Give nilaga a new twist

Hainanese chicken rice is one of our favorite dishes. There is a restaurant in a hotel in Hongkong, which would always be in our list of ‘must visits’ whenever we would be there, because they serve the best Hainanese chicken rice. This is simply a counter part of our own nilagang manok, enhanced and given a new twist. In this time when insufficient budget is always on a homemaker’s mind, Hainanese chicken rice is a cheap but complete meal that has soup, meat and vegetables.

To prepare the chicken rice, you need a large chicken weighing at least 1.5 kilos; 1 chicken cube; 1 stalk each of leeks and celery, cut small; peppercorns; 1 knob-sized ginger, cut in thin but broad slices; salt and ground pepper; 2 tablespoons of sesame oil; 2 tablespoons soy sauce. For the garnish – 1 carrot, thinly cut; 1 cucumber, also cut thinly; 1 egg slightly beaten; 1 small head of iceberg lettuce. Clean the chicken and let the water drip for a while. Boil the chicken in water enough to cover it, add the chicken cube, leeks, celery, peppercorns and ginger. Cook until fowl is tender. Take it out, and baste with soy sauce mixed with sesame oil. Do not discard the broth. Lay it into a bed made up of the vegetables. Continue boiling the broth, adding sesame oil and the egg, stirring well. It may be a good idea to skim off the fat prior to serving the soup. To make the dipping sauce, mix sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce and, as preferred, hot chili sauce.

Note that the price of chicken continues to be P118 per kilo, still much cheaper than if you were to serve steak for a Sunday lunch. The sesame oil is useful for many other dishes. Eggs retail at about P5 per. All together, Hainanese chicken rice is one of the most reasonably-priced dishes that you can make. And it is delicious!

Pan americano and Tasty were the sandwich loaves we grew up with, along with pan de sal and monay. A few years back, a brother came home lauding the new, delicious loaf bread he found in the supermarket – Gardenia. Now, the manufacturers have come up with new variants of the loaf bread, pan de sal, biscocho–type snack biscuits, as well as filled rolls. Conscious of the health concerns of their patrons, Gardenia Bakeries Philippines has launched an information campaign on folate, one of their essential ingredients. Folate is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin that naturally occurs in food. It has a lot of functions in the body, like aiding red blood cell formation, cell formation, and developing the nervous system of babies. Bread is not the only the source of folate. It is also found in asparagus, lettuce, spinach, calf’s liver, kangkong, saluyot, bananas and some other fruits.

For a healthy lunch, Gardenia suggests the following: a salad of fresh spinach with romaine lettuce, laced with low-fat salad dressing. For the main course, stir-fry a combination of dark green vegetables in garlic with a splash of sesame oil. Take this with the company’s folate-enriched classic white bread or pan de sal.

We were told that Pure Gold in Sta. Mesa Heights has some of the best puto in town. They come as very small, bite-sized balls. They are sold at P10 per, but our source says they are well worth the price. We will check this one out soon.

A friend just brought us a pitcher of tea made from tanglad (lemon grass). It is refreshing and does not have that woody taste normally found in the drink. All you need to do is boil the fresh leaves in water. You may choose to add lemon or honey before drinking.

We have become confused as to which we should believe between the two organizations rendering testing activities on contaminated milk and other foodstuff from China. Both the government arm in charge and a private establishment release a new list almost everyday. What strikes us as a bit odd is that in their respective lists, there are a few items where their findings conflict with each other. What do we believe? And, who is more qualified between them? We think there should be some sort of coordination, so that the consumers will be guided on what they can buy confidently.

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