Dinner today was a simple affair. I just heated up the Ginisang Pechay I cooked up last night and sauteed the premium version of Argentina corned beef sitting in my cupboard. It cooked up fast, and was totally fuss-free unlike my other fancy recipes. And to my surprise, it made for a very satisfying meal. It's not perfect (I have never made something I was totally satisfied with - yet), but I'm proud that I can finally cook up a decent meal, even though sauteed corned beef doesn't really count as cooking since it's from the can. But corned beef isn't such a simple affair, as I learned the last time I cooked some and ended up with undercooked potatoes and a taste I wasn't happy with, at all. I wanted corned beef that tasted the way Mommy cooks it.
Here's my recipe:
1 can (210 g) of Gold Label Argentina corned beef
1 medium sized red onion, chopped (or half - I like lots of onions, so 1 onion is OK for me)
1 biggish potato, diced
1 tablespoon patis (fish sauce), to taste (I'm planning on cutting down to 1/2 or 3/4 next time)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Fry the potatoes (diced small) on hot cooking oil and saute them for a while on medium heat (on my electric stove) until all the oil has passed through them and they turn a darker shade of yellow. Move them to the edge of the frying pan and put in some more oil (I used the oil sitting on top of the corned beef) then toss in the onions. When they're half-cooked, fold in the potatoes at the edge and saute the potatoes and onions until onions become translucent. Next, put in the can of corned beef and mix well. Cover for 5-7 minutes, until potatoes are of the desired tenderness and meat looks cooked. Add patis to taste. Done!
I was very happy that this time, the potatoes were nice and soft (but not overdone). And thank goodness I overcame the compulsion to add black pepper! (I am a black pepper addict and put several dashes of the stuff in everything). It does taste like Mommy's, maybe even (slightly) better. It seemed there was a bit more potato and onion in it than meat, though, but I don't mind that so much. Good extenders! Anyway, Yosuke did say he likes potatoes in corned beef. I'm trying to eat less meat. The one biggish potato left in my vegetable bowl sufficed, and I realize now that I always put in too many potatoes, ingredients, and spices in my cooking. Really, moderation is the key. Next time I will also cut back a bit on the patis since I can tolerate less salty foods.
Now for the Ginisang Pechay. This was the biggest breakthrough for me in a while. I like pechay (I love my greens), but there's something about the 'acidic' taste in pechay that I don't find appealing. The funny thing is, I've been eating pechay all my life and it was only recently that I noticed the 'acidic' taste (My tastebuds are getting more sensitive, especially after I left Japan and now that I'm starting to cook). I believe the acidic taste is what separates pechay from my favorite dark green vegetable and Popeye's food, spinach. For some reason, spinach is just divine.
So I was cooking the ginisang pechay late last night and wondering what spice or flavor I could use to give it a twist, especially since the water and pechay had started boiling and I could smell the acidic smell - quite unappetizing. I had very few spices on hand, so I decided to take the plunge and put in a few dashes of dried McCormick oregano, which I love so much in tomato dishes. The wonderful oregano smell quickly overpowered the acid, but I had yet to know how the taste would be. I cooked the pechay quickly so it won't be overcooked (to my standards. Then I added in a couple of dashes of my ever-favorite black pepper.
I had to admit I put in a bit too much oregano since the opening from the spice bottle is big and oregano, I think, is best placed on a spoon to prevent accidents while using, since it's such a strong herb. Still, it didn't affect the taste, and I had a fragrant ginisang pechay with no acidic taste. Hurray! :D
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