Recipes by Rene Astudillo

United States Chef

	Blackened Fried Rice by Rene Astudillo When we hear of 'fried rice,' we often think of the kind served at Chinese restaurants or Filipino breakfast places, and we're used to its 'white' appearance. This is a recipe for what I call 'blackened' fried rice, so named because instead of white rice I used a combination of the black and red rice variety, along with some quinoa.…	1 vote 3111 views
	Creamy Spinach With Squid, Luau Style by Rene Astudillo On my latest visit to Honolulu, I ventured into a local restaurant I’ve never been to before, even when I was living in Hawaii. It is extremely popular among the locals, as well as tourists in search of authentic cuisine from the islands. It’s called Helena’s, and much like my favorite local eatery in Waikiki, Ono’s, it serves…	1 vote 3213 views
	Turkey Meatballs Stuffed With Quail Eggs by Rene Astudillo On one of my Hawaiian Airlines flights to Honolulu, we were served a complimentary meal of turkey meatballs over a bed of rice, and it was delicious. So then I penciled the menu on my "to cook at home" list, with of course, some tweaks. I previously prepared meatballs stuffed with boiled egg, so I thought this time, I'd make…	1 vote 2375 views
	Baked, Sesame-crusted Swai Fillet With Home-made Thai Peanut Sauce by Rene Astudillo I'm not sure if I can call this dish "breaded." Prepping it involves the very same steps as cooking breaded meat, except that sesame seeds take the place of breadcrumbs. I also did something different with this recipe. Instead of using my usual…	1 vote 3115 views
	Lentil Longganisa Soup by Rene Astudillo What does a healthy cup of soup and Filipino longganisa (sausage) have in common? Nothing. But it doesn't mean they can't go together in your kitchen cooking. For this recipe, I thought of adding some longganisa to my lentil soup just as a matter of experiement, and I'm glad I did. The soup was super delicious comforting (you…	1 vote 2621 views
	Filipino-style Sweet and Sour Beef Meat Balls by Rene Astudillo Meat balls may not be unique to any one country, but Filipino-style sweet and sour bola bola are like no other. They're meant to be consumed with steamed rice as opposed to added as ingredients to pasta, soup or noodles. There are many ways to prepare the sauce for this recipe. You can start from scratch, or just like I did, turn…	1 vote 2964 views
	Grecian-style Eggplant Cup by Rene Astudillo Nightshades grow in the shade or flower at night. Also called aubergines, they are a favorite of mine growing up till now. Having been raised in the Ilocos region of the Philippines, eggplants are a common ingredient in many favorite dishes like the pinakbet (akin to the French ratatouille) and tortang talong (eggplant omelet…	1 vote 1643 views
	Mahi-mahi Fish and (Sweet Potato) Chips by Rene Astudillo Fish and chips is a hot dish of English origin, consisting of battered fish, commonly Atlantic cod or haddock, and potato chips. In other countries, including the U.S., other types of fish are used, depending on availability in any given region. Halibut, flounder, tilapia and other white fish are used. For this recipe, I used…	1 vote 2719 views
	Avocado Fries by Rene Astudillo I've always enjoyed avocado as an ingredient in my salads, or as a creamy dip in the form of guacamole. It was not until recently that a Facebook friend posted a picture of avocado fries she had ordered from a restaurant bar. Naturally, I was very intrigued. At the first opportunity, I ventured into making home-made avocado fries.…	1 vote 1935 views
	Slow-cooked Black Bean Soup by Rene Astudillo Cooking black beans is not for the impatient. It can take more than two hours of boiling the beans before they become tender. But there's always the slow cook method which is particularly convenient if you're trying to make some black bean soup. Just mix all the ingredients, turn the slow cooker on and forget all about -- at least…	1 vote 2244 views