pork asado

im gonna cook this tomorrow for our baon on monday :) courtesy of http://www.pinoycook.net/pork-asado/

1 to 1.5 kg. piece of roasting pork
3/4 c. of dark soy sauce
2 laurel leaves
12 peppercorns
4-6 tbsps. of sugar
1 whole garlic
1 whole onion
1 tsp. of hoisin sauce
4 tbsps. of cooking oil
water
2-3 tsps. of tapioca or corn starch

Cooking procedure :
Prick the meat with a fork in several places.

Heat the cooking oil in a large heavy pan. Lightly brown the pork, rolling it in hot oil to brown all sides evenly. Pour enough water to reach 3/4 the height of the pork. Pour in the soy sauce and add the rest of the ingredients. What you’re looking for is an agreeable balance between the saltiness of the soy sauce and the sweetness of the sugar. So, use more or less of either ingredient to suit your taste. Simmer the pork, fat side up, for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on its thickness.

Lift the pork out of the liquid, place on a plate and cool to room temperature, Cut into 1/4 inch slices and arrange on a serving platter.

Strain the braising liquid. Reheat. Dissolve the starch in 1/4 cup of water. Pour into the braising liquid and cook, stirring, until thickened. Stir in the hoisin sauce and stir well to blend.

Pour the sauce over the sliced pork and serve.

yummy! i'll post the picture tomorrow if its a success! :)

siomai

living in singapore for a while, it made chinese delicacies a part of my daily life. char siew pao, siew mai, all kind of noodles. with hawkers at every corner, there's no problem buying food. unlike here, there's not much selections. ohh, they do have a lot of chinese restaurants here. but mind you, funny as it may sound, but they dont have chopsticks! and no siewmai too :( well, i cant just sit and wait to go home so i can satiate my longing for siomai.

1 kg ground pork
1 cup carrots
1 large mined onion
spring onions
1 egg
5 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp salt
wanton wrapper
soy sauce, calamansi, chili paste

mix all ingridients. wrap mixture, fold and seal. boil water and brush steamer with oil. steam the siomai for 15-20 minutes. serve with soy sauce, calamansi and chili paste.

ogie and laurice - post wedding celebration

last feb 21 at their new home... leny, norvs, ogs, laurice and me!

its been a year...

it's been more than a year. i'm doing great, sometimes, still bored. but definitely, fine. i feel better here, professionally speaking. hopefully, it wont lasts :)

lumpiang shanghai

next to maja, this is what my friends here always requested and what my friends in singapore missed!

700 g minced beef/pork
3 carrots chopped
1 egg
1 can sliced mushroom, chopped
spring roll wrapper
cheese slices
onion
garlic
butter
salt
pepper

saute onion and garlic in butter, add in minced beef/pork. cook until meat is brown. add mushroom. add in carrots and cheese. add salt and pepper. remove from heat and add the egg. remove the oil and wrap a spoonful of meat in spring roll wrapper. fry and serve hot.

maja mais

i am not a dessert person, nor i have a sweet tooth.. i only eat sweets and chocolates on cravings. and mind you, it really doesn't happen all the time.. tamad kase ako kumain.. o, bawal mag-assume na anorexic ako.. im past that stage and as if i was one..

well, going back to my cooking expertise este my cravings for food.. maja mais is one dessert i'd always wanted to learn how to cook while i was still in singapore. i've tried it a couple of times pero laging palpak o di nabubuo.. buti na lang, there's always LP to go to whenever i had those cravings. but here in ireland, i dont have a choice but to learn to cook and perfect it. well, there was no surprise when it it didn't happen the first time.. but im good at it now that even my friends would always request me to make one for them.. here it is:

1 can coconut milk
1 can evap milk
1 can corn
1 cup sugar
1 cup cornflour (since wala akong makitang corn starch dito)

mix them altogether then cook in medium fire until magbuo, stirring occassionally para di masunog. .. put in a pan and let it cool.

presto! maja mais na :)

snowy snowy white

it was snowing. i should have been glad and run outside and have my picture taken.. but the snow has lost its appeal again, as usual, cough is dragging me down.

-----------------------

PS.. yeah, i had my picture taken after all.. and had a few snowball fights with leny.. we walked going home. better than wait for a cab which we're not sure what time will arrive. now, my cough is worse :(

PPS.. <posted Feb 28...> -- there was snow again few weeks after, well, this time around i was fully well. and got to enjoy it after all.

castle hopping journey

last nov 7, i had a day off from work with leny, my official driver :) we went to counties: sligo, mayo and galway.. dropping by castles:

donegal castle

soli's castle

parke's castle markree castle
cloghan castle
athenry castle
but still, i didnt find my prince :(

but there's a knight.. in a real shining armor :)

something irish...

well, aside from their love of beer.. the list goes on but so far, these are what i've stumbled/found/heard:

what's the craic? -- translate -- anong balita syo?

thursday gimmick -- kung sa tin TGIF, dito thursday ang pubbing. im thinking, they dont wanna be wasted on a saturday kase sayang ang weekend. kaya friday na lang haha

how are yah? -- up to now im still trying to comprehend, who's rude? the who who was asked or the one who asked. first, for not answering or the latter for not waiting on the reply. i mean, i heard this all the time.. parang hello, kumusta ka? regardless if you know the other person -- personally or not. sometimes, i feel guilty for not replying but most of the time, its enough for me to say hello back. comeon, mahirap mag-english and by the time na naisip ko na ano reply ko, zoom, wala na din ako kausap!

not too bad -- most of the time, yan ang reply sa 'how are yah?' -- does it mean that you're not good? did something not-so-good happen???

doll, sweet, pet -- terms of endearment ba 'to? complement? you're a doll.. hmm, pwede na. you're sweet.. pwedeng-pwede na. you're a pet, ano ako aso? haha

class - di ko pa din gets kung ano ibig sabihin nito, cguro sosyal haha

grand -- sa tin, its nice. its ok. dito kelangan, superlative.

any plans for the weekend? -- kelangan may plan ka sa weekend.. parang ang boring pag wala. since ako laging wala, ang lagi kong reply.. i'll just have a quiet weekend. at kung meron man, baket ko sasabihin syo?? taray! haha

'wee' -- for something small.. pwedeng wee brain :) wee olive haha

dinner -- dito pag lunch, dinner. pag dinner, dinner pa din. well, minsan supper. basta, something heavy, dinner na un. so pag lunch, what do we have for dinner? eh lunch pa nga lang ako nag-iisip ka na ng dinner hehe

jumper -- ang alam kong jumper ung damit na nilalagyan ng shirt sa loob. dito, ang jumper -- sweater.

half past 7 -- sa tin, 730. o kaya 7 quarter. sa knila quarter past 7. feeling ko tuloy pag tinatanong ako, shortcut ang reply ko hehe

eto naloka ko dito, pero parang di ko pa naman sya nadinig.. sabi lang ng friend ko: yung 'you'...pag singular 'you'...pag plural 'yous'...magaling! = ) at sir'yous' daw sya dyan haha

modelo ng fridge

At my friend's new house, checking the fridge :)

With Leny, Laurice, Jean and Norvs.

Singapore to Ireland -- model pa din haha

6 months and counting...

i've been here in ireland for exactly 6 months and 11 days.. i still dont like the weather and the place seems dull esp for me who's used to the big city. it gets boring but i think im better off here, i think so.

i dont have the same friends i have in singapore, but i know, i still have them and i have different set of friends here.

my work is a lot better. dont get me wrong, i learned a lot in my previous job but this one's different. i like the busy days, the weekend work, the incomplete BRD, the status call, the pressure -- it makes me grow, improve my craft, rather, my skills. we're not busy now, i dont hate it, but i dont like it either -- there really is no work. but all in all, i believe that i have a bright future here. i got to use my testing skills and prove that i can still break a software for a living :)

summer cruise

summer may be over in this part of the world.. but before i fully bid goodbye to the sunshiny days (which happened not too often), some friends and i joined the summer cruise.

foyle bridge leny and i

with caroline and caryl

with the guys: mark, peter and roberto

the sunset...

summer's gone

tomorrow, summer will officially end and autumn begins. that fast noh? i haven't had the time nor the chance to wear my summer clothes :)

weather sucks here! big time!! i swear!!!

... the beach

Went to Rathmullan beach last weekend. It was a sunny day. But still, the wind is chilly. Good thing, I've decided not to wear shorts and flip flops. Instead, I had jogging pants, sweater and sneakers. Hah?! The beach babe has turned manang along the shore haha

For that, I will always miss Phuket and Bintan.. And of course, the 'Girls' and the gorgeous boys along the shore haha

no longer feeling a beach babe...

with my housemates: norvs and leny

i wish i can be a superwoman!

but im not superwoman u know. im not even a darna hehe

ok, just trying to be funny again.

i cant be anything.. i wish im not a loser, thats another thing. and i cant be like that either.

back to being superwoman, that was my famous line for today. said that twice in less than an hour. not too much ha?

nope, no one was asking me to do big and save the world.. not really. it was just some line i used when i want to do something big and save the world hehe

first, with u know who... not lord voldemort but just u-know-hu! when he asked me to execute some tests so the status will be updated for today coz he has a call this afternoon. ok, this sounds boring.. anyway, the status was updated by 1% and he's glad about that but im not, so i said i'll try but he has to send the status in 10 minutes, thats when i dropped the line... ohh.. cant be a superwoman that fast!!! -- his reply, :)) u r superwoman.. same hair aswell -- OMG! yan lang ang masasabi ko.. and my emotions went in turmoil again.. argh!!!

second, get in touched with some of my friends back in sg. they are having a bfast dinner (ask chelle what is it?) tonight at pinevale, my former kapitabahays.. here comes the drama :( i wish i can be there, i miss these times, happenings, the laughters, the long talks, the movie marathon, everything.. but i cant be there, can i? if i am just superwoman, i wish i can fly there and be with them.. but i really cant. its just one wishful thinking!

so, who says im saving the world? even just for a moment, want to save myself from sadness... but ofcourse, im ok.. for now, im just gonna wait for prince -- you know, my u-know-hu and im gonna be fine hehe

*sigh.. a double sigh.. a triple sigh

i did promise that i wont be writing about this, about him. but you know, small talks give me random thoughts and i cant help it :(

nope, im not day dreaming and i wont do that here in the office for everyone to see :) just trying to be funny here but talking with you even if its just online makes my emotions go high. it doesn't happen everyday, anyway :)

oh no! its as if we talked about something special.. its just the usual, you being nice to me. you trying to welcome me here. its really good of you and i really appreciate it, so much!!!

cant even remember what was it that we talked about before you asked me about work :( now, i wonder if thats the only reason you have. but i did ask you what's up before anything else right? and you said nothing just trying to say hi.. and so thats how we started talking about the weekend, the travel, the beach and the going home.. and then after a moment, thats when you asked me about work.. *sigh

======

its been sunny the past couple of days.. ergo, sun is up until probably half past 8, too bright and not really so good for the eyes but.. a big BUT... cold and chilly at times.

currently, its raining outside.. cloudy.. *sigh

======

just realized that you just reminded me of home, now, i feel really sad. and homesick!

i am never like this for a long while.. i even missed singapore more than i miss my family, dont get me wrong... i've been away from home eversince when, college i guess. it takes time to get used to it.. but not today. today, i feel like i want to go home!

now, its ur fault! *sigh

i got you for life

questions never seized to amaze me. it will just popped out of my head from nowhere. whether im busy working or just staring at my monitor. i always say that even for one moment, i didn't have any regrets leaving the life i used to have to a more relaxed and peaceful one. how can i? when i prayed for this, a long time.

nope, im glad im here. if there are reasons holding me back in sg, those are my dear friends. if they're here with me, i would not even dare to look back.

why am i writing when i've written this same blog.. oh no! i will always write about this stuff until i am devoid of my longing for them. kahit maging para akong sirang plakang paulit ulit dito, ok lang yun.. blog ko naman 'to :P kaya di ako magsasawang magsulat. and habang merong mga friends who continue to support me even though im so far away and walang guarantees na we can still see each other, magsusulat ako. that's how i missed you girls!

just like what i said, i hope that the distance and time difference wont put a toll on our friendship. i've lost friends a couple of times because of these reasons, i dont want to go through that again. i hope i got you for life!

An Old Irish Blessing

i found this inscribed on a paper weight... search it on the net and true enough, it is entitled...

an old irish blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

brrr

its a cold day today, i wonder what's the temperature outside that even the office heater is not enough. i'm actually shivering here. or probably, its just what i'm wearing. but i am actually wearing a lot: top, long sleeves bolero and a sweater :(

and everyday is a bad hair day for me.. yday, i started missing my curly hair again. it could have been manageable better than a straight hair. oh well, my hair is frizzy and no longer straight.. but curvaceous. buti pa sya :) aba naman! mag-jacket ka ba naman everyday na makapal ang collar tapos kungdi madaganan ang long hair, nakataas naman.. gets? saka ang hot water pag shower pati na din ang blow drying. sira talaga ang hair mo!!

another reason to be cold, i've been watching 'one fine day' for a week now and i'm down to my last 2 episodes. for sure, tapos ko 'to tonight. ano naman connection sa pagiging cold, tanong mo? kase GY is so cold there, colder than the start of the coffee prince. pa-ending na tinatago nya pa din yung true emotions nya. but i would have prefer it kung ang pipiliin nya is hyo joo. i found his relationship with his supposed to be sister, too unconventional.. but i like it when he said to mr. kang that he'd rather die with jealousy and gave his sister away than to hurt her by letting her know his feelings..

and then, one person i know seems cold lately... he seems far even if he's talking to me, i wonder why. oh no! im not starting to like him, could i?!?!

derry

went to londonderry last saturday with some of my friends. we went to foyleside mall, there is nothing extraordinary about it though. but since there is no mall here with more than 1 floor, it makes a difference. foyleside has 3 floors with shops like topshop, dorothy perkins and debenhams. i was looking for mango though :( sad, sa dublin lang ata meron nito..

i didnt buy anything expensive. leny and i went out looking for sa red big sign: SALE.. and there it was in dorothy perkins, i bought two tops and 1 crocheted coat (i dont know what its called hehe thermal coat kaya?) all for the price of 15 pounds.. btw, pounds na ang currency rate sa derry although its still a part of ireland kaya medyo expensive na din..

saka i bought two earrings and two sets of earrings/neclace in wallis. 75 percent off!!! 1 pair of earrings is at 3eu ata..