Sibuyas Republic

I am a huge fan of outdoor cooking. If you are like me then you need to outfit your outdoor area for the entertainment of guests and for your own personal enjoyment. Here are my simple and complex ideas for making the backyard someplace you want to spend your whole day.
Grills are the best addition you can get for surprisingly small amounts of money. I would suggest starting with charcoal initially. Avoid self-starting charcoal because it will give the food a nasty flavor. Natural charcoal is the best option without any doubt. I love coconut shell charcoal because it lasts for a rally long time and burns very clean. They will not add any flavor to the food either.
A step up from the grills is the outdoor brick oven. These take a lot more time and money than grills but they are really worth the effort. You will be making real brick oven pizza and true brick oven breads in no time.
A step between grills and brick ovens is the chiminea. This is like a standalone chimney that you can burn wood in and give yourself a nice bit of ambiance as well as a good deal of heat in those winter months.
You can also consider getting a fire pit. You can use fire pits as a makeshift cooking surface if you buy the right kinds of grills for them but you can’t close them to get the convection effect that you need for really grilling. Fire pits are good for kebabs.
The last thing you should get is a good set of patio furniture. It is nice to stand in front of the grills as your food cooks but sometimes you want to sit down and wait. Especially if you use those grills as smokers or if you get an actual smoker.

Got invited to a nearby water resort by two balikbayans and soon-to-be groom and bride. Both came from Dubai and went home just to get married. Sweet! They visited me two days ago and asked me as one of their principal sponsors.

What can I say?

Right after I finished off my scheduled laundry, we scurried off to the resort not to get wet but to splurge on these pork barbecues…

Tender and sweet…what a Saturday BURP!

Linking this post to Thursday Brownies and Yummy Sunday

The college daughter arrives home for the semestral school break. Yesterday, she went to see her dentist to check her braces. Today, she and her siblings plus few cousins went to the nearby swimming resort. Hubs and me were very confident she could take care of her two younger sibs.

Bought pork chops and chicken wings and have them barbecued as their “baon”. Also, I added up this pork sisig, in case the barbecue will be consumed fast. Kids are really into meats, don’t they?

I used to call this sisig variation as a “healthier sisig”. Why? Sans the pork liver I used pork liempo and added lots of tofu.

Ingredients:

• half kilo liempo

• 25 pesos worth of tofu

• calamansi juice

• minced onions

• 1 tbsp. liver spread

• 2 tbsp. mayonnaise

• salt and pepper to taste

• chili (optional)

Cooking procedure:

• Fry the liempo and the tofu. Cut into small pieces.

• Mix all the ingredients.

The kids loved the fried tofu and its crunchiness.

Have a  Yummy Sunday everyone:)

One of the many things our family does to enjoy our usual faMEALy day is “barbecuing”. The eldest daughter asked for grilled fish and chicken yesterday. Glad the weather went fine and off we went al fresco dining. 

Here’s the chicken wings marinated in soy sauce, chopped garlic, Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper, brown sugar, and banana catsup for the color. Chili powder (optional).

Marinating tips:

• Marinated food items shall be stored in the fridge so as not to attract bacterial growth.
• Use/cook the marinade sauce quickly and never try to reuse the mixture.
• Do not froze meat marinades for it will make the meat mushy when cooked.

• Worcestershire sauce or Kikkoman adds depth and enhances flavor to every marinade recipe. Both have salt already, thus, adding salt to the marinade shall be minimal only.

• Brown sugar, with its enzyme-producing enhancement can add tenderness to meat marinades.

• Remember, marinade should enhance the flavor of the meat. Adding herbs and spices shall not overpower the meat flavor itself.

• Acids, such as vinegar, wines and fruit juices can enhance the flavor of the meat, but, too much acid can cause the meat to harden.

• Good marinades shall have a balance mixture of ingredients to achieve great meat flavor.

• 7-UP or Sprite for marinade? Anyone? Except for the sweetness, I am not sure what else the soda can offer to the meat flavor or texture. Hence, I do not recommend it. ^_^

Found this site which post stuffs on marinating techniques and tips. Very helpful, indeed.

School has ended. And, so, I realized. Just today! The eldest daughter arrived home today and how her two younger sibs became overjoyed seeing her again.

The eldest was a third year college lass at UP. She’s staying at a boarding school. More often, she buys cooked foods in some restaurants near her place. So, everytime she comes home, it’s as if she’s deprived of food. I guess, she missed home cooked foods. She’ll be staying here for two weeks only because she has summer classes to attend to. I might as well satisfy her food hunger ^_^.

Upon throwing her luggages in her room, she requested that we bought ice cream. And, while we were in the market, she asked if we could have chicken barbecue for dinner. So, we bought chicken wings and pork loins…and the rest was…dinner at the “kubo”!!! woohoo!

Hmmm, while savoring the aroma, I was thinking what could be her next request?

TIPS FOR THE DAY:

-When using an electric griller for barbecue or whatever, put water on the tray under the grill. This can help hasten the grilling process because as the water heats up and evaporates it helps in the cooking process.

-The tray underneath is the catch-all of all the oils. By adding water to the tray, the oils will not adhere to it, making it a little easier to clean.

-The marinade can be used as gravy or barbecue sauce. Just simmer the marinade and add flour to it.

even on normal  days  when a family were all gathered and happily shared ordinary meals, IT’S A FEAST!

grilled porkchops

juicy!

assorted veggies

fresh pusit

veggies w/ squid sauteed in butter and oyster/mushroom sauce

an ordinary lunch turned out to be too tempting for neighbors not to drop in!!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

bought two medium size milkfish yesterday

stuffed them w/ a little ginger and lotsa diced onions and tomatoes

viola, we feasted on these two, with "bagoong" (fish paste) as sauce

CLICK ON THE BADGE AND TEMPT YOUR PALATE FOR MORE FOOD TRIPPING THIS FRIDAY.