FISH BANH MI

One of my all time favorite sandwich. I make this sandwich often, i've experimented on various meat filling. Check out my other Banh Mi with pork HERE

Ingredients and "The Fixings"

Bahn Mi sandwich otherwise called French Bread- I buy mine at a Vietnamese Grocery store.
Pickled Carrot and Daikon Relish - recipe below
Fried Fish - I have Mahi Mahi fillets for this sandwich
A tablespoon of liver pate'
Romaine lettuce hearts
Pickled Jalapenos - optional
Cilantro
Mayonnaise- you can mix mayo w/ sriracha or sambal oelek if you want it spicy and hot.

CARROT AND DAIKON RELISH
INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups julienne daikon (1 medium daikon)

2 cups julienne carrot (2 large carrots)

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

1 teaspoon salt

Prodecure:

In a bowl, mix the teaspoon of salt, julienned daikon and carrots, squeeze all the liquid out from the daikon and carrot then set aside.

In a small bowl, mix vinegar, sugar, salt and water, stir until sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust.

Pour the vinegar mix over the daikon and carrots. Mix well and keep chilled.

***The relish can last up to 2 weeks in the ref.

***This is delicious as a side dish for any grilled or fried dishes, as a relish for a sandwich, or for lettuce wraps and many other dishes

CHOCOLATE BACON CUPCAKE WITH WALNUT CARAMEL SAUCE

I have been seeing this salty and sweet cupcake/cake combination on food TV shows and around the food "blogsphere". Bacon with sugar is not new to me though, a member of my in laws used to dip her bacon with sugar which i thought was weird at that time, i just couldn't imagine the taste.

Okay, okay i succomb to the temptation and made these cupcakes. It is surprisingly good. So, i brought some to work and didn't tell my co-workers that it had bacon, until they finished all the cupcakes.  They loved it, they wouldn't have thought that the hint of the saltiness was the bacon w/c worked well with the chocolate and the caramel.  I probably should have added more bacon to make the bacon distinct? nah...i don't think i will like it if i added more bacon bits.

The recipe for the chocolate cupcake was adapted from the book "Best Loved Hershey's Sweet and Sensational"- Chocolate Squares with Nutty Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
Y: 16 cupcakes
1 C sugar
3/4 C all purpose flour
1/2 C hersheys cocoa powder
1 /2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 C oil
3 eggs
1/4 C milk
1/2 t vanilla extract
12 pcs caramel candies
1/2 C milk (for caramel sauce)
1 C roasted walnuts or pecans
6 slices of bacon ( about 1 C bacon bits)
brown sugar for the bacon

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange bacon slices on a sheet pan, sprinkle brown sugar and bake until crispy.

Set aside and let it cool.

Roast walnuts or pecans in the oven for 10 minutes. Cool then chop finely. Set aside.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in mixer.

Add oil, eggs, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth.

Pour batter evenly into the cupcake liners.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely.

Remove wrappers from caramels. Combine caramels and milk in small saucepan.

Cook over low heat stirring occasionally until smooth and well blended.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of the cupcake then drizzle with caramel sauce.

SQUID ADOBO WITH COCONUT MILK (ADOBONG PUSIT SA GATA)

Ingredients:

1 lb. medium size squid

1/2 C white vinegar (Datu Puti Brand- Sugar Cane Vinegar)
1/4 C soy sauce
1 C coconut milk
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 stalks of green onions cut an inch size
1 bay leaf
2 Thai bird chili (optional)
Pinch of S&P

Wash and clean the squid thoroughly, removing the cuttle. Could be cooked whole or slice into rings.
Put squid in a pot with all the ingredients.
Cook over low heat until squid is tender.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serve hot with steamed rice.

***IT IS EASY TO OVER COOK SQUID AND END UP WITH A CHEWY/RUBBERY SQUID DISH, SO YOU EITHER COOK IT FOR FEW MINUTES OR LET IT COOK OVER 20 MINUTES.

ADOBONG BAKA SA GATA ( BEEF ADOBO WITH COCONUT MILK)

Adobo sa gata is another version of the famous Filipino Adobo. First tried this dish in San Pablo, Laguna. Never had this adobo version growing up, my mom always cooked the bisaya, Cebuano version ofcourse. Check the bisaya version HERE

3 lbs. cubed beef (chuck)
3/4 C white vinegar (Datu Puti is the brand i like, a Filipino vinegar made from sugar cane)
3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
2 pcs. bay leaves
1/2 T whole peppercorns

1 t each of ground pepper and salt
2 T fish sauce ( add 1 T first, taste then add the remaining fish sauce if needed)
1 can coconut milk ( 12 oz)
water if needed
**Vegetables (optional) but my mother-in-law always add vegetables to her adobo which i liked.
1 small green papaya or chayote, peeled and cubed
1 cup long beans cut about an inch size
1 large bell pepper ( i used red bell pepper) cubed.
1 piece of siling labuyo (Thai bird chili) optional

Season beef cubes with salt and pepper. Sear and brown the meat.
Combine the beef, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorn in a saucepan.
Bring mixture to a boil and simmer about an hour or until meat is tender. Add water if necessary.
Add papaya or chayote, let it simmer until papaya is almost tender, then add the rest of the vegetables.
Add 1 T of fish sauce, coconut milk and the Thai bird chili if you want your dish spicy, bring to a boil.
Taste and adjust, add the remaining tablespoon of the fish sauce if needed.
Served with steamed white rice.