last post was in may. since that time my interaction with my stove has been erratic. hmmm kitchen is there, but mainly for opening the fridge to get the yoghurt and soy milk. an occasional use of the microwave for sausages and the like. making coffee and toast. but no serious cooking. but yesterday, sunday, i was cooking again! rather, we were cooking again! maybe the lack of homemade meals in our diet has taken its toll, we were craving for something different. so last saturday we went to our suki seller of organic vegetables. bought some stuff. as there was a fisheries exhibition in the same mall, we went there and saw that the DOF was selling
smoked milkfish (bangus). we bought one to try it at home. yesterday, after church, we cooked our lunch at home. we seldom do lunch at home, by the way. after putting on the rice cooker, i prepared the fresh
shitake mushrooms (เห็ดหอม/fragrant mushroom) and
spinach (ผักขม, Popeye's food accdg to the seller), and sliced some garlic and onions. then it was time to stir fry them! my dear hubby volunteered to stir the veggies for me. he took over the cooking then! i just placed the oyster sauce and the soy sauce nearby so he would know these have to be added. he can cook it better than i can, i supposed. i tend to overcook the vegetables but for him he knows just when to take them from the fire, the thai way of stir frying veggies. after that it was my turn to heat the smoked milkfish. it was not boneless but the DOF pressure cooked it first before smoking. so we did not have to worry about the bones. it smelled good but did not know how it would taste. so when everything was ready, we were so hungry that we sat down to eat, after thanking the Lord for His provision. we forgot to take photos of our sunday masterpiece. some other time. the taste was ok, but since we ran out of our chilli powder (pla ku lao prik thai), there was no spicy flavoring. it was still ok though. except that the black belly that milkfish is famous for among the Filipinos was missing!
Thanks to the following sources, esp. for photos. Visit them for more information and links:
marketmanila.com
vinegargirl.com
wikipedia.org
Tofu salad - this is what I always order when dining at our favorite Japanese restaurant. The sesame seed dressing is delicious. The topping made of dried/smoked fish flakes is also yummy especially with its woody flavor. I think these are the two main things that make this salad very distinct. I haven't tried making this one at home yet. But I guess that it would be quite easy except that one has to be extra careful with the tofu so as not to break it. The veggies in this photo are just the green and red lettuce and tomatoes, sometimes with some romaine lettuce depending on availability.
