silver chopstix

There is a limit to just how much sliced ham you can eat during the Holiday season. As always we have a lot of leftover honey baked ham day after Christmas. I’ve always tried to think of ways to add it to various dishes or create new ones with it. This time, I made creamy pasta with ham, peas and mushroom. First, cook your pasta (spaghetti) according to package directions, drain and set aside. Note: Add 1/2 cup frozen peas in the last 2 minutes of cooking. Heat a pan…read more

I wrote a blog post on tuyo awhile back. As I have mentioned Filipinos almost always eat this with rice. However, in the past decade Filipinos have been very open and adventurous when it comes to food. Pasta tuyo is nothing new, have seen restaurants back home offering it on their menu and housewives making it in their own kitchen. This recipe was adapted from epicurious. I made some changes on the ingredients and measurements used. Cook spaghetti according to package directions (I used half of a lb box). Drain…read more

This is was something I hastily put together one summer evening when I was really not in the mood to cook. It turned out delicious and my family loved it. It’s really more like just putting the ingredients together and not really a recipe. To make, cook the pasta according to package directions. When done drain and place in a deep bowl. Add a generous amount of pesto ( I used the prepared kirkland brand from Costco) or according to taste to the warm pasta, 1 avocado diced and a…read more

Vigan longganisa is just one amongst a wide variety of Filipino local sausage available. In the Philippines longganisa is customarily eaten with rice with a sunny side egg on the side. I have a pack of it sitting in my freezer and wasn’t really up to cooking it the traditional way which is fried. Creating a pasta dish is the first thing that came to my mind, since I usually add Italian sausage in my pasta sauce. But I knew from that start that this would not be a tomato…read more

This is another easy recipe that you can whip up for your family. Just like when making a salad, you can add whatever ingredient you like or have on hand. First, cook your green tea noodle according to the package directions and set aside. Chop and prepare the rest of your ingredients. Drain well a small can of light tuna, slice a half of an avocado, make your egg crepe and slice it into strips, wash and dry a handful of cilantro and cut into small strips one small radish….read more

I usually make food that reflects the Season. What better way to celebrate Spring than make something “green” which signifies the changing landscape. Instead of using regular pasta, I used green tea soba which you can get at any Asian store. Soba can served either hot or cold and usually takes little less time to cook than regular pasta. Cook your pasta according to package directions and set aside. For this recipe don’t rinse the soba to allow the sauce/pesto better coat the noodles. Place the soba in a bowl…read more

I was really dead set on making fried rice tinapa (Filipino smoked fish) after seeing this photo, but after getting all the ingredients I began to have second thoughts. It may not appeal to my girls and I was a bit concerned about the sodium content of the dish. This got my creative juices flowing and suddenly had this idea of making a pasta dish instead. I just listed ingredients that would go well with tinapa keeping in mind that is has to be Filipino inspired. This is what I…read more

Somen are thin white Japanese noodles, usually eaten in the Summer months. This noodles are traditionally served cold with a light dipping sauce called tsuyu. This is very easy to prepare, I served this for lunch as the temperatures is extremely warm today. First, you need to make your toppings. I made three kinds: mushrooms, egg and sesame leaves. Get several pieces of dried shiitake mushrooms and rehydrate it in warm water for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Strain mushrooms and reserve the water used to rehydrate it. Pour this…read more

Sotanghon is Tagalog for Chinese Vermicceli or Glass noodles. They are called glass noodles because they become translucent when cooked. In Filipino cuisine they are either made into a stir fried noodle dish or added into soups. I decided to make Sotanghon soup since I had some leftover rotisserie chicken which I used to make my broth. First, place your leftover chicken (bones included) in a pot and add enough water to cover. You may add onion, carrots and celery to this. Let this come to a boil then lower…read more

Pancit Bihon (rice stick noodles) is the most popular Filipino noodle dish. This is offered in most restaurants in the country and is always a staple in any gathering or potluck events. This is also often served during birthdays, because tradition dictates we serve noodles for “long life”. Rice stick noodles are also used in Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Taiwanese cuisine. They are also referred to as bee hoon or rice vermicelli. As I have mentioned before Filipino families usually have their own recipe or way of cooking a dish….read more