Nilagang baka (beef stew)

I am simply amazed at how my Nanay and my Ate cook.  It's like they just chop and toss stuff into the pot or pan, give it a good mix, and out comes a wonderful dish.  Take this nilagang baka, for example.  My Nanay must have seen the odd look on my face when I saw her dump the potatoes along with the beef.  "Hindi malalamog yang patatas (the potatoes will not turn into mash)", she said before I could ask.  And sure enough, the potatoes were perfectly cooked.  Amazing.

There's something about nilaga that's very comforting.  I guess the mere ritual of sipping hot soup makes us feel all nice and warm inside, especially on a cold and rainy day.  I love my nilagang baka with a soy sauce and calamansi (and a little chilli) dip.

Sinigang na hipon (Shrimp in sour soup) shortcut

Sinigang is a Filipino soup-based dish that is pleasantly sour and just a tiny bit spicy. A number of souring agents are used, the most popular of which is the tamarind. Calamansi can also be used, since tamarind is not always readily available. If my memory serves me right, I've also had sinigang with santol in it, complete with the seeds. My mouth is watering just by thinking about the santol!

I call this recipe a shortcut because:
- we used Sinigang Mix (sold in packets in Asian stores) instead of doing the lengthy preparation for the tamarind;
- shrimps with their shells still on are usually used but all we had in the ref were already processed shrimps, so to speak;
- We also added just one leafy vegetable, but sinigang can have other greens such as sitaw (string beans) and okra.

This is the sinigang for when you are short in ingredients.

Chicken Macaroni Soup

Chicken Macaroni soup, also called Chicken Sopas, is a hearty soup with chicken, elbow macaroni, and milk as its primary ingredients. We used to always have this at home on Christmas eve. My Nanay would cook a big pot of chicken sopas which we can come back to every now and then when we get hungry from all the excitement and activities leading up to Noche Buena. I can't help but feel warmth and Christmassy goodness whenever I have Chicken Sopas.

This dish calls for elbow macaroni, but in this instance my wife opted for gnocchi (clam-shaped pasta) instead. And we also added button mushroom and chicken liver simply because we have some on hand; these are entirely optional of course.

Leftover fish fillet in noodles

If you can find dried noodles in your favourite supermarket, better stock up for a rainy day. I have found these noodles to be the perfect snack item, and although it will take a bit longer to prepare (because you have to prep up the rest of the ingredients), it won't really take that long and the result is a dish with significantly reduced salt and preservative content.

(By the way, the fish fillet served here is considerably bigger than those you see in boxes sold in the supermarket, so it's really a waste to just throw it away).

Plus, you can use the noodles with a variety of ingredients! For instance, we have a couple of fish fillets left from Fish n Chips night, and when it goes cold it's no longer that yummy (unless you heat it up in the oven; the microwave does not do a good job of it).

So what we have here is a yummy noodle treat with leftover fish fillet as a main ingredient!

Kinamatisang isda

My wife has been cooking kinamatisang isda for many of our meals recently, and I can't get enough of it. The soup base is yummy and has just the right taste of tomato in it for a bit or sour flavor, coupled with the mild "bite" the ginger and pepper lends to the dish. The tomato flesh becomes soft in the process; I just like including it with the fish. Tina is happy to share this recipe with you.

You may notice that there is not a lot of quantities involved for the ingredients; that's because she's just cooking for me, herself, and Jo-Lo. Feel free to add more tomatoes. We use fish fillet because fillets are what's readily available in the supermarket here in New Zealand. But she says fish such as galunggong and sapsap will do nicely. You just need to watch out for the fishbones...