Lacquered salmon and lemon chicken

Those were two of the dishes shared by executive chef and restaurant chain owner Vicky Rose Pacheco with a group of homemakers who attended the eighth in a series of monthly Saturday cooking demonstrations at the Maya Culinary Arts Center in Makati City. The selection she presented was tagged “No Borders Cuisine,” meaning they can be done with not much fuss, with ease and little time.

From her recipes we deduced that the lady chef is partial to rock/sea salt, to using green lemon (dayap) instead of the usual calamansi and the Yamasa brand of soy sauce for its mild flavor. We will follow and perhaps achieve the results that she had that day.

They were all tasty, especially the pizza, labelled Salbacho, composed of salami, bacon and chorizo. We used to make our pizzas simply with tomato sauce spread on the crust. But Vicky makes a base of pistou (the French version of the Italian pesto sauce) and her original tomato-based Napolitaine sauce. She advises that we buy the crust for more convenience. It is then topped with pieces of the cold cuts, mozzarella cheese, and freshly chopped basil leaves, plus a drizzling of olive oil. A pinch of sea salt can be added. A very flavorful pizza.

The Lacquered Salmon got its name from the use of muscovado sugar and the sheen of red wine, producing a solid brown hue when this sauce is spread on the salmon. Lacquered sauce is made from ginger, soy sauce, wine, mirin, sugar and green lemon juice. Pour the lacquered sauce on the salmon fillets, which have been half cooked in a toaster oven. Broil the salmon until top is shiny. Transfer to a serving tray and garnish with blanched asparagus, roasted cherry tomatoes and smashed potato.

Now how does one produce smashed potato? Have a boiled medium-size potato, put it under the bottom of a casserole and smash it. Then fry until crusty.

The Lemon Chicken is not done by simply seasoning and frying. The preferable part is the leg extending to the thigh, which must be deboned. It is marinated in lime juice, chopped ginger and garlic, rock salt and kept in the ref for at least two hours or overnight, not exceeding 24 hours. They should be deep-fried when ready to serve.

Make the sauce using lime juice, Yamasa soy sauce, chicken stock, honey and Maya cornstarch. This is poured on the chicken at the last stage of cooking, careful not to burn it. It will be ideal to serve this with garlic rice.

That was half a day well spent in the Maya Kitchen. Note that Maya has been in the production of flour and various baking and cooking products for 50 years, each one marked by innovation and research. Their original hot cake mix is a staple in our kitchen. They have oven-toaster mixes, like banana cake, a “Think Heart” collection of cholesterol-free whole wheat carrot cake mix, chocolate fudge brownie mix plus the new champorado. Do not forget their all-purpose flour. A delicious snack can then be produced in one’s own home with any of the Maya offerings. No fuss, no hassle, not much expense.

There is a cookware that is supposed to do sinigang without water. This we have to see. There is a planned demo sometime this week. We will go to this one, find out how and will pass on the information/technique.

Cook your way into the hearts of your family.

E-mail me at [email protected].