Easiest Rice Cooker Sponge Cake

Did you know you can use your rice cooker to make an easy and delicious cake? Yes, indeed! Summer-perfect as there's no oven baking involved!

We are on holiday in England at the moment. However, there's no need to fear as we still have some delicious recipes for you all to try. For this post, Claire and from SumoChef has kindly guest-posted for us and has shared her amazing and yummy looking Rice Cooker Sponge Cake. Yes, you read it right, cake made in the rice cooker!! Intrigued? Read on.

How to Cook the Perfect Rice Every Time!

Tried and tested, best and easiest way to cook the perfect rice every time! No more guessing game!

There is a joke in the Philippines as I was growing up in the province that a girl is not allowed to marry until she can prove that she knows how to cook rice!! I think I must have been reminded about this many times that it stuck in my head! Thankfully, this is no longer the litmus test before one can marry or many would have flunked right away.

Ultimate Slow Cooker Chocolate Rice Pudding (Champorado)

Sticky rice cooked in coconut milk and chocolate. This chocolate rice pudding is the ultimate breakfast sweet treat or when served with ice cream - a truly yummy dessert - Champorado!

We had a lot of snow this past week and as I write it's still a few inches on the ground and according to the weather prediction there will be more dumping come Sunday afternoon! I can't really complain because this winter has been particularly mild and hasn't really snowed a lot until a few days ago. However, since the car was left on the driveway in the middle of the snow storm and the fact that our driveway inclines upwards towards the road - that meant we were stuck for the last couple of days at home.

Korean Ground Beef over Rice

Sweet, salty, with a little spicy kick, if you like, this quick and easy Korean Ground Beef over Rice will please your taste buds! Done in 20 minutes or less. Can be made Paleo-friendly.

I love ground beef! We buy it bulk during the beginning of each month and then I separate the meat into 1 pound bags and freeze the ones I won't use immediately. That way when I am in a quandary on what to make for dinner, I can simply pick a bag out of the freezer, saute them with some onions and garlic, add soy sauce or whatever seasoning I fancy and then mix them with any veggies available in the fridge. Easy dinner without the fuss that is quite healthy, too.

Easy Bacon Fried Rice

Left-over rice? No problem! Turn it into delicious fried rice flavored with bacon, garlic and eggs! Easy and delicious instant side dish!

If you are a regular reader of our blog, you probably already know by now how much we love fried rice in our house. In fact, I purposely cook a lot of rice in one go for the simple reason that we want left-overs. You know why? Because left-over chilled cooked rice is the perfect ingredient for a delicious and perfect fried rice!

Cauliflower Fried Rice

In 15 minutes or less you can make this delicious alternative to fried rice. A versatile recipe, you can add your favorite meat (esp. left-over ones), veggies and adjust the taste to your liking!

One of the loveliest memories we have of Michigan is shopping at Meijer's - a great grocery chain in the Midwest. You're probably asking yourself, "Grocery shopping? How can that be memorable?" You see, shopping in Meijer's was our very first introduction to American culture. The moment we stepped into that huge supermarket, hubby and I were totally astounded with the dizzying variety of what's on offer - seemingly unending aisles of cereals and other breakfast products, endless varieties of ice cream, frozen pizza galore....and what have you. It was quite a sight for us who, back in 2004, were used to smallish to medium size kind of grocery stores and not of the mega-mall variety.  

Special Fried Rice

Easy and yummy way to make your favorite take-away Chinese Special Fried Rice. You can also tweak the flavoring to your taste.

As I have mentioned before in previous posts, we are obsessed with rice in the Philippines. Why do I say so? Well, we just eat rice at least 3 times a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. I say at least 3 times because more often than not - it may be 5 times. Yes, seriously!

Fried Rice with Aromatic Spices

Tasty and mildly spiced this fried rice is the perfect side dish for your favorite Asian food especially curries and stews. Great way to use left-over rice, too and it's gluten-free!

Since hubby came back from India last December bringing with him a good amount of spices, I have been trying to think of creative ways to use them. Since rice is a staple in our family, I thought it would be great to use these spices to add extra flavor to the usual fried rice. 

Christmas Krispie Wreaths

A few Christmases ago, while my kids were still quite young, we made some edible crafts that kept them occupied long enough to allow me some peace and quiet for an hour or so and also helped fill their little tummies. At that time, I wanted them not just to enjoy making something with Mommy but also have a sense of fulfillment with the work of their hands. So, we made these easy rice krispie Christmas wreaths.

One Pot Beef Risotto with Arugula

Of late I have been using a lot of Arugula (also known as Rocket) in my dishes from salad to sandwiches. I have totally fallen in love with this salad leaf. I love the flavor that it brings to the dish. On its own it has quite a strong pungent and peppery taste but mix it with other ingredients and this vibrant green vegetable provides an extra flavor dimension that not only contrast or complement with other flavors but truly enhances the taste over all. Because of this I never hesitate to experiment with it.

Easy Chorizo Fried Rice

The other day Mexican chorizos were on sale at Whole Foods so we decided to stack up as we love it for breakfast and it's also quite useful to flavor many other dishes whether Latin-inspired or not. Originally, I wanted to make a breakfast dish with it that can easily be done on the stove top and not baked since it's already starting to warm up and the use of the oven except on occasionally cooler days are now getting limited.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian-style Fried Rice)

Oh, Fried Rice - whatever the style of cooking, seasoning or its origin, I totally love it! I think it is one of the most versatile side dishes and when some meat and vegetables are added, it can be a one-pot meal on its own right. Moreover, it is such a big money-saver as you don't waste left-over rice by throwing it away, you can use it and make a delicious dish out of it.

Green Curry Laksa

Laksa, a very popular dish in South East Asia and am pretty certain in other parts of the world, is essentially a coconut curry soup with noodles often with chicken or shrimp, bean curd puffs, fish sticks and sometimes bean sprouts for extra crunch! The flavor is amazing and complex - a little sweet, tangy, savory, creamy and definitely spicy-licious from all the wonderful spices added to it. It's the kind of food that hubby and I love - multi-dimensional in taste and truly satisfying.

Coconut Rice

This coconut-flavored rice is deliciously healthy and a great and versatile side dish!!

You already know by this time that we eat rice at least 3 times a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner though that would not necessarily stop us from having rice (cold rice even) as a snack and definitely as dessert, too. Yes, we do love rice. However, though we are surrounded by coconut  trees all over our country, I have never tried cooking rice with coconut milk except when it's cooked as dessert but not as a side dish. We often associate the coconut and rice combo with dessert and not so much as a side dish for a savory viand. Ha, I realized after cooking this dish that I have been missing a lot (I thought I had pretty much tried all types of rice dishes and realized I was wrong) so this week I corrected my mistake and made this delicious and flavorful Coconut Rice.

Sausage and Egg Fried Rice

If there is one dish that I make a few times a week (yes, a week not a month) it has to be Sinangag or Fried Rice. It should not come as a surprise, after all, I have grown up eating rice 3x a day and my hubby, who prefers a more gluten-free diet, also loves it, too. My kids, naturally, are big rice eaters too so it makes a lot of sense for me to always cook a big batch of rice. Perhaps, I am just too lazy to make a small batch of rice each time (after all, I only need to push the cook button on my rice cooker and it does all the job!). However, the truth is, I make a huge batch of rice each time so I have left-overs which means, extra rice for making fried rice the next day. This time I don't mind the extra effort of cooking it - in fact, we don't have any microwave so everything has to be heated up on the stove top every time, anyway.

Chicken Ramen

In 2009, we went back to the Philippines to visit my family for the Holidays. En route we stopped by Tokyo so we can see what it's like in Japan during the Holidays and also to have a much needed break after that long trip from Chicago. Once we landed and after checking-in at our hotel, we immediately went to search for food (airlines don't feed you much nowadays, do they?).

Arroz Caldo (Savory Chicken and Rice Porridge)

Oh Arroz Caldo...it's been so long since I had a bowl of this thick and delicious Savory Chicken and Rice Porridge that's similar to the Chinese congee. I think we named it Arroz Caldo as a result of our being colonized by Spain (hence the Spanish name) though if it's a meatless or plain savory rice porridge we just call it "lugaw" - a Filipino term.

Roast-Si-Log - Roast Beef - Sinangag [fried rice] - Itlog [egg]

Go around Metro Manila and when you order breakfast, you'll never miss TAP-SI-LOG on any menu. TAP-SI-What? Tapsilog (Tapa-sinangag-itlog / Beef - fried rice - egg combo) is a classic Filipino breakfast and truly one of my fave. Tapsilog is the term used when tapa (beef), fried rice (sinangag), and fried egg (itlog) are combined into one meal often served during breakfast but may be eaten anytime of the day.

 

Tapa, on the other hand, is dried or cured beef, similar to Beef Jerky. Thin slices of meat are cured with salt and spices as a method of preserving them. Tapa is best fried or grilled and often served with vinegar on the side. 

 When I used to work for the Supreme Court, I was able to order home-made tapa. It was delicious! The beef was already marinated and ready-to-cook. How easy was that? I miss those days. So far, I haven't been able to duplicate that kind of yummy beef tapa but I found a way to use left-over roast beef to make my own tapa (without any hasle) and discovered that it tastes similar to the "real cured tapa" but is never tough.

Nowadays, when I have left-over roast beef, then it would be on my breakfast menu the next day. I just fry the roast beef, in small batches, until it has dried a little and has some crunchy bite into it. While frying, I season it with a little salt and pepper and then shred them afterwards. Then to make it complete, I make some fried rice and  sunny-side up eggs to go with it. Easy and delicious! It's like I never left Manila.

I do hope someday to try and make my own "traditional tapa." For now Roast-Beef Tapa is fine for me! :-) Here's how to make easy -TAP-SI-LOG.

Ingredients

Left-over roast beef - here's the link to my slow-cooker roastbeef that I use for this.

Eggs (depends on how many you want to make)

2-3 cups cold left-over rice - if you want to make a more fancy fried rice - here's the recipe link

3-4 Garlic cloves, crushed

Oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste 

Procedure
Fried Rice

1. Heat a little oil in a wok or a large frying pan. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute.

2. Add the cold rice and stir-fry until fully warmed up. Season with salt and add a little soy sauce for color. 

   

Roast Beef.
Cut the roast beef into smaller chunks. Heat a frying pan with some oil (or if beef has enough fat on it, I leave out the oil). Fry the beef and season with salt and pepper. When it's already brown and crunchy, shred into pieces or leave as is.  

Eggs
As part of this breakfast dish, the eggs are usually fried and seasoned with a bit of salt on top.

Finally, assemble the rice, eggs and beef in a plate and enjoy with coffee!

Pancit / Pansit (Philippine Noodle Dish)

If by any chance I am asked, what is the Filipino comfort food? I have only one answer: Pancit! Pancit is the generic term for noodles in the Philippines. Made of rice flour, it comes in different varieties and sizes. The most common version is Pancit Bihon as shown in the photo above.

I don't think you'll ever find a Filipino who doesn't love pancit. Come to any birthday party,  anniversary party, or whatever reason you may have to celebrate this dish is sure to be there. We eat it anytime of the day - lunch, dinner, snacks and, yes, even for breakfast. Well, at least I do! It's just my number one comfort food.

My mom makes the best pancit and am so proud to say it! Ask anyone from Gasan, Marinduque particularly those who have studied at Gasan Central School and they are sure to agree. So, everytime my mom visits me in the US, she is required to make this for us many times (at least once a week!) . The problem though is that my mother never uses any kind of measurement when she cooks. She just has the knack for it! She knows how much ingredient to put in to achieve the perfect balance of saltiness with a small hint of sweetness. I do miss her cooking when she's away!

I try my best to promote Filipino recipes whenever I can so when we have people over, I always have pancit on the menu. So far, no one has ever complained (or gotten sick!) and a few have even requested for the recipe. Also, it is gluten-free, no need to use wheat for this recipe.

Here's my attempt to do Pancit. I have specific measurements here to leave out any guesswork but let this serve as your guide and tweak it to your liking. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Shredded cooked (pre-boiled) chicken - (Use 1 breast or 2 thighs).
1 1/2 cups of any two of these veggies, chopped (except for snow peas): carrots, green beans, snow peas and cabbage (I prefer using carrots and green beans)
2 (8 oz) packs of Pansit Bihon  (Rice Noodles)- can be found  in Asian stores - look for the Philippine brand.

Note: If you do not have wheat or egg allergy try this 2 noodles combo - replace one pack of Bihon noodles with another 8 oz pack of Pansit Canton (Egg-Wheat Noodles) Philippine Brand. Of course, you can use other Asian brands but the Philippine brands I have tried and tested for this recipe. Other Asian brand of noodles (especially the Bihon variety) may take longer to cook and may have to be soaked in water first before using.

For the sauce:

5 Tbsp dark soy sauce (regular or wheat/gluten-free)
1 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce (regular or gluten-free)
2 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:

Boil the chicken breast or thighs in just a little over 3 cups of water (or enough water to cover the meat). Cook until tender. Reserve about 3 cups of the stock. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred them or chop into small pieces. Set aside.

Heat oil in a big wok. Saute garlic and onion for a minute. Add the cooked chicken and season with a little salt and pepper.

Stir in the veggies and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until a little tender.

Pour about 2 1/2 cups of the chicken stock into the wok. Season with the soy and oyster sauces and sugar. Bring to a boil.

When it begins to boil add the rice noodles. Stir to ensure it gets soaked in the sauce. When it starts to soften a bit stir in the egg/wheat noodles/Canton (if using). Continue to stir the noodles while trying to soak them in the sauce until all the liquid has dried up.

Add some more stock or water if the sauce dries up before the noodles are tender. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Don't forget the calamansi (or lemon/lime) - squeeze a few drops on your noodles for some tang! Enjoy! 

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Chicken Paella

This is a simple yet flavorful paella. I was inspired to make this at home in the summer of 2010 after our trip to Barcelona where I tasted what was to me a truly excellent paella. It was seafood paella with jumbo shrimps and mussels. What a gustatory delight!

Below is a photo of the paella we had.

Alas, I do not live near the sea, so making paella using the freshest sea food is not always possible. Also, making a paella dish can be rather intimidating.

Nonetheless, I decided to make this favorite rice dish of mine with ingredients that are at hand. I did not include saffron threads because sometimes they are not readily available and they're quite expensive too! Instead, I used paprika and turmeric to give both flavor and color to the rice. The result is wonderful! Now, I can just reminisce about Barcelona whenever I eat it.

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Ingredients:

4 organic chicken thighs (skin on)
Salt and pepper
Flour for dusting (use alternative flour if you want it completely gluten-free)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp Spanish paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 ½ cups jasmine rice (uncooked)
3 cups chicken stock
2 plum tomatoes, petite diced
1 cup frozen peas
1-2 Red, yellow or orange sweet peppers, seeded and diced
4 oz Spanish Chorizo sausage, chopped 

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and then dust with flour.

Heat the olive oil in a large deep oven-proof pan or a Dutch oven and then fry the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Transfer the chicken pieces to a baking tray and into the oven for about 20 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking in the oven, prepare the accompanying vegetables.

Using the same pan where the chicken was cooked, sauté the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are soft, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the paprika and turmeric. Stir-fry just until aromatic, less than a minute. Add the uncooked rice and chicken stock and mix. Bring to a boil. When it begins to boil, turn off the heat. We will continue cooking it in the oven.

Get the chicken from the oven and place in the pan with the rice and cook in the oven for about 15 mins. The rice should be almost dry at this point. Take the pan out of the oven, remove the chicken pieces to a plate, and then stir in the remaining ingredients except the chorizo. Put the chicken back on top  of the rice. Place the lid on the pan and then bring it back to the oven and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the rice has fully absorbed the stock. During the last few minutes, heat a little oil and fry the chorizos until brown and crispy. Keep warm. 

Remove the pan from the oven and transfer its contents to a deep serving dish, placing the chicken on top. Spread the chorizos around. Serve with a wedge of lemon, if desired.

Note: You may add the chorizo with the other ingredients (bell peppers, tomato, etc.) and let it cook in the oven. However, it may become chewy though it does add more flavor to the rice.

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