Hello everyone! I haven't posted for this new year due to some unavoidable circumstances but here I am again and wishing you all the best in life! I want to share the simple food recipes I made last Christmas and New Year's celebration.
I prepared the following:
• Hamonada
• Escabeche
• Lenguine pesto
• Gambas
• Spaghetti
• Cassava Cake
• Rocky Road Choco cake
• Macaroni Salad
• Crinkles by Antonia
Hamonada
Hamonada is our traditional menu during the holiday season. The kids loved it so I see to it that it is always present on our table. I would like to show you the recipe below. You will know why this is their favorite!
Ingredients:
•1-2 kilos of meat thigh or boneless
•1/2 kilo potatoes
•6 pieces ripe banana (the ones used for banana-Q)
•1 clove garlic, minced
•2 bulbs white onions
•5 stems spring onions
•4 medium sized bell peppers
•1 can sliced pineapple for toppings.
•1/2 cup Oyster sauce
•1/2 cup Vinegar
•1/2 cup Brown sugar
•Anisado or Anis seeds
•Rosemary seeds (optional)
•Black pepper (seeds & leaves)
•Tomato paste
•Salt and seasoning to taste.
•Sprite or juice of sliced pineapple
Preparation:
- Wash the meat thoroughly and drain.
- Peel potatoes and banana then fry. Set aside.
- Clean all the spices as listed on the above-mentioned.
- It is better to use a deep wok or a pressure cooker for best results.
Instructions:
Place the meat in your pressure cooker, adding all the spices. If you happen to prepare a fruit salad for this occasion, use the juice of kaong or nata de coco along with anis wine and pineapple juice (set aside the sliced pineapple for toppings). Do not add water if you have enough amounts of these liquids. It should be just above the meat for the savor to absorb. The tomato paste will be enough to make the liquid in creamy form.
-Let it boil for 30-45 minutes in pressure cooker. Release the steam first before opening.
-Resume with your process while regulating the taste. Check and balance of sweet and sour must be perfect.
- Add the fried potatoes and bananas.
- Add the sliced pineapples for toppings.
- Serve hot
As you can see, the meat is so tender and savory to the innermost!
GAMBAS
I think most of us love to eat big shrimps! It's one of my favorites too. This is one of the easiest recipe to prepare. You only need the following ingredients:
• 1 kilo large Shrimps
• 1 ginger, cubed
• 1 clove garlic,minced.
• 1 bulb union, sliced
• Fresh tomatoes sliced into thin cubes
• 4 Bell peppers, cubed
• Gambas powder
• 2 tbsp pesto
- Sautee ginger,tomatoes, onion and garlic then add bell peppers along with the cleaned shrimps stirring occasionally for few minutes.
- Mix gambas powder with 1cup water and gently pour stirring occasionally. At the same time, add the pesto until liquid part is thickened. Lastly, add salt and seasoning to taste. Do not overcook for best results.
Note: preparation and cooking time only takes about an hour or so.
Yellow Fin Tuna Escabeche or Sweet n' Sour Tuna
My son-in-law brought a 16-inch yellowfin tuna for my escabeche recipe.
I cleaned it thoroughly and let it drain downwards. I removed the lungs and intestines through the neck without opening the belly. My purpose is to add spices inside the stomach with garlic, spring onion salt and pepper with lemon grass.
The problem was that my frying pan was too small so I fried it in 'half-half' situation. It means that I fried the other half then the other half with the tail followed. The same was done with the other side until the whole fish looked crispy. I know it was not fully cooked inside because the meat was too thick. After frying, I baked it for about an hour to be certain that the meat was fully cooked.
While the fish was still in the oven, I prepared the following spices for my Escabeche Menu:
- Ginger
- Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Onion
- Bell peppers
- Carrots
- Tomato paste
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar or as needed.
All of the above were thoroughly cleaned and cut into long strips.
Prepare the gravy in a bowl adding water with 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup oyster sauce or soy sauce then add salt and 1/2 cup corn starch.
How to cook:
-Simply sautee all the spices then pour the liquid preparation for gravy. Add the tomato paste for additional flavor. Let it boil and taste if the desired sweet and sour taste is well balanced.
- Lastly, place the fish in a platter and pour the gravy. Arrange the spices for a yummy looking escabeche!
This is all for now guys as you might get bored reading my long post already. I will be making the rest of the recipes on my next post, okay?
This year has been full of sad and happy experiences but I chose to be happy this holiday season! First and foremost, I am ever thankful that my kids are doing well even if they were not able to come home because of some restrictions. Thanks to Family Group Chat that we still managed to greet and share good news to each other. My daughter in Bacolod along with her hubby came home to spend some time with me for our media Noche. They were only allowed to stay within 24 hours maximum so they left the following day.
Despite the pandemic, there are still many things that we should be thankful of, and this includes my virtual family here with you guys.
Let me extend my thanks to you all and to the communities that has brought me this far especially my 
Love,