kitchen cow

Have you ever eaten zarusoba? A popular summer noodle dish from Japan, zarusoba is made of fat buckwheat noodles that’s served cold on a zaru, a slotted bamboo dish where the noodles are allowed to drain. The noodles are traditionally dipped in zarusoba tare, a dipping sauce that’s made of dashi (fish broth) and soy sauce.

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/05/15/cold-zarusoba-on-a-hot-summer-day/

Grabbing a sandwich for lunch is always a quick and easy option, but who says it has to be boring? Brighten up your sandwich lunch by preparing it as an obento. Instead of preparing one big sandwich, think of them as sandwich halves, then insert a little bit of variety. A simple sandwich, easily made special.

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/05/12/a-simple-sandwich-made-more-special/

My bento posting order is in a bit of disarray since to meet round-up deadlines, I had to prioritize posting the previous two bento lunches for the Lasang Pinoy round up. Anyway, I’ll probably be able to get it all straightened out in a couple of posts. For now, ignore the dates and just enjoy the bento instead.

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/05/07/sauteed-green-beans-and-spanish-sardines/

In celebration of Kitchen Cow’s Second Anniversary, I’d love to present the favorite bento entries as chosen by you guys. Some of these are my favorites as well, while some are surprise entrants. Still, I love hearing your feedback so tallying everyone’s comments was a fun, albeit rigorous task. So, here they are, your favorites!

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/05/04/kitchen-cow-readers-favorites/

When you say Filipino food, one of the first dishes to come up is Adobo. For non-Filipinos, it seems to be the one dish that is synonymous with Filipino food. And why not? With its tempting salty-tangy flavor, it’s not a dish that’s easy to dislike, no matter what flavors your palate is used to. So it’s only proper to include an adobo-centric bento for Lasang Pinoy’s Make your Own Bento challenge, right?

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/05/01/lp25-adobo-flakes-daing-bento/

This latest round of Lasang Pinoy is something I really look forward to because it puts one thing close to my heart in the limelight. Bento! I thought that it would be an easy round for me because of the topic, but surprise! Between trying to find the time to bento and finding a Filipino food concept, I was pretty stumped! My firm resolve to join (not to mention a commitment I made to this round’s host, Ajay) pushed me into preparing two lunches for the event.

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/29/lp25-soy-vinegar-pork-belly-bento/

Tea is one thing I can’t master. No matter what I try to make, a lot of times, I steep it too long and it ends up bitter. Still, it makes me appreciate a good cup of tea even more, so when The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf decided to start a series of Tea Appreciation seminars, I was definitely excited.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/27/coffee-bean-and-tea-leaf-whats-in-your-cup/

I always thought of bento as a creative way of packing lunch to bring along with you. Surprisingly enough, it never occurred to me that it was also a great way to share food with others. Instead of just sticking food in a plain Tupperware or take-out bag, arranging it nicely in a bento box adds flair and makes it more delightful.

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/21/tonkatsu-bento-to-share/

I’ve been overwhelmed by the entries that I’ve decided to up the ante a bit. Luckily, I found a few more interesting items during my most recent bento foray so here’s three more things to add to the set.

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/20/more-bento-stuff-to-giveaway/

I’m sure you’ve seen these Sanrio bentos circulating online. It appears that those Hello Kitty Kyara Ben are actually part of the Sanrio Kyara-ben Grand Prix 2007. Well, if you enjoyed admiring those bento, you’ll be glad to learn that there’s also a Grand Prix for 2008.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/18/link-love-sanrio-kyaraben-and-lasang-pinoy-invite/

I asked a Japanese friend who resides in Manila, “Where’s the best place to get Japanese food locally?” She recommended a couple of restaurants, but she also said that if it was sushi I was after, I should go visit Kikufuji. A small restaurant that’s known mostly by word of mouth, Kikufuji is tucked along the side of Little Tokyo, along Pasong Tamo in Makati. A quaint little restaurant, it was quite full when we went there for lunch on a Saturday.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/17/unforgettable-sushi-at-kikufuji/

Kitchen Cow is celebrating its second anniversary on May 3! Yay! Well, technically not the domain but the blog as a whole, livejournal days included. My thanks to everyone who has visited, linked, and invited their friends over. You guys keep this site going.

To show my appreciation, and also as a survey of sorts, I’m sponsoring a Bento Giveaway! One lucky person will win a box of bento goodies. Yep, all the stuff in the picture above, yours. Sweet huh? I’m still keeping my eyes open for more items to add. When that happens, I’ll just post an update but you’ll surely get everything featured above. I know it’s not much but you have to admit, it’s mostly fun stuff.

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/12/kitchen-cow-2nd-anniversary-bento-giveaway/

Have you ever tried seaweed paste? Sounds funny doesn’t it, but it’s one of my favorite easy onigiri fillings. Seaweed paste is a pasty mixture with seaweed and soy sauce. I find it salty-savory with that distinctive nori taste. Stuck inside onigiri, it offers a very flavorful bite to the otherwise mundane rice.

Read on:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/04/04/seaweedy-onigiri-and-other-bento-stuff/

Discovering new restaurants is always nice, but really, it’s the old standbys that never fail to answer specific cravings. One restaurant that never fails to satisfy me is Pho Hoa. Whenever I go there, I just take a cursory glance at the menu. A ritual I don’t know why I bother with, since I know I’ll be ordering a Pho #4, in either light or small bowl, depending on my appetite.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/03/18/pho-hoa-my-favorite-bowl-of-noodles/

Recently, preparing bento has been an elusive task, as shown by the absence of updates here. A sorry state that I’d like to correct because I have more reasons to prepare bento now that we’ve moved offices and there are less options for buying lunch. So I think a reminder post on why bento wins is called for—to give me that necessary push to go back to bento.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/03/13/why-bento/

I find it disappointing that after making a New Year’s resolution of posting at least twice, ideally thrice, a week, I end up not posting at all! Bad, I know, but my age old excuse, being busy with work, strikes again. I haven’t even been preparing bento as much as I should, sadly. Still, I had mad cravings for Japanese Curry last week so I made sure to pack the leftovers.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/03/02/japanese-curry-bento/

Another cool Japanese thing I totally adore is the proliferation of kyaraben. Kyaraben or character bento are packed lunches that feature popular anime, manga, or even pop idols. It’s definitely not something you just throw around but requires planning so it’s rare that I make attempts to make one. Stil, it’s been some time since I last made a cutesy bento, so yesterday, I decided to go and prepare something cheery and kyaraben-like to start the week off right.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/02/19/the-return-of-the-kyara-bento/

Wondering about the lack of updates recently? I must confess, I haven’t been packing bentos lately. Whereas I used to prepare an obento at an average of 3 out of 5 working days in a week, I’m down to none. Blame it on the inability to sleep early and the desire to stay in bed. Still, one thing I’ve forgotten about preparing bento is how it invigorates me in the morning. That extra 30 minutes spent in the kitchen starts my day on a high note. Something that I rediscovered as I was putting together lunch this morning.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/02/12/smiley-siopao/

Last Saturday marked the 2nd Anniversary picnic of Kalye Pinky, our local Pinky:ST collectors group. For me however, it signaled a totally different thing. It was the perfect excuse to break-in my brand new 3-tier Jyubako! A jyubako is a multi-tiered serving box traditionally used for New Year’s feasts. While it’s not New Year’s, nor was it a feast, I figured a picnic bento was a good enough excuse to start using it.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/01/29/breaking-in-my-jyubako-with-a-picnic-bento/

It was another Friday night and we didn’t know where to eat. We didn’t have dinner plans, but the lateness of the hour was enough motivation to find some grub. I suggested Café Mediterranean, since it’s been months since I last ate there. It wasn’t difficult to persuade my mom & J, since at that point, they were both in kahit saan (anywhere will do) mode.

Read on at:
http://www.kitchencow.com/2008/01/20/happy-meals-at-cafe-mediterranean/