Sauteed Mung Beans with Pork Chicharon

I passed along the shop of Baliwag then, it made me salivate just by looking at their pork chicharon.  I went home with it and ate 2 pieces.  But, guilt striked me.  I am on a diet!  So, I decided to make a dish with it, in a healthy way.  A dish very known on every tables of Filipinos...  Ginisang Monggo or Sauteed Mung Beans.

Mostly this dish is cooked either with shrimps, fish and pork meat.  Some, will add grind chicharon.  But, for my version, as I don't have the other ingredients above, only the chicharon.  I made Chicharon as its main ingredient.

Ingredients:

*Chicharon (keep its own form)
*Mung Beans (monggo)
*Eggplant, chop
*Bitter melon leaves (ampalaya leaves)
*onion and garlic
*finger chili pepper (sili haba)
*tomatoes, chop
*fish sauce (patis)

Mung Beans preparation:
*For 6 mugs of water, add mung beans.  Then, let it boil.  Add more water when needed.  Stir occasionally.
*When it's cooked, set aside.

1.  Saute onion and garlic.
2.  Add tomatoes.  Cook until light brown.
3.  Add 1 mug of water.  Let it boil.
4.  Add the chopped eggplants. Boil for a minute.
5.  Add the cooked mung beans.  Just add more water if needed.
6.  Let it boil for awhile.until the mung beans makes the soup thicker.  When it thickens, let it simmer.  Add
     water if you desire for more soup.
7.  Add fish sauce to taste.  Stir.
8.  Lastly, add the amapalaya leaves.  Let it simmer for a minute.
9.  Serve while it's still hot!

Sinigang na Baboy sa Gabi (Pork in Sour Soup with taro)

It was raining hard that day.  That's why, it made me craved for 'sinigang' (sour soup) dish.  This kind of dish is very popular to Filipinos.  We definitely serve this at home mostly every rainy season or just plainly when we feel like it.  And, this can be seen in every menu of Filipinos' Restos or carinderia..

Here's how I do it:

Ingredients
*half kilo of pork meat (i most prefer the belly part)
*2 tomatoes, 1onion, garlic
*6 string beans (sitaw)
*1 big eggplant (talong)
*1 tie of river spinach (kangkong)
*4 small taro roots (gabi)
*3 finger chili pepper (sili haba)
*tamarind (sampalok) or 1 pack powdered tamarind
*fish sauce (patis)

1.  Boil 5 mugs of water with pork meat, tomatoes, onions and garlic.
2.  When it boils for 5minutes, add the taro roots. (If you want a thicker soup, add more taro roots) Keep it  
     boiling for 5 minutes then let it simmer.
3.  When you see the pork is getting tender and the taro roots are making the soup thicker.  Add the string  
     beans, finger chilis and eggplant.  Keep it simmer for awhile until the veggies are moderately done.
4.  Add the tamarind or the powdered one upon your taste.
5.  Then, fish sauce and salt to taste.  Keep it simmer.
6.  Lastly, add the river spinach.  Simmer for a minute.  Then, you're done!
7.  Serve it together with fish sauce and sili labuyo.

*Add more water if needed especially in making the pork's meat tender.

Pinoy Tuna Penne Pasta with Eggplant and Dried Herring

Prior making this, I was watching a segment on TV about a tuna recipe for pasta.  So,  it made me craved to make my own version.  On TV, they made it on a white sauce.  But, as I don't have the ingredients for making the white sauce.  I decided to make this...

"Pinoy Tuna Penne Pasta"

It's a Pinoy version because of the ingredients.  Like, the famous tuyo (dried herring) and patis (fish sauce).  And, the vegetable is the common organic "small" eggplant sold in the public market.  Added with the main ingredient of the canned Tuna which is from the brand of Century Tuna.  One of the popular canned tuna brand in the Philippines.  

Ingredients

*Penne Pasta 400g (use half)

*1can of century tuna (prefer with oil)

*2dried herring 

*grapeseed oil or olive oil

*2eggplants

*2tomatoes

*onion and garlic

1.  Cook pasta according to the package' direction.  Make it "al dente".  Then, set aside.

2.  Saute onion, garlic and tomatoes with grapeseed or olive oil until it turns to light brown.

3.  Add the chopped eggplants and stripped bits of dried herring.  Don't over fry the eggplant.

4.  Add the canned tuna with its oil.  I prefer the hot and spicy variety of the century tuna.  But, if you don't like the spicy one, use other variant with oil.

4.  Add some oil, if needed.

5.  Add the Penne Pasta.  Mix them thorougly.

6.  Lastly, add some drops of fish sauce to taste.  Then mix it again thoroughly.

7.  You're done!  Serve it while it's hot!  

Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken

When talking about Pasta, my most favorite, is the one with white sauce.  It never fails me to invent my own pasta dishes whenever, I am craving for it.  It also has been a wonder to me what's the exact difference of these two white sauces:  carbonara and alfredo.

Well, here are some of the facts, I've gathered:

1. A white sauce, Alfredo is made from butter, parsley, heavy cream and minced garlic. Carbonara is made from pecorino romano, eggs, black pepper and guanciale.
2. Alfredo is often mixed with ingredients like parsley, shrimp, garlic and chicken.
3. Italian restaurant owner Alfredo di Lello is credited with ‘Alfredo sauce’. It is said that he made the first Alfredo sauce in 1914.
4. It was during the mid 20th century that Carbonara pasta sauce became famous. The name carbonara is derived from the Italian word for charcoal. It is also said that this pasta was first made for Italian charcoal miners. Another version says that the Carbonara pasta sauce was originally made over charcoal grills.
5. carbonara sauce may come a bit chilly than the alfredo sauce because of the presence of black pepper.
Read more: Difference Between Alfredo and Carbonara | Difference Between | Alfredo vs Carbonara http://www.differencebetween.net/object/comparisons-of-food-items/difference-between-alfredo-and-carbonara/#ixzz1vgVXhUEv

So, upon more reading about it, I've learned that when it's a Carbonara sauce, it should always be with bacon or ham when cooking.   Traditionally, its' sauce is not creamy, noodles are just coated with eggs and parmesan cheese. 

More about Alfredo Sauce:

Alfredo sauce is a white sauce which is often used to accompany pasta dishes. Traditionally, it was made with butter and Parmesan cheese, but more modernly, and especially in the United States, alfredo sauce also includes heavy cream. In many parts of the world, Alfredo sauce is prepared separately from the pasta, and it is sometimes also available for sale in jars at stores.

In Italy, the country where the inspiration for the sauce can be found, Alfredo sauce is not made separately from the pasta. Instead, the ingredients are added to the pasta individually and the whole mixture is tossed to coat the pasta. Both methods are perfectly acceptable, and you can find directions below detailing each technique. Fresh Alfredo sauce made with fresh ingredients is preferable, and very easy to make, so cooks should resist purchasing it in a jar.

The core ingredients of Alfredo sauce are high quality salted butter, heavy cream, and freshly grated Parmesan. Variants include additions like pepper, nutmeg, and parsley. Outside of Italy,Alfredo sauce is often combined with proteins such as chicken, or vegetables. The quintessential dish with Alfredo sauce is fettuccine Alfredo, made with extra-thick fettuccine noodles drenched in the rich, creamy sauce. This dish is a stock offering at many Italian restaurants. ---Wisegeek

Now, I hope, we all know what differs them.  For my love of pasta with white sauce... Here's my own recipe of Fettuccine Alfredo with Chunky Chicken.  

Ingredients:

Noodle pasta (spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine) 400kg

Campbell's Cream of Mushroom 1can

Evaporated Milk  1can

Nestle All-Purpose Cream 1pack

Mushroom bell button, sliced 1can

Cheese, grated 1pack 

Garlic, minched

Chicken meat strips

"Al dente" 

Preparation

Pasta Noodles

1. Prepare the pasta (fettuccine noodles) based on the package instruction.  Preferably "al dente".  Set Aside.

Alfredo Sauce 
2. Fry the chicken strips until slightly brown.  Set Aside.

3. In a sauce pan, saute garlic with olive oil. Add the sliced mushroom.

4. Add 1 can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup with 1 can of water.

5. Add the Nestle All-purpose cream and the evaporated milk.  

Mix them well.

6. Add the half of the grated cheese for saltiness.  Set aside the other half for garnish on top. 

  Keep on stirring.

7.  When it boils, add the fried chicken strips.

8.   Seasoned with a lil' bit of salt and pepper.   (Salt is not necessary when you think the salty taste is enough.)
Keep on stirring until it boils.

                                  Set aside the sauce.

9.  Serve the sauce and noodles separately. Top with grated cheese or parmesan cheese.. 

***  You can add more water if you desire for more sauce.  

ENJOY!  

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