Thanks to Mama Sita, another delicious find has made its way to my kitchen.
To my fellow overseas Pinoys, here’s a treat to keep the homesickness at bay. For the others, a breakfast/lunch/dinner suggestion, if you may.

While the marinade does its job,

why don’t you fry up some leftover rice and sunny-side up egg to complete your ToSiLog (Tocino-Sinangag-Itlog) ensemble!

Happy cooking!

As requested by my dear sister, this will be one of the dishes that my mom will cook for her birthday lunch on Saturday. (Hence, the photo will follow then.) Much as we wanted to order or dine out to save the birthday girl the trouble of having to cook, we are taking advantage of her skillful presence in the kitchen. Lol!
Ingredients:
1 large fish
1 large onion
2 large green and red sweet pepper, cut into strips
5 tbsps soy sauce
5 tbsps vinegar
4 tbsps brown sugar
2 tbsps cornstarch
vetsin to taste
pinch of black pepper, pounded
Directions:
1. Clean and fry fish and set aside. Fry garlic, …read more

Ingredients:
2 tbsps vegetable or corn oil
1 1/2 tbsps finely minced garlic
1/4 cup finely minced onion
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 1/4 kg chicken, cut into serving pieces
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsps fish sauce
3 cups water
2 cups peeled and cubed green papaya
2 cups spinach leaves or watercress
Since there wasn’t any green papaya nor raw pawpaw available here (not even at the Asian grocery!), I decided to use potatoes instead. It didn’t make much of a difference, so long as I can smell and taste the ginger-y flavour. Have you any suggestion though for an alternative next time I cook Tinola?
Directions:
1. …read more

If you’re Filipino, this dish definitely rings a bell. Merely saying “Kare-kare” actually gets me into a homesick mood too. And boy, am I glad my mom’s here in New Zealand to cook us our all-time favorite. I’ve never bothered cooking it since I got here as the oxtail takes a long while to become tender. I just don’t have the patience for it, nor do I own a slow cooker.
So for today’s first run of Meat-lovin’ Mondays, I present to you.. Oxtail and Vegetable Peanut Stew:
Ingredients:
2.2 lb oxtail cut into 1 1/2″ lengths
1 pouch Mama Sita’s Peanut Sauce (Kare-kare) …read more

These spring rolls/eggrolls/lumpia were not made by me. A friend made it for a picnic gathering, and we all partook of the delicious fruits of her hard work. I have featured lumpia in a previous post, though rice paper was used there. You can follow the same recipe, but use spring roll wrappers (Wei Chuan is a great brand, as is several others — I’ll do a post on the different ones available here sometime soon) that are usually found in the frozen section of your Asian supermarket.
If at all possible, avoid the “egg roll …read more

Bistek, for “beef steak”, is a favorite Filipino dish. It is typically made using tender steak cuts, sliced thinly and marinated in soy sauce and kalamansi, then fried briefly as to maintain tenderness, and served with onions (and sometimes, potatoes) — also fried — along with its marinade, reduced to a syrupy salty sauce. There are several recipes available online, so instead of giving you another one, I’ll give you some pointers instead:

Quick cooking means the best cuts would be steak cuts, such as tenderloin or sirloin or rib eye. Rib eye can easily be found at …read more

If you’re lucky enough to be in Manila, I suggest you visit Marketman’s post on lechon to get “the real thing”.

For those of us who need to content ourselves with the homemade version, you can find recipes at All Favorite Recipe, dyaryoboy, and Pinoy Cook.
Mine is simply made with pork shoulder or pork picnic butt; make sure you get the cut that includes the skin. I boiled it in water to cover, with salt, for five minutes, threw the water out, and started afresh with cold water to cover. Brought to a boil, then …read more

Pandesal is a Filipino bread characterized by its size and shape, but mostly by the crumbs that hug its exterior. Straight from the oven, the thin crust can vary, depending on the maker and the recipe, and ranges from crisp and substantial to soft and pillowy. But always, the salty grittiness of the crumbs ensures a gratifying first bite. Such was the goal for this sourdough version of our pandesal. Let’s see if it works:
1/2 cup active sourdough starter, at room temperature
3 cups bread flour, more or less
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 …read more

This fresh spring roll is one of my favorite spring/summer dishes. It can be served warm or at room temperature, or even cold; and because it’s individually wrapped you can choose to eat it with your hands. Bring it in a basket to the park for a delicious change to your usual picnic fare.
The filling does take quite a while to make, especially when cutting the vegetables by hand. A sharp knife and steady strokes, however, should make for quick prep work. A few minutes of stir-frying is all it takes. And if you don’t …read more

Lasang Pinoy 18 is being hosted by Toni of Wifely Steps. The theme?
Oh My Gulay!

Gulay is the Filipino word for “vegetable”. (See Toni’s post for a more detailed explanation of the expression.) So if there’s a Pinoy vegetable dish you love, or any type of vegetable dish cooked the Pinoy way, come join us!