Bagoong (fermented fish sauce) Made Even More Delicous

Hello guys, no dish recipe for today. However, I would like to share this to those who love bagoong (fermented fish sauce). Bottled bagoong are usually delicious as is when you buy it from the groceries. But did you know that you can make these bottled fermented fish sauce even more delicious?

It's funny even a friend from Balayan, Batangas, where fish bagoong is made, didn't know that we can make it even tastier and more delicious. Yup, he discovered it a decade ago when he went over to our house and ate dinner with us.

Here's how it's done and it's actually so simple.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle - fish bagoong (small)
• 1 pc - onion (diced)
• 2 tbsp - ginger (pounded)
• 2 cloves - garlic (pounded)
• a handful of leek or spring onions (chopped)
• 1 tbsp - ground pepper
• 1 tbsp - vinegar
• 1 tsp - sugar
• 2 tbsp - cooking oil

Cooking:

• Heat the cooking oil in a pan.
• Saute the ginger until golden brown.
• Add in garlic and saute until golden brown.
• Add in the onion. Saute until cooked.
• Sprinkle the ground pepper.
• Pour in the fish bagoong.
• Add the sugar and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add the vinegar (don't stir until it simmers). Let simmer for another minute.
• Remove heat and sprinkle the chopped spring onions or leek.

Now you have a more delicious bagoong perfect for fried or grilled fish. This sauce is also perfect for grilled pork. 

By the way, it's even more delicious when you add some calamansi or lemon juice when serving. 

Happy eating!

Bistek (Beef Steak)

Bistek or beef steak is a common dish for Filipinos. Seasoned with soy sauce and calamansi juice, this dish can be perfect for any occasion. Here's how I cook this delicious dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg - beef (sliced thinly)
• 1 pc - potato
• 1 pc - white onion
• 3 cloves - garlic
• 1 tsp - ground pepper
• 1/4 cup - soy sauce
• 1/2 cup - water
• 5 pcs - calamansi
• 3 tbsp - cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp - sugar

Preparation:

• Season the beef with soy sauce and ground pepper. Marinade for at least an hour. (overnight is better)
• Peel the potatoes and slice thinly.
• Cut the onion in rings
• Mince the garlic.
• Take the juice of the calamansi.

Cooking:

• Heat the cooking oil in a pan.
• Fry the sliced potato for at least 3 minutes. Set aside.
• Fry the marinated beef until cooked. Set aside. (Please set aside the marinade too)
• Saute garlic and half of the onion rings.
• Put in the fried beef, water and the remaining marinade. Simmer until beef is tender.
• Pour in the calamansi juice and sugar. Simmer for another minute.
• Taste for saltiness. Add a little amount of soy sauce to match your desired saltiness. Taste before you add more. 
• Put the remaining onion rings and fried potatoes on top while hot.

Serve hot. This is perfect with steamed rice.

What is Project Flavors?

Welcome to the Project Flavors food blog. 

As a child, I was early exposed to recipe books. My mom loves to cook and she had this collection of recipe books. Oftentimes, I see collection of cut-out pages from magazines containing various recipes. As a small kid, I really didn't pay much attention to the recipes. However, I used to ask my mom to cook the food I see from her recipe collection. I think at that time I was more into eating than cooking :).

I really had not discovered my cooking talent until I went to college. It's funny to tell that it's not my mom who really taught me how to cook, or should I say she's really not the one who made me discover my talent. It's actually my grandmother :). Yes, and she just turned 97 two months ago. So how did my grandma helped me discovered my cooking talent? She let me do the cooking while she gives out the instructions. My first delicious dish is the "paksiw na isda" (fish in vinegar sauce). Yup, it all started with that dish, and now I believe I can cook almost any dish my mom could cook :D. And I believe, I'm a better cook than her.....sshhhhhh don't tell her huh. 

As a person who loves to cook, I don't want to have limitations when it comes to flavors. I love learning new things and want to try different recipes from around the world. This is what Project Flavors is all about - continuous learning, exploration of the different flavors and experimenting on various ways of cooking meals. Well, of course the ultimate purpose of this blog is to share my cooking adventures to readers.

Read on, let's start and help me make this project a success.

Beef Stew (Nilagang Bulalo)

Who would not love nilagang baka (beef stew)? Nilagang baka is very popular in the Philippines. You can see bulalohan (beef stew eateries) almost everywhere. These bulalohan's are often the favorite stop-over place for travelers. 

Today's recipe is obviously beef stew :). There are many varieties of how beef stew is cooked.  Some beef stew recipes use too many ingredients. But, Bread and the Word would stick to its idea of keeping the recipe simple and quick to cook. As much as possible, Bread and the Word will just use the most ordinary ingredients commonly found in your kitchen. 

So, let's start cooking.


Below are what you need:

• 1 kg - beef shank (with bone marrow)
• 1 pc - cabbage or chinese cabbage
• 2 pcs - potatoes
• 3 to 4 cloves - garlic
• 1 tbsp - whole black pepper
• Salt or fish sauce to taste
• 1 pc - lemon or 4 pcs calamansi
• Chilies (optional)
• 1 pc - onion
• 2 tbsp - oyster sauce (optional)

Preparation:

Put 2 liters of water in a stock pot, put in the beef shank, onion (cut in half), minced garlic, peppers and a tablespoon of salt or fish sauce. Simmer until beef is tender. Scum will form above the soup, remove it. When beef is tender enough, add the quartered potatoes until cooked. Add the cabbage and let simmer for at least 2 minutes. Add more water if needed. Add the oyster sauce. Add more salt or fish sauce gradually according to your taste preference.

Enjoy your beef stew by mixing fish sauce and calamansi or lemon. You may add chilies if you want it really hot.

Pork Leg with Banana Heart

Pork leg is usually cooked as crispy pata here in the Philippines. However, many of us don't like a dry meal. Typically, we Filipinos like sabaw (soup) when eating. Today, let me share to you my mom's recipe of pork leg with banana heart, or in Tagalog, paksiw na pata with puso ng saging.

Things you need:

• 1 whole - front pork leg (sliced)
• 1/2 - cup vinegar
• 1/4 - cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp - whole peppers
• 2 tbsp - sugar (add more if you want a sweeter taste)
• 1 whole - banana heart
• 1 cup - water
• 1 pc - bay leaf

Preparation:

• In a bowl, mix the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar.
• Cut the banana heart (big slices), wash and drain. Set aside.

Cooking:

• In a pan, put together all the ingredients except the banana heart.
• Simmer until pork leg is soft.
• Add water if the sauce dries up.
• Add a bit of sugar or soy sauce depending on your taste. Do this gradually, adding just very small amounts.
• Add the banana heart. Simmer until cooked.

You now have something perfect for lunch. I would however like to remind you people that this dish is not good for those who have hypertension and heart problems. Eat moderately.

Ground Beef Omelet

Due to the rising cost of primary commodities, students, as well as employees want to save at least a little sum of money. To do this, people often pack their lunch. Today, I would like to share to you my packed lunch yesterday - ground beef omelet. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 kg - ground beef
• 1/2 tsp - ground pepper
• 2 pcs - tomatoes
• 1 pc - red onion
• 3 cloves - garlic
• 1/2 tsp - salt
• 4 tbsp - cooking oil
• 4 pcs - eggs

Cooking:

• Heat the oil in a pan.
• Saute garlic, onion and tomatoes.
• Add ground beef, pepper and salt.
• Cover, let the juice of the ground beef come out.
• Simmer until the beef juice dries up.
• Stir until the ground beef is golden brown.
• Remove from heat and let it cool.
• Beat the eggs and mix in the sauteed ground beef.
• Heat the remaining cooking oil in a pan.
• Pour in the omelet mix. 
• My mom uses banana leaf when cooking this omelet. The leaf adds flavor to this dish. So if there's available banana leaf just cut the leaf to fit the pan. Lay the leaf in the pan before putting in the omelet mix.

There you have it, another simple but delicious meal to put on your dining table. By the way, you can mix patis(fish sauce) and calamansi for the sauce. If you want it spicy, just add some chilies.

Pasta Shrimp Soup

Last night, my wife told me that she wants something to eat. She said she wants something like a soup. So, I looked inside the refrigerator for some available ingredients. I found a few leftover shrimps in the freezer. In the cabinet, I found elbow macaroni. So I asked myself, what soup could I make out of these ingredients? 

As I was thinking, I remembered the instant noodle soup that my mom brought home from their trip to Thailand. I think its tom yum soup, the one with a spicy and sour taste. I liked that soup so I thought of making my own version of tom yum. Honestly, it was my first time to try cooking that soup so I'm a bit hesitant if I could get the taste my wife wanted.

The result was great. My wife, sister, my cousin, niece and my daughter liked it.

So, how did I do it?

Ingredients you need:

• 3 - 5 pcs - Shrimp or prawn
• 1 tbsp - Ginger
• 200 gms - Elbow macaroni (other pasta will do)
• 4.5 cups - Water
• 1 pck - Seasoning (for this soup I used Maggi Magic Sarap, I think shrimp cubes will do)
• 1 tbsp - Chili garlic paste
• 3 pcs - Calamansi or 1 pc lemon
• 1 pc - Onion
• 1/4 tsp - Ground pepper
• 2 tbsp - cooking oil
• 2 drops - Sesame oil (optional)

Preparation:

• Slice the shrimp thinly.
• Slice the ginger into very small cubes.
• Finely chop the onion.
• Extract the juice of calamansi or lemon. (Remove the seeds)

Cooking:

• Heat the oil in casserole.
• Saute the ginger until golden brown.
• Saute the onions.
• Put in the macaroni and saute.
• Add the seasoning, ground pepper and the chili garlic paste.
• Add water. Let it boil until macaroni is cooked.
• Mix in the calamansi or lemon juice.
• If you have sesame oil, add at least 2 drops and stir.

Now you have your own version of tom yum. Serve while hot. It's spicy so it's good for the rainy or cold season.

Oftentimes, leftovers from your refrigerator could be useful for some other purpose. So, don't just throw away leftover food. In the coming days, I will post some recipes that make use of leftover food :).

Spicy Tuna Pasta

I love to eat. So are my kids and my wife. That's why I learned to cook. I always do cooking experiment in our kitchen. Spicy tuna pasta is one of the favorite snacks my family love. You might want to try this out.

If some members of the family don't like spicy food, then you could opt to use the regular tuna flakes in vegetable oil.

Ingredients to prepare:

• 1 can - Century Tuna Flakes Hot & Spicy 420g. (You may use other brands.)
• 500 gms - Spaghetti or elbow macaroni.
• 1/2 cup - Olive oil (optional)
• 1 tbsp - Dried basil
• 2 pcs - Tomatoes (large) or you may use 1 can chunky tomatoes.
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 pc - white onion (large)

Preparation:

• Dice the white onion.
• Dice the tomatoes. (If you will use the canned type, then just open the can)
• Open the can of tuna flakes.
• Cook the noodles.

Cooking:

• In a casserole, put in the tomatoes, olive oil, tuna flakes(include the oil), dried basil and onion. Let it simmer for at least 5 minutes.
• Mix the tuna sauce and the noodles.

There you have it, you are now ready to serve a delicious spicy tuna pasta to your family. Don't forget to sprinkle the salt and pepper.

This pasta recipe goes along very well with left-over bread like pandesal. Just reheat the bread in the oven. Serve with butter.

Garlic Butter Prawn

Prawns are crustaceans usually farmed in the Philippines for human consumption. Though quite expensive, the sweet-salty taste of this crustacean makes it a favorite dish for most Filipinos. 

Today, I'll share a very simple prawn dish. Easy to prepare and quick to cook.

Ingredients to prepare:

• 1 kg - fresh prawn
• 5-10 - cloves of garlic (depends on how strong the garlic taste you want)
• 3 tbsp - butter
• 1/2 tsp - salt
• 1/2 tsp - ground pepper
• 4 tbsp - lemon juice or calamansi

Prior to cooking:

• Make sure you wash the fresh prawn. Drain.
• Mince the garlic.
• Prepare the lemon juice or calamansi. Be sure to remove the seeds.

Cooking:

• Heat the pan and put the butter until it melts.
• Put in the prawn.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer for about a minute.
• Stir, remove from heat and pour in the lemon juice or calamansi.

There you go guys. Now you have another delicious and quick to prepare dish. Just eat moderately :)

Corned Beef and Eggs for Breakfast

Oftentimes, mothers experience hard times thinking of what's for next day's breakfast. I just want to share my breakfast just the other day. It's not something different but fairly quick and easy to prepare. It's just an ordinary fried egg and corned beef :). 

To some people this may not be an appetizing breakfast. But my kids love it. As you would see in the picture, I sprinkled basil on the fried egg. I love basil and it will give a distinct flavor to your fried egg. Try it and try this with a hot cappuccino (see the cup in the picture?).

Apologies, I really am in a hurry that morning when I took the picture. I really haven't got the chance to set food in a  presentable manner :)


This breakfast is very easy to prepare. Those who know how to cook may find this post uninteresting. But guys, I created this blog for everyone, especially to those who wants to learn to cook :). 

What you will need:

for the fried eggs

• 3 pcs - large eggs
• Iodized salt
• Dried basil (see the bottle in the picture)
• 3 tbsp - cooking oil

for the corned beef

• 1 can - corned beef (I used "Highlands" for this recipe)
• 1 pc - red or white onion
• 4 cloves - garlic
• 1/2 tsp - ground pepper

Preparation:

• Prepare all the ingredients needed before you start cooking.
• Peel the garlic and mince.
• Peel the onion and cut in rings

Cooking:

Egg

• Heat the oil in a pan. Just maintain a very low heat as eggs are quick to cook.
• Fry the eggs one at a time.
• Sprinkle just a pinch of salt on each egg.
• Depending on your preference, you may cook the egg until the yoke solidifies.
• Serve in a plate and sprinkle dried basil.

Corned beef

• Use the remaining cooking oil in the pan for sauteing the garlic. 
• Saute until golden brown and set aside.
• Saute the onion rings. (I like semi-cooked onions). Set aside.
• Saute the corned beef.
• Sprinkle the ground pepper. 
• Take note that some corned beef may be juicy. For my kids, they love it dry and a bit crispy. You may decide to retain some of the corned beef's juice. It's really up to you.
• Serve in a small bowl or plate. Put the onion rings and fried garlic on top of your sizzling hot corned beef and you're done.

Quite easy isn't it?

Quick and Easy Spicy Chicken Wings

Chicken wing is I think the tastiest part of chicken. However, it is the chicken breast that I love the most :). Thighs? I eat them but not really my favorite due to the texture of its meat. Going back to chicken wings, I would like to share to you a very simple approach in making spicy chicken wings.

This dish is not just good with rice or bread but also perfect as "finger food" during drinking sessions with your buddies. There's nothing unusual in this recipe, however, I think the sauce here is something most of the people I know, haven't tasted yet. Well, of course except for those friends and relatives who have eaten in our home.

Are you ready to prepare this quick and easy spicy chicken wings? Let's do it! :)


Ingredients:

• 1 kg - fresh chicken wings
• 1 pack - bread crumbs 
• 3/4 cup - cornstarch
• 1 tbsp - ground pepper
• 1 tbsp - salt
• 1 pc - ginger
• 1 tbsp - paprika
• 4 tbsp - oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp - sesame oil
• 4 tbsp - ketchup
• sugar (optional)
• 3 cups - cooking oil
• 1 cup - water

How to prepare:

• Wash the chicken wings and drain.
• Mince the ginger.
• Rub the minced ginger on the chicken wings. Set aside. 
• For the batter mix together the water, sesame oil and cornstarch, paprika, ground pepper and salt.
• Heat the oil in a pan.
• One by one, dip the wings into the batter, then roll the each piece on the bread crumbs.
• Fry until golden brown.

Now for the sauce:

• Mix together the ketchup and oyster sauce. Put in some ground pepper. If you want the sauce to be a bit sweeter, add sugar depending on your taste. If you want a really spicy meal add paprika powder.

There you have it. Now you are about to enjoy a very nice and easy-to-prepare meal.

Tilapia in Spicy Coconut Milk: Perfect Lunch for the Weekend

Tilapia is a common fresh water fish in the Philippines. It is called in many names but I think it is better known as St. Peter's fish in English. This fish is a common dish in every Filipino household. Typically, tilapia is deep fried matched with diced tomatoes.

Today, let me show you how to make tilapia a delicious lunch for the weekend. 

Things to prepare:

• 1 kg - Fresh tilapia or St. Peter's fish.
• 1 tsp - Ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cup - Fresh coconut milk
• 1/2 cup - cooking oil
• 1/2 cup -water
• 1 pc - Red onion
• 1 pc - Large tomato
• 1/2 cup - Ginger
• 5 cloves - Garlic
• 1 tbsp - Vinegar
• 1 tbsp - Soy sauce
• 5 pcs - Chili peppers
• 3 pcs - Pechay tagalog, whole plant (I think it's similar to Chinese Cabbage)
• Salt (depends on your taste)
• Sugar (optional)

Preparation:

• Clean the tilapia and make sure the intestines, gills and blood are removed. Set aside.
• Mince the garlic.
• Slice the red onion into strips.
• Cut the tomato in cubes. (you may remove the seeds) 
• Cut the ginger into strips or you can mince it.
• Wash the cabbage and cut out the roots.

Cooking Procedure:

• Heat the cooking oil in a pan.
• Saute the minced garlic until golden brown and set aside.
• Saute the ginger until golden brown.
• Add the red onion.
• Add the tomato.
• Add the ground pepper.
• Saute until the tomato skin separates from its meat.
• Add the fish. Cover the pan and let the juice of the fish comes out.
• Add the chili peppers and let it simmer for a minute.
• Pour in the soy sauce.
• Pour in the vinegar. (Note: don't stir just let the sauce simmer)
• Add a pinch of sugar.
• Pour in the coconut milk and let it simmer until the sauce gets thick.
• Add water and then the cabbage. Cover the pan and simmer for a minute.
• Serve.

Finally, you're ready for lunch. This dish is best served with fish sauce and green chili peppers (the long ones).

Pancit Bihon with Dried Mushrooms

Filipinos love to eat pancit. In fact, pancit is an all-time favorite especially during birthday celebrations. Pinoys are superstitious and believe that pancit represents "long life". This means, birthday celebrators will be granted long life if there's pancit on the table. 

Presently, Filipinos found various ways of cooking pancit. Here's my very own version. 

Things you Need. 

• 1 cup - cooking oil 
• 2 bulbs - garlic 
• 1 tsp - pepper  
• 30-50 gms - dried mushrooms 
• 4-5 cups - chicken stock (you may use 3-4 small packs of Maggi Magic Sarap as alternative or any chicken-flavored seasoning) 
• 500 g - Pancit Bihon 

Preparation. 

• Wash the dried mushroom. 
• Soak it for 10-15 minutes until soft and swollen. 
• Cut them into small pieces after. 
• Mince the garlic.
• Wash the noodles and drain. 

Cooking. 

• Heat the oil in a pan. 
• Saute the garlic until golden brown. Set aside. 
• Saute dried mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add a cup of chicken stock or a pack of Maggi Magic Sarap. Let it boil for another 5 minutes. 
• Add the pepper and set aside. 
• Now, add the remaining chicken stock. If chicken stock is unavailable, you may use the remaining packs of Maggi Magic Sarap diluted in 4 cups of water.  (or use any other seasoning available to you)  
• Wait for the stock to boil then add the noodles. Simmer until cooked. 
• Mix the noodles, mushrooms and garlic in a large pan. 
• Serve hot. 

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy pancit bihon recipe. 

Fried Tofu

Tofu is one of my favorite foods. However, I don't usually buy this from our local market. Ah, for sanitary reasons :). Few years back, we buy from a friend, "a taho vendor", just to be sure my tofu's clean ( is it really clean? :D...watch Imbestigador :D just kidding). He's no longer selling taho so currently, I order from my mom's friend.

Tofu is often mixed with vegetables. I saw some people mix some tofu in their pork or chicken adobo. However, I like it more when fried. Typically, fried tofu is not just good as dish but is also a perfect beer match.

Today, let's cook a simple and delicious tofu. Have a nice and light dinner or invite your friends over for a few bottles of beer or wine. Have fun.

What do you need?

1 kg - Tofu

1 pack - Japanese breadcrumbs

1 bulb - garlic

4 cups - cooking oil

1 tbsp - pepper

1 tbsp - salt

For the sauce:

1/2 cup - vinegar

1/4 cup - soy sauce

2-3 tbsp - brown sugar

1 tsp - pepper

1 pc - red or white onion

5-10 stalks of Chinese parsley (kinchay)

1-3 drops - sesame oil (optional)

1 tsp - wine or gin (optional)

What to prepare?

• Slice the tofu in to small pieces. (see the picture)
• Mince the garlic.
• Mix salt and pepper in a separate bowl.
• Put the Japanese breadcrumbs in a separate bowl.
• Dip in the sliced tofu into the bowl of minced garlic. Allow the garlic to cling to the tofu pieces.
• Dip the tofu with garlic into the bowl salt and pepper and then to the bowl of breadcrumbs.
• The tofu should be coated by now.
• Heat the oil in a pan.
• Deep fry the coated tofu until golden brown.

Preparation of Sauce:

• Finely dice the onion.
• Wash the Chinese parsley (kinchay) and chop
• In a bowl, mix the vinegar and soy sauce.
• Mix in the sugar and put some pepper.
• Mix in the brown sugar.
• Don't forget the sesame oil. Just a drop or two will do.
• Mix in the wine. By the way, I don't use wine with sesame oil. So, just choose between wine and sesame oil. Whichever you prefer will do.
• Mix in the chopped Chinese parsley and diced onion.

Taste the sauce. Add more sugar if you want it sweet. Vinegar if you want it a bit sour. Soy sauce if you want it a bit salty. It really depends on your taste. If everyone in the house loves chilies, let their mouth burn :D

Find some other delicious ways of cooking tofu.