Yoji and the Foodies

I’m not a big fan of minced garlic or powdered garlic in a bottle because they just don’t taste fresh. That changed when I got hold of Lee Kum Kee freshly minced garlic.

The easiest dish to cook to “break in” this minced garlic is Chicken & Pork Adobo.

Kikkoman Soy sauce + Lee Kum Kee garlic seem to be a perfect match

Minced garlic – up close

Don’t forget the peppercorn

Slow cooking

Saute & Fry

Chicken  Adobo

Pork Adobo

My adobo tastes even better with the minced garlic. I’m so thrilled!

I had expressed my disappointment with Razon’s food in my previous entry, but I raved about the exquisite taste of the halo-halo. It is the only reason we keep coming back to the place despite the ridiculously high price. For the 2nd appearance at the SM Center Las Pinas branch, the only intent was to eat halo-halo. Of course, that’s even more ridiculous than the exorbitant pricing. No one can resist the “foodie call”, not in my circle, at least.

The table was lonely with only the halo-halos acting as the centerpiece, so we decided to act according to the foodie code (imagine there’s one!) and ordered:

Pork and Chicken Asado

Tapsilog

Tocilog

Despite the shoddy presentation, the Asado was the clear winner — tender pork & chicken meat, nice texture, and generous portion (this is good for 2, if you’re not very hungry).

The Tocilog was forgettable (what Tocino?). You’re better off buying Pampanga’s Best tocino.

There was nothing spectacular with the Tapsilog. I guess if you’re into adobo-ish flavor, you might enjoy it.

So I kept you in suspense on my previous post. That wasn’t really the intention. Truth is, my Internet time at the cafe was winding down. I know it’s such a lousy excuse, but it’s true. My Internet should be back by tomorrow, or else heads will roll…

Anyway, I wanted to give you some tips on how to save money when preparing/cooking food. Here’s what you need in your arsenal:

Knife
Chopping Board
Frying Pan

Ingredients:
1 Chicken Breast Fillet
Egg
Flour
Bread Crumbs
Salt & Pepper
Oil
Procedure:
1. Slice the breast fillet horizontally. Continue slicing until you get a total of 3 to 6 thin fillets. This will depend on the size of the chicken so don’t worry if you only have 3.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper
3. Prepare the breading mixture (in different containers) in chronological order: Flour, Egg, Bread Crumbs. You can also season the flour if you like.
4. Dredge the fillet in flour, then in egg, then in bread crumbs.
5. Repeat step #4 until the fillet grows in size. It can be as big as your face and it will still be ok.
6. Cook in oil until brown. Don’t burn!
7. Serve

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Ok, so it’s just a breaded chicken breast fillet, what’s so special about it? Well, first of all, you were working with 1 breast fillet, but you ended up with at least 3 breaded chicken fillets. And we are not talking about a tiny portion, we are looking at a “as-big-as-you-want” portion. I can make it 6 fillet with no problems. The taste isn’t bad either. Come on, you can’t go wrong with chicken fillet. The key here is to save money. This is what restaurants do so they can earn profit. So, the next time you order a breaded fillet, you know how it was done.

You can make it more tasty by using other seasonings or herbs and spices.