Pork Belly Binagoongan

Pork binagoongan which means pork stewed in fermented micro shrimp paste called Bagoong, is one of my favorite dishes growing up but I've not made it often because I don't like the house smelling of fermented shrimps for days and days.

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Spaghetti With Mushrooms

I love mushrooms and the Asian grocery stores have lots of variety these days. I bought fresh shiitake, pearl oysters, something called bunapi, and white button. They are very good simply steamed in a banana leaf pocket and served with a sprinkle of sea salt and squirt of lemon, or sauteed in olive oil and served with steaks or baked chicken. I found a simple pasta recipe featuring mixed mushrooms. The only additional flavoring to the pasta dish is crispy fried prosciutto and chicken broth which I substituted with vegetable broth. I want the mushrooms to shine and I thought the chicken broth might overpower it. I love this simple yet packed with flavor pasta dish. 

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Sweet Pickled Eggs

I don't know why I never had pickled eggs before. I have an 18-piece package of quail eggs that were meant for making the Filipino deep fried bright orange battered egg snack called kwek kwek but changed my mind and pickled them instead. It's easy to prepare if you use sweet pickle liquid.

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Challah Bread Pudding

Last week I bought a loaf of challah at Trader's Joe although the crust is very pale unlike my homebaked. Although I already lowered my expectations, I was still disappointed for its lack of flavor. It also got moldy after 3 days. What a waste. I baked one loaf flavored with a little orange and lemon zests and vanilla extract. I cubed 4 thick slices and made bread pudding with golden raisins (sultanas). Drizzled with Hershey-style chocolate syrup or limoncello glaze, the pudding is delicious.

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