From the world-famous mojos to milk teas, we found the best food hacks to satisfy our intense cravings in this period of isolation.
Let’s face it: The quarantine can make even the best of us feel restless. Working from home aside, or reading a book and focusing on fitness, another way to spend your days on lockdown is the way to anyone’s heart: cooking.
While we have since upped our self-sufficient skills or caved to ordering through the few restaurants who offer delivery, we know many of you miss quality restaurant food. So, we took it upon ourselves to scour the internet for some recipes and food hacks you can do at home to satisfy these cravings.
Porkchop and shrimp fried rice and brown sugar milk tea, here we come.
Max’s Sizzling Tofu
A healthier alternative to pork sisig, Max’s Sizzling Tofu has been a mainstay on everyone’s tables every time you sit down at Max’s. A side dish or a full-on meal that goes best with garlic rice and a runny sunny-side-up egg, this sizzling tofu dish is creamy and tasty, but also mimics the crunchiness of pork sisig. Need a bit of a punch? Add as much chili as you want for that lashing of heat.
Shakey’s Mojos
Perfect not only for kids, but also for adults who love to snack, Shakey’s recently released its recipe for their world-famous mojos. The best part about these fried potatoes is that they are tasty enough to eat as is, but can be made more fun with a variety of dips like garlic parmesan or ranch dressing that you can easily buy from the supermarket. Now remember, when heading out on a grocery run, always practice social distancing.
Tiger Sugar’s Brown Sugar Milk Tea
The second wave of the milk tea craze came in the form of the brown sugar milk tea. It has become the best dessert drink after eating a savory meal or just a refreshing afternoon craving as you wind down at the office. Brands from all over Asia soon invaded Manila’s malls with their best version of the drink. One of the pioneers is Tiger Sugar with its sweet brown sugar syrup that goes around the cup. And now you can replicate its creamy, decadent goodness at home with this recipe.
Din Tai Fung’s Porkchop and Shrimp Fried Rice
One of the more popular answers on the popular restaurant cravings survey on Instagram is Din Tai Fung. The world-renowned restaurant chain is all about Chinese comfort food serving only the most savory dishes to their customers.
Aside from the popular Xiao Long Bao, their pork chop is another popular fuss-free dish for Filipinos. The juicy pork dish is perfectly seasoned that you can easily eat it with plain rice but if you want the full experience here is how you can also make the DTF fried rice.
KFC Chicken Rice
Thankfully, many fast-food chains are still open for delivery at this time including KFC. Probably one of the easiest dishes to do in this food hacks list, the KFC Chicken Rice originated from Japan and only needs soy sauce, chicken stock and a rice cooker to make. This would be perfect when you have leftover chicken from a bucket. With just two chicken parts—some even say that one is enough—and a rice cooker, you can make a meal for both lunch and dinner in one go. This is a perfect meal if you are practicing the community quarantine alone at home—easy, quick and tasty.
