Crispy Noodles With Beef & Oyster Sauce

¾ cup corn oil
250 g vermicelli
¼ kilo beef sirloin
½ tsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
½ cup sliced onion
½ cup julienne carrot
½ cup young corn cuts
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in ¾ cup water
2 tsp sesame oil

Heat ½ cup of oil in pan. Fry noodles unti opague and crispy. Drain in paper towels then transfer to a serving platter. Set aside, keeping it warm.

Marinate beef in ginger, oyster sauce and soy sauce for at least 15 minutes. Heat another ¼ cup of oil in pan. Cook beef for about 3 minutes or until meat turns brown. Stir in carrots, young corn, and bell peppers. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Pour in cornstarch solution then allow to simmer until sauce has thickened. Add sesame oil before removing from heat. Immediatley top over crispy noodles then serve.

Baked Soy Lapu-Lapu

1 kilo whole lapu-lapu, cleaned
1 tsp salt
½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chopped ginger
½ cup chopped onion
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp ginger, cut into strips
½ cup sliced leeks
¼ cup salted black beans, rinsed
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

Mix salt, pepper and sugar then rub on the skins and cavity of fish. Combine ginger and onion and stuff into fish. Lay fish in a baking pan. Pour in lemon juice.

Heat cooking oil in a pan. Saute ginger, leeks and black beans. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. Pour sauce over fish then cover with a sheet of aluminum foil, folding the edges to seal pan. Bake in a pre-heated 350ºF oven for 45 minutes or until fish is cooked. Serve immediately.

Choose fresh-smelling fish with clear bulging eyes, firm scales and flesh.