Manong Ken’s Carinderia

Non-Filipinos might find this weird. We basically put anything in our scrambled eggs. Or maybe that’s just me.

So, this is what I had for lunch today. Very easy to do. I just sliced a hotdog into pieces, sauteed them in oil and some green onions, then added three eggs … Then scrambled until it was done.

Taken with my iPhone, edited in the free Photoshop app, then uploaded and entry written through the Wordpress app.

Suweet!

When you think you can’t improve this time tested recipe … you’re wrong. Here’s my roommate’s version of chicken adobo.

Prepare ingredients of the adobo – for example – this one from the former Governor of Hawaii, Benjamin Cayetano:

3 pounds chicken thighs, cut into serving pieces
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon peppercorns, crushed
1 teaspoon brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, crushed
3 bay leaves
Salt to taste

However, for this twisted recipe … use cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.

Now, before making the adobo, brown the chicken first in oil then combine all ingredients in a pan, cover, and allow to marinate one to three hours.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and allow to simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the chicken is lightly brown.

Now the twist – separate the liquid from the chicken pieces and serve the juices separately in a serving dish (see photo). You then dribble the juice on the meat before eating.

This way, you can be creative in garnishing the usually brown, sometimes unappealing to the eyes dish.

Here’s a great variation of the Philippine equivalent of ceviche – kinilaw! For this, we used scallops and fresh rainbow trout. We just basically marinaded them in lime juice and a little bit of lemon juice. (In the Philippines, we used to make this with coconut wine vinegar and calamansi juice.). You can also add coconut milk if you like.

Let it stand for at least two hours in the refrigerator for the acid to cook the fish/shell fish. Mix with chopped cilantro and red bell pepper before serving. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with avocado slices.

Great pulutan for San Miguel Beer (or any other beer for that matter).