Manila Ocean Park

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!

Fried Fiesta Platter

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!

Steamed Dory in Sesame & Soy Sauce

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. ;)

Grilled Chicken Breasts

I created a meal with each of us having a grilled chicken breast with different flavors. The marinades i used were a (1)soy sauce, ginger, garlic & sesame marinade, (2)a lemon, honey and soy sauce marinade and (3)a soy sauce, lemongrass, tarragon, garlic marinade. Served with boiled carrots and blanched asparagus with a little garlic butter. This was purely experimental and though all were tasty, number 1 was a bit too salty and I'm not really sure which i like better between 2 & 3. This was also done quite in a hurry so I think it has a lot of room for improvement.

Baked Macaroni

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!

Chicken Rice

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. :)

To do this, render some fat from the chicken skin on a non stick pan on low fire. After a few minutes a good amount of chicken fat should be present. Saute the garlic, shallots and ginger followed by the ham, Chinese sausage and chicken. Season w/ salt and pepper. When the chicken is cooked, add the mushrooms and leeks. Add about 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsps of oyster sauce and a tsp of sesame oil. (Adjust according to taste).
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. :)

Oriental Sashimi

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.