And just like that it's week 2. Had a chance to try last week's recipe? What do you think of it?
To continue our month of firsts theme, I have decided to share with you the first thing I ever learned to cook - tadah! Chicken Afritada. I learned to cook this, through (special mention) Lomelita "Mhillet" Tan. She was a classmate in my 9th grade T.H.E (Technology (?!?) and Home Economics) class - Mrs Duero's. If my memory serves me right, the class was grouped into 7(?) and each group had to cook an ulam for lunch. Mhillet took the lead in our cooking session. She was obviously the only one in our group who knew how to cook so the others, including myself, were left with the washing, peeling, setting and cleaning up - the messy stuff. The cooking itself was left under her control.
Ang paghanga ko!
And because I admired her cooking skills so much, I asked my mama to help me cook it at home. She gave me instructions, and let me have my first kitchen experience. It was divine despite the many cuts and burns I encountered during my deflowering. O yes I bled! So it's true that first times can be painful.
When lunch time came, Papa asked, "who cooked our ulam?", and mama replied, "Si Hahan". After tasting, they both said, sarap! Of course they were supportive... they are, after all, my parents! But still, music, music, music. Yes, I was 15 and I was devirginized in our kitchen-- I had cooked for the first time! Yabang!
You'll need:
- Half of a whole chicken, cleaned and cut into 2 inch parts (you can just instruct your suki to cut the chicken for you)
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2-3 small onions or 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
- 1 tomato, washed and cubed
- salt & pepper (measure accdg to taste)
- fish sauce (patis) (measure accdg to taste)
- chicken stock
- bell peppers (lara)
- carrots and potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed (or quartered, or accdg to preference)
- tomato sauce & canned peas
- cooking oil
How to:
- In a hot pan with cooking oil, saute (gisa) your garlic until slightly brown;
- add the onions and saute some more until translucent;
- add the tomatoes
- add the chicken and drizzle it with a little bit of fish sauce; brown the chicken on both sides
- add the chicken stock (you can buy canned stock at your local grocery store, or you can make it yourself by simply boiling chicken in water for about 20-30 minutes. Remove the chicken and voila! you have stock); cook chicken, covered, for about 10 minutes
- add the tomato sauce, carrots and potatoes; reduce the heat to minimum and cook covered for another 10 minutes.
- add salt and pepper till desired taste is achieved.
- add peas and bell peppers; cook for 5 minutes
Now grab your steaming white rice and plate everything up!
Bon appetit!
I hope this dish brings back memories of your wonderful first times. My first times are mostly learning experiences that made me who I am now. I hope yours did well for you too.
Who says you have to spend for a great meal? This dish costs about P160.00 all in! It can feed 4 hungry people. So get your cooking gear out and start the fire.
Your hot cook,
Hahan
P.S. Got a first learned recipe you’d like to share? Post your comments and suggestions
P.S.S. Happy 1st anniversary of our Second Wedding, Jayson ...my husband, my partner, my life.
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