Red Ribbon’s Chocolate Fudge Cake

I know we all have had those moments in our lives when the only thing that we needed was some comfort food to warm our souls. The food that we would crave for may be different on person-to-person basis, but they all serve the same purpose: to make you feel like it’s summer on a gloomy and rainy day.

Whenever I feel sad, or sometimes frustrated, I always turn to food to console me. Sweet and buttery things, to be specific. There’s this feeling of healing whenever I stuff my mouth with sweet foods, especially chocolates! Scientists would even explain that there are chemicals in the chocolate that stimulate the body to produce endorphins or something that the body creates to make you feel happy, basically.

I am a big fan of Red Ribbon’s cakes and when I found out about their new Chocolate Fudge Cake and saw a photo of the actual cake. I was like, “OMG! That’s comfort food galore right there!”. I’m hoping I’d get a taste of it real soon. It’s Red Ribbon so there’s no doubt that it’s very delicious.

  Red Ribbon's new Chocolate Fudge Cake - CertifiedFoodies.com
  Red Ribbon’s new Chocolate Fudge Cake

 

Red Ribbon’s all new Chocolate Fudge Cake is now available nationwide. It’s available in regular size at Php 460.00, and Junior size at Php 275.00

 

P.S.
I even wrote a song about this cake.
“I love chocolate. I love cake. Put them together, it’s chocolate cake!”
Real catchy, eh?

 

‘Til next time!
Written by Kien

Cebu Style Pork Steamed Rice Recipe

This recipe is from our previous contributor, Mai who is a Cebuana and now a chef. Oh, and yes, we’ve been to Dimsum Break at SM North Edsa many times already. Check out our review.

Everytime I go home to Cebu (fyi, I’m a pure Cebuana), I always see to it that I get to eat at Harbour  City Dimsum. One of their most popular, and my favorite, dish is their Pork Steamed Rice. For me, they serve the best steamed rice in Cebu! They also serve the best dimsum I’ve had in my life. Seriously!

Dimsum Break's Original Steamed Fried Rice

We’ve actually tried finding a place here in Manila where they serve Steamed Rice cooked just like in Cebu. But, so far, we haven’t found any Chinese restaurant that serves it (if you know of one, let me know at the comments section!). (UPDATE: Dimsum Break finally opened in Metro Manila in 2012! Woot!)

So, just like with any other dish I crave for, I decided to make it at home and serve it the same way Harbour City Dimsum does. And, I’m sharing my homestyle recipe with you.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
(Apologies if there are no measurements. We’ll try to improve on that next time! But, we usually just taste, adjust or add more, ’til we get the desired taste — We added the measurements.)

Servings: 3-4 bowls

  • 1/4 to 1/2 kg Pork Tenderloin – depends on how much pork you want in there
  • 5-8 pieces Shrimp
  • 1/4 cup Green Peas (not the canned ones please!)
  • 1 small Onion,  chopped
  • 2-3 pieces Garlic, crushed/pressed
  • 2-4 tablespoons Soy Sauce – adjust based on your preference. We used Kikkoman.
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 tbsps. Cornstarch
  • 1 cup Pork Broth
  • Rice

Note: Please read the comments as one of the posters mentioned that adding rice wine and clam juice, plus a different soy sauce, made a difference.

Note 2: There’s another recipe shared by one of the comment posters (Ann), and you can see it at the bottom of this post.

 

PROCEDURE:

1. Pour oil in a hot pan and sauté onions and garlic for about 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add pork and mix until the pork’s fat starts to ooze out. Then, add shrimp and stir for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce.

3. Adjust heat to medium and stir. Add a cup of pork broth (you can use pork cubes dissolved in a cup of warm water) and let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. Then, add 2 teaspooons of Worcestershire sauce.

4. Dissolve cornstarch in a half cup of cold water, then, add it to the pan, just enough to thicken the sauce. Stir continuously, then, add the fresh green peas.

Note: Please do not use the ones in can.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice Recipe - CertifiedFoodies.com

 

5. Let it boil for about 3 to 5 more minutes and, then, serve it on top of rice.

I served ours in our soufflé bowls so they’ll look a bit closer to how Harbour City Dimsum serves their Steamed Rice.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice - CertifiedFoodies.com

 

Cebu Style Steamed Rice in Manila - CertifiedFoodies.com

I wasn’t really able to get the exact taste from Harbour City Dimsum, but, the result of this recipe really tastes good. Michelle and I both enjoyed it. It sure did help satisfy my craving and how much I miss Cebu Style Steamed Rice.

Update: We’re sooooo happy to know that Dimsum Break finally opened here in Manila!! Check out our review (branch: SM North Edsa).

This recipe is from our previous contributor, Mai who is a Cebuana and now a chef.

 

Steamed Rice Version II

UPDATE 2: We received a ton of suggestions on how to make this taste closer to Dimsum Break or Harbour City. Here’s one of the recipes shared by Ann (see comment below this post) that you might want to try. Many have mentioned that the actual recipe calls for sesame oil, which is included in the recipe below.

1. Fry the rice with garlic and oyster sauce, then set that aside.

2. In another pan, sauté garlic until brown.

3. Add the cubed pork with some fat (tastes better than just lean pork) and sauté.

4. Add chicken stock or if using chicken Knorr cubes, add water.

5. Let it boil until pork is tender, then add chopped shrimps (you can use the cooked salad shrimps too), then the frozen peas.

6. Add soy sauce per your taste, a tsp. of rice wine to enhance the taste, and sesame oil.

7. Then add cornstarch, diluted in cold water, gradually, to your topping mixture, while stirring until it reaches a thicker consistency.

8. Sprinkle chopped green onions. Place the fried rice in individual bowls, and pour your gravy/topping over the rice.

Shepherds Pie Inspired Cottage Pie : Recipe + Photos

Michelle and I love comfort food. Ever since I found out about Shepherd’s Pie while watching our favorite foodie TV shows, I’ve been dying to make it myself. Shepherd's Pie turned Cottage Pie on a Plate - CertifiedFoodies.com I’ve watched Chef Gordon Ramsay‘s version of making Shepherd’s Pie on Youtube and he actually made it very easy (the video after the jump). Shepherd’s Pie is actually made of minced lamb. And since lamb is rarely available and usually expensive here in the Philippines, I tried using beef mince for this recipe I’ll be sharing today. So, technically I made a Cottage Pie. Both Cottage and Shepherd’s Pies don’t have bottom pastry crusts unlike standard pies. They are actually traditionally made with leftover roast meat, but, are now often made with ground meat, mostly beef or lamb, and topped with mashed potato. Continue reading Shepherds Pie Inspired Cottage Pie : Recipe + Photos

Kenny Rogers Cheese and Garlic Potato Recipe

Kenny Rogers Cheese & Garlic Potato - Homestyle

Kenny Rogers version:

Kenny Rogers Cheese & Garlic Potato - Original

One of the Kenny Rogers side dishes that I absolutely love is their Cheese and Garlic Potato. I love the tangy taste of the garlic and the right amount of creamy cheese to complement it. Ahhh… just writing about it makes my mouth water.

Mai also found it very yummy that she decided to recreate this side dish for us at home. Here’s how she made them.

 

Cheese and Garlic Potato Side Dish Recipe


INGREDIENTS:

  • Baby Potatoes
    (For our recipe, Mai used about 20 small baby potatoes)
  • Butter  – 1/2 stick, 100 grams
  • Evaporated Milk (keep cold) – 2 cups
  • Flour – about 4 tablespoons
  • Cheddar Cheese – 3 cups, grated
    We got feedback that parmesan cheese is what Kenny Rogers uses in their side dish, so use about 1 to 2 cups of it. It’s saltier so you need less of it.
  • Parsley
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Garlic Powder

 

PREPARATION:

  1. Boil potatoes for five (5) minutes or ’til they’re half-cooked.
  2. Melt butter on a separate pan.
  3. Add flour to the butter and stir for one (1) minute.
  4. Add cold milk to the mixture. Add one (1) cup at a time.
    Make sure the milk is cold to avoid lumps.
  5. Stir in low heat until completely mixed, then, add parsley.
  6. Add garlic powder. Stir for two (2) minutes.
    The amount will depend on how much garlic flavor you can take.
    Add about 1 teaspoon first and from there, you can add more if you prefer it to be more garlicky.
    Make sure you don’t put too much garlic powder. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a very bitter sauce.
  7. Remove sauce from heat, then, add 1 cup of cheese. Mix until the cheese melts.
    Add cheese and wait for it to melt again before adding the last cup.
  8. Cut boiled potatoes in half. Then, add to garlic cheese sauce.
  9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
    The amount will depend on how salty you want the sauce to be.
  10. You can serve Cheese and Garlic Potato as a warm or cold side dish.|

Continue reading Kenny Rogers Cheese and Garlic Potato Recipe