For this session, there are five (5) mouth-watering recipes that CHEF RIKKS shared with us. Crabcakes with Aioli Dill Sauce,  Poached Salmon with Dijon Cream Sauce, Honey Sesame Glazed Prawn with Arugula & Raspberry Vinaegrette, Pan-Grilled Sea Bass with Port Wine Reduction, Cream Dory Tandoori with Raisin Couscous

Personally I like all of them, after Chef Rikks showed us how easy to cook them and after eating the portions we were given. It's not the traditional tasting, because the sampler came in big portions unlike in other cooking demos I have attended. But what keeps me wishing to have a go at cooking them are the Crabcakes with Aioli Dill Sauce, the Honey Sesame Glazed Prawn with Arugula and Raspberry Vinaegrette, and the Cream Dory Tandoori with Raisin Couscous.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• Fresh ParsleyWorcestershire Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 piece lemon and zest
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lb Blue Swimming Crab Lump Meat
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• Half stick butter

for Aioli:

• 1 piece garlic clove
• Sea salt
• Black Pepper
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• Around 600ml extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon juice and zest
• Fresh Dill

1. Beat eggs in a bowl and add parsley, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, lemon juice and seasoning. Mix well.
2. Gently fold in crabmeat and normal breadcrumbs until mixture is no longer moist.
3. Gently make 6-8 balls out of the mixture. Then flatter into thick patties.
4. Ligtly coat the patties in panko breadcrumbs and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Fry in butter until golden brown. Squeeze lemon when done.

For Aioli:

1. Smash garlic and salt in a large bowl (or pestel and mortar)
2. Combine with egg yolk and mustard. Mix together.
3. Start adding the olive oil little by little, whisking continuously.
4. Add the lemon juice/zest, and dill.
5. Season to taste.

 

For this session, there are five (5) mouth-watering recipes that CHEF RIKKS shared with us. Crabcakes with Aioli Dill Sauce,  Poached Salmon with Dijon Cream Sauce, Honey Sesame Glazed Prawn with Arugula & Raspberry Vinaegrette, Pan-Grilled Sea Bass with Port Wine Reduction, Cream Dory Tandoori with Raisin Couscous

Personally I like all of them, after Chef Rikks showed us how easy to cook them and after eating the portions we were given. It's not the traditional tasting, because the sampler came in big portions unlike in other cooking demos I have attended. But what keeps me wishing to have a go at cooking them are the Crabcakes with Aioli Dill Sauce, the Honey Sesame Glazed Prawn with Arugula and Raspberry Vinaegrette, and the Cream Dory Tandoori with Raisin Couscous.

Ingredients:

• 500 grams peeled prawns
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
• Canola Oil
• 1 piece Birdseye chili (labuyo)
• 1 bunch mixed salad leaves and arugula

For Vinaigrette:

• Raspberry Vinegar
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Grainy Mustard
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1.  Stir fry prawns in oil for 2 minutes. Add chili and sesame seeds. Let simmer for 10 seconds.
2. Add honey and mix well. Set aside to cool.
3. Combine raspberry vinegar, mustard and olive oil. Mix well until emulsified. Season. Serve over salad.

 

 

For this session, there are five (5) mouth-watering recipes that CHEF RIKKS shared with us. Crabcakes with Aioli Dill Sauce,  Poached Salmon with Dijon Cream Sauce, Honey Sesame Glazed Prawn with Arugula & Raspberry Vinaegrette, Pan-Grilled Sea Bass with Port Wine Reduction, Cream Dory Tandoori with Raisin Couscous

Personally I like all of them, after Chef Rikks showed us how easy to cook them and after eating the portions we were given. It's not the traditional tasting, because the sampler came in big portions unlike in other cooking demos I have attended. But what keeps me wishing to have a go at cooking them are the Crabcakes with Aioli Dill Sauce, the Honey Sesame Glazed Prawn with Arugula and Raspberry Vinaegrette, and the Cream Dory Tandoori with Raisin Couscous.

Ingredients

• Cream Dory fillets, cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp Garam masala, cumin powder, turmeric, curry, nutmeg, coriander seeds, cardamom, cinnamon seeds
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 cup couscous (dry)
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• A handful of raisin
• 1 lemon/box of couscous

Methods

1.  Mix yogurt and all dry spices together. 
2. Skewer the fish cubes and season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour over yogurt mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Bring chicken stock to a boil.
5. In a large bowl, pour heated stock over couscous mixture. Add lemon zest.
6. Cover and let set for 10 minutes.
7. Mix with a fork to ensure couscous is nice and fluffy. Add raisins.
8. Place skewers over a grill on high heat.
9. Serve over couscous.

After plating, each dish was taken to a designated table where the invited food photographers could take pictures without disrupting the class.  We had picture takings, too, with Chef Rikks. Wonder if Tess will send me a copy for posterity.One thing is sure, though this is my first, it certainly won't be the last Maya class I'll attend.So MTL, be ready.

 

IT ALL STARTED WITH AN IDEA, says Lourdes "Chingling" Tanco, Managing Director of MIDA (originally, Management Investment Development Associates), a name closely associated with brother, former Philippine agriculture minister, 
Bong Tanco, but which now has hardly anything to do with its founding objectives. "It just rings a bell, so I decided to use it (the acronym)," she laughs. MIDA is Chingling's seafood trading and distribution business that counts around 15 years of servicing many of the country's top fine and casual dining spots. 

Ask the edgy chefs behind Le Soufflé, Cibo and Ilustrado, to name a few; throw in some five-star hotels, like the Shangri-la group, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the Peninsula Manila, caterers, like Miascor and Philippine Airlines, resorts, like Tagaytay Highlands and Island Cove, and the more accessible dining places, like Cabalen, Jollibee, Don Henrico's, TCI Fridays, Fish & Co., Dencio's and Goldilocks, and you get the picture. Through the years, MIDA has acquired a roster of satisfied customers coming from practically all market sectors, including, as Seafood Product Manager Lynette Jugueta affirms, small cafeterias and even private households. 

"Chingling Tanco and Mida Foods are the best seafood purveyors in town," says J Camboa, executive chef of El Cirkulo. "We've been working together since 1995. They have consistently provided quality and unique seafood for El Cirkulo and our other restaurants (Milkyway Café, Tsukiji and Azumaya). Chingling even calls me while she's on a buying trip in Europe or the States to ask if I am interested in a particular item. Now, that's service!" 

"Chefs are always looking for something new: I wanna have something special that only I have, that you can't find in any other restaurant. The ideas come from them or from us. That's why I love attending those monthly chefs' tables, where we talk about food and new ideas," explains foodie Chingling, who is no stranger to the trading business.

From college, she joined an American company that traded feed ingredients and fertilizers in the USA and Asia. In 1985, she moved into shrimp trading, her old company being acquired by ConAgra, the second largest food company in the USA and owner of Singleton Seafood Company, the largest shrimp processor in the US. In 1986, she went to Indonesia as country manager for a joint venture trading company between ConAgra and a private banker to capitalize on Indonesia's promotion of its non-oil! gas exports. In 1990, she was assigned to the Philippines to start a trading office that would source shrimp for Singleton and other ConAgra seafood companies. She left the firm soon after to put up MIIDA Trade Ventures International, Inc. and MIDA Food Distributors, Inc. 

"In 1997, seafood was getting scarcer in the Philippines-not much to export. We noticed that the products that we were buying from Indonesia could be brought to the Philippines and sold for profit. We started with tuna pangu and tuna belly, sent them by air from Bali to Manila and sold them directly to restaurants in the Philippines. The cargo sold like hotcakes and we got enthused. We did this for several shipments before we gathered up enough courage to bring in a whole container of stuff."