steamed fish with garlic and ginger

i couldn't take a photograph because we had to eat right after i cooked. we had brownout scheduled right about dinner time, but, yeah! it was delicious :P recipe lifted here.

Ingredients 

For the sauce:

• 1 1/4 teaspoons sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce

• 2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely shredded

• 3 scallions, green part only, chopped

For the steamed salmon

• 1 scallion, white part only, cut lengthwise into strips

• 1 1/4 pounds salmon fillet, cut crosswise into two pieces

• 4 sprigs cilantro

Cooking Instructions

• For the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, pepper, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the oil into a small saucepan, and turn the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the ginger and cook until it is also fragrant, about one minute. Pour in the sauce, stir well, and wait for it to come to a boil. Then add the scallions, turn off the heat, and stir to combine. Set aside.

• For the steamed salmon: Fill a large pot with a steamer tray halfway up with water, and bring to a boil.

• Meanwhile, Find a heatproof plate or nonreactive cake or pie pan that will hold the salmon fillets and will also fit in the steamer tray with about one-inch left around the edges. Toss half of the white scallion strips into the pan, and then place the salmon fillets on top. Pour the sauce on top of the salmon.

• Transfer the pan to the steamer tray. Cover the pot, and cook until fish is cooked, eight to ten minutes. A knife should be able to be inserted into the thicket part of the flesh easily. When done, turn off the heat, and carefully remove the pan with the fish.

• Transfer the fish to a platter and pour the sauce and juices on top. Garnish with the remaining scallion strips and the cilantro.

ishi the idealist

one of the classes i enjoyed going to the most when i was in college was the course on philippine government and constitution. on one occasion we were made to write a "blueprint for change", our idea of what actions the government must take to effect change in the country. here was mine:

"Blueprint for Change"

The following will have a higher percentage of efficiency and effectiveness if the leaders of this government are themselves competent for the leadership positions they hold. 

• Effect a shift from unitary to federal form of government. This way it will be easier for the government to recognize regions which needs assistance the most.
• Implement a moral recovery program. This could be done through giving importance to subjects such as GMRC, History, and Filipino in all academic levels and by recognizing the efforts done by NGO's like CFC's GK777 and others.
• De-privatization of some companies and building government-owned companies. This is to provide job opportunities to Filipinos who have not earned college degrees, hence, they cannot find jobs in private corporations. These companies shall train employees for administrative positions also and implement programs that would sustain local economy. This shall hold until such time that it would seem fit for the government to sell these companies to private corporations provided they are not foreign investors.
• Prioritize agrarian reform programs. Host conferences and training workshops for farmers.
• Send rockets to the moon! But, seriously, focus first on applying science and technology in finding ways to reuse the country's abundant natural resources.

..then send rockets to the moon :P

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pork and tofu in oyster sauce

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb pork, cubed

• 4 pieces extra firm tofu, fried and cubed

• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped 

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce

• 1 medium onion, minced

• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons salted black beans

• 1 cup water

• 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions

• Saute garlic and onion.

• Put-in the pork and cook for 5 minutes.

• Add parsley, soy sauce, and oyster sauce then stir.

• Pour-in water and let boil. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the pork becomes tender.

• Put-in the salted black beans and fried tofu and cook for 5 to 8 minutes.

• Add sugar, salt, and ground black pepper then stir. Cook for a minute more

• Turn-off heat then transfer to a serving bowl.

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sherlock and bilbo

hahaha. sherlock meets bilbo. hahahahahahaha.

mr. agriculturist on the bus

"beautiful, cute, and slim."

compliments from mr. stranger on the bus ride.

he is big on the belly, smiles like a doting grandfather, speaks good english, enjoys telling stories, and, doing the math, about the same age as my mother since he graduated high school in 1975. he commented about the presence of the military on the highway to nobody in particular then smiled at me and asked:

"are you chinese?" no.

"perhaps korean?" no.

"japanese?" no. proudly pinoy po :P

his parents didn't believe he'd do well in school so they never sent him to college. after highschool, he opened his own business making palitaw and suman and distributing them to restaurants in butuan. after a year, he enrolled at xavier university and studied there for two years. on his third year his uncle, who was a teacher at a high school in butuan, convinced him to apply for a scholarship at msu marawi. he did. he studied agriculture, jogged on the oval until he had an accident and could no longer run like before, studied under prof. johnny m. (he mentioned this when i answered i took the course in physics during college. now i know sir johnny was a college professor [i was under him during high school], taught college physics [he handles integrated sciences when i was in high school, not physics], AND he wasn't always gay [gasp!]), worked as a student assistant to prof. alonto, and graduated. now he's a licensed agriculturist (with emphasis on licensed because, well, he just emphasized it) who is on his way to bukidnon to talk with a client.

i gathered he has four children. one is a nurse, married, who previously worked at sanitarium and is currently working at makati medical center. he has another girl who is tall and beautiful, who married a man shorter than her daughter (to his disappointment because he'd rather have a tall and handsome son-in-law, but he is good and kind anyway so it's okay), and they're planning to move to dubai. his youngest child is a son, who once studied aeronautic engineering in lahug, cebu city. unfortunately, he got into a less-admirable group of friends, got a girl pregnant, and consequently, had to stop schooling. he is a mormon and he married the girl in a mormon ceremony. that must have been 4 or 5 years ago because now his child is attending nursery at angelo flores' in marawi. no, i have no idea who angelo flores is. his youngest son is now studying IT in msu marawi and he laughed when he said "now they (his grandchild and his son) both leave the house together to go to school!". his other son graduated from a course in IT in sti butuan (or was that cagayan?). now he is a senior sales manager at pepsi cotabato. he had a girlfriend who mr. stranger did not like and to his relief they finally parted ways.

his grandchildren loves drinking milk. he'd buy a big pack of bear brand and he said it wouldn't last 3 days. his apo could down 5 glasses of milk before he can sleep at night!

he also has pieces of advice about dating and marriage (as verbatim as i can remember):

- date someone reaaaally handsome/beautiful. you will be doing your future children a favor.

- marry someone richer than you especially if you are the girl. hahaha.

- marry someone who is also a professional and has the brains.

- if he/she lacks beauty somewhat, at least make sure he/she has exceptional character.

he actually delivered his advice with conviction hahaha. from a father's point of view at times.

at the end of the 2 hour trip he said i should meet his son who is currently single and asked for my number. i had to lie and told him i'm sorry but i have a boyfriend. i'm glad he didn't insist :)

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don't talk to strangers

how is it possible for complete strangers to actually strike up an interesting, meaningful conversation and befriend each other in just a few hours? perhaps my parents' warning on not talking to strangers has been firmly ingrained into my system i have subconsciously mastered the art of blocking people out and minding my own business especially during commutes.

oh i connect with people once in a while but we don't end up exchanging phone numbers and addresses at the end of the line. i remember talking to someone on a plane ride from manila who introduced himself as a former student under my father. so engineering is what we talked about starting from software engineering to pic's to perpetual motion, philadelphia experiment, time travel, tesla, and conspiracy theories (geeky, i know, well he started it!). at the later part i was all "ah" and "uh huh" and "really?" and "okay" because i'm not much of a fan of conspiracy theories and i had no idea what the philadelphia experiment was all about. i was thinking he should talk to danf haha.

well, that was interesting, but not as interesting as i hoped for haha. better luck next time :)

(random thoughts a few minutes into Before Sunrise)

adventure time

you know public schools. during exam day we had test questionnaires you MUST NOT write on, which were collected back at the end of the subject period, and were then forwarded to another section in rotation. my teachers think i'm kind, and good, and responsible (and all things nice) because i always volunteered to take stuff to other classrooms. but, in reality, this was exactly what i've been thinking all those times. EXACTLY. teehee :D

blowin' in the wind

SoundCloud: Blowin' in the Wind

Intro: / G - - - / - - - - /

G              C                     D             G

How many roads must a man walk down

G               C               G (2)
Before you call him a man?

             G             C                    D             G
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail

G                 C                  D (2)
Before she sleeps in the sand?

          G                C                       D             G
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly

G                     C           G (2)
Before they're forever banned?

Chorus:

        C                 D           G                   C
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,

        C             D                  G 
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

/ C - - - /D - - - / G - - - / C - - - /

/ C - - - /D - - - / G - - - / - - - - /

G                C                 D          G 
How many years can a mountain exist

      G           C                  G (2)
Before it's washed to the sea?

             G              C                       D        G
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist

     G                   C                 D (2)
Before they're allowed to be free?

            G              C                 D                  G       

Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,

             G          C                 G (2)
And pretend he just doesn't see?

Chorus

/ C - - - /D - - - / G - - - / C - - - /

/ C - - - /D - - - / G - - - / - - - - /

G               C                    D          G
How many times must a man look up

      G               C          G (2)
Before he can see the sky?

            G               C              D             G
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have

     G               C                D (2)
Before he can hear people cry?

             G               C                D                G
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows

       G               C                G (2)
That too many people have died?

Chorus

/ C - - - /D - - - / G - - - / C - - - /

/ C - - - /D - - - / G (hold)

Chords Source

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