PRECOBA

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PRECOBA
(PREssure COoked “BAka”) 
Had the chance to savour this during one of my treks
around Singapore April 2018.
Served in a simple stall atop Tiong Bahru Market
by a, I presumed, Mediterranean guy.

It definitely hooked my attention and palate.
Thought of innovating,
desirous of coming out with tempting aroma
and penetrating taste
fitting of a REAL spice & herb-full
marinade-serving, too, as pressure cooking broth and end top-sauce.
Uhummm…total goodness to end bite.
Check it out.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes (come-up time 5 mins./pressure cooking 40 mins.)
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Prep and Cooking media: suitable stainless powder and liquid ingredients whisking-marinating bowls, frying pan, pressure cooker

INGREDIENTS:
500 grams (1/2 kilo) beef (any of your desired part)-cubed
500 ml. pineapple juice
500 grams tap water
3 grams fine salt
2 grams sugar
5 grams freshly crushed black pepper
8 cloves garlic cubed
1 whole white onion bulb-sliced
5 grams oregano powder
5 grams powder cumin
4 grams red pepper powder
3 grams marjoram powder
4 grams coriander powder
OPTIONAL 2 grams fine MSG
150 ml olive oil

PROCEDURES:

    1. Except for olive oil, in pressure cooker, mix and blend all powder and liquid ingredients. Tumble well.
    2. Pour in beef and marinate in ref for 1 hour.
    3. Heat range and start pressure cooking. First minutes are the “come-up” period. Wait until cooker starts to
    “whistle”.
    4. Start of “whistling” is the start of time. Cook for 40 minutes.
    5. At end of 40 minutes, WITHOUT removing yet the “whistling NOZZLE”, place the entire cooker under running tap water.
    Check nozzle if there’s still pressure inside cooker by lifting it a BIT. Continue running water if there’s still
    pressure. NO WHISTLING MEANS PRESSURE IS GONE. OPEN cooker.
    6. Scoop up cooked beef. Set aside.
    7. The cooking broth is now your top-sauce. Add corn starch should you wish to have a thicker one.
    8. Heat pan, add oil, and toss cooked beef until they become shiny and bit seared.
    9. Garnish in suitable serving plate and drizzle with broth.

DISCLAIMER: Above are test kitchen and household-produced dishes. All ingredients utilized are of food grade quality passing international and domestic sanitary standards. While we find the results highly acceptable, no guarantee nor explicit assurance is hereby issued when recipe is performed by readers. For one, although of similar breed, spices, herbs and other ingredients vary from country to country/region to region that possibility of affecting end taste, aroma & bite-feel is great. Further thereto, mentioned sensory evaluation (aroma, taste, mouth-feel) is subjective.

“OO-LEM SQUID”

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‘OO-LEM SQUID
(Greek Cuisine) 
Request from daughter Cha and hubby Anton,
a presentation of two(2) preps done in Singapore April repeated September, 2018.
Innovated to tempting aroma and penetrating taste
fitting of spice & herb-full marinade rendering total goodness to end bite.
Okay. Let’s do it.

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Prep and Cooking media: suitable stainless powder and liquid ingredients whisking-marinating bowls, frying pan or grilling medium with small slots .

INGREDIENTS:
2.5 kilos rib eye sliced ¾” to 1 inch thick

MARINADE (September 2018 Prep);
500 grams (1/2 kilo) fully cleaned, head, pen (that hard plastic-like thing at its
back) and inc sac (you don’t want this black matter anyway) removed. Sliced
to desired length.
3 grams fine salt
2 grams sugar
4 grams freshly crushed black pepper
8 cloves garlic cubed
5 grams oregano powder
4 grams powder cumin
3 grams chili powder
3 grams marjoram powder
1 small lemon de-seeded and fully juiced (set aside ¾ for marinade and ¼ for
drizzle to end dish before serving)
100 ml palm oil (or palm olein)
100 ml Olive Oil
OPTIONAL 2 grams fine MSG

April 2018 Preps

PROCEDURES (September 2018 Preps):

    1. In suitable mixing bowl mix and blend well all powder and liquid ingredients. Use only the ¾ lemon juice for marination.
    2. Constantly tumbling to have better flavor penetration, marinate sliced squid in this oil-based emulsion for minimum 1 hour before frying (or grilling should you wish).
    3. If frying, heat pan, pour in marinated squid plus little amount of used marinade. Fry to desired color and done-ness. Set aside left over marinade.
    If grilling, line up unto small-slotted griller (to prevent falling off of squid unto fire) and cook to desired done-ness. Use marinade to baste often.
    4. Transfer to desired serving plate, drizzle with used marinade and the ¼ lemon juice.
    5. Adorn to desired eye-catch appeal. Serve.

September 2018 Preps

PREP TIME

BOILED BABY POTATOES in HONEY-MAYO-MUSTARD

SALTED-PEPPERED-MSGed PAN GRILLED PORK CHOP

DISCLAIMER: Above are test kitchen and household-produced dishes. All ingredients utilized are of food grade quality passing international and domestic sanitary standards. While we find the results highly acceptable, no guarantee nor explicit assurance is hereby issued when recipe is performed by readers. For one, although of similar breed, spices, herbs and other ingredients vary from country to country/region to region that possibility of affecting end taste, aroma & bite-feel is great. Further thereto, mentioned sensory evaluation (aroma, taste, mouth-feel) is subjective.

PAN GRILLED RIB EYE

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PAN GRILLED RIB EYE
(Fully Marinated Australian Rib Eye Pan Grilled To Satiety) 
Staying in a condo with quite small kitchen sometimes
presents asymmetrical ease more so when grill-time comes.
Expecting for friends’ visit, my daughter allowed me to do the main.
Dashed to Tiong Bahru Public Market (30 Seng Poh Road, Singapore),
my favorite spot when cooking special preps necessitates.
Got myself 2.5 kilos of Australian rib eye, sliced ¾ to an inch thick. Perfect.
Hustle comes to fore during pan grilling as smoke will surely fill the entirety
of the kitchen or the unit itself.
And having beef done at ground floor poolside-grill area was a no no.
It was drizzling.
In view, I need to marinate beef in spices-herbs combi with enzyme tenderizer
to minimize cook-time but ensuring thereby tenderness and juicier bite.
Okay. Let’s do it.

Prep time: 3.5 hours
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 4.5 hours
Serves: 8
Prep and Cooking media: serrated grill/roasting pan, oil brush, tongs

INGREDIENTS:
2.5 kilos rib eye sliced ¾” to 1 inch thick

MARINADE;
300 ml. red wine (any sweet or semi sweet red still you wish)
100 ml. pineapple juice
60 grams Papaya enzyme tenderizer (seasoned-meaning salt and other
ingredients are already added. McCormick sells this.)
1 bulb garlic, crushed, thinly minced
10 grams sea salt
5 grams ground black pepper
4 grams nutmeg powder
4 grams coriander powder
4 grams Spanish paprika powder
2 grams dried thyme leaves
OPTIONAL 3 grams MSG
BASTE BEFORE PAN GRILLING:
50 ml. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
½ bar butter (any)

PROCEDURES:

  1. In suitable stainless bowl, mix and tumble well all Marinade
  2. Ensuring beef is submerged even just half of its thickness, line up slices.
  3. In ref or chiller (NOT FREEZER) marinate for 1.5 hours. Afterwhich, turn to other side and again marinate for 1.5 hours.
  4. Remove from marinade and set aside.
  5. If you wish, scoop out all solids of the marinade and fry later to be your top coat before serving.
  6. In a bowl, combine butter and EVOO. Heat. Tossing constantly, melt
  7. Brush to all sides of beef slices.
  8. Heat pan. When smoking, lay beef slices in batches and grill for 3-4 minutes each side. Grill time depends on your preferences as to cook-state of beef.
  9. Fry marinade solids a bit and put as garnish to grilled beef.
  10. Serve

DISCLAIMER: Above are test kitchen and household-produced dishes. All ingredients utilized are of food grade quality passing international and domestic sanitary standards. While we find the results highly acceptable, no guarantee nor explicit assurance is hereby issued when recipe is performed by readers. For one, although of similar breed, spices, herbs and other ingredients vary from country to country/region to region that possibility of affecting end taste, aroma & bite-feel is great. Further thereto, mentioned sensory evaluation (aroma, taste, mouth-feel) is subjective.

RED WINE IMMERSED BELLY

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RED WINE IMMERSED BELLY
(Pork Belly Marinated in Red Wine, Spices and Herbs)
A simple but different approach to the usually salted and peppered fried pork.
Easy. Quick. Tasteful.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: 2
Prep and Cooking media: marinating bowl, frying medium, tongs and slotted frying shovel

INGREDIENTS:
500 grams (1/2 kilo) 1 inch thick-skin on sliced pork belly
200 ml. red wine (any sweet or semi sweet red still you wish)
25 ml. sesame oil
3 grams fine salt
2 grams ground black pepper
2 grams chili powder
3 grams onion powder
2 grams garlic powder
2 grams nutmeg powder
1 gram Spanish paprika
3 grams hot sauce (any-Tabasco or Red Devil or Dante’s Inferno)
OPTIONAL 2 grams fine MSG
enough frying palm oil (or palm olein)

PROCEDURES:

  1. In suitable bowl whisk well until fully dissolved all ingredients except pork slices and frying oil.
  2. Marinate unto fridge for 2 hours.
  3. Heat oil. Drain a bit and fry belly by batches. For 1-inch thick meat, 1-2 minutes frying time for both sides will be enough. 2-hour marinating time will render tenderness and juicier bite.
  4. Shovel up, pat dry and arrange unto serving plate with little greens for more enticing palate appeal.
  5. SERVE and witness your loved ones’ eyes go wide open saying…WOW! 

DISCLAIMER: Above are test kitchen and household-produced dishes. All ingredients utilized are of food grade quality passing international and domestic sanitary standards. While we find the results highly acceptable, no guarantee nor explicit assurance is hereby issued when recipe is performed by readers. For one, although of similar breed, spices, herbs and other ingredients vary from country to country/region to region that possibility of affecting end taste, aroma & bite-feel is great. Further thereto, mentioned sensory evaluation (aroma, taste, mouth-feel) is subjective.

Taal Vista Lodge, Tagaytay City, Philippines

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Salad

Savor the best in center table offerings amidst shivery atmosphere,
crisp refreshing inhales of oxygen, atop views of world acclaimed Taal lake, greeneries
and hmmmmm re-invigorating breeze.
Join me as we delve into their “bragging rights”.
One sunday, was in my usual “alone again naturally” state,
my legs and driving acumen led me to, once more, dive into adventure and gear up to Tagaytay City,
the fave destination of many for food, sights and weather.
About 80-90 kms from Manila and 15-18 kms from my place.
Lunch time that was and found me seated by the buffet area.
Oh OK go for it…murmured to myself.

VERANDA

COFFEE SHOP & BAR

Create Your Own FIA Salad

Create Your Pinoy Salad

CEREALS & CAKES

HAM
Sisig Area

Dessert

First Batch

My second take post salad.

My 2nd batch

 …third

MY DESSERT

…dessert.
That’s about all. Am full. I am just the “tikim guy” anyway and shelled out Php1,300++ for such.
BTW, “tikim” means mainly savouring/taste test to find out whether outstanding
or should be delegated outside the mess hall for their ain’t appropriateness
…due to rancidity or blandness or toughness to wrong process utilization plus the other heck of criteria.
Seriously, for the food preps, I will rate Veranda 8 out of 10.
More so the overnight marination of grilled boneless chicken in honey, lots of honey,
soy sauce, brown sugar, ground black pepper, chili powder,
very subdued acidity of lemon (I think) or vinegar though gas grilled bit well done is a “must try”.
That prep caught my attention.
Did not show here the shot of roasted beef as some non-rare to mid-rare eater readers
might be horrified in sight of leaking off reddish-pink blood when sliced
…but they do welcome roasting further to medium-well to well-done.

Ham’s curved pork skin-brown seared to simulate “Hawaiian Style” was really tough.
Lean tasted sugar sweetened with hints of I don’t know. But “curing” is well attained.

The views worth staring at to re-charge:

BACK SIDE

BACK VIEW THRU THE GLASS SHOT OF LAKE

VIEW OF PENS

Rooms to stay-perfect site, function and event halls-ideal
and wide play ground awaits kids’ run and about.

Did not take shots of rooms and other facilities as I was not on pre-approved blog writing visit.
Anyway, here’s their link:
http://www.taalvistahotel.com/

Thumbs up.
Highly recommended to visit.