Chicken Adobo (Chinese Style)

If there is a dish that defines what Filipino cuisine is all about - it's adobo, the unofficial, national dish of the Philippine islands. There are as many versions of adobo as there are many islands in the Philippines. Perhaps not as many as 7,107 islands (the whole Philippine archipelago) but ask each Filipino family and each will tell you their own adobo recipe handed down from one generation to another differentiated not so much by the kind of ingredients they use but more on the style or technique in cooking the dish. 

Beef Rendang

In countries with tropical climates such as the Philippines and Indonesia, especially in the olden days when there wasn't any refrigeration available, people had  to be creative in finding ways on how to preserve meat. In the Philippines, we use vinegar to help keep the meat longer. Adobo is the classic example. Meat is stewed in vinegar with other seasonings to ensure that it can be kept for days. The wonderful result is that not only does this technique lengthen the life of the dish to several days, the food tastes even better as it is kept longer.

Chicken with Mushrooms in Brown Sauce

I have made this Chinese-inspired chicken dish a few years ago and both hubby and I loved it. It such a flavorful dish that will satisfy anyone's palate especially those who love Chinese food. For some reason, I have forgotten about this recipe. I remembered it when I was browsing my online photo album and the photo of the dish suddenly appeared. I can now recall why I haven't shared this dish yet here. The first time I made it, though it was already great - we were missing a few ingredients that would make it even better.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Even when I was in the Philippines, chocolate crinkles have been a huge favorite of mine. I was in college then and though I had often wished to learn how to bake these gorgeous cookies, I never dared to do it. I suppose it doesn't help when you don't really have a proper oven at home....lol :) Nonetheless, I knew that someday when I got married, I would have to learn to make these beauties. That day has arrived.

Grilled Swordfish with Olives and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Now, if you love to eat fish, you'll love this recipe. It is so truly wonderful and the proof - I almost never got the chance to photograph this dish as the only one left of it was the smallest piece of swordfish steak after hubby and I happily ate the bigger meatier pieces. Hence, what you are seeing is the last remaining piece. In fact, I had second thoughts about posting this recipe because I wasn't very happy with the photo as the swordfish steak was quite small but then when I recalled how delish it is - I said, I'll post it anyway as I didn't want any of you to miss this recipe nor let it be buried in my pile and then completely forgotten.