Easy Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag)

In the Philippines, rice is king.....we have it in the morning, lunchtime, dinner and yes, even for snacks... and don't rule it out as dessert too! Sometimes, we cook too much of it and then there are left-overs. But never fear.....sinangag is here. It's the Tagalog term for "fried rice." So next time you wonder what to do with left-over rice, try this recipe and you'll know how.

The ingredients here can be increased or decreased depending on how much rice you have left, so feel free to adjust it.


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Ingredients:

Day-old rice (refrigerated left-over rice)

2 Tablespoons Olive oil (light) 
A few crushed garlic (3-5)
1-2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, or to taste
Dash of salt, or to taste
2 Eggs, beaten
Handful frozen Peas and Corn

You need either a big wok or a deep frying pan for this.

Procedure:

Heat about a 1-2 Tablespoon oil in a pan or wok. Saute the garlic until aromatic. Don't let the garlic  burn. 

Add the cold rice and stir to break the grains apart. Cook until warmed up. Season with a little salt. Add the soy sauce and mix with the rice until most of the grains are coated. 

You may scramble the eggs in another pan and just add it later after it's been cooked. But if you have a big enough wok or wide enough pan, create a well/space in the middle of it by pushing the rice to the side. Spray a little oil in the middle and then pour the beaten egg.

Let it set. When the eggs have set enough, flip it over then begin to mix it with the rice breaking it up as you do so. Thereafter, add the frozen peas and corn and continue to stir until the veggies are cooked about 2-3 mins. Season the rice with more soy sauce or salt as needed.

Serve immediately. Easy-peasy delicious!

This fried rice pairs perfectly with Bobotie (Curried Ground Beef) or with Arroz a la Cubana.

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Pork and Beans

When I run out of ideas for lunch or dinner (yes, that happens even to food bloggers!), this becomes a fall back dish. The reason is a little sentimental. My husband and I, though we grew up worlds apart (literally and figuratively) this was something we both had in common. We both grew up eating baked beans.

Chicken, Cashew and Tarragon Stir-fry (with Bacon)

  

When we visit my in-laws in England, my husband never fails to request his mom to cook this dish. He said that this is one of his favorite food. Having tasted it a few times, I do agree it's a wonderful dish - simple to prepare yet fabulously delicious. I particularly love the crunch that the cashews bring and the flavor that the tarragon imparts to the chicken.

I would have tried to cook this a long time ago if I had the recipe. I don't know why I haven't asked for it. Unfortunately, when my husband was craving this dish for dinner it was  a little too late to call England so I had to make this based on how my hubby remembers it was done.

When we were eating the dish, he suddenly remembered that he forgot to tell me an important ingredient of the dish ---- bacon! How can anyone forget bacon? It's a good thing that when  he mentioned that the chicken was stir-fried --- butter and garlic came to mind. So, it still came out good. The next time I made it for sure bacon was added. If you don't fancy bacon you can just leave it out. 

Ingredients

A little olive oil (1 tsp or if using a non-stick pan, a little spray on the pan will do)
3 tbsp butter or 3-4 bacon strips, chopped 
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb chicken breasts (2 large ones), chopped in bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper
4-6 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped (we love tarragon so we  use a lot of it but it has a strong aniseed-like flavor so adjust to taste!)
1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts (whole or in pieces)

Procedure

Melt the butter in a little oil in a large skillet or frying pan. If you prefer, use bacon instead. Cook the bacon until it turns brown and renders its fat. Sauté the garlic and let it sizzle for a few seconds (not more than a minute to prevent browning). Once the garlic has flavored the butter/bacon fat and oil, you may opt to remove it from the pan but if you love garlic, let it stay!

Raise the heat to medium high and then add the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper.  

Stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes or until the chicken has changed its color and is starting to brown a little on its sides.

Stir in the cashew nuts and the tarragon leaves. Cook for another minute or just until chicken is tender.                                                                                       

Garnish with a little more tarragon on top. Serve immediately.

Have it with green veggies on the side. Broccoli perfectly pairs with it.

Salmon on a bed of Caramelized Onions

The Philippines has 7,107 islands. I grew up in one of those. It is called Marinduque, a heart-shaped island in the heart of the Philippines. It is not a very big island. Infact, it will only take you about 5-6 hours to drive around the island and you won't even be doing it at 70 mph. But that is my home and I still miss it a lot.

Our house is located near the beach so waking up to a beautiful sunrise (I'd dare say we have an average of 300 sunny days in a year!) and going to bed after a lovely sunset is typical.    

Living near the sea has its advantages. We always get the first catch! I remember my mom buying the first catch of the day from fishermen back from their overnight fishing.

It still continues to this day. Here's a photo of William with a lady selling her fish. I took this photo when we visited the Philippines in 2010. 

Though I terribly miss eating sea food made from the freshest catch available, I try to make up by serving a fish dish in our house at least once or twice a week.  It's my way of re-connecting with my lovely island-province. Perhaps someday, we will return to  the island to cook our own catch!

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Ingredients

4 Salmon Fillets (pref. with skin on)
4 medium size onions (add more depending on how many salmon fillets you are using)
Olive Oil (just a little)
3 tbsp Butter (plus more, if needed)
Salt, Pepper and dried Dill weed
2 tbsp dry white wine


Procedure

Season the salmon with salt, pepper and dill weed. 

Chop the onions into rings.

In a large skillet, melt the butter with a little oil (a teaspoon or less). Add the onions and sauté until golden brown. Set aside.

Raise the heat to medium high. Add more butter/oil, if necessary to the pan where you cooked the onions. Fry the salmon, for about 4 minutes on one side. Flip the fish and fry the other side for another 3 minutes or until it's firm to the touch and fully cooked. Transfer to a warmed plate.

Return the onions to the skillet and pour in the wine. Simmer for about 1-2 minutes or until the wine has reduced by half.

Place the onions on a serving platter and place the salmon on top. Enjoy!

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Mushroom Sauce

Mark and I love mushrooms. We have it twice a week, either for breakfast with eggs or at dinner  combined with some chicken or beef. Sometimes I use it with other vegetables too but for this particular recipe, it is the queen.

This is a lovely sauce that perfectly complements chicken. I am imagining chicken scallopini as I write. If I have chicken breast at hand, I grill or pan-fry the meat and when it’s cooked, I either mix it with the sauce or just pour the sauce on top of it and have it over pasta or rice. Comfort food that’s sure to please everyone (unless you hate mushrooms!) J


Ingredients

A little olive oil (about a teaspoon)
1 tbsp butter
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 8oz package mini-Bella mushrooms, chopped
¼ cup dry White wine
1 cup cream 
Ground nutmeg (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste


Procedure

In a saucepan or sauté pan, melt the butter with a little oil. Sauté the garlic briefly, just until aromatic, about 1 minute or less. Add in the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have released all its liquid about 5-8 mins.

Pour in the white wine. Increase the heat and reduce the wine to about half. Lower the heat and stir in the cream.

Cook until the sauce  has thickened (when it begins to coat the back of the spoon). Season with a dash of nutmeg and a little salt and pepper.  

Pour the sauce on the chicken and serve over rice or pasta.  

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