Another favourite of mine for merienda and/or breakfast is Taho. I never tire from eating Taho every morning the last time I visited my folks in the Philippines (which was 2 years ago!). I can’t help it! The vendor is just right outside our doorstep, the same way it’s always been when we were kids. Believe it or not, the same vendor sells it to this day. He used to carry the oversized aluminum tins by way of a wooden plank over his shoulders, on foot, inside our village. Nowadays, he’s got them on board his customised bicycle. His bike …read more

I still remember the time when I was a newly-wed, grocery-shopping and cooking felt like going to school for the first time, without my mom to accompany me. I recall making sure the cupboard had an ample supply of the essentials: fish sauce, soy sauce and vinegar. If you chance upon a Filipino household, you’re sure to find these. Add to that, some shrimp paste too! But after some time, cooking became second nature to me. Moreover, my taste and my husband’s leaned towards Asian cuisine. When we used to have those lazy nights (and we still do!), we order …read more

This is a new addition to my kitchen and one that has quickly made a permanent home.  It is a light and delicious dressing made of the minty/basil flavoured shiso leaf.  Shiso is also called beef steak plant for some reason but it goes well with chicken, salad, fish or pork.  A small amount of the leaf finely chopped goes great mixed through freshly cooked rice, bu this dressing is simple to dribble over anything you choose.

Tonight I saw the bottom of another bottle of Tonkatsu sauce.  I use it on, to no surprise, tonkatsu, as well as any other number of dishes.  It is a fruity sort of sauce, sort of like BBQ sauce I would buy in Australia or a thick worcestershire sauce.  I decided that I would like to try out making up my own, so a quick Google search uncovered a few recipe links.
Why not try it yourself.  They all look easy and will probably taste even better than the shop bought ones.  Here are the links: 
The gutsy Gourmet
The straits cafe
Recipe zaar
Recipe hound

Totally addictive, and yes, good for you. Adapted from
1 cup mint leaves, rinsed and spun dry
2 large cloves garlic, minced and mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt
1 hot chili (I used serrano, but you can try others), seeds discarded if desired
3-4 tablespoons plain yogurt
salt to taste
Run mint, garlic, and chilies in a food processor, or process to a paste with mortar and pestle like I did here. Stir in yogurt and salt to taste. Serve with pakaura (I’ll post tomorrow) — but it’s awesome as well with kabobs and other grilled meats, or …read more

Catfish with Caramel Sauce
1 1/3 cup (approximately) sugar
2/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/3 cup water
1 pound catfish fillet
2 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoon sliced green onion
1 cup cucumber slices
Make the caramel syrup:
Put 1 cup sugar in dry, heavy-bottomed saucepan (4 quarts or larger). Combine 2/3 cup of the fish sauce and the water in a measuring cup and set aside. Place the pan of sugar over medium heat and turn exhaust fan to its maximum setting. When sugar begins to melt around the edges, swirl the pan …read more

Marketmanila recently posted about his favorite dipping sauces and asked his readers to post their own. The discussion is particularly interesting to me because just the day before Ji Young at the Book of Rai forum posted about Mongolia-Manchuria-Korea-Japan food connections and in the discussion, Robyn of EatingAsia mentions that vinegar and garlic is a typical dipping sauce in NE China. Surprising to me as I never thought of this specific combination as being Chinese, though I am familiar with other Chinese dipping sauces that contain both vinegar and garlic — and *my* favorite jiaozi sauce is the …read more