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Stir-fried pork and cucumber in Thai red curry

August 27, 2009 By Gay 2 Comments

One of the things I miss in Los Banos is the Thai restaurant of Tita Cora called Ning’s Thai. A Filipina who married a Thai UPLB student and learned the art of Thai cooking in Bangkok, she has since opened her own restaurant in Los Banos. I was one of the early customers and over the years have developed a friendship with her. what I love about her concept is that she’d cook the dish in front of her place so you’d really know her dishes are freshly cooked. I’ve learned a lot just by watching her. When I said my good byes to her before moving here in Gensan, she gave me a bottle of her homemade Thai red curry.

I haven’t done much Thai cooking since I came here in Gensan, but lately though, I have been craving for her fiery hot red curry. A stir fry was in order so here it is.

Cooking for one is certainly different with cooking for four. So what I usually do is buy a piece of pork tenderloin, divide into four and freeze them individually. I just get a pack for when I need to cook something quick.
stirfried pork and cucumber in thai red curry

Stir-fried pork and cucumber in Thai red curry

1 tbsp cooking oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1 tbsp Thai red curry
1 tsp fish sauce
~125 grams pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
1 pc red bell pepper cut into strips
1 cup diced cucumber, pith removed

Heat oil in a pan. Add the garlic and stir fry for a minute then add the red curry. Stir-fry until curry is well blended with the oil and garlic. Add the fish sauce and pork. Stir-fry again for a few minutes till meat is cooked through. Add the bell pepper strips and cook for another minute. Just before serving, stir in the cucumber.

Thai food is a favorite of mine. I would love to travel to Thailand someday soon (with my Eagle Creek luggage) and eat all the hot and spicy dishes to my heart’s content!

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Filed Under: Asian, Meat Tagged With: Asian, pork tenderloin, stir fry, Thai food

Octopus and Fettuccine Orientale

August 20, 2009 By Gay 8 Comments

What I love about the markets here in Gensan is the variety of seafoods one can find everyday. My motto when going to the market is “anything goes…”. I derive inspiration for my cooking for the week from the array of vegetables and and treasure trove of seafood  (much like loose diamonds) one can find here. Recently, a friend’s birthday called for a celebration and I promised a pasta dish. I was contemplating on doing a red pasta dish with homemade Italian sausage when I saw these wonderful beauties!

fresh octopus

Octopus in pasta, why not? I love seafood pasta so my imagination worked overtime to come with this dish. First though, you have to blanch the octopus. The tentacles would curl and would look this:

blanched octopus_dorsal view

The pasta tasted great even if the picture below doesn’t look like it! Anyway, I’m sharing this with Presto Pasta Nights hosted this week by Katie of One Little Corner of the World.

fettucine and octopus

Octopus and Fettucine Orientale

2 octopus (~500 grams)
350 grams fettucine
1/2 cup naturally-fermented soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tsp finely minced ginger
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp toated sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to the boil. Add 1 tsp salt. When water is boiling, put the octopus on the pot and blanch for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Chop the tentacles and head. Put in a bowl and season salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly then add the soy sauce, ginger, sugar and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Marinate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook fettucine according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of broth from cooking pasta.

Drain octopus and reserve marinade. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and stirfry the octopus for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm on a plate. Heat pan juices then add the reserved marinade and pasta broth. Bring to the boil then gently simmer till slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the pasta, octopus and remaining sesame oil then mix thoroughly to coat the pasta with the sauce. When pasta is heated through, transfer to plate and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Filed Under: Pasta and Noodles, Seafood

Tuna Skin Chicharon

August 17, 2009 By Gay 4 Comments

One of the appetizers I learned to cook here in Gensan is tuna skin chicharon. Yup, chicharon! And it is equally delicious as the pork chicharon but much much healthier (you won’t need diet pills for this!). I saw packs of these being sold in tuna shops but didn’t realize it’s quite easy to make. Freshly cooked chicharon is way much better than those sold in stores. First, you do need fresh tuna skin! This is quite common in the markets here in Gensan although I bought the tuna skin from the market in Polomolok. This is popular as appetizers or pulutan and when I bought half a kilo (10 pesos only!), I asked the others who bought the skin how to cook it. This is sold in rolls of 500 grams each. The first thing to do is blanch the skin so you can remove the scales easily, marinate then deep fry.

tuna skin chicharon

Tuna Skin Chicharon

500 grams tuna skin
salt and pepper for marinating

In a pot, bring water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut the tuna skin into ~6 inch long cuts. Drop the skin in boiling water and let it stay for a minute. Remove from boiling water then skim off scales. Cut the skin into smaller serving pieces. Marinate in salt and pepper for 15 minutes. Deep fry till golden brown.

Filed Under: Seafood

Fritatas

August 10, 2009 By Gay 2 Comments

Making fritatas is much like cooking fried rice for me. It is also one way that I can add vegetables to my diet. They are also very versatile, you could use any combination of filling and can pair it with rice or bread. They are also quick and easy to cook so a real time saver when I’m running late. Or just when I need a quick fix after a lot of housekeeping work. Housekeeping’s too tiring, I would need a disability insurance!

fritata
The ingredients are pretty much the same as my fried rice although I skip the ginger, oyster sauce and sesame oil. Just saute garlic and onion (if I have onions), add the meat (ground pork, thinly sliced chicken or chorizos), then thinly sliced vegetables. Stir fry for a few minutes till vegetables are limp and almost done. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and cool slightly. Add 2-3 eggs (depends on the amount of vegetables) and mix thoroughly. Heat a non-stick pan and coat with oil. Pour the egg mixture and cook over low fire till eggs are set. Turn over carefully to cook the reverse side (I usually slide the fritata on plate, cover it with another plate then invert the plate, and finally sliding the fritata back into the pan) till browned.

Filed Under: Breakfast
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