Filipinos abroad love to celebrate and whenever they do, they always make stringent preparations especially for the food served to guests, and most of the time, guests are pampered with different delectable Filipino dishes.  Yesterday I had the chance to cooked Kare Kare for Radny’s 25^th birthday.  Though I was really hesitant to do the dish since most of the ingredients are not available here in Kingdom, I challenge myself by experimenting whatever is available in the market. 

My special kare kare is a mixture of traditional and modern day cooking.  The rich stew of ox tail was simmered to tenderness, mixed with eggplant, pechay and string beans.  The slightly sweet flavor of the sauce is a mixture of those ready mixes available in the market, thickened  with the traditional freshly ground peanuts (thanks to Errol). 

The challenge for me is the shrimp paste for Kare Kare will not be complete without bagoong.  It is made of “bottled bagoong” sautee in lots of flavors like garlic, white onions, tomatoes, green chillis and bell pepper.  

Cooking this dish actually gets me into a homesick mood too.  I miss the Philippines since Kare Kare is traditionally serves in any Filipino fiesta birthdays or even in drinking sessions.  Hehehe.  But thanks to the following people for they somehow ease the boredom within me.

-Errol for the cup of green tea while I’m preparing the dish.

-to the birthday celebrant Radny, for helping me in the kitchen and for preparing the ingredients earlier.

-Anuar for the nice photos. (pang friendster ito at pang blog)

-Siraj and Marvin for sharing the microphone.

-Darwin for allowing me to smoke in his kitchen while cooking.

- Jay for his patience. (kaw ba naman kunan ng stolen shots habang kumakain)

- Randy for the laughters (Iba ka talaga Tsong, mabuhay ang seven dwarfs)

- Salvador who inspire me to include this dish on this blog (mag comment ka na hehehe)

- Jet for his hilarious comments. (as always Janina Magdangal)

-Mark for sharing his photography skills.

- Nathan, Mar, Marlon for simply being with us.

Thank you all for you really made my day!!!  (parang ako ang may birthday)  Nyahahahaha.  Sana wala ako nakalimutan.  Be ready for our next adventure…The Al Hassa Tour.

This sardines is made up of  well loved Bangus (milkfish), cooked in olive oil on a  low heat pressure cooker. It’s flaky white meat is well paired of lots of spices.  Tomatoes, paprika, pepper, bay leaves and onions. It’s a healthy fish dish for lunch or dinner 

        لآ Bon Apetite

This thai-inspired recipe really taste authentic and most of all, it’s relatively healthy and quick enough to prepare on Friday drinking session.  (Nyahahahah)   The beef is marinated with soy sauce, lemon, sweet paprika and brown sugar, stir-fried in butter topped with green beans and toasted garlic.  The sweetness of the sauce is distinctively Pinoy and the crunchiness and unique taste of garlic adds flavors on this chamba dish of mine J.  Looks and tastes like it came from your neighborhood Thai restaurant?  Nah it’s actually a “chamba” since this is the first time I tried this recipe.

Bon Apetite!!!

Chop Suey is a classic American-Chinese dish that has become my favorite ever since and I guess adopted by Filipinos as their own.   It maybe prepared in a variety of styles, plain or special, extra special or whatever you may want to call it.   My version is a tasty, stir fried mixed veggies with shrimp and chicken liver bound in a thickened oyster and evaporated milk sauce topped with yellow bell pepper and boil eggs. 

To make it more special add mushroom, fried tofu and squid balls.  Hmmmm! Yummy!

Bon Apetite!!!

(served on Randy’s Birthday April 13, 2009 sa ilang na disyerto ng Arabia. )

My fish sarciado is combination of fish and beans guisado.  It’s a sautéed fish marinated in patis and lemon juice with a mixture of  garlic, onions, bell pepper and of course tomatoes.  To make it totally different for the traditional sarciado I added string beans on the sauce without the eggs.  It’s like a delicious fried fish topped with beans guisado.  Best serve with plain rice.  Try it!!

Bon Apetite!!!

Tacos de Arabia is a combination of the famous Shawarma of the Middle East with a Mexican twist.  They almost have the same ingredients except for the wrapper.  It’s filled with ground beef, flavored by garlic and sweet onions, garnished with fresh dice tomatoes and sweet onions, shredded lettuce and mozzarella cheese wrapped in crunchy tortilla or taco shells topped with my special Mexican Salsa sauce and melted cheese. Hmmmm. Yummy.

Bon Apetite!!

The mouth watering ingredients

Ang mg salarin na dumagsa sa movie namin ni Sarah G (hehehe feeling Lloydie)

Big thanks to Siraj, Glen and Radny for helping me in the Kitchen. KUDOS AMIGOS!!!

There are so many ways to make tuna sandwich but this one is not your ordinary tuna sandwich.  The tuna is soft it just melts in your mouth and the crunchy little carrots are the perfect textural contrast. The pineapple brings a little kick and adds to the natural sweetness of the tuna while the red bell pepper adds a little color to this extra ordinary tuna.  It is one of the sandwiches you cannot wait to eat.

 Bon Apetite

The author would like to thank the following:

http://artscooking.blogspot.com

One of my favorite recipes of my Nanay from my childhood is this sweet and sour meatballs,  I would often come from school in the middle of cool December breeze and walk into the house to smell that sweet aroma of the sauce in the air.  Hmmmm, yummy! Ohhh!!! I miss my Mom.

Meatballs are made of ground beef, flavored with sweet paprika and red and yellow bell pepper.  And to make the sauce easier to prepare I used Jufran Sweet Chili Sauce instead of combining the right amount of sugar, vinegar and soy sauce.  That’s good about cooking; you can change a recipe according to your taste and mood.  Adding color to the sauce are pineapple, carrots and my favorite yellow bell pepper and green chili’s.

What a nice combination of colors.  Bon Apetite!

I’ve always loved the Amazing Aloha of Jollibee, so I was a bit disappointed when I first found out that this kind of stuff doesn’t exist here in the Kingdom.  They do have burgers here, but nothing beats this unique kind of burger.  I’ve heard that Jollibee will soon be open in Al-Khobar but learned from my friend in Jeddah that Amazing Aloha was not on their menu.  So why not make my own version.

Gomz Amazing Aloha are made of 100% beef, sprinkled with sweet paprika, salt, pepper, white onions, bell pepper, Apple (my secret ingredient) cheese, cucumber, and a thick slice of pineapple, sandwiched by soft toasted bun.

Bon Apetite

 Sarap!!!!  Mapapa YOH ka sa SARAP.  Amazing!

I called it Ala Narra since most of the main ingredients of the traditional fresh lumpia are not available here in the Kingdom such as singkamas and sweet potatoes (camote).  I used carrots and potatoes instead.  The challenge for me is the egg roll.  It’s so hard to make it light, like somewhere between a crepe and an omelet but it turn out good.  I was surprised that it actually contrasts with the       crunch from the vegetables within.

The brown sauce is flavored with bits of garlic and chopped cashew with peanut butter to make it a bit sweeter.

Bon Apetite!!