Steamed Fish with Toasted Garlic

It’s weekend……and since I might be tempted to revisit the “Playground” for some shore fishing adventure (again?), I checked our freezer last night for the inventory of my remaining previous catch. I discovered I still have two nice pan-sized fishes. One is a tasty grouper or “lapu-lapu” and the other one I am not quite familiar with but looks like a delicious crossbreed of sort of snapper and bream. The last part of the statement actually reads ….”I don’t really have an idea”. :-)

Since I am hopeful that my next angling expedition will be fruitful (as always….. typical thinking of an avid angler), I thought the freezer should be cleared of old catch to give space for the new ones. So the two fish should immediately be cooked …….by all means…….not that I am starving because the chicken barbecue we ate for an early dinner was fully digested at that time…..but because I need to cook. It’s a therapy for a stressed mind…….of people living far from love ones. And yes I have to blog……it is already a part of the system……of my life.

I initially thought of simply cooking the fish in the oven like my previous post baked fish. But when I tried preheating the oven, the moment I turned the switch on, I instantaneously sent the whole compound into total darkness. It appeared there was some short circuit in the oven’s electrical line and turning it on will trigger the main switch to trip and cause massive blackout …… all throughout the compound. :-)

It was the reason why this post is entitled “steamed fish” and not baked. But it was a blessing in disguise……this steamed fish which I prepared with toasted garlic, butter and lime juice ended up luscious. A dish worth the trouble of temporarily cutting the electricity supply…….as well as the internet connection…… at the time when most of my housemates/friends are chatting with their special ones. :-))

Filipino Menudo Recipe (Pork & Liver Stewed with Potato and Carrot)

To be honest, I am not so much a fan of the Filipino dish called “menudo”. Given the necessity to cook, I would rather prepare “adobo” or “estopado” or even “mechado”. But since a friend requested the recipe of the dish, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, take another look, set aside my personal (and probably biased) reservations and prepare it for posting here. And I'm glad I did……. after enjoying the dish, truly, I now have a better appreciation of the rather simple but delicious pork “menudo”.

“Menudo” is a common cafeteria or canteen or “turo-turo” or roadside eatery or small restaurant dish. It is actually exceptionally popular to most Filipinos, except me but including my better half (even if she does not eat liver), both in the provinces and in the cities. It is also a regular fare in most Filipino banquets and feasts during family occasions, special holidays and important gatherings. It is simple enough to quickly prepare but tasty enough to satisfy even choosy guests.

The dish is a typical tomato sauce-based stew using small cubed pork and liver. Several types of vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, green peas, chick peas or garbanzos can be added as well as hotdog or sausage. The liver provides its distinct flavor while the veggies and especially raisins, if using, give its hints of flavorful sweetness.

Tapa or Tapang Baboy Ramo (Marinated or Cured Wild Boar)

The title surely sounds exotic. After all, meat from wild boar or what is locally called “baboy ramo” in the Philippines and “wal ura” in Sri Lanka has become so seldom and difficult to come by. Most probably due to over-hunting in the past and the inevitable intervention of progress and development into their natural habitat (a.k.a. consequential destruction) which unnecessarily (and sadly) resulted to extreme depletion of stock in the wild and the subsequent enforcement of strict government initiatives as well the preservation efforts of various wildlife groups, having wild boar meat in your kitchen is quite a rare opportunity nowadays. At least, in some Asian countries, where unlike in the US and Europe, wild boar farms are quite few, if ever there are any.

Now, that I was able to acquire some portion of the meat from what they told me as a legally butchered wild boar from an operated farm, I am quite ecstatic to prepare a truly favorite Filipino dish called “tapa” from the exotic meat. As a disambiguation, “tapa” of the Philippines refers to marinated, dried or cured slices of meat, usually beef, pork and venison, although other meat or even fish may be used. The meat are thinly sliced and cured with vinegar, spices and seasonings as a method of preserving it. It is best served fried or grilled. This is not the same “tapa” or “tapas” of Spain which is the name referring to a wide variety of appetizers or snacks in the Spanish cuisine, usually eaten while drinking some wine in the bars.

Wild boar or wild pig (“sus scrofa”) is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig. Wild boars are native across much of Northern and Central Europe, the Mediterranean Region (including North Africa's Atlas Mountains) and much of Asia through Siberia and as far south as Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Principally for hunting purposes, wild boars have also been artificially introduced in some parts of the world such the Americas and Australasia. In some places, populations have also become established after escapes of wild boar from captivity. While the term boar is used to denote an adult male of certain species, including, confusingly, domestic pigs, wild boar also applies to the whole species, including "wild boar sow" or "wild boar piglet".

R&G Reviews Taylors Eye Witness Veritable Sabatier's Cooks Knife

One fundamental requisites of cooking is cutting. In some food preparation, this accounts for more than 50% of the entire time required in the cooking process. Therefore, a good cutting and slicing implement is an important component of anyone’s kitchen. Seriously, if you have a strong passion in cooking and food preparation then you should have a keen eye in finding a good, not necessarily the best, chef’s knife or cook’s knife………one that could safely and effectively respond to your specific kitchen requirements ………… it may not always be true or applicable to others but particularly tailored to your needs.

As mentioned in my post about CSN Stores’ offer last month, I am to review one of their quality products which as per my sharp choice is a 25-cm Taylors Eye Witness Veritable Sabatier Cooks Knife. I love outdoors……..I love cooking ……..I love fishing……….I love camping………I love hunting (although it’s been quite a long time since our last expedition….:-( )………of course, it should follow that I love knife…….especially high quality cutlery that could withstand the rough and tough demand and condition of outdoors environment.

To provide a good review, I tried to understand the over-all components and mechanics of a chef’s knife. And in order that even non-chef or non-foodies for that matter, could understand the technical terms that I will be using when referring to particular part or parts of this Sabatier Cooks Knife, let me provide you an illustrative guide on the basic parts of a typical chef’s knife.

Abraw o Inabraw (Vegetables Stewed in Fish Paste)

Another popular regional dish from the northern Luzon area in the Philippines is “abraw” or “inabraw”. I believe the other Ilocano term “dinengdeng” also refers to the same dish. “Abraw” is a simple vegetable dish where several types of vegetables are stewed in a small amount of water and seasoned with “bagoong” or fish paste. Sometime during the cooking process, a flavoring meat usually fried or grilled fish or dried shrimp fry or krill are added to further improve the taste of both the broth and the cooked veggies.

For me, this dish is not really something we can brag about. After all, from its original and humble inception, it is prepared in a simple, easy and straightforward procedure utilizing simple ordinary vegetables and inexpensive local seasoning. That’s all. It is basically intended to be a simple meal of a rather simple, and probably frugal, family. But out of its simplicity, the dish is tasty and satisfying…… not to mention very healthy. That it has become popular not only in the Ilocos region (Philippines) but also in other neighboring regions and even in the Manila Capital area.

Being a vegetable dish using fresh local harvests, it is best eaten with some fried or grilled fish along with lots of steamed rice. But it also goes well with other seafood dishes like the “halabos na hipon o sugpo” (steamed shrimp or prawn) which we ate alongside "abraw” and posted here before. If you like grilled or boiled or steamed veggies dipped in “bagoong” in your meal (like me), then you will appreciate this dish and probably love it later on.

Swimming and Ultra Light Shore Fishing at Kahawa Beach, Sri Lanka

As a part of our group’s rest and recreation, we decided to make a short swim on one of the many beautiful beaches of southern Sri Lanka last Sunday. Since we were at the Koggala Beach Park the other week, where I did some quick shore fishing as well, it has been suggested by some members to re-visit Kahawa Beach this time. We have been to the nice and highly visited swimming place one time and would like to check it out once again.

Like Koggala Beach, Kahawa Beach is particularly a safe, easily accessible and highly suitable swimming area, even for kids, frequented by many locals due to the natural pool that the rocks on the water several meters away from the beach creates. Basically, the place is offering quality swimming opportunities for families and friends, uninterrupted by the roaring waves pretty normal to most Sri Lankan coastlines. The enclosing rock is serving as a natural breakwater, providing protection for the pool of crystal clear water over fine white sand.

As featured before, Sri Lanka is a beautiful tiny island surrounded by rich waters offering an abundance of white sandy beaches, lush greenery, exciting water adventures and amazing marine ecosystem. It has a very healthy coral reefs and wide oceans providing shelters to numerous varieties of coral and sub tropical fishes and other astounding marine life. Kahawa Beach, though public and not really a top tourists destination, is aptly one of them.

While I have mentioned in my posts some well known and popular beaches in the past such as Hikkaduwa Beach, Unawatuna Beach, Bentota Beach and Koggala Beach, I considered Kahawa as also important and worthy of praises. Its fine white beach and clear blue water pretty much support that statement of mine.

Homemade Tuna Sandwich Spread

Our group has been consuming a lot of chicken meat for the last 5 years that we’ve been assigned in a highway project here in Sri Lanka. It’s mainly due to the scarcity and high cost of pork and seasonal availability of fish. In my estimate, out of the 21 main meals that we have in a week, considering 3 meals per day, more than half of the meals are made up of chicken either as the main viand or major ingredient in cases of vegetable dishes. Obviously, there were days when we have chicken for both lunch and dinner. We love chicken, right! :-)

So when I again decided to prepare a homemade sandwich spread the other day, I opted to use canned tuna meat instead of the usual boiled chicken flakes. While chicken sandwich spread which I featured here before remains my most favorite amongst other sandwich spread variations, we felt using tuna will serve as a sort of reprieve for the many days of continuously over-indulging into the reliable chicken.

Tuna are massive, fast swimming sea water fish with muscle tissue that ranges from pink to dark red. The fish are highly sought-after by both fishermen and anglers alike either for commercial consumption or sports and recreational pursuit. While there are over 48 different tuna species, the term tuna generally refers to those that belong to the family of “Scombridae” and particularly under the genus “Thunnus”, which includes 9 species. The yellow fin tuna is the most prominent specie and probably among the most important in terms of culinary application, although not the most expensive.