a Japanese cooking technique in which various foods — most often meat, and specifically chicken — are deep fried in oil. Small pieces of the food are marinated in a mix of soy sauce, garlic, and/or ginger, then lightly coated with a seasoned wheat flour or potato starch mix, and fried in a light oil — similar to the preparation of tempura.

One lazy evening and out of fresh ideas for a quick dinner, I turned to my free box of coating mix. The box had 2 packages of coating mix and as soon as I opened one, I got a good whiff of ginger. I took it as a good sign.

Preparing this dinner was a no-brainer. Other than the coating mix, I only needed cut-up chicken pieces to complete my list of ingredients, and of course, oil for frying. Dinner took under 30 minutes to prepare including the time it took me to coat the chicken pieces with the mix by giving them a good shake in a resealable quart bag. ;)

Not bad for a boxed coating mix! I sprinkled some lemon juice on the cooked chicken. For dipping sauce, my daughter requested a ketchup and mayo mixture, which she believes is a special concoction her dad came up with. Hee hee.

Do not make the mistake of expecting a Japanese restaurant quality karaage! If I may be honest, hubby prefers my karaage from scratch (spoiled husband!). When one is short on time and wants home-cooked dish without the usual home-cooked trouble, this will get decent tasting food on the dinner table.

Hurrah for life’s little shortcuts!

Cheers and mabuhay! :)

Our last trip to the beach was in August, our annual beach expedition with our friends.  We stayed at the beach for several days and each family in the excursion took turns cooking meals for everybody, usually 2 main dishes and a dessert good for 20.

For lunch one day, we made over  left-over Binagoongang Baboy (Pork with Shrimp Paste) and cooked white rice and turned them into Thai Bagoong Rice…

I had fun making this with my two gal pals, who are both home chefs in their own right. ;)  For the Bagoong Rice how-to, click HERE.

During my family’s assigned day to make lunch, I prepared two very simple dishes and an equally simple dessert…Pan-Grilled Tilapia with a side of Green Mango Salad, Chicken Curry and Strawberry and Banana Napoleones.

I didn’t want to spend so much time in the  kitchen, thus, the menu choices.  The tilapia fillets were simply seasoned with salt and pepper and brushed with organic blue agave then pan-grilled for but a few minutes.

I had a wonderful sous chef, my friend V, who sliced the mangoes and tomatoes beautifully.  All I did was mix them with shrimp paste and voila, Green Mango Salad!

This is the only photo I have of the Chicken Curry…

We served ourselves straight from the pot it was cooked in.

For dessert, I deep fried some wontons, sprinkled some sugar on them and then topped each with store bought whipped topping (Cool Whip!) and a slice of banana and strawberry.

Here, have some…

Click HERE for the Strawberry Napoleones how-to.

Like I always say, meals don’t always have to be a huge production number. ;)

Cheers y’all!

Last Friday, hubby, my little girl and I were too lazy to get dressed and head out for lunch.  Besides, hubby was working from the hotel room.  Hubby suggested that we just raid BIL’s cupboard and freezer.  We found a box of spaghetti, a jar of 3-cheese pasta sauce and a pound of frozen large shrimps.  Well, well, well, that looked like a perfect  lunch…an uncooked one!  So room service it was for hubby and the little munchkin, with me as their personal in-room chef.

I didn’t mind the cooking.  Not one bit.  It took all of 3o minutes to put everything together, maybe less even!  I love that the kitchenette, tiny as it was, was fully equipped.  It had a regular-sized fridge and stainless steel pots and pans that were of very good quality, thick and heavy.  There were Pyrex bowls and a good-sized strainer, too.  Everything I needed to cook a decent meal was there.  I would have loved an oven for quick pizzas.  Then again, I might get a crazy idea to bake so it’s actually quite a blessing that there’s no oven.

My daughter enjoyed her Shrimp and Pasta Bowl, while Hubby and I enjoyed our Shrimp and Pasta Plate…

Just like my womens vitamins, I make sure my pantry/fridge is never out of (whole wheat) pasta, all natural pasta sauce and some protein to go with the pasta.  That way, whenever I am under a lazy spell, I can always whip up a quick yet healthy and filling meal. ;)

Here’s something quick that you can prepare for dessert, a snack, or a picnic  but will nevertheless wow your targeted eaters…Petite Brownie Bites!

You need only three things:  store-bought mini brownie cups, frozen whipped topping that has been thawed and sliced fresh strawberries.  A fourth thing you will need, lest I forget, is a teeny weeny bit of creativity.

For this project, I got the brownie cups from Costco.  The whipped topping I used is a store-brand, Hill Country Fair, which I now prefer over Kraft because in my opinion, it is stiffer.

All you have to do is top the brownie cups with a dallop of whipped cream and a slice of strawberry and tadah, you have yourself some treats that not only tickle the tummy but also the eyes. ;)

I made these for dessert during a beach holiday with our friends.  The little girls were the first to make a bee line for ‘em, while most of the adults had their eyes set on the leche flan which I made in advance. :)  A few others liked the fresh cantaloupe slices, which, like I said, don’t really count.  Haha! :P

Anyone who grew up in the Philippines, I’m quite sure, will have a story to share about having taho for breakfast or as a snack and buying it straight from the friendly neighborhood taho vendor.  What is taho anyway?  Wikipedia defines it as…

“a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup), and pearl sago (similar to pearl tapioca)”.

Taho traces its origin in China, which is why we usually have it for dessert whenever we eat at a Chinese restaurant.

At the Asian supermarket several weeks ago, I found myself at the section where different kinds of tofu were displayed.  I suddenly remembered a blog post on taho by one of my blogger friends, The Chef’s Wife, which also reminded me that I haven’t had taho for some time already.  Since the taho vendor isn’t coming to our neighborhood ever anytime soon, I thought it was about time I made some taho!  So I grabbed two packs of silken tofu. ;)

This is so easy to make it will blow you away!  The three components of taho are silken/soft tofu, caramelized brown sugar and tapioca pearls (sago).  All you have to do is cook the tapioca pearls as per package instructions.  I had two kinds of tapioca pearls in my pantry – the tiny ones and a the regular sized one.  I chose to use the tiny pearls because my regular-sized tapioca pearls were of different colors.  Hee hee.    After it’s cooked, set it aside.

For the syrup, I simply caramelized about 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar in 1 1/2 cups of water over medium fire.  And then, the two packs of silken tofu, I transferred to a bowl and heated them up in the microwave for about two minutes at increments of one minute.  That’s it!  Now you’re ready to put everything together. ;)

You may serve taho in a bowl or in a glass/cup.  I did both. ;)  Remember to scoop thin amounts of the tofu!  Here’s taho in a bowl…

And here’s one in a glass…

I was going to use a regular drinking glass, believe me, but all our drinking glasses were in the dishwasher when I made taho so I grabbed a wine glass instead.  ;)  It did give the taho a nice fancy touch, I think!…very different from the plastic cups they are usually served in.  Hee hee!

I know some prefer chilled taho but this kind of quick and easy fix is better served warm.  Otherwise, the tofu will be too firm and won’t be as close to the one you enjoyed back home. :D

We each had two servings of taho.  And for sure, we’re going to have this again and again and again. ;)

This was a hit with both Hubby and my daughter, which didn’t come as a surprise.  We just happen to love rice and nori and practically whatever filling they might come with…tuna or salmon, avocado, mango, cucumber, imitation crab,  tamago, unagi, etc.

I’m happy to be able to roll my own maki.  That translates to huge savings!  A tray of skinny makis costs upwards of $5.00 at the supermarket. It’s more costly at a restaurant!  If we had lunch at a maki joint, we could have easily spent $30.00!  I’m definitely happy. :D

My daughter’s school lunch that Friday was tuna sandwich.  I was left with a good amount of tuna spread in the fridge.   That’s what I used to make the maki.  I just paired it with cream cheese, which I have lots of!  I was able to make 20 fat pieces of maki.  That amount is not enough for us maki lovers, so I made an extra 10 pcs with just cream cheese. :D

I’ve now ran out of nori wrappers.  I.have.to.buy.more!

Have a great week ahead, y’all!  Cheers!

*This is entry #46 for .*

The catfish fillets were seasoned with salt and pepper then coated with seasoned flour then fried to a golden brown.  Fillets cook very quickly so make sure to check your Movado watches for time. The rice, on the other hand, was sprinkled with crushed garlic chips.

To make the green mango salad, simply toss cubed green mango slices and sliced tomatoes in shrimp paste.  You can add chopped onions and a bit of cilantro if you want.  I’m just not such a huge fan of uncooked onions. :)

There you have it…a meal that is simple, stress-free and satisfying. ;)

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

Ok, so it’s not really Mrs. Smith who’s my best friend, but her deep dish pie shells.  Hee hee.  In the last month alone, I’ve made about 8 pies and these frozen pie shells made my pie making adventures so much easier, thank you very much. :)

I bought my pie shells from Walmart for less than $2.00 for a pack of 2.  Not bad at all, I say!  They are pretty, unlike other pie shells I’ve seen at several supermarkets.  Some of those pie shells were just hideous.  Mrs. Smith’s pie shells come in very sturdy pie pans, too…ones that you can most definitely reuse!  As indicated on the label, the pie shells are flaky.  So until I muster the strength to make my own pie shell, Mrs. Smith and I will remain the best of buddies as far as my pie making inititatives are concerned.  *wink*

“is a sweet chocolate rice porridge in Filipino cuisine. It is traditionally made by boiling sticky/sweet rice and cocoa powder giving it a distinctly brown color. However, dry champorado mixes, which may be found in some Asian food stores, are prepared by adding just boiling water. It can be served hot or cold and with milk and sugar to taste. It is served usually at breakfast and sometimes together with dried fish locally known as tuyo. The pudding becomes very thick and the lighter milk helps to “loosen” it. It’s almost like eating “chocolate oatmeal.”

Don’t you just love Wikipedia? *wink*

I would love to make champorado the old-fashioned way but for now, I’ll settle for the champorado mix.  (Oh please don’t crucify me for that!)

I can have it hot or cold, for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

Back home, we use evaporated milk with the champorado.  But here, we’ve been using whole milk instead.

Rice and chocolate.  How’s that for comfort food?!  Hee hee!

MT (the Asian supermarket) only had one kind, the skinless longganisa…

I would have preferred the little fat longganisa links from Lucban, but living thousands of miles away from the source, I can’t really afford to be choosey.

Typically, it would be LongSiLog – Longganisa, Sinangang at Itlog – but since I was too lazy to make fried rice, we settled for the next best thing  – kanin sprinkled with lots of crushed garlic chips.  Hee hee.

We liked the sweetness of the skinless longganisathat we bought.  Hubby had sliced tomatoes to go with his LongaKaLog.  I, on ther other hand, decided on vinegar dipping sauce.  Yum!

PS:  Take it easy on the preservatives, ok?  I just thought it was my responsibility to remind you.  Hee hee.  I’m not about to buy longganisa again anytime soon. ;)  Promise!