Domestic Goddess

Cave mountain snake. I had this in Xiamen for a medical conference once and I was so hesitant to try it. But it was tasty, crispy and delicious. I just about finished the platter.

Homemade Bico (Filipino sticky rice cake). I went to a friend's birthday party and the host made bico with glutinous rice, coconut cream, sugar and ginger juice. Ummmm, so yummy.

$14 per person? Wow! Here in Korea you can get two trays of strawberries for that price. Each tray would have about 30 strawberries.

All the talk and reference to the movie "Tampopo" got me so curious that I downloaded the movie a couple of days ago and watched it last night. Hot damn! What a movie. I love the scene where the master teaches a young man how to appreciate a good bowl of ramen. That is why I made ramen broth today. I boiled pork bones, chicken pieces, whole carrot/onion/leeks in my huge pot for 3 hours. I got this magnificent, rich tasting broth. I've never made broth like this before. I didn't make my own noodles but believe me, even the store brought ones tasted heavenly in the broth. I just topped my broth with sliced pork, minced spring onions and a teaspoon of sesame oil. It was heaven. No pictures. I didn't want to pause and let the moment pass away. But since I made a lot of broth. I promise to post pics of my next bowl tomorrow. For dessert, I made bread pudding and Cinnamon Rolls that my son help me make.

I echo Pierogi. That is the kitchen of my dreams. I know if I die and go to heaven, I would have a kitchen like that.

Today was a busy day in the kitchen for me. Aside from making ramen broth, I decided to make bread pudding (as a birthday gift for a friend) and cinnamon rolls. My youngest, Billy wanted to help with the cinnamon rolls and here's what he did. After I made the dough, I let Billy roll out the dough. And brush the butter on. Next comes the dusting of the cinnamon and sugar... And more cinnamon... We then rolled the dough, cut it into rounds and baked them in my trusty convection oven. Here's the result of our efforts. My little helper enjoying the fruit of his labours. *Insert proud mommy icon here.

I just downloaded the movie Tampopo because I am curious about what all the hype was all about. I watched the whole thing, fascinated at every scene. (Did you know that a young Ken Watanabe has a minor role in the movie?) The ramen instruction scene at the beginning had me so transfixed that today, I made ramen broth and noodles for the first time. It was wonderful.

I found one from the internet that says Abalone in a Shell. The recipe is korean. Abalone in a shell Ingredients : 18 x Abalones 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 cup Cabbage 1/2 x Lemon Parsley CATSUP SAUCE 3 tbl Tomato catsup 1 tsp Red pepper oil 1/2 tsp Minced garlic 1 tsp Sugar 1/3 tsp Salt Method : (1) Select medium-sized abalones and scrub shells with brush. Wash slippery surface of abalone meat and slide knife into shells to free meat (2) Parboil abalone meat in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes and return to shells. (3) Shred cabbage finely, dip into cold water for 20 minutes, and drain. Cut lemon into thin rings, and cut rings into half- moon shape. (4) Add red pepper oil, minced garlic, sugar and salt to tomato catsup to make sauce. (5) Place shredded cabbage in bottom of dish and top with abalones in shells. Garnish with lemon and parsley in middle of dish. Serve abalones with catsup. by Sook Joung Ha Note: *Red pepper oil is made from red pepper powder dissolved in sesame oil and boiled once over low heat. Drop 1-2 drops into stuffing for dumplings and other sauce dishes to enhance the flavor.

Johnny - that is a thing of beauty. Makes me wanna reach into my computer screen and grab it. Where's the drool icon?

This is how you want your broth and your bowl should look like (without the sundae sausages).

Here's the recipe for gukbap. Based on my experience, gukbap restaurants also serve sundaeguk as well. They basically use the same broth and ingredients for both. GukBab Basic ingredients: blood (1 cup) cooked offal [spleen, tripe, intestines, etc] (300g) dried seaweed (1 sheet,appx 10cm) mushrooms (200g) white radish (200g) large green onion (1 stalk) bean sprouts (1 cup) gochucaroo powder (2 tbsp) gochujang (2 tbsp) Sauce: Soy sauce (5 Tbs) crushed red pepper (2 Tbs) chopped green onion (4 Tbs) chopped garlic (1 Tbs) sesame seeds (1 Tbs) sesame oil (1/2 Tbs) salt and black pepper. *Cooked rice (appx. 4 servings) Instructions: 1. Cut the offal into small pieces/strips. 2. Clean the seaweed, and cut into small pieces. 3. Cut the white radish into pieces of 3cm in size. 4. Heat water in a large pot, and add the beef to the boiling water. 5. Then add the seaweed and the white radish and keep the water to a boil. 6. Remove the seaweed and the white radish. Let it cool, then slice into flat pieces. Drop the mushrooms in a separate pot of boiling water, then remove quickly. Wash the mushrooms, and be sure to squeeze all excess water out of them and then shred them. 7. Cut the large stalk of green onion into diagonal pieces. 8. Mix the white radish, seaweed, mushrooms, chopped garlic and diagonal green onion pieces, bean sprouts, salt and pepper, gochukaroo powder, gochujang paste, sesame seeds, and sesame oil together. 9. Finely chop some green onion and garlic. 10. Mix the soy sauce, chopped green and chopped garlic, crushed red pepper, sesame seeds, pepper, sesame oil to make the sauce. 11. Once the soup in #4 of this list has boiled for some time, add the ingredients from #8 on this list to the soup, and add salt for taste. Add the blood and break it in big chunks and let simmer for 10 minutes. 12. In seperate bowls, scoop some cooked rice into it and then add the spoup on top. Sprinkle freshly chopped leeks and gochukaroo (red pepper powder). Then it's ready to eat. Serve the soup with sauce that you prepared in #10 on the side. To make sundaeguk, Just add freshly steam sliced sundae on top of the soup in the bowl. Eat and enjoy. PS. You can also add chopped napa cabbage to the soup to add to the veggies. Oh and if you have no problems with MSG, you can add half a tablespoon too.

For those who can speak chinese and have seen the duck blood soup video, did the guy fry the blood slices in oil?

The adjumas, older ladies, wear shapeless baggy pants in outrageous colors (purple, orange, tangerine, etc) matched with an equally outrageous shirt (usually floral printed or in shocking colors like fuschia or lime green). The young'uns wear jeans and shirt in hole-in-the-wall places while fancier restaurants have their waitstaff dress up like their foreign counterparts in US/Europe (white buttoned shirt plus black slacks with white apron).

I would have to admit that the only time I've seen black rice used in korean cooking is when a little portion of it is mixed with white rice and cooked. It gives a lovely lavender look to the white rice, and the black grains are distributed all over. I haven't detected any change in flavor. I'll ask my korean friends if there are more recipes that call for black rice.

I usually go with the rule that the one who invites is the one who pays. Unless the one who invites specifically says that they are going dutch.

Helen, there are different types of fish preservation done in the Philippines and it would depend on what region/province it is done. Here is some: Smoked fish - fish is smoked and cooked over a low fire. For more details check out How to make Tinapa (Smoked Fish) Salted fish - freshly caught fish is fileted, cleaned and thoroughly salted and hung out to dry in the sun (preferably by the sea, on the beach). Wet salted fish - or called binuro, fish is salted and then packed in jars and left to preserve and ferment. So far that's all I know right now. If you do really want to know how to make salted fish or wet salted fish, I can ask my parents who can ask their elders how to make it.

FBB, I LOL'ed when I saw the title of your blog. I know this will be a fun ride. I agree with the others, you've got a cutie of a dog. I second the motion for Harvey or Jason as his name.

I wish I was there to place 2 orders just for me. We want pics of the carnage and aftermath!

Good thing I checked to see if there was a thread of food superstitions. Here's a couple of Filipino ones: *If a cutlery falls to the floor (while you're setting the table or washing it) a guest will arrive. A fork is a man and a spoon would be a woman. *Never eat oysters on an empty stomach, it is a sure way to get a tummy ache. Oh, also at night, eating oysters is forbidden at night, more tummy ache. *If you clear the table while someone (who is single) is still dining, he/she won't get married. *If a visitor arrives in the middle of the meal and has to leave before the meal ends, everyone has to turn their plates around counter-clockwise so that said visitor won't have bad luck following him. *It is unlucky to whistle while cooking. Also singing. *If you swallow a fish bone and it gets stuck in your throat, have a child who was born feet first to stroke your throat. The fish bone will break free and go down to your stomach. Said results are also the same if you use a cat (by grabbing its paw to do it) to stroke your throat.

I hear all of you about the wings. Hubby ordered garlic chicken wings for us (well really for me) last Saturday and it was soo good. Been noshing also on oyster cerviche, binagoongan baboy (crispy pork in suateed shrimp paste) and breaded pork chops. *Burp*

Diane, I too have been lurking all the time. Everytime you posted about Oliver, I would think of a similar thing with my son Billy (who's 7). Billy's our youngest and is the one always in the kitchen pestering me of things that he could do to help with my cooking/baking. I adore those pictures of Oliver adding the ingredients and the look of concentration with the egg breaking. Billy has this oh-boy-what-joy-I'm-cooking look everytime he gets to break eggs in my mixing bowl. I, too, will be saddened when your blog ends. It was a wonderful glimpse of your beautiful part of the world. Thank you.

Today, I made Oyakudon for the first time. Hiroyuki, et al - the korean mirin worked! Thanks!

That was a fascinating read. Um, how did it really taste? (sober and unsober). LOL

I would confess I don't like cold things straight from the fridge, well except for salads and cerviches. But hubby on the other hand, est the following cold, stright from the refreigerator: Fried Chicken (he makes a lot so he knows he will have leftovers) Pork chops Sausage gravy Spaghetti sauce (slathered in two pieces of bread and then eaten as a sandwich) My father on the other hand loves lugaw (Filipino jook) cold.

I think almost all Filipino love halo-halo (well except me, the freak of the family as my mom would call. Note: everyone in my family AND clan has a sugartooth). My mom would make halohalo from scratch. First, she would cook strands of macapuno (aberrant coconuts that have thicker meat and almost no water at all) in sugar. Also cooked in sugar (seperately), are plantain chunks, garbazos (chickpeas), jackfruit and red beans. Then there was the making of leche flan (egg custard) and ube (sweet purple yam). Looks like a lot of ingredients for a simple dessert right? But it is how you serve halo-halo that is so special. First get a tall sundae glass. Fill it to 2/3s full with crushed ice (hand shaved, even better). Then add a tablespoon of each: beans, sweet plantains, garbanzos, jackfruit and macapuno. This will fill the glass up to the brim. But wait, you have to add a chunk of leche flan and a tablespoon of ube on the very top. And if you really want it to make it extra special, carefully add a small scoop of ice cream on the mound and a sprinkle of pinipig (toasted young rice). And to complete the extravaganza, a drizzling of evaporated milk. You stop drizzling the milk when you see it has reached the bottom of the glass. Now you take a long handed thin spoon and slowly, carefully start mixing everything up. When you got it kinda mixed up, start shovelling the icey, sugary goodness in your mouth. Perfect, for a sweltering hot day. :biggin: PS. you can tell halo-halo making is serious business in my family.