Lunch Date with College Friends + Binagoongang Tilapia

It's such a fine time to be with friends. I rarely have time to join reunions because of my hectic work schedule plus the fact that I seem to be the only mom in my circle (maagang lumandi! LOL). But when I do attend, it really makes me very happy! I can't imagine after 6 years of being out of school, this was the only time I learned about what truly happened with the rodent I trained for Theories of Learning (may he rest in peace...)! Aaaah...the things that unfold at reunions, priceless!

What I really like about this bunch is that, even though I've only been with them for 3 sems, they never made me feel out of place. Love you guys!

It was during this lunch date at Banana Leaf when their Tilapia dish was such a hit to Drew that he requested I dupe the recipe. Drew is not very fond of fish dishes, so once he requests, it's my pleasure to oblige!

Forgive me Banana Leaf because I do not know the actual name of the dish but I sure hope you won't mind me satisfying the cravings of my man by attempting to capture such dish in our very own binagoongang tilapia.

Ingredients:

1 kg Tilapia brushed with a little salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1 whole onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 heaping tablespoons Chinese bagoong (I used the one from Kamayan)

2 tbsp cane vinegar

1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup water

1 tbsp brown sugar

salt

1. Fry garlic until golden brown. Drain and set aside

2. Saute the Chinese bagoong in oil used to fry garlic with onions and tomatoes.

3. Add vinegar, cornstarch solution and brown sugar.

4. Cook in low fire until saucy consistency is achieved

5. Fry the Tilapia.

6. Pour bagoong sauce over fried tilapia and top with fried garlic.

I wonder what it would taste like if we replace cornstarch mixture with coconut milk? Try it and let me know ok?

your every woman,

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A Sweet Dupe: Chicboy's Turones Caramel Sauce

You know what? Before Chicboy came up with this turones dip, we've loved a similar concoction from a man selling kutsinta at the Boni MRT. He smothers his kutsinta with a thicker version of this caramel and it was sooo delicious. Drew's mom asked him how he made the sauce and he said, he simply had to boil a can of condensed milk. I don't know if cans have BPA, but there must be something unhealthy about boiling something inside a can, don't you think?

I can't say my version is the easiest way to do it because I've wasted about 3 cans of condensed milk just to get the desired result. And oh, the agony of having to wait for the condensed milk to turn brown!!! Might as well get them from Chicboy (They sell turones for P35 with a small serving of sauce and you can always ask for extra!).

Anyway, this is how I did it:

Ingredients:

1 small can condensed milk

hot water

1. Place any kind of pan over low fire. Pour all the contents of condensed milk on it.

2. Heat the condensed milk while stirring constantly. If you feel that the sauce is getting too thick, pour around 1/4 cup of hot water on it. NOTE: Be sure that the water is really hot. I tried regular tap water and ended up getting hard caramel candy!

3. Continue with step 2 until you get the desired brown-ness of your caramel. After this, pour the last 1/4 cup of hot water, stir until somewhat saucy in consistency and turn off the heat on your stove.

4. Let it cool.

This is basically just burnt condensed milk, you know? So if you want the taste to be more milky, don't brown it too much. If you want more flavor, burn it some more. But more importantly, decide if you really want to make it, haha!

And for the presentation:

Will you marry me?

YOUR every woman,

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Spreads, Dips and Sauces: Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread

I've tasted this concoction in a finger food at a bar on one of the RnR's of the company I work for. And because I love cheese so much, I just had to make it! Here's how:

Ingredients:

1 heaping tbsp of strawberry jam

2 heaping tablespoon of melted cream cheese

1. I used the strawberry jam from Good Shepherd's, the one we got from our recent Baguio trip. Just mix it with the cream cheese and enjoy! Perfect for toasts and crackers!

Oh, and by the way, you just have to multiply the ingredients to as much people as you'd like to serve it to because this recipe is single serve!

your every woman,

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Spreads, Dips and Sauces: Fishball Sauce

I remember when Lyka, a good friend, and I were in school eating fishballs, we were talking about how fishballs cooked at home never tasted as good as in the streets. We've agreed that it's because of the sauce and she even suggested I ask my big brother to try to dupe it.

Well guess what? I duped it! Oh I wish I could have a fishball snack time with Lyka again...Miss you girl!

Anyway, here's how:

Ingredients

1 heaping tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup spiced vinegar
4 tbsp brown sugar

1. Mix all the ingredients together on a sauce pan.
2. Heat until you have a thick sauce.

*Datu Puti sells spiced vinegars. It's vinegar with peppers and other spices, so it will save you a couple of ingredients and hassle to just buy Datu Puti.

Yummy on fishballs, squidballs, kikiam! :D

your every woman,

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Spreads, Dips and Sauces: Cheezy Tuna Sandwich Spread

Like I've said before, I'm crazy about cheese! Here's how I put a cheese twist to the regular tuna sandwhich.

Ingredients:
1 can Century Tuna flakes in oil
1 can Century Tuna flakes hot and spicy
1 jar of Kraft's Miracle Whip
1 whole red onion, chopped
2 tbsp Magnolia Cheezee spread
1 tsp white pepper

1. Mix all ingredients together and spread on sandwich.

Wasn't that too simple?! If you want the works, you can also add lettuce and cheese slices with the tuna spread on your sandwich! Love it!!!

your every woman,

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Spreads, Dips and Sauces: Cheddar Cheese Dip

If there's any food I can't live without, it's cheese! My husband found it weird but I put cheese on literally anything! -Rice, hotdog, cheese, fish, chicken, caldereta, afritada, etc. So it's not suprising for me to always keep cheese dips handy. Here's how we cheese lovers can max our Cheez Whiz' full potential!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup water

3 heaping tbsp Cheez Whiz

1. Mix water and cornstarch in a saucepan and place over low fire.

2. Add Cheez Whiz.

3. Heat with constant stirring until desired consistency is achieved.

Pretty easy huh?! We love this on chips and burritos!

your every woman,

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Spreads, Dips and Sauces: White Sour Cream Sauce

Remember my Nachos and Beef Burrito Recipes? This is the sauce that makes all the difference in those recipes. I'm not sure how this is done commercially but my recipe is a pretty good dupe for it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp iodized salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tetra pack Nestle Cream

1. Mix vinegar, cornstarch, white pepper, sugar, salt and garlic together in a saucepan and heat until desired thickness is achieved.

2. Remove saucepan from stove and add Nestle Cream.

3. Pour over Nachos, Beef Burritos or Shawarma and enjoy!

This is the "perfected" recipe compared to the ones included in the food recipes above.

your every woman

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Spreads, Dips and Sauces: Garlic Cheese Spread

I like this gourmet garlic cream cheese we bought at a kiosk in a supermarket, but I wasn't able to maintain stock since it wasn't too affordable. Luckily I was able to whip up a good dupe.

Ingredients:

1 bar of Magnolia Eden Cheese
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/2 of 100g Dairy Cream butter
1 tbsp white pepper
2 tbsp vinegar

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Place bowl on top of a bigger bowl with boiled water. This heats the cheese and butter without having to really cook them.

3. Stir to even out all the ingredients.
4. Best served with Sky Flakes Fit! :D

your every woman,

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