Thai green curry with chicken (gaeng kheo wan gai)

Here's one recipe I successfully tried from a book titled Thai Home Cooking by Sompon Nabian and Robert Carmack. The husband loves eating chicken, but he doesn't want to wrestle with bones and skin. That is why cooking dishes using chicken fillet is the best answer. Bonus points because this is Thai food (which I love) !!! My only deviation from the original recipe is that I used canned coconut milk instead of a fresh one. Still, I think the result is the same. Kaffir lime leaves, on the other hand, are already available in the foreign section of the supermarket.

Ingredients:

2 cups (about 500 ml) coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup (about 60 ml) fresh or commercial green curry paste
12 oz (375 g) boneless/skinless chicken breasts, sliced
1/2 cup chopped eggplant
1/4 cup pea eggplant (optional)
2 tbsp palm sugar (optional)
2 kaffir lime leaves, stemmed
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh sweet Thai basil leaves
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 piece long green chili
1 fresh long red chili

How to make:

Heat coconut milk in a pan for three to five minutes and stir, until the milk separates. Add green curry paste and stir constantly, about two minutes.

Add chicken and cook until medium done, about 3 minutes. Add the eggplants and simmer until these are soft. Add palm sugar, if desired. Put in torn kaffir lime leaves and basil. Stir in fish sauce to taste.

Drizzle about 2 tbsp of the coconut cream, if you wish. Garnish with the chilis and more of the basil leaves. Serve with steamed rice.:)

Ensaymada pudding

I recently attended a luncheon introducing new dishes at the Lola Maria restaurant of the Legend Villas in Mandaluyong City. It is nice to be reacquainted with this restaurant which I had visited a few years back. I like their Filipino dishes, Filipino buffet and their homestyle way of cooking. This time around, I was glad to be introduced to a pudding using the famous Filipino sweet rolls or 'ensaymada.' The hotel press release said this is perfect when eaten during special occasions like the morning after Christmas. But I do think this is comfort food in itself, a new take on ensaymada. The best thing: making this is as easy as 1-2-3, as you can see in the following recipe:

1. Crumble or mash ensaymada a little and put in ramekin cups

2. Mix fresh milk, egg yolk and sugar in a bowl in a bowl and pour over the ensaymada. Let stand for 30 minutes.

3. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit until the top is golden brown (approximately 10 to 12 minutes).

4. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and grated quezo de bola. Serve hot.