veggie-laden chicken curry..

dinner tonight is one of my most loved recipes, it has such flavors that even my kids have come to like..it was months since i cooked this and missed it a lot.. it is vegetable loaded this time- carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, camote, string beans and the usual aromatics- ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes..did a lot of peeling and chopping here..

this is how i did it-
slice up a kilo of chicken thighs and season with salt, fry them till slightly browned on sides, remove and set aside, saute the aromatics starting with the ginger, garlic then onions and lastly the tomatoes. Then put back the chicken pieces into the pan, add water to boil, then season with salt, pepper and curry powder. I used the powder variety of coconut milk and it is equally good, mix and taste.Let it boil. When seasoning, put each spice in moderation as not to have one taste overpower the rest and putting a lot of the curry powder may cause your dish to have a bitter taste so be careful. Add the cut up potatoes, carrots and camote then cover and let boil.

when the veggies are half-cooked, add beans and bell peppers and let simmer..serve with rice or maybe eaten as is, the vegetables have all the carbs as with rice...this is my version of chicken curry...mangan tako!

pickled ampalaya

a good way to enjoy raw ampalaya is by pickling or in Filipino we say ensalada.. this recipe we picked up from Jarz, a colleague and neighbor. Hubby improvised by slicing the ampalaya thinly and soaking it in salt then squeezing out the liquid..this way the bitterness may be reduced..then we added chopped tomatoes, onions and ginger and juice of two lemons..season with salt, pepper and vinegar..the original recipe we tasted had green mangoes in it but i wasn't able to buy some today. the good thing about this ensalada is it can be kept in the fridge, thus i can buy some green mangoes and add it up tomorrow...goes well with fried foods, looking forward to eating this with boneless bangus..

bukayo..

the soft and chewy kind..what a delight!! went to the market this morning and there amongst the display of lowland vegetables sat an old woman with her bilao of freshly cooked bukayo. it was a rare find for me since bukayo varieties nowadays are the already hardened ones formed into balls and sprinkled with sesame seeds..my mom introduced me to this delicacy during my childhood, and since then have always looked forward to it as a treat.. it is such joy to savor the natural goodness of coconut not the dessicated or canned kind..
after enjoying a hearty breakfast, am now munching on this sweet delicacy while typing away..yummy!