Our Last Day, 2012

It's been a long time since I last posted mainly because work has kept me busy and the fact that it may be difficult to delineate what I can and cannot share.  Work entails creating recipes for supermarkets across the globe and often times, I find that what I make at home finds its way to my professional kitchen.  So I'd rather not take the risk.  

Today, on my third week of vacation, I find it easy to share something that does not take any form of intellectual property.  I'm going to share how we lazed about on our last day and cooked a very simple meal with less than 5 ingredients.

At home, next to good food (and wine for adults), we love flowers, books, and pretty little things.  On the upper left hand side of the photo above (or the lower right hand side below), is my daughter's rendition of a snowman.  

The only books I can never part with whenever I move to a different country are those that truly inspire me.  My daughter loves looking at the photographs in them from time to time.

Plants and flowers add a pop of life in our urban setting which my little one chooses with delight on a weekly basis.  A few days ago, she chose ferns and lilies.

Then there are things we put together... christmas balls that didn't quite make it to our tree, sunglasses that belonged to my mother when she was about my age or so, antiques from our house in Manila, and hand-sewn silk pillowcases we recently bought from a beach trip in the Southern shores of Thailand which she gladly chose.

Lunch is effortlessly put together by simply rubbing salt, pepper, and thyme into lamb chops and frying them in olive oil.  Once cooked medium rare, remove it from the pan and pour some red wine to deglaze the sediments, then add 2 tablespoons of mint jelly.  Allow for the sauce to reduce by eighty percent or until thick to cover the back of a spoon.  And serve with your steamed greens.

Cheers to a happy 2013!  And I hope to find time to keep this blog going...

Baba Ganoush

Baba ganoush is one of The Young Tongue's favorite snacks (and mine!).  All you have to do is grill your aubergines (skin on) until the skin chars, allow it to cool, then peel.  Then blend it in a food processor along with garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and sea salt.  Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley afterwards and serve it with Lebanese pita bread. 

Roast Baby Carrots

Shapes can be a big game changer for feeding picky little eaters.  Luckily, The Young Tongue is not part of the club.  But she was quick enough to point at the baby carrots in the organic section!


I peeled each and every single one of them, but usually, this step is unnecessary.  Then I placed them in a le creuset dish and added some capers, sea salt, and olive oil.  I then plopped it in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 Degrees Celcius.

I then added some Balsamic Vinegar from Modena just to add that bit of tartness (baby carrots are really sweet).  The Young Tongue enjoyed eating them because she could hold each and every piece!

Duck Noodle Soup

We've been experiencing some cool weather lately and we wanted something hot and hearty!  This noodle soup came to mind because it's fairly simple to bring together, as long as you have a good stock to begin with.

Here's how to make Basic Duck Stock:

Roast your duck carcass along with your mirepoix (onions, celery, carrots) until well-clored in the oven.  Deglaze the sediments with red wine.  In a stock pot, place your mirepoix, duck carcass, bouquet garni (bunch of thyme and bay leaves wrapped in a leek), whole black peppercorns, and for that seriously Asian touch, add some lemongrass stalks, galangal or ginger, garlic, a cinnamon bark, cloves, and aniseed.  Quite a lot of things to put into a pot, but hey, it's well worth it!  Besides, all you need to do is bring everything to a rolling boil then gently simmer uncovered for 4 hours.  Strain and keep all the broth you can.  You can then freeze in portion sizes once it cools down.  You can use this for other dishes I promise.

Now, back to the Duck Noodle Soup.  Cook the duck breast in a pot with boiling duck stock.  Once it boils, bring to a simmer and add your store-bought egg noodles.  Once everything is cooked, add some mung bean sprouts, coriander leaves scallions, sugar, chili, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

How To Cook Pasta

Do you secretly cringe at soggy pasta like I do?  Under-cooking it for a minute or even half a minute to make it al dente should be easy to do if you have the patience to watch the clock.  So here's how...

1.  Read the label.  If your pack of pasta says 11 minutes, cook it only for 10 minutes or 10.5 minutes, whichever you fancy.

2.  Ensure that your water is boiling rapidly.  After which, you're supposed to put a fairly good amount of rock salt.  I like using sea salt (even if it doesn't really give you generous amounts of iodine) for the subtle seasoning it adds to the pasta.  Add salt only after the water boils, so that you don't ruin your pot (those circular stains you can never remove after you clean, that's what they are).

3.  Place your pasta in the water.  Do not add olive oil (only do this if you are serving the pasta later on -- and really, you're going to end up throwing it all away, so just drizzle the pasta with the olive oil after it's cooked).

4.  Now grab a watch and set the timer.  Remember, undercook for a minute or half.

5.  Last but not the least, strain.  Keep some for tossing into the sauce for its thickening benefit.

Bacon Wrapped Lemon Pepper Chicken

Easy to the eye, satisfying on the tummy, and fairly simple to prepare, here's how...

Slice your mushrooms lengthwise.  Then slice your scallions the same length as the mushrooms.  Marinate your chicken breast slices along with the vegetables in some extra virgin olive oil and Lawry's Lemon Pepper Seasoning.

I find the flavor a bit subtle, so I actually added some freshly squeezed oranges. 

Then, in a red chopping board (use this color for raw meat), place a slice of bacon.  Then top with the chicken breast and assemble the mushrooms and the scallions one of top of the other.  

Roll the bacon until it securely wraps everything and then place a toothpick to ensure everything remains in place.

Roast in a pre-heated 180 C oven for 20 minutes or until cooked to the core.  Like so...

Once it's fully cooked, remove the toothpicks.  You can serve this as is or along with summer mushroom salad  (click here for recipe).

Chicken with Chorizo

We love chorizo at home.  The Young Tongue and I can finish a whole piece, thinly sliced, as a snack.  When I want the flavor of chorizo to linger in my mouth, I usually incorporate it into a dish.  And so, I decided to put sliced carrots and onions into a baking dish.  I drizzled it with some extra virgin olive oil, seasoned it with salt, and then topped it with sliced chicken fingers.  I took the skin out because the chorizo is fatty enough and I wanted to include some butter.  

The carrots and onions can act as your trivet.  This will ensure the chicken pieces from not sticking into the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle the chicken with some rosemary before tossing it into a pre-heated oven, 180 degrees celcius.  Then add the chorizo during the last 5 minutes of the baking process so it doesn't toughen up and get too burned.

Tortilla de Patata - Potato Omelette

My brother sent me a photo of our first trip to Europe together a few days ago.  The photograph was taken on a train from Lisbon to Barcelona in 1999 and I must admit, I looked quite youthful!  I suppose it was the idea of the world being my oyster as I had just finished college and the thought of eating our way through Las Ramblas on our first evening in Spain.  That trip lasted shy of 2 months and it was then that I realized I really had to study in Europe and no place else.  In fact, that very evening (after our food fest in Las Ramblas), I phoned my Dad and asked if I could return to Europe the very next year.  

It was also good to have traveled with a brother who knew so much about design (an architect) - he literally told me everything there was to know about the buildings and object d'arts we came across with.  Over sips of Sangria and tapas in Barcelona, we had agreed to fulfill our expectations for the weeks to come -- see museums, eat really good food, visit the not-so-touristy bits, and to buy only things that we can not buy back home.

The photo inspired me to make potato omelette.  It's quite simple really and you'll only need a few ingredients -- Eggs, potatoes, onions, and extra virgin olive oil.  I sometimes add a morsel of chorizo just to give the dish a slightly bolder taste.  It also makes the eggs look more yellow (I guess from the paprika).

So here's how:

In a hot pan with extra virgin olive oil, saute some chopped potatoes, onions, and for flavor, I add a tiny morsel of chorizo.  Once the potato is soft to the bite, add eggs.

Once the top part of the egg mixture is about to get firm, put a plate (larger than the pan) on top of the pan and flip.  Then toss it back into the pan, with the top part facing down.  Then after a minute or two, place the omelette on a plate.  Slice and serve.

Usually, as an appetizer, I use half a potato and an egg per person.  But as a dish or a hearty merienda, I use 1 whole potato and 2 pieces of egg.  And remember the tiny piece of chorizo?  I ended up making a game out of it.  I told The Young Tongue whoever gets the piece gets to have a wish.  Of course, I made her win.  Her wish?  A piece of chocolate.  Now that was easy!

Fantastic Eggplants and Mushrooms

I'm a firm believer that if you start your dish with very good ingredients, the dish will turn out well, without having any special culinary skills.  This is a classic example of that premise.  

In a hot cast iron pan, saute some eggplants and onions until soft.   

Quickly drizzle with some balsam glaze from Modena, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and garnish with chopped parsley.  

Last but not the least, try not to forget to drizzle it with some white truffle oil.   Something glaring in the market these days are the several "truffle oil" products.  Read and check the label first as you will find the prices range from $12.00 to $100.00 a pop.  

See that bit of solid in the middle?  That's because I keep my truffle oil in the fridge.

Want to be a food snob?  Buy a bottle that comes with a morsel of white truffle, and don't settle for those that say truffle "essence" or "aroma" on the label.  If you end up with the real deal, store it in the fridge if you live in the tropics.  That ought to give your bottle the proper "shelf life" and help you avoid early stage rancidity.  

Don't be fooled.  The white bit is actually the truffle. 

And the truth is, I'm not a food snob.  I eat anywhere and everywhere, even the most dubious looking joints attract me, as long as the food is good!  

Potato Gnocchi with Broccoli and Bacon

The Young Tongue's current fixation is broccoli.  One day whilst in the supermarket with her nanny, she blurted that she wanted broccoli, grabbed one from the organic section (I kid you not), and insisted it was paid for.  And she insisted that we immediately cook it, steamed and seasoned only with sea salt.  Yes, I must admit, it does sound a bit food snobbish but I have not controlled her musings be it sea salt or maple peanut butter.  Sometimes it scares me!  

Potato gnocchi so happens to be one of her favorite textures as of late so I decided to put both ingredients together.  In a hot pan with just a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, toss in chopped onions, sliced bacon, and garlic.  Allow everything to sweat and let the bacon render it's fat.

Once you see brown sediments in the pan, place the potato gnocchi in boiling water seasoned with salt.

I time everything so knowing that the bacon has left brown sediments in the pan, I have enough time to pour chicken stock, add cream, season with salt and pepper, bring to a rolling boil then simmer -- the dish will all come together as I strain the gnocchi.  You know the gnocchi is cooked when it floats.  

Toss the gnocchi with the rest of the ingredients in the pan.  Then plate.  Last but not the least, accentuate your dish with some shaved or grated Parmegiano-Reggiano.

Honey Mustard Chicken Wings

Since I've started to join the corporate world again, I now have to embrace the idea of having less time in the kitchen.  But that goes without saying, I am not ready to compromise on flavor and quality for my young tongue.

All you have to do is marinate the chicken wings overnight in equal proportions of Dijon mustard (I used the grainy kind) and honey.  Then toss it in a baking dish, drizzle it with a tablespoon of olive oil and some lemon juice, toss in a knob of butter, and sprinkle it with sea salt and black pepper.  Roast at a pre-heated oven, 180 C, for 15 minutes or until golden.

I served this with corn sprinkled with paprika, mashed sweet potatoes, and a side of greens.  

Green Chicken Curry, Thai-style

By far one of my favorite Thai dishes, this dish is so easy to prepare.  This is best served with Jasmine Rice.


You will need:
3/4 cup Coconut Cream
1-2 Tablespoon Green Curry Paste
250 grams Chicken, cut into cubes or strips
2 cups thin Coconut Milk
4 Thai Eggplants / Aubergines
3 Kaffir Lime leaves, sliced into thin strips
1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar
Fish Sauce, to taste
1 Red Thai Chilli
25 leaves Sweet Thai Basil

In a hot wok, place the coconut cream and once it boils, add the green curry paste, mixing well.  Do not cover with a lid.  This will make the coconut cream or milk curdle.

 Add the chicken and turn to medium heat.  Continue to fry the chicken pieces until it changes color.

Add the thin coconut milk, eggplants, fish sauce, coconut sugar, and kaffir lime leaves.  Bring to a boil then simmer.

 Once the chicken pieces are tender, add the red chilli and basil leaves.  Serve hot.

Chicken with Cashew Nuts

Thus far, the most unappetizing photo in my blog, don't be fooled.  I had to endure taking photos with my iPhone for a week.  Uncool I know.  But the flavors made up for it, big time.


You'll be needing:

Soya bean oil, for cooking
5 to 6 Garlic cloves, crushed and chopped with the skin on (yes, skin on!)
300 grams Chicken fillets, sliced into thin strips
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1.5 Tablespoons Soya Sauce, the saltier, the better
1 teaspoon White Sugar, or add as needed
1 Onion, sliced
5 Spring Onions, cut into strips
3 large Sun-dried Thai Chilies, cut into strips
20 Cashew Nuts, roasted


In a hot wok with soya bean oil, saute the garlic.  Once fragrant, add the chicken pieces and once cooked, add all the ingredients except the cashew nuts, which will be added right before serving.  Season to taste.  Serve with Jasmine rice.

Pad Thai

Patience required, iPhone photography

Easy to prepare, and takes less than ten minutes in the wok, this dish is a must try even for the novice cook.  Try to use a wok when cooking this dish because it gives that nice smoky flavor.


You'll need:

Patience required, iPhone photography.

3 Tablespoons Vegetable oil (although they prefer to use Soya Bean Oil here in Thailand)
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
6 pieces Prawns, peeled and deveined
70 grams Tofu, diced or sliced
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1-2 Tablespoons White Sugar
1 cup warm Water (or add more as needed)
140 grams Rice Noodles (soaked in warm water for 2 minutes then drained)
1-2 Tablespoons Peanuts, ground
1 cup Bean Sprouts
2 sweet Spring Onions
1/2 Lime


In a hot wok with vegetable oil, saute the garlic and fry until fragrant.  Thai garlic is by far, one of the most aromatic varieties I've come across in my cooking.  Add the prawns and the tofu.  Then add the egg, scrambling it.  Immediately add the fish sauce and sugar and crank the heat up and using your cooking spoon, put all the ingredients on the top part of the wok.    Pour the water at the bottom of the wok and cook the rice noodles until it becomes soft.  Add the nuts, bean sprouts, spring onions, and the rest of the ingredients.  Switch off the heat once the noodles are dry.  Squeeze with lime.

Patience required, iPhone photography.

This is usually served with Fish Sauce, Vinegar, Chili, and Sugar -- all to taste.  

Salmon, Capers, and Anchovies

I learned this recipe from my sister-in-law, Donna, who happens to be a fantastic cook,  whilst on a visit in Vancouver last year.  The weather was quite nippy and the copious amounts of garlic entailed in making this dish full-flavored, was well worth all the heat!

Chop 1 bulb of garlic (or 2 for extra heat and umph) extra fine or place in a mortar and pestle and grind until it turns to almost liquid consistency.  Open two tins of anchovies, in oil, and using the back of a fork, crush the fillets until fine; then blend this mixture into the garlic.  Drain about 8 tablespoons of capers in vinegar and chop finely; toss this into the same mixture.  Drizzle about 3 to 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and add freshly ground black peppercorns.

Place a salmon fillet, skin-side down, on a baking tray lined with a trivet.  I personally like placing an aluminum foil underneath for easy clean-ups.  Then place the caper mixture on top of the fillet.  Bake at a pre-heated oven, 180 degrees Celcius, for about 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the fillet).  Once it's cooked, you'll be able to easily remove the flesh off the skin.  Transfer into a serving dish and although optional, garnishing with fresh dill will make all the difference!