Jackfruit with Shrimp Salad
Topic: Salad
Since we tasted the canned jackfruit in the Jackfruit Salad that I made last week, my husband bought again the other day, it seemed that he was starting to like the canned jackfruit now, tasted almost the same with the fresh one, that was he said. Now I add shrimp and cucumber to taste different from the one I made before.

Ingredients:
1 can 565 g boiled young jackruit
200 g shelled deveined shrimps
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 cucumber, sliced very thinly
1/2 of small bell pepper, chopped
1 ripe tomato, sliced thinly
1 tsbp. fish sauce
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsbp. olive oil
1 lemon, sliced (optional)

Directions:
1. Drain the jackfruit in the can, wash with cold water, thin slice. Squeeze out all the water and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet. Saute garlic and onions, then add shrimps, sugar salt and pepper. Cooked until the shrimps are done.
3. Combine the jackfruit, cucumber, bell pepper, tomato and the cooked shrimps in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Combine fish sauce and coconut milk, add this mixture to the jacfruit mixture and toss well. Adjust the seasoning accoring to your taste.
5. Serve with lemon sliced. (Some people like to add lemon, others may not)

Besugo Fish Soup
Topic: Soup
Besugo is very common in Philippines and it is one of our favorite fish, my father always bought it whenever he saw it in the fish market and asked my mother to cook it immediately while it was still very fresh. We usually broiled it or boiled it with some vegetables. It has a very delicious soup.

When we went to the fish market last week, my husband saw a few of it and he did not hesitate to buy it even the price was 3x more than its price in the Philippines. It is not common here in Kuwait, we rarely saw it in the market and if there were some, then only very few of it.

I know there will be many variations to cook it but I always cook it this way:

Ingredients:
500 g Besugo fish, scaled and cleaned
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium ripe tomato, quartered
1 thumb-size ginger, crushed
2 bay leaves
3 cups water
1 tbsp. fish sauce (optional)
2 stalks green onions, cut into 2 inches length (separate white part)
vegetables of your choice (pechay, chayote, zucchini, lettuce, etc.)
1/4 tumeric powder (optional)
salt to taste

Directions:
1. Combine water, onion, tomato, ginger and bay leaves in a pot. Put over high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Sprinkle tumeric powder to the fishes. (optional)
3. Add the fishes, white part of green onions and fish sauce to the boiling mixture. Reduce heat, simmer until the fish is done, season with salt.
4. Take out the fishes from the soup and transfer to a dish.
5. Add the vegetables of your choice to the soup and cook until the vegetbales are done.
6. Turn off heat and add the green onions. Add the soup mixture to the fish very gently, the fish is very fragile that time. Serve.

Shrimp and Vegetables Guisado
Topic: Shrimps
This is one of my favorite shrimp recipe to cook, there's no need for me to cook vegetables anymore because it's already there. You can add whatever vegetables you like.

Ingredients:
400 g shrimps, trimmed
200 g asparagus, sliced into 2 inches length
1 medium carrot, sliced
1/4 head of cabbage, sliced diagonally and thinly
1 bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 onion, sliced
1 thumb-size ginger, crushed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. black pepper powder
1/3 cup broth/water
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
3 tbsp. cooking oil

Directions:
1. Saute garlic, onions and ginger in hot oil until onions become transparent in color.
2. Add the shrimps, asparagus, bay leaves, soy sauce and broth. Simmer until the shrimps are almost done.
3. Add carrots, sugar and black pepper. Stir. When the carrots are half done, add the cabbage, bell pepper and oyster sauce. Cook until the vegetables are done.
Serve.

Chicken with Mung Bean Sprouts
Topic: Chicken
Chicken with mung bean sprouts is very common is Philippines but this recipe was cooked in a Thai way. Sprouts is very quick to be cooked, taste better if not overcooked. It could be done in just 10 seconds to retain the crispiness. This recipe is a combination of sweet, sour and salty, can be serve either main or side dish. There were some sprouts left in the fridge since I did not used it all in the Pad Thai that I cooked the other night, I was afraid it might be spoiled soon so I decided to cook it with chicken and some vegetables.

Ingredients:
500 g chicken, sliced into serving portion
250 g mung bean sprouts
1 medium carrot, julliened
1/4 head of cabbage, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced into strips
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp. cooking oil

Marinade:
2 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:
1. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve marinade.
2. Heat oil in a wok or pan, fry the chicken until brown, add garlic and onions, stir. Pour in the marinade, simmer until all the liquids are absorbed by the chicken.
3. Push the chicken to the other side of the pan, put the sprouts to the vacant side and add 1 tbsp. from the fish sauce on it, stir fry for 10-15 seconds,do not overcook, take it out of the pan and set aside.
4. Return the chicken to the center of the pan or wok and add the carrots, cabbage and bell pepper. Stir in the oyster sauce, 1 tbsp. fish sauce and sugar. Cook until the vegetbales are done.
5. Make a space at the side of the pan and break the egg on it, cook until the egg hardens then mix it altogether with the chicken and vegetables.
6. Turn of the heat. Add the sprouts, stir quickly and gently, be careful not to break it. Serve.

Pad Thai
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Noodles
Pad Thai is a Thai dish which is basically made of stir-fried rice noodles (the flat variety) with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and cilantro. It is normally served with a piece of lime. It is very common in many Thai restaurants but the best Pad Thai thatI had tasted before was the one cooked by my hubby's Thai friend during our sons' baptismal more than 2 years ago, The combination of ingredients was very perfect, not too sour nor too sweet and he used only few amount of nuts. I tried to cook one last night and wow, I think I made it! LOL :)

Ingredients:
250 g dried rice noodles, 1/8 inch
warm water
200 g shrimps, peeled leaving the tails on
100 4 chicken breast, flakes into small pcs.
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup tamarind juice/white vinegar
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 tbsp. tomato paste/catsup
250 g mung bean sprouts
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks green onions, sliced diagonally about 1 inch long
1/4 cup cooking oil or more
2 tbsp. ground roasted chilies
1/4 cup ground roasted cashew nuts
1 lemon, sliced

Directions:
1. Soak noodles for 15 minutes in enough warm water to cover until flexible but not so soft. Drain.
2. Mix the fish sauce, sugar, vinegar/tamarind juice in a bowl, stir until the sugar is dissolved, and set aside.
3. Heat a wok or non-stick frying pan, add 1/4 cup of oil, add the garlic and stir-fry until
golden. Add shrimps and chicken, stir-fry until cooked. Add the noodles and toss lightly to coat them with oil and to mix well.
4. Add the fish sauce mixture and bring to a boil rapidly, gently folding the noodles without breaking them. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to boil, folding frequently, until the noodles have absorbed the liquid.
5. Lift the noodles gently from one side of the wok or pan. Pour in a little oil, break 1 egg, and slip it in the oil. Break the yolk, and cover the egg with the noodles immediately. Repeat this on the opposite side of the wok with the remaining egg. Allow the eggs to cook undisturbed, over moderate heat, until they are set and almost dry. Additional oil may be added if the eggs or the noodles begin to stick to the wok/pan. When the eggs are set and almost dry, fold them gently but rapidly into the noodles. Try not to break the noodles.
6. Add the bean sprouts and sliced green onions and toss the entire mixture quickly and gently, without breaking the noodles. Cook about 2 minutes.
7. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle ground chilies and cashew nuts over the top and squeeze lemon juice over that. Serve.