Mirsbin’s Kitchen

Unlike other kids, I was never allowed to go out in the streets to play during summer (well I was actually not allowed to play outside also during school days). I would normally spend my afternoons with my sisters and my brother. Since I was not allowed to play in the streets, I wasn’t allowed too to buy food from the streets. So I could say I missed a lot of good stuff to eat during those days.

My friends would talk about scramble, corn, manggang hilaw and fishballs. But I wouldn’t get to taste them until I was in U.P. Just the other day, I was running from the resto to the streets because I saw a man sellling scramble. So, pathetic as it sounds I finally tasted what scramble was. Well, I didn’t like it hehehe but that’s another story.

My mom prepared a lot of good stuff to eat. If it’s summer then it’s definitely mango tart season. My mom would receive mangoes in their “kaings” from our small land in Pangasinan and would check it if it was suitable for mango tart, mango shake or just to be eaten with our hands. Last friday, I suddenly thought of making and eating mango tart again.

The memories that came back as soon as the melted butter hit the ground graham crackers. The sweet and tangy taste of cream cheese and cottage cheese made me feel that my mom was making the tart with me. I found joy in arranging each mango slice on top of the cream cheese mixture. I was surprised that I was able to do it in less then an hour. During my younger years, it was all a big production number. Someone was assigned in making ground graham crackers, pounding and sifting until it was in powder form. The another was tasked to peel and slice the mangoes according to the desired size. Then my other sister would mix the cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar in a manual mixer. Imagine the scents it created in the kitchen.

Here’s the guarded Mango Tart recipe of my mom. I still have the orginal piece of paper where she wrote the recipe. Whenever I feel sad, I just look at her handwriting and start thinking of the good old days.

Mango Tart

Crust:
2 1/2 cups ground Graham crackers or any digestive will do
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar

Filling:
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 bar cream cheese soften
1 cup cottage cheese

Mango slices
1 pack clear gelatin

Combine graham crackers, butter, cinnamon and sugar. Press mixture at the bottom of a pyrex dish or any square pan. Keep it in the refrigerator while mixing the filling. Beat the whipping cream for 2 minutes then add cottage cheese, cream cheese and sugar. Pour on top of the crust the refrigerate for 3 hours. Arrange the mango slices. Then cook the gelatin according to the package directions and pour on top of the mango slices. Chill for another 3 hours.

This LP 11 is hosted by JMom

My mom was never a hands on cook, she would always attend cooking classes in the Maya Kitchen or wherever there is a cooking demo but she never cooked it, she only discussed the recipe to my yaya. I only saw her hold a mixing spoon for buko salad and for macaroni salad during Christmas but never a knife to prepare the ingredients for a certain dish. The person who always executed the many recipes that she learned was my yaya. It was my yaya Flor also known as Waps who became my mentor in the kitchen plus the cooking show Cooking It Up with Nora Daza.

I spent many afternoons watching Waps while she prepared dinner for the family. By the time I was eight she let me peel carrots. But during the first time, I managed not only to peel the carrots but also part of my thumb. To the horror of Waps the carrot started to turn red. But this did not discourage me from cooking more meals. Today we still cook together sometimes we argue on the techniques used in cooking, she still believes that the “pang gisa” should be boiled first while I want it stir fried over high heat. As I start my new career in cooking, I attribute my love for cooking to Waps who was patient enough to teach me things in the kitchen and to my mom who let me be her assistant.

I once remember Waps fixing the taste of the meatsauce that I cooked according to what my sisters liked. They like the sweet party spaghetti kind, while I liked the Italian style. I simply brushed it off but noted that the I didn’t get her approval. But the moment we were seated at the dinner table, she announced that it was I who cooked dinner.

Today as my niece and nephews begin to enjoy helping in the kitchen, I find it amusing as I start to mentor them too. They would always ask me -”Cook ka ba Iya? Pag luto ka sama ako ha?” Then they would be happy even just to hand me a carrot or a spoonful of sugar. I wonder who among these 4 small kids would be the one interested in pursuing a career in the kitchen.

Here is Waps’ recipe for BBQ Chicken (you have to taste it from time to time since she only mixes the marinade according to taste, there are no measurements). We loved eating this when we were kids and my sisters still request for it now that they have their own kids!

1 kilo chicken legs
worcestershire sauce
a lot of garlic
brown sugar
calamansi
soy sauce
salt and pepper

Mix the garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, calamansi with salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the chicken and marinate if overnight. You can choose to bake or grill the chicken until cooked.

It was Oktoberfest in 2002 when we I was invited by my friend, Micky Fenix to taste and check out the beer in Dusit Hotel Nikko. It used to be a German resto complete with a big beer brewing machine in the middle. I’ve never been back but my brother told me that they now serve freshly brewed San Miguel beer. I wasn’t really after the beer but I wanted to try out German dishes. As pulutan, we had an all meat platter from lamb chops to grilled beef and a lot of sausages. We we’re really full when we finished. All those meat that was either grilled or fried.

In another get together at Craic an Irish pub in Jupiter street way back again in 2002, we also had beer that time while watching Top TV commercials. What I really liked are the pig knuckles and the crispy beef that was named I think after an actor. I’m not sure if it was Tom Cruise or somebody else.

As for me, beer drinking is just a once in a blue moon thing but I really do enjoy making pulutan for the my friends. They will have the usual chicharon, peanuts or garlic mushrooms, but here are two recipes that they’ve enjoyed and it’s good “ulam” material too

Here are two recipes that have ketchup as a sauce, I’ve made it a number of times but I sure want to share it with you the next time you have a beer drinking night

Shrimps in Sweet and Spicy sauce

1 kilo of shrimps or prawns
1 head of garlic
1 medium sized onion
1 cup ketchup
2 cups of 7-up or sprite
chili sauce

Saute the garlic and onions until brown, then add the shrimps. Before the shrimps turn orange add the 7-up or Sprite then let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add the ketchup, chili sauce and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce becomes thick. You can also try to add some sugar to make it a little sweet.

Sausages with Caramelized Onions

1 pack of frankfurters or any hotdog, sliced diagonally (except the red kind)
1 cup onions
2 tbps olive oil
1 cup ketchup
2 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
tabasco (optional)

Saute onions in olive oil until caramelized. Once the onions are a bit brown add the hotdogs or frankfurters then cook for 3 mins. Pour the ketchup, soy sauce and sugar and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add tobasco or chili sauce if you want to make it spicy then season with salt and pepper.

My thesis project in college was to make a Coffee Table Book on Christmas. One chapter of that was dedicated solely to the dishes that Filipinos cooked for Noche Buena and during Christmas. One of the most popular would be Cocido, Callos or any of the tomato based dishes such as Mechado or Kaldereta.

We never celebrated Noche Buena during my younger years, it was only during the time when my sisters were married did we have reason to cook for Noche Buena. The usual Christmas fare was cooked for the 25th when we will be expecting relatives and friends. When we first started our Noche Buena, I took responsibility in making the menus and it was a reason to showcase the recipes I learned to my siblings.

I was planning to make Beef Wellington this year, but my brother was not allowed to eat beef. I decided to make an Asian Menu. A little harder to prepare but the cooking time took only minutes

Hoisin pork in Lettuce cups with crispy bihon
Lapu-lapu fillet in lemongrass sauce
Pandan Chicken
Pineapple fried rice

Here’s the recipe for the Pandan Chicken:

8 pcs chicken thighs
8 pcs native pandan leave
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp pepper
1 cup gata
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsps oyster sauce
2 tbsps soy sauce
2 cups cooking oil

Mix oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper, gata and sugar. Marinate chicken thighs overnight.

Wrap the chicken in pandan leaves and deep fry until done.

Lasang Pinoy 5
Lasang Pinoy 5 Round Up

I’ve been out of touch since last week, mainly because of my brother’s operation and I also became a personal chef for an American Family with German guests. It was one hell of a week. In the morning I would go to La Vista and start with the family’s breakfast and continue thru lunch. Then try to manage to go home to take a quick nap and go back to prepare dinner. It’s been like this in the past 4 days. Plus to make matters worst, I somehow got a viral infection before all of this was finalized. My sisters were not sure though if I had dengue fever or german measles. Well I’m glad everything is over. One of the greatest fears that I had was not being able to taste the food that I was preparing. For almost a week, I had no appetite. Quite alarming!

Being a personal chef for the family was also an experience. I did manage to try out the plating techniques that I learned at the resto 9501. I also did some of my own recipes for the four day event. One of the things that they liked are the Baked Spanish eggs that I prepared for them for breakfast the other day. I’m sharing this recipe just in case you’re interested.

Baked Spanish Eggs

5 pcs tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
strips of ham, cubed
strips of bacon, cubed
1 pc onion
4 eggs
olive oil
salt
pepper
parmesan cheese

Saute the onions in olive oil, then add the tomatoes and the bell peppers. Once the vegetables are cooked already, add the ham and bacon. Put the ham and bacon mixture in a container for baking (you can use pyrex). Brak the eggs one by one over the mixture. Make sure that the yolks are arranged. Bake until the eggs are set already. Top with grated parmesan cheese