Bola-Bola with Upo and Carrots

I remember my mother making bola-bola when I was young and thought, "Why isn't there more misua?!" Her version was soupy, flavorful, and had lots of vegetables swimming in the broth. However, for my 10 year old self, it just wasn't enough of those slippery noodles to eat with my rice! 

As I continued to eat this dish when I got older, I vowed that when I was making my own food, I'd add so much of those fine flour noodles that it would be a satisfying bite each time! Fast forward to now and when I firstbmade this, it was a disaster! I'd put so much of the noodles that it was just a glob of paste in the pan (especially after it sat and cooled). Disaster, I tell you!

I've tweaked my recipe bit by bit, removing excess noodles each time I made it. Now, the current version is perfect...super noodly but still has the looseness for the broth. Each little ladle perfectly how I want it!

---- o o o o ----

Bola-Bola with Upo and Carrots
(Serves 8 to 10 people)

For the meatballs: 

1 lb ground pok

1 lb ground beef

1/4 cup cornstarch 

3 to 4 scallions, minced

1 cup minced carrots

1 cup minced yellow onion

1 tbsp minced bottled garlic

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

For the soup:

1 large tomato, chopped

1/2 cup shopped yellow onions

1 tbsp minced bottled garlic 

2 tbsp Lee Kum Kee chicken boullion

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 to 2 tbsp patis

Water

1 1/2 to 2 bundles of misua (fine flour vermicelli)

3 cups large chunk carrots

3 cups large chunk upo

2 large scallions, large sliced

Combine all ingredients of the meatballs together. Fry a little pice to taste the seasoning and adjust as needed. Roll into 2 inch balls (about 12 to 16) and put aside.

In a large pot, add tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Cook down the tomatoes, then add enough water to fill 3/4 of the pot. Season with bouillon, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and patis. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add carrots and the meatballs. Bring to a boil, then break the misua into pieces into the pot. Stir and cover. Let simmer another 5 minutes. 

Add the upo and the green on onions. Cover and turn the heat to medium. Let simmer until the upo is tender. Adjust taste as needed, then serve with rice.

Thai Coconut Chicken Curry

I love a good curry! There's just something about a nice, rich gravy, flavorful meat, and a good mix of veggies over rice that's  so comforting. 

I normally cook a lot of Japanese or Indian curries but not any Thai.  Not sure if it's  just lack of ingredients or if I just don't think about it, but Thai doesn't  come immediately to mind. Since I don't cook that cuisine that much, i decided to stock my pantry with some staples like lemongrass powder and a Thai curry paste. 

For tonight's dinner, I wanted to something fairly quick. I found a couple of recipes that I decided to combine and tweak and the results were amazing! Definitely a keeper!

---- o o o o ----

Thai Coconut Chicken Curry

(Slightly adapted from Alexandra's Kitchen and Salt & Lavender)

2 medium onions or 1 large onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

8 chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces

1/2 tsp lemon grass powder, divided

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp minced black garlic or regular garlic

2 tbsp Maesri brand Thai red curry paste

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 to 2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 (13.5 fluid ounces) can full-fat coconut milk or cream

1 cup carrot chips, chopped

1 cup green beans, chopped to 1 in

1 red bell pepper, sliced to 1 in

1 tsp lime juice, or to taste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 bunch spinach

1 small handful fresh cilantro, chopped

1 small handful fresh basil, chopped

2 stalks scallions, chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

In a large saute pan over high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the chicken and season with salt, pepper, and 1/4 tsp lemongrass powder. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

Increase heat to high and add remaining 1 tbsp oil. When the pan is hot, add onions and a pinch of salt, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until onions begin to soften and brown, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, turmeric, curry powder, and curry paste until onions are coated.

Add tomatoes and cook until just soft. Add the remaining vegetables and saute until just tender.

Add the fish sauce, coconut milk, and brown sugar. Let it come to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened (add water as needed, if too thick).

Add the chicken back to the pan then add garlic powder and remaining 1/4 tsp lemongrass powder. Stir in lime juice and spinach then cook a few more minutes to soften the spinach. Adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper.

Finish the curry by adding the cilantro, basil, and scallions just before serving. 

curry on and tally forth!

 

Sometimes, the best food you can make is something nice, simple, and hearty. I've been in a curry mood lately but didn't want the bold, spicy flavors of Indian curry. Instead, I wanted a milder, sweeter curry that my Dad often favors.

When he visited our house last time, he decided to bring over his favorite recipe that used popular Japanese curry blocks. With just a few ingredients, a little wait time, he instantly had dinner on the table. Wow! 

This is my take on his curry. I opted for ground turkey (since I had that in the fridge) and added a few more veggies to the mix. Also, since I wanted a dryer sauce, I went with a little less liquid to get the consistency I wanted. Enjoy! 

- - - o o o - - -

Japanese-Style Dry Turkey Curry

(Makes 3 to 4 servings)

1lbs ground turkey

1 cup finely diced potatoes

1 cup finely diced carrots

1 cup finely diced red onion

1/4 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup frozen peas

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp light agave syrup or honey

3-4 blocks S&B Golden Curry mix, mild

1 tsp everything seasoning

1 cup plus more turkey stock or broth

Salt & pepper, to taste

Heat butter in a large sauce pan until melted. Add half of potatoes, onions, and carrots. Cook until just softened. 

Add turkey to pan. Sprinkle on everything seasoning, agave or honey, and season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Once the turkey start to brown, add the remaining potatoes, carrots, and onions. 

Cook mixture until the turkey is fully cooked and the added vegetables start to soften. Add blocks of curry mixture and stir until the blocks dissolve. Add turkey broth 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency. Stir in corn and peas. 

Let cook for another 10 minutes, adding broth as needed to keep consistency, before serving.

for cozy winter days...

So, after a little bit of hiatus, I'm back!

Since it's been a while, I figured that I'd post with something warm and cozy for the winter months . . . a hearty turkey meatball soup! I found this recipe off Pinterest while I was looking for something to do with kale. Kale is one of those random ingredients that I occasionally buy but never really know what to do with. That's when looking for recipes come in handy. ^_^;

For the soup, I decided to add my own twist to it by including some dried pasta. Again, I wanted a really hearty soup and this was going to be used for more of a lunch/dinner type of entree. I also changed the taste profile...the cumin and the star anise seemed really weird to me so I omitted them in my soup.

All in all, the ending result was nice...savory and lemony, hearty and filling like I wanted it. Add a couple slices of toasted and buttered sourdough and his was the perfect good eats for a cold day. This does make a big pot of soup, so be prepared to have leftover for a couple of days! Enjoy!

---- o o o o ----

Lemony-Garlic Turkey Meatball Soup with Pasta and Kale
(adapted from The Holisitc Ingredient)

For the Meatballs:
1 lbs. ground turkey
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped leeks, white part only
handful fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried mint leaves, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp bottled minced garlic
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp olive oil
additional oil for cooking

For the Soup:
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
5 peels of lemon
1 tbsp minced bottled garlic
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
12 cups (3 quarts) low sodium chicken broth
2 tsp fish sauce
1 (6.5oz) pkg dry cheese tortellini pasta
10-12 kale leaves, stems removes and torn into smaller pieces
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil for cooking

 
Make the Meatballs:
Combine all ingredients for meatballs and mix well until well incorporated.

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Roll mixture into small meatballs, size smaller than a ping-pong ball. Fry meatballs for 7-8 minutes, turning them throughout so they are golden-brown on all sides. Set aside on some paper towels to drain any excess oil.

Make the Soup:
Over medium-high heat, add some oil to a large soup pot. Once hot, add the onion, celery, carrot, and lemon peels. Saute for a few minutes, then add garlic, thyme, chicken broth, and fish sauce. Season with salt and pepper then bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add the dried tortellini. Continue cooking until tortellini is al-dente. Reduce heat to medium, add the meatballs, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Prepare the kale and add to the soup, stirring through, then cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat then add the lemon juice. Stir and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Let sit for 5 minutes off heat before serving.

Makes about 8 to 10 servings.

leftover remix: asian turkey noodle soup!

I wanted to do something interesting with our leftover turkey but I'm torn. We're getting down to the last of it and I'm undecided whether or not to make it into some kind of casserole. It'll be easy to do and I'm sure there are billions of casserole recipes out there to try. Heck, even I've got a casserole recipe in my repertoire!

But I want to make something interesting out of it!

Call it vanity, but I kind of wanted to make something that was totally opposite of what the thanksgiving turkey originally tasted like. I wanted to change it's taste profile so that it would turn into some kind of wonderful. Lo, and behold, I got my inspiration!

Enter "Year of the Fish". I was in the mood for a fairytale and this movie intrigued me. So I settled in and watched it on Amazon (besides, who doesn't love a Cinderella story?). Well, there was a scene in the movie where they were eating soup and suddenly it hit me . . . let's make a turkey ramen!!

That got my juices flowing so right after the movie, I got to searching for a basic asian soup. I didn't want it to be too complicated; just simple and classic ingredients. I ended up using a recipe from Martha Stewart, of all people. I'm not really a big fan of hers, but I found that this was exactly the kind of soup I was looking for.

This turned out exactly how I wanted it to. It was your basic broth, heavy on the ginger, and with the unmistakable hint of turkey. I wanted this to primarily be a ramen-esque type of soup so there's more noodle than meat. Why rice noodles? Because that's what I had on hand. Next time, I would probably go with an egg noodle since i prefer that to the taste of the rice ones. Other than that, I thought this experiment turned out pretty good!

---- o o o o ---- 

Scallion-Ginger Broth with Turkey and Rice Noodles
(slightly adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 tsp vegetable oil
4 scallions, chopped with white and green parts divided
1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minched
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 (4.5oz) ramen-size block of rice noodles
1/4 cup matchstick carrots
1/4 cup lightly shredded turkey

 
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add scallion whites, ginger, and garlic; cook, stirring, until scallions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add broth and fish sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until flavors are blended, about 5 minutes. Add carrots, rice noodles, and turkey then continue simmering until noodles are done. Garnish with additional carrots and scallion greens.

you butternut, or i'm telling mom!

One thing that I had a lot of growing up was soups. My mom would make a lot of sinigang, arroz caldo, kare kare, and sopas. A big bowl of my mom's soup always spelled comfort food to me and always made me feel better and good, even on frustrating or busy days.

Funnily enough, now that I have my own household, I rarely make any soup. It's probably because my husband isn't a very big soup eater . . . he'd rather have a big honking meal that would make him full instead of a light supper of soup and buttered bread. To each their own, I guess.

I didn't start getting into soups again until I started working for Boudin Bakery. With clam chowder, chili, and a rotating special soup of the day, it wasn't hard to revive my love of soup. Throw in a bread bowl, and soup reached new heights of wonderment!

Speaking of soup, I was still employed at Boudin's when they rolled out an updated menu. Chief among them was all new pizzas and some new soups including a butternut squash bisque. The first time I had the bisque, I was blown away. I was the type of person who loved sweet things. So, when I had a taste of something that was both sweet and slightly savory all at the same time, I was hooked. It was my favorite soup from Boudin's.

Years later, I still come back to Boudin from time to time. And I still order that soup. However, Georgia has no Boudin Bakery. They do have Panera Bread, tho. But I've tried their autumn squash soup and it just isn't the same . . . too savory and not enough sweet.

So I decided to make my own.

Surprisingly, not many people have copycat recipes for Boudin's bisque. There's a crap ton of Panera recipes out there on the web tho. Luckily enough, I did find one recipe that took inspiration from Boudin and a similar one that had different spices. I decided to combine the two to make my bisque.

What I ended up with was something special. While not exactly like the bisque from Boudin's, it has similar flavor notes and passes as an acceptable alternative. I've topped it with some tart dried cranberries (no added sugar!), toasted pecans (instead of walnuts in Boudin's and heck, I'm in Georgia after all!), and fresh and bright flat-leaf parsley. I love this soup! It's like eating autumn in a bowl!

Now . . . if only I had a bread bowl . . .

---- o o o o ---- 

Butternut Squash Bisque
(adapted from My PB+J and A Sweet Pea Chef)

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 acorn squash, peeled and cubed
2 tbsp salted butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 large sweet apples, chopped
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth
nutmeg, to taste
cinnamon to taste
1/2 cup low-fat half and half
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
dried cranberries, for garnish
toasted chopped pecans, for garnish
chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

 
In a large pot, cook butternut and acorn squash in butter over medium heat, stirring, for 20 minutes. Add onion, celery, and apple then saute for 10 minutes. Add chicken stock or broth. Season with salt and pepper then simmer for 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.

 

Remove from heat and puree using blender or immersion blender. Return to heat then sir in half and half and brown sugar. Season to taste with nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Add additional stock, if necessary. Simmer an additional 10 minutes then remove from heat.

To serve, ladle into bowl and garnish with cranberries, pecans, and parsley. Serve with crusty bread and butter on the side.

sharing food.

Now that I don't have instant access to my mom's cooking anymore, I found that I'm eating less Filipino food and more American food. Especially in the things that I cook nowadays for my husband. Being Caucasian, he's got a thing about textures and isn't overly fond of most Asian cuisines outside of Panda Express. In an effort to expose him to more Filipino food besides the usual adobo and pancit (and to help me reconnect to my heritage), I thought that I would make him one of my favorite Filipino dishes: my mother's kare kare.

Kare Kare is a traditional Filipino stew usually made with oxtails and veggies in a savory peanut sauce laced with annato and shrimp paste. It's another of my favorite dishes that my mom makes. In her version, she would use the less expensive beef chuck cuts for stew marbled with a little fat. Also, she adds cabbage to hers and usually blanches the vegetables in the beef broth. I remember that whenever my mom made this, I would eat a couple (sometimes three!) platefuls of it with a heaping dollop of spicy bagoong mixed in the rice. Those were some tasty goodness, right there!

While I might rant and rave about how good this dish is, I wasn't so sure if the hubby would have such a similar response. For one thing, it has eggplants...one vegetable that he's not so keen on. Also, another "weird" ingredient that he might be wary of was the peanut butter. I only had crunchy peanut butter so texture and taste was really something that I was worried about. But I went ahead and made it... hoping for the best. And to cut time, I skipped the blanching of the vegetables in the broth and hoped it would still taste the same...

I really shouldn't of worried. When the hubby walked in, the first thing he commented on was how good the house smelled. Yay! Then, after further investigation in the kitchen, he also remarked on how good the stew looked. Double yay! So when he finnaly took the first few bites, his only complaint was that he wished there were more bok choy (which was funny because I had left out the cabbbage for fear that he wouldn't like it). And you know what the best part of all this was? It tasted just like how mommy makes it! Fuck yeah!

So now, whenever I make this in the future, I won't be plagued by worry or doubt because I know that the hubby will eat it...but most importantly, *like* it as well. Huzzah for sharing cultures!!

P.S., you might notice that the directions don't match the pictures. The instructions below are for my mom's "real" kare kare...with cabbage and banana heart. :)

---- o o o o ---- 

Kare Kare
(Beef Stew with Vegetables in Peanut-Based Sauce)

2.5lbs beef chuck roast, cubed
6 to 8 cups water
1 medium-large banana heart, blossoms separated and heart chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 heaping tbsp annatto powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp shrimp paste (bagoong)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup rice water (first wash)
2 to 3 small eggplants, sliced into chunks
1 bundle Chinese long beans, cut into 3-inch length
1/4 of a cabbage
2 to 3 baby bok choy, halved
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

In a large pot, add beef and enough water to cover the meat by about 1-2 inches. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the meat is tender, about 2 hours. Strain the meat out once tender, and keep the stock. Set aside.

Take prepared banana heart and blossoms and place in a large saucepan. Add enough stock to cover blossoms then boil until tender. Strain, discard stock, then set aside.

On medium-low, heat the oil in another large pot and stir in the annato powder. Let the annato infuse the oil for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and onions. Increase heat to medium and let cook for a couple of minutes until onion is slightly translucent. Stir in the shrimp paste (bagoong) then add the beef. Cook for another few minutes, stirring constantly.

After the meat just starts to brown, add the rice water and let simmer for five minutes. Stir in the peanut butter. If the mixture becomes too thick, add some reserved beef stock 1/4 cup at a time as needed.

Add the eggplant and banana heart and simmer for another 3-5 minutes. Then add the beans and cabbage, simmering for another 5-8 minutes. Check the consistency of the sauce and add stock as required. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Lastly, add bok choy, and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes to finish steaming the bok choy. Serve with shrimp paste (bagoong) over hot plain rice.

naan the better.

last night i decided that i was going to try my hand at making some curry and naan bread again. i really love indian food with all it's spices and robust richness. trouble is...i really can't seem to get it quite right. so frustrating. the last time i made some indian food, i ended up with a less than satisfying concoction that really frustrated me (the naan in particular). the curry itself was alright, the naans just sucked. :/

this time around, it was switched...i got the naans perfect but the curry recipe i tried was okay. definitely a more "inspired" dish than actual indian. and i think i really prefer a vegetable, fish, or chicken curry as opposed to beef. it was okay...again not what i was looking for.

well, to be fair, i didn't really follow directions for the beef curry. i felt it was all meat so i added some more veggies (namely the chunks of onion and green bell peppers) and used a full can of coconut cream. AND i threw it in a slow cooker. *sigh* the naans, however, were delicious! i deviated just a little bit from the recipe by adding some coconut oil to the mix (see a theme here? lol), subbing 1/2 cup with some whole wheat flour, and gave it a thirty minute second rise before rolling out the dough. i think that helped with making it soft and chewy and much easier to work with. also, i think by adding the coconut oil, it was easier to roll between two sheets of wax paper as opposed to adding more flour which could've possibly made it more dense. the naan recipe was killer and i'm definitely going to keep it as my go-to for naan bread!

 

Indian Spiced Beef Curry
(from Ocado)

900g lean beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2½ cm fresh root ginger, peeled
4 tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
2 fresh hot red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
150ml double cream
1 handful fresh coriander, finely chopped (optional)

1.) Put the beef, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, and oil in a bowl, and mix thoroughly. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the spiced beef, and sauté for about 10 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan, and set aside.

2.) In a food processor, whiz the onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and chillies until minced. Add to the same frying pan as used for the beef, and cook for about 5 minutes over a medium heat. Stir in the cream, add 150ml (5fl oz) water, and bring to the boil. Return the meat to the pan, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer for 15–20 minutes.

3.) Stir through the chopped coriander (if using), and serve immediately.

 

Yeasted Naan
(from Journey Kitchen)
Makes 6

2 cups bread flour or strong white flour or all purpose flour* (subbed 1/2 cup with whole wheat)
1 tsp sugar (used pure cane sugar)
1 tsp salt (used kosher)
1 tsp active yeast
2 tbsp ghee (didn't have any, used regular butter)
5 tbsp yogurt (used plain greek yogurt)
1/2 cup lukewarm water
3 tbsp or so extra virgin coconut oil plus more for greasing

Author's Note
* I use bread flour whenever I have it around because it creates much better naan but when I don't all purpose flour works just fine. Sometimes I also use 1 cup chapati flour instead of all white flour for nuttier flavor.

Mix the water, yeast and sugar and leave for 10 minutes for the yeast to come alive. It’s necessary that you don't get confused between a yeast that mixes and rises to the top and an yeast which actually proofs with bubbles of air forming.

Add salt to the flour and keep aside. Once the yeast has proofed, add it to the flour along with yogurt and ghee (also added the 3 tbsp coconut oil here). Knead the dough well for about 10 minutes. The dough may feel sticky at first, apply some ghee (used coconut oil) on your hand and keep kneading till it’s soft and supple. Keep it in a greased bowl covered with wet towel to rise (preheated oven to 200 then turned it off when it was at temp--let rise covered with loose saran wrap). It may take any where between 2-3 hours to rise (mine doubled at the hour mark).

Once it rises, knead it for another 5 minutes and divide it into equal size balls (here i let them rest for another 30 minutes in the warmed oven before going further). If you want to make garlic or cumin flavored naan, add it while kneading the dough at this point. Roll each piece into a flat ball. Dust the work surface with flour and start rolling the balls with a rolling pin. After the intial rolling it become much easier to handle it with hands. Try to give it a tear drop shape by stretching it from one end. Don't stretch too much as it may tear. (skipped the fouring part--i rolled the dough into 1/8 inch thin rough ovals between two sheets of wax paper)

Heat the pressure cooker or skillet on high heat for 3 minutes. Put this rolled naan on the skillet and cover with a lid. If using a pressure cooker, remove the whistle and tighten the lid. In less than a minute bubbles with pop up. Reduce the gas to medium high, flip the naan on the other side and cook for few seconds till the bubbles char. Alternatively, with tongs take the naan and put the other side on an open flame to cook and char the bubbles. Naan cooks very quickly at this point so don't let it be on flame for more than 30 seconds. (used the skillet method and slightly deviated--didn't cover, let cook until bubbles formed then flipped and charred the other side until i thought it was done, about two minutes or so at most? they cooked real fast!)

Brush immediately with butter and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves. (i buttered them and sprinkled a little bit of garlic powder on them...worked just fine and they turned out perfectly awesome with just a hint of garlic. :D)