Food Trip Friday: Shirazi Salad

It's been a long time since I last joined FTF.  It feels great to be back. Though there's no assurance if I can join on a regular basis like before, I'm just excited and very happy that among the food blogs I came across with in my years as a blogger, Food Trip Friday has remained active. Kudos!

I became familiar with this dish not too long ago. I was surprised with the extraordinary taste this simple salad have. It all started with lunch at Kebab Korner. I just randomly picked something off the menu to match my Special Kebab mix. Though there was an image of this in the menu, still the name Shirazi got me curious.

Shirazi salad is a Persian dish composed of diced cucumber, tomatoes and onions mixed in lemon juice and olive oil.

This week, I made a bowl for our eating pleasures. Of course, I made an improved version of what I had at Kebab Korner. My recipe followed the basic, only, I added a little cilantro and served it with mayonnaise.

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2 medium cucumber (diced)
• 3 medium red tomatoes (seeds removed and diced)
• 1 red or white onion (diced)
• 1/4 tsp chopped or dried cilantro
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

• Just mix everything together then refrigerate.
• Serve with mayonnaise or just plain Shirazi.

It's a refreshing take on salads. Most of the time we go for lettuce, mixed greens and fruits combined. Shirazi is made of 3 main ingredients that can be found anywhere. Simple vegetables but if mixed together, it comes out with "that distinct" taste I can't explain. It's delicious. It matched not only my kebab perfectly but also the Lumpiang Shanghai I cooked. It can be paired with any grilled, steamed, fried dish.

FTF: Cravings From S&R

So everytime we shop in S&R we never fail to have a snack before going shopping. It's common for most to  eat after going shopping. But since, S&R's goods are so inviting, we stuff ourselves first before doing our grocery. Well, it gives us more energy and by the time we're done, we don't need to wait in line all famished. Now that I'm at my first trimester, my taste buds wants to try everything. I love their garlic & shrimp pizza, combo pizza (which is their "everything on it" pizza) and some french fries with mayo and ketchup.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Stir-Fried Pork and Mixed Veggies in Hoisin Sauce

Hoisin Sauce is a famous Chinese dipping sauce. You can actually whip a dish without adding salt and just by using this sauce. It is often used as barbecue sauce and as glaze for certain chicken and pork dishes.

My Hoisin dish is compose of some pork tenderloin bits and mixed veggies like carrots, string beans, spring onions and shiitake mushrooms. You can make your own by using chicken, beef strips or plain vegetables. Aside from the meat and vegetable ingredients, all you'll need for cooking is a wok, chopped onions, garlic (optional), olive oil for stir- frying and the Hoisin Sauce. Mix everything together until cooked then top it on a bowl of hot jasmine rice.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Burger Steak and Carbonara

It's been a long time since I last joined Food Trip Friday. I'm happy that I have something to share this week. I have been low around my kitchen for the past weeks. 

I'm just HAPPY to be back!

I prepared two dishes from separate Fridays. 

The first one is a Veggie Carbonara. It'spasta with bell pepper, lots of mushrooms and green olives in white sauce. I added some sweet ham to add flavor. 

The next dish is our usual burger steak. It's burger patty topped with mushroom sauce. For an Easy Mushroom Gravy recipe please click the link included.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Turkey Burger

We thought that turkey would be something for a change, instead of chicken.

Layers of grilled turkey burger,  tomatoes, lettuce, mozzarella cheese, onion, basil and a slice of Jalapeño, sandwiched together with mayo and mustard.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Charlie's Fish & Chips

A fishy idea for the Lenten Season.

It's one of those days when I wasn't in the mood to cook. We all get into that situation right? So my husband and I decided to make a quick drive over at Charlie's Grind and Grill. 

Charlie's is in our top 5 list of favorites. The original restaurant is located in Kapitolyo, Pasig. Before, we would drive all the way  from Quezon, City to Pasig  just to get a taste of Charlie's best dishes. But now, it's easier because there's one near our place. Right along Ortigas Avenue before you hit the main intersection of Santolan, SanJuan, and this road going to E. Rodriguez.  We discovered the new location last year. We  often take Ortigas Avenue going to E. Rodriguez coming from Greenhills.

Landmark: Petron Station

My order for the night was Fish and Chips then I loaded up on jalapeños.  Yeah, that's where I get my pickled jalapeños. Well, at least until I can find some fresh jalapeños so I can make my own.

Food Trip Friday

A related post.

Breaded Chicken Salsa

Lent is here. Lent is a tradition where as Catholics, we commemorate the Passion of Christ (Life, Death and the Resurrection) through praying,  fasting and self-denial. An old practice for Filipinos is through fasting for 40 days or at least, we sacrifice things that gives us  so much comfort and satisfaction. One, is eliminating red meat (beef, pork, lamb) as part of our weekly menu. Especially on Wednesdays and Fridays. Until the season is over,  we only serve white meat or nothing but vegetables for the family.  Having a kid around would make it impossible for me to stick with veggies alone. So I turn to chicken and fish dishes.

Here's one recipe that I will gladly share for the purpose in case you run out of ideas on what to prepare for the whole Lenten Season.

Ingredients:

• 5 pcs. chicken breast fillet (sliced open and thinly)
• 3 pcs. red tomatoes (minced)
• 1 medium white onion (minced)
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup flour
• bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp of chopped Wansoy leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce
• cooking oil for deep frying
• salt and ground pepper
• toothpicks

*If you were able to get big chicken breast fillets, I suggest you add small pieces of ripe mango in the salsa... yum!yum! 

How To:

• Salsa: In a bowl, mix minced fresh tomatoes, onions, Wansoy leaves and a tbsp of olive oil. Set aside.
• In a plate season chicken breast with salt and pepper.
• Spread a 1/2 tsp of tomato sauce on each seasoned chicken breast,  fill it with salsa then pin it together with a toothpick.
• Dip each chicken breast as follows: beaten eggs, flour, beaten eggs, then breadcrumbs. Deep fry until golden brown.
• Before serving, remove toothpicks from the fried chicken breasts. 
• Happily serve it with any salad.

Food Trip Friday

  I prefer some pickled jalapeños.

Happy Friday and Enjoy your Weekend!

FTF: Dried Squid for Breakfast

Aside from Danggit, Dried Squid from Cebu is one of my favorites. And I really look forward to it as pasalubong, if a friend or relative comes home from Cebu. But last week was different, because nobody came from Cebu. I bought my dried squid from the supermarket.

Served it with some hot sopas and rice...

Perfect with cane vinegar, especially with garlic.  

Goes well with a cup of hot coffee, some red eggs and tomatoes or a chocolatey bowl of champorado(chocolate rice porridge).

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Christmas Feast 2010

Due to my absence online for almost 3 weeks, I didn't have the opportunity to share on time what my family feasted on Christmas Eve of 2010. My husband and I divided the tasks on preparing the dishes. Here's one thing we do every time we celebrate an occasion. We love stocking up... yeah, left-overs! You know the idea, that anytime you want to eat, you can just get something from the fridge pop it in the microwave and viola! Total enjoyment with matching hang-over.

I'm just too busy preparing and totally went out of my mind that we are now using a smaller dining table. I'm so used to the big one we had in our old condo. So, the big dishes filled the table instantly. Had to use 2 t.v dinner tables for the rest. To add, our neighbors gave us plates filled with other delights as well.

 

 Lasagna

Sugarfree Decadent Cake

Breaded Chicken with mayo-garlic dip

Fruit Salad

Homemade Leche Flan

Leche Flan wasn't really part of the menu. Since it's Christmas and Leche Flan is one of my favorites, I decided to make some for our table and more to giveaway.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes for our steak

 We also had some rib-eye steak (which we overcooked lol! so no picture for that one) 

Holiday ham (which we saved for the New Year) we have so much food on the table so we skipped on serving the ham. And more food came throughout the week after Christmas. Most of them are pastries, cakes and more leche flan.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Spareribs Deluxe

This Spareribs recipe was from my dad. Just last week, this was one of the treats he prepared for our family dinner. It's simple and easy but the taste was out of this world. Maybe because it was made with pure love (wink!)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Kilo of the Best Spareribs you can find in the market
• 2 cups Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup cane vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 whole garlic with cloves crushed
• Salt and granulated pepper
• 1/2 cup cooking oil

How To:

• Boil spareribs in soy sauce, water, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Once done, drain sauce, set aside.
• In a wok or a big pan, heat cooking oil.
• Slowly pour in the spareribs and fry for a few minutes.
• Add 1cup of the remaining sauce and boil until sauce is thick.

Best served with your favorite steak sauce, barbecue sauce,  lots of greens and hot rice. I served my spareribs with some Macaroni Salad. Yummy!

Servings: 3-4

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Arroz a la Cubana

Arroz a la Cubana is originally a Spanish dish which consist of fried eggs and tomato sauce. Here in the Philippines, we saute ground beef or any lean ground meat with garlic, onions, potatoes, carrots , some peas  and we mix it in either tomato sauce or oyster sauce. My version contains raisins and instead of carrots I used chopped bell peppers. Served with hot rice, egg, (preferably fried) and slices of banana fritters.

Ingredients:

1 kilo lean ground meat

3 tbsp oyster sauce

2 small bell peppers chopped

2-3 tbsp raisins

2 tbps olive oil for sauteing

1/4 cup fresh green peas

3 medium potatoes (diced)

5 cloves garlic (chopped)

1 medium onion (chopped)

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper

How To:

Pre-cook meat and diced potatoes by boiling in water drain then set aside.

In a pan, saute garlic in olive oil until light brown.

Add onions and stir for a few seconds.

Add cooked meat and potatoes and stir for about a minute.

Add oyster sauce, bell pepper, raisins, peas and the 1/2 cup of water.

Stir everything together for about a minute or 2.

Add salt and ground pepper to taste.

*Cardava Banana (Saging Saba) sliced then pan fried

*Eggs (sunny side up)

Serve with hot rice, egg and banana fritters.

Servings 4-5

FTF: Onion Rings

For snack time Friday I prepared onion rings with mayo-garlic dip. White onion rings dipped into beaten eggs, coated with seasoned flour, dipped again in egg then bread crumbs. This is my first on making onion rings, it was a successful one. Crunchy o the outside, soft, tender and juicy in every bite. I enjoyed munching on it while watching my favorite TV show.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Pancit Bihon

I prepared this for as merienda (snack) late this afternoon. But I purposely cooked good enough to last until tomorrow. I'm such a sucker for Pancit, especially Bihon Guisado. I love my Pancit Guisado with lots of Kinchay or small bunch of Chinese celery.The next ingredient that must be included is chicken sliced into small pieces.

I prefer boiling the chicken first then, I shred it into pieces. After sauteing, I use some of the chicken stock to cook the vegetables. Since my husband doesn't like gizzard and liver I completely eliminated it from my recipe. But to be honest, those 2 (gizzard and liver), they add flavor.

To make my pancit meal complete, I love pairing it with a cold glass of Coke and best eaten with Monay. Bread straight from a nearby bakery.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Beef Broccoli

Early today, We, (namely: the whole family) went on a quick errand to the bank. And right beside the bank is a Chowking Restaurant, and right in front of our car is a poster of their famous Beef Broccoli meal. And right there and then, my son asked me if we could dine-in and try some. Saying: "Mama let's eat that". To be honest, even a person with a full tummy will give-in to that food poster. The ad was pretty much working for us. Well, I told my son, that it's not the right time to eat in Chowking. Instead, we drove to the grocery store, bought Broccoli flowers , and for dinner I prepared our own Beef Broccoli. Eat All You Can!!! (lol!)

Photo: SEP990i

FTF: Friday Was French Baker Night

It's time to share my food trip last Friday! After picking up my son, we went to Cubao to fill our tummies. From Sm to Ali Mall, there is now a bridgeway connecting the 2 buildings. And along the bridgeway, are restaurants. There's Sbarro, Dulcinea, Dairy Queen and a French Baker.You can view their new restaurant set up here: French Baker Ali Mall

One of the things I love about the new French Baker are their paper mats. It matches the  fantastic line of food on their menu and the whole French dining feel.

For me: CHICKEN CORDON BLEU---Deep fried roulade of flattened chicken meat with butter and cheese, encrusted in seasoned sourdough bread crumbs in creamy hern sauce and sided with pan-roasted seasonal vegetables. Your choice of rice or bread roll as another siding.-source-

For Franky: HAMBURGER STEAK---Grilled beef burger steak on sizzling plate sided with mushroom gravy on mashed potatoes with pan-roasted seasonal vegetables. Your choice of rice or bread roll as another siding.-source-

On the side, my son enjoyed his tall glass of Chocolate Ice Cream Shake. So these made us happy, how about you, what's your food trip on a Friday?

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Adobong Puti

It's my first time to cook this Filipino dish. Adobo is the most famous Filipino viand. Ask anybody in the world related to a Filipino, most probably the first thing they'll answer about Filipino food is Adobo.

This kind of Adobo is basically cooked without the soy sauce which is the main ingredient in the original recipe. 

View related posts here: Filipino Stew and FTF: How Do You Like Your Adobo?

 Ingredients:
1/4 pork cutlets
1/2 cup coco vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper granules
2-3 psc. bay leaf
1 1/2 cup water
salt to taste
*Just boil everything together.

With my Adobong puti, I followed my usual adobo, minus the soy sauce. Boiled all the ingredients, when the pork's done, I separated it from the sauce, fried it in a small amount of oil and added the rest of the sauce again, then simmer for a few more seconds.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Dinner At Bubble Tea

While waiting for a bunch of car stickers we had made, we went to Bubble Tea to have dinner. I really missed their food. My son's been using the chopsticks lately. The following day, we shared a plate of sushi, and he liked it. I'm glad he's learning a lot as early as now. I mean, I learned to use the chopsticks when I was 13 years old.

Beef /Pork Gyudon

Franky enjoying using the chopsticks. I ordered my favorite drink: Cold Green Tea with a hint of Lychee and Bubbles.

Teriyaki Chicken Don

Food Trip Friday