Baked Sushi: Following a Trend in The Philippines

I should stop lurking on my social medias. They've been the reason why I keep on making these trendy foods I saw online. But hey, there's not that much to do and I am kinda tired of the things I cook, so yes, why not explore?



So for today's food sharing, here is one of the hot (literally and figuratively) dish that made our chilly summer a little bit cozy.

My family in both sides love sushi. It is very easy to make, as you can see in my previous post here, We Always Love our Sushi Nights. But sometimes, rolling takes a lot of time. So this trend in my home country is one of the best alternative on enjoying sushi without losing that much time on preparation.



You might think that this will make no difference, but I tell you, it is so good that we finished the whole pan.



Unlike how you make the typical sushi, you need to lay your sushi rice as the foundation. Of course, you need to season it beforehand with white wine vinegar, sugar and salt. Here, I added this seasoning that I recently bought at an Asian grocery. I do not read Japanese but I believe that this is Furikake, (振り掛け / ふりかけ) a dried Japanese seasoning that you can sprinkle in all sorts of dish.

I also added some nice thin slices of carrots to add a nice vibrant orangey color. There should also be fresh slices of avocado to make it creamier.



We always eat fried eggs that's separate from the sushi, it is called Gyeran Mari in Korean, but this time, I placed it on top of the avocado to seal this creaminess together with the rice. I might sound nonsense here but trust me, it will work.



Here I have a mixture of high-quality mayonnaise, surimi or crab meat imitation (you can use real crab meat), smoked salmon and a dash of sesame oil. Spread it just all throughout and press it down so there will be no air sack in the dish (it makes a difference you know, hehe).



Of course, it will never be complete if I will not use cheese while living in the land of good cheese! Sprinkle some on top and put in a preheated oven of 200C for 15 minutes.



After waiting for like an eternity, it will look like a tempting cassava cake! You have the choice to make it cool first before digging in or eat it as is. Just be careful if you will have it right after you bake it. The rice will be so hot that it may cause burn.



You may now prepare the table, some good wrapping salad (like the one you use when you eat Korean BBQ), some small cuts of nori sheets (seaweed) and your favotire sushi sauce. We also love to have ginger slices and wasabi to complete the sushi feel.

I wasn't able to take a photo of how you eat it, but it is simple. Precut the sushi bake in small rectangular sizes and place a slice in a small nori sheet. Here's a photo I got from the internet to show you how it looks.

Source: https://www.foxyfolksy.com/

It was really good that I can eat it everyday!

Have you heard of this trend? Would you give it a try?

Rock & Roll with Chili's Inspired Burritos

From my post here: Lunch Date at Chili's PH, you will really see how I instantly fell inlove with this restaurant. It was my very first time eating there and happily, we visited them again when we were back in The Philippines few years ago.

But since we cannot go back home yet, there are just food that I keep on missing. One of those is this burrito of Chili's! I've heard that there's a branch in Germany but I cannot get out of The Netherlands at the moment.



Not to feel homesick so much, I made my very own Smothered Pork Burrito (copied from their signature Smothered Chicken Burrito).



It was actually very easy to make! I just sauteed the pork with a little bit of taco seasoning, added rice and corn, and mix everything well.



Assembling the burrito is not that difficult either!



I just laid a corn tortilla, sprinkled with some cheese (they say Mexican cheese works better!), avocado, cucumber, tomato and grilled paprika (add chilis if you prefer it spicy).



Add a generous amount of rice then start rolling. I also preheated the oven to 200C cause I'm baking it!



When all of the rolls are in the baking pan, brush a good amount of sour cream, sprinkle with more cheese on top and bake for atleast 15 minutes. When it's done, remove from the oven and sprinkle chopped cilantro on top.

There we have it, my version of Chili's signature burrito. Like what I've said, this one is very easy. I did not even taste it before serving, and everyone loved it! I am happy that there are a lot of easy recipes that I can do for my family.

Does this post opened your eyes to a lot of possibilities now? Or did I just made you hungry. Hehe

First Cafe Visit After Quarantine: 't Voorhuys Restaurant Grand Cafe

The day I came to The Netherlands was the day that they declared the intelligent lockdown. Just imagine how sad I was at that time because I was so excited to meet with friends, to try out new restaurants and to visit some attractions again. But of course, we need to follow directions. Happily, all of my family is well up to now. And I couldn't ask for more.

Four months later, the curve has subsided and it started to flatten. The offices started functioning again and the restaurants started to operate. Finally, the day I've been waiting for since I arrived. We are now allowed to eat out again, but of course, with strictly following social distancing and handwashing thingy.

We are fortunate to receive a complimentary stay at 't Voorhuys Hotel in the nearby neighborhood so we grabbed it. It was just a one-night stay but still, we weren't really able to enjoy our wedding anniversary the previous month which supposedly gonna happen in Germany for a few days.

It was just a 10-minute drive from home and it was actually fun being a local customer. There were still a lot of things we haven't tried so why not start today, right?

Grand Dessert

We already finished having dinner so we just planned to take some good beer and dessert.



My husband was bold enough to get a set of five dessert tastings even though we had good slices of pizza at home. It consisted of mango sorbet, berry pannacotta, Tony Chocolonely salted caramel mousse, tiramisu, a slice of cake (I think) with whipped cream in the middle.



I thought I was modest enough when I ordered a serving of raspberry berry pannacotta with vanilla ice cream on the side.

But after finishing the desserts, we had another glass of beer, draft this time, also my first time to have beer straight out of the cask. It isn't nice to drink beer alone. So we got a cheese plate with two kinds of cheese, olives, onions, bread, seasoned butter, dips, and sausages.



Yes, I thought we were already full.



It was just so nice having drinks, small finger food to accompany it. We also talked about a lot of things and I really love that.

I cannot stress enough how stuffed we were with the food we just enjoyed having. But it was worth it. We finished the day with a small walk in the centrum and finally headed to our hotel room. It was great. I loved it! It might not always be the same way cause of the new normal but I am happy that we can still enjoy these things again.

Have you visited a cafe/restaurant after the lockdown?