BAKED Seasoned TILAPIA with MANGO SALSA

Mangoes are generally abundant all throughout the year in the Philippines; BUT I believe that they are the SWEETEST during the Summer season; probably because this is their natural harvesting time. Last night, we had another healthy dish that utilized this season's freshest ingredients. Another healthy, easy and tasty recipe to try for you and your family.

Let's begin by making the salsa. The mango salsa should be prepared ahead of time; it needs at least about an hour or so for all the ingredients to beautifully blend together. If I'm not mistaken, I've read this mango salsa recipe from Allrecipes.com (again!) several months ago. This is my 3rd time making them, and every time is different, like if I have other fruits around, like strawberries, avocado, pineapple or papaya; I'll throw it in the salsa. It adds a different flavor each time. For the meantime, here is the basic recipe for the mango salsa.

Ingredients and how to do it: (for 2 servings) 

MANGO SALSA

- 1 ripe mango, diced

- 1 red bell pepper, diced

- 1 green bell pepper, diced

- 1-2 green finger chilies, diced 

- handful of cilantro

- 1 red onion

- juice of 1/2 lemon

- juice of 1/2 orange

- a drop or two of hot sauce

- salt and pepper to taste

1) In a bowl, combine first all the hard veggies: the bell peppers, onion and chilies. Lastly add the diced mango and the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

tip: You can remove the seeds of the green finger chilies prior to dicing them if you want to lessen the heat.

2) Add in the juice of the the lemon and the orange.

3) For more zing, add a drop or two of hot sauce and mix everything well. Set aside and let rest for at least an hour before serving. DONE! =)

BAKED SEASONED TILAPIA

Let's move on with our protein: Tilapia. 

(I used about 2 medium Tilapia about 200-250 grams each.)

1) Place aluminum foil in a shallow baking tray; making sure there are excess of the foil to cover your Tilapias and make a pocket; and drizzle with olive oil.

2) Place your tilapias and generously season them with Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. Add another flavor profile by adding in some of your favorite dried herbs. I added these tilapias with generous dashes of dried basil leaves.

3) Thinly slice the remaining half of your lemon (the same one you used for the mango salsa) and place them on the tilapias. Drizzle with more olive oil before sealing the foil.

4) Cover the tilapias with aluminum foil making sure all sides are sealed. Marinate them inside the foil for at least 30 minutes prior to baking. Preheat your oven to 180 C.

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes. The tilapias in the foil are now baking in their own wonderful juices. Remove from oven and serve with some Mango Salsa on the side. Enjoy with hot rice. =)

tip: If you don't have an oven, you can grill this instead.

Each bite transports you to Island paradise! Close your eyes and you might hear waves crashing in. =)

Happy Eating! =)

Adobong Atay Balun-balunan ng Manok (Chicken Liver and Gizzard stewed in Soy Sauce and Vinegar)

Another dentist invaded the kitchen last night! =) 

There is one more thing that I am proud of for having my husband, for not only is he hardworking and gifted with good looks (tee-hee!), he also has some cooking gems hidden under his sleeves. And although his cooking style can be rough: slicing ingredients just before adding them in the pan; has no exact measurement and just adjusting as he goes along: it is always delicious! His specialty: home-cooked Pinoy savory dishes! =)

Last night, he cooked one of my favorite Adobo: ADOBONG ATAY BALUN-BALUNAN ng MANOK (Chicken Liver and Gizzard stewed in Soy Sauce and Vinegar). Oh yes! I am into meat innards! =) And he used to cook this for me when we were still a bf-gf couple. I guess you can say this is one of those things that made me more in love with him. He must have added something in his adobo! haha =)

This is another super simple Filipino dish you can try at home; and trust me this is not as bizarre as it sounds or looks.

Here's how to do it: (good for 2-3 servings)

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 kg of Chicken Liver and Gizzard (thoroughly cleaned and washed before cooking)

- 2tbsp cooking oil

- 5 tbsp soy sauce

- 4 tbsp cane vinegar (or palm or any white vinegar)

- 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp white sugar

- 1 medium potato, sliced

- 1 onion, sliced

- 2 tsp minced garlic

- salt and pepper to taste

- 2 bay leaves (laurel)

"Chicken Liver and Gizzard"

Directions:

1) In a sauteing pan, heat about 2 tbsp of cooking and saute garlic and onions until fragrant. Add in sliced potatoes and stir fry for a minute.

2) Follow in the pan the chicken liver and gizzards and stir fry for 3 minutes at high heat.

3) Season with salt and pepper.

4) Lower the heat to a medium low and add about 5 tbsp of soy sauce and 4 tbsp of vinegar.

5) Add 1/4 cup of water and about 2 bay leaves and simmer for 5 minutes, lid closed; until almost all liquid has evaporated.

6) When almost all liquid has evaporated, have a taste and if its too sour, add in 1/2 - 1 tsp of white sugar. Stir fry for another minute and remove from heat.

tip: Do not overcook the liver and the gizzards. Chicken liver can be bitter when overcooked and the gizzards can be rubbery and hard to chew. 

Best served with some hot hot rice! =)

Now, there goes my heart (again!) for him! =) 

"Chicken heart!, my favorite part! =)"

I'ts great to know that when I'm feeling lazy in the kitchen, I can always depend on my husband to fill my tummy. =) I feel so blessed and lucky for having him. =)

Cooking in the kitchen with my husband is a whole new adventure that can be so personal and intimate. Creating flavorful food then savoring it together after is more pleasurable than dining in any high-class diner, PLUS inexpensive. haha. =) Hope you can have the same wonderful adventures. =)

Happy Eating! =)

FISH ESCABECHE with a hint of PINEAPPLE

My husband bought some fresh fish at the market and requested me to make it into sweet and sour fish. So here's what I did with it: FISH ESCABECHE with a hint of PINEAPPLE. =)

I'm not sure of the origin of the recipe but here's how it was done by my mother when she used to cook it for us. I just added some pineapples to it for a more sweet and sour taste, and adding Vitamin C to your dishes doesn't hurt too. =)

Here's how you can do this very simple fish dish:

Ingredients you'll need: (for 2-4 servings)

- 4-5 small-medium fish or 2 big fish (cleaned, scaled and innards removed)

*for this dish, my husband bought the freshest from the market and so we used 3 pcs. "Kaluping" and 1 pc. "lapu-lapu".

tip: you can use other fish like "tilapia" and "apahap" or you can even bread and fry white fish fillets as substitute for whole fish.

- 1 onion

- 1 medium carrot

- 1 green bell pepper

- 1 red bell pepper

- 2 tsp of minced garlic

- 115 grams of pineapple tidbits with syrup (small budget pack)

- 1/2 cup white vinegar/cane vinegar

- 1/2 cup water

- 2 tsp cornstarch

- 2 tsp soy sauce

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- salt and pepper to taste

- seasoning granules (e.g. Maggi Magic Sarap, Aji-ginisa);optional

- vegetable oil

1) Pat dry your fishes and rub them with some seasoning granules or salt.

2) Heat up a shallow pan and put a generous amount of vegetable oil to fry the fish into, about 1/2 cup.

tip: Make sure your wok or pan is really really hot when you put your oil, and your oil really hot when you fry your fish to avoid the fish skin sticking to the pan. Also, put some rock salt to the hot oil before frying your fish, to avoid splattering of oil during frying; the salt will absorb the excess moisture from the fish.

3) Fry the fishes until crispy and golden brown then set aside.

4) Prepare your vegetables and cut them into strips.

5) Then, make the base for the sweet and sour sauce. In a bowl, combine vinegar, water, brown sugar, soy sauce and cornstarch and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

6) In another pan, heat some vegetable oil, and saute all the vegetables quickly making sure they have still some crunch to them. Start sauteing the aromatics: garlic and onion then follow with the carrots and lastly the bell pepper. Remove from pan immediately and set aside.

7) In the same pan where the vegetables were cooked, pour the sweet and sour sauce and simmer over medium heat until slightly thick.

8) Once thickened, incorporate back in the pan the vegetables and simmer some more, about a minute.

9) Add the pineapple tidbits with the syrup; season with salt and pepper then simmer another minute. Remove from heat.

10) Transfer the fried fish to a a shallow serving platter then pour the sauce over the fish. 

Done! Now ready to be enjoyed and savored! =) Super Easy, eh? =) Best way to eat this is to pour some of that delightful sauce and tender fish meat over steaming hot rice! =)

If you still haven't tried this, make this! For me, it's a comforting, home-cooked meal that brings great childhood memories with my mother. If you have kids, you are sure to score some Mommy/Daddy love with cooking this dish. Fish is sooo crispy and sauce real yummy! =)

 Don't take my word for it, go and make some! =) Now! Quick! You might still score some fresh fish produce at your market. =)

Happy Eating! =)