Sushi with a twist at "Ta Ke Ho Me Sushi Stand"

Creating a different take on sushi/ Japanese rolls is this small glass shop in SM North Edsa called Ta Ke Ho Me Sushi Stand (tah-keh-ho-meh) or TakeHome Sushi (as I call it).

They have quite and interesting selection of rolls and rice balls that make you think "Oh, I didn't think this combination was possible". And along with your interesting mix of rolls that cater to the Filipino palette, they also offer some canned Asahi.

The jewel of their menu, in my opinion, is the Bacon Bomb. A fusion of Japanese and Western decadence as you get a rice ball of spicy salmon, with shreds of nori, wrapped in juicy bacon, and smothered in Japanese Kewpie mayo. A selection that rightfully explodes in your mouth. this alone makes me want to come back for more. This concoction is best enjoyed directly after it has been handed to you. I wouldn't recommend this as a take home since the nori would end up moist after being mixed with cooked rice, and the bacon would loose its crisp. 

Niku Jaga: Home grown style

Its been a loong time since one of my cooking experiments, partly due to the past typhoons tearing up our makeshift kitchen. Well, we got a few implements up and running so I was able to do a little experiment with a Japanese dish called Niku Jaga.

Niku Jaga is essentially the Japanese version of the meat and potatoes stew. Mostly made of potatoes, carrots, minced onions and a few pieces of meat for flavoring, stewed up in sweet soy sauce. Its a Japanese staple, mostly in the winter, and usually served with white rice and miso.

But for my experiment, I was doing an expressed Niku Jaga...Pinoy style. Since me and my boy love potatoes in meat stew, I thought of making the dish with Filipino cuisine based meat stew or sauce.


Remembering the tips and steps I remembered from various anime on preparing this dish, I first tossed the crazy cut potatoes in rock salt and pepper. then saute them in oil and garlic.

With a thin coat of textured potatoes appearing, I then added the "essence of pork" cube in the mix.

after a while, I put the 'Menudo" sauce mix in water, stirred till dissolved, before adding it to the saute. I then immediately added the diced carrots and onions in the pan.

Boil until the potatoes and carrots are done.

Enjoy!!!!

BBQ All You Can at "Charaptor BBQ"

Last night, me and my officemates went to this place at Kamagong St. where they said we can do a barbecue-buffet-eat-all-you-can thingy for less than Php400.

The place is called "Charaptor" (play on words between 'Char' and 'Raptor'), a charcoal barbecue bar along Kamagong St., cor Aranga St. in Makati city.

The bar, with it's "Jurassic Park buffet table scene"-ish style like ambiance, offers its patrons the BBQ bar experience either in their interior dining space, or the outside dining area, which is more casual.

Each tables are fitted with its own charcoal grill and its own direct exhaust system so the smoke and steam doesn't go around fill up the place.

 Now, the buffet...

You can barbecue from a wide variety of morsels, buffet style. Take your pick, from your usual street vendor fares like tenga, isaw,.. vegetables, potatoes,... pork, beef and chicken in different kinds of barbecue mix... seafood... and various side dishes abound. As if that's not enough, they also serve rice and orange juice until you can't take in no more.


Also available are different sauces to dip your morsel after sizzling on the grill. I tried experimenting with their line of sauces, ranging from the standard to the "huh?". So far I liked the result of mixing 1/3 toyomansi (with chili) to 2/3 yakiniku sauce. But still, I am looking for that taste I experienced when I was in Kyoto.



So take that trip. doors open from Sunday to Thursday, 6pm to 11pm.

"Seared Ahi Tuna" at Outback Steakhouse

I was able to try some "Seared Ahi Tuna" at Outback, Makati last night, and wow,... it packs a full smoky pepper flavor, rich in spices...but doesn't over power the lightly seared Tuna meat that dreamily melts in your mouth, just like one of those choice cut raw Tuna meat in Japanese sushi's.

The sharp tang that goes along it comes from the 2 select choices of dips, the lemony, sour yelloe vinaigrette, and the salsa type one.

It might come a bit expensive for my usual fare (Php200++ per half order) for an appetizer, but is sure is something that could make you comeback to this place establishment for.

Kuwano Shinsuke Style Steak Set: Remix version

Going out for some groceries this Saturday, I happened to go across their select steaks cuts. Remembering how Kuwano Shinsuke prepares his steak from the J-drama series "Kekkon Dekinai Otoko", I decided to do a steak experiment. And what an expensive experiment...I have splurged a bit for the steaks.

A Kuwano Shinsuke-style steak simply involves adding pepper and rock salt to the meat and lightly frying it on a medium heat.

For this experiment, I planned to fry and cook it thoroughly, since I don't like steaks cooked medium rare (as I found out when I dined out at Lala Port).

Heat up the oil, mixing it with 5-pepper spice and Magic Salt seasoning. As the oil comes to a boil, add the seasoned meat into the pan. Cook in medium heat, placing the lid to let the steam and juice cook it, sealing in the flavor as the cooking dogma goes.

After turning the meat over, add a pouch of garlic-mushroom steak sauce. I know that the steak sauce is added after the steak is cooked, but I rather have the flavor cooked into the meat rather than having the sauce dripping off it, having first dibs on my taste buds.

This style of steak goes well with other sour sauce based food, like Italian style spaghetti, and a side dish of fresh cucumber slices.

Japanese Style Spicy Spaghetti at Cafe Kitchen Aroma

Out to meet the host company's boss in Japan, He invited us to a cozy but modern restaurant near the office called ' Cafe Kitchen Aroma'. On the top of the menu are a list of specialty pastas they offer. I was intrigued with the Japanese Spicy Spaghetti.

Now, I eat a lot of 'Filipino Style Sweet Spaghetti', and one of my faves in a local restaurant in the Philippines is called 'Vietnamese Spicy Spaghetti'. Seeing that there is a Japanese style got me curious.

An interesting mix of Japanese dashi (broth) cooked chicken meat and spicy Italian pasta. Adding color and texture to the dish are Edamame beans. These beans are usually served as finger food along with beer. Surprisingly, the beans don't feel out of place with the sauce/broth and calms in between the spicy flavor in the spaghetti.

You can sample this fine fusion dish at Cafe Kitchen Aroma located along the main road from Funabashi Station at Honchou City, Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.

Vegetable Cheese Risotto

Risotto is an Italian method of cooking rice using different soup base (meat, fish etc.) and adding either wine or cheese into the mix.

My recent venture to make Chahan ended up into a type of Risotto by using the juices from the vegetables I added, although the rice was already cooked using water as a base. The Philippine fried rice is essentially refrying rice that was cooked either the night before or a few hours earlier, turning into what we call 'Bahaw' (cold, leftover rice).

For this experiment, the portions depends on the volume of rice you have to fry. For every bowl you would need 2 whole tomatoes, 1 large bulb of onion, 1/4 bar of cheese and 3 to 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.

First, fry the garlic till golden brown, then add the sliced onion. As the onion caramelizes, add the rice then toss vigurouly,letting the juices of the garlic and the onion into the rice. Then add the diced tomatoes, including the juices that accumulated during the slicing process. Add a dash of pepper and a few pinches of salt to taste. Also add a few dashes of McCormick Italian Seasoning. Then add the grated cheese from the 1/4 bar that you had. Mix until the cheese is melted and seems to coat every grain of rice, making them clumpy and almost gooey. I also added shredded scrambled eggs for extra texture.

You should end up with a salty,cheesy but refreshing mix of rice and vegetables. You can add in other Chahan essentials (like pieces of pork, etc.) in the tradition of the mixed fried rice.

Kalbi: Mexican-Korean Fusion Fastfood

Having quite a hunger pang one day, I dropped by Glorietta in Makati City to get some grub. Seeing a Mexican Fastfood joint, I started to make a bee-line for that establishment.

To my surprise, while they are serving Quesadillas and other Mexican dishes are Korean favorites.
Huh? Is this some kind of warped combo platter?  I love Mexican food, and I am also quite fond of Korean cuisine. While both are quite spicy (depending on the dish) Korean food, to me, seems to offer more tang and zest.

Chowing down on my Tacos and Quesadillas, I was surprised to find out that its not ground beef with a familiar mix of tomatoes and salsa, but Korean style beef and Kimchi, cooked in Mexican style along with the Tortillas.

Being fond of Kimchi, I welcomed the surprise. But the texture of Korean style braised beef took a while to get used to. Actually, I'm not quite fond of it, but I do admire the style and methods made to develop this fusion. The flavors do complement each other, but the texture of the beef seems quite amiss (maybe I should have selected the pork instead).

And eat it while its hot, the texture of the Korean style beef juice in the tortillas are not as enticing if laid out for too long.

Death Sticks Ver.2.01

While walking around the market, seeing a crap load of green chili's made me reminisce about my 'Death Stick' experiment a few years back. Now, I think its time to level it up.

Using large green chili's, core them out, removing the seeds and the stem. Remember kids, the seeds contains most of the oil that makes chili's hot and spicy.

After removing the core and seeds , cut generous strips of cheese. Lactose in cheese helps counter the spicy oil in chili's.

Serve with either a meat strip or, in my case, oyster topping.

Yum

Experiment: Remove the Chemical Taste in Canned Corned Beef

I don't know why but recent incarnations of the humble canned corned beef's taste has changed since my childhood days. You can really taste the chemicals used as preservatives (especially in some famous brands).

My favorite brand is Libby's due to the absence of the chemical-like taste, the over all flavor, and its juiciness despite being a bit dry.

But, alas, my fave brand is a bit expensive. So I have to make do with the usual popular brands.

To 'clean and rinse' the chamical taste, I first sauted some garlic and onions, put in the canned corned beef and put in a quarter cup of water. Wait until the water boils then lower the flame. Cook until the water has evaporated from the mix.

Add a dash of black pepper and a pinch of salt. Feeling a bit adventurous, I added a dash of McCormick's Italian Seasoning.

Continue mixing in the pan until almost all the moisture has evaporated.

Midnight Snack Alert

Getting hungry in the middle of the night,I decided to fix up a little something something using the leftovers my wife used for her okonomiyaki.

First off, shredding some carrots and leeks.

For the cabbage, I shredded them in two different styles for texture. I sliced the half in strips and the other half julienne style.

Mix them together. Add some iodized salt and a generous portion of mayonnaise.

Mix thoroughly and put it through a bit of a cold treatment by setting it aside in the freezer.

While I do love eating veggies, I gotta have meat when hunger becons in the middle of the night. So with I have to deal with the sweet ham left over.

I don't particularly like sweet ham, so I treated it with a dash of black pepper and a pinch of iodized salt, hand mix, and slow cooked over a medium flame.

In cooking the ham, I used a vegetable oil brushed teflon pan.

With a minimal amount of oil, the glazing or sweet coating will be seared off.

I now therefore call this combo : CHUNKY CRUNCHY CABBAGE SALAD with PAN SEARED PEPPERED HAM

Adobo Flake Sisig

With a bunch of leftover Pork Adobo and Chicken Curry, I had an idea of having various meat flakes crushed and deep fried. I remembered having some fried Pork Adobo flakes from a few years back and I thought it would be a good idea to try and make it.

With the Pork Adobo and Chicken Curry, seperate the skin, bones and fat,leaving the meat behind.


Crush the meat, pressing down parallel to the muscle and tendons, dividing them into strips and flakes.

Then put the mixed meat flakes in the frying pan with preheated oil. Fry until the white parts of the flakes turn golden brown.

Halfway through, I then thought about adding some onions and eggs. From the inital idea of having some Pork Adobo flakes, it quickly turned into a 'Pork Sisig'-esque kind of viand.

After the mixed meat flakes turn golden brown, add a bulb of medium sized purple onion, chopped. Allow the juices from the onion to bleed through and mix into the meat and the oil.

Then proceed to add the eggs to bind the mixed meat together, and also to add some texture. Season with a few piches of iodized salt.

Cook until the eggs are fluffy.

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THE FINISHED PRODUCT:

Serve with a side of soy sauce, lemons optional.

Cheesy Tuna Mushroom Omelette

Been a while since I posted about food. Its also because I had no kitchen to cook in. But while visiting my sister, I jumped at the chance to use her kitchen and try out this evil mixture I've been hatching for a long time.

Well, this may be not much of an adventure, but going to the market one day, I decided to try combining tuna flakes and mushroom in one of my omelette experiments.

I was actually thinking about trying to make a mushroom burger steak set for the kids, but with the cost of pork these days... and after walking around the market in the heat of the sun made me...lazy.

You will need:

- 1 can of tuna flakes (crush the flakes into a pulp)

- 1 small can of mushroom (chopped, slice longitudinal sections for garnishing)

- 2 eggs

- a buttload of grated cheese (I use Eden cheese, not quickmelt...

it adds more texture and taste)

First, beat the eggs in a bowl adding a dash of pepper and a pinch of salt. Cook the eggs in a low flame to maintain a good cooked surface underneath while keeping a fresh, moist area above. add the tuna and mushroom mix in the center. Add cheese as needed. Then fold the sides over the filling then flip that suckah ovah... :-)

Garnish with cheese and mushroom section.

The kids at home loved this. Try it out.

Mish and Mash: Spicy Beef Maki with Kani Salad

Two of the most recent addition to Tokyo-Tokyo's menu; the Spicy Beef Maki and the Kani Salad, are the subject of today's Mish and Mash Project.

The Spicy Beef Maki is a thin beef slice wrapped in vinegered rice topped with spicy sauce. It comes with its own BBQ style-like dip, but I think it tastes better with the usual soy sauce with wasabi paste.

Their Kani Salad is a mix of crab sticks, lettuce and mangoes topped with mayonnaise. One can notice immediately the absence of the usual cucumber strips, leading my wife to think this is a real 'salad approach' (bare ingredients mixed with lettuce and mayo).

This mash-up is simple... just use a portion of the Kani Salad to top off the Spicy Beef Maki. You'll get a mix of the beef flavor with the smoothness of the mangoes and mayonnaise.

The good news is, this mix and mash will only set you back about P140.

Just remembering about this dish makes my mouth water....

Revitalize Overextended Foodcourt Entrees with Kimchi

In today's economy, food establishments in malls and around the metro try everything to maximize profits given their operational costs. To this end, they resort to using extenders in their signature viands.

Having lived with a family of caterers before, I have witnessed the use of various extenders to increase the quantity of food products they can put out. Since these methods are common place in commercial food establishments, it is used in a level that the extenders doesn' affect the overall taste of the product.

But recently, eating at food courts or establishments in malls, it seems that they tend to overdo these methods. With their viands ending up tasting bland and flour-like. And with the ever rising price of food commodities, consumers are left to endure these tasteless entrees.

But I have found a solution, that is if you like tang and spice in your meat viands, mostly for the fried or grilled kind.

I add a helping of Kimchi along with the viand to boost the meat's flavor. This humble Korean staple, costing a mere P25 per serving (at the Kimchi food booths), will fill out the bland areas filled up by these extenders and add a curious flavor to the meal you are used to. Giving you your money's worth.

A lot of extenders can be applied to viands with grilled pork as the main focus. This also applies to meatballs, fried dimsums, or grilled (or fried) meat served with a large fat or tendon content. Your tastebuds shall behold the playful flavor this method shall provide.

But this method is not applicable to all. Soup based viands with weak glutumate content are out of the question. Since there is no flavor base to boost, doing this will defeat the purpose in the first place. Viands with dairy based cream, soup or sauce also doesn't go well with this method. And finally, people who doesn't like tang with their spicy food, or dislike kimchi in general, should refrain to entertaining this suggestion.

Peppered Cold Cuts

It was midnight, and I was having hunger pangs. I was looking for some heavy meat to cook but all I found are some cold cuts. I remembered that black pepper thickens the taste of light meat. With this I proceeded to spring something which I called Peppered Cold Cuts.

======================

Ingredients:

cold cuts (for this I used 4 whole slices of Bologna ham cut into strips, marinated with 1/4 teaspoon of iodized salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.)

white onion (a small bulb, half to be cut into rings, the other half are diced)

cheese (grated)

mayonnaise (1 tablespoon)

======================

You then proceed to fry the cold cuts first for a few minutes, browning the meat, before adding the white onion rings. After two minutes add the diced onions. These time difference in cooking the onions gives the variety of texture for this simple dish.

Drain the oil from the mix before transferring to a dish.

Grate in a generous portion of cheese (depending to your preference to cheese) and add the mayo. Give it a good tossing before transferring to the serving dish.

Although its texture is not those of the other thick red meat, the flavor is enough to get you through...serve as a rice topping or along some mashed potatoes.

Enjoy :-)

Mish-Mash: Sisig with Kimchi

If you ever find yourself in Robinson's Pioneer, here's another mish-mash you can do in the food court.

You first get an order of pork sisig from Sisig Hooray and follow up with 2 orders of kimchi from 'Kim n' Chi'.

Now this mix and mash is not for everyone. I just happen to love kimchi. But if you ever try this, you will marvel at the flavors playing around in your mouth. The salty, meaty crunch of the sisig will be augmented with the sour-spicy, veggie crunch of kimchi.

The same combination is used in local cuisine when you find a lechon or any grilled or fried meat combined with a concoction of sour mix of green mangoes, onion and tomatoes called ensalada.

Cheese Omellete with Lady's Choice Mayo

A booth promoting a mayo brand at the mall gave me and wife an idea i'd like to share. We are used to adding milk, butter or plain veggie juice to make our omelettes fluffy and tasty. It never occurred to me that adding mayonnaise to the omelette mix could make it taste and feel interesting.

I studied various components for baking on a chemical level as a report in my humanities class (despite my group being a bunch of metal heads, artists and musicians...my professor assigned cooking as our report). In my research, mayo in omelette is essentially like adding oil and more eggs to the mix. With eggs which primarily serve as a binder in baking, I fail to see the effects of a binder will make to another binder and make it fluffy.

To my surprise, adding Lady's Choice original blend made some difference in the texture and taste in what we were cooking. Its not that fluffy, but it was soft, with a bit of tang...a flavor not necessarily associated with omelettes.

I recommend using 2 singles pack (or two tablespoons) of Lady's Choice Mayonnaise to 3 eggs. Add a pinch of iodized salt. Keep in mind that adding too much iodized salt will flatten out the color of the whisked eggs and in turn, will make your omelettes or scrambled eggs leaner, thinner and less fluffy. As the bottom part forms and cooks, add 2 diced tomatoes and half a white onion. As the veggies cook into the liquid side of the whisked eggs, add the diced quick melt cheese then turn the half of the egg batter to close your omelette.

I assure you, this one will make for a hearty breakfast for anyone.

Lasagna Express

In some occassions, helping my mom around the kitchen is a good learning experience. I love food. I sometimes love to study about food, and its preparation, and other trivial tidbits about it. The different things food plays with your senses only serves to perk my intrest in them even more.

In my recent trip back to my parent's home in Rizal last New Year's eve, I see my mom preparing Baked Macaroni and Lasagna. No one prepares meat sauce like my mom. The combined texture of the gounded pork with the right hint of tomato, saltiness and sweetness keeps me coming back to learn how she prepares her sauces.

I already learned how she 'double-cooks' the grounded pork or beef to create the texture and flavor I grew up with. Its where you boil the grounded meat in its own juices, its natural flavor, until the added water is evaporated, then cook it from the oil it produced...sealing in the natural saltiness and flavor of the meat. But the recipe of the sauce itself changes over time. Maybe its to better suit the changing taste as we grew up.

While preparing for the New Year celebration, we were running out of time with the Lasagna. My mom forgot to make the bechamel sauce (which I hate). I told her its okay, no need to make the bechamel. My mom told me that its what makes the Lasagna soft moist and creamy after baking. Since we were out of time, she decided to mix the ingredients of the bechamel to the meat sauce. That means adding the flour, milk and half a bar of butter in the tomato meat sauce I was cooking. It thought its going to ruin the flavor of the meat. To my surprise, what resulted is a creamy textured tomato meat sauce with the same flavor, a bit less salty, but delicious non the less.

While laying the pasta with the sauce, I said "I dub thee, Lasagna Express, a fast and easy way to prepare Lasagna without the fuss of making two sauces at the same time." To which my mom laughed at.

(Later that evening, my mom still made a seperate batch with bechamel sauce)

Its a Sizzlin' Pepper Steak Christmas

I heard a lot of good things about the Sizzlin Pepper Steak Lunch from my officemates who had a short stint in Japan. I didn't paid much attention when they went bananas after it opened a branch in Makati. But upon seeing a branch in Megamall in one of our recent Christmas Eve malling, I remember the good things my officemates said and decided to give it a go.

Their branches give off that Western modern rustic feel to it, with all the earth tones, simulated wood, and exposed steel coupled with modern mood lighting that also serve as the general lighting. What makes them stand out is the way you order your food. You make a list of the food you pick out from the menu and then 'flip' the cow from "Stop" to "Mooo-ve" to let the waiting staff that you have finished with the order slip. Everytime you need something from them, just 'flip' the cow and they will come to your table. No need to raise your hand...or snap your fingers...or make those 'come here' gestures.

It seems that the menu of the Sizzlin Pepper Steak is an Asian/ Japanese take on an American cooking mindset; A healthy dose of pepper and spices on a sizzling beef entree. Intresting enough, their version of the Kani Salad involves deep fried breaded Kani sticks.

Their dishes is a bit pricey, so its better indulge on them once is a while...they are worth it. Specially the Hamburg and Karaage Steak set which is a combination of the American staple, hamburger steak, and the Japanese Chicken Karaage...all coated with your choice of Japanese-style sauce.

But they do offer Pepper Steak Rice sets that is good on the budget and served in gut-filling portions. I do favor the Sizzling Meatball Pepper Rice set for its well done meat balls, peppered rice and Italian style tomato sauce. I recommend to mix and mash this baby while the plate is still hot in order to 'cook-in' the sauce. The aroma of the sauce while its sizzling on the hot plate just increases your appetite even more.

They have amazing combinations of various cooking styles and cusine that will definetely make you come back for more.

( We definetely came back the next day...in their branch at Tagaytay)