Turbo-Fried Boneless Asuhos and Vegetables

Yet another stab at weight-loss: rice less meals, fiber from veggies and using less oil.

We found the boneless, headless asuhos at the frozen section of SaveMore supermarket in Alabang, at a reasonable P134 per kilo (considering it's been cleaned and deboned).

After thawing they were washed and rolled in a mixture of cornstarch, ground black pepper, a pinch of salt and a dash of garlic powder. I brushed them with olive oil and broiled them (using a turbo-broiler) at 250C for about 15 minutes.

The stir-fry is made up of bok choy (Baguio pechay), mongo sprouts and a few strips of red bell pepper, flavored with onions and garlic and a teeny-weeny pinch of salt. If you're not as sodium-conscious you can throw in a dash of oyster sauce. (For a little kick, throw in a dash of hot pepper sauce if you like.) By the way, I stir-fried these in extra virgin olive oil for about one and a half minutes.

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This is Asuhos, before getting caught, bought, cleaned and deboned. It also goes by the name Oriental Sillago.

Chow Mein and Pao

Mike's out working and there seems to be no special reason to slave in the kitchen so I whipped out my tamad (lazy) pass and opted to cook pancit guisado, a.k.a. Chow Mein.

To compensate for the ordinariness of the dish I used a little-above-ordinary ingredients -- sea cucumber, smoked squid, lots of leeks and a heaping of mushroom oyster sauce, and a mixture of noodles -- sotanghon (vermicelli), bihon (rice noodles) and canton (egg noodles) . For added interest I matched it with Ube Pao (Steamed Bun filled with sweet yam jam) by Ho-Tsa, bought as a try-out last Friday at the SaveMore Supermarket.

We had a great time.

The boys liked the Ube Pao and requested it for their baon this week. (That says a lot considering they're quite inclined towards sandwiches and pizza.) I liked it too, just-right sweetness and gooey-ness a perfect complement to the seafoodish-saltiness of the pancit.

Pattaya Chicken

Contrary to common belief, not all Thai dishes are spicy or hot. This recipe is an example.

I got the recipe from the Lemon Grass Cookbook, and this was originally Pattaya Shrimp. At read through I found that it was actually but a stir-fry, so the shrimp can be substituted with any meat you have in your freezer, so I used chicken. Later when I crave for the aroma and tang of basil again I would do a repeat, perhaps with fish or beef. :)

[Update: I did do a repeat last night, 7/7/06, using Lapu-lapu fillets and Sea Cucumber. Equally fantastic!]

However, as I like doing my own thing, the recipe I'm about to give you is no longer the one from the cookbook, but the version which I whipped up in my kitchen. My own kitchen conjugation, that is.

This is so easy you can do it with your eyes closed. :)

What's in it?

3/4 kg. chicken breast fillets, sliced into strips
1 T fish sauce
2 T oyster sauce
1 T sugar
1 T curry powder
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium red onion, sliced
100 g. (about 1 styro tray) sweet basil leaves, washed
100 g. (about 1 styro tray) fresh straw mushrooms, washed
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and julienned
3 T cooking oil (if you have peanut oil, better)

Kitchen Conjugations:

In a wok or deep frying pan, heat oil, then saute onions and garlic. Add chicken, stir fry for a minute, or until chicken loses its pinkish tint. Add the fish sauce, stir a little, then add the oyster sauce, curry powder and sugar. Stir to combine, and let chicken simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat.

Stir in mushrooms and bell pepper, stir fry for a minute. Add in basil leaves and stir fry for another 30 seconds. You will love the aroma!

Serve with hot Jasmine rice or rice noodles.