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Shrimp and Thai basil stirfry

July 3, 2010 By Gay 2 Comments

There’s a seafood shop here in GenSan, called RDEX, which has branch ar Robinsons. This makes it convenient for me to get my tuna and shrimps supply. They sell different tuna cuts, from belly to steak to panga. They have proportions for 1-2 people, which is convenient for me. They also have fresh shrimps as well as PDTO shrimps or peeled deveined tail-on shrimps which I particularly like. It’s very convenient when cooking. I just grab a handful for one meal and that’s it. This is one of my staples almost every week. So there are just days I eat shrimp most of the time.

Shrimps are easy to cook. Just give them a toss in the pan for a few minutes and you’re done. Shrimps also blend with different ingredients such as this Thai-inspired quick stirfry.
Shrimps and Thai Basil Stirfry

1-2 tbsp oil
2 or more garlic cloves, crushed finely
1 tbsp red curry
a handfull of PDTO shrimps
1 bell pepper, cut into strips
a handful of Thai basil leaves
fish sauce, to taste
Heat oil in pan and add the crushed garlic. Stirfry a few minutes taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the red curry, mix well, followed by the shrimps and bell pepper. Stirfry to coat the shrimps with curry paste. Add about 2-3 tbsp water and gently simmer till shrimps are cooked. Add the basil leaves, toss a few times. Taste and adjust with fish sauce, according to your preference.

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Filed Under: Asian, Meatless, Seafood

Tuna and asparagus stir fry

September 7, 2009 By Gay 1 Comment

With all the activities in the recently concluded Tuna Festival, one can’t help but be inspired with cooking all the tuna dishes that you can. Here’s another tuna dish using crazy cut slices done the classic stir fry way. All the ingredients you can find here in Gensan.

tuna and asparagus stir fry
Tuna and asparagus stir fry

2 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1/4 tsp chili powder (or according to preference)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp patis (fish sauce)
250 grams crazy cut tuna
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
12 pcs asparagus spears sliced into 2-inch length

Heat 2 tbsp oil and add the garlic and chili powder. Stir 2-3 times then add sugar and patis. Let simmer… smell the aroma of sugar, garlic and patis. Yum! Add the tuna and stir fry until tuna is half done, about 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper and asparagus  and stir fry till tuna and vegetables are cooked through. Note that as you stir fry, apply high heat to the pan so the juices from tuna and asparagus don’t boil the ingredients. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

How simple is this? Where to get the tuna in Gensan? Check out these shops: RDEX, Pacific Seas and Citra Mina. Or you can go to Gensan’s public markets and get whole slew of different tuna parts – tuna cubes, tuna skin (tuna chicharon, anyone?), roe, etc… As for asparagus, with it’s many benefits such as being anti-cancer (no more cancer treatment & prescriptions!), is found in Gensan all year round. Now, you don’t have to have only asparagus and oyster sauce. You can have tuna and asparagus in one dish!

Filed Under: Asian, General Santos City, Seafood

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!

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

Many versions of fried rice

August 9, 2009 By Gay Leave a Comment

Living alone in a house is no joke. Keeping up with housekeeping is tedious for me.  I’ve always been vocal about not too keen on cleaning the house. The kitchen is my domain, the rest of the house not! But not, gotta find someone to fix the lights and the Moen faucet in the bathroom and get a plumber to fix the faucet in the garden. Otherwise, I won’t be watering the plants for some time.
fried-rice

Cooking for one can be a bit tedious, too, specially after a long day at work. Cooking rice is a problem, in particular, since it can be time consuming and expensive to cook rice each time I eat. The solution is to cook several cups at once then pack them into small servings and refrigerate. Having done this, I usually resort to making a quick stirfry of whatever I can find in the ref and then just add the rice to make a one dish meal. I love fried rice! The basic ingredients I always use is chopped ginger, garlic, oyster sauce and pepper. Just saute them together, add the meat or fish then the vegetables that are chopped finely. What vegetables to add? Staple vegetables I get each week are asparagus, bell peppers, carrots, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms and whatever unusual vegetable I find in the market. Bamboo shoots, for one, is quite common here and there are several kinds. Just take a small portion of each and stirfry. Add chili flakes for some kick, if you want. Once vegetables are done, add the rice which have been crumbled already. Stirfry a few minutes till rice is heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with some sesame oil and stir some more. Transfer to a bowl then eat while hot.

Filed Under: Asian, Rice Tagged With: Rice
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