Beef with Ground Roasted Coconut
Topic: Beef
One of Moro's especial delicacies, usually served on traditional wedding ceremonies and many occassions. I never tried to cook this when I was still in Philippines, then one day my brother asked me if I know how too cook it because he really miss that dish and I said I will try. Then I called my mother in Philippines and asked her how to make Palapa (Ground roasted coconut)because I want to cook beef as my brother requested so. She told me how and it was very simple. It was made of grated coconut and some spices. Since it is very hard to find fresh coconut here in Kuwait, I decided to use dessicated coconut.

Here's how to make Palapa :
Combine some slices of onions, crushed ginger, few galangal root, salt and 1 cup dessicated coconut, place the mixture in a hot skillet over low-medium heat. Stirring constantly, roast until brown. Remove from the skillet, let it cool and grind.
Now, here's the simple recipe for the beef:

Ingredients:
1 k beef, sliced into thin cubes
1/2 tsp. tumeric powder
2 medium onions, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 ripe tomato, sliced
1/4 cup ginger, strips
water
soy sauce to taste (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cooking oil

Marinade:
2/3 cup palapa (ground roasted coconut)
1 onion, minced
2 tbsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup galangal root, strips

Directions:
1. Sprinkle tumeric powder to the meat, mix thoroughly, combine marinade together and then marinate for 30 minutes.
1. Heat oil in a pan, saute garlic until lightly brown, add onions, ginger and tomatoes. Saute until the tomatoes are very tender.
2. Add the meat with the marinade, stir to mix well. Then add water enough to cover. Bring to a boil, remove scums as it rises. Lower the heat, season with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Cover the pan and simmer for 1 hour or until done.

Grilled Chicken with Baked Potatoes
Topic: Chicken
Originally my plan was to grill chicken only but when I saw that many drippings were just only wasted in the dripping dish that I place below the chicken, I immediately remembered to bake potatoes and place it below the chicken so that it can catch all the drippings, so the chicken taste were all there in the potato. This is what I did: First, I prepared the chicken for grilling, the whole chicken was sliced into 4 parts, I want to marinate it before grilling but I have no time, our meal time was already near. So, I boiled it for 5-7 minutes with enough water to cover, few salt and peppercorns. While boiling, I ground onions, green onions and ginger together, add some salt and pepper, after boiling the chicken and drained, I rub the onions mixture all over the chicken slices. Then I arranged it in the grill wire and grill it in a preheated 250 degrees oven. When I noticed the drippings, that was when I decided to place some potatoes under it. I immediately cut each potato in half. I scooped out its meat, I add some chopped onions on the potato meat, few bell pepper, soy sauce, salt and pepper. I stuffed the potato cavities with the mixture and I put it under the chicken to catch all the dripping sauce. It takes 1 hour for me to grill and bake but the result was really satisfying.

Chicken Sopas
Topic: Pasta
Actually I was confused first where should I post this recipe, in what category? Soup, Chicken or Pasta? Then, I chose the later because of some reasons. Anyway, here's the recipe for the chicken sopas that I made yesterday, the picture was taken before garnishing, I forgot it!

Ingredients:
400 g chicken, sliced into small (don't remove the bones since it will give a nice broth)
200 g pasta, cooked according to package direction
6 cups water or more
2 cups milk
1 cup corn kernel
1 medium carrot, julienned
2 cups cabbage, shredded
2/3 cup baguio beans, sliced very thinly
1 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, crushed then minced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 chicken stock cube (optional)
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp. melted butter
chopped corriander for garnish

Directions:
1. Heat butter in a pot, then saute garlic and onions, then add chicken and stir until lightly brown.
2. Add water, salt, pepper and chicken cube. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken are done.
3. Add carots, beans, cabbage, corn kernel,celery, sugar and fish sauce. Let it boil, simmer until the vegetables are done.
4. Stir in the beaten egg, onoce the egg is stirred in the soup, add the milk and continue stirring until it will boil. Adjust the seasoning.
5. Turn off heat. Garnish with chopped corriander. Serve hot.

Fried Wonton
Topic: Appetizers
Wonton is a type of dumpling common in chinese cuisine. It is made with a thin pastry wrapper and filled with savory minced meat. The filling is typically made of ground meat, coarsely diced shrimp, finely minced ginger, finely minced onions, and soy sauce. Wontons can be served in soup or deep fried with rice or noodles.The deep fried variety are often served as a snack or appetizer. Actually yesterdday was my first time to make wonton and it was a process of experimentation or trial and error stage that turned successful. I made only half cup of ground beef because I was afraid I might not make it good but I got a nice result. This is the recipe of my first fried wonton:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup ground beef
1 tbsp. minced onion
1 tsp. crushed ginger
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. catsup
1 tbsp. sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
Wonton wrappers
Oil for deep frying

Directions:
1. Heat the pan over medium-high to high heat. Add sesame oil, drizzling it down the sides of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the onions and ginger. Stir-fry briefly, then add the meat and cook until the meat changes color and is nearly cooked through.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Remove the mixture from the pan and allow to cool.
3. Lay out 1 wonton wrapper, and place about 1 tsp. of the meat mixture in the middle. 3. With a finger dipped in water, moisten 2 adjacent sides, fold over to make a triangle. With both hands hold the triangle by the 2 widest corners, push down so that the filled center folds up. Moisten one end and pinch the 2 ends firmly together. Continue with the rest of the mixture.
4. Deep fry the wonton in hot oil until they turn golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with Sweet and Sour Sauce or the dipping sauce of your choice.

Chicken Sandwich
Topic: Snacks
I want to make sandwich for our Iftar yesterday but I have no idea what kind of sandwich should I make, fortunately there were chicken leftovers from the KFC chicken that we ate the other day so I flaked it and I got more than I wanted for the sandwich.

There were also still chicken luncheon in the cabinet, so my problem was solve. I add 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup thousand Island dressing, 1 tbsp. chopped onions, 2 tbsp. chopped tomatoes to the 1 cup chicken flakes. I mixed it all in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and few sugar.
Then, I sliced the chicken luncheon into very thin portions, soaked it it beaten egg and fried it in buttered hot pan. I also sliced some cheddar cheese as thin as the luncheon, I plan to include it in the sandwich. This is how I made the sandwich, I spread 1 tbsp. of cream cheese to the one side of the bread,put 2 slices of luncheon on it and some slices of cheddar cheese. I cover it with another bread and spread the surface with the chicken and mayo mixture and cover it again with another bread. I repeat this procedure until all the bread slices are done. Then, sliced the sandwich into 4 parts diagonally, arrange it in a platter and put it in microwave oven for 1 minute before serving, and that's it!