theapea

[theapea]

Believing has two meanings. One is “I believe what you are saying is true” kinda way. Another is in an “I believe in you and what you can do” way.

It’s the latter. Probably both but mostly the latter.

[theapea]

Chicken Tinola again!! (We cook it alot in this household)

May 9, 2024 (Dinner)

[theapea]

Simple Nilagang Baboy

Today I made Nilagang Baboy for dinner (Boiled pork soup)

Nilagang Baboy is a very common filipino food which is a soup dish with either pork or beef (if made with beef we call it nilagang baka), pechay, potatoes, corn and, sabba bananas. Nilaga directly translates to “boiled” and Baboy means pork. If translated literally, the dish is simply called…. Boiled pork. Not quite appetizing to hear in english but when I hear this dish, I just go back to those moments where it’s raining season and so cold but my mom cooks a warm batch of Nilagang Baboy or Nilagang Baka and everything feels right in the world.

Today I didn’t add some sweet corn and sabba banana since we don’t have those right now. It would have been more perfect with those but it’s just too hot in the Philippines right now and the remaining sabba bananas that we had were turned into sabba con yelo by my papa and brother. It’s a cold filipino desert, similar to a halo-halo with less ingredients just shaved ice, sabbah bananas cooked in sugar syrup and evaporated milk drizzled to your preference and sometimes sago (clear tiny tapioca pearls).

Tbh my Nilaga today looks really sad and incomplete but my brother still liked it so it’s not too bad I guess. Next time I cook it I will add sweet corn and sabba bananas.

Oh! Yesterday I cooked my little sister and younger brother’s favorite chicken adobo.

The picture made it look so ugly but it was pretty good. One of my sisters complained again that I cooked too little and she cannot grab multiple servings (she already had 2). Yesterday we found out two of my younger siblings got achievements at school so I cooked their favorite meal. Lucky for them I can cook this dish with my eyes closed now. The sauce was just the right amount of thickness, Not too dry but not too watery, very saucy. It’s so flavorful, on the saltier side when eaten by itself but not too salty, just a little saltier than usual. When eaten with rice, the flavor is just right.

[theapea]

Crispy Fried Chicken!!!!

Today I cooked my signature fried chicken. The little ones in my household loves it whenever I make fried chicken so I cook it quite a lot. It’s super crispy and this time a little bit spicy. I think my little siblings approve of this one once again!

[theapea]

BISTEK NA BANGUS

I forgot to post this but two days ago my cousin came over our house and I decided to cook one of my favorite bangus(milk fish) dishes, Bistek na Bangus (Braised bangus in soy and calamansi). It’s so good, very savory and a little bit sour. One of my favorite fish dishes, you shoul try it! If calamansi is not available where you are, you can substitute it for lime instead but nothing beats calamansi.

This turned out a little too salty but it’s still good specially paired with rice. Bistek dishes are known not only for the unique taste but also its signature onion rings so I made sure to add lots of onion to this dish.

More than Bangus bistek, I love bistek made with thin slices of beef even more. Bistek is originally made with thin slices of beef and its name came from tagalizing the word “Beef steak”. Even though it’s far from the beef steak known in the west, this dish became a staple in filipino households.

[theapea]

Tinola For Lunch (Filipino Chicken Ginger Soup/stew)

Today I cooked one of my brother’s most favorite dishes. I can basically cook this without a recipe now since I cook it quite a lot in my household. This time however, my mama asked if I could add some pechay (kinda like bokchoy? Or is that different?) to the dish. Tinola doesn’t normally have pechay in it, usually just chicken, zayote, and malunggay leaves(moringa) with a ginger based broth but since my mom wanted some, I added it in.

Cooking Tinola becomes a family activity in, I think, most filipino households since picking off every piece of malunggay leaf is a bit tedious so everybody helps out. While picking out malunggay leaves me, my siblings, and my mother all sat together on the table and it turns into a family bonding moment, chatting about our day, my mom reprimanding my brother for doing a sloppy job, and my little sister yapping about.

I also made homemade calamansi iced tea to drink with it for everyone. Just made a 1 liter pitcher’s worth of regular tea and added a generous amount of sugar then I added the juice of more than a doezen calamansi. Then you drink it with ice or leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours. It’s so refreshing and delicious. I get a great sense of satisfaction whenever my family constantly asks me to make something I’ve made since it meant they liked it so much and my homemade Iced tea is one of them. As well as my brother who lights up when he knows I am cooking Tinola, adobo, or soy garlic chicken. Though he always say “okay lang. (It tastes alright)” with an expressionless face, the way he eats more servings than usual and the way his face lights up when I tell him what I’m cooking is a clear indication that deep down he really liked it, he just can’t praise me directly since that won’t be in accordance to the sibling etiquette code 😂

I’m not a good cook by any means but seeing my family enjoy what I cook makes my heart warm and fuzzy inside.

[theapea]

Yesterday I attempted to cook Aglio e Olio pasta.

I was home alone and was too lazy to cook rice so I cooked a one serving plate of aglio e olio. It was one of the best attempt I did so far. When I would cook it before, I was very imaptient and would overcook the garlic a little bit and the garlic pieces would taste a bit bitter but yesterday I had the whole house to myself without my little siblings pestering “Luto na ba?(Are you done cooking?)” I cooked the garlic at the lowest temperature I could get the induction cooker and the dish turned out soooo flavourful. In my previous attempts I always found it to be quite bland but this time the mellow garlic flavor was just 🤌 I didn’t even need to add salt like the previous times for being too bland. It became so creamy due to the cheese too (processed filo cheese but it was gooood. Pls don’t be mad Italians, we rarely purchase parmesan cheese in this household). The sauce emulsified very well that it looks like carbonara but there’s no eggs. I’ve never had it this creamy before, just oily. I added pieces of sausage for protein which elevated this dish even more, not a Filipino without adding pieces of cut up sausage in their pasta lol.

Overall I’m quite satisfied with this dish.

[theapea]

My Meals For The Day: March 25, 2024

Breakfast and Lunch: I skipped breakfast today and for Lunch I ate just canned tuna mixed with mayo and ate it with rice.

Dinner Time:

Baked Lemon Chicken with Potatoes

It looks a bit ugly but it tasted really good. One of my sisters was complaining that I cooked too little and she cannot go for more even though she already ate two servings. That made me happy 😊

Cooked it myself

Cooked it for 6 people excluding myself

Cook time: 27 minutes prepping marinade, over 1 hour marinating the meat, 40-50 mins baking in the oven

Recipes: I followed a recipe on youtube

I was short on some ingredients mainly the herbs so I had to cook this dish without them. It’s just a simple lemon chicken without them. I also added some potatoes because we have them in the fridge.

Potatoes still looks a bit raw but it was very soft and tender. Even though I wanted it to be a bit more burnt looking, it still turned out pretty good.

I was afraid of undercooking the chicken so I stabbed them a few times with a big fork before putting them in the oven.

I didn’t add the lemon garnish since it’s only for family and I don’t care about appearances with the fam.

[theapea]

My Meals for the Day: March 24, 2024

Dinner time:

Pritong Tilapia at Daing

Ginisang Repolyo at Carrots (Cabbage and Carrots Stir fry)

Cooked it myself

Cooked for 5 people

Total prep+cook time: 57 minutes

Recipes: no recipe followed, just winged it.

Wash then season tilapia with salt and pepper then fry until golden brown. Suggested Dipping sauce: few tsp of soy sauce, squeeze one Calamansi, half tsp of chili garlic oil/crispy chili garlic oil. Done

Fry Daing/Salted dried fish ‘til golden brown and crispy. Suggested dipping sauce: Seasoned vinegar (I prefer the sweet and spicy kind). Done

Cut veggies, I did minced for garlic and onion then thin strips for cabbage and carrots

Sauté onion then garlic in a pan with oil for few seconds ‘til garlic is slightly brown and onion is translucent

Add carrots then toss for 2-3 mins

Add seasoning, mine is: pinch of Salt and pepper to taste, few dashes of msg, dash of soy sauce, 1-2 tsp of sugar.

Add cabbage, stir fry until cabbage is cooked but not soggy. Done.

[theapea]

Master Post of Meals I’ve Made so Far…

March 24, 2024:

Dinner: Ginisang Repolyo at Carrots (Cabbage and Carrots stir fry), Pritong Tilapia at Daing (Fried Tilapia and Dried Salted fish)

March 25, 2024:

Dinner: Baked Lemon Chicken with Potatoes

March 31, 2024

Aglio e Olio Pasta with sausage

April 4, 2024

Chicken Tinola (Chicken soup/stew in ginger broth)

April 6, 2024

Bistek na Bangus (Milk Fish braised in Soy sauce and Calamansi)

April 8, 2024

Crispy Fried Chicken

April 12 & 13, 2024

Chicken Adobo

Nilagang Baboy (Boiled Pork Soup)

May 9, 2024

Chicken Tinola again

More to be added…