Lechon Kawali

It's my first time to cook lechon kawali last night. I boiled the cube-sized pork and threw in a good measure of salt & peppa. Waited.

Watched "24". Way to go, Chloe!!!

After more than half an hour, I checked if the pork was tender already. I also used a fork to pierce the skin of the pork... (that's a tongue twister right there!) Took out the pork and drained 'em.

Now comes the fun part. I heated oil and quickly dumped the pork in it. It's like having firecrackers in the kitchen. Word!

Fried some rice. Cooked some Korean noodles. Lastly, I prepared the mayo + bagoong + garlic sauce combo that Sharon Cuneta was promoting.

I achieved the crunchiness of the pork alright. Halfway through my dinner, I got me-self some native vinegar. That mayo is not good at all. Bleh!

Thanks to Lala

Lala suggested that I create a blog devoted entirely to cooking. She wanted to try my ampalaya recipe but couldn't find it anymore in my official blog. So this blog was born out of that special request.

The recipes presented here don't have to be my own. As long as it's mouth watering, guaranteed to be VERY satisfying, and "pasado sa panlasa" ng barkada, I'm posting it here ;oP

Knottydon Beef in Oyster Sauce

I promised an officemate that I'll publish this recipe. This originated from my viewing of the 80's show, "Wok with Yan". I made a few changes as years went by. A very easy one to cook!

Preparation time: 30 minoots
1/4 kilo tenderloin beef (thinly-sliced strips)
8 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 big onion (sliced)
1 medium ginger (thinly-sliced strips)
chili peppers
snow peas
4 medium red bell peppers
oyster sauce
cornstarch
sugar
salt & pepper

Cooking time: 30 minoots or less
Before slicing the veggies, you can put some salt, pepper, and cornstarch on the beef. Put 'em aside.

Saute garlic, onions, and the ginger. Throw in the beef. Add the chili peppers. Stir fry for about 30 minoots. Let the juice of the ginger sink in.

Add the sauce (a mixture of cornstarch, water, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, & pepper). Simmer for about 10 minoots.

Lastly, add the snow peas & bell peppers. Simmer for 3 to 5 minoots. Enjoy this wonderful dish!

Balan's Tinola

There's sumpthin about the cooking of tinola with the Balan family. I remember when I was a little knottydon, dad cooked the best tinola. Normally on Sunday, we have like 2 to 3 dishes. It's like a feast!

Years passed and kuya surpassed that with his own version. There's one gimmick in Zambales when the tinola that he cooked got stolen. Yep. Ain't kidding. It was sooooo freakin good that the other people in the resort took it. Curse 'em!

Whenever I miss dad or kuya's cooking, I practice cooking. So far, my favorites are adobo, giniling, ampalaya con carne, and of course, tinola. Sometimes Waltermart doesn't have sili leaves so that's a big bummer. I love the aroma and flavor of sili leaves in my tinola. I think the key in this dish is to saute the chicken on ginger. Lotsa ginger. I even crushed them to get its flavor. Mmmmmm...

Knottydon Paksiw

For the past few days, I've been putting off cooking the besugo that I bought. Couldn't cook it without ginger so today, I did grocery and bought some.

Normally, I call dad to ask how sumpthin is cook/prepared. This time, I relied on the net.

Sliced some ginger, onions, and good ole garlic. Poured some vinegar on my new spiffy pan. Put the besugo. Dumped in the spices, including salt 'n pepa. Waited a few minoots. Added the chili peppers. Turned the fish over. Waited a coupla minoots and that's it. Dinner is served. Yummmmmmmmm!

Knottydon's Ground Pork

I haven't cooked any meal with ground meat in a long time so I thought I cook one for my dinner last night.

The ingredients are: 3 cloves of garlic, 1 medium-sized onion, 3 tomatoes, 1/2 kilo ground pork, red & green bell peppers, corn kernels, and patis & peppa to taste.

I sauted first the chopped garlic, onion, and tomatoes. I was careful not to burn the garlic. Then I dumped the ground pork. Seasoned it with patis & pepper. Mix, mix, mix.

After some minoots of cooking, I put some agua. I simmered it for like 20 minoots. I added in the red & green bell peppers. Later on, I threw in the corn kernels. Seasoned it again with patis & pepper.

Didn't plan the colors but hey, even my meal looks Rastarrific!!! Oh, by the way, the food was muy delicioso! Bought some today for luncha ;oP

Knottydon's Ginisang Ampalaya

For the past few days, I have been looking for a recipe of "Ginisang Ampalaya". I dunno. I'm one of the few who likes this meal. Anyhoo, last night, I tried my best to create my own version since Google failed me this time. Here's my own recipe:

A handful of ampalaya (bitter melon, in Ingles)
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic, crushed
pork, sliced into small pieces
shrimp, peeled
fish balls
2 beaten eggs
salt, pepper, MSG (if you wish) to taste

The sliced pork came into my heated pan first. I want my meat cooked and brown. Then I put in the garlic, onion, and tomatoes. I sauted everythin. After a few minoots, I threw in the ampalaya. Not sure if it will take some time to cook but I did it anyway. Put some salt, pepper, and em-es-gee.

After a while, I added in the shrimp and fish balls. Mix, mix, mix.

I beat the eggs and threw it in too.

I forgot if water is needed though. Since I want some sauce in my food, I put some agua.

After 10 minoots, it's time to eat.

A big SUCCESS!!!

Good for 2 persons. I brought some today for me lunch. Yay!