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kuratsa??

Guess what is that above! Nope, it's not a crab, which was my first guess too. Hehe! According to the styrofoam label (partly seen on top), its name is Kuratsa. Unfortunately for me, I didn't encounter Kuratsa or Curacha during my BS Biology years. Maybe I'd know what it is if its scientific name is given, lol! ;-) Anyway I saw this in NCCC supermarket a few days ago with Mama and Labsie- both also didn't know what it is. Do you know what Kuratsa is? Do help ignorant lil me! Hehe!Ü

Introducing – GAC fruit!

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Yeah I know, the fruit’s name is kinda weird. Sort of an acronym but it really doesn’t mean anything, it’s just GAC. Hehe! Gac is a Southeast Asian fruit, a relative of the bitter gourd or ampalaya. It’s scientific name is Momordia Cochinchinemis Spreng. Gac is also known as Baby Jackfruit, Spiny Bitter Gourd, Sweet Gourd, or Cochinchin Gourd. So why I am interested with Gac? Coz I just recently knew that it is high in lycopene content – contains up to 70 times the lycopene found in tomatoes! Can you beat that?? It has also been found to contain up to 10 times the beta-carotene in carrots or sweet potatoes. I’m loving this exotic fruit more and more.. But that’s not all! The carotenoids present in Gac are bound to long-chain fatty acids so the carotenoids are said to be in a more bioavailable form. Meaning, our body can easily use it. Other potential benefit of Gac is that contains a protein that may inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. That would be cool if proven by research!
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Thus, it came to no one’s surprise that GAC would be used as a nutritional supplement. There are Gac nutrient juices and capsules out in the market already, but the product I love most from Gac is the R.G. Skin Revitalizer. Given that Gac is high in carotenoids and other antioxidants, it would make a great skin protector and assist in the skin’s cellular rejuvenation process. The result? A younger-looking, healthy skin! Who wouldn't want that?? Certainly not I! =)

Bubur Asyura

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This food post is dedicated to my friend Rehana who’s gonna be leaving for Saudi Arabia this Friday. She’s a Muslim, and in case you don’t know, their holy season of Ramadan has just begun. To all my Muslim friends and classmates out there, check this recipe out! Guaranteed to keep you going the whole day while you fast =) To all the others, Bubur Asyura (a savoury congee rich in carbohydrates and protein) will make a great breakfast meal coz it will fill you right up. No need to eat fattening snacks before lunch! Ain’t that a great way to stay trim?? Here are the ingredients:
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2 cups of jasmine rice, washed and drained
2 large onions, sliced
10 shallots
3 pcs garlic, chopped and minced
2 cm of fresh ginger, thinly shredded
2 cm cinnamon stick
6 cloves, 4 star anise, 4 cardamon
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup yellow dhal
300 gms of freshly peeled prawns
½ cup cup of fried dried shrimps, pounded coarsely
10 cups of coconut milk, extracted from one coconut
½ cup of fried dessicated coconut, pounded
1 bunch of fresh coriander leaves
4 stalks of spring onions, thinly sliced
pandan leaves, lemongrass
fresh black peppercorn, pounded
salt to taste
sufficient water for the congee
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Whew! That was quite a long list of ingredients, hehe! And it’s mostly herbs you can just forego if you don’t like spices that much. You can just season the food to your taste, much like the way we eat our “lugaw” or congee. Some cook it like our light-colored arroz caldo (see it here), while others cook it dark (it's here). By the way, I got this recipe from the Asian Food Channel so I get they modified it already. And now, to cook our Bubur Asyura:
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1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot, and fry the onions, shallots, garlic, ginger, spices, pandan leaves and lemongrass until golden brown.
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2. Add the rice and dhal, and slowly fry for three minutes before adding sufficient water to boil the rice. This will take about 20 minutes, or until the entire mixture starts to thicken in consistency.
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3. Add the coconut milk, prawns, dried shrimps and the rest of the ingredients, and simmer the congee gently over slow heat. Remember to stir the congee from time to time to avoid burning it. And we’re finished! =) Serve the savoury porridge while still hot ok? Bon appetit!

TINOMOK ba kamo??

What the heck is tinomok?? Well, I also asked that question to our waiter in Gerry’s Grill (in Gaisano Mall) and he said it is one of their special dishes. In fact, in their menu it was proudly written that tinomok was reviewed by a prestigious food magazine and was given a thumbs-up sign. To quote the menu: "A bit like laing, only better.This is good. it was featured in a magazine." Nice! =)

Above (at left) is an UNappetizing picture of tinomok which does not do justice to its deliciousness! Looks like a mishmash of something green eh? Gakk! I’m really sorry but that’s what I get for forgetting the 5mp digicam and just using labsie’s fonecam. To top it off, the interiors in Gerry’s Grill are dim, very nice for dates but not good in taking pics, tsk! But as u can see at right, there's a GREAT photo of tinomok with the white gata sauce and silis clearly shown , yum! *drooling saliva*
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It was our second time in Gerry’s Grill. The first time was with my family and we ordered most of the house specialties (grilled sizzling squid, crispy pata, beef casserole [beef, cheese, mashed potato & garlic, yum!] and sizzling sisig) pictured at left and they didn’t disappoint! All were heavenly and were gone in less than 30min, no thanks to the 4 guys with me and mama! =) Anyhow, labsie and I decided to order something different this time, something adventurous. Thus, we ordered tinomok which in their menu looked like green gabi leaves rolled into “balls” and drizzled with ginataan sauce. Mmm, I love gata! I thought it may be laing just served exotically. However the waiter refuted this and said that the gabi leaves were actually a covering for the meatball mixture inside. Ooh meat! (see the first pics above) That decided labsie to order it though I was still a bit apprehensive, what if we won’t like it?? There goes P150 down the drain, tsk! To be sure we still had viands if we won’t like tinomok, we ordered chopsuey (vegetables, yum!) and chicken kebabs. We also told the waiter to make our tinomok not so spicy coz I hate hot stuff. After 15-30min (we actually finished reading a local daily!) the food arrived. Here's the chopsuey (my dim pix at left and great pix at right, notice how similar they look!) --

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I egged on labsie to take the first bite of tinomok and his face contorted! My heart sank, it’s not good but labsie suddenly laughed and spoonfed me a bite. Mmmmmm good! It was truly gabi + meat + unknown veggies with gata, kinda like laing but not hot. The tinomok was demolished in 15min! And even up to now, we still have dreams of going back to Gerry’s Grill and ordering it. The chopsuey was also delicious, the vegetables crispy and there were lots of seafood and meat mixed in. It was at par with Ahfat’s chopsuey =) The chicken kebabs, however, were just so-so.  The chicken cubes were tender and succulent but for the price, it was not worth it. I could probably make a more savoury one at a cheaper price, tsk! It was interspersed with chunky onions, bell peppers and some button mushrooms. After the eye-opening dinner (or should I say stomach-opening-to-tinomok dinner?), labsie and I were all big smiles. We were satiated and very happy to discover a new pinoy foodie find. Welcome to our hearts tinomok! =)

PERSIAN PALATE

When I see "Persian" in any signboard, I automatically associate it with kababs. It's one of my comfort food in times of stress and kababs taste sooo good esp when it's from Majid's! So I was really excited to see this restaurant (tucked into the side of a prominent hotel here in Dumaguete) in one of my afternoon strolls in Silliman. Of course, I had my dinner there.. I ordered Budget Chicken Curry (budget coz the usual order is HUGE) and I was astonished to be served with a RED curry! I mean, I grew up eating yellow or orangey-colored curry, and now this. I tasted it.. Man, it was FRESH! The sauce was pureed fresh tomato (thus the color) with the usual curry flavor. But with the tangy tomato paste, the chicken curry's taste was a whole new world for my tongue to savor. It was a bit sour, a bit sweet, a bit magic.. Hehe! The over-all flavor was perfectly blended! Yummy! Still, I wasn't able to finish the meal coz, even if it was budget size, the serving was still big for me. I have a huge appetite but with a small stomach, I just simply cannot eat beyond its capacity. LOL!

As for the food prices, it's a bit high than in Davao. Cheapest meals (with rice & viand) start at P70. But considering the huge servings (almost good enough for 2!), the prices are just right. The resto also serves desserts and drinks, the usual kababs and shawarmas (only P25!). The ambiance is great! When you're inside the resto, you'd feel like you're transported in a cafe somewhere in Europe. There's just enough space, pretty homey decors, amazing Indian murals! I really wanted to take pictures of everything but the place was packed with foreigners. I was the only Pinoy there (I was alone) among Koreans, Americans and Indians. So, you see, I had a great "international" dinner! ;p Maybe I'll do the photos next time.. Coz I will surely come back there!