Food: Jap Chae

Korean food is becoming all the craze in Manila. But even before we moved back, my husband and I already have our taste of Korean restaurants. One of the places that stood out for us was Tofu House down at Atlanta. Like Bulgogi Garden in Quezon City, they serve unlimited starters for free. Jap chae was my favorite. I first had jap chae in the Philippines, back when I was still living with my parents. My mom usually gets some from the market every weekend.  So each Sunday, I get my jap chae fix.

While living in the US, I used to watch Mom's Cooking on Lifetime online, and I came about this episode about a Korean mom and daughter. Oh my goodness, the mom was doing jap chae, and she's teaching her daughter how to make some. That meant, there's a free recipe somewhere. :P

I saved that recipe.

Here it is, courtesy of Joyce and Diana for Mom's Cooking.

Here are some quick cooking notes from me --
* To save some time, you can buy the ready-made kalbi sauce as marinade for the beef.
* Never ever substitute sesame oil in this recipe. It makes it taste authentic.
* Same thing, only use sweet potato starch noodles.
* You can use bok choy instead of baby spinach.


Jap Chae (Noodles with Beef and Vegetables)

• 10-14 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes

Marinade for Beef 
• 8 oz. ground round beef, thinly sliced
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MommyG's note: You can buy frozen beef slices, like the ones they use in sukiyaki. Thinner ones are usually better.
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• pinch of sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• pinch black pepper
• 2-3 tbsp sesame oil
• pinch salt

For Noodles 
16 oz. vermicelli noodles sesame oil to taste soy sauce to taste
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MommyG's note: In the video, they used sweet potato starch noodles, and I really recommend this kind.
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For Spinach
• 24 oz. baby spinach, blanched
• salt to taste
• sesame oil to taste

For Stir Fry
• 1 large carrot, julienne
• 1/2 red bell pepper, julienne
• 1/2 large onion, sliced
• 3 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
• vegetable oil
• sugar to taste
• sesame oil to taste
• soy sauce to taste
• sesame seeds

1. Soak mushrooms in warm water for 15-20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile prepare beef. Slice beef and sprinkle with sugar. Add to a bowl with soy sauce, garlic, black pepper, sesame oil and salt. Mix. Cover and marinate in fridge for 15-20 minutes.
3. Add vermicelli noodles to salted boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes until soft. Once cooked drain well and place into a large bowl. Drizzle soy sauce and sesame oil to prevent noodles from sticking. Set aside.
4. Blanch spinach in salted boiling water for 30 seconds and soak into cold water. Squeeze the spinach to remove all liquid. Place into a bowl and drizzle with sesame oil. Place spinach on top of noodles.
5. Julienne carrot, bell pepper, onion, and scallions. Drain and slice shitake mushrooms. Stir-fry each vegetable separately with a little vegetable oil each to the noodles as they are cooked. Once all the veggies are cooked using the same pan stir-fry the beef until cooked through for about 5 minutes. Place beef on top of the noodles and veggies. Mix well adding more sesame oil, soy sauce and sugar to taste. Top with sesame seeds. Serve.

Serves 6

Food: Iloilo Treats

When my sister came back from Iloilo for a business trip, she got us some yummy goodies.

She gave us some cookies from Mama's Kitchen -- mango chewies and tsokolate pinipig crunchies. She did not know how good they were, so she only bought one of each.

These mango chewies are the best! They are as chewy as butterscotch, and they have yummy dried mango bits. It makes me want to go to Iloilo just to buy them. Have you seen some in Metro Manila?

Food: The Best Baklava I've Ever Had

Whenever my sisters and I talk about Mediterranean cuisine, the first thing that pops into my head is baklava. I'm sure you've heard about this dessert somewhere. They are made from layers upon layers of phyllo dough with pistachio and walnut fillings, topped with some kind of honey.

I first had my taste of baklava in this quaint little restaurant in Atlanta called Cafe Agora. The place reminds me of a tiny cafeteria.

Here is my sister and her boyfriend having gyros.

This one's a photo of us having our all-time favorite, no-need-to-think-about-ordering-something-else, Agora Mixed Grill. It's a combination of all their kebabs -- sooo meaty. Perfect for carnivores like us.

And this -- this is the star of the show. I can eat a dozen of these in one sitting. But just thinking about what it would do to my thighs always stop me from doing it. Haha. I've tried other baklavas, but nothing compares to Cafe Agora's.

I have been scared to try making it myself. Baklavas look so intimidating to prepare. I don't even know where to look for phyllo dough here in Metro Manila. What the heck, find me a store that sells phyllo dough and I promise, I will make some.

Look, I even found a recipe from the Orgasmic Chef!


Ingredients 

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
⅛ tsp ground cloves
⅛ tsp ground cardamom
1 cup honey
¾ cup water
1 tbs lemon juice – fresh squeezed
2 cinnamon sticks
1 (1-inch) strip lemon zest – use a peeler to get this

Filling and Phyllo Dough: 
¾ lb walnuts
¼ lb pistachios
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (8 oz)
1 pound phyllo dough, thawed

Instructions 

The Syrup: 
[1] Combine sugar, water, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, lemon zest, cloves and cardamom in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved and begins to boil.
[2] Reduce the heat to medium-low or low and cook until the syrup is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes or so.
[3] Remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon zest and pour syrup into a large glass measuring cup to cool.

The Baklava: 
[1] Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place an oven rack in the center of your oven.
[2] Place walnuts and pistachios into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
[3] In a medium mixing bowl, combine the nuts, cinnamon, and salt and stir well to combine.
[4] In a small saucepan over low heat melt the butter. Now you’re ready to assemble everything.
[5] Using a pastry brush, lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch or 15 by 10-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter.
[6] Open the package of thawed phyllo dough and lay the thin sheets on a clean work surface. Using a sharp knife (or kitchen shears) cut the phyllo sheets approximately the same size as your baking dish. Discard any scraps because it will be a mess in the kitchen if you don’t. Cover the sheets with a piece of plastic wrap and a lightly damp kitchen towel – not too wet or you’ll make your dough stick together but the sheets of phyllo dough dry out quickly if left in the air.
[7] Place the first sheet of phyllo dough in the bottom of the buttered baking dish and lightly brush with some of the melted butter. It’s okay if the dough has holes or breaks, nobody’s going to see it and you’ll have lots of other layers without holes.
[8] Repeat this procedure with 5 more sheets of phyllo, for a total of 6 layers.
[9] Measure about ¾ cup of the nut mixture and spread the nut mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo dough.
[10] Repeat with 6 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each layer as before, and then add another ¾ cup of the nut mixture. Continue this layering process, buttering 6 sheets of phyllo and topping each 6 sheets with ¾ cup of the nuts, until you have used all of the nut mixture.
[11] Layer the remaining sheets of phyllo on top, buttering each layer until all of the phyllo dough has been used. That wasn’t so difficult, was it? I heard you say no. All the hard work is done – nearly.
[12] Use a sharp knife to make 4 cuts lengthwise partially through the layered phyllo at 1½ inch intervals. You want to cut a diamond pattern in your dough. If you do it right you should end up with approximately 36 diamond-shaped pieces of baklava in the baking pan.
[13] Bake the baklava until golden brown, about 40 minutes depending upon how your oven cooks. You want to take it out when the top layer is golden brown. Remove the baklava from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.
[14] Now for the yummy honey syrup! Slowly drizzle the syrup over all the baklava which will still be warm. Let the baklava stand in the pan for a few hours before cutting all the way through. It will do a dance in your mouth from the first bite.

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Oh wow. That's a lot. But I am not backing out. :P

Crafts/DIY: Upgrading a $5 Mirror

Are you familiar with these $5 mirrors? They are made of plastic moulding, thin mirror, and backed with kraft paper. That cheap. I bought one because I really needed an inexpensive, full length mirror.

Here it is in all its $5 glory.

[1] I put 2 D-rings at the back like what I did in this easy fabric wall decor DIY. You can get these from your hardware or craft store. They should be in the framing supply section.

[2] Tie a thick pretty fabric ribbon on the D-rings to the length you want. Do this before you tie the bow on top. This will make it easier for you.

I had 1" twill ribbon waiting to be used. I got it from a Pottery Barn purchase I made way back. I always keep the pretty ribbons that come free with my purchases.

[3] Tie a bow on top using the same fabric ribbon.

[4] Hang it and admire it from a distance.

Not bad for a $5 mirror huh?

Here is the twill ribbon up close.

Baby: Water Fun at Downtown Disney

When we were in Florida to visit family, we opted to not go to Disney Parks anymore, because we figured Allie won't be able to enjoy as much as she can because of her age. We decided to just come back when she's older.

Instead, we went to Downtown Disney -- the next best thing to get your Disney fix. When we visited our nieces in Florida pre-Allie, we had gone with them to Downtown Disney, and saw how much fun they had at the fountains. So we went armed with a swimsuit, towel, swimming diapers, and changing clothes. We were prepared.

There is nothing better than to see your baby laugh, smile and have one of the best days of her life. I am so glad there's something like this in Global City. Oh, what water can do to toddlers!