Aussie Rib Eye "Tapa" Steak

"Rare, medium rare, medium well, well done.... Ay! Tapa pala!"

That was a quote, somewhat, from an article written by Reggie Aspiras about the different degrees of steak doneness.

My favorite "doneness of steak is..... TAPA!

Hahahahaha I am such a Jejemon sometimes when it comes to my taste in food.

Simple and pedestrian. Pang Masa..... And I am not ashamed to admit it!

I bought a piece of Aussie Rib Eye steak in Rustan's, Rockwell.

I did not get a thick cut because that would be hard to cook. I chose a piece of steak with lots of marbling.

Woooo Hoooo! That means F-A-T!!!

Simple marinade of cooking oil (I don't like the taste of Olive oil unless I use it for salad dressing.) salt and pepper for 5 minutes.

I used my heavy bottomed frying pan and added cooking oil and French Butter.

I seared one side until it resembled Beef Tapa!!!!

Then flipped it over and cooked it till nuclear dark brown.

I let it rest for 5 minutes covered with foil.

Meanwhile, I deglazed the pan with about 2 T. Water and let the sauce reduce. I added 1 T. Butter to thicken the it. I did not use any starch.

It rarely happens but I burned the potatoes I was boiling!!!!

I was distracted by a telephone call. I was able to salvage a few pieces for my mashed potatoes.

Dinner became low carb affair.

I was able to find a chart describing the degrees of steak doneness online.

My steak according to the chart is considered medium well.

Well.... That was the thickest part of the steak.

The rest was just the way I like it!

TAPA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lia's Food List 2014

I always get requests from friends and neighbors to come up with a list of food that they can order.

So..... here it is!

Lia's Food List 2014

Chicken and Seafood Paella - 1,250 (6 pax)

Kare-Kare with Bagoong - 1,250 (8-12 pax)

Chicken Relleno with Gravy - 1,250 (8-12 pax)

Shrimp Pad Thai - 1,250 (8-12 pax)

Shrimps with Orange Garlic Sauce - 1,250 (8-12 pax)

Shrimps in Red Egg Yolk Sauce - 1,250 (8-12 pax)

Baked Shrimps with Cheese and Garlic - 1,250 (8-12 pax)

Children's Sweet Style Spaghetti - 1,250 (8-12 pax)

Ham and Mushroom Linguini - 1,250 (8-12 pax)

Mango Catfish Salad - 1,000 (8-12 pax)

Bagoong Fried Rice - 1,000 (8-12 pax)

Lechon Wrap - 60.00 each (24 pcs./order)

Cinnamon Rolls 850.00 (box of 12)

Chocolate Chip Cookies (big) 500.00 (10 pcs.)

Please email your order at least 3 days in advance. (liasfoodjourney@yahoo.com)

 

 

 

 

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My Afternoon Wanderings

I usually do my errands in the afternoons.

Mornings are too hectic for me! Hahahaha. I am a very late riser and by the time I eat my breakfast, it is lunch time already.

My whole afternoon the other day was spent in the Kapitolyo area. Tita Ope has been raving about the Siomai with quail eggs! She said she could finish 6 in one sitting.

I looked for Tita Lenn's Yummies.

It is at the corner of San Rafael and San Francisco streets.

She is also famous for the siopitas you see in wakes.

Of course, I ordered the quail egg Siomai!

It was freshly steamed, so easy to remove the wrapper.

I loved their chili sauce! I should have asked if I can order it.

The next destination was 3 Sisters.

Their bbq is one of the Top 10 Bbq in Manila. I just ordered 1 piece.

I looked for my favorite bbq store on West Capitol Drive, Lola Mom's.

Their bbq was much smaller, so I ate 2.

The other day, my errands were in Glorietta.

It was my lucky day! No line at Tim Ho Wan, Glorietta!

I immediately called my Ate who was in Landmark Supermarket at the time.

She ordered the Pork Buns.

We shared an order of Pan-fried Carrot Cake

And... Pork dumplings, sans wrapper.

Their chili dipping sauce was also unforgettable!

After my errands in Glorietta, I went to Rockwell.

Guess who invited me for merienda???? My 2nd merienda!

Kuya!

We just had Dimsum at Mongkok. That's his favorite resto. Who am I to disagree?

Hakaw

Siomai

Sharksfin Siomai

Seafood Roll!

If I didn't have a post with the title, Afternoon Delight, I would have used it for this one!

 

 

 

 

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Sisig

I have a Sisig obsession.

I have been eating Sisig almost everyday for the past 2 weeks!

If not at Sisig Hooray, I would eat at Grilla, just outside Bel-Air's gate.

My Sisig dates last week were Shey and Cat.

Shey said we cannot order just one! So we got 2!

The next day, I went back and had my own!

Best eaten with Hot Sauce and Knorr Seasoning!

FGM Cindy shared her recipe with me which she got from Ernest Reynoso Gala's Sizzling course.

I bought the ingredients for the recipe but it was a lot so I just used half.

Sizzling Sisig

1/2 K. Pig's Cheek

1/4 K. Pig's ears

1/4 C. Vinegar

2 T. Sugar

1 red onion, quartered

1/2 T. Rock salt

1/2 T. Black peppercorn

1/2 bay leaf

1 C. Water

Put everything in a pressure cooker and cook for 40 minutes.

Drain and then grill the cheek and ear over hot coals.

Grill also 125 g. Pork liver

Chop all the meat and set aside.

In a hot frying pan melt 1/4 C. Butter.

Add 1/2 C. Chopped onions. Cook until soft. Add the chopped meat.

Cook until crunchy.

Transfer onto a sizzling plate.

Sprinkle more chopped onions and chopped chili peppers.

Drizzle with the sauce.

Sauce

1/4 C. Calamansi juice

1/2 T. Knorr seasoning

1/2 T. Brown sugar

1/2 t. Black pepper

The degree of difficulty of cooking Sisig is very high. I wanted to do it all by myself.

But if you have someone who will grill the pork and chop it, then I would say, the degree of difficulty would go all the way down.

 

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Visayan Humba

Shey introduced me to Visayan Humba.

I used to eat Humba when I was younger but the version of our cook was different from the Visayan one. It had Singkamas and dried shrimps, hibe.

I attempted several times to recreate the Humba that Shey would send to my house. Her Humba came all the way from Dumaguete! I googled for the recipe and found the simplest one. I cannot recall the website anymore. Sorry, website owner!

I used it as a starter or base for my recipe.

Visayan Humba

1/2 K. Pork Liempo, cut into cubes

2 T. Soy sauce, Coconut Brand

1/4 t. Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 t. MSG (optional)

2 cloves garlic,chopped

2 T. Cooking oil

1/4 C. Dark brown sugar

1/4 C. Cane vinegar

1 C. Hot Water

1/4 C. Fermented black beans, drained

20 g. Dried chinese mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water for 30 minutes

1/4 t. Whole black peppercorn

1 pc. Bay leaf

Marinate the pork in soysauce, pepper and MSG for 1 hour.

Heat the oil and saute the garlic until fragrant.

Add the pork and the marinade. Saute over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the brown sugar and let it caramelize a bit then add the vinegar. Let it boil for a few minutes without stirring.

Add the water, peppercorn, bay leaf, black beans and mushrooms. When it boils, lower heat and cover.

Cook for 30 minutes.

Remove cover and cook until the sauce is almost dry, about 30 minutes more.

Remember to turn the meat over several times.

Serve with hot rice!

I ate my Humba with Ginataang Langka.

Shey said it passed her standards! I also let Tricia and Michelle try it.

Shey prefers it a bit saltier because my version was on the sweet side.

Hahaha! Of course, if the food comes from Lia's Kitchen, it is probably sweet.

That's the wonderful thing of having a base recipe. One can just adjust the taste according to his or her own preference.

 

 

 

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Date with my ASB Girls

I had a date last night with my former officemates at ASB Land.

Yes, once upon a time, I was a regular normal person with a 9-5 job.

My Kuya asked, Office?!?!? Did you ever work in a office?

Hahaha.

Tita Coret also asked Mona one time where was I. Mona said, I was with my former boss.

Really?!?! If Tita Coret spoke the lingo of the young ones today, I bet she would have said, "Seriously?!?!?!"

To clear up the matter, I used to work as an Executive Assistant to the Vice President.

For 5 months!

I met Be, Matess and Maya 21 years ago and ever since then we have always kept touch with each other.

We had dinner at Wooden Spoon, Rockwell last night.

Sinigang Salmon Belly

Shrimp Nuggets

Beef Caldereta

Kangkong with Lechon Bits

Fiesta Fried Rice

Our tea and dessert was at Sugarhouse

Caramel Popcorn

And a couple of slices of cakes.

We already planned our Christmas get together. We have a menu but no date yet. I still need to ask our boss when is a good time for her in December.

I just realized something.

It is not the length of time you have been with people to form bonds of friendship but what is more important is the quality of time spent with them.

I feel so blessed that I have them in my life.

 

 

 

 

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Ginataang Langka

I have a new and very easy Ginataang Langka recipe.

Ginataang Langka

1/2 K. Langka

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, sliced

3 C. Coconut milk, 2nd extraction

2 T. Fresh alamang

1 t. Knorr Chicken Powder

1 C. Coconut cream, 1st extraction

100 g. Shrimps

2 pcs. Green chili peppers

Boil coconut milk with garlic and onions.

Add the Langka. Lower heat, cover and cook for 25 minutes.

Remove the cover.

Season with Knorr powder.

When most of the liquid has evaporated, add the shrimps, chili peppers and coconut cream. Let it boil until the shrimps are cooked.

Mona likes to eat it with kalamansi.

I ate the Ginataang Langka with Pork BBQ.

I haven't cooked this recipe in years! 2012 was probably the last time. This is my commercial bbq. I can't share this particular recipe because it is very special and personal. Once in a while, I do take orders. I am embarrassed because it cost a bit more than the regular bbq. I tried using meat from other suppliers but I only like the pork from Rustan's. I have to do the costing so I can add it to my Lia's Food List.

I can share though the new technique I just learned while grilling today.

If you want your bbq to be moist, skewer some pork fat that you marinated together with the meat and put it on top of the pork bbq crosswise while grilling.

PD will love the pork fat on a stick! I sent her 3 sticks of fat!

Ohhhh I also have a new recipe for Nilagang Baka! My recipes nowadays are getting easier and simpler!

Nilagang Baka

1/2 K. Beef bones

1/2 K. Beef

4-6 C. Water

2 whole onions

1 inch knob of ginger, pounded

1 tsp. black peppercorn

3 stalk leeks, white and green separated

1 t. Rocksalt

1 t. Patis

1 t. MSG (optional) or Knorr Chicken Powder

Cabbage, sliced into wedges

Pechay

Boil the beef and bones in water. When the scum rises to the top, discard water, wash the beef and bones and wash the soup pot.

Put the beef in a clean pot, add water, onions, ginger and peppercorn. When it boils, cover and lower heat.

Cook for 2 hours or until the beef is tender.

Add the salt, patis and seasoning powder.

Drop the cabbage and white part of the leeks. Cook covered until the cabbage is crisp tender.

Add the pechay and green part of the leeks. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.

I missed Mona when I cooked the Liempo Sinigang!

Look, Mona! 2 pcs. of fatty pork! One for you and one for me!

But it just became one for me and one for me!

One reason why I have not been posting lately was because my sugar was extremely high these past few days.

It started when I attended the bingo socials at the park.

I ate Mango and Cheese Ice Cream!!!!

Blue Cotton Candy!

I had no business eating those sugar laden snacks!

Then the next day, my Ate gave me chocolates! Pasalubong from their Korean trip!

I ate it all in one sitting! I hid in my room and devoured the whole pack of chocolates!

To compound my sugar problem, I bought Sweet Corn ice cream at Cash and Carry!

Vinnie asked me to prepare food for our Bibliarasal. She was the food sponsor for the night. I just assembled Croissant with ham and Brie and Watermelon Salad!

Watermelon has very high sugar content.

So here I am, 2 and half months of being wheat-free and 3 weeks of rice and corn free. But what I should have been since forever was SUGAR-FREE!

I stopped eating chocolates and my sugar count is improving. I really really love chocolates! And I don't like the sugar-free variety.

The best I can have these days is Dark Chocolate. As in 70% or more.

But I love milk chocolates!!!! :((

 

 

 

 

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