olive oil
1 can of 7up (or about 500ml 7up)

Procedure:
In a casserole, boil the beef with 7up (I use pressure cooker) once the meat is tender set aside and the broth with 7up

Use the same casserole: add the oil, sauté: garlic and onions . add the beef and fry a bit..until brown, then add the tomato puree and the tomato sauce. Once all the beef is coated with the sauce add the 7-up broth...(close the lid and simmer)
When it's boiling- add the liver spread...mix well, then add the potatoes...add the beef stock if the sauce is dry then add the rest of the veggies, close the lid- let it simmer-then add the cheese-I also add about half cup of frozen green peas- if you want your pepper (capcicum) half cook, add them 5 minutes before you switch off the cooker.

Chicken and Vegetable Fried rice...

As we all know-there are different types of fried rice, simple ones like egg fried rice, ham, pork, beef etc...When we were in Bahrain, we stayed at the Gulf Hotel and we tried their Thai Restaurant...I ordered this chicken friedrice and it was gorgeous, you can eat it on its own...

Anyways- here is my recipe for chicken and veg. fried rice...

YOU NEED:

1/2 cup sweet corn (frozen)

1/2 cup green peas (I use the frozen one)

1 medium size carrot- chopped into small cubes

1 celery stalk- chopped

1/4 cup chopped red pepper (Optional)

1/2 cup spring onions (garnish)

1 lb chicken breast (chopped and marinde it with 2 tbsp of soysauce-2tbsp of vinegar-salt and pepper to taste)

vegetable oil

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

2 cloves garlic

3 cups of chilled rice (preferably basmati)

soy sauce

PROCEDURE:

In a pan, fry the eggs then set aside (chop it) then in the same pan add the garlic (add a bit of oil if needed) sautee until brown, add the chicken...fry until golden brown...then add the rice...continue mixing it--add soy sauce (about 2 tbsp) then add all the vegetables...stirfry until the rice is slightly brown...add the egg and garnish it with spring onions..

Sweet and Sour Pork (Chicken)

Since the Chinese New Year is fast approaching, I thought I will share some of my favourite chinese dishes. This is my own version of sweet and sour pork, you can also use chicken or fish (whatever meat you prefer) I apologise because I dont measure when I cook, so this is just my estimation...

Ingredients:

4 pork steak/ chicken breasts (sliced into 1 ½ cm slices)
corn flour for coating
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp ginger, grated
2 carrots, halved lengthways and sliced thinly at an angle
½ onion, halved and sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced (optional)
2 tbsp-vegetable oil
4 spring onions, sliced (for toppings)
salt and pepper to taste

1 can delmonte pineapple chunks

For the marinade
2 tbsp soy sauce
the juice of the pineapple (from the chunks)
3 tbsp of grated ginger
Sauce
1/2 cup Tomato Ketchup

3tbsp-sweet and sour chili sauce
200ml water
What you do:
Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the meat. Mix well. Leave to stand for 15 mins. Roll the chicken in corn flour until coated.

Heat some oil in a pan until almost smoking hot and deep fry the chicken/pork for a couple of minutes until browned. Place onto a tray and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic and grated ginger and fry for 30 seconds. Add the carrots, onion, peppers, Stir fry quickly for 1 min. Add the sauce mix and bring to the boil. Add the fried chicken, pineapple and a pinch of Chinese five spice; mix well and season.

Serve with rice or noodles and garnish with chopped spring onions

"Bon- Appetit"

Hi there, F stands for FOOD- so this is all about food and cooking, I really love food and love to try different recipes from all over the world...I wont say, I am a fantastic cook, but in a diplomatic way, I would say "I can cook" so please feel free to share your recipes, I love to try them too. I will also be sharing some of my recipes here and would really love to hear and learn from your authentic expertise , so feel free to drop by and check for my latest updates.

So enjoy and "bon appetit"...