Indian Butter Salmon

Buttered Chicken, an Indian dish, is quite popular in New Zealand. I finally found a way to re-create the recipe of the Buttered Chicken from our favourite Indian food restaurant in Riccarton, Christchurch. One time I was craving for salmon and veggies, so instead of using chicken I substituted salmon and heaps of veggies. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoon butter
2 large onions, chopped
2 tablespoon Tandoori Paste
2 tablespoon brown sugar
400 g can chopped tomatoes in juice
2pcs courgettes, chopped
string beans, topped and tailed
1 cup sour cream
1kg salmon fillet sliced in cubes
Salt and pepper
Baked cashew (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan

2. Place the onion

3. After 2 minutes, add the chopped tomatoes, Tandoori paste, courgettes and beans

4. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the sour cream and salmon

5. Add salt and pepper to taste

6. Add sugar (adjust on your taste)

7. Serve hot with rice

Chinese Tikoy

In the Philippines, tikoy (from the Chinese ti-que meaning sweet cake) is usually served during the Chinese New Year. Here in New Zealand, tikoy is a dessert served anytime of the year. This is a bit different from the tikoy that you can buy in the Philippines. I love the texture and richness of this version so I requested my friend for the recipe. So here it is:

Ingredients:
½ kg of glutinous rice
100 g melted butter
2 cups white sugar
3 cups of milk
3 eggs
½ tsp Vanilla
Sesame seeds
1 tablespoon baking powder

Directions:
1. Excluding the sesame seeds, mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Cover the baking dish with a partial part-melted butter.
3. Transfer the mixed ingredients from the mixing bowl to the baking dish.
4. Sprinkle sesame seeds at the top5. Bake at 160 degree Celsius for 55 minutes (adjust the time if needed)

Some of the photos when I was teaching my friend how to make this tikoy.
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Egg Omelette wrap with crispy bacon

I can hardly eat a plain omelette, so I have to find a way to modify the taste a bit. I tried this one Saturday morning and it’s amazing. I was able to make three variations of the humble egg omelette.
a) Egg omelette with crispy bacon
b) Egg omelette with German sausage Kransky
c) Egg omelette with lettuce, bacon and sausage

You can include as much ingredients that you desire, just consider that it may be too heavy to flip over.

Ingredients
4 eggs1 tomato, sliced in cubes
1 pc of capsicum, sliced long and thin
1 tablespoon oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Sliced cheese
2-4pcs bacon, sliced in cubes
Sliced parsley (optional)

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
2. Place the bacon, wait until it is crispy.
3. Put the sliced tomatoes and capsicum.
4. In the meantime, beat the eggs and put salt and pepper.
5. After 2 to 5minutes, transfer the mixed bacon to a bowl.
6. Put the egg in the frying pan then top the mixed bacon at the middle.
7. Put the cheese at the top, and then carefully wrap the bacon, cheese and capsicum using the egg.
8. Cook thoroughly by flipping the omelette over.

Italian White Ziti

One of our favourite pasta dishes back in the Philippines is white ziti from Italian restaurant, Sbarro. Unfortunately there is no Sbarro here in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is fortunate that our friend had the recipe. From then on I’m making this pasta from time to time and when we came back to the Philippines for a vacation, we don’t want to eat in Sbarro anymore!

Ingredients
A] Red Sauce
Delmonte Garlic and Herb “Chunky” Tomato Sauce
Salt

B] Garlic Cheese Sauce
100g butter
1 glove of garlic, minced
I box cheddar cheese
1 tsp of ground pepper
2 cans of Nestle Cream
Garlic powder (optional)
Parsley (optional)

C] Pasta
450g of Penne Pasta
Salt and 5L of water

Directions:
1) Pasta
a. Boil water and add salt
b. Place pasta in boiling water. Usually it takes 12 minutes to cook the pasta (or follow the time from the package)
2) Red Sauce
a. Heat the red sauce
b. Add salt if the sauce is too sour
c. Simmer until hot
d. Combine the red sauce with the cooked pasta
3) Garlic Cheese Sauce
a. Melt butter in sauce pan
b. Add garlic
c. When garlic is almost transparent, add nestle creams. Cook for 3 minutes
d. Add 2/3 portion of the grated cheese. Stir to melt the cheese.
e. Sprinkle ground pepper
f. Sprinkle salt (optional)
4) Mix
a. Place the mixed pasta with red sauce in a flat baking cookware.
b. Pour garlic cheese on the top of the pasta
c. Sprinkle garlic powder and ground pepper at the top (optional)
d. Sprinkle parsley (optional)
e. Bake it in microwave oven for 5minutes

That’s it! Serve with garlic bread.

Nilagang Baka

It’s freezing outside when we got home today and I thought it’s perfect to have a piping hot beef stew for tea. This is one of our favourite dishes back in the Philippines; you get to have a taste of home. Since there is no Philippine string bean (sitaw) available in the grocery store I used New Zealand string beans as a substitute. And instead of the Philippine’s favourite citrus, kalamansi, I used lemon.

Ingredients

1 kilo of shin beef, sliced

1 onion, sliced in four pieces

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 lemon

2 teaspoon of patis (fish sauce)

1 beef cube

3 medium-sized potatoes cut into quarters

1-2 whole corn, sliced in quarters (optional)

1 small head of cabbage cut into quarters

2-4 head of Bok Choy or petchay (optional)

3-4 teaspoon of Salt

½ teaspoon of black pepper

(Adjust salt and pepper on your own preference)

Directions

1. Boil the beef with onion in a pot, water should be enough to cover the meat.

2. Once boiling, put the cubes, salt, pepper.

3. After 30mins of boiling, add potatoes and corn(optional)

4. Boil for another 10-15 minutes.

5. When potatoes are done, add the cabbage and string beans.

6. Keep boiling for another 2 to 5 minutes.

7. Serve with warm rice.

8. Optional: Usually most Filipinos love to have a dipping sauce made of squeezed lemon and fish sauce. Try the dip with every bite. Yum!

Puto

I made this puto (also known as white muffin or rice cake for non-Filipinos) last weekend and was pleasantly surprised to make a perfect variety. I think one has to be pregnant and inspired to make the best puto around. Just kidding! Of course, anybody can make puto as long as you are up to it. Here's how:

Ingredients:
2 cups Flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
sliced cheese

Directions
1. Combine all the ingredients except cheese and mix well
2. Fill prepared mixed to a baking cup, 2/3 full.
3. Put the sliced cheese at the top
4. Steam for 40minutes

Optional: spread cheese whiz at the top and heat it in microwave for a minute.

Enjoy!