A busy kitchen
Posted by: Fats in: Takaw at Sursur!Been quite busy in the kitchen lately. Since I started feeling better, I’ve been doing more cooking, which is something that I can quite enjoy. Just now, I’ve finished making two bottles of pickled onions, following instructions from the BBC’s H2G2 website (and so I just learned that pickled onions are an English Pub staple!). Below, I’ve posted the H2G2’s basic recipe for making pickled onions. In my case, I used local black vinegar (sugarcane vinegar with caramel) and my own pickling spices consisting of: black peppercorns, cinnamon bark, crushed garlic, dried oregano, star anise, ginger. Apart from red onions, I included a few baby cucumbers, garlic, and red chilli peppers. I hope everything turns out okay! 
Also below are some of my own meal recipes. The meal usually consists of a viand, a vegetable side dish, and a staple of either rice, noodles or potatoes, and of course, fruit juice. The liver and bacon dish is an improvisation made by by partner, something he often calls kitchen sink cooking (that it, he throws everything he can find into the pot, including the kitchen sink).
I look forward to having the pickled onions with our meals next time! 
Generally, what I try to do is balance the meal - if we are having pork, then I try to include more vegetables and those things that “cut the fat” such as raw garlic.
Later, I will post my chicken recipes. Chicken is considerably cheaper than beef or pork; I could get chicken thigh bottoms at around 10 pesos each. Beef is very expensive and I do have a bit of difficulty cooking them because they are always so tough, so usually my partner uses them in his slow cooker meals. I like pork, it is cheaper than beef, easy to cook and tastes nice but not very healthy.
I like shellfish and seafood a lot but they are so bloody expensive! Also, my partner doesn’t like fish very much. I once cooked a malaga fish in water with onion, tomatoes and a bit of salt. The soup tasted really nice but my partner has a bit of difficulty eating fish especially since here we cook the fish whole (with the head, tail, fins). Maybe one time I’ll get fish filet instead - rather expensive, but it could be nice. I still don’t really know how to cook fish other than frying or in onion and tomato soup.
Anyway, below are some of my recipes. Very sketchy, but I never really measure anything precisely and tend to be quite spontaneous with cooking.
Enjoy!
Meal A
Pork ribs, marinate overnight in:
Crushed garlic
Cayenne powder
Chicken Soy Marinade (Lee Kum Kee)
Then cook in a wok with a enough water to cover half of meat. Let evaporate.
Then add a bit of oil and stir-fry.
Turn off heat and throw in:
Red chilli peppers (chopped finely)
Garlic (chopped finely)
Onions (chopped finely)
Leeks (chopped finely)
Garnish with parsley
Safoco Fine or Broad Vegetable Noodles (Vietnam), boil quickly in water with:
Salt
Then drain and mix with:
Sesame oil
Sage (dry)
Marjoram (dry)
Crushed black pepper
Garlic (sliced)
Sliced tomatoes
Serve on plate and while still hot, sprinkle with grated:
Cheese (Mainland Vintage mature sharp cheddar)
Meal B
Liver and Bacon, sliced into strips
Fry in a bit of vegetable oil, then add
Stock made of:
Water
Salt
Soy Sauce (Sinsin)
Cayenne powder
Java sauce
Wasabe powder
Bring to a boil, then add sliced:
Red bell peppers
Green bell peppers
Tomatoes
Celery
Leeks
Potatoes (sliced into wedges, unpeeled) boil in water with:
Salt
Drain potatoes and transfer to wok and stir-fry with:
Sesame oil
Green bell pepper (chopped finely)
Turn off heat and add:
Sage (dry)
Marjoram (dry)
Rosemary (dry)
Crushed black pepper
Garlic (sliced)
Serve on plate and while still hot, sprinkle with grated:
Cheese (Mainland Vintage mature sharp cheddar)
Serve with sliced lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes
Side vegetable dish:
Spinach, boil in water with:
Red Chilli peppers (chopped finely)
Salt
Butter
—–
Soup
Pork or beef stock, boil with:
Salt
Spinach
Celery (chopped)
Tamarind paste (Pantainorasingh, Thailand)
Pork or beef stock, boil with:
Salt
Spinach
Celery (chopped)
Hot and Sour Soup Mix (Tomyum Paste)
Or use sliced cabbage instead of spinach
—-
Instead of noodles or potatoes, serve viands with
White or brown rice, boiled
Or stir fry cooked rice with:
Vegetable oil
Garlic, crushed
Green chilli peppers, sliced
Roasted salted peanuts
Saffron or Kasuba
Garnish with parsley
Serve with fruit juice (Orange, apple, or grape)
When available/in season, best fruit juice is guyabano (soursop) or guava
Pickled onion recipe from the BBC’s H2G2.
How to Make Perfect Pickled Onions
Pickling is the name given to the technique of preserving food by the use of vinegar. Many vegetables and fruits can be pickled, but this recipe is devoted to the humble onion.
Know Your Onions
There are many onions available throughout the year including Spanish and red varieties, but the two most commonly used for pickling are shallots and pickling or ‘baby’ onions. The reason for this is simple. They need to be able to fit into a jar.
Although now seen in the marketplace throughout the year, autumn (in the UK) is still the prime time for purchasing the best and cheapest crop. Try to choose onions which are firm with unbroken skins; shallots should not have too much ‘growth’ shoot showing as this usually means they are past their best.
Five kilograms of onions should make about ten regular jars of pickles. Any vinegar can be used although the best flavours tend to come from malt or spiced rather than white or clear.
Pick Your Pots and Pans
Because the vinegar used is acetic acid, care should be taken when selecting the correct pan to use. Aluminium is best, followed by unchipped enamel, but never use iron, copper or brass as these will cause an unwanted metallurgic reaction with the vinegar. Some find a pressure cooker to be the ideal pan, especially when making a large batch.
Any jar can be used but should be thoroughly cleaned, dried and, if being filled warm, placed in the bottom of a very low-heat oven. If you live near a fish and chip shop and ask nicely, they are quite often pleased to give you their finished pickled egg jars. Some more unscrupulous owners may sell them. If not, it is a good way to use all those emptied mayonnaise, chutney or ready-mix sauce jars which form the basis of modern refuse.
If you have inherited granny’s Kilner jars even better, but check that the seals are intact and the glass is unbroken.
If the jars you intend to use have screw lids you have no worries - just make sure that the contents of the jar do not reach as far as the lid or protect the metal by using greaseproof or waxed paper. If the lids are missing, don’t panic. You can still buy jar covers complete with greaseproof paper and elastic bands. Though not ideal for long storage, they certainly do the trick.
Requirements
Apart from the onions you will need:
* At least half a kilogram of salt
* Two litres of malt vinegar
* 125 grams of pickling spice
* 50 grams of root ginger
* One small piece of cinnamon stick
* One bay leaf
* Assorted spiced and flavoured vinegars (optional)
Basic Method
1. Allow plenty of time! A crisp, crunchy pickled onion needs all liquid added to be cold. Spread the task over two or three days.
2. First make some brine. Take one litre of water and boil it with half a kilo of salt until the salt has dissolved. Put this aside until the mixture is completely cold.
3. Peel the onions or shallots. Use a very sharp, stainless steel knife to prevent discoloration and remove the skins underwater to save your tears. If the onions are very strong try popping a cube of bread into your mouth.
4. Submerge the peeled onions in the cold brine. Don’t worry if some of the salt has separated itself, just spoon it over the top. Weigh down the onions to make sure they are all covered - a round washing-up bowl with a frying pan lid and a few large books will do the trick.
5. Leave for at least 24 hours to allow the brine water to penetrate the onions and remove some of their moisture.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the vinegar. Take a muslin cloth or clean cotton handkerchief and place the pickling spices, ginger, cinnamon stick and bay leaf inside. Close the cloth with string and tie around a wooden spoon so that you can stop it from sinking too far.
7. Put the malt vinegar into the pan, add two small, peeled onions, a tablespoon of salt and the spice parcel. Bring the vinegar to the boil and boil for five minutes. A word of advice here - the boiling vinegar does not only smell quite strong it also removes oxygen from the air, so make sure that you open windows or doors and take care if you suffer from asthma.
8. After five minutes, turn off the heat, take out the spice bag and put the vinegar somewhere to cool (but not in the fridge!). One advantage of preparing this in the autumn is that it can safely stay outside overnight if covered.
9. Rinse the onions well and pack into the jars. Pour over the cold vinegar so that all the onions are covered but take care not to overfill the jar if using screw tops. Seal and place in a cool place. If possible leave for at least a week before eating.
Variations
If you prefer your pickled onions to be soft then pour the vinegar while still hot. Remember to warm the jars in the oven first, or they may shatter.
Experiment!
There are many wonderful specialist vinegars available. Try combining the basic brew with these and create your own flavours. Use about 50/50 for a strong flavour or 25/75 for a more subtle one. Some ideas include tarragon, cider, white, red, and, for a sweet and sour effect, raspberry.
