Another Japanese favorite! My wife is now torn between Gyudon and this. For this dish I was able to use Powdered Dashi (Ajinomoto brand). I was able to buy it at Robinson's Supermarket. This is again based on a YouTube video, the same presenter from the Gyudon I made (cookingwithdog).
We had dinner at Sumo Sam a few days ago and initially we just ordered 1 Gyudon and 1 California Maki. After realizing that the Gyudon was so delicious we ordered another one! It's really easy to make and the ingredients are available if you know where to look. I made this without Powdered Dash and Sake and it still turned out very well. I now have dashi and will do this again soon!
Caramelized Shallots are great! Superb as a an appetizer or a side dish but this will hardly fill a hungry belly. I really enjoyed the flavor it had so in order to make this dish filling i added some chicken fillets. The Caramelized Shallots recipe is from Ina Garten. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper, added the same marinade for the shallots and lightly coated it with flour, sauteed some minced shallots in oil and butter then quickly stir fried the chicken. At this time the shallots were already in the oven and i just added the chicken, gave it a toss and let it cook some more. I used twice the ingredients mentioned since i had to used on the chicken too.
A sandwich for lunch is fine with me anytime, as long as the sandwich is filling enough. When I started working, my Mom would give me these huge sandwiches and whenever I wouldn't be able to eat it due to a lunch meeting or something; I would always give it away. There was always a happy list of people who would gladly accept it. These sandwiches ranged from the usual ham and cheese, homemade burgers, shrimps and asparagus, steak and cheese and hotdogs loaded with toppings. Nowadays, I sometimes just buy from The Sandwich Guy (TSG). There was a time I had their Italian sandwich for a week! I just love the combination of pepperoni, ham, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce on wheat bread. With that being said, I realized that these ingredients are really easy to find and so I started to make my own! Just as delicious but not as expensive! :)
I really like small versions of vegetables. Baby carrots, baby bokchoy and of course baby potatoes. You can eat the entire thing and not get overwhelmed. Doing this required boiling the potatoes in salted water till soft, sauteing it in butter with fresh rosemary then topped with lightly toasted pepperoni and Parmesan cheese. Good as a side dish or as a snack.
Crab claws here can cost as much as an entire crab when compared by weight. As a kid i always played with these claws, now I just chase my 4 year old daughter with it. ;)
Ever wake up and realize all the food you had was frozen? I have…many times. Or sometimes, I think I have this and that but turns out I don’t have any. This is one of those moments when it’s almost lunch time and I had no idea what to cook! Strangely, even with the pressure of coming up with a decent meal, I enjoyed it. I liked the challenge albeit I was nervous of how it would eventually taste.
The only thing quick enough to cook in the freezer was a pack of frozen fish fillets. While I could easily just fry or grill the fish, I think we already had it that way within the week. Though I still fried it, I did a couple things to make it different and still delicious. After seasoning it with salt and pepper, I fried it till golden brown then set it aside. Next I heated some leftover tomato sauce, added some dried thyme and basil then poured it over the fish, one fillet at a time. Then, I filled a squeeze bottle with some melted cheese and liberally lined the fish with lines of melted cheese. This went into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Moment of truth came a few minutes after and I was all smiles. :)
A visit to the Manila Ocean Park made me think of how these wonderful specimens would taste! :) Just looking at the size of the Spider Crab made me think of Chili Crabs! I stood there for quite a while admiring the size of the crab and thinking if it can be bought in the markets and if i had a pan that was big enough. These crabs are apparently limited to the seas around Japan and can grow to as long as 3 meters with the claws.
If the spider crab caught my attention for a while, the Giant Grouper made me stare in awe. It must be around 5 feet in length and 2 feet across. As I've read about, it can even grow up to 9 feet! Wow! Now, that's a lot of fish! Think of this being served whole just like lechon! There are several at the Manila Ocean Park and they probably weigh around 300 kilos each! From a foodie standpoint, that's good for month in our household and many grouper recipes. I enjoyed that trip because of the many interesting species and of course the imagining of the many possibilities of those two wonderful specimens! 
Have you ever ordered a huge platter of appetizers? The one above can serve as an hors d'oeuvre platter or as a main course for someone very hungry. For us, it fed four people. And after dinner, four happily fed people. :) It's a combination of fried dory fillets, calamari, french fries, salad greens with chicken nuggets with poppy seed vinaigrette topped with fried crunchy parsley. The batter is just lightly seasoned flour in cold water. Fry in very hot oil till golden brown and delicious!
I can't seem to get enough of this fish. I usually have it fried into crispy crunchy fish fingers but this time was different but with the same delicious results.
The sauce and procedure is the same as the Steamed Soy Lapu-Lapu. This just cooks much quicker and is easier to eat. ;)
This is similar to my Baked Spiral Pasta w/ Pepperoni & Salami except for the cheese topping which was taken from the recipe of Connie from Pinoycook. The new cheese topping makes all the difference. I followed the recipe but my portions were larger as this really had a thick cheese topping! Yum!
I just keep topping everything with pepperoni! 
This is based on a dish i saw while watching Tablescapes: Life On A Plate on the Asian Food Channel. I wasn't able to list down the ingredients and the recipe isn't at the website but i think i got the idea since i liked the outcome. :)
For the rice i added about a cup of rice, which i think is too much. Maybe half a cup will do. Cover with broth. I used a combination of chicken and ham bones for the broth. Just fill the pot as if you were cooking rice. Cover and cook till the rice is done. Always check if the rice is done and if there is enough broth. In the episode, this was finished by placing the pot in an oven and letting it cook from there. I didn't do this part but will try it someday. My rice turned out delicious, lots of flavors and goes well on its own (a bit mushy though). Next time I'll adjust the rice and broth and will probably use the oven. :)
I love sashimi! I enjoy eating this raw dish anytime and really never get tired of it. I've even tried beef sashimi, and it was good! This version which my cousin calls Oriental Sashimi is different from the usual since it uses birds eye chilies instead of wasabi. It also has sesame oil added to the soy sauce and spring onions. Wasabi of course offers a unique kind of sensation that can't be replaced by chilies, however i think it is a tasty alternative. I'd enjoy having sashimi this way anytime but having it the original way is always welcome too. 
