Crab Omelet

Crab Omelet

Adapted from several Asian style recipes.
For this, I will use imitation crab meat, it is just fish, and I like it. This is based somewhat on Filipino and Thai Omelets. Some Filipino omelets cook the filling first and later added, and many Thai omelets are just flat with fillings added with the eggs, not folded, so let's combine these methods.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Breakfast, Main Dish
Cuisine Asian
Servings 1 serving

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup imitation crab, slice at an angle, about ¼ inch thick slices
  • ½ onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons spring onion, sliced
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 3 eggs, whisked
  • salt and pepper, as desired

Instructions
 

  • Prep the crab meat, onion, and spring onion. Add the eggs to a bowl and whisk.
  • Heat the butter in a nonstick pan on medium high heat, when hot, add the onion, saute until almost soft.
  • Add the crab meat and spring onion, stir to mix together.
  • Pour in the whisked eggs to cover the pan and contents.
  • Cook for a few minutes to set the bottom, lift the sides to check and move the pan around. When the eggs are set, flip the omelet and cook the other side until golden brown.
  • Slide to a plate, serve with rice or toast, and enjoy.

Notes

Low cost.
Chicken Liver & Heart Adobo

Chicken Liver & Heart Adobo

Panlasang Pinoy, Vanjo Merano, United States.
This is a modified Filipino dish made with common ingredients. The use of flour is the out of place ingredient from the authentic recipe.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams chicken liver, (1 lb)
  • 500 grams chicken hearts, (1 lb)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • ½ cup light soy sauce
  • ¾ cup water
  • 4-6 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • ¼ cup white vinegar
  • 2 spring onions, sliced, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Rinse the liver and hearts, cut the livers in half and trim the hearts, prep the garlic, spring onions, and measure out the liquids. For the liver, I used 700 grams and 300 grams of hearts, if you don't like hearts, just use more liver. If you want to use gizzards, parboil those for about 30-60 minutes before continuing with the recipe.
  • Add the flour to a shallow dish and mix in the salt and garlic powder.
  • Heat a large non stick pan with 2 tablespoons of the cooking oil. When hot, coat the liver and hearts in flour and add to the pan, cooking the liver for 2 minutes per side, for the hearts, just kind of scoot them around the pan and remove those when you remove the liver to a plate, work in batches until all the hearts and liver are browned. They are cooked more in another step. I did this in three batches as I use a wok pan, simply grabbing a handful of liver and hearts, coating with flour, then coating more while the first batch was cooking.
  • Just cook until browned a bit, not looking to cook through or you will have dry liver, remove from the pan, add a bit more oil if needed, and cook another batch, until all is browned.
  • Same pan, add the other 2 tablespoons of oil and the garlic, stir, cooking the garlic until it is just brown and fragrant.
  • Add the liver and hearts back to the pan, and add the soy sauce and water, stir to mix, let this come to a boil then add the bay leaves and peppercorns.
  • Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 15-20 minutes, this will cook the liver and hearts through, and the flour will make for a thicker sauce.
  • Now add the vinegar, stir and bring back to a boil. Stirring often and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, remove the bay leaves.
  • Serve with hot cooked rice of your choice.

Notes

The liver will cost about 66 Baht/500 grams, the hearts will be about 30 Baht/500 grams. For 6 servings, this is about 52 cents per serving.
Kwek Kwek

Kwek Kwek

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This is a popular street food sold in the Philippines, and essentially is battered quail eggs that are fried and served with a dipping sauce. Sounds good to me, on my make and taste list. This recipe assumes you already have hard boiled quail eggs, peeled, available to use. There is a Shortcut in the Notes section on how to hard boil quail eggs if you are not familiar with that. You can also use canned quail eggs that are drained.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 3 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 12 hard boiled quail eggs, peeled, Shortcut
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • cooking oil, your choice, as needed, for frying

For the Batter

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon annatto powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

For the Dipping Sauce

  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup tomato ketchup
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
 

First, the Dipping Sauce

  • In a small saucepan, add all the Dipping Sauce ingredients and set on medium heat, stirring the sauce until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Next, the Batter

  • In a mixing bowl, add the warm water and annatto powder and whisk until the powder is dissolved. Now if you do not have annatto powder, a few drops of orange food coloring will work just as good, although annatto will add a slight hint of flavor to the batter. The annatto or orange food coloring is basically a visual thing to make the batter orange, it can be left out if you prefer.
  • Mix in the 1 cup of flour and baking powder into the warm annatto water, whisk until there is no lumps. Set the batter aside.

Next, Frying the Quail Eggs

  • Heat about 1 inch of cooking oil in a pan to about 180° C (350° F) but not smoking, if no thermometer, just drop a small amount of batter into the oil when you think it is hot, the batter will sizzle and fry up nicely when the oil is hot.
  • Take the peeled hard boiled quail eggs, or canned eggs, and drain well. To a shallow dish, add the 1/4 of flour, roll the eggs in the flour to completely coat the eggs.
  • Now take the eggs and coat them with batter, ensuring the batter covers each egg completely.
  • Add to the hot oil, 4 to 6 eggs at a time, turn them if needed and fry to golden brown (orange really) and crispy, remove to paper towels to drain, and repeat with the rest of the eggs.
  • The sauce should be cooled a bit but still warm, pour that in a small dish, add the eggs to a serving plate and place the sauce bowl on the plate. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Perfect Hard Boiled Quail Eggs.
Variants. 1. Add ½ teaspoon of chicken stock powder to the batter. 2. Add ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder to the batter. 3. Add 1 chicken egg, beaten, to the batter. 4. Use chicken eggs, then the name becomes tokneneng.
Pancit Bihon

Pancit Bihon

Rasa Malaysia, Bee, United States.
Little culture lesson for you, the name Pancit originates in China, Hokkien to be specific. "Pancit" in Tagalog (Filipino language) means noodle, and "pian i sit" in the Chinese Hokkien dialect. Now Pancit Bihon means noodles, thin rice vermicelli (called glass noodles). In the Philippines, and in China, pancit is a common birthday dish as noodles are a symbol of longevity. There is as many ways to make pancit as there is shades of green, with the most common being Pancit Bihon.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 250 grams dry rice noodles, thin, vermicelli, (8 oz)
  • 2-3 chicken thighs, or legs, skin on bone in
  • 1 head small green cabbage, shredded into ½ to 1 inch pieces
  • 2-3 medium carrots, shredded or thinly sliced crosswise
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • 250 grams shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, (8 oz)
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • black pepper, as desired
  • spring onions, sliced, for garnish, if desired
  • small limes, cut into wedges, for garnish, if desired

Instructions
 

  • In a pot, add 4 cups of water and add the chicken pieces, bring to a boil to cook the chicken, this is dual purpose here, you will cook the chicken needed, and make the broth needed, skim off any foam that forms on the surface of the water. When the chicken is cooked through, remove to cutting board and shred the chicken, discard the bones, skin, and cartilage, and set aside. There, you just made the broth we are going to use, so set the pot of broth to the side as well.
  • While the chicken is cooking, add some hot water to a bowl and add the dry rice noodles, let them soak for 5 minutes or so, this removes some starch and softens them to make the stir fry cooking easier.
  • Get everything prepped and ready while the chicken is cooking.
  • Now using a large wok, or non stick wok pan (my preference) or a large no stick pan, heat the pan of your choice on medium heat then add the oil, garlic, and onion. Stir fry until the onion is translucent but do not burn the garlic. (A side joke to the meaning of pancit is stirring, you will be doing a lot of stirring.) This dish uses very little oil so the stirring is key here.
  • To the pan add the shredded chicken and shrimp, and, you guessed it, stir fry until the shrimp is just turning pink.
  • Now add the cabbage and carrot, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes to soften the cabbage and carrot. Remove the mixture to a large bowl and set that aside for now. Return the pan back to the heat.
  • Add the reserved chicken broth you made to the pan and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a low boil. Add the dry rice noodles, dark soy sauce, and fish sauce. Let this return to a low boil and let this cook for 5 minutes or so, you are going to reduce the broth now, stirring once in a while as well.
  • When the broth has reduced to about ¼ cup. Add the meat and vegetable mixture back to the pan, season with black pepper as desired, and once again, stir fry until the liquid has all evaporated. Taste and season with black pepper again if desired.
  • Place on a serving platter and garnish with sliced spring onion and lime wedges if desired. Serve.

Notes

Low cost.
Variants: 1. Add hard boiled quail eggs. 2. Use sliced steamed Chinese sausage in place of, or with, the chicken.
Shrimp in Coconut Milk (Ginataang Hipon)

Shrimp in Coconut Milk (Ginataang Hipon)

Just A Pinch Recipe Club, J. White Harris, United States.
This comes from a good friend who has traveled throughout the Philippines, which is where this originates. For the black pepper leaves, in the US, some farmers markets will sell these, if you cannot find them, fresh spinach or bok choi works well also. Two methods are listed, the alternate method is a more localized type for Thailand with added fish and using local vegetables. I made the alternate method, and it is delicious!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

Original Method

  • 1 kilo shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed, (2 lb)
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup fresh pepper leaves, these are black pepper leaves, or any leafy vegetable like fresh spinach or bok choi.
  • salt and black pepper, to taste

Alternate Method

  • 500 grams shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed, (1 lb)
  • 500 grams white fish fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces, Pangasius is perfect, (1 lb)
  • 1 bag soup fixings, from local market
  • 3 cups coconut milk
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon pork broth powder
  • salt and black pepper, as desired

Instructions
 

Original Method

  • In a medium pot, add the water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil then add the shrimp, reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and black pepper as desired.
  • When the shrimp are pink (do not overcook the shrimp), remove from heat.
  • Stir in the pepper leaves or other leafy vegetable, spinach or bok choi would be good choices.
  • When the greens are wilted, serve.

Alternate Method

  • With this method, I reduced the shrimp to 500 grams (1 lb) and added 500 grams of Pangasius, which is a nice firm white fish. Also used is a bag of soup fixings from the market, the green leafy parts in this are the leaves from a vine that grows wild and is foraged for everyday.
  • Open the bag of soup fixings and give everything a good rinse. This bag contained carrot, pumpkin, bottle gourd, winter melon, leaves from a vine make up most of this, and oyster mushrooms.
  • In a medium pot, add the water and coconut milk. Bring to a near boil then add the soup fixings, pork broth powder, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
  • When it nearly boils again, reduce to a simmer and let this cook for about 10 minutes.
  • Add the fish and shrimp and stir in. When the shrimp are pink (do not overcook the shrimp), just turn off the heat, leaving the pot on the burner, and cover with a lid. After about 5 minutes, the soup is done, but can remain covered while you prepare other items. I made some rice so I just let the pot sit.
  • Ladle into bowls and enjoy.
  • I served this with a side of Persian Dill Rice.

Notes

I recently bought 1 kilo (2 lbs) of shrimp from a local vendor for 70 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 53 cents per serving. Adding variants can increase the price slightly if decreasing the amount of shrimp, like when adding fish, but certainly less than $1 per serving.
Variant: 1. Add Straw mushrooms, sliced in half.
Igado (Filipino Pork Mix ‘Stew’)

Igado (Filipino Pork Mix 'Stew')

Adapted from several internet recipes.
To me, this sounds good, as I do like pork hearts and liver. I call this mix a 'stew' as there is pork belly, heart, and liver in this, along with peas, onion, and bell pepper. On my to cook and taste list. If you have never prepped a pork heart, there is a Shortcut for this in the Recipe Notes section.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Pork Mix

  • 500 grams pork belly, (1 lb)
  • 500 grams pork liver, (1 lb)
  • 1-2 pork hearts
  • ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 1 small red bell pepper, sliced into strips
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • water, as needed
  • salt, as desired

For the Marinade

  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons chicken stock powder
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ cup water

Instructions
 

  • Prep the liver and heart(s). Slice the pork belly, liver, and heart into ½ inch strips.
  • Place the liver in a bowl, cover, and place in the fridge.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the Marinade ingredients and mix together then add and mix in the pork belly and heart. Let this marinate for 1 hour.
  • Add the contents of the mixing bowl to a pot and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the pork is tender and the liquid reduced. Add water as needed during cooking.
  • Add the peas, bell pepper, and pork liver to the pot and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the liver is cooked.
  • While the pot is simmering, mix together the 1 tablespoon of corn starch and 1 tablespoon of water. Mix until smooth, this is a thickening slurry, stir this into the pot and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Taste and season with salt as desired.
  • Serve over rice.

Notes

I get all the pork items from local vendors in the village, next time in the town or city, I will get prices for store bought items. For now, this is certainly low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Pork Hearts 101.
Longanisa II (Filipino Sweet Sausage)

Longanisa II (Filipino Sweet Sausage)

Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sounds excellent and on my too cook and taste list. I have enjoyed this in the Philippines some 20 years ago or so, I really need to make this. I will determine the number of links after I make this.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Filipino

Equipment

  • Meat Grinder if grinding the pork yourself.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kilo pork butt or shoulder, (2 lb)
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • sausage casings, natural hog or collegan

Instructions
 

Grinding Yourself

  • Cut the meat into 1 inch cubes, place in a large mixing bowl, add all remaining ingredients except the casings, mix well.
  • Assemble your meat grinder with the medium plate (3/16 inch holes), run the meat mixture through the grinder. Once everything is run through, mix again with your hands to make sure the mixture is really mixed. Now ready to stuff.

For Purchased Ground Pork

  • In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients except the casings.
  • Mix with your hands to thoroughly combine the mixture really well. Now ready to stuff.

Stuff the Casings

  • Use casings of your choice, natural hog or collagen casings and follow the providers instructions to prepare the casings.
  • Stuff the sausage with your preferred method, tie off the links, ready to cook now or freeze for later use.

To Cook

  • A sort of poach and fry is preferred.
  • Add sausage to a large pan in a single layer, add water to cover the sausages by halfway. Bring to a simmer and cook, turning the sausage occasionally, until most of the water is cooked off.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and cook the sausages, turning them as needed to make nice and golden brown sausages.
  • Serve as a breakfast side, or as I will do, as a dinner side with some sunny side up eggs and fresh hash browns.

Notes

Low cost per serving.
Chicken Liver Bistek

Chicken Liver Bistek

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This is delicious! Bistek is a Filipino style of marinade/sauce made with citrus and soy sauce, and plenty of garlic. I made this on 3 Dec 2018 and it was well liked even by the Thai family.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kilo chicken livers, (2 lb)
  • ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup corn starch
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • cooking oil
  • ½ cup lemon or lime juice
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced and seperated into rings
  • 1 head garlic, peeled and minced

Instructions
 

  • Rinse the livers, cut each in half crosswise, then dry with paper towels.
  • In a bowl, add the lemon juice, water, and soy sauce and whisk to combine, set this aside.
  • In another bowl, add the the flour, corn starch, salt and pepper, feel free to go heavy handed with the pepper as desired.
  • Roll the livers in the flour mixture to completely coat each one.
  • Heat about ¾ inch of cooking oil in a large pan or pot, you want the oil hot but not smoking. When the oil is hot, add the livers in batches, don't over crowd the pan. Cook the livers until golden brown on each side. Be gentle moving the livers to check for brownness, and carefully turn them, the less you move liver, the less likely it will fall apart. As livers are cooked, remove to paper towels to drain. Continue until all livers are cooked.
  • Pour out the oil from the pan and wipe clean. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and put on medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the onions and cook for about 1 minute, stirring often, goal is to only cook the onions to half done. When they are ready, remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and cover to keep them warm.
  • Same pan, now add the garlic, cook, stirring often until lightly browning and fragrant.
  • Give that lemon juice mixture a quick whisk then pour that into the pan with the garlic and bring to a boil.
  • Return the livers to the pan and very gently mix with the sauce, cook for another 2-3 minutes until the livers are heated through and the sauce slightly thickened.
  • Spoon out the livers and sauce to a serving dish and garnish with the previously half cooked onions.
  • Serve over rice, pasta, or even mashed potatoes.

Notes

Low cost per serving.
Salabat Tea (Pressure Cooker)

Salabat Tea (Pressure Cooker)

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This is a Filipino ginger drink, often consumed when a person has a fever, sore throat, and when it is cold outside (not a chance of that happening here in Thailand except for the far north). This can be made on the stop top as well. Why a pressure cooker for this? Flavor! Keep the flavor in the tea and not evaporating off like on a stove top. Another reason is savings on energy consumption. Follow your pressure cooker safety guidelines at all times for your model of pressure cooker.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 3 minutes
Course Drink
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 3 cups of tea

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups water
  • 4 1 inch pieces fresh ginger, thinly slice each piece
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions
 

  • Add the ingredients to your pressure cooker. Place the lid on and lock, add the weight (jiggler) to the lid, and place on high heat.
  • When the jiggler starts to move and venting pressure (indicating full pressure), start your timer for 1 minute and reduce heat to low or medium low, just enough heat to keep the jiggler moving and venting pressure.
  • When 1 minute has passed, turn off the heat and move the pressure cooker to an unused burner to cool and release pressure naturally.
  • When you have indication that zero pressure remains inside the cooker, pull off the weight, then open the lid.
  • Allow the tea to cool a bit then remove the ginger slices, pour into mugs, and enjoy (and hopefully feel better).

Notes

Variant: 1. For a slightly stronger flavor, cook on high pressure for 1½ - 2 minutes.
Adapted to a pressure cooker recipe by Lee Thayer, Thailand, and kitchen tested by Ryan Guo, Thailand.
Chicken Adobo (Pressure Cooker)

Chicken Adobo (Pressure Cooker)

Ryan Guo, Thailand.
This recipes comes from a good friend in Thailand, and it is very good. the vinegar used is a good combination, but I think when I make this again, I will play around the they types of vinegar. This is a pressure cooker recipe and I will verify use my large 9 liter (9½ quart) stove top model. Follow the safety precautions for your model of pressure cooker at all times.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 8-10 pieces legs and thighs, think quarters, 4-5, cut apart
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 5-10 cloves garlic, smashed and minced, 10 recommended
  • 4-5 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Place your pressure cooker, no lid used yet, on medium high heat and heat the oil, when hot, lightly brown the chicken, you are not looking to cook through, just brown it on both sides.
  • Remove the chicken and cook in batches if needed until all are browned. When taking the chicken out, any pieces stuck to the bottom, no worries, just loosen them up when making the sauce.
  • Add the onion and saute until starting to soften, then add the garlic and saute for another minute until fragrant.
  • Add the soy sauce, both vinegars, bay leaves, peppercorns, and brown sugar.
  • Bring to a simmer then add the chicken back to the pot.
  • Place the lid on the pot and lock that and add the weight (jiggler), turn heat to high and bring to high pressure, when the jiggler starts to move, indicating full pressure, reduce the heat to low or medium low to keep the jiggler still moving and venting pressure.
  • Start timing for 8 minutes. When 8 minutes have passed, turn off the heat and carefully move the cooker to an unused burner and allow the pressure to release naturally, about 10-15 minutes.
  • When you have indication of zero pressure in the cooker (for my stove top model there is a pin that will drop), remove the jiggler, then open the lid.
  • Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Tender and juicy chicken adobo, but we are not done yet.
  • Place the cooker, without the lid, back on medium high heat, stir often and reduce the sauce to thicken it.
  • Spoon sauce over the chicken and serve. If having white rice as a side dish, spoon some sauce over the rice as well. Enjoy.

Notes

Go with about 105 Baht for 4-5 quarters (2 kilos, 4 lb). For 4 servings this is about 80 cents per serving.