Kat's Cookie Corner: A load of sweets, pastries and meals Ep.3

How about some sumptuous meals and tuna rolls? Here's the next five recipes my friend Kat offers that are always less costly and with full satisfaction.

*Disclaimer: All photos were taken from Kat's Tumblr account at http://theimpulsiveyoungcook.tumblr.com/page/3


1) Beef with Corn and Mushroom sauteed in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients:

·         Ground beef or ground pork

·         Mushroom (pieces & stem)

·         Corn Kernels

·         Basil Leaves

·         Black Pepper (ground)

·         Oyster Sauce

·         Salt(if needed)

·         Onion & garlic

·         Oil

2) Chapchae

Ingredients

• 8 oz mung bean or sweet potato noodles (might be called cellophane or glass noodles or Chinese vermicelli)
• 1 sweet onion, sliced into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound baby spinach, parboiled
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped Napa cabbage
• 5 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated if dried and then sliced
• 2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• Sesame seeds (optional)
• 6 oz. beef or pork (optional)*

3) Sweet and Sour Fish

Ingredients:

• fish fillet (I used cream dory)
• 1 pack of pineapple tidbits (keep the juice)
• 1 medium sized bell pepper
• 1 large carrot 
• minced onion, garlic, basil leaves, ground pepper and ginger
• sweet and sour mix (I personally use Del Monte’s)
• egg and breadcrumbs

4) Pasta in olive oil, tomatoes pepper, mushroom and chicken

Ingredients

• pasta (I used veggie pasta for this one.)
• 1 can of mushrooms
• 2 pcs chicken breast
• 4 pcs fresh tomatoes
• extra virgin olive oil (Some say that extra virgin olive oil is not for cooking but I still use it.)
• ground pepper

Procedure

1. Saute sliced chicken breast sprinkled with salt and pepper in olive oil
2. When the chicken breast turned while, add the fresh tomatoes and mushroom. Keep on sauteing.
3. Add pre-cooked pasta.
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper.
5. Let it simmer for 5 minutes then serve.

5) Tuna roll, Chicken Roll, Crabstick-Fish cake Rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 Kilo Short Grain Rice (Japanese Rice)

10 Nori Wrappers

Sesame Oil

Sesame Seeds

Furikake (optional)

1 Cucumber

2 Carrots

1 Lettuce

3 Eggs

6 Crabsticks 

1 Can of Tuna in Oil

Chicken Breast

Fish Cake (optional)

Shitake Mushroom (optional)

Procedure:

1. Cook rice. 

2. While rice is cooking, prepare the ingredients for the filling. 

For the tuna roll and chicken roll prepare:

1. tuna fillet sliced into rectangles/ steamed or boiled chicken breast fillet sliced into rectangles

2. lettuce

3. carrots

4. scrambled egg

5. cucumber sliced vertically

6. shitake mushroom

For the crabstick-fish cake prepare:

1. steamed crabstick and fish cake sliced thinly

2. lettuce

3. carrots

4. scrambled egg

5. cucumber sliced vertically

For the rice:

1. After cooking the rice, mix at least 3 tbsp of sesame oil to it.

2. Mix some sesame seed as well.

3. If you want more flavor, you can add Furikake.

For the sauce:

You’ll need Kikoman soysauce, mayonnaise and sugar. Mix according to desired taste.

Rolling the rolls (lol):

1. Place the Nori wrapper on the bamboo mat. The shiny part should be on the bottom.

2. Spread rice but don’t spread it to the whole wrapper. Leave at least an inch at the end.

3. Put the lettuce first. Then, place the cucumber and carrots on top. 

4. After that, put the slice of scrambled egg, tuna/chicken/crabstick & fish cake and shitake mushroom.

5. Roll it tightly. Use rice as a paste when closing it. 

6. Use the bamboo mat to tighten the roll. Squeeze the roll with enough force. But don’t squeezetoo tightly.

7. Cut into at least 1/2 inch. Be careful in cutting it because if you cut it too thinly, it will be destroyed. 

Tramway Lunch with Family

I remembered in high school when my Journalism mentor Ms. Josephine Bonsol accompanied us to Tramway Garden Buffet in Timog Ave., Quezon City. It was my first time eating in a buffet and she prepped us on what to do once the hunger games start: 1) eat only little amounts per dish so you can taste every thing and 2) No drinks, no water so that you would not be full easily. I tried on the tomato pasta and just like a deliquent student who never listens to her teacher, I grabbed the big spoon and started putting large amounts of pasta into my plate, and my mentor went, "Sabing konti lang eh, sige sasaksakin kita diyan. Kumuha ka ng gulay." In the end I was able to eat most of the food but was not able to enjoy all of them because my mentor kept feeding me ghory vegebables and fish dishes.

This time my family went back to Tramway to celebrate the upcoming birthdays of my eldest sister Ate Nadine and our youngest Norman "Jigs" on September 3 and 9 respectively. As we walked to the restaurant I couldn't help but reminisce how the Journalism Club went and gobbled all the food that we wanted and I remembered how one of my classmates kept on teasing the waitresses to release their famous buko pandan. 

I have already learned how to eat in the buffet and I was able to eat every type of dish in the menu including the starters and the dessert without being too full.

 My eldest sister kept on grabbing the crunchy and tasty buchi while my youngest brother hoarded five big pieces of fresh maki and sushi in the counter. Jillian, my twin sister on the other hand had her own second serving of pansit. I loved the pichi pichi the most in the dessert and their signature crab and vegetable stew and tofu dish. 

Fried dumplings

Fish dish

Tofu dish

Sweet and sour pork

Tramway opens at 11am to 1pm for reservations and 1pm- 3pm for the second batch of reservations. Dinner starts at 6pm-8pm and 8pm to 10pm. Reservations can be made through their contact details. Adult buffet is P228 while Kids buffet ranges to P155 per head.

Steamed Siomai

tomatoes

boiled eggs

My minimalist dish

Maki and Sushi

The divine buko pandan

Specialty puto

Variety of breads

Pichi-pichi and maja