Tomato and Kangkong Salsa

Okay, so this is a late follow-up post, but better late than never, right?

Last time I said I would post the perfect side dish to fried bangus fillets--aside from salted eggs with tomatoes. Admittedly, this recipe is not entirely original and is inspired by a side dish that comes with a bangus belly dish they serve at Cafe Adriatico. It's been a long time since I ate there last, and I don't remember if this is a faithful recreation, but I tried it a couple of weeks back, and it seems to work just fine.

Start off by washing a bunch of kangkong really well in a basin of water. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut off the larger, tougher stems and cut the rest of the leaves and small stems into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Grab a couple of large tomatoes (the largest you can find) and slice and seed them. Cut into small cubes.

Saute some minced garlic in a pan with some oil then add the tomatoes. Season with pepper and allow to simmer. When the consistency of the tomatoes becomes a bit soupy, add some bagoong (you get to determine how much). Check the flavor and season as needed. Add the kangkong and cook until the leaves wilt and become a bright green color. Serve immediately.

KitchenLab Recommends: Seaking Boneless Bangus Back Fillets

Bangus bellies are overrated. Supposedly the tastiest part of the fish, it has been popularized by many a popular restaurant, and thus commands top dollar, er, peso.

Objectively though, the back fillets seem like a better buy. They are packed with protein, are very lean (okay, so bangus belly fat is supposed to be good fat, but for someone trying to lose weight, fat is fat), and cost half the price of bangus bellies of similar weight. Plus, they taste really good too!

Grill it, fry it, steam it--there's no wrong way to cook bangus. It's amazing how tasty it is, no matter how it's prepared.

Up next: the perfect side dish to your fried bangus back fillet.

Poached Eggs

One thing about dieting is that it forces you to look for alternatives to high-calorie, high-fat food. That means exploring alternative cooking techniques as well. I wanted fried eggs today, but didn't feel like I wanted all that excess oil in my slowly flattening tummy.

Enter poached eggs.

I successfully poached my first eggs today. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and the texture as well as flavor was just right. If you're the type who likes warm egg yolk running over his steamed rice while enjoying your tapa, tocino, longganisa or tuyo, then poached eggs are for you.

I had to look for a simple egg-poaching method on the internet, and this is the recipe I followed. It turned out really well for me--maybe it will for you too.