Stir-Fry Squid with Broccoli Recipe

This stir-fry squid with broccoli recipe is supposed to duplicate the Chinese recipe I researched on the Internet. Unfortunately, we do not have rice wine on our shelf as we are not using such ingredient in our cooking. Rice wine is one of the required seasoning for this recipe. We were a bit lazy to go to the supermarket to buy one at the time. Nonetheless, having missed out one of the ingredients did not stop me from cooking this delectable dish. I replaced the rice wine with water and added cornstarch to thicken the sauce. The result was a delicious seafood-vegetable dish that is perfect for steamed rice.

So far I cannot tell the difference in taste if I had use rice wine, but I would love to test it in future. I’d like to point out though that the water is not a substitute for the rice wine in terms of taste, instead it was intended to replace the sauce that could have been produced by the rice wine.

Meanwhile, here is my recipe for the Stir-fry Squid with Broccoli.


Squid with Broccoli

Ingredients:
500 g squid, fresh
500 g broccoli, cut into small florets
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 thumb-size ginger, finely sliced
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
100ml water (as needed)
Cooking oil

Cooking Procedure:
1. Clean fresh squid. Remove ink and peel the skin. Score lightly on one side and slice to bite-size pieces.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Sauté ginger and garlic. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
3. Add soy sauce and sugar together.
4. Stir-fry the broccoli florets in the mixture for 2minutes over high heat.
5. Add water and cornstarch. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Add squid and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.
7. Do not overcook the squid as it will turn out to be gummy.
8. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Linguini with Clams Recipe

We love watching cooking shows. This linguini with clams recipe is inspired by many pasta recipes we’ve watched in different shows. As I previously mentioned in my Clam Soup Recipe, clams are in season here and it’s a good thing to take advantage of its abundance because for sure they’re fresh.

There is actually nothing exactly like this recipe because I tweaked it a little, like instead of using parsley for the herb I used fresh basil leaves, which I and hubby are both crazy about. In addition, most pasta with clams recipe I’ve seen are using white wine for the sauce. I intended to skip the white wine, instead I planned to replace it with vegetable cubes to turn it into a broth but we couldn’t find any veggie cube so I settled for the pasta water for the sauce.

I may say my linguini with clams recipe is a success. Hubby enjoyed it so much and I would definitely love to prepare it again in the future.


Linguini with Clams

Here’s is my linguini with clams recipe:

Ingredients:
1 kg clams
500 g linguini pasta
½ bulb garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 handful fresh basil leaves
100 g parmesan cheese, grated
1 pinch dried chili flakes
olive oil

Cooking Procedure:
1) Clean clams well and soak in water for at least 2 hours. Replace the water every half hour. Throw away clams that have opened.
2) Cook pasta according to instructions. Linguini will be cooked al dente in boiling water with a teaspoon of salt for 10-11 minutes. Drain pasta and sprinkle with olive oil then set aside.
3) Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet.
4) Sauté garlic, do not brown.
5) Sauté onion until translucent.
6) Add in clams and half cup of pasta water.
7) Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until most of the clams have opened.
8) Add basil leaves and dried chili flakes. Stir well.
9) Turn off the heat. Add the cooked pasta and parmesan cheese in the same skillet and combine well with the sauce.
10) Serve hot. Sprinkle with dried chili flakes, grated parmesan cheese and olive oil if desired.

Beer is Good for You

I couldn’t help but share this amusing article from Yahoo.com’s Shine - Healthy Living Section, titled “5 Surprising Health Benefits of Beer”.

I am not a beer drinker and, just like the article aptly phrased it, surprisingly knowing that beer has some good health benefits, I wish that I can drink beer (especially for benefit # 4 below). It’s a pity that I am allergic to any beverage that has alcohol content. I know that wine is good for the health too but what can I do. Well, of course, all of these good benefits can be obtained in moderation intake of these alcoholic beverages. Anything excessive is not good.


Photo Credit: Wikipedia.org

What are these 5 surprising benefits of beer that were mentioned in the article? Here it is:

1. Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

Like red wine, it is said that several studies show that moderate beer drinking can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The alcohol content of beer can increase HDL or good cholesterol levels. It also reduces the chances from happening of the two main contributors to heart attacks, i.e, the hardening of the arteries and thickening of the blood.

2. Drink Your Vitamins

It has been found in a study that beer drinkers had 30% higher levels of Vitamin B6 in their blood than non-beer drinkers. Vitamin B6 is beneficial in treating health problems related to heart, skin, depression, fatigue, nervous system, metabolism, anemia and arthritis, among others.

3. Avoid Kidney Stones

Another study on the risk of kidney stones conducted to middle-aged beer drinking men has shown a decrease of 40% compared to non-beer drinkers. The article mentioned that it couldn’t be determined though which component of the beverage was responsible for the drop, but the evidence of benefit had impressed the researchers.

4. Help Women Age Better

It is quite pleasant to know these facts from the studies conducted on the benefits of beer to women, such as: moderate alcohol consumption assisted in preserving the mental faculties of older women, alcohol can help preserve bone density, and some natural form of hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women was also found. Wouldn’t you wish hard you can drink beer when you can’t?

5. Prevent Cancer

Cancer is a dreaded disease and it is always comforting to know that the risks can be prevented or reduced. Early studies show that a compound found in hops, the main ingredient of beer, may help inhibit certain enzymes that can trigger cancer.

To read the full article, please visit Shine Yahoo.com

Paksiw na Galunggong Recipe

Paksiw na Galunggong is one of the varieties of paksiw na isda recipes. I like the small-size galunggong or scad fish better than the large ones as I find them more flavorful.

Paksiw is a process of stewing meat or fish in vinegar and some spices. The spices added to it may vary depending on the main ingredient, regional cooking style or preference of the cook himself.

When I’m making paksiw na isda, I don’t use garlic as most people would do. Instead, I’m using onion, which I think makes the broth more appetizing. Another tweak that I do is I add a teaspoon of olive oil to the broth just two minutes before I remove it from heat.

Another tip that is worth trying is to keep the paksiw for a day in the ref then re-heat. It’s much tastier this way. Also, it is best to pair it with garlic fried rice. Yum!


Paksiw na Galunggong

Here’s my recipe for the Paksiw na Galunggong:

Ingredients:
250 grams Galunggong (scad) fish
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup water
1 thumb size ginger root, crushed or finely sliced
1 small onion, sliced
3 pieces banana pepper (siling haba)
2 large eggplants (optional), sliced according to your liking
1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)
Pepper, roughly ground
Salt

Cooking Procedure:
Clean fish well. Remove gills, innards, etc. Combine all ingredients in a pot except olive oil. Turn on the stove and cook from 10 to 15 minutes over low fire, or until the fish and eggplants are cooked. Just keep in mind to add in the olive oil two minutes before turning off the heat. Serve with steamed rice or fried rice.

Going Vegetarian at Briccocafe

Probably, my blog have felt lonely and abandoned again after several weeks of not posting. Blame it to our accommodation shifting and partying. It is true in a way because after we moved to our new place, which we haven’t fully adjusted to, we attended birthday parties for two weekends in succession. We haven’t been cooking a lot these days, we are eating out yes but I wasn’t in the mood to blog about them because we haven’t completely recovered yet from the “shifting” stress. But, I couldn’t skip this one restaurant we went to that turned me to an instant fan of their vegetarian pizza.

Briccocafe bears the slogan “the real Italian taste”. I couldn’t confirm that because I have never been to Italy to experience the authentic taste of Italian food, but what I can tell is that we would definitely go back to Briccocafe.

The branch we went to is in Khalidiya Mall at the food court level. The resto’s design is a combination of relax and on-the-go atmosphere. My reason for saying this is because half of the restaurant’s area is exposed to the hustling and bustling of the food court environment and the other half is at the back of the kitchen and food counter enclosure and within the mall’s wall façade.


Verdure Pizza at Briccocafe

Now let me go back to my instantly favourite vegetarian pizza called Verdure on the menu. Being our first time to visit the resto, we did what we usually do and that is to ask our friendly server to suggest their bestsellers on the menu. The Verdure was one of the two main courses we ordered upon our server’s suggestion and I couldn’t thank her enough because I liked what we ordered so much. The Verdure pizza was quite light to eat and very much tasty! What’s it made of is a thin crust pizza topped with thinly sliced eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms and tomato sauce. The toppings were melting in my mouth and I couldn’t contain myself from eating half of the pizza when usually I can only consume 1 or 2 slices. The pizza dough wasn’t greasy at all unlike most of what I’ve tasted so far. It was really a delight to eat. You can taste the freshness of the dough as it is being freshly prepared in the resto. When it comes to the price, I must say it is reasonable considering the quality of the pizza.

With such good food like this, I would darely say that as a fish and meat lover, it wouldn’t be worrisome if I convert as a vegetarian. Hmm, what a pleasant thought, but nah, I still love fish and meat!