Sagada's Flavourful Pinikpikan

When traveling to Sagada, make sure to taste this province's interesting and controversial cuisine called Pinikpikan.

Pinikpikan is a popular specialty in the Cordillera region. What makes it unique is the way its chicken part is cooked. It is prepared by beating the live chicken with a stick before actually cooking it, sometimes calling the process 'killing me softy". The brutal process however, as they say gives that unique flavor to the dish.

We ordered a bowl of pinkpikan with etag or smoked pork from Cafe Bodega, Rock Inn's in-house restaurant. For Php220 and can be shared with 2-3 persons, it's a memorable foodie experience. My personal take? It tastes like a salty tinola with the smokey chunk of not-too-soft ham. That's how I would describe the taste.

Recipe: Asian Fried Chicken

The recipe I'm sharing today was inspired from Chic Mom's Club Asian Fried Chicken recipe. I made some little changes though since I don't have some of the ingredients from the original recipe and the result was still as delicious. What I learned is that brown sugar, soy sauce and ginger makes a really flavourful sauce. So here goes my version:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp minced ginger
8 chicken breast
salt and pepper
cornstarch or flour (enough to coat the chicken)
cooking oil
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
dash of thyme

Procedure:
1. Wash and pat dry the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
2. Coat the chicken with cornstarch.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the chicken breasts. Set aside
4. In a sauce pot, boil the soy sauce, brown sugar and minced ginger for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning the sugar. Let it simmer.
5. Dip the chicken into the simmering sauce one at a time and put it back again on the frying pan and cook for another minute.
6. Place the chicken on a serving dish and pour over a little sauce and sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds and thyme.

Recipe: Chicken Ala Kiev

Chicken Ala Kiev

Hey guys, another foodie party idea here. This Chicken Ala Kiev sells like pancakes after I took it out of the oven - gone in less than 2 minutes! So I know it's worth to share online ^_^

Recipe: Chicken Breasts with Dill and Calamansi Pan Sauce

I read this recipe from a friend's recipe book. I just substituted some ingredients like using chicken breast instead of drumstick, potato instead of carrots and calamansi instead of lemon. It's my first try cooking with dill so this is a special experiment. We have dill in the garden and it took me quite some time to actually incorporate the herb because I wasn't really familiar with its taste and Filipino households nor cooking shows doesn't regularly use dill. Thyme and basil are two of my favorites but now having tried this recipe and actually liked dill, expect to see more recipes with fresh dill. It gives its own distinct flavor, I could hardly compare it with other herb. It worked well with this chicken recipe but I guess it also works well with fish and seafood sauces. Here goes the recipe:

Recipe: Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

To make our homemade dishes healthier, mom and I continuously scout for both tasty and hearty recipes. And here's one recipe we found online which we recently tried at home. I'm sucker for chicken and baking is one good way to make it more healthy. Let me share our Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken.    

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Family Dinner at Kenny Rogers Roasters

It was drizzling when we walked out of Manila Hotel. My brothers and sister will be waiting for us from SM Manila right after school, we'll be having dinner to celebrate my brother's passing on the Licensure Exam for Architecture. I was already half full because of a plateful of Chinese dimsums served from the oathtaking ceremony but I was also yearning to enjoy a good dinner. Not having much choice at SM Manila, we decided to dine at Kenny Rogers Roasters. It was definitely one of those dinners we'll surely remember.

All Vegetable Salad with mashed potato and chicken noodle soup

Chowking: Honey Garlic Chicken

Honey Garlic Chicken

Now this is the second time I ordered for the Honey Garlic Chicken from Chowking. Well it's not like an over the top chicken dish, but it's worth trying once in a while. And for only Php87 (without drink), it's an affordable Chinese meal in a bowl. Their website states:

Perfectly fried chicken with a flavorful juicy meat, coated with a special sauce that combines the natural sweetness of honey with subtle notes of garlic. Served with sauteed vegetables, boiled egg, toasted garlic bits over a bowl of steamed rice. 

Chic-Boy the second time

Chic-Boy's Inasal Paa

After a fun bowling activity at San Pedro Bowling Center, mom, Karen and I decided to take an early dinner at Chic-Boy. I was so impressed with their lechon sisig the first time so I would like to share the experience with mom and my sister. But alas, I was less impressed the second time...

Mang Inasal's Spicy Paa

Mang Inasal's Spicy Paa

I have a big confession to make, this is the very first time I actually got to dine in Mang Inasal. I've passed by so many of its branches but never gotten too curious to just try it out. And because of the latest promo from my BDO credit card (BDO Credit Card single transaction of at least P2,000 from October 1, 2011 to November 15, 2011 entitles the cardholder to one (1) free Mang Inasal Spicy Paa Paborito Meal), of course I opt to redeem the said freebie.

sister Hannah with Pork Inasal

True enough, it's so SPICY! It's probably just me as I'm not into spicy foods, but the chicken is just too spicy for me, even spicier than our homemade Buffalo Wings. Good thing my sister ordered Pork Inasal so we ate sharing each other's meal to bear the spiciness of the chicken. On the lighter note, I'm loving my BDO credit card even more as I've been reaping freebies from them almost every month. The very first food treat I got was last year's free box of brownies from Brownies Unlimited. As Christmas drawing closer, I can't wait to find out what's next foodie treat BDO has been cooking up for its dear credit card holders.

Cooking Buffalo Wings, McCormick style

Easy to make Buffalo Wings

While I was doing some grocery shopping a few days ago, I stumbled upon the McCormick's Classic Buffalo Wings Seasoning Mix for P39.00 per pack. Wanting to try the dish at home, I bought 2 packs which is pretty enough for 1 kilo of chicken wings. I decided to just give in to this pre-mix so I'll have an idea as to how spicy a buffalo wing should be. Next time I'll try making from scratch. 

With help from McCormick, cooking the classic buffalo wings is as easy as 1-2-3. Simply add 1 k of chicken wings to the coating mixture. Deep fry and lastly, add sauce (pack 2) by sliding them in a bowl and shake until every part is coated. See, it's that easy! My brothers loved the finished outcome. We partnered this Buffalo Wings with a homemade lemon-garlic dip and mom's newly discovered recipe, pumpkin soup. I'll share that recipe here as well, so watch out for that.

Jollibee: Chicken Nugget Crunchers

This is actually a late post but I still wanted to share my views regarding Jollibee's Chicken Nugget Crunchers simply because I realized that I actually made a similar version of the dish months before Jollibee launched this meal. It was I think July of this year when Jollibee promoted a TV ad saying they're made with seasoned tender chicken and carrot bits in crunchy, golden yellow coating. Fortified with vitamin A so both kids and moms love this plus it comes with a flavorful barbeque sauce. The meal was conceptualized with both parents and children in mind, a concept that has inspired me as well to make my version of Chicken Nuggets with Dipping Sauce during my brother's birthday last February.

It may be of healthier version of the regular looking nuggets, but hey, it's still fried. I just hope they would come up with more healthier versions of their langhap sarap meals just like their recent offering, Hash Brown Burger. Meals that are baked since many people especially of retiring age that has been Jollibee's loyal consumers for decades wanted something good for their body. If you want to check out my recipe similar of the Chicken Nugget Crunchers, visit this post.

Recipe: Crunchy Chicken Balls

Crunchy Chicken Balls

This Crunchy Chicken Ball recipe is almost the same as my healthy version of Chicken Nuggets. To add some fun to this dish and make it more moist on the inside, I used ground chicken instead of chicken breast and japanese bread crumbs instead of flour to add that crunch. I also added a variety of McCormick herbs and spices into the mixture. 

Recipe: 6-Spice Fried Chicken

Inspired by the 11-Spice recipe I've watched a few days back from the newest show on Lifestyle Network's Curiosity Got the Chef on cooking the "chicken-that-shall-not-be-named" along with Arroz Caldo Risotto, I once again scoured over the kitchen pantry to see what herbs and spices are available which ultimately leads to this yet another kitchen experiment - my 6 Spice Fried Chicken.

6 Spice Fried Chicken with Garlic Rice and Saute'ed Bitter Melon 

Recipe: Cheesy Chicken Involtini

No need to spend on a sumptuous meal at a fancy restaurant. Surprise your family with this simple yet delectable dish. Got this Cheesy Chicken Involtini recipe from Eden.

Cheesy Chicken Involtini with chicken fingers

KFC: Tower Burger

Warning: It's Jaw Dropping.

KFC Tower Burger

Layers of Bun - Mayo - Lettuce - Hash Brown - Cheese - Chicken. This is just sooo goood!

Magnolia Chicken Station's Chicken Teriyaki

Have you ever cooked chicken teriyaki before? We tried cooking the one from Magnolia Chicken Station that has already been marinated with teriyaki sauce. We simply boiled the chicken thighs and below is the finished dish.

I found out from their Facebook that they're currently giving away FREEBIES and DISCOUNTS. Just head over to Monterey Meatshop and avail of their VALUE CUTS 2 Coupons! It's great and easy to use, plus, it's all free! Promo is until September 30, 2011. You can save and print the coupons from Monterey Meatshop's  Facebook Page.

Recipe: Chicken Dish and the Surprise Secret Ingredient

I discovered this particular dish when my cousin's husband, Kuya Loi cooked for us this delightful chicken dish - you would be surprise to know its secret ingredient...

Today's chicken dish's secret ingredient is COKE! Yup, it's Coke. I myself was totally surprised when I saw that dark liquid where kuya placed the chicken. Instead of the usual plain water where we use to boil our chicken, he used 1 liter of Coke to cover the whole chicken. After seasoning it with salt and pepper, he also added 1 small onion and sili to add that spicy kick. 

Again, the chicken is not marinated but boiled for about an hour with coke. We all had a fun time devouring this entire glossy chicken. Probably not the most healthy chicken recipe and I'm not even recommending to cook this all the time, but we sure love the flavor - tastes like ham. This Coke Chicken recipe is actually good to serve during happy gatherings. :) Try it!  

Recipe: Chicken Schnitzel with Buttered Mixed Vegetables

Chicken Schnitzel is a very popular dish in Australia. I got my inspiration to cook this dish from watching Junior Master Chef - it's such an easy dish to prepare plus chicken is really on top of my comfort food list. I didn't follow their version of the dish all the way since I don't have those fresh herbs and crustless sourdough bread so I simply improvised and revised, work with ingredients I have in in the kitchen. Here goes my version of Chicken Schnitzel with Buttered Mixed Vegetables.

Shakey's Monster Meal Graduation Dinner

Last March, two of my siblings graduated from Highschool. It was a great day for all of us, yey no more highschool student!!! After the graduation ceremony, we headed straight home and waited eagerly for Shakey's Monster meal I ordered 5 hours ago (I requested for a 7pm delivery). We were delighted to see the huge servings but was too disappointed when I found out the deliveryman didn't know about my mode of payment so he didn't bring that swipe machine. Well that's bad, I certainly did my part, noting online and thru phone about my preferred payment. I talked to their customer service beforehand and confirmed that I will be paying thru credit card- a disappointing service right there.  And so I paid cash... 

Shakey's monster meal deal

The meal was really good, it certainly satisfied 10 hungry stomachs and the graduates were happy as all food served right before us were what most people would think about comfort food. It certainly was  the most delish monster so far. I just hope the credit card issue won't happen again.

A Good Taste of Baguio

Prior to our Baguio trip, I researched online for cheap restaurants with good food. One consistent food establishment raking in great food reviews from locals and tourists is the Good Taste Cafe and Restaurant together with their best seller, the Garlic Buttered Chicken.