Fresh Chinese Lumpia 2020

 Fresh Chinese Lumpia 2020

1 head garlic, chopped then divided into 4

1 onion, sliced then divided into 4

2 C. carrots, grated

2 C. singkamas grated

2 C. cabbage, shredded

1 C. Baguio beans, julienned

1 square tokwa, chopped

fine salt

1 small sachet Magic Sarap

Cooking oil

Saute the carrots, singkamas, cabbage, Baguio beans in oil with garlic and onions one at a time. Season with a pinch of salt and Magic Sarap.

Set aside after sauteing each vegetable in a bowl.

Cook the tokwa in a little oil until light brown.

Add all the vegetables and cover.  Let it cook over slow fire for 10 minutes.

Adjust seasoning if needed.

Sauce:

2 C. water

6 T. brown sugar

4 T. soy sauce

2 T. cornstarch dissolved in

2 T. water

Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan except the cornstarch slurry.

Let it boil then add the slurry.  Stir until slightly thick.

Lumpia Wrapper 6-8 pcs.

1/2 C cornstarch dissolved in

1 C. water

2 eggs

1 t. salt

1 t. cooking oil

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Use a non-stick skillet.  Add a little cooking oil to the pan then wipe with paper towel.

Pour 1/4 C. (depends on the size of your pan)  batter and swirl the pan. Cook until the edges separate from the pan. Flip the pan over a plate.

Other ingredients:

1 head garlic, minced finely or use a garlic press

20 g. sotanghon noodles, deep fried, crushed and combined with

2 T. hoti (dried crushed seaweeds)

1/4 C. peanuts crushed mixed with

1/3 C. sugar

green ice lettuce leaves

few sprigs of wansuy

Put one wrapper on a plate then add a few pieces of  lettuce leaves.  Add a small handful of the crispy noodles and hoti mixture.  Add 3/4 C. cooked vegetables.  Sprinkle 1 T. peanut/sugar and add one sprig of wansuy.  

Roll the lumpia.

Pour sauce and add some minced garlic.

Crunchy Sweet and Sour Pork

I fried the pork at 6:00 pm then when I ate a few pieces at 8:00 pm the pork was still crunchy!  I better save the recipe here and share with my readers.

Crunchy Sweet and Sour Pork

250 grams Pork Kasim, cut into strips or cubes

1 C. AA Powder

Cooking oil

1 red onion, cut into squares

red pepper, cut into squares

green pepper, cut into squares

few pieces of pineapple chunks, drained

Sweet and Sour sauce:

1/4 C. Datu Puti Vinegar

1/4 C. UFC catsup

1/4 C. white sugar

1 T. soysauce

Marinade:

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

1 egg yolk or whole egg, beaten

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl then add the pork.

Marinate for 20 minutes then drain.

Dredge the pork in AA powder until meat is dry and well coated. Shake the pork pieces before frying.

Fry a few pieces at a time for 2-3 minutes.  Drain.

In a frying pan, heat 2 T. oil.

Saute the onions, peppers and pineapple chunks.

Add the sweet and sour sauce and cook until syrupy.

Toss in the fried meat and coat with the sauce.

Bangus Sisig

300 gr. boneless bangus or leftover fried/grilled bangus

Salt and pepper to season the bangus

2 T. flour for dredging bangus and liver

50 gr. chicken liver (optional)

2 T. butter or margarine

1 red onion, chopped

2 green sili used for sinigang, sliced diagonally

Seasoning sauce:

1/4 C. calamansi juice

1 T. Knorr seasoning

1/2 T. brown sugar

1/2 t. black pepper

Season the bangus with salt and pepper. Dredge with a little flour.  Fry until brown and crispy.

Dredge liver with flour and fry until cooked but not crispy and overcooked.

Flaked the bangus and chop the liver.

In a frying pan, melt butter.

Add about 2 T. of onions and a few slices of green sili,  When onions are soft, add the flaked bangus and liver.  Cook for about minute or two.  Add the seasoning sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer onto a plate or a sizzlang pan and top with the remaining onions and green sili.

Simple Lasagna

200 g. Kraft Cheddar cheese, grated

New Spaghetti Meat Sauce, half of the sauce about 500 grams.

White Sauce:

2 T. butter

1 Knorr beef cube

2 T. flour

2 C. Fresh milk

Melt butter in the pan. Add the beef cube and stir until it is dissolved.  

Add the flour and continue stirring with a whisk.

Remove pot from the stove and gradually add the milk so it will not be lumpy.

Put back on the stove and stir until slightly thick or coats the back of the spoon.  Set Aside

Lasagna Noodles

1 egg

1 t. olive oil

1/8 t. salt

110 grams bread flour

Combine all the ingredients and knead lightly. Cover with cling wrap or damp tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes before passing through the pasta maker.

Makes about 8 sheets.

Boil the noodles for 2-3 minutes and set aside.

Use a 9x9 heatproof casserole pan.  Grease with butter.

Lay one sheet of noodles on the bottom of the pan.

Add the following for each layer:

1/2 C. meat sauce

75 grams white sauce

25 grams grated cheese.

On the last layer, do not add meat sauce anymore. Just white sauce then the remaining grated cheese. 

Cover with buttered foil so the cheese will not stick. Bake at 375 F for 40 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Wait for at least 30 minutes before slicing.  

It is hard to slice hot lasagna because the layers will fall apart.

New Spaghetti Meat Sauce

(New because I have several spaghetti sauce recipes.)

1/2 K. ground beef and pork (250 g. each or whatever you have on hand.)

1 C. water

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 T. green pepper, chopped

1/2 t. dried basil

1/2 t. dried oregano

2 T. Tomato paste

500 gr. Tomato sauce

1 small can whole peeled tomatoes

1 Knorr beef cube

1 C. water

1 1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground black pepper

1 t. MSG

1/4 C. white sugar 

Add 1 C. water to the ground meat.  It will be easier to cook it and will not be lumpy.

Cook the ground meat in a pot and stir continuously to break apart the meat.  When the water evaporates add the garlic, onions and green pepper.  Saute until onions are clear and soft.

Add the basil and oregano.  Continue cooking for a minute or two.

Add the tomato paste and after a few minutes, add the tomato sauce, Knorr beef cube, canned whole peeled tomatoes and water.

Lower the heat and mash the tomatoes with the back of the spoon.  Simmer for an hour, stirring every 10 minutes.

Season with salt, pepper, msg and sugar.

Shey's Four Cheese Lasagna

Meat Sauce:

250 grams ground beef

250 grams ground pork

1/2 C. water

1/4 C. olive oil

1 C. onion, chopped

1 C. carrots, cut into small cubes

1/2 C. green pepper, chopped

100 grams fresh button mushrooms, sliced

200 grams bacon, chopped

250 grams Italian sausage, chopped

150 grams Del Monte tomato paste

500 grams Del Monte tomato sauce

28 oz. canned stewed tomatoes

1/2 t. dried basil

1/2 t. dried oregano

1 t. Italian seasoning

2  bay leaves

2 t. salt

1 t. pepper

3 T. sugar

2 C. water

Cheese:

150 grams Parmesan, grated

300 grams Mozzarella, shredded

200 grams Emborg Pasta Cheese - Gouda and Maasdam

White sauce:

1/2 C. butter

1/2 C. flour

4 C. (1L.) milk

1/2 t. salt

Lasagna Noodles:

2 1/2 C. bread flour or 00 flour

3 eggs

1 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

Meat sauce

Add 1/2 C. water to the ground beef and pork so it will not be lumpy.

Heat olive oil.  Saute onions, green pepper, mushrooms and carrots over low heat until soft - 10 minutes.

Still over low heat, add the ground pork and beef.  Cook until the juice evaporates. 

In a frying pan, cook the bacon and Italian sausage until oil from the bacon comes out.  Add to the sauteed ground meat including the oil.

Add the tomate paste, tomato sauce and canned stewed tomatoes.

When it boils, season with salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, basil, bay leaves and sugar.

Add water.

Simmer for 2 hours and stir every 20 minutes.

Add about 1/2 C of water if it is too dry.

Season with additional salt and pepper if you want.

Set aside the meat sauce.

White Sauce

Melt butter in a sauce pan.

Remove from heat then add the flour.  Stir until well blended. 

Put back on the stove and cook until bubbly while stirring continuously.

Remove from heat again and add milk a little at a time stirring continuously then put back the pan on the stove.  

(This step ensures you will not have lumps in your white sauce.  You also do this when making gravy or any kind of sauce that you need to add flour.)

Lasagna noodles

Pour the flour on your work surface and make a well in the center.

Add the eggs, olive oil and salt.

Use a fork to stir the liquid ingredients then slowly incorporate the flour.

Knead until smooth.

I used the "dough" function of the breadmaker for 5 minutes.  

Cover the dough with cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour, room temperature.

Divide the dough into four and flour lightly.  

Get one portion of the dough, flatten into a circle and pass through the machine at its widest setting.

(Cover the rest of the dough with a tea towel so it will not dry out.)

Fold the dough into thirds (like an envelope), flatten, dust with flour lightly and pass the dough again.

Repeat this process until you reach the 2nd to the last setting of the pasta machine.

Do this procedure for all the remaining dough.

Remember to dust both sizes with flour so it will not stick to each other after passing through the machine.

Cut into desired size according to your baking pan.

Take note, boiled pasta sheets double in size.

Boil 5 liters of water.  Add 1 T. salt and olive oil.

When the water is boiling rapidly, drop the pasta sheets.  Cook 4 pieces at a time.  Stir so it will not stick to each other.  It will take about 2 minutes.

With a wire skimmer, remove the pasta sheets and submerge in cold water.

Remove and lay on a table with table cloth or on a tray.

How to layer the lasagna:

Use two 9x13 glass or ceramic pans.

Spread 2 C. sauce into the pan. 

Top with noodles then spread the meat sauce again followed by the white sauce (about 1/2 C.) then sprinkle 2 T. parmesan cheese, 2 T. pasta cheese and 2 T. mozzarella.

Repeat this process until the pan is almost full. Last layer should be the noodles topped with white sauce and cheese.

Baked at 325 F (convection oven) or 350 F (regular oven) for 30 minutes, covered with foil.

Remove the foil, increase the heat to 350 F (convection oven) or 375 F (regular oven) and bake for 15 minutes more.

Remove from the oven.  Let it sit for an hour before slicing so the layers will not fall apart.

Whew! This is a difficult recipe but worth all the effort.  It took me 3 days! 

Day 1 - cook the sauce.

Day 2 - cook the noodles and white sauce and assemble the layers.

Day 3 - bake the lasagna.

Shey was my sauce teacher while Mona was my noodles teacher.

My obsession with lasagna started when Shey let me try the lasagna she cooked! I could not forget the taste.  It was imprinted in my mind.  I thought about it everyday for almost a month until I decided to experiment.

It will be another 5 years until I cook this again.

Chicken Pastel With Campbell's Cream Of Mushroom Soup

1 K. Chicken, chopped

1/4 C. butter

3 gloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, sliced

1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 can of water

1 potato, cubed

1 carrot, cubed

2 pcs. Purefoods Chorizo de Bilbao, sliced

1 can Libby's Vienna sausage (each piece into 4)

1 can water chesnuts, drained

pepper to taste

1 C. Kraft Cheddar Cheese, grated

salt, optional

Melt the butter in the pan.

Saute the garlic and onion.

Add the chicken and cook until not bloody anymore.

Lower heat and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes.

Add the sliced chorizo, cream of mushroom soup and water.

When it boils, add the vegetables and cook for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are soft.

Add the grated cheese amd cook until melted.  

Season with pepper and salt if it is not too salty.

This is the recipe of Tita Letty, Mayette's Mom.  

Did You Miss Me?!?

 I'm sorry I have not posted in almost a year! I have not been busy, I was just... lazy? Pre-occupied with other activities.

I even forgot that it was my 10th year anniversary last March 31!

This pandemic situation made me realize that I have taken for granted all my trips and get together with friends.  I have not even gone out of my house since March 19.

I miss being with family and friends.  Thank goodness for the video calls and chats.  We even celebrate birthdays online!

August! My birthday month! I am happy to let you know that I have matured already after hitting my 50th year.  I don't need to celebrate my birthday anymore every day of August.  I feel like it is not right to do so especially at this trying and uncertain time.

I will continue to post recipes.  Right now they are just writtem in cheap composition notebooks.

I'm back! Hopefully, I can share more with all of you often and consistetly now.

Forgive me for my absence.