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!

Post from: Blisstree

Meat-lovin’ Mondays: DIY Tocino

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, onions, and sweet pepper.
2. Make a medium thick gravy from the mixture of water, vinegar, soy sauce, and cornstarch. Add the fried garlic, onions and sweet pepper, and boil for 3 minutes. Season with vetsin.
3. Place the fish on a platter, pour the gravy over it and garnish with onions and parsley. Serve hot.

Good for 6 to 8 persons.

Happy cooking!

Source: Philippine Fiesta Recipes
by Leonarda R Belmonte and Perla B Del Mundo

Post from: Blisstree

Seafood Sundays: Fish Escabeche Macao

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. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the garlic, onion and ginger until the garlic is brown and the onion translucent.
2. Add the chicken pieces and stir well until the chicken is partly cooked. Season with salt, pepper, and fish sauce if desired. Add the water then cover and simmer over moderate heat until the chicken is tender.
3. Uncover the pot and add the papaya. Cook until tender. Turn off the heat and add the spinach leaves or watercress. Serve hot. Serves 4.

Tip: If you like this comforting and delectable ginger and chicken soup, you might also want to try and substitute mussels for the chicken!

Happy cooking!

Source: The Food of the Philippines
by Periplus World Cookbooks

Post from: Blisstree

Chicken Tuesdays: Tinolang Manok

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) Mix dissolved in 1 cup broth
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp cooking oil
7 oz pechay (bok choy)
7 oz sitaw (long green beans), cut into 2″ lengths
10 cups water
1 oz sliced onion
7 oz sliced eggplant (optional)
bagoong (sauteed shrimp paste)

Procedure:

1. Boil oxtail in water. Lower heat and simmer until meat is tender leaving about 3 cups broth.
2. In a heavy saucepan, saute garlic and onion in oil. Add oxtail, stir fry and pour in dissolved Kare-kare mix. Add the remaining broth.
3. Stir and simmer until sauce thickens, then add the eggplant and sitaw. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Lastly, add pechay (bok choy) and simmer for 2 minutes until vegetables are done. Serve hot with bagoong and rice.

Happy cooking!

Post from: Blisstree

Kare-kare recipe

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 wrappers” available in regular grocery stores, as they are not as thin and do not fry as crisp. They have a different texture altogether, and tend to bubble up in places; while the effect is quite charming, they do not make for good eating and tend to turn soggy much more quickly than their Asian counterparts. Of course, that has also much to do with what’s in the spring rolls/egg rolls themselves.

Those that are made predominantly with cabbage often absorb more oil, though that is also often a function of what you do with the cabbage before it’s wrapped and fried. I much prefer the Filipino version (no surprise there), which is made up of a number of vegetables. Mung bean sprouts are my favorite for its combination of crunch and juiciness, but nutrition-wise you would be better off going with the recipes that include healthier choices like sweet potato, green beans and tofu.

When I do add mung bean sprouts, I either cook them very briefly at the last stages of stir-frying, not more than a minute or two, or choose not to cook them at all, since they will be fried when added to the vegetable mixture prior to wrapping.

Other recipes you can try:

Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls from The Kitchen Hand’s Stories
Rollin’ with Mom from Burnt Lumpia
Celia’s recipe at English Patis
Here’s a kid enjoying his egg rolls!

Post from: Blisstree

Lumpiang Gulay

• 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 Asian markets, usually sold as meat for Korean bul gogi or Japanese shabu shabu.
• A quick marination is adequate for these tender cuts, 30 minutes or so, especially when sliced thin. However, if you are in a greater time crunch, you may omit the marination and, instead, pan-fry the meat very quickly, then braise on very low heat, so the meat doesn’t get overcooked, for 10 minutes or so. The meat will come out nicely flavored but still tender enough to enjoy with the crunchy onions.
• You can even totally omit the marination/braising. This isn’t traditional but some of you may enjoy the natural taste of the meat coming through. Grass fed, free-range beef is especially nice prepared this way.
• Or, if do have time, opt to use one of the tougher cuts of meat, such as roasts. Slice thin and marinate overnight. You can then braise itfter a brief pan-frying, until fork-tender.
• Another option using the less tender (aka cheaper) cuts of meat, is to slice thin, marinate, then coat in flour and cook as if doing a roast — brown for a bit in oil, then add your liquid and braise for an hour or until fork-tender.

That last option was totally unheard of, to me at least, when I was younger. However, my uncle’s wife prepares it this way all the time and I have to admit it has grown on me.

Meanwhile, the onions can be prepared any way you want. Some people like them crisp and barely cooked. Others prefer them soft. Some people like the sweeter onions for this, such as a Vidalia; others prefer the biting flavor of a red onion. I actually like ALL of these, hubby prefers them somewhere in between, and my kids like them melt-in-your-mouth tender. So I use a combination when I’m not in a hurry. Two onions, two ways, all piled up on top of tender, soy-and-citrusy beef.

It’s perfect as sandwich filling, and you can certainly add such things as roasted peppers and grilled tomatoes. However, as is traditional in Filipino cuisine, it’s best served with steaming hot Jasmine rice.

Post from: Blisstree

Bistek

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 down to a simmer for 45 minutes or so. The goal here is to tenderize the meat but not break apart the skin, so if you’ve got a smallish roast adjust the time accordingly. I then refrigerated it overnight coated in a paste of lemongrass, garlic, salt and pepper, a bit of vinegar, and some water to reach paste consistency. A food processor is highly recommended here, or the patience to do it by hand in a mortar and pestle. Because the size of your pork will vary, you’ll need to play with the amounts here, but what I used were

4 lemongrass stalks, trimmed
10 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vinegar
enough water to make a paste

There will be some roughness to the paste, which you can scrape off when you’re ready to roast.

Roast in a 450 degree oven (convection if you like), until tender in the thickest part of the flesh and skin is crackly. I also recommend the use of a V-rack set over a pan so you’ve got air circulating all over. Of course, if your oven is equipped with a rotisserie then so much the better. Mine took about 3 hours to get to the perfect combination of crisp and tender.

Allow to stand 30 minutes to 1 hour before carving. A heavy cleaver and a quick, firm chopping motion is all that’s needed. Cut into 2-inch pieces and you’re all set.

You can serve store bought lechon sauce with it (mostly bread crumbs but you could fancy it up with some liver paté), or if you’d like to make it yourself, here’s a recipe. You can also use a simple sauce traditionally meant for crispy pata but would also go well here — soy sauce, vinegar, minced garlic, chopped onions, minced ginger and freshly ground black pepper if you like.

This is a very easy dish to prepare as long as you plan for it. Fancy enough for party or picnic fare, but painless enough for cozy Sunday dinners with the family as well.

Post from: Blisstree

Lechon sa Hurno

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 cup water

about 1/2 cup bread crumbs for coating

In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, or in the bowl of your mixer, combine sourdough, 2 cups of the flour, the oil, salt, sugar and 1 cup water. Mix just until incorporated, then add in the rest of the flour, a tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together and cleans the bowl.

Let rise at room temperature, ideally about 75 degrees F, covered, for several hours or overnight (total time will depend on how active your starter is), until doubled. Divide dough into 20 pieces and shape into slightly oval rolls. With bread crumbs in a shallow dish, dip shaped rolls until coated well and arrange on lightly greased baking sheets, 2 inches apart if you want a crisp crust, 1 inch apart if you want the rolls to rise so that they touch each other as they bake, making for a softer crust. Let rise a second time until doubled in volume.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crusty. The rolls should be light and sound hollow when tapped.

Consume immediately with some creamy butter smeared in.

So how did the experiment go? In terms of working with sourdough, not much different. I’m not sure coating with bread crumbs was a good choice here, though I can’t fault the results too much as they disappeared rather quickly when I served them at a recent party. It’s just that the expectation of a certain sweet-salty balance when biting into a pandesal was met with the surprise of a tangy, chewy interior instead, and even though *I* knew it was supposed to be sourdough, my first reaction was a frown instead of a smile. Though not unpleasant, and in fact was pronounced delicious by my children who all love my old pandesal recipe, I think I’ll reserve my sourdough starter for other endeavors. Not that the effort wasn’t worth it, just that I think pandesal, as it is, is mighty fine, and can do without any additional tweaking.

Post from: Blisstree

Sourdough Pandesal

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 overcook the vegetables, you can even skip the sometimes necessary step of draining them for several hours before wrapping.

If time is a concern, you may of course use pre-cut vegetables or employ your food processor to do some shredding for you, but as with most Filipino dishes, a little fastidiousness on the part of the cook pays off. [An anecdote: I once worked part-time for a caterer cousin, and one of my jobs was to cut the vegetables for her fried lumpia. Work started at 2 am (yup, morning, not afternoon!) because the eggrolls were to be delivered at 6. Not only did it take forever to slice up the veggies, but my cousin was so meticulous in her inspection, that julienned vegetables with a bit of a point to them or were more triangular than rectangular did not make the cut (pun unintended), as they might poke the wrappers and affect the frying/presentation. Needless to say, I did not last long, though I often demand the same rigor of myself and my daughter, now, in our own kitchen.]

The feature that distinguishes Lumpiang Sariwa from other Filipino spring rolls or eggrolls is its wrapper. Light and somewhere between a crepe and an omelet, its softness contrasts beautifully with the crunch from the vegetables within. A sweetish brown sauce, boldly flavored with bits of raw garlic and chopped peanuts, is usually served alongside. When eating with your hands, you simply spoon some of the sauce into the spring roll, sprinkle a bit of garlic and nuts, and chomp away.

I’ve taken the liberty of substituting Vietnamese rice paper for the crepe/omelet wrapper, because of food allergies in the family. Roasted almonds take the place of peanuts, a common allergen, as well. It’s not such a drastic change as to be jarring to those familiar with the traditional recipe, which you can find here. And vegetarians will be happy that the dish, being mostly vegetables, can transition quite easily to a completely meatless version by simply omitting the pork and shrimp and sticking to vegetarian-friendly seasonings.

1/2 cup chopped pork, with a bit of fat
pinch salt
approximately 3 tablespoons canola oil, optional
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup onions, sliced thinly
1/2 cup chopped shrimp, or if using small ones, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup julienned extra-firm tofu
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 cup julienned jicama
1 cup julienned carrots
1 cup julienned sweet potato
1 cup french-cut green beans
1/2 cup julienned celery
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 cups mung bean sprouts, rinsed and drained well
salt to taste, optional

Vietnamese rice paper for wrapping, plus water in a large shallow dish for soaking
Green leaf lettuce — butter lettuce is really nice here

The sauce:

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3-4 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste

For serving:

minced garlic
roasted chopped nuts — I used almonds here

In a large casserole or 14-inch skillet/wok, heat pork over medium heat, stirring. Add pinch of salt and stir. Cover 5 minutes, adjusting heat so as not to burn the pork, and stirring every once in a while until fat renders. Add just enough oil if necessary to make 3 tablespoons of fat. Add garlic and stir-fry over medium heat, just until beginning to color. Add onions, continuing to stir-fry until limp. Add shrimp and tofu, and season with fish sauce. Stir gently so as not to crumble tofu, just until shrimp is opaque. Add jicama, carrots, sweet potato, green beans, and celery. Stir-fry until vegetables are almost cooked through, then add the cabbage. Stir-fry another minute, then add the bean sprouts. Stir-fry one more minute, and remove from heat. I prefer my vegetable filling naturally sweet from the vegetables, with the saltiness of the sauce providing a nice counterpoint, but you can season with additional salt if you prefer. And if you intend to serve the dish cold, you’ll want to increase the seasonings.

Transfer to a colander set over a dish, and drain for 30 minutes. If the vegetables produced a lot of liquid, though, you may want to do this for several hours or overnight, in the refrigerator.

To make the sauce, add any drained vegetable liquid to the broth. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until thickened. Adjust seasoning.

To wrap: Take one rice paper and soak in water for a few minutes or until completely pliable. Remove from the water and drain lightly on paper towels. Lay one lettuce leaf on side nearest you. Top with 2-3 tablespoons of vegetables, arranging them carefully so they’re lying mostly lengthwise on the lettuce (this will prevent tears). Roll to enclose filling, folding in sides as you go so you end up with a neat little package. Arrange on a dish, lined with more lettuce if you want, and keep covered until serving time. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers and filling.

To serve, top a whole spring roll with some of the sauce, the garlic, and the nuts. At a formal spring dinner you will want to have your guests eat this with knife and fork. If the setting or the occasion doesn’t preclude the use of your hands, however, just follow the instructions above, and enjoy.

This is my entry to Lasang Pinoy 18, hosted by the lovely Toni of Wifely Steps. Thanks so much, Toni!

Post from: Blisstree

Lasang Pinoy 18: Oh My Gulay!: Lumpiang Sariwa

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!

Post from: Blisstree

Lasang Pinoy 18 is On!!