From Canned Fish to Glammed

As a homemaker, one of the things that is so important to me is to serve good, healthy food all the time.  But it doesn't often go our way right? There will be times when we want to rest so we buy food to go or we open a can or two.

Let me focus on how to make processed food more inviting to eat, particularly canned products. Personally, I love packing on sardines, Spanish- style sardines to be exact. My kids love it and I serve it for breakfast paired with hot rice.

I always assume that anything processed outside my kitchen is a risk. Though canned products follow a certain standard when it comes to preparing down to canning, still, just the idea that I don't see how they prepare these products makes me more meticulous. In order to meet the thought of making sure that what I serve my family is okay, I cook these canned products like any dish made from scratch. Believe me, it will taste better and somewhat being able to create your own out of some random sardine can is fun.

I brought life to this canned Spanish- style sardines by:

• Sauteing minced ginger, freshly- pressed garlic, red tomatoes and onions in olive oil. 
• Let it cook for a few seconds until the juice from the tomatoes comes out.
• Drain half of the oil from the canned sardines. Best to replace that oil with olive oil.
• Pour the sardines with the sauteed ingredients and mix everything well.
• Add black pepper and simmer for a few seconds.
• Serve!

I also use this very same dish for pasta drizzled with Parmesan cheese.

MEGA Creations: Spanish Style Sardines

It all started with a simple craving--- again. I went to a nearby convenience store to check if I can find something different to munch on. I have nothing particular by the way, I just suddenly had the urge to eat something that I haven't eaten in the past weeks. Aside from the usual fried- rice toppers and fixed meals there was nothing else, so I went through the pile of canned goods. To my surprise, I found an extraordinary piece of canned product, Spanish- style sardines. Why extraordinary? 

Personally, I am more familiar with those packed in bottles and labeled as "gourmet" Spanish- style sardines. Well, basically those considered "gourmet" are prepared/ cooked/ soaked  in a more natural set of ingredients like olive oil or they make use of a better choice of fish like Bangus (milkfish) belly. These "gourmet" items costs a lot for a small bottle. I must admit, hey, we all take the bait because it's really good. 

Whatever I found that Friday afternoon at a random convenience store was heaven sent. 

1. I now have a more affordable option. 

2. It taste exactly like those "gourmet products". 

3. It's made of simple ingredients like sardines, soya oil, salt, carrot and spices. The sardines are not the tiny ones, they're right for the size. 

4. It's easy to open, and a 155g can at (24php Hi- Top Supermarket price)  contains 6 chunky sardines.

5. I don' t know if this is allowed to bring abroad for your loved ones, but if so, I highly recommend it.

In the container--- equivalent of  (2) 155g can

I have this habit of eating sardines with pandesal (bread) or rice. Transferring the content in a microwavable container makes it easier for me to access and pair it with anything even pasta. For small servings such as mine,  a clean container prevents spoilage (if properly stored), less spills and you can serve it anytime.

Grilled Pompano Fish

First of all, I didn't know that Pompano Fish or "Pampano" as to what we call it here in the Philippines, is considered a delicacy. Being one of the richest and tastiest marine fish in the world. It is a silver fish with a body that is somewhat flat. You can view -fresh Pompano Fish photo- by going to the link highlighted, since I wasn't able to produce my own photo of the fish fresh.

One of the things I enjoy having a father who travels a lot, is being able to try extraordinary food or ingredients that he takes home coming from different provinces. On my last visit to my parent's house, my dad gave me a coco vinegar mixture which he made. Aside from that, he also gave me a big Pompano Fish to complete a meal.  At first , I didn't really know how will I serve the fish. Stewed, steamed, fried, grilled or even baked. I wasn't familiar with it, but I was advised that Pompano is best served fried or grilled. For lunch today (Monday), I got parts of the fish for fillet. Then, the remaining was still seasoned for grilling. Pompano fish is being sold in wet markets here in Manila for the price ranging from php200-280 per kilo.

On both sides of the Pompano fish fillet, drizzle it with olive oil, then season with salt, lemon juice or calamansi juice then slices of ginger. Get your grill ready and start cooking! Served my Grilled Pompano Fish with my dad's special coco vinegar mix and hot rice.

Crispy Bangus Belly

As requested by... I had to think of another way to serve Boneless Bangus. Filipinos are very fond of Milk Fish cooked in guava (Sinigang sa Bayabas). If not, marinated then fried. I originally planned to cooked the fish in vinegar, salt and garlic first.

I marinated it for about an hour with Calamansi juice, salt, pepper, minced ginger and garlic instead.

Dipped in egg, rolled on bread crumbs, then deep- fried. Waited for each to turn golden brown.

Salmon Salad

This entry is a repost from my other blog. I'm sorting out the food entries I made earlier and plan to transfer some here in my very own food blog. Here's one of them. Salmon (particularly the Pink Salmon) has been part of my food shopping list. It is the smallest and most abundant of the Pacific Salmons.This fish doesn't require so much to improve its taste. Naturally, it is rich in flavor. This is a borrowed recipe from a Travel magazine.

The original recipe has the ff:
6 tbsp olive oilsalmon fillet
2 tbsp garbanzos
2 mid sized tomatoes (chopped)
2 tbsp pitless black olives (sliced)
1 tbsp choppedparsley
2 tbsp fresh orange juice1tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. capers
1 tsp.grated orange peel
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 tbsp chopped basil

How to:
Stir fry salmon fillet in olive oil with the rest of the ingredients except the chopped basil.When fish is cooked, set in a platter, top with chopped basil.Viola!

My What's Cookin' recipes are all based on the available ingredients I have in my pantry, freezer and crisper. I choose the best substitute to the ones that I don't have. And yes, there are also times when I had to go out to buy, just in case I come up with nothing from my own kitchen drawers.

My version:
2 slices of Pink Salmon
2 mid sized red tomatoes (as followed)
3 calamansi (instead of lemon)
fresh basils ( as followed)
romaine lettuce
2 tbsp orange juice (not fresh)
6 pcs. baby corn (chopped)
3 tbsp olive oil

My How to:
1.Stir fry all ingredients with the salmon fillet in olive oil except for the chopped basil and lettuce.
2.In a salad platter, mix the lettuce and basil together.
3.Once the fish is cooked, mix it all with the greens.Done! This is a very healthy dish. You can also eat it with rice or any form of carbs/ and protein you want. With this salad alone, its already quite heavy. You can also add walnuts, almonds, fresh mushrooms. Anything that your heart desires. If you don't have salmon, any fish fillet will do.

Happy Eating!

Steamed Lapu-Lapu

Lapu-lapu fish is the Grouper fish of the Philippines. This dish is seasoned with mixed flavors. Fish steamed and drizzled with seasme oil, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Topped with chopped chives and Kintsay leaves.

Sinigang Na Tanigue Sa Kamatis

Sinigang is a native  soup here in the Philippines. It has a sour taste that often gotten from Tamarind, Calamondin or Tomato. Sinigang is a process where we boil meat such as pork, fish or shrimp mixed with vegetables like Kangkong (water cabbage), eggplant, green chili, radish, then seasoned with salt to taste.

I cooked a different sinigang dish. I used "talbos ng kamote" (camote tops) to be on the healthy side. Added ginger and green chilli to make it more Filipino. Red tomatoes instead of Tamarind. Perfect as a healthy option.

Kamatis (Tomato)
Tanigue (king fish)