How to Make Filipino Spaghetti Macaroni

After I made a huge batch of this dish when our siblings came to visit, my sister-in-law had requested me to show her how I make my Filipino Spaghetti Macaroni with my special cheese sauce (... or I like to call it "Spagheroni"). So here it is! :) It is one of my favorite dishes to make for parties or potlucks!

“Spagheroni” Sauce Ingredients: - 1 head of garlic, minced - 1 small onion, minced - 1lb ground meat (pork or beef) - 1/2 tbsp salt - 2 tsp black pepper - 1 small carrot, finely chopped - 1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped - 1 package of red hotdogs, sliced - 30oz spaghetti sauce of choice (2 cans) - 1 bottle of banana ketchup (2 bottles if you prefer a sweeter taste) - Optional: brown sugar, if you prefer sweeter taste Cheese Sauce Ingredients: - 1/4 cup butter - 1/4 cup flour - 3 cups milk - 1lb of favorite cheese, grated (I prefer white cheddar with my sauce) - Dash of salt - Dash of white pepper - Optional: Dash of nutmeg 

Directions: - Boil your macaroni in salt water according to the box directions. Drain and set aside. Making the Spagheroni Sauce: - Sauté onion and garlic until aromatic. - Add in ground meat and sauté until there’s no more pink seen. - Season with salt and pepper - Add in the minced carrots and red bell pepper and sauté for 5 minutes. - Add in the sliced hotdogs and sauté until it looks heated through (2-4 minutes). - Add in the spaghetti sauce and banana ketchup and stir everything well together. - Simmer everything for 15 minutes. - Taste the sauce, add brown sugar (optional) if you prefer the sauce to be sweeter. - Continue to simmer for another 15-30 minutes until the sauce thickens and the flavors are well incorporated together Cheese Sauce: - Melt butter completely in medium size pot. - Whisk in flour, and cook until color turns light/golden brown. - Gradually add in milk while whisking, until it begins to smooth out into a sauce. (Do not add all the milk in at once!) - Add a dash of salt and white pepper according to taste. - Add a dash of nutmeg if preferred. - Continue to whisk and let simmer until the sauce can coat the back of a spoon. - Turn off and remove from heat to prevent sauce from burning at the bottom. Combining Everything: - Add in the Spagheroni sauce to the macaroni in equal portions and mix well together. - Top the cheese sauce all over the Filipino Spaghetti Macaroni! The end! I hope you guys like it! :)

*Updated Recipe* Shrimp Pad Thai

Ingredients for Homemade Pad Thai Sauce:
- 4 tbsp palm sugar
- 4 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp fish sauce

Pad Thai Sauce Directions:
1) Chop palm sugar dome finely to fit 4 tbsp.
2) Combine the chopped palm sugar with 4 tbsp water and microwave for 30 seconds. (The pieces won't be completely melted, but that's okay... Just mix it more with a spoon)
3) Add in 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate & 2 tbsp fish sauce into the container of melted palm sugar.
4) Stir everything until well incorporated. Set aside!!
*Tip: Double the recipe JUST IN CASE!!! (Better to have more than not enough)


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Shrimp Pad Thai Ingredients:
- 10-20 pieces of uncooked shrimp, cleaned & peeled & seasoned
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small shallot or 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- *Optional: 1 tbsp preserved sweet radish
- *Optional: 1 tbsp of chili flakes (more or less depending on your spice tolerance)
- *Optional: (Not in video) 1 tbsp small dried shrimp, chopped into small pieces
- *Optional: (Not in video) 1/4 cup firm tofu, cubed
- 1/2 package of Pad Thai rice sticks
- 3/4 cup of Homemade Pad Thai sauce
- 2 eggs, scrambled
- 1 cup of bean sprouts
- 1 stalk of green onions or garlic chives, cut into 1 inch pieces
- *Optional: Chopped peanuts
- *Optional: Lime


Directions:
*** Before anything else, soak your Pad Thai rice sticks in cold/warm water for 30 minutes to an hour. When you're ready to cook everything, drain it well and set aside. ***

1) Heat a wok or big sauté pan over medium to high heat. Add oil.
2) When it's hot enough, place the shrimp in the wok, and let it cook half way. Set aside.
*** THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU GOTTA BE ORGANIZED, QUICK & FAST AT COOKING ***
5) *Optional* (Not in video) Add in your pieces of tofu to the wok and stir fry it until they turn golden in color.
6) Once they're a bit golden, add in your garlic, shallots, chopped preserved radish (optional), chopped dried shrimp (optional), and chili flakes (optional) all at the same time and stir fry.
7) When the garlic starts to brown (not burned), add in your soaked & drained Pad Thai rice sticks. Mix to get all the flavors well incorporated.
8) Add in your homemade Pad Thai sauce little by little while continuously stirring the noodles around.
9) When the noodles look mostly-cooked, push it all to one side of the wok and pour in your two eggs on the other half of the wok.
10) Let the eggs sit for 15-30 seconds, then scramble.
11) Mix the scrambled eggs with the Pad Thai noodle mixture.
12) After everything has been well-incorporated, add in your bean sprouts, green onions/garlic chives, and chopped peanuts (optional), then continue to mix well.
13) Toss in the shrimp you set aside earlier and cook thoroughly.
14) If noodles look too dry, add in more homemade Pad Thai sauce & heat through.
YOU'RE DONE!

To plate, you can add the rest of the crushed peanuts, green onions/garlic chives, and more bean sprouts on the side.

Squeeze some lime... and ENJOY! :)

How to Make Thai Iced Tea

Ingredients:
- Thai Tea Leaves: http://a.co/d/7004mvF
- Sugar
- Water

Supplies:
- Tea Sock: http://a.co/d/fWnGM1I

Directions:
1. Boil 8 cups of water in a large pot.
2. Once boiling, add in 1 cup of Thai tea leaves.
3. Mix thoroughly.
4. After a minute or two, add in 1.5 cups of sugar (you can reduce this amount if you prefer it less sweet).
5. Mix Thai tea leaves and sugar thoroughly.
6. Reduce heat and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Turn off heat.
8. Drain the mixture into a tea sock or strainer.
9. Let cool completely, then transfer to refrigerator.
10. After chilling, fill a glass full of ice.
11. Pour Thai tea until it fills about 3/4 of glass.
12. Drizzle desired amount of evaporated milk on top.
13. Mix everything together... and enjoy!

My Orange Chicken Goodness *;)

So I've looked at orange chicken recipes and tried a few of them, and I liked them! BUUUUT. I wanted to make my own adjustments according to my personal taste. I WOULD post the recipe, but I honestly don't keep track of how much of something I put when I cook. I always improvise and adjust it. So I apologize if this isn't any help. But I will list what I used :) 

For the chicken:

- Bite size chicken breasts 

- All purpose flour (or whatever flour you prefer) 

- Salt

- Pepper 

- 1 Egg

Directions:

1) Put salt & pepper into bowl with flour and stir well. The amount depends on how much you want to season the chicken. 

2) Crack an egg in a bowl and whisk well.

3) Coat all the chicken pieces in the bowl of the cracked egg until well covered. 

*** You can skip this step if you prefer to pour the whisked egg in the bowl of flour ***

3) Coat all the chicken with the flour until well covered. 

4) Deep fry in 375 or oh medium-high heat until golden crisp. 

5) Remove from the oil and drain the excess oil on a paper towel or a wire rack. 

For the orange sauce:

- About 1 cup of water

- About 1/4 cup of vinegar (white vinegar preferably, you can also use rice vinegar) 

- About 2-3 tbsp of Soy sauce 

- About 1 tsp Minced Garlic 

- *Optional: About 1tsp Minced ginger

- *Optional: Sesame oil

- One big orange (or two small ones) 

- About 2-4tbsp of Brown Sugar 

- Cornstarch diluted with water

Directions:

1) Bring the water, vinegar, and soy sauce to a boil in a pot.  

2) Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and pour in the minced garlic (and minced ginger if using) 

3) Cut the orange(s) in half and squeeze out the orange juice, making sure not to get any seeds in the sauce. 

4) Next, zest the orange peel (about 1-2 tsp or depending how you like the orange taste) in the mixture and stir lightly with everything in it. 

3) After 1-2min, dissolve the brown sugar in the pot. (Do a taste test after, making sure not to burn your tongue, and adjust with more sugar if it needs to be sweeter)

*** If it tastes a little too vinegar-y for you, dilute with more water and sugar *** 

4) Reduce to simmer once the sugar has dissolved and add in the diluted cornstarch&water to the pot. This will thicken the sauce. (It may take a few minutes before it thickens) 

Now, when the sauce is thick enough, cool it just a bit or if you really can't wait... Just put all the chicken pieces in the pot of orange sauce and MIX well!!! 

Top it off with slices of the orange and pieces of green onion for garnish! 

TAH DAH!!!