Sautéed Glass Noodles

"I came up with this recipe because I wanted something that's hot, with soup, and sardines that were not directly coming from a can going straight to my plate."

My body naturally craves for something hot and spicy whenever it's raining. As I'm not so used to ordering food in the middle of the night, I had to look for any ingredients that I could cook into something that's hot and spicy. The following are what I found during my cupboard-and-fridge shopping.

• 2 bundles of glass noodles (sotanghon)

• 1 can of small sardines in tomato sauce with chili

• some chopped Chinese cabbage, separate the stalks from the leaves (any greens will do)

I also used the following cooking staples:

• 2 cups of water

• 1 teaspoonful of olive oil

• 1 small chopped red onion

• 2 cloves of chopped garlic

• ground black pepper, chili powder, and salt to taste

In a pot, I sautéed the onion and garlic in olive oil. I added the chopped stalks of the Chinese cabbage when the onion was already translucent.

Once I smelled the distinct scent of Chinese cabbage, I waited for another two minutes before adding the sardines. I let the sardines to cook for at most two minutes before adding the two cups of water. To make sure that I got every drop of the tomato sauce from the can, I wash its insides with water and poured it back to the pot.

Once I saw bubbles popping on the surface of the mixture, I added the leaves of the Chinese cabbage. After a minute, I added the glass noodles. Glass noodles cook very fast, at most two minutes, and absorb a lot of water. If you want more liquid, you can add another two cups of water.

After a minute of having the noodles in the mixture, I added the ground black pepper, chili powder, and salt.

I turned off the heat after two minutes and served it immediately. You may also pair it with garlic bread or some white bread slices and dip them to the hot noodle soup.

#BetterTasteTip: Since glass noodles absorb a lot of water, you may want to add another cup of hot water if ever you will want to have another serving. Also, don't forget to add more ground black pepper, chili powder, and salt according to your taste.

White Chicken Embutido Pasta

"It's almost midnight and I was craving for pasta but I just wasn't in the mood to order food online. So..."

I just rummaged my fridge and cupboards for anything that I could use to whip an easy pasta. And I found the following:

• 1 long chicken embutido

• 1 cup of cream

• 2 cups of pasta shells

• 1 bar of cheddar cheese, cubed

To put them together, I used the following cooking essentials:

• 1 medium sized onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• water

• salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Right after coming up with the idea of the pasta that I wanted to cook given the ingredients that I had, I set the stove to high heat and put a pot of water to boil with 2 tablespoons of salt. When the water was already boiling, I dropped the pasta shells and cooked them for 3 minutes. When my alarm rang, I transferred the shells in a bowl with five tablespoons of pasta water.

For the sauce, I sautéed the onion and garlic. When I saw that they already achieved my desired color, I dropped the chicken embutido that I sliced into quartered coins. After a minute, I put salt, pepper, and chili powder. After which, I added the cream and let the mixture simmered for 2 minutes.

To easily serve the pasta, I just added the shells into the pot of sauce with the cubed cheddar cheese. And there, I was able to whip a white pasta in less than 30 minutes.

#BetterTasteTip: It tastes the best 20 minutes after cooking.