Pininyahang Manok (Pineapple Chicken)

April 10, 2019 amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone! If you’re looking for a fast and easy dinner meal that will have you out of the kitchen in no time, then I have some great news for you!

Tonight’s recipe is one very close to my heart. Besides the famous Chicken Adobo and Sinigang for days, Pininyahang Manok, or in English, Pineapple Chicken is one of those Filipino dishes that radiates the true meaning of Filipino comfort food. It is delicately flavoured with milk or cream, and pineapples, pulled together with simple pantry staples, finishing in less than 30 minutes cook time. Pair it with steamed rice and you have a chicken dish that the whole family is sure to love.

There are different variations on how the dish is prepared by individuals, mainly in using either fresh or canned pineapples. I like to use fresh pineapples for not only does it add a balanced flavour profile of sweetness and tartness, it also does not have that lasang lata* taste to the dish. Another variation would be the choice of milk used – fresh, evaporated, or coconut milk. Those who prefer a creamier texture use whipping or all-purpose cream. All produce the same results tweaked to their liking, so there is no right or wrong way in choosing your ingredient variations.

*For my non-Filipino followers, lasang lata means “canned” flavour. Some canned products for me have this weird taste that I can’t shake off, that it tastes like the can in which it was preserved.

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 20 MINS | SERVES 3

INGREDIENTS

3 pcs chicken whole legs, cut into 3
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium-sized carrot, peeled and sliced diagonally
1 red bird’s eye chilli (optional)
1 small red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 small red onion, halved then sliced
2 cups fresh (or canned) pineapple, cut into chunks**
1 cup fresh (or evaporated) milk
1/2 cup water
Handful of chopped spring onions
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

**If using canned pineapples, drain and discard the syrup if you don’t want your dish to be on the sweeter side. The fresh pineapples that I used for this recipe were a bit tart which I personally loved.

METHOD

Add about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to a medium-sized pan and heat over medium-high. Sauté the minced garlic until golden brown in colour and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then add in the onions, cooking until soft, about a further minute.
Add the chicken pieces and season with salt and ground black pepper. Stir occasionally and cook until the chicken pieces are lightly browned.
Lower down the heat and add the pineapple chunks and bird’s eye chilli for an extra kick of heat to the dish (optional). Stir then cover until the chicken is tender and has released its own juices, about 10 minutes. Add about half a cup of water if it gets too dry.
Add the sliced carrots and bell pepper strips. Taste and adjust the flavour to your liking. If it is too sweet, add a bit more water or balance it by adding a bit of fish sauce (if it isn’t already too salty for your taste buds). Cook for a further 5 minutes.
Make sure that you turn the heat down as low as you can so that your pineapple chicken is down to a very slow simmer before you add the milk in. Adding the milk when it is rapidly boiling will heat the milk too quickly and cause it to curdle and we don’t want that to happen!
Leave to simmer slowly, but not bring to a boil, for a further 5 minutes before taking it off the heat. Sprinkle with spring onions and serve immediately with steamed rice. Enjoy!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Banana & Blackberry Smoothie Bowl

March 28, 2018March 28, 2018 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! So my allergies have been acting up all day and usually dust triggers my constant sneezing, but I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary today to inhale a load of dust for this to happen. While I’m left clueless, I’m also left with a slight headache, fatigue, and quite possibly (but hopefully not) might end up with the flu when I wake up tomorrow morning, followed by a chain of bugs – a fever, a sore throat, and a terrible cough. On the other hand, sometimes I wake up feeling 120% better as if nothing happened. So I HOPE for the latter.

To be completely honest with everyone – I’ve never had a smoothie bowl until I started this series of mine. I’ve seen it all over social media back when it was the new ‘foodie’ trend and it always looked aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but I was a bit skeptic on the idea of using a spoon to eat my smoothie rather than using a conventional straw to drink it. I tried to wrap my head around the idea to imagine as if I was having a bowl of thick soup, but the thought of having cold soup soon consumed my mind and I didn’t like that thought. I just thought that it was weird for some reason, until I decided to try one out for my breakfast series on Amcarmen’s Kitchen and feel completely in love with them.

They are super EASY to make, as you may have seen in my previous posts, the take about a minimum of 5 minutes to put together. It allows you to get creative with your favourite toppings and this not only adds colour to your mornings or makes it look pretty, but it also adds texture to your smoothie. Furthermore, it’s a great way to slowly use up those chia seeds and pepitas lying on your pantry shelf just waiting to go out of date because you don’t know where else you can use them!

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME — | SERVES 1

INGREDIENTS

For the smoothie mixture

1 cup frozen blackberries
1/2 cup vanilla yoghurt
1/4 cup low-fat milk
1 large banana
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp chia seeds

Toppings

Bananas – loaded with essential vitamins and minerals such as potassium, calcium, manganese, magnesium, iron, folate, niacin, riboflavin, and B6
Blackberries – rich in vitamin A, B, C, E, K, as well as antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, and minerals such as sodium, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid
Chia Seeds – contains omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, antioxidants, iron, and calcium
Goji Berries – excellent source of antioxidants and nutrients that help boost the immune system and protect the body from high levels of inflammation
Pumpkin Seeds – contains magnesium, manganese, copper, protein, and zinc

METHOD

Blend the frozen blackberries, yoghurt, milk, banana, honey, and chia seeds until smooth.
Transfer to a bowl and top with sliced bananas, blackberries, chia seeds, goji berries, and pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

If you have yet to try out a smoothie bowl, then you should definitely try out this recipe for a Banana and Blackberry Smoothie Bowl. The great thing about this bowl was that I had everything on hand and didn’t need to buy extra ingredients for this bowl – except for the blackberries of course. We always have a bunch of bananas lying around in the kitchen, and well, we’ve had the chia seeds, pepitas, and goji berries lying around for a bit now.

Don’t forget that you are not limited to the choice of toppings mentioned above. Use whatever you have lying around so that you don’t have to go and spend extra money on the things that you don’t have. I’ve basically been doing the same thing since I started my Smoothie Bowl series at the beginning of the month!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Avocado & Spinach Smoothie Bowl

March 14, 2018 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! So yesterday my friend, who is visiting from New Zealand, and I went on a day-trip adventure to the pristine rainforest district of Brunei. We took a 45-minute boat ride from the city centre to the small town of Bangar in Temburong where we then travelled about 20 minutes by car to the Freme Rainforest Lodge where we had some local delights for our morning tea before setting off again on a 45-minute longboat ride to the Ulu National Park.

We climbed almost a thousand steps to get to the forest floor of the canopy walk, and then scaled a total of about 60m to the highest tower above the tallest trees of the luscious green rainforest. Even with multiple layers of sunblock, we were red from the scorching sun and we definitely worked our calves and derrières as we felt our legs shake when climbing back down to head to the mini waterfall for a nice cooling dip. The water was refreshingly blue but had fishes that weren’t afraid to nibble on you. They were the fish spa kind of fishes that really just wanted to nibble on your dead skin, but the fishes were much bigger that the little ones that you find at fish spas, so their bite was a little more scary.

After we cooled down, we headed back out on a longboat to the starting point of our kayak ride. On the way back down the crystal clear waters we spotted two freshwater crocodiles by the riverbanks – and apparently that didn’t seem to make us second guess our kayak ride back to the lodge. After our relaxing (or should I say, workout for our arms), kayak down the river, we got changed into dry clothes and had our late lunch. We were supposed to go zip-lining after but because it started to pour, we weren’t allowed to. Such a bummer though because apparently it hadn’t rained in Temburong for the past week, and it decided to as we were about to do our final activity before heading back to the main city. All-in-all it was a fun-filled day of nature and adventure – things that we both enjoy.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this little adventure for everyone before I dive right into tonight’s recipe for a lovely green smoothie bowl to match our little nature adventure from yesterday. You can switch out the low-fat milk to almond milk or coconut water, and the honey for agave nectar or maple syrup for a vegan alternative.

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME — | SERVES 1

INGREDIENTS

For the smoothie mixture

1 cup spinach leaves
1 cup low-fat milk
1 large banana
1 small avocado
1 tbsp honey

Toppings

Bananas – loaded with essential vitamins and minerals such as potassium, calcium, manganese, magnesium, iron, folate, niacin, riboflavin, and B6
Chia Seeds – contains omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, antioxidants, iron, and calcium
Goji Berries – excellent source of antioxidants and nutrients that help boost the immune system and protect the body from high levels of inflammation
Granola – contains vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients, including, but not limited to, dietary fibres, sodium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C & E, niacin, iron, and thiamin
Kiwis – loaded with vitamins and minerals such as Vitamins A, B6, B12, E, and potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium
Raspberries – good source of vitamin C, E, K, manganese, dietary fibre, copper pantothenic acid, biotin, magnesium, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, and potassium

METHOD

Blend the spinach, milk, banana, avocado, and honey until smooth.
Transfer to a bowl and top with the raspberries, kiwi slices, chia seeds, granola, goji berries, and banana slices. Enjoy for breakfast or a power-boosting afternoon snack!

As I have mentioned in last week’s post, whipping up a smoothie bowl is a great opportunity to get creative and top them with whatever you have lying around in your pantry and/or fridge. Top them with your favourite fruits, seeds, nuts, and grains!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Cornflake-crusted French Toast

October 22, 2015October 22, 2015 amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone! I’ve got another french toast recipe with a twist for you again today, but this time there will be no added milo to it. Instead we’re gonna crust our classic french toast with some cornflakes to give it that extra added crunch to an already soggy bread. I came across this idea a couple of months ago back in July when Symmetry Breakfast went viral. They posted a photo of some cornflake-crusted french toast and when I planned for Breakfast/Brunch Month for October, I knew I had to tackle a recipe for that!

I absolutely love their work! If you have been following my Instagram during that month, you would’ve seen that Jialing and I (and Edison) hopped on the #symmetrybreakfast bandwagon for the last remaining week that I was in Sydney. Actually, I might just share the photographs here since I don’t know if I will be posting them on the blog anytime other than now I guess (click on the individual images to view a larger version of them):

L-R: Homemade Charred Eggplant & Baby Octopus Shakshuka with Lebanese Bread; Blueberry & Passionfruit Cider | French Crêpes with a Honeyed Citrus Creamcheese Filling topped with a Mixed Berry Compte; Orange Sunrise Cocktail | Pea and Ham Soup with Stone-baked Pane di Casa and Strawberry & Lime Cider | Potato Hash Crusted Breakfast Quiche with Caramelised Onion, Chorizo, Spinach, and Sunnyside Up Egg with Mixed Leaf Salad and Garlic Butter Bread | Beer, Bacon, and Tater Soup (aka “Man Soup”) with Pane di Casa; Russian Earl Grey Tea | Fancy Filipino Hotsilog Brekky with Sweet Potato Hash Browns and Brekky Mocktails

I know, they’re not quite as symmetrical as the guys from Symmetry Breakfast (we tried to be creative with our symmetry/asymmetry lines), but it still gained a lot of views, likes (especially from Symmetry Breakfast), and new followers! Anyway, yes I realise that I have gone on a bit of a tangent, but I’m pretty sure you enjoyed those photographs (for those who have not seen them that is). So let’s get down to business shall we and get a move on to today’s recipe:

PREP TIME <5 MINS | COOKING TIME 8-12 MINS | SERVES 2-4*

*Depending if you want one or two slices of french toast per person; recipe is for 4 slices of bread

INGREDIENTS

1 & 1/2 cups of cornflakes, crushed
4 thick slices of bread
1/2 cup milk
1 large free range egg
1 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Optional:

Green Kiwi
Pineapple
Strawberries
Honey
Powdered sugar
Vanilla yoghurt

METHOD

Whisk the eggs together with the milk, sugar, spices, and vanilla extract in a bowl.
Dip both sides of a bread slice to soak up the wet mixture; do not soak it for too long. The dip the soaked sliced bread into the cornflake crumbs and coat.
Place the bread slice into the frying pan and cook until done, 2-3 minutes per side.
Once done, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up any excess oils. Repeat for the remaining bread slices.
Top with your favourite toppings, and/or serve with your choice of fruits for a fresh salad on the side. Enjoy!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Milo French Toast

October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone! Anyway, so it’s week 4 of Breakfast/Brunch month and this week I will be sharing with you my now-favourite french toast recipes. I say ‘now-favourite’ because this is the very first time I’ve attempted these recipes. I’ve had and made french toast before, but the recipes I’ll be sharing with you this week are beyond than that of the classic french toast – they got a certain twist to them that will make you fall in love with french toast all over again.

Today’s recipe is one that I came across on Facebook as I was scrolling through my newsfeed. BuzzFeed Australia posted a video recipe for Milo French Toast. If you love milo and fancy some french toast to go with that, then this recipe was made for you, only that, you get to combine milo together with your french toast – how cool is that? You can top them off simply with some butter and syrup, or you can make it a bit more interesting by topping them off with some of your favourite fruits – I topped mine with some strawberries, crushed pistachios, honey, and a bit of powdered sugar.

I remember growing up, even up until now, my mom would make a classic french toast for breakfast at least once a week. When I came across this recipe and talked to her about it, we decided to try it out. It was a great success in my opinion and I loved it, so did my Mom and sister Angela. Original video recipe can be found on BuzzFeed Australia‘s Facebook page.

PREP TIME <5 MINS | COOKING TIME 8-12 MINS | SERVES 2-4*

*Depending if you want one or two slices of french toast per person; recipe is for 4 slices of bread

INGREDIENTS

4 thick slices of bread
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup milo
1 large free range egg
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

Optional:

1 punnet (250g) strawberries, hulled then halved
Handful of pistachios, shelled and lightly crushed
Honey
Powered sugar

METHOD

Heat a bit of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium.
Combine the milo, milk, egg, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Mix until well combined.
Dip both sides of a bread slice to soak up the wet mixture; do not soak it for too long.
Place the soaked bread slice into the frying pan and cook until done, about 2-3 minutes per side.
Once done, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up any excess oils. Repeat for the remaining bread slices.
Serve up this Aussie twist on a French favourite with some honey and butter if you like, or with some fresh fruits and crushed nuts and enjoy!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Chicken Sopas

June 9, 2015January 12, 2019 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! I am now in the Sunshine State of Queensland where I spent the weekend at a family friend’s farm in the countryside of Cedar Vale, near Jimboomba. They have a lovely country home with about 4 acres of land, and an alpaca(!), a donkey, three goats, and six chickens. Today, my family and I caught the bus to the city of Brisbane where we will be staying for 2 nights before heading back to the country and then to the Gold Coast for a day. Anyway, it’s actually already late here, I mean past 11pm isn’t late, but I need to go to bed and start early tomorrow as we are spending the day at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary! Finally after 5 years in Australia, I get to cuddle a koala and feed kangaroos! So I’ll keep tonight’s post short so I can get as much z’s as I can.

Tonight’s recipe is a Filipino classic; a soup dish made of shredded boneless chicken, macaroni noodles, a bit of milk, and some vegetables to flavour the dish. This dish is actually common for breakfast or a snack time treat during cold and rainy seasons. The difference between a regular chicken soup and a chicken sopas is the use of milk, either fresh or evaporated for a richer flavour. Other meats besides chicken can be added to the dish, such as diced hotdogs or luncheon meat in some recipes, and also chicken liver. I think my Mom has made a sopas dish with chicken liver before; didn’t fancy it. Play with the ingredients if you wish – the pasta and vegetables may also vary so feel free to use the appropriate ingredients in which you desire!

Note: If anywhere you see ‘soaps’ instead of ‘sopas’, it’s not a typo, it’s autocorrect and I’m a bit tired to go through and change them if you see any beyond this point – it’s happened to the first two above and I managed to go back and change those; but otherwise Chicken Soaps sounds like an intriguing dish! Also, on the ingredients photograph, you will notice the chicken wings. We actually used chicken spare ribs in this recipe but my Mom was insistent on photographing the wings because it looked ‘prettier’ than the ribs.

PREP TIME 20 MINS | COOKING TIME 20 MINS | SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

500g chicken spare ribs, washed and cleaned
250g tri-colour shells
2 cups water
1 cup fresh milk
3 small red onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 small carrot, julienned
Half head cabbage, roughly chopped
Ground salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Heat oil in a large pot and sauté the garlic until golden brown. Add in the onions and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add in the chicken ribs, seasoning with salt and pepper. Give it a good mix and then let it cook for about 10 minutes, checking and mixing regularly to avoid the chicken meat sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Add in the water and bring it back to a boil. Once boiling, add in the shells and cook according to packet instructions, mine took about 10 minutes.
About 5-6 minutes into the 10, add the carrots and cabbage. Continue cooking until pasta is tender. Add in the milk and turn the heat off.
Serve hot and enjoy!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Homemade Soy Milk

May 5, 2015January 8, 2019 amcarmen11 Comments

Hello Everyone! I’ve got a few drinks that I want to cover on the blog for the next two weeks; simple but very tasty indeed! Today’s recipe is pretty straight forward, just plain regular soy milk, but definitely much richer than those that you find at the stores/markets because the ones I’ve bought are usually very watered down. By making your own soy milk as well, you ensure that no other extra ingredients go into them, especially sugar in my case (or more like in the case of my mom who is a diabetic).

Though it sounds very simple and the process doesn’t require a lot of skill, it requires a lot of time. Firstly having to soak the beans for a couple of hours until they are soft takes about 4-5 hours of waiting (the longer the better I guess). Then having to blend the beans with water and strain out the liquids using a muslin cloth, batch by batch; and then finally boiling it with the pandan leaves for about 30 minutes. Indeed simple, but can be time consuming. Whenever I make soy milk, I always needs another pair of hands in the kitchen and it’s usually my mom who does the straining while I do the blending.

PREP TIME 5 HOURS 30 MINS | COOKING TIME 30 MINS | SERVES 10-12

INGREDIENTS

1kg soybeans
5 pandan leaves
3 litres water

METHOD

Place the soybeans in a large bowl of water and soak for 4-5 hours or until the beans have doubled in size and have softened. Drain.
Working in batches, add about 2 cups of the softened soybeans into the blender together with about 3 cups of water. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
Pour out the mixture onto a muslin cloth placed over a large bowl. Strain and squeeze out as much of the liquids as possible. Transfer the remaining soybean pulp into another bowl.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the remaining soybeans.
Transfer the raw soy milk to a large cooking pot and together with the pandan leaves, boil of about 30 minutes. Stir the mixture at intervals to avoid the milk sticking to the bottom of the pot. Skim the top to get some of the foam off.
Add about a quarter cup of sugar if you wish (we usually add a teaspoon of sugar afterwards in our mug of soy milk), or flavour it up any way you want. Some flavouring suggestions include: chocolate, honey, vanilla, etc.
Drink and enjoy either hot or cold!

PS: Don’t throw the leftover bean pulp away! You can make your very own homemade tofu from it! Visit this the Food Network for more on how to make your own tofu.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx