Fresh Pick: Asugon (Barracuda)

Photo below is a Guinean Barracuda, one of the more timid kinds of barracuda, it comes in many names depending on the local you're in here in the Philippines, here in Navotas and I guess, mostly in Tagalog region, it is called Asugon. The asugon on the pic below measured up to 4ft in length, I have no idea, how much it weigh, I was just astonished to see (well not really, I grew up seeing huge fishes) how big it was so I asked my tatay to put a meter beside it, to illustrate how long it is, and took the shot. I have other shots, but I just can't post it the right way, I don't know why :(


My tatay cooked it in two ways - he sliced and fried the body (first) while he cooked the head and tail part plus the egg (and other whatnots) in sour broth (second). Before you question my pop's food preference, let me tell you a side story, he used to work as a chief cook in a cargo ship before he retired, and most of his co-workers during his years of work were Japs nationals, so his quirky palette sort of came from that.



No recipes from me, not a fan of fish and I don't think, I'll ever be :p

Fettuccine with Ham, Corn and Peas

I wasn't able to join the celebration at Presto Pasta Nights last week, boo for me! But, I am super proud to take part in one of the longest running food meme, I may not be a regular contributor but I love it no less. I'll let you in on a secret, with my love of pasta, I think I was Italian in my past life *grins*.

This week's pasta feast is hosted by Debbie of Debbie Does Dinner, if you're craving for more pasta recipes, go and visit her for the round-up on Friday.


Ingredients:

• fettuccine noodles
• corn kernels
  
• green peas
• sliced ham, cut into square bits
  
• evaporated milk
• all-purpose cream
• butter
• olive oil (any kind will do)
  
• ground black pepper
• salt
• dried basil leaves

Procedures:

• Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Set aside.
• Heat a bit of oil before melting the butter slab, that would prevent it from burning.
• Put the ham in, roll the pieces in butter for a while until it sizzles. Add the green peas and corn kernels and saute.
• Pour the evaporated milk and stir. Pour the all-purpose cream and stir a bit more thus preventing the sauce from sticking to the pan. Lower the heat down and let it simmer for three minutes.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper, try it out and do the necessary adjustments. Bring to a boil.
• Toss the fettuccine noodles in, sprinkle it with some dried basil leaves and mix until all the noodles are coated with the sauce.
• Let it cool for a few minutes and serve. (The sauce tends to thicken while it cools, the logic behind the let it cool phrase *grins*)

Try it and do tell me what you think, okie?

Dried Squid

Last Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) marked the beginning of the Lenten season, the coming long weekend this summer, parade of flagellants, and no-meat Fridays. So here's a simple way to stock on your seafood without the need for a refrigerator *wink*.

cooked/fried dried squid

clean and cut fresh squid

a closer view

air dried and done (don't mind the itty-bitty ants :D)

Ingredients:

• Squid (the bigger the better, it kind of shrinks when it dries and shrink a little more when you fry it)

Procedures:

• Cut the squid vertically in the middle and open it up, clean it thoroughly, taking off its whole digestive system (intestine, ink socket, etc.), and if you're feeding picky folks, I suggest cutting off the eyes, too (that's what we usually do).
• Lay it flat on a drying board and let it stay for a day or two, depending on the weather and humidity.
• It'll turn hard and purple-y brown in color and will smell a little, but that is its charm *lol*.
• Fry the dried squid and serve. Best paired with spicy vinegar dip.
  

Have a pleasant Friday!


An entry to:

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Ham Sandwich (My Way)

I think, this will be the last time I post something about Christmas left-over ham, hahaha, we've finally consumed all of it :)

You know what I did, I sliced the fiesta ham into thin slices like that of the regular ham and stored it in a sealed-in canister so that everyone who wants to grab a bite can just do so without all that fuzz. And it works, the ham was gone faster than me cooking pancakes, hahaha.

Photo below was the ham sandwich I made last I ate the left-over ham, we have some lettuce in the house, so I just put some mayo on a pair of white bread (have I mentioned that I love mayonnaise?), layer the some lettuce leaves, another dash of mayo, and fried ham.

Yummy!



Another non-recipe, maybe next time :)

Tikoy Ube (Chinese New Year's Cake)

Not a recipe but I still cooked it, so it still belong, hurhur.



All you need is a box of Tikoy or Nian Gao, in any color or flavor, I used Ube (purple yam), slice to your preferred thickness, dip in a bowl of beaten egg and fry until the tikoy turns soft and sticky again or until the egg coating browns. You can eat and serve it as it is or you can have some sugar dip. Good for afternoon snacks or after dinner treat :)