MORCONITOS / MINI MORCON

STEAK AND POTATO STIR FRY

Isa munang buntong hininga

What's In It:
Steak
Salt
Pepper
Potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
Salt
Pepper
Steak sauce

How It's Done:
Season steak and potatoes with salt and pepper. Shallow fry potatoes until sides are golden brown. Set aside. Remove oil from pan. Brown sides of steak and cook according to desired done-ness. Set aside and let rest. Cut steak into chunks. Bring back steak and potatoes to pan. Flavor with steak sauce.

PAN FRIED RIBEYE STEAK WITH MUSHROOM GRAVY

Isa munang buntong hininga

What's In It:
Ribeye steak
Salt
Pepper

Mushroom gravy:
Button mushrooms, sliced
Beef broth
Flour
Butter

How It's Done:
Season steak with salt and pepper. Pan fry both sides of steak. Cook as preferred.
Remove oil from pan. In the same pan add 1 tbsp. of butter and sautee button mushroom. Add in flour. Pour beef broth and stir to get smooth consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

BEEF PARES

Isa munang buntong hininga

It's not exactly like the BEEF PARES you are familiar with but more of a cross between PARES and ASADO. It's because I've omitted an ingredient - star of anise. To others ,the star of anise may give more depth to the flavor of this dish but for now I prefer it this way. But don't let this "lacking" (or the photo) discourage you to try the dish. This is still a keeper despite the missing ingredient.Maybe next time I'll make the real roadside carinderia PARES when I've come into terms with this spice's scent and taste.

What Went Into It:
2 lbs. Beef, cut into chunks
2 tbsp. Oil
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tbsp. Onion, chopped
1 tbsp. Ginger, minced
1/2 c. Soy sauce
1/3 c. Vinegar
2 tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
Flour/ Cornstarch slurry, 2tbsp. flour dissolved in 4 tbsp water

How It Was Done:
Fry garlic bits in oil until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Season beef with salt and pepper. Brown beef in oil.Set aside.
Remove excess oil from pan. Saute onion and ginger. Add in sot sauce , vinegar, worcestershire and brown sugar. Put beef back in pan and simmer until tender. Add water if needed. Thicken sauce/gravy with flour slurry. Garnish with fried garlic bits before serving.

OXTAIL POCHERO

Isa munang buntong hininga

I was at it again (state of cooking frenzy I guess) so don't expect any measurements.Boil oxtail in water with onion, garlic, salt and peppercorns until tender. Fry banana slices and set aside.Add pieces of corn to oxtail simmer for 10 min. Put in pechay and banana. Stir in tomato sauce. Adjust seasoning.Drop in long green chili peppers before turning off the stove.

TAPSILOG

Tapa, Sinangag at Itlog

To make tapa: first, buy beef than have already been sliced from the asian store. Make a mixture of vinegar, salt and garlic. Marinade beef in this mixture at least overnight.

To cook: shallow fry in oil until brown

BAKED BEEF AND GRAVY

Baked Beef w/ Gravy

If you've come across a dish called Beef in Mushroom Gravy, this is just a modified. I just jazzed it up a bit by adding cheese and baking it.

What's In It:
Beef slices
Button mushroom
Beef stock
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Cheese

KARE KARE

Kare-kare

The best short-cut in making kare-kare is to buy a good kare-kare mix.
I use mama sita's kasi mas malasa yung peanuts.

Q. Bakit ang talong sa kare-kare tumitigas?
A. Kasi may mani (?) yaikks!
Kay rey galing tong joke na to ha

Ingredients:

oxtail, tripe (twalya), pork hocks (pata) can be used
(pwede rin beef or chicken)
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic,sliced
10 peppercorns
1/2 tbsp. iodized salt
1 bay leaf
kare-kare mix
peanut butter, not the sweet kind I prefer the chunky one
pechay
eggplants, cut horizontally ( 2 inch cylinders para di madaling
malusak)
sitaw, cut into 2 - 2 1/2 in length

Boil the meat in water with the onion, garlic, peppercorns, salt and
bay leaf. Make sure that the meat is totally submerged in water. Cook
until fork tender adding water as necessary.

Remove meat transfer to a dish/bowl. In the same pot boil the sitaw
for 2 min, add the eggplants and after 5-6 min. add the pechay. Turn
of stove when pechay stems are translucent.

Remove vegetables. Pour out some of the stock (you can put this in a
ziploc bag and freeze for future use ex. lugaw, sopas etc.) retaining
at least 2 cups in the pot. Dissolve 1 pouch kare-kare mix in
remaining stock in pot. Turn on heat. Stir and let boil until thick.
Add peanut butter according to taste. Put in the meat back into pot.
Simmer and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with the cooked vegies.
Don't forget the bagoong alamang.

Kare-kare or Kaldereta?

I first tasted this dish during one of our weekend visits to my mother-in-law. Bought from a small carinderia owned by their neighbor and family friend. It was a very interesting dish. Pieces of beef with potatoes and carrots with a thick tomato-based sauce just like caldereta. But it also has a slightly yellow tinge and a hint of peanut butter to it just like in a kare-kare. Now, this left hubby and me debating the whole time while having lunch whether it was kaldereta or kare-kare. To settle things we asked the carinderia owner what the said dish was. As it turns out it was supposed to be a kaldereta but they ran out of liver spread so they used peanut butter instead.

Kaldereta with Peanut Butter

Beef Braised in Apple Cider

I brought this concoction to our potluck dinner yesterday. It was a friend's birthday (net ilang taon ka na nga, _1 ba yon?) and the start of our "bible sharing" group.
I've been racking my brain since wednesday on what to cook for that friday night. Still undecided, I took out a pack of beef short ribs and some pieces of pork hocks from the freezer and placed them in the fridge to thaw. Come thursday night. Hubby requested that the pork hocks be cooked as crispy pata so that left me with the beef. I was really bushed that night. Without putting too much thought into it I poured what's left of the sparkling apple cider (we downed just about half a bottle during dinner) onto the beef and left it to marinate overnight. The apple cider made the beef so melt-in-your-mouth tender the dish was just superb.

Beef Braised in Apple Cider

Ingredients:

2 lbs. beef short ribs
3 cups sparkling apple cider
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into squares
brocolli, cut into florets
caulliflower, cut into florets
2 tbsp butter
salt
pepper
toasted sesame seeds
water or meat broth (optional)

Marinate beef in apple cider overnight. Heat olive oil in pan and brown beef. Do not overcrowd pan and place beef one at a time. Set aside the beef. In the same pan saute garlic and onion. Pour in the apple cider marinade.Stir and scrape the brown bits stuck in the bottom of the pan. Put the beef back into the pan. Add oyster sauce and soy sauce. Cover and simmer until beef is tender. Meat broth or water may be added if sauce starts to thicken before the beef is fully cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in sauted vegetables before transfering into serving dish. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
In separate pan saute the bell pepper, brocolli and cauliflower in butter season with salt and pepper.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Sauce

Oh man! I miss eating out at jollibee sooo much. Thinking of that "timplang pinoy" food just makes my mouth water ( and even makes me wanna cry sometimes, if you think that's OA I bet you've never tried living abroad). The langhap sarap chicken joy, the sweetish spaghetti, the pork burgers, the jolly hotdog and the palabok with real tinapa (can't find any tinapa here even in the asian supermarket). Yumm..yummm. Can't help picturing Aga Mulach sinking his teeth on that chicken drumstick .....Haay..nakakagutom talaga si Aga, oops, I mean the chicken joy.LOL.
Anyway, lunch was my feeble attempt to have a taste of jollibee. Almost did taste like the burger steak , maybe even better.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Sauce

Salisbury steaks w/ mushroom sauce

Burger patties
3 tbsp Cooking oil
¼ stick of Butter
Button Mushrooms, sliced
1 c. Beef broth
½ tbsp Brown Sugar
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp Tapioca starch, dissolved in 4 tbsp water

Season patties w/ salt and pepper. Heat oil in pan. Shallow fry the patties. Set aside.
In the same pan, put butter and sauté mushroom. Add beef broth and tapioca slurry. Season w/ sugar, salt and pepper according to taste. Put in patties and simmer for 5 min. to absorb some of the sauce.