chicken curry

the first attempt to cook chicken was a disaster.  and that was just fried chicken, good Lord!

an officemate gave me her chicken curry recipe and i summoned the courage to try it, a week after my bloody fried chicken disaster.  i have to say, it looked and tasted like chicken curry. i'm just waiting for my guinea pig (12-year-old nephew) to get here and sample it.

Inang's Chicken Curry (as dictated by my stenographer/office den mother)

Sautee in a little oil in the following order:
chopped ginger
chopped onion
minced garlic

When the garlic is golden brown, add a little fish sauce (patis) or salt and the chicken.  Let it simmer until-- to use my officemate's words-- the chicken is anemic (wala nang blood)

While waiting for the chicken to go anemic, dilute coconut cream powder (gata) in tap water then add it to the anemic chicken.  Let it simmer.  When it boils, add curry powder (remember, a little goes a long way).  Simmer.  You can add potatoes and carrots while we're at it.  When the whole thing starts to boil and the oil shows, add a little sugar.

Tip: to lessen the power of the curry powder, dilute it in a little tap water.  For additional flavor, add a little salt and pepper.

the opposite of a Lightbulb moment...

ang hirap mag-isip ng kakainin.

college specialty

back in college, we used to chip in about 10 to 20 pesos each every thursday and we would cook dinner at a friend's house  to save what little was left of our allowances.  and dinner was always courtesy of  my blocmate who makes a killer adobo.  he was kind enough to share his recipe.

JOSEPH'S SPECIAL SOCIOSOC ADOBO

Ingredients:
1/2 kg pork cut into cubes (preferably the belly part)
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. sprite or 7-up (not diet! if you want sweeter adobo, use pineapple juice instead)
1 c. vinegar
2 tsbp minced garlic
1 tsp sugar
2 red onion heads cut into 4
1/2 tsp ground or freshly crushed black pepper

Use a thick pot with heavy lid and combine all the ingredients.  Cook in high heat.  When the sauce starts to boil, turn down the fire and let it simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally.

When the sauce thickens, turn off the fire and set aside.  In a separate pot, sautee garlic and pour the cooked adobo to add a garlicky flavor.

and after dinner, we used to have gin and pomelo juice.  i miss those days when our only problem was how to get up at 7 the following morning for that crucial final exam.