Jap Chae

My love for everything Korean hasn't diminished one bit specially food. One of my favorites is Jap Chae, a noodle dish made with sweet potato and cornstarch glass noodles, vegetables, and strips of beef steak simply seasoned with soy sauce, salt, sugar and roasted sesame seed oil. I have made this noodle dish many many times before and I haven't gotten tired of it. It's so delicious just like Korean dramas, movies, and music too. 

Read more »

Fish Ube Jam

You must be wondering why the sweet haleyang ube (purple yam jam) is shaped like a fish. As a small child I used to wonder too as to why this favorite dessert is shaped as such but only during our town's annual festival celebration in honor of its patron saint. The haleya could have been shaped into a large gumamela or kalachuchi but no, year after year I saw a fish haleyang ube not just in our house but the neighbors' too. I'm guessing it has a religious meaning, that is, it's the symbol of Jesus Christ.

Read more »

Cheese Corn Puffs

I love cheesy corn snacks like Cheetos, Chiz Curls, and specially Pirate's Booty which I don't see very often in the grocery stores near my house. They are messy to eat and the cheese coating stick to fingers but I love to lick it anyway. Being a copycat, I bought  package of puffed corn, baked them on low heat for 10 minutes until crispy then mixed with melted butter and oil before sprinkling with cheddar cheese powder. I think I prefer these than the store-bought because they are not as salty.

Read more »

Wilted Lettuce Salad

wilted lettuce salad topped with crispy Spanish chorizo

After a few days of non-stop rain, there was an abundance of butter lettuce in my garden pots. I planted only 4 tiny plants and regularly clip the leaves for salad, never uprooting them and more leaves come out after cutting either from the outside or the whole bunch 2 inches from where the leaves come out. This is the first time I planted lettuce and I never knew they yield salad greens all season long. 

Read more »