Creamy Vegetarian Macaroni Soup

I arrived here an hour past midnight.  Naturally, one would simply sleep and rest the entire morning and that's exactly what I did.  At about 10am, I decided to do a short asana and simple pranayama practice.  This weather is very good for sitting practices... it helps calm and clear the mind.

At 1pm, I decided to go to Tung Chung to buy the ingredients for this evening's dinner and tomorrow's lunch.  So even though rJ and his flatmates won't be home until about 9pm, dinner is ready.  I'll be going back to Tung Chung in a while though to meet a UP CHK colleague.

I believe I've made this soup in the past and posted the recipe here.  Earlier today, I googled "Filipino sopas recipe" and checked the ingredients just to make sure I had the basics in mind.  What's new with this evening's soup is the chopped cabbage.  I don't think I used that in the previous recipe.  I have to check.

Anyway, here it goes...

Saute minced garlic (about 5 cloves) in oil, then add 1-2 handfuls of chopped white onion.  Stir for 1 minute until onion becomes translucent and aromatic.  Add 350g chopped vegetarian/fake chicken (or tofu).  Stir.  Add 1 L water and bring to boil.  Once boiling, add 350g elbow macaroni and cook for 5-8 minutes.  Add 2-3 cups of vegetable cubes (carrots, peas, corn kernels... I used the frozen mixed vegetables because it's cheaper).  Stir in 2-3 vegetable stock cubes.  Mix well.  Add water if necessary.  Add 2 handfuls of chopped cabbage. Stir and simmer for one minute.  Stir in evaporated milk until desired consistency and milkiness is achieved.  Add 2-3 tablespoons butter.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add a little bit of sugar to bring out the flavor and it's ready.

Perfect for this cold weather.

Tomorrow... felafel sandwich with garlicky yoghurt dressing.

Photos next time.

The Perfect Comfort Food for the Rainy Days

Tofu Salpicao

Monggo with Kalabasa (Squash) & Dahon ng Sili (Chili leaves)

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I just wanted the monggo (mung beans) and then I remembered I still had tofu in the fridge. So I sliced to tofu into small chunks. Minced some garlic... about 2 tablespoons... mixed it to 3 tablespoons of vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce and 2 tbsp light soy sauce. Allowed it to marinate for about 20 minutes... for me, while I was waiting for the monggo to soften.

Fried the marinated tofu in some oil until brown... turned to heat to a minimum and added the marinade. Covered the pan and allowed the tofu to soak in the marinade more. Well that was the idea but I don't think the tofu was able to do that. Anyway, turned off the heat and added some butter... about a 2 tbsp. Added salt and pepper to taste. Serve it over steamed brown rice and top with crispy fried garlic for a more rajastic... err... garlicky meal.

Now for the monggo... I used about 5/6 cups of split mung beans soaked in 3 cups water for about an hour or two. Soaked it before I did my practice early this evening. Did only primary so it was less than 2 hours really but for sure more than 60 minutes.

Discarded the water used for soaking and used another 3 cups of fresh water. Allowed it to boil and soften almost very mushy. I had to add more water because it almost dried out. Not sure how much I added. Another 3 cups is a good estimate ;-). Added the squash chunks and allowed it to soften.

In another pan, I sauteed minced garlic and sliced onions in some oil. Then poured the monggo-squash mixture into it. Added 3-4 tbsp of light soy sauce and some salt & pepper. Mixed in the chili leaves until wilted and I had the perfect Filipino dhal.

Ok, better sleep now as I have an early private class tomorrow.

Om.

Pancit Habhab

This famous street food from Lucban, Quezon, is not really vegetarian friendly. Like most dishes here in the Philippines, it is mixed with pork and shrimp bits and the noodles is cooked in pork broth. A hair-raising experience for vegetarians really.

With a little imagination and the help of Knorr mushroom stock cube from Thailand, I was able to make a vegetarian version of pancit habhab.

I can't exactly remember the quantity of the ingredients that I used so here's a rough list of what you'll need.

Carrots, sliced thinly
bean sprouts
cabbage, chopped
garlic
onion
salt and pepper to taste
some fried tofu
mushroom stock cube (just use any vegetable stock cube that you can find -- eerrr that's good luck to us who are in the Philippines, although Knorr ginisa mix is now meat-free. I checked the label. It has MSG though. I'd say make your own stock but we live in the Big City so why bother? We'll all die anyway - ok it's the full moon.)
6 tablespoons soy sauce
Calamansi to taste

450g pancit habhab cooked in 4 cups of water with 1 mushroom stock cube. Drained.

Stir fry the vegetables, add another stock cube, soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Either serve over the noodles or mix it together. Serve with calamansi and extra soy sauce on the side. For a true habhab experience, drizzle it with spiced vinegar.

Enjoy.

*** For a meaty experience, add slices of shitake mushroom and if you buy the dried ones, the water where you soak the dried mushroom can be used as your stock.

Ok I'm out of here. Still have a dentist appoinment at 2pm. Ciao.

Sinigang

Filipino Sour Soup with vegetarian (fake) tuna.

Tinolang Tofu

Private client canceled the session this morning so I slept in. When I woke up, I wanted to practice but then felt too lazy so I came online to check my messages. After my previous post, I guess the "Cook" in me simply didn't want to be "stilled" thus craving to prepare something for lunch. Or maybe I was just craving for Sinigang (hot and sour tamarind soup)

I went to Trinoma to buy ingredients for Sinigang but changed my mind and bought stuffs for Tinola instead. I thought if I buy ingredients for Sinigang, I will need to store more vegetables in the fridge as I only need a few. There were 4 pieces of eggplant, a bunch of string beans, tomatoes, etc, in my shopping basket, and thought I'd only need a few from those. That's the disadvantage of shopping in the supermarket, you can't buy "tingi" (like a piece or two only).

So, I removed everything and started picking ingredients for the Tinola. Tofu 4 small blocks, dahon ng sili (Philippine chili leaves), small green papaya, ginger, onion, spring onion. I have 2 pieces of fake tuna slices left in the fridge (I get it from Likha Diwa, a healthy vegetarian friendly cafe in Krus na Ligas, UP Diliman), so I thought that would make the Tinola a little bit more interesting. Oh, and organic red rice (I'm Pinoy so I have to eat something with rice just like my Thai and Saudi brothers and sisters ;-) ).

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, chopped.
a handful or less of red onion, chopped
same amount of ginger or more, chopped
green papaya, sliced, about 3 cups
2 smal squares of hard tofu, sliced (plus the 2 pieces of fake tuna steak - it's wrapped in nori so I suppose you can add nori or wrap the tofu in nori then fry it before adding it to the soup)
a handful or more of dahon ng sili
spring onions, chopped
dash of red chili powder (you can use fresh green chili if you prefer. Didn't bother buying because I'd only need one and I need to buy the whole pack)
a teaspoon of brown sugar
salt to taste
water
oil for sauteeing

Saute garlic, onion and ginger in the oil until fragrant. Add the papaya and stir well. Add water, about 4-5 cups and bring to boil. When the papaya is soft, add the tofu and fake tuna. Season with the spring onion, red chili powder, brown sugar, salt. I had to add a little bit more ginger. Bring to boil then remove heat. Add the chili leaves, cover for a minute to allow the heat to wilt it. Serve with steamed red rice and soy sauce with calamansi for dipping.

Enjoy.