Cooking SINIGANG is such an instant with the help of tamarind soup base which is available in almost all grocery stores. But if you want a natural experience of sinigang, you may use lots of tamarind or kamias or tomatoes. You may also use miso and guavas. But even I am stay-at-home mom, I rather use the instant mix because its convenient and a lot cheaper. You can also cook almost all kinds of meats with sinigang mix like pork, shrimp, beef and chicken.

Sinigang is cooked best with some native vegetables in it like, onions, tomatoes, string beans, kangkong or river spinach, radish, eggplant, and okra. Well, it doesn’t mean you have to dunk all those vegetables in the pot. You may choose about 2-4 combination of vegetables to make it more nutritious. You can also add sliced gabi to make the soup thick, but for me, using gabi for sinigang dish is good for meats and not for seafood sinigang. Some cook their sinigang by sauteing or frying the onions and tomatoes, which I haven’t tried that yet. But for people of Dagupan, where our Bangus is the best tasting in the world, need no to saute to remove the fishy taste, merely boiling our very own Dagupan Bangus with onions and tomatoes will do the trick for having the best tasting Sinigang na Bangus.

Make sure you serve your Sinigang dish while hot as a comforting main dish of Filipinos. Do not put too much water in the pot for Sinigang dish for it will just make your soup taste bland, about a liter for every kilo of meat or seafood is best.

You may also try Sinigang na Baboy, Sinigang na Buto-buto and Nilagang Bangus.

SINIGANG NA BANGUS

1/2 kilo fresh bangus, cleaned, entrails removed and sliced
4-5 cups water or water used to wash rice grains
1 medium red onion, peeled and sliced
3 medium red tomatoes, quartered
1 pack sinigang mix (tamarind soup base)
1 tbsp. patis or fish sauce
3 long green chilis (siling pangsigang)
1 small radish, peeled and sliced
kangkong leaves
6-8 okra

Put water, tomatoes and onions in a pot. Bring to full boil.

Pour in half of sinigang mix and add bangus. Cook for about 7-10 minutes or until bangus turned white.

Lower heat. Add the rest of the sinigang mix, patis, green chilis, radish, kangkong leaves and okra. Adjust flavor by adding patis or water. Slowly simmer until vegetables are half cooked then remove from fire. Don’t worry, vegetables will be fully cooked with its remaining heat.

Serve while hot with steaming hot rice.

OMELETTE or Omelet is a meal made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with oil or butter. Omelette is usually folded with fillings like ham, sausage, hotdog, red bell pepper, onions, or ham. Adding milk, cream, mayonaisse helps the omelette to a more fluffly texture.

With my desire to prepare a good meal without spending much, TORTANG HIPON was a great breakfast dish to be served with hot rice. At first, I was hesistant to serve this to my son, Colby, for it was his first time to eat small shrimps. But when he didn’t ask what it was and the only trouble will be if he complains on its taste. Fortunately, he had no leftovers, no complains. Colby loved it! I guess I will be cooking SHRIMP OMELETTE or TORTANG ALAMANG again soon.

SMALL SHRIMP OMELETTE (TORTANG ALAMANG)

oil for frying
2 cups alamang (small shrimps)
1 large minced onion
3 cloves minced garlic
3 large eggs, beaten
3 tbsp. flour
salt
pepper

Place alamang in a colander, wash with running water and drain. Put in a large bowl, add all the remaining ingredients except oil and mix.

Place pan over medium heat. Pour oil. Put about 3 tablespoons of alamang mixture into the pan. Fry, let it sit and flip to brown the other side.

Enjoy your SHRIMP OMELETTE or TORTANG ALAMANG with catsup and steaming white rice.

ADOBONG PUSIT (SQUID) was my food nightmare when I was a kid. At first sight, it was horror, a black ink soup with creepy tentacles. It seemed like the dish was unsafe to eat or not something to be eaten at all. But my mom was successful to let me chew and swallow ADOBONG PUSIT. And it happened to be one of my favorite squid dish. I would even prefer cooking ADOBONG PUSIT rather than Calamari. One technique I learned from my friend is to cook the ADOBONG PUSIT with Sprite or 7-up for a sweeter and flavorful dish.

ADOBONG PUSIT

1 tbsp. cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
1 kilo pusit, cleaned, washed and sliced
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 cup sprite or 7-up
onion leaves
ground pepper
salt

Heat a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat.

Put oil, then saute garlic and onions, about 2 minutes. Add sliced pusit, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add soy sauce and sprite or 7-up, ground pepper and salt. Cook for 7-10 minutes. Add vinegar. Adjust flavor by adding salt or vinegar according to taste. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add onion leaves. Remove from fire. Do not overcook because they will be tough as though you are eating a rubber.

Serve with steaming white rice.

INIHAW NA BANGUS or Grilled Milkfish is one of the most popular dishes of Filipinos, specially for us Dagupeños, who are proud to have the best tasting Bangus in the whole world. Gladly, bangus industry had a fast recovery from the recent fish kill tragedy in the country.

Inihaw na Bangus is best served with dips of Pangasinan’s Bagoong and Vinegar. Also, to have a best cooked texture of your bangus, be sure that your grill is about 5 inches high from the burning charcoal so as not to over-burn the fish. Remember that the heat should be cooking the fish and not the fire.

But if you don’t want the fuss of preparing the charcoal on your grill, you can enjoy the taste of Turbo Broiled Bangus instead.

INIHAW NA BANGUS (Grilled Milkfish)

1 bangus

1 tomato, sliced, seeds removed
1 onion, peeled and sliced

salt
pepper

Clean Bangus with running water. Carefully remove internal organs and gills by slicing an opening at its tummy part. Wash again then drain.

Combine sliced tomato, onion, salt and pepper. Put the mixture inside the bangus’ tummy.

Rub bangus with salt and pepper.

Burn coals then place fish on the grill.

Grill bangus for about 20-25 minutes on each side.

Serve with calamansi or vinegar and bagoong dip.

And don’t forget the steaming white rice!

Come and let’s numerate Bangus recipes that we know. Hmmm… Inihaw na Bangus (Grilled), Pritong Bangus (Fried), Boneless Bangus, Sinigang na Bangus, Siarsiadong Bangus, Bangus en Tocho, Bangus with Salted Beans. These are some commonly known Pinoy Bangus recipes. And I bet you haven’t heard of NILAGANG BANGUS. I am familiar with Nilagang Baboy and Nilagang Baka but I could not conceive in my mind and even in the palates of my mouth when my officemate shared me this unusual NILAGANG BANGUS with AMPALAYA LEAVES recipe. I don’t want to divulge the savor, taste and experience of this great Bangus recipe because I like my readers to discover. Just make sure you get a real, authentic, fresh Bangus from Bonuan, Dagupan for if not, I can’t assure you can have the best flavor of this dish.

NILAGANG BANGUS with AMPALAYA LEAVES

2 pieces Bonuan Bangus (approximately 400 grams each Bangus)
1 small ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
4 cups of water
boneless bagoong (fish paste)
lots of ampalaya leaves

Clean Bangus with running water. Scrape scales with scale remover or knife. Carefully remove internal organs and gills, then slice. Wash again then drain.

Put water and ginger in a medium pot or skillet. Bring to a full boil. Add
fish boneless bagoong. Add Bangus slices. Cook for about 7-10 minutes under medium heat, covered. Add ampalaya leaves, cook for another minute. Season with salt. And remove from fire.

Enjoy this best home-cooked Bangus recipe with lots of steaming white rice.

MISUA is a very thin flour noodles originated from China. Misua is a lot different with Bihon and Sotanghon which made from rice and mung beans. I always use misua everytime I ran out of time and idea on what to pair with a fried dish. It would only take me about 3 minutes cooking Misua in a boiling water. Misua can be cooked with beef, pork, egg, and chicken. You can also add some vegetables like sayote and patola for a healthy dish in just one bowl .

MISUA WITH SARDINES

2 tbsp cooking oil
200 grams misua
1 large can mackarel sardines
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peele and crushed
1 liter water
salt
pepper

So that the garlic begins to infuse the oil even before it starts to cook, put the garlic and the oil in a large non-stick skillet, then set the skillet over very low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic softens. Add onions, cook until aromatic, about 5 minutes.

Pour the mackarel sardines. Saute over medium-high heat, stirring constantly and cutting the fish into pieces with large spoon, about 5 minutes.

Add water, bring to full boil.

Add misua, cook about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice while steaming hot.

Our friends gathered in our home last weekend. Though it was just a short notice that they will be coming, I did my quick grocery and fast cooking. And since I wanted to show some of my culinary skills despite of time constraints, I cooked a TUNA CARBONARA that they surely wouldn’t forget. Having no househelp calls for sorely kitchen chore but my stress instantly disappeared when I saw the spark in their eyes as I placed the TUNA CARBONARA on our table and absolutely satisfied since there was no leftover.

TUNA CARBONARA is a quite-demanding and challenging pasta dish because we do not want to have our pasta tastes and smells too fishy. One trick I learned from a friend is to use a canned and seasoned tuna, like Hot and Spicy Century Tuna. I added more color in the pasta by complementing colors of vegetables like carrots, red and green peppers, and celery. The vegetables also contributed a very pleasant smell and taste to the sauce.

Well, I guess I learned that I should be planning for some simple dishes for unplanned cooking for unexpected visitors. Making sure that ingredients are in the kitchen so I can still please my guests with my home-cooked dishes.

TUNA CARBONARA (TUNA IN WHITE SAUCE)

1 kilo pasta (spaghetti, fettucini, cooked accdg. to packaging directions)

1/3 cup butter
1 large head garlic (the whole thing; not the clove), peeled and minced
3 medium white onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 can (420 gm) Century Tuna Flakes in Vegetable Oil, drained
1 can (420 gm) Century Tuna Flakes, Hot and Spicy, drained
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom
1 pouch Nestle Cream (I used lite cream)
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup button mushrooms (canned), sliced
1 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1 stalk, celery, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter.

Add garlic, saute for about a minute and add onion, saute for another minute.

Add the tuna flakes, make sure they are drained well. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring often with care.

Add Nestle Cream.

Then, add the evaporated milk.

Pour on Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom.

Add sliced mushroom. Reduce heat to low. Stirring constantly to avoid the ingredients sticking on the pan’s bottom. Scrap up also the browned bits on the side of the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes. Simmering the sauce slowly.

Add carrots, red and green bell peppers. Cook for about 2 minutes.

Add celery. And season with dried oregano, basil, black pepper and salt. Cook for another minute. Remove from fire.

Pour the sauce over still-warm cooked pasta.

Serve your TUNA CARBONARA.

LABONG (bamboo shoots) and saluyot is one of the most popular Ilocano/Pangasinense dish in the country and worldwide. Labong is a young bamboo stalk and sliced into finely thin strips. Sliced Labong is usually available in wet markets and is abundant during rainy seasons. Labong is prepared and cooked in many ways like adobong labong, ginataang labong and enseladang labong. Yet labong with saluyot is one of the most famous for it is the easiest way to cook and healthiest way to eat labong. SALUYOT is a green leafy vegetable and is rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron and potassium. Saluyot when cooked makes the dish slimy and yummy.

LABONG TAN SALUYOT (LABONG AND SALUYOT)

3-4 cups water
1 medium ginger, peeled and sliced
1/2 kilo labong, thinly, finely sliced
1 bundle of saluyout leaves
fried fish (preferably Bonuan Bangus)
2 tbsp. fish paste (bagoong)
1 tbsp. fish sauce (patis)

In a large pot, boil labong with 1 liter of water. Simmer and covered until almost tender, about 30-40 minutes. Remove heat and drain. Set aside.

In a separate pot, simmer the ginger with 3-4 cups of water. Then add the labong, fish paste and fish sauce.

Add the saluyot leaves and fried fish. Cook for 5 minutes more.

Then serve hot with steaming white rice.

I have been running gaga all around the house – nursing Caleb, taking care of Colby, doing the laundry, making sure the house is neatly cleaned as friends do visit and check the baby,  planning and cooking meals, buying all needful things, and many more. It is not easy spending all day being at home which I believe is the hardest job a woman would ever have. Despite of the sleepless nights putting Caleb to sleep and watching Barney and Dora the whole day with Colby, being with the kids gives contentment that I consider the most rewarding moments of my life and that gives a real definition of being a mom. I admit that having a good pay from working outside the house would give a good deal of confidence with the money I earn but I am much satisfied with the joy and love my beautiful sons reward me.

All things should be done fast and all things should be done simple. This rams me to plan and cook meals which are fast and simple. No long hours of boiling, no demanding garnishes, no endless cooking time, no tiresome slicing, chopping and stirring.

HALABOS NA HIPON or HIPONG HALABOS is the most easiest and fastest to cook shrimp. It is a popular Philippine recipe cooked for about 10-15 minutes served to a family simple meal to a grand fiesta. Halabos na Hipon is the easiest yet the most delicious way to  cook and eat shrimp with a desired dip. Halabos na Hipon’s best dip for me is the combination of vinegar, boneless fish sauce and minced garlic.

HALABOS NA HIPON (HIPONG HALABOS)

1 kilo medium sized or large shrimps
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. salt

Trim whiskers of each shrimp.

Wash shrimps with running water and drain.

Place shrimp in a large skillet and season with salt. Pour on water.

Cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally until water is being dissolved.

Serve with steaming hot rice and your favorite dip.

Weekend was full-packed activity. I attended my officemate’s wedding. We were also at my niece’s 7th birthday. And we had a small gathering in our place with our friends. That would just mean that we dived with tons of meats and sweets the past few days so I thought of doing some cleansing with vegetable, fish and fruits before I give birth. I know it is only few days to wait before I give birth. I will have a trial labor said my doctor since I had my Ceasarean operation four years ago with Colby. Speaking of Colby, he will be celebrating his 4th birthday on Thursday. I don’t know if I will be giving birth on his birthday but I like the thought of having my sons celebrating their birthdays on a same day. I already arranged Colby’s birthday party at my mom’s house in case I will be giving birth anytime soon since I foresee that I will be at the hospital on Colby’s birthday.

FRIED FISH FILLET is the easiest way to cook fish. I prefer buying a whole fish like Lapu-lapu, Labahita or Yellow Fin rather and fillet them at home than buying the ready to cook fish fillets at grocery. To some, it is Fish Fillet, Fish Cutlets, Fish Nuggets, Fish Croquets. Whatever it should be called, it is a fried fish meat and dipped in a sauce or dressing.

FRIED FISH FILLET

1 kilo labahita, lapu-lapu or yellow fin (which I used)
1 cup flour
3 beaten eggs
4 calamansi
Salt
Pepper

Clean fish with running water. Drain with absorbent paper.

Make individual fish fillets separated from bones.

Rub with calamansi juice, salt and pepper. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Dip in beaten eggs and roll in flour.

Fry over slow fire until fish fillet is golden brown.

Serve with desired dip.