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All posts for the month March, 2014

A Mental Trip To Hawaii :)

Posted by imogenkin on March 24, 2014
Posted in: Daily Life, Food, Photography, Travel. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Since it’s summer, I am taking myself to a mental vacation to Hawaii by cooking something I miss from the island. And that is the Chicken Katsu! 🙂 Although Katsu is Japanese by origin, it is also considered one of Hawaii’s staple food (aside from Spam hihi). There is also a known food chain there that serves one of the best katsu in town: L&L Hawaiian Barbecue whose katsu I’m gonna try to copy today. whew!

The sauce can make or break the dish. As far as I know, L&L has the best katsu sauce I’ve tried. What I did is I made the sauce first, then chilled it before prepping the chicken.

Ingredients for sauce:
1/4 cup worstershire sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cornstarch
garlic powder

Just mix all together except corstarch then bring to a boil. After that, mix in cornstanch then boil again stirring occasionally. Once sauce thickens, place it in a bowl then chill.

For the chicken batter:
1 egg
1/4 cup cornstarch
garlic powder
salt and pepper
panko bread crumbs

Whisk ingredients together then dip chicken in it, then into bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown. Serve with chilled sauce.

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Just few steps and you'll have a taste of Hawaii for lunch! Enjoy it with rice and some macaroni salad! 🙂

And to complete the mental trip, here's a little throwback! hehe This is me bodyboarding in Kailua Beach in Hawaii back in 2010. Good times! 🙂

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Rosemary Chicken Recipe

Posted by imogenkin on March 17, 2014
Posted in: Daily Life, Food, Photography. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

I think March is becoming chicken breast month in terms of cooking nyaha. Today I tried Rosemary Chicken with Orange – Maple Glaze. Hilig ko sa mga mahabang pangalan ng pagkain nyaha

Ingredients:
1/4 chicken breast
Rosemary (whole)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup maple syrup
olive oil and butter

Mix in rosemary, salt and pepper and run into the chicken. In a pan, bring white wine and orange juice to a boil. Lower the heat then add in maple syrup and bring to another low boil until the sauce thickens. While doing that, fry chicken breasts in butter and olive oil. When lightly brown, mix in the sauce then let it simmer until sauce turns into a glaze. Serve with rice! Very easy, you have a good, healthy meal in less than 30 minutes! 🙂

Finished product:

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Another Chicken Meal

Posted by imogenkin on March 10, 2014
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Decided to cook again today to maximize my 3-day off. 🙂 My choice of meat is, again, chicken breasts. And guess what I made today? Yes, Chicken Cordon Bleu with creamy mushroom sauce.

As opposed to what others think that it is tedious to make cordon bleu, it’s actually not as hard as it seems. And no, you don’t always need to bake them.

Ingredients:
1/4 chicken breasts
sliced cooked ham
cheese
egg
dry bread crumbs
salt and pepper

For the sauce:
olive oil
canned mushroom
all purpose cream
evaporated milk
garlic powder
salt
butter

Steps:
Lay chicken breasts flat on a clean surface. Put ham and cheese on top then roll chicken and secure with a toothpick if needed. In a bowl, beat an egg then add salt and pepper. Place bread crumbs on a separate bowl as well. In a pan, heat some oil for frying. When ready, dip rolls into the egg mixture then into the breadcrumbs. Fry till golden or till chicken is cooked all the way through.

For the sauce, toss mushroom in olive oil. Let it simmer for 2 minutes then season with salt, garlic powder and some butter. Then slowly add all purpose cream and evaporated milk. Let it simmer for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.

Cut cooked rolls and top with mushroom sauce. Serve with rice and buttered mixed veggies. Voila! There’s your chicken cordon bleu! Serves 3. 🙂

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Happy eating! 🙂

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The CaliBurger Hype

Posted by imogenkin on March 9, 2014
Posted in: Daily Life, Food, Photography, Travel. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

When CaliBurger opened in the Philippines few months ago, foodies went crazy creating a hype that got me curious. Add to that, every good looking photo of their burgers and fries that I see on Instagram on a daily basis. But aside from that, I have also heard not so good reviews about this burger joint. Since I got to try it today, I now know that it’s just all hype.

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I have thought of my food carefully. I didn’t want the Double Burger because I wanted to equally enjoy the fries. So, I ordered Combo B (P325): that’s a cheeseburger with fries and soda. Then I upgraded it to Wild Fries for an additional P100. Yes, that is P425 for this meal for 1 person.

But maybe the price gets justified, I thought to myself, if it tastes really good. So I took the first bite of the burger and I went “okay” in my head. Then another bite hoping it would taste better. But sadly, I was able to finish it without the “wow” factor I was hoping for. Beef patty is juicy but a bit bland. It lacks sauce but I like how everything in it looked fresh.

The Wild Fries is good, on the other hand. It’s not on the displayed menu though, so you need to request for it. I also like how it is topped with cheese and their special Cali Sauce. The fries to cheese / sauce proportion is kinda off though. And I think it’s pricy that you need to add P100 for it. Actually, I think the whole meal is pricy (and I have broad uderstanding of pricy and acceptable when it comes to food).

So, the verdict? Will I go back again? Yes, but only if it’s free haha Kidding aside, I am not closing my doors. I can consider trying it again maybe when they have new items on their menu and if they will lower their price a little :/ That’s a burger meal for almost P500. And I think I can get the same or maybe a better burger in other joints for less than that price. I don’t know, let’s just say that I have a CaliBurger in my hand and I am thinking about Wendy’s Bacon Cheeseburger in pretzel bun. What’s wrong with me??

Food: 2.8/5
Price: 2/5
Location: 3/5
Ambience: 4/5 nice, vibrant interiors
Wifi: Yes but limited access

CaliBurger
4th Floor Century City Mall
Kalayaan Ave. Makati City

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Citrus Garlic Chicken Plate Lunch

Posted by imogenkin on March 2, 2014
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I can consider myself as a master of the kitchen if we are talking about eating. haha But in terms of cooking? Not. I don’t cook, I don’t merely cook rice hehe. It’s not that I can’t, I just don’t want to. I believe I know things in theory though. So since I have this morning vacant, I decided to cook lunch at home. Let me share to you how I made this Citrus Garlic Chicken which is really easy and a no-brainer for kitchen experts. I think it has 1/5 level of difficulty. haha

Ingredients:
2 medium chicken breasts (fillet)
1/2 large orange fruit
1/2 medium lemon
1/4 garlic clove
salt and pepper
olive oil

What to do?:
1. Place chicken breasts in a container. 2. Squeeze in the lemon and orange then add mashed and minced garlic.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Marinate chicken for about 20 minutes.
5. Once done, heat some olive oil in a pan.
6. Fry chicken in low heat until golden brown.

Voila! Six easy steps and you have your tasty chicken! 🙂 Serve with rice and macaroni salad for a plate lunch effect.

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Fun fact: A “plate lunch” is a Hawaiian meal which consists of white rice, macaroni salad and an entree.

Happy eating! 🙂

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