What’s Cooking?
Crunchy Tofu Steak
I am a big fan of Japanese food. I fell in love with Japanese food when I first tasted a sushi roll. I told myself that I have to learn how to do it. And I simply did. I have learned to make California Maki. I used to hate sushi because I didn’t like the taste of wasabi, but I later started to like it and eventually fell in love with it. I am now so addicted to salmon sushi. Whenever we are in an international buffet, I never fail to miss the Japanese Cuisine. But, my husband is not a big fan of sushi. The only Japanese dish he wants is tempura. Sino ba naman ang aayaw sa tempura diba? 
But, I’m glad my officemates love to eat Japanese foods. We usually dine at Tempura Japanese Grill in Ayala during payday. During one of our visits, we ordered their Tofu Steak and loved it. It was crunchy outside and soft inside. I knew that it was easy to make, so I searched for the recipe and tried it at home. The result: A SUCCESS! My husband loved them and asked me to cook them again.
Here are the ingredients:
For the crunchy tofu, you will need:
Silken Japanese tofu, sliced (be careful in slicing the tofu because it is very soft)
Flour for dredging (season with salt and pepper)
1 egg, lightly beaten with 2 tbsp of milk
Japanese bread crumbs
Oil for frying
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup sake
- ¼ cup mirin
- 2 Tbsp light soy sauce (I used Kikkoman)
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil for sautéing
- 1 large white onion, sliced in rings
- 1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped green onions for garnish
Procedure:
- Drain tofu’s excess water in a paper towel.
- Carefully dredge the tofu in flour, then dip in egg, and coat with breadcrumbs.
- Deep fry until crisp and golden brown for 1-2 minutes. Set aside and arrange in a serving dish.
- To make the sauce, combine sake, mirin, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Set aside.
- In a frying pan, sauté the onions until transluscent. Add the soy sauce mixture and mix well. Add the dissolved cornstarch and let the mixture thicken slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the sauce on top of the fried tofu and garnish with the green onions. Serve immediately.
Note: The original recipe includes shitake mushrooms, but I omitted them because they are not available in my pantry during that time.
***This is an original post from my food blog. I am planning to transfer all my recipes from the food blog because I am having a difficulty maintaining 2 blogs.
Litratong Pinoy: Kayumanggi
Salamat at nagkaroon muli ako ng pagkakataon upang makalahok sa linggo-linggong challenge ng Litratong Pinoy.
Heto ang aking lahok para sa linggong ito na may tema na KAYUMANGGI.
Ito ang aking nilutong pansit noong isang araw para sa aking tanghalian. Nagustuhan ito ng aking mag-ama. 
Aking ilalathala ang paraan ng pagluto nito sa aking food blog.
Pandan-Flavored Panna Cotta with Mango Toppings
I love summer! But not the heat! It is simply because mangoes are widely available during this season. I’ve searched for various recipes using mangoes and I found this easy to prepare and mouth-watering dessert.
I’ve found this untraditional panna cotta recipe online and added mangoes for a twist. The combination of yellow from mango and green from the gelatin is quite appetizing. I have no idea what would be the taste of replacing cream with coconut cream to make the panna cotta, and guess what, the result was wonderful. It tastes so good. Love it! Take note: since I used coconut cream, it has less fat and less calories. Thus, there’s no need for me to take phentermine diet pill.
Try it!
Ingredients:
2 packs 90-g green-colored gelatin
400 ml water
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp pandan flavoring
400 ml coconut cream (first extract)
1 cup diced mangoes
Procedure:
In a pan, dissolve the gelatin and sugar with water. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until dissolved.
Add the coconut milk and pandan flavoring. Cook until the mixture starts to simmer.
Pour the gelatin in molds and allow to set. Chill.
To serve, top with mangoes.
So easy! In about 10 minutes, a new dessert will be served!
Chocolate-Coffee Panna Cotta in Chocolate Syrup
I both love coffee and dark chocolates. I wander if I could combine them in one recipe. And guess what I’ve came up: My Coffee-Chocolate Panna cotta in Chocolate Sauce.
I’ve tried cooking panna cotta in strawberry sauce years ago and it was a hit. Now, I have tried combining two of my favorite foods in a single dish. Oh boy, it was sinfully delicious! The taste of the coffee and chocolate is perfectly combined. Not so sweet. I think I’ll be needing the best weight loss supplements to prevent me for gaining more weight because I’m back to my cooking sessions! Yahoo!!! I missed this!
So here are the ingredients:
2 90-g packs of unflavored gelatin (not unsweetened)
2 tbsp sugar (divided)
1 tbsp of strong instant coffee
1 bar of dark chocolate, chopped (I used Meiji)
400 ml of milk mixed with 400 ml of cream (divide into two)
100 ml of cream
½ bar of dark chocolate
Molders (I used ramekins)
Procedure:
Pour the contents of 1 packet of gelatin into a pan. Add the milk-cream mixture and 1 tbsp sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the gelatin and coffee are completely dissolved without allowing the mixture to boil.
Pour the coffee panna cotta into molds. Allow to set for about 3 minutes.
NOTE: Do not allow the coffee panna cotta to settle firmly because it won’t mold with the next layer (just like I did). :) But, still, it tastes sinfully good!
Repeat the same procedure but replacing the coffee with dark chocolate. Pour the chocolate panna cotta into molds. Allow to set for about 5 minutes.
To serve, invert the panna cotta in a serving plate and drizzle with the chocolate syrup. Chilling is recommended.
Here’s how to make the chocolate syrup:
Pour 100 ml cream and the remaining chocolate in a pan. Cook over medium heat with constant stirring until the chocolate is melted.
Enjoy!
