Gallo Pinto ( Costa Rican Rice & Beans )

Gallo Pinto is considered the national dish of Costa Rica. Gallo Pinto is served all throughout Latin America, though each country names it differently. Cubans call it "Congris" and in some parts of Nicaragua it is called " arroz y frijoles"- meaning "rice with black beans".  I had a chance to taste this Authentic Costa Rican dish when we stayed on a very quaint B&B in El, Valle - one of the highlands of Panama. The owner of the B&B place is  a Costa Rican and he served this delicious and hearty breakfast. He said Gallo Pinto means " spotted rooster" , I was expecting a meat but I was amazed to learned that it was actually "meat-free". It is a very tasty rice dish with beans, herbs and spices. I highly recommend this for you to try, it is super easy to prepare. For Asians like me, the cooking technique is like cooking fried rice.  Only, the spices are different.

Gallo Pinto ( Costa Rican Rice & Beans ) Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup white  rice
½ vegetable or chicken broth or knorr cubes
1 cup of black beans
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon  ground coriander
2 dried ancho chilie peppers ( remove seeds or substitute with bell peppers)
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
1 large onion (finely chopped)
3 cloves garlic ( minced)
1/3 cup cilantro ( finely chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Direction:

The Beans

• Soak beans for 8 hours. Refrigerate.
• After soaking, change the water and add 6 cups of water and bring to simmer for around 90 minutes. Check water once in a while. Check beans for doneness. You can do this step on pressure cooker or crock pot.
• Reserve beans with some of the water.

The Rice

• Cook rice with the dissolve broth cubes. ( I used 1 part ratio for rice and cooked in a rice cooker)
•  Refrigerate the cooked rice overnight.

Gallo Pinto

• Heat pan with vegetable oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Sauté for 5 minutes or until onion turns translucent.
• Add garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander and bell peppers. Sauté for another minute. Add more vegetable oil if necessary.
• Add the cooked rice and stir fry for 1 minute, breaking up any chunks.
• Once all the rice change color, add the cooked beans, starting with 1 cup. Make sure the ratio of beans will not over power the rice. Add 2-3 tablespoon of the bean water. Combine the rice and beans evenly and cook until mixture is heated through.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.
• For breakfast, serve this with scramble egg, fried plantains and chorizo.
• Enjoy and share!

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Pork Yakisoba Noodles

My husband loves stir fry meals.   It makes me happy, because there is nothing quicker than stir frying a Yakisoba dish. This Japanese meal is super-fast.  Make sure you have all your ingredients  prepped and ready to go. This recipe is where you can used your leftover meat, poultry or vegetables. You really can cook a meal within 5 minutes. Try it and you will see what I am talking about.

Ingredients.

1 pack of  fresh Chow Mein Noodles or Yakisoba noodles with 1 package of seasoning ( see note )
1 red pepper
1 clove of garlic
½ cup of snow peas
½ cup of sliced onion
2 tablespoon sesame oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Cooking Directions:

• Heat wok or pan with tablespoon of sesame oil. Stir fry pork for 2-3 minutes.Remove from pan and wipe the pan with paper towel.
• Re-heat wok or pan with half tablespoon of sesame oil. Stir fry vegetables for 2 minutes. Set aside. Again, wipe pan with paper towel.
• On the same wok or pan, heat remaining sesame oil. Add the noodles, stir fry for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoon of water. Add the 1 package seasoning that comes with the Yakisoba. Add pork and vegetables. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Note:  If you are using the dry Yakisoba noodles where in you need to boil in water first. Please follow directions on how to cook noodles found on the package.

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Spring Rolls ( Lumpiang Shanghai)

Lumpia is a traditional Filipino dish normally served as appetizer or side dish. It is considered the egg roll of Filipinos. The main ingredient for this recipe is ground pork mix with vegetables and spices, rolled in lumpia or spring roll wrapper. The Filipino cook this by deep frying in vegetable oil and serving with sweet and sour sauce. If you want to taste this out of this world spring rolls, i suggest that you have to attend a Filipino event or party, i bet Lumpia is one of their planned menu to serve.

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg small shrimps (minced)
• 1/2 kg ground pork
• 1/4 chopped green onions
• 1/4 chopped carrots
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of sesame oil
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• dash of salt & pepper
• 2-3 pkg. of Spring Roll Wrapper
• Vegetable oil for frying

Cooking Instructions:

• Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• Put 1-2 tablespoon of the mixture onto the spring roll wrapper.
• Seal the seam with water or egg wash.
• Deep fry on medium high heat until golden brown and meat is no longer pink.
• Drain in a paper towel and transfer into a serving tray.
• Serve with a Chili Sauce or Sweet and Sour Sauce. Enjoy!
  

Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 6 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch dissolve in 3 tbsp water

Cooking Instructions :

• In a small saucepan, mix all the first 6 ingredients.
• Bring the mixture to boil under medium high heat.
• Lower the heat and then ass dissolved cornstarch. Stir vigorously until thickened.
• Remove from heat and transfer to a sauce dish and serve. Enjoy!

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Corn Bread (Kenny Rogers Roasters Style)

Kenny Rogers' Corn Muffin brings me back memories in Manila. Kenny Rogers Roasters is known for the world's greatest wood-fired rotisserie chicken. It is really out of this world.Their chicken menu always includes various side dishes and of course this corn muffin. It is the best so far. The chicken, sides dishes and corn muffin makes your meal complete. I always refuse to leave the restaurant without a box of these corn muffins. It is simply the best, the taste I will always remember.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter ( room temperature )
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2  eggs ( room temperature )
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1-½ cups of all purpose flour ( i use unbleached flour)
3/4 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cup Milk ( room temperature )
3/4 cup fresh shredded corn ( 2 cobs of corn )
12 muffin cups

Cooking Directions :

• Pre-heat oven at 350°F.
• In a large mixing bowl,cream butter, sugar and honey. Add egg one at a time.
• In a separate mixing bowl , combine flour,cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Make sure that it is well incorporated. Mix dry ingredients to the cream mixture.
• Slowly add milk while mixing.
• Shred the corn using a sharp knife. Fold in the shredded fresh corn ( or frozen corn ) to the batter.

• Prepare 12 muffin cups. Pour about 2 tablespoon of batter to the muffin cups.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes clear when you insert it.
• Enjoy!

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