Stir-Fried Fish Fillet & Veggies in Tamarind-Miso sauce
Posted by: maracapili on: September 21, 2011
- In: Fish | Vegetables
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Yummy! This dish has a very different & distinct taste. It reminds me of Thai dishes wherein tamarind is part of their staple sauces. The dish has a slightly salty (from the fish) and sour (tamarind) taste on it. Combined with veggies, this dish is a winner on the dining table.
I substituted Cream Dory fillet instead of the Salmon which is seen on the original recipe. Special thanks to Curiosity got the Chef!
What you’ll need:
500 g Cream Dory fillets, rubbed with salt & pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 carrot
8 green beans
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium white onion, chopped
3 tbsps light soy sauce
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp miso paste
½ cup water
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsps vegetable oil
1 tbsp water
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp sesame seeds and sesame oil.
To make Stir Fried Fish Fillet & Veggies in Tamarind-Miso sauce:
1. Slice all vegetables into thin strips.
2. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, water, tamarind paste, miso paste and cornstarch.
3. In a wok, sear fish fillets on both sides and transfer to a plate. Bring them all to the plate again and add in all the vegetables and stir fry for two to three minutes, cooking the vegetables but keeping them crisp.
5. Pour in sauce and continue stir-frying until sauce thickens.
Serves 5-6
*****
How much is this dish:
500g Cream Dory fillets – Php 100.00 (at Robinson’s Supermarket)
1 carrot – Php 5.00
8 pcs green beans – Php 5.00
1 bell pepper – Php10.00
1 miso paste – Php 5.00
1/4 tamarind – Php 10.00
Total: Php 135.00 or Php 27.00/ serving
Crispy Tofu & Mushroom Steak
Posted by: maracapili on: September 15, 2011
- In: Tofu | Vegetables
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My husband absolutely loved this dish. I’m not bragging! He kept on digging at the serving plate like crazy. In between mouthfuls he’ll tell me how he loves this dish so much. All I can say is “thank you” but deep inside, I can’t contain my happiness. It’s like I’ve passed a licensure exam or something like that 
What you’ll need:
For the Crispy Tofu:
600g tofu block (Japanese Silken or Tofu, not tokwa), drained and sliced to 16 squares
3/4 c flour seasoned with 1 1/2 tsp salt & 1/ tsp pepper
1 egg, beaten w/ 2 tbsps water (or milk)
2 c Japanese bread crumbs (Panko)
canola oil for deep frying
For the Mushroom Steak sauce:
3 tbs sake*
3 tbs mirin*
1 1/2 tbs light soy sauce (Kikkoman or any Chinese variant)
3 tbs brown sugar (can use white as alternative)
3 tbs butter
1 tbs canola oil
1 pc medium red onion, chopped
3 pcs garlic, minced
2 pks/ 2 c of fresh mushrooms, chopped to small pieces and soaked in water for 10 minutes. You can use shiitake or Pearl-dried
1/2 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 tbs water
salt & pepper to taste
3 tbs green onion or leeks, chopped
* You can substitute 3tbs each of mirin & sake for 6tbs Teriyaki sauce (Kikkoman)
To make Crispy Tofu & Mushroom Steak:
1. Dredge tofu squares in seasoned flour, dip in egg and coat with breadcrumbs.
2. Deep fry until golden brown and set aside.
3. Make mushroom steak sauce. Combine sake, mirin, soy sauce & sugar. Set aside.
4. In a wok, heat oil & butter. Add onions and garlic, sautee until onion is translucent. Turn the heat on high, add the drained mushrooms and stir for 3 minutes.
5. Add the sauce mixture. Add the cornstarch mixture and mix well. Wait until sauce thickens.
6. Add salt & pepper to taste or a bi of water to gain desired amount of sauce. Add green onions or leeks and give a quick stir.
7. Arrange the tofu squares in a serving plate and pour the sauce on top. Serve with hot rice. Enjoy!
Serves 4-5
*****
How much is this dish:
600g Tofu – P15.00
2 pks mushroom – P54.00 (P27.00 each)
Total: P69.00 or P13.8 per serving
*other ingredients such as the sauces (mirin, sake), breadcrumbs, flour, cornstarch are already in my pantry.
Cold Tuna Spaghetti Salad
Posted by: maracapili on: September 14, 2011
- In: Breakfast | Fish | Vegetables
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This is almost like a Tuna Spread version, except that you’ll add pasta in the mix. I used sour cream instead of mayo to give just the right amount of creaminess and flavor without overpowering the rest of the ingredients. The result? A healthy, cold spaghetti salad treat that is perfect for breakfast & light dinner. Best served chilled.
What you’ll need:
1 c sour cream
1 tsp salt
2 tsps sugar
1/4 tsp white or black pepper
1 small red onion, minced
1 can tuna flakes in brine or oil, drained
3/4 c cucumber, diced
3/4 c tomato, diced
1 (234g) can pineapple tidbits, drained
250g spaghetti, cooked
basil, chopped for garnish (optional)
To make Cold Tuna Spaghetti Salad:
1. Combine sour cream, salt, sugar, pepper and onion in bowl and mix well together.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and toss well.
3. Chill. Transfer to a plate and garnish with basil leaves (optional).
Serves 6-8 people
******
How much is this dish:
Magnolia Sour Cream – P89.00
Basil – P9.50
Cucumber – P5.00
*Other ingredients like the spaghetti & pineapple are grocery bought items which I bought from our monthly grocery shopping.
Total of: P103.50 or P14.80 per serving
Sauteed Sayote & Carrots
Posted by: maracapili on: September 13, 2011
This dish is healthy and very flavorful. I used canola oil for sauteeing because of its health benefits.
What you’ll need:
1 pc medium sized Sayote, peeled & julienned
1 pc medium sized carrot, peeled & julienned
1 pc white onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c. water
1-2 tbsp Oyster sauce (or any other sauce you like to use for flavoring)
To make Sauteed Sayote & Carrots:
1. Heat 1 tsp. oil into pan. Sautee the garlic & onion. Put the carrots first. After about a minute, put in the sayote.
2. Pour in Oyster sauce, water. Add salt & pepper to season.
3. Simmer until vegetables start to soften, don’t overcook as the vegetables will turn soggy.
4. Transfer to a plate and serve hot. Enjoy!
Serves 3-4
*****
How much is this dish:
Sayote – P5.00
Carrot – P4.00
Total: P11.00
Weekday Meal Plan (09/12-09/16)
Posted by: maracapili on: September 12, 2011
Here’s our weekday meal plan. I hope to contribute something valuable to every good wife, homemaker, cook or those who live alone/ independent who needed to prepare something cheap and homemade. Enjoy these affordable, delicious and healthy meals as I post them every single day.
Monday – Sauteed Sayote & Carrots
Tuesday – Crunchy Tofu Steak & Mushrooms
Wednesday – Chicken & Mushroom Teriyaki Sandwich
Thursday – Chicken Noodle Soup
Friday – Cold Tuna Spaghetti Salad
*Merienda – Potato Croquettes, Tuna Sandwich
My Family Meal Budget
Posted by: maracapili on: September 12, 2011
I prepare my family’s meals a week in advance. I usually go to the market on Saturday and Sunday. We have a weekly budget limit of Php700.00. Php500.00 goes to the viands and Php200.00 goes to fresh fruits for the week.
I always get a reaction of surprise from my friends whenever I tell them my family’s weekly meals budget. They always ask “With the price inflation nowadays, how do you manage to do it?”.
Here are the reasons:
1. First of all, we’re only 3 in the family- or 2 1/2 that includes me, my husband and my 3 year-old kid. Yes, we don’t have house help- yet.
2. We don’t like to eat pork & beef. I don’t cook pork & beef dishes at home. You can only find fish, chicken and veggie dishes on the table. My husband has his strict diet. Mine’s not so much. I eat chicharon & hotdogs (the Tender Juicy brand) when I crave for them, which is very, very seldom.
3. We don’t like to eat rice dishes every day of the week. Rice dishes everyday is BORING. 
Pardon for it, I know Filipinos love to eat rice, well I LOVE RICE. I grew up in a household where mom cooks rice everyday. So why the shift? Being a homemaker for the first time I like to explore other non-rice main dish meals like sandwiches, salads, pastas, noodle soups, etc. In our home, we have pasta nights, noodle soup nights, sandwich nights, etc.
4. The budget of Php500.00 does not include grocery bought items such as canned milk, canned mushrooms, heavy cream, pastas, canned tuna, etc. I buy them when I do my monthly grocery shopping. So the weekly meals budget is allocated for fresh meat, veggies and other perishable items only.
5. I make sure I stick to vegetables, and LOTS of it. Heathy eating is fun, flavorful and most of all CHEAP!
So there goes my explanation. In this blog you’ll find cheap, easy & quick family daily eats which you can borrow for your own use.
Remember: “A happy cook is a happy wife, and a happy wife equals a happy life.” I invented this quote by the way. LOL
Live Passionately,
Mara
Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich
Posted by: maracapili on: August 23, 2011
- In: Breakfast | Chicken | Sandwich
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We had this delicious meal over dinner last Sunday and a few leftovers for Monday breakfast. Coupled with ice-cold orange juice and a good movie, it was a great way to cap-off our busy & fun-filled weekend
What you’ll need:
1/2 kilo chicken thigh fillets w/ skin on
a few pan-fried button mushrooms (sliced to thin pieces)
butter for frying the mushrooms
1 Romaine Lettuce (chopped thinly)
1 red onion (thinly sliced into rings)
2 tbsps mayonnaise & 1 tbsp mustard for Mayo-Mustard sauce
4 grilled/ toasted bread
mirin, sake, soy sauce, sugar for Chicken Teriyaki marinade
To make Chicken Teriyaki:
1. Simply mix 1-2 tbsp each of mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine), sake, soy sauce, sugar (about 2 tbsps) on a bowl. Place chicken fillets and let marinade for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Heat 4 tbsps cooking oil and fry the marinated chicken, skin down first. Lower the heat as you flip them over. Wait for them to turn golden brown and transfer to a plate. As you fry the last pcs of chicken meat, scoop out cooking oil until a little amount remains in the pan. Add the remaining marinade and let it simmer before turning off the heat. Separate the teriyaki sauce from the meat.
3. Chop the meat into slim, bite size pieces and set aside.
*NOTE: If you can’t find mirin & sake you can also opt to use ready-made Teriyaki sauce from Kikkoman.
To make Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich:
1. Combine mayo & mustard to form Mayo-Mustard sauce on a small plate & set aside
2. Spread the sauce onto a piece of grilled/toasted bread
3. Place chopped lettuce leaves on the bread
4. Put 3-4 pcs of chopped chicken on top of the leaves. Optional to drizzle a bit of Teriyaki sauce over chicken pieces.
5. Add pan-fried mushrooms
6. Top it off with sliced onion rings (about 3 pcs)
7. Cover with another bread with spread
8. Cut into triangle halves and serve.
Tomato Fried Rice Topped w/ Basil
Posted by: maracapili on: July 19, 2011
- In: Breakfast | Rice
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Tomato Fried Rice topped with Basil
I’ve always loved fried rice. I thought maybe I can change it a bit and try this recipe that I’ve read from Connie Veneracion’s blog. By the way, I love reading Connie’s posts. She’s smart, well scratch that, she’s a really intelligent & highly opinionated lady. She’s a lawyer (aside from being ultimate “culinary mama”) and is the voice behind the Sassy Lawyer blog to which I think she’d already changed the name to Casa Veneracion blog.
So here’s the recipe lifted from her blog. Compliments to Connie of Home Cooking Rocks. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 c. of olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 c. of cooked rice
1/4 c. of chunky tomato sauce
sweet basil leaves, thinly sliced or roughly chopped, whichever you prefer -
Pour off the olive oil until only about 3 tbsps. remain in the pan. Saute the onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the rice and tomato sauce. Cook, stirring, until the rice is heated through and has absorbed the tomato sauce.
Turn off the heat. Sprinkle with the basil leaves and serve hot.
Live Passionately,
Mara
Stir-Fried Eggplants, Bok Choy & Mushroom in Oyster Sauce
Posted by: maracapili on: July 19, 2011
I prepare my family’s meal one week in advance. It keeps me organized and keeps me on top of my priorities, which is cooking healthy meals for them. Last week, as I was planning this week’s meals, I checked on Connie Veneracion’s blog again for some inspiration. And then I saw her Vegetable recipe: Stir-fried Eggplants, Bok Choy & Mushroom in Oyster Sauce.
Here’s the recipe as lifted from her blog: Home Cooking Rocks
Ingredients
- 3 large eggplants, diced
150 g. of button mushrooms (or your preferred mushroom variety), sliced
a bunch of bok choy, cut into two-inch lengths, white stalks and green leaves separated
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. of grated ginger
3 tbsps. of oyster sauce
a drizzle of sesame seed oil
salt
pepper
toasted sesame seeds
about 3/4 c. of vegetable cooking oil
“Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan until literally smoking. Fry the eggplants for one minute. Scoop out and drain on paper towels. Do not wait until the eggplants are very soft. Eggplants continue cooking in the residual heat even after they have been taken off the pan. Since the eggplants will be stir fried with the rest of the ingredients, it is best to undercook them a bit at this stage.
Pour off the cooking oil until only about a tablespoonful remains. Reheat the oil. Saute the onion, ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and the white stalks of the bok choy. Stir fry for about 45 seconds.
Add the eggplants and bok choy leaves. Season with the oyster sauce, salt, pepper and a little sugar for balance. Stir fry for another minute or so to wilt the leaves and cook the eggplants through.
Transfer to a platter, drizzle with sesame seed oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.”
Here’s the final outcome of my dish:
The dish tastes really good with a hint of nuttiness coming from the sesame seeds and sesame seed oil. The ginger & oyster sauce combined well together to create this sweet & salty background taste. This is a healthy dish that is best combined with hot rice & grilled or fried meat.
Try it out for yourself and enjoy a healthy Chinese lunch with the whole family.
Live Passionately,
Mara
