Teriyaki Chicken Fried Rice 🍗🍚

Its been a long time since my trip to Bohol where I first tasted the Teriyaki chicken fried rice that tasted soooo heavenly. I’ve been craving for this ever since and I promised to remake it at home and here it is!

This tastes just the same as the one I remember. I hope you like it too 😊

Ingredients

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together the ¼ cup soy sauce, 2½ tbsp water, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger.
2. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season lightly with black pepper.
3. Heat 1–2 tsp oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4. In the same pan, add the onion, red bell pepper and sitaw and cook for about 1–2 minutes.
5. Return the cooked chicken to the pan and pour in the sauce. Stir everything together and let it simmer for about 1–2 minutes.
6. Mix 2 tsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp cold water until smooth. Slowly pour it into the pan while stirring continuously. Cook for another 1–2 minutes until the sauce becomes glossy and thick.
7. Add rice and mix until fully covered
8. Garnish with sesame seeds and egg. Enjoy!

Pad Thai 🦐🥢

The first time I had Pad Thai was on a date, which honestly feels like a very fitting way to discover a dish because I immediately fell in love with it. It surpised my tastebuds. The noodles are chewy and I’ve never tried rice noodles before. It tastes savory and sweet and nutty at the same time. It tastes really good on first bite. Then when I went to Thailand, obviously I had to try Pad Thai again. You know, for research purposes. I wanted to compare it to the one I had back home, and its pretty close.

Recently I’ve decided to try making it by myself and I’m surprised at how easy it is to cook. I thought it would be complicated but its not. And thankfully, my family liked it too, which is always the real test. So if you’re craving Pad Thai but have convinced yourself it’s too complicated to make at home, this is your sign to just make it. I hope you like it as much as I do ♡

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Place the dry rice noodles in a large bowl. Cover them completely with warm water. Let them soak for 20–30 minutes until soft, pliable, and bendable. (40–60 minutes if using room temperature/cool water). Drain completely and set aside after.
2. In a bowl, mix the tamarind mixture, fish sauce, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Whisk until the sugar completely dissolves.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok or large pan. Fry tofu cubes until golden on all sides, then remove. In the same pan, cook the shrimp for 1–2 minutes until pink and cooked through. Set aside with the tofu.
4. Add a splash of oil to the wok. Saute onion, garlic, and string beans until fragrant and slightly tender.
5. Add noodles to the pan. Pour the sauce over the noodles and stir-fry continuously for about 2 minutes until they absorb the sauce and turn soft.
6. Push the noodles and veggies to one side of the wok. Crack the 2 eggs into the clear space, gently scramble until set, then fold into the noodles.
7. Toss in the fried tofu, shrimp, toge, and pechay.
8. Stir-fry for just 30 to 60 seconds. You want the veggies warm but still crisp.
9. Serve and garnish with peanuts, sesame seeds, chili flakes, crispy garlic, fresh toge, and calamansi halves.

🥚 Best Boiled Egg Recipe

There’s always boiled egg at home and I was looking for a way to upgrade it. So I came up with this. The first time I tasted it its so good I got teary eyed. Now I know how Remy felt when he mixed ingredients together and suddenly there were fireworks going off in his brain.

Because tell me why I put sesame oil, soy sauce, black pepper, and oregano on a boiled egg and it tasted THAT good. I wasn’t expecting a life-changing experience. But here we are.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Peel the boiled egg and cut it in half lengthwise
2. Place the egg halves on a small plate, cut side up
3. Drizzle the sesame oil directly over the egg
4. Drizzle the soy sauce over the egg
5. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of black pepper and oregano on top
6. Enjoy your upgraded boiled egg alone or with rice

🍆 The Best Moussaka

This has officially become a comfort food for me. I’ve never actually tasted moussaka before, so I don’t really have anything to compare it to. But, this turned out so delicious and somehow, it tastes even better as the days go by.

There are quite a lot of ingredients and little steps involved, so it definitely took me a while to prepare. But it was worth it. I hope this recipe brings you a little comfort too 🤍

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Chop eggplant, potato and green chilli
2. Remove the moisture: sprinkle salt and place a paper towel (this will also remove the bitter taste from the eggplant) then place potato on it and then another paper towel
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan or pot over medium heat
4. Add the onion and fry until soft and golden, then add in the garlic and fry for a minute or so
5. Add add the beef and fry until completely browned (remove excess oils)
6. Stir in the tomato paste and fry for a couple of mins
7. Dissolve 3/4 beef cube into 3/4 cup of hot water before adding
8. Add the tomato sauce
9. Add in the parsley, thyme, cinnamon, salt, sugar, pepper & bay leaf and give it a good stir then set aside
10. Deep fry the eggplant, potato and green chilli then use paper towels to soak as much excess oil as possible after
11. Cook minced garlic in oil in another pan
12. Add a tablespoon of vinegar then tomato sauce in the pan
13. Add the deep fried eggplant, potato and green chilli
14. Splash salt and dried cilantro
15. Add butter to a saucepan over low–medium heat. Let it melt completely, but don’t let it brown.
16. Add flour and whisk continuously for about 1–2 minutes. It should become a smooth, pale paste. Don’t let it turn brown.
17. Slowly pour in Alaska evaporada, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.
18. Add Campbell cream of mushroom soup. Keep whisking until everything is smooth and combined.
19. Keep it over low–medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 3–5 minutes. It should become thick and creamy—thick enough that it coats the back of a spoon.
20. Add the cheese. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Add white pepper if you want.
21. Take it off the heat. Let it sit for 2–3 minutes. It’ll thicken a little more as it cools.
22. Take 3 tbsp of sauce and stir it into the beef.
23. Add a layer of potato to the baking dish (overlapping as needed) and sprinkle over a hefty pinch of parsley, cheese, salt & pepper. Follow with half of the eggplant and parsley, cheese, salt & pepper. Try and close all the gaps and make it all nice and compact
24. Spread over the beef layer, top with the rest of the eggplant, then top with the white sauce
25. Finish with a sprinkling of cheese
26. Then place in the airfryer at 180C for 20-35mins, or until golden/lightly charred on top. I recommend leaving it to sit for at least 15mins once done just to help it keep its shape.

Chicken Katsudon

This is now one of my ultimate comfort foods right next to lugaw with egg. Honestly, it’s the kind of dish I would want to come home to after a long, exhausting day. I still remember my last day in Bangkok. I was completely drained, and my body was starting to protest every step I took. Even though I wanted to keep exploring, I could feel myself running on empty. At that point, I felt the need to order something comforting, and Japanese food came to mind and then I ordered katsudon by mistake. It ended up being the best katsudon I’ve ever had.

The onions were soft and sweet, melting into the dish in a way I never appreciated before. Before that, I used to avoid katsudon because I didn’t like onions, but now, I realize that was probably the reason I never loved it. I was missing the very thing that made it good. I remember sitting there, so tired, quietly eating, I started to feel comforted, like the dish was made with love just for me. It sounds dramatic, but I swear, I almost cried.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Season chicken with salt & pepper
2. Coat: Flour → Egg → Panko
3. Fry for 5–7 min until golden and crispy then slice into strips
4. Make the sauce base. In a small pan (medium heat), add: water, dashi granules, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, sake and onion
5. Bring it to a simmer first and let it bubble for 2 minutes
6. Place chicken into simmering sauce for 2 mins
7. Add egg (low heat) and cover pan 1–2 min
8. Put hot rice in a bowl and slide everything on top
9. Garnish with green onions (Optional) or pair it with Shibazuke & Takuan like in the featured image.

Maybe comfort food really is not just about the ingredients or how you cook it. It’s about the moment you eat it. It’s that small pause in your day, and somehow, something warm in your hands makes everything feel a little lighter even when you’re tired or overwhelmed.

This katsudon will always be that for me. A gentle reminder that even in unfamiliar places, even when you feel completely drained, there are still small, unexpected things that can hold you together.

🥢 Chinese Crispy Beef Strips (Sweet & Tangy Takeout Style)

This dish reminded me of the one that I like eating during lunch in college.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Toss beef with soy sauce, then coat fully in cornstarch. Every strip should look dry and powdery.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Fry beef in small batches until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towel.
3. Mix all sauce ingredients in a pan and heat for 30 seconds until bubbling and sticky.
4. Toss crispy beef quickly in the sauce. Don’t overcook.
5. Best eaten hot with rice.

And that’s it! Eating this didn’t really brought back any memories from my college days hahah but it tastes really good. I don’t have the words to describe it.

🍤 Creamy Tuscan-Style Shrimp (Rice Version)

Last month, I mentioned that I impulsively bought squid but I forgot to say that I also bought shrimp along with it. When I got home, I had no idea what to do with the shrimp. The only dishes I knew were garlic butter shrimp and tempura. But the last time I cooked garlic butter shrimp, it didn’t make me – 🥺 and tempura wasn’t something I loved.

So there I was, staring at 500 grams of shrimp that looked a little alive. Then I remembered a recipe link I once saw on Facebook where the comments were really good. I searched my history, and thankfully it was still there: Creamy Tuscan-Style Shrimp. Unfortunately, I didn’t have all the ingredients at home so I decided to experiment with what we have in our kitchen… and this is the version I came up with.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Lightly season shrimp with a pinch of pepper and
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp butter in a pan (medium heat).
3. Add shrimp and cook until both sides are pink
4. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside (Do not overcook)
5. Add remaining butter. (medium-low heat)
6. Sauté onion until soft.
7. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds until fragrant (do not brown).
8. Sprinkle 1 tsp flour over the butter-garlic mixture. Stir continuously for 30–60 seconds.
9. Slowly pour in ½ cup water, stirring constantly.
10. Add 1 tsp condensed milk. Stir until slightly thick and smooth.
11. Add cheese, stir until fully melted.
12. Season with black pepper, dried basil, dried oregano, soy sauce and oyster sauce.
13. Return shrimp to the pan. Gently stir to coat shrimp in sauce. Simmer 1–2 minutes only.
14. Turn off heat and add 1 tsp calamansi juice.

It’s not the authentic Tuscan Style Shrimp but it turned out better than what I expected 🤍

🌿 Thai Basil Beef

The week after I got home from Thailand, I couldn’t stop thinking about Thai basil beef, so I had to recreate it. I needed my family to taste it too, because I refuse to walk around haunted by this flavor by myself. Here’s the version I made. The ingredients are easy to find in the Philippines, and somehow it tastes authentic and restaurant-level… at least if my taste buds aren’t lying, hahah.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Mix sauce in a small bowl. Combine, soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and water. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan.
3. Add garlic, onion, and chilies.
4. Sauté until fragrant and the onion starts softening.
5. Add ground beef or sliced beef.
6. Cook on high heat until it browns and caramelizes a bit. If there’s excess fat, you can drain a little.
7. Add bell pepper (optional). Cook for 1–2 minutes until slightly softened.
8. Pour in the prepared sauce.
9. Stir and let it cook for 2–3 minutes until the beef absorbs everything and becomes glossy.
10. Turn off heat. Toss in the basil leaves until they wilt.

Serve it over hot rice + a fried egg on top. You may also squeeze a bit of calamansi too. Its soooo addicting. 🍳🔥