Recipe: Squid Adobo (Adobong Pusit)

It's the new year and I'm sure we all made the resolution to lose weight by eating less fat and more vegetables (and perhaps seafood!)
Here is a Filipino seafood dish that has very little fat in it and is quick and simple to make.
I first tasted this dish years back when a dear friend made it for me to try in her tiny kitchen in Queens.

I was lucky to receive a pound of fresh squid this year as a Christmas present!

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh squid (cartilage quill and beak removed)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
•  6 whole peppercorns
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 plum tomato sliced thinly
• 1 small onion sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar

 Directions

1. Rinse and clean the squid making sure that the hard quill is removed and the hard beak.
2. Put the squid, water, vinegar, and peppercorns into a large saute pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low and simmer for about a minute.
3. Remove squid and cooking liquid to a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. Rinse out saute pan and put back on the heat. Allow pan to get hot (you'll notice the pan start to get dry)
5. Add the oil and saute the onion, tomato, and garlic until it is all soft.
6. Add the squid back to the pan and saute together with the vegetables for a minute then add the reserved cooking liquid, soy sauce, and sugar.
7. Stir until everything is all combined.
8. Remove from heat and serve with white rice.

Recipe: Crispy Fried Tofu

I bought a carton of House Brand firm tofu from Costco (3 packages in the carton for about $4) and decided to make this simple and tasty Chinese appetizer.







Ingredients

2 squares of firm tofu
1/4 cup cornstarch for dredging
6 oz. Oil for frying

Directions

1. Heat oil in a 10" saute pan.
   
2. Drain tofu from packaging. Lightly pat dry with paper towels.
3. Cut tofu into 1" lengths or in half.
4. Dredge tofu in a plate of cornstarch coating all sides.
5. Carefully place coated tofu into the hot oil and fry until golden on all sides (I used chopsticks to carefully turn the tofu but you can use two forks).
   
6. Drain on paper towel lined plate.
7. Serve with soy sauce, and/or black vinegar (you can use balsamic) on the side.

Recipe: Carrot Ginger Dressing

This recipe makes a salad dressing similar to those found in Japanese restaurants. I had this along with a salad recipe in an older posting but decided to post it again separately so that it can be found more easily.

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a blender, combine all the ingredients except the oil. Pulse blender until the mixture is mostly smooth, then add the oil and puree for 15 seconds. (Blending oil for too long emulsifies it, giving it a mayonnaise flavor you don't want in this dressing.)

*Tip: Use a spoon to scrape the skin off the ginger. It makes peeling quickly without waste.
Use a neutral flavored oil like corn or canola, not extra virgin olive oil which will affect the taste.

Recipe: Brown Cabbage

Don't know what to do with that extra head of cabbage you bought for making Corned Beef and Cabbage for St. Patrick's Day? Here's a recipe that I tried courtesy of Chef Tina Nordström and it is both inexpensive and delicious! The sweet & sour taste is both lovely and refreshing!

In Scandinavia, she says they call it "Brown Cabbage" and it is always served during the holiday season.

Cabbage is almost always selling at an inexpensive price usually a couple of cents per pound and other than turning it into fresh coleslaw or stuffing it with ground meat and simmering it in tomato sauce (that's a recipe I'll save for another time for you all), try this recipe as a side dish with a roast meat. Most of the ingredients you should have already in your well stocked pantry.

Ingredients for serving 8 persons

• 1 head green cabbage
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup or honey
• Butter and oil
• Salt and pepper

This is how you do it...

Heat a large sauté pan and add 2 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup oil. Slice the cabbage thinly and sauté over medium heat together with the onion for a couple of minutes. Mix in the apple juice, balsamic vinegar, cinnamon sticks and syrup. Cover and let simmer until the cabbage softens. This will take about 15 minutes.

Remove the lid and season with salt and pepper.