Bulalo Steak (Beef Shank)

Tender beef shanks, delicious marrow and yummy gravy together with toasted garlic….. I have to say, this is one of the dishes that I cooked that I really savored eating! I’ve had this several times when eating out, and this is usually served on a sizzling plate but I misplaced mine. I’ve been itching to do this for so long and I’m glad that I finally got to do it with amazing results. I started by choosing a big piece of shank, I only bought one because this was still at the experiment stage and didn’t want to waste it just in case things didn’t turn out well.
To make sure this was tender, I simmered this for 2 hours together with some peppercorns, salt, an onion, garlic and spring onions. Once tender, I lightly fried it in butter. I just wanted to brown it a bit on each side. To make the gravy, I mixed butter and flour in the same pan and added the broth from where the shank was cooked. Carefully add the broth to get the right consistency for the gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the gravy over the shank and top with toasted garlic and chopped spring onions. Enjoy!
That marrow is calling you! :)

Pancit Canton & Fried Parmesan Dory

Noodles, a definite favorite in our household. Pancit Canton is basically one of the many stir fried noodle dishes that are very popular during gatherings. I’ve cooked this several times and many times I rarely stuck to the same recipe. I think there is just so many ways of cooking this with several ingredients you can add, so I guess I’ll try as much of the other variations as I can. For this variation, I just used ingredients that came to mind when I was in the grocery while thinking of the many types of Pancit I have eaten.

½ kilo chicken thighs (cut into ¼ inch)
200 grams chicken livers (coarsely chopped)
1 large carrot (julienned)
1 medium cabbage (coarsely chopped)
1 small can sliced button mushrooms
15 pieces shrimps (deshelled)
5 garlic cloves (minced)
1 large onion (minced)
Cilantro (chopped)
Oyster Sauce (3/4 cup)
Soy Sauce (1/2 cup)
Chicken broth (4 to 5 cups)
Sesame oil (1-2 tablespoons)
Egg noodles (Pancit)

Sauté the garlic and onions then followed by the chicken, livers, mushrooms and carrots. Add some salt and pepper. Let this cook until the chicken is done, then add the shrimps. Stir fry all of this then add the oyster sauce and soy sauce. After about 5 minutes, add about 200-300 grams of noodles. Add enough stock or water to make sure it does not dry up. The noodles will absorb a lot of the liquids so just add enough to make sure the dish does not turn out dry. Mix this thoroughly to make sure the noodles on top get to absorb the flavor as well. Once cooked, add some sesame oil and chopped cilantro.

The accompanying dish is a deep fried Creamy Dory fillet. Seasoned with salt and pepper and dipped in egg and coated with Japanese bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese. Light and crunchy, it’s a good match with the noodles!

Spicy Pork w/ Coconut Milk

This is a dish I picked up from a stall I sometime get my lunch from. I don’t think this is exactly how they cook it but the concept is the same. From the results, mine is just a bit saltier and the sauce is thick, but both taste pretty good. I also used thinner cuts as opposed to theirs and I used pork while theirs was beef. In any case, I think this dish can be created and taste the same with either pork or beef.
Since I used thinner cuts the cooking time is much less as compared to using thick cuts. I was done cooking in about 30 minutes. I just sautéed some minced garlic and onions followed by the pork sukiyaki cuts (1/2 kilo). Add some chili of your choice depending on how hot you want this dish. I used 2 finger chilis without the seeds. This was followed by ¼ cup of soy sauce, though I think I’ll use less next time. Let it cook for about 15 minutes then add the coconut milk, give it a stir and leave it for another 10 minutes for the flavors to develop.