Pork Adobo

by Diana on March 10, 2009 in Recipes

I became addicted to adobo while living in Brooklyn. Albert, my roommate from Guam, made chicken adobo one night and handed me a plate with some fat chicken thighs, a thick brown sauce with onions, and a clump of rice. Keep in mind that at this time, I was making dainty hors doeuvres everyday in culinary school and hadnt eaten good home-cooked braised meat in months. One bite and I was in heaven. Whats in this? I asked. Soy sauce, vinegear, honey, pepper. No, theres something else, I insisted. He whipped out a small spice bottle. Mrs. Dash Original Blend. Just what his mom used to use. Now, I know Filipino and South Pacific families each have their own ways to cook adobo, a way of stewing meat in soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf, and black pepper. Alberts method was not the precise formula of cookbooks. He sauted his chicken legs and wings until crispy and brown, then threw in a rice-measuring cup filled a third of the way with vinegar and two-thirds with soy sauce. He dumped in another rice cup full of water. After 15 minutes he took a bear-shaped bottle of Busy Bee honey and squeezed enough onto the chicken to make your teeth tingle just to watch. He threw Mrs. Dash into the skillet like he was scattering seeds. This haphazard cooking produced some of the most sublime chicken I had ever tasted. I made chicken adobo, in this exact manner, every week for the next year. It was easy and hot comfort food, perfect for dinner in a chilly apartment. When I ran out of Mrs. Dash, a single sharp bay leaf provided enough flavor to do without the spice blend. I substituted brown sugar for honey, and tried cayenne, paprika, and chilis. Recently, I started making pork adobo instead of chicken, mostly for convenience. One-inch pork cubes take half the time of chicken thighs to cook. You can use pork belly or spare ribs or another fatty cut. I threw in some cherry tomatoes, though Ive seen other versions with button mushrooms or eggplant. This pork adobo recipe is adaptable and easy. And who doesnt have some soy sauce and vinegar handy? _____________________________ Pork Adobo Serves 4 1 1/2 pounds pork belly or spare ribs, chopped to 1-inch cubes 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup vinegar (white or apple cider) 1/2 cup water

 1.

1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons brown sugar 8 to 10 cherry tomatoes, halved In a medium to large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the pork until brown and crispy on the outside, about 3 minutes. 2. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are caramelized, about 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, water, bay leaf, paprika, and black pepper. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened. Stir in the brown sugar to melt. 3. Add cherry tomatoes and cook for another minute. Serve with rice.

================================================================== Red Adobo

I have been used to cook the typical pork adobo for quite a while now but last week, I decided to somehow be adventurous and do something different with the adobo. I tell you, this is one dish you can never go wrong preparing for there is no universal taste and method of cooking it. Some like it sweet, some salty, some sour. Others prefer it with sauce, others none. See my point? Adobo is a very versatile dish and there are hundreds even thousands versions of it. You just have to pick your favorite *wink* As I was browsing on the hundreds of Adobo recipes in The Adobo Book by Nancy Reyes-Lumen for over 30 minutes looking for a recipe (and still can't decide), I realized one thing - why not I make my own version? If these people from all walks of life can have their own version, why can't I? And as I have said, you can never go wrong with adobo. According to the book, all the regional versions of adobo has all of these ingredients present : garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf and vinegar. So I guess, if you use all of the above mentioned ingredients at the same time, the dish is called Adobo... but don't take my word for it, it's just my analysis *wink* So here is an addition to the countless recipes of adobo out there. Hope you try this sometime and let me know what you think, okay?

RED ADOBO Ingredients: 400 gms pork belly, cut into cubes 3 gloves garlic, crushed 1/4 cup dark soy sauce (I used Kikoman) 1/2 tsp rock salt 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 1 Tbsp brown sugar

1/8 cup red wine vinegar 2 Tbsp annato seeds 3 Tbsp cooking oil 1 small red onion, chopped 2 cups water 1/4 tsp black peppercorns 2 dried bay leaves Method Marinade pork with garlic, soy sauce, salt, ground pepper, sugar and red wine vinegar. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.

In a sauteing pan, heat 2 Tbsp oil and fry annato seeds over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Collect oil and set aside. This will give the adobo its reddish color :')

Remove pork from the marinate. Transfer remaining marinate in a casserole, add water, bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer.

Using a paper towel, pat dry each pork piece and braise each side on a griller or frying pan. Once slightly brown, transfer it to the simmering liquid.

In the same pan (where you braised the pork) fry onions until transparent. Deglaze pan using few tablespoons of the simmering adobo. Transfer onion (with the liquid) to the rest of the adobo. Add two tablespoons annato seed oil.

Cover casserole and simmer, not boil, for an hour or until pork is very tender.

Pork Adobo Ingredients:

1 kilo pork; cut in cubes 1 head garlic; pounded 1 medium onion; chopped 1 tablespoon sugar 4 laurel leaves 6 tablespoons soy sauce 6 tablespoons vinegar 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 1 cup rice water 1 potato; quartered Hard boiled eggs MSG (optional) Cooking oil

Pork Adobo Cooking Instructions:

Fry potato in 3 minutes. Set aside.

Light brown the pork, then add rice water, vinegar, soy sauce, and the rest of the ingredients except the potato and hard boiled eggs. When pork is light tender, add the potato. Cook until done or when little sauce is left, then garnish with hard boiled eggs.

SATURDAY, 11 MAY 2013 Adobong Kangkong

Here is another adobo recipe, this time it's vegetarian adobo. I decided to cook Kangkong since it is high in fiber and I definitely need tons of it. I was just thinking of boiling it since I already prepared fried fish for dinner but I decided to give it a flavor since fried fish and boiled kangkong will be a bit boring unless they go with diced tomatoes and bagoong.

So adobong kangkong it is. Here is a very simple recipe.

ADOBONG KANGKONG

Ingredients :

Kangkong (Water Spinach), cut 2" long - 200 g Soy sauce - 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce - 1 tbsp Vinegar - 1 tbsp Black pepper powder Garlic, chopped - 3 cloves Onions, diced - 1 small Water - 1/4 c Vegetable oil

Cooking Procedure :

1. Heat oil in a pan and saute the garlic then the onion in it. 2. Add the chopped kangkong and stir fry for about a minute or until the kangkong softens. 3. Pour the oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and water on the kangkong. Sprinkle with black pepper powder 4. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking for about 2 minutes.

Serve and enjoy

myFresha-licious (11May2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Saturday, May 11, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, Filipino, Main Dish, VEGETABLES, water spinach Reactions: FRIDAY, 10 MAY 2013 Coca Cola Chicken Adobo

Today is Friday and it is the 5th day for our Adobo Week. So I decided to post this Coca Cola Chicken Adobo, which I cooked a few weeks ago. Mind you, this is not your ordinary chicken adobo. This is one of those saltysweet kind where softdrinks are used as one of the ingredients.

I've been using coke and other sodas in my cooking. Since softdrinks (carbonated drinks) like coke is known for its sugary content, I often use it to sweeten my dishes and at the same time it helps tenderize the chicken meat. Soda tenderizes meat in case you don't know :-). So,, if you have no pressure cooker and is planning to cook tough meats, use coke!

COCA COLA CHICKEN ADOBO

Ingredients: Chicken thigh - 8 pcs Coke - 355 ml Soy Sauce (UFC) - 1/3 c

White Vinegar - 1/2 c Salt to taste Garlic, coarsely chopped - 10 cloves Black pepper, coarsely ground - 1 tsp Water - 5 c enough to slow-cook the chicken for 1 1/2 hours

Cooking Procedure :

1. In a pot, combine the chicken and the rest of the ingredients except for the coke and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. 2. Pour the coke on the chicken mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer for another 60 minutes or until most of the liquids evaporated. You should be checking the water level every 20 minutes to avoid having your adobo burned. 3. Let the chicken fry in its own oil

Serve with your favorite boiled vegetables.

myFresha-licious (10May2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Friday, May 10, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter

Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, carbonated beverage, chicken, CHICKEN / OTHER POULTRY, coca cola, coke, Filipino, Filipino Poultry Recipe, Main Dish Reactions: THURSDAY, 9 MAY 2013 Mutton Humba in Pineapple Juice

This morning I had my abdomen ultrasound at Hamad General Hospital as requested by my GI and Gen surgeon. So, I have polyps in my gall bladder. That was confirmed twice. Anyway, the ultrasonographer (a Filipino) told me that I have "multiple polyps" (she wrote that on the paper). The findings from my ultrasound back in Singapore stated that I have "a few tiny polyps". What a use of words. The latter sounds more positive and the first made me worried. They should have just counted it. I need definite figures!

Anyways (sic), I cooked another humba dish. This time mutton is the main ingredient. When I cooked Chicken Humba for my husband a few days ago, 6 days ago (definite figures), he likes the taste of the dish most specially of the star anise so he requested that I experiment on cooking the same dish but I need to add pineapple juice. And so I did obligingly.

I am not sure if the Bisaya people will call this dish humba but I am calling it humba just the same. The flavor of this dish and the use of meat trotters reminds me of pata tim. I only had tasted the sauce or whatever remains of it since I cannot eat red meat. That was sad. But what's important was that my husband did like and enjoy this dish.

The mutton trotters were cooked to my husband's liking, soft but not fall-off-the-bone-tender. He wants something to chew on that's why. The gamey taste of the mutton? Well it dissipated hehehe leaving just a hint of that gamey flavor so that the one eating the meat will still know that he/she is eating mutton and not beef. The flavor penetrated deep into the meat making this dish more delicious. And the sauce was wonderful that despite my husband's protest that it was oily, he can't stop pouring the sauce over his plate of red rice :-)

MUTTON HUMBA IN PINEAPPLE JUICE

Ingredients :

Mutton trotters - 1 kg Pineapple juice - 2 c Brown Sugar - 3 tbsp or to taste Water - 1 c Garlic, chopped - 6 cloves Onions, diced - 1 small Star anise - 4 Bay Leaves - 2 pcs Black Pepper, coarsely ground Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp

Marinade : Soy Sauce - 1/3 c Cane Vinegar - 1/3 c

Cooking Procedure :

1. Marinade mutton trotters in soy sauce and cane vinegar for at least an hour. Remove from the marinade and reserve the sauce. 2. Heat oil in a pan and pan sear mutton trotters until all sides turned brown. 3. Stir in garlic then onions, cook until aromatic. 4. Transfer in a pressure cooker. Pour the marinade, pineapple juice, and water over the trotters. Add the spices (bay leaves, star anise, and black pepper corn. Cover and bring to a boil 5. Cook under pressure for about 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Remove lid of pressure cooker and simmer until most of the liquids have evaporated.

myFresha-licious (09May2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Thursday, May 09, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, Filipino, Filipino Other Meat Recipe, humba, Main Dish, mutton, OTHER MEAT, trotter meat Reactions: WEDNESDAY, 8 MAY 2013 Chicken Humba - Chicken Adobong Bisaya

Since I have been planning of featuring Adobo dishes in our blog for a week, I decided to include Humba. Humba is the term of the Bisaya for the adobo of the Luzonians (??) The difference between the Visayan humba and the adobo we find in Luzon is that it is sweet as opposed to the salty-sour flavor of those found in the latter. By the way, we call the people from the Visayan region and some part of Mindanao Bisaya.

Humba I think means pork braised in a sweet sauce. The original term according to Huni sa Daplin may come from and I quote "the phrase HUmot nga BAboy with the first two letters of the first and the last words joined together. Humot is a word in the Bisayan dialect which could be roughly translated to mean sweet smelling, fragrant, or with delicious smell. Baboy, on the other hand, is Filipino for pork or for a pig (it could be interchangeable depending on the usage)."

Humba resembles adobo in so many ways. The appearance for instance and also most of the ingredients used. Humba also uses soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, black pepper etc that are also used in adobo. This is also almost similar in taste and even ingredient to Pata tim. The only difference I believe is in the part of the pork that is used in the dishes. In pata tim, Pork legs or trotters or knuckles are used while in humba the meaty parts kasim or pork belly are used. One of the spices present in humba that I really don't like, for some reason, is star anise. I don't like the flavor of it but my husband likes the flavor of the star anise combined with the flavors of the rest of the ingredients.

For my version, I used chicken since I cannot eat pork. I cannot find any canned black beans so I opted for the next best thing - red kidney beans. I'm not sure if the tweaks I made for my humba dish will make it a lesser Humba. I hope I won't be receiving any violent reactions from the Bisaya people. I assure you that my version of humba is delicious. My husband loves it so much that he requested that I cook the same again but I need to add pineapple juice.

Anybody who has the recipe for binukid humba or humba nga binukid?

CHICKEN HUMBA - CHICKEN ADOBONG BISAYA

Ingredients :

Chicken, cut into serving pcs - 1/2 of a whole chicken Garlic, chopped - 6 cloves Bay Leaves - 2 pcs Star anise - 3 pcs Black Pepper, coarsely ground Soy sauce - 1/4 c Cane vinegar - 1/3 c Brown Sugar - 4 tbsp Water - 2 c Kidney beans (canned), drained - 1/2 c. Sunflower or any vegetable oil

If you can find canned salted black beans, then use that.

Cooking Procedure :

1. Marinade the chicken in soy sauce for at least 2 hours. Drain and reserve the soy sauce. 2. Place the chicken and the oil in a pan and pan-fry the chicken for at least 5 minutes or until it turned brown on all sides. 3. Add the garlic and give a stir until it is aromatic. 4. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water then pour it on the chicken. Toss in the black pepper, star anise, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Simmer until most of the liquids have evaporated and the chicken are already tender. Otherwise, add more water and cook until the chicken are tender. 5. When most of the liquids have evaporated, toss in the kidney beans and simmer for a minute or two.

Note: Add more sugar as needed. This dish should be sweet not sour.

myFresha-licious (11May2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Wednesday, May 08, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, chicken, CHICKEN / OTHER POULTRY, Filipino, Filipino Poultry Recipe, humba, Main Dish Reactions: TUESDAY, 7 MAY 2013 Adobong Manok at Sitaw (Chicken & Long Beans Adobo)

This was a dish I've served for lunch several weeks ago, may be even longer. I kept on postponing posting it since each week we have a "blog theme". Well, this was actually the reason why I though of having a week mainly dedicated to all of my/our adobo dishes.

When I cooked this dish, I was supposed to be cooking just a plain adobong sitaw without any meat added but I decided otherwise. I am not a big fan of plain vegetable dish, to tell you the truth, unless they are boiled or cooked the Ilocano dinengdeng way. I cannot even eat a plain vegetable salad unless there is a tasty meat or fish that goes with it.

A variation of this Long bean adobo is adding pork instead of chicken. My parents would put pork belly and pork fat and I find that more flavorful. Also, you can slice the chicken in smaller bite sizes. It's really all up to your preference and liking.

ADOBONG MANOK AT SITAW (Chicken & Long Beans Adobo)

Ingredients :

Long Beans, cut into 2" long - 15 strings Chicken, cut into serving portions - 4 to 5 pcs Garlic, coarsely chopped - 6 cloves Onion, diced - 1 small Soy Sauce - 6 tbsp Vinegar - 4 tbsp Black Pepper Powder Water enough to cover the chicken Vegetable Oil - 1 tbsp

Cooking Procedure :

1. Place oil and garlic in a pan and fry it under medium fire until aromatic.

2. Add the chicken and stir fry it until it almost turned brown. Add the onions and cook it until it wilted. 3. Pour the water on the meat, just enough to cover the chicken, along with the soy sauce, vinegar, and black pepper powder. Bring to a boil. 4. Simmer the chicken until for at least 30 minutes. 5. Toss in the long beans and cook them until they are soft. Make sure that there is enough liquid to cook the veggies.

Remove from fire and serve with your favorite white or brown rice :-)

If you are interested in more adobo recipes, check our Adobo recipe collection.

myFresha-licious (07May2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, chicken, CHICKEN / OTHER POULTRY, Filipino, Long beans, Main Dish, VEGETABLES Reactions: MONDAY, 6 MAY 2013 Chicken Rice Adobo

This week, we will be featuring the delicious Filipino Adobo.

Adobo is the quintessential Filipino comfort food. As I have already mentioned in one of my posts on adobo "where there is Filipino in any part of the world, there surely is adobo".

Adobo is a tangy-salty, or salty-tangy-sweet, or salty-sweet dish depending on the regional background of the Filipino cooking it. Did you know that there are many ways on how to cook adobo? The Tagalogs have different ways of cooking it. the Ilocanos have their own way too and so are the Visayans. And so for this week, we will give you a few ways and variety of cooking this popular Pinoy dish.

Every Filipino has their own chicken adobo recipe I believe. This post however, is not about the chicken adobo per se but what to do with any left-over chicken adobo or even pork adobo. Turn it into a delicious rice dish. Try my chicken rice adobo that my husband likes for breakfast. It is simple and easy but tasty :-)

Check our Collection of Adobo Recipes for more adobo variety

CHICKEN RICE ADOBO

Ingredients :

Rice, cooked - 3 cups Left Over Chicken Adobo Adobo oil or any Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsp Sauce from your adobo or a tsp of Soy Sauce Knor Seasoning to taste Garlic, chopped - 7 cloves or as desired Onion, diced - 1 large Black pepper powder Green onion leaves, chopped - 1 stalk

Notes: 1. Use the rice that was cooked at least a day before (left-overs are great too). It is not advisable to use freshly cooked rice as the result will not be as good as using the left-over rice.

2. Break any clumped rice.

3. It is advisable to use the oil from the adobo.

Cooking Procedure :

1. Flake or shred the remaining chicken meat. 2. Heat oil in a pan then add the garlic then onions. Fry it until they turned brown. Add the chicken meat. Stir. 3. Toss in the rice and stir fry it. 4. Season it with the sauce from the adobo if any or soy sauce and knorr seasoning. Drizzle with black pepper powder. Continue to stir fry for about 2 minutes then remove from fire.

Top with chopped green onions and serve :-)

myFresha-licious (06May2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Monday, May 06, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post

Labels: Adobo, CEREALS / GRAINS / RICE, chicken, CHICKEN / OTHER POULTRY, Filipino, Filipino Poultry Recipe, One-dish-meal, red rice Reactions: MONDAY, 25 MARCH 2013 Chicken Pork Adobo with 7UP

This weeks theme is to cook Filipino dishes using chicken and poultry as the main ingredient/s. If you say Filipino dishes, the first thing that would come to mind is of course adobo. That's why, one of my goal for this year is to come up with different adobo recipes and share it in our blog. Yes, there are different variations of adobo depending on the cultural background of the person cooking, or the taste preference of the one cooking and the people the cook is feeding, and of course, depending on the ingredients being used.

Me for instance grew up with our adobo to be dry, fatty, oily, and a bit tangy and sometimes a bit salty, sour, and sweet. My husband on the other hand, wanted an adobo that is dry but not oily, using leaner meat, and tastes salty-sour and more peppery.

Though the main ingredient to be used for this week's theme is chicken, adding pork isn't really a deviation so I went for it. And since I don't want to settle for the usual adobo, I experimented. For this particular adobo recipe, I added 7UP not only to aid in tenderizing the meats but also to add sweetness and special flavor. I also slow cooked the meat not only because slow-cooking will bring out the full flavor of the meat but I also want the pork and the chicken to be fork-tender. I wanted my chicken meat to be falling off the bone.

I put so much effort in this meal, seared, braised, and slow-cooked the meat - and it paid off. My husband liked it as much as I did.

CHICKEN PORK ADOBO with 7UP

Ingredients :

Chicken thighs - 4 pcs (medium) Pork Belly, sliced into 1" thick - 200 g. Garlic, coarsely chopped - 12 cloves Bay Leaves - 3 pcs Black Peppercorns Soy Sauce (I used UFC) - 1/3 c White Vinegar - 1/3 c Water - 4 c or just enough to cook the meats 7UP - 1 can (355 ml) Sunflower oil - 1 tbsp Sesame oil - 2 tsp

Cooking Procedure:

1. Place 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and pan sear the pork and chicken until all their sides turned brown. 2. Add the sesame oil and saute the garlic until it is aromatic. Stir in the black peppercorn and bay leaves. Stir in the pork and chicken. 3. Pour the soy sauce, vinegar, and 1 c of water and let the meat simmer in it for at least 5 minutes under medium fire. Cover the pan.

This allows the meat to absorb the flavors from the condiments and spices.

4.Pour the 7UP and 3 c of water and bring to a boil. Cook Meat for 2 hrs until the meat are fork-tender. Check every 20 minutes for the water level. Add more water as needed. Always cover the pan.

Cook the meat until it is fork-tender and make sure that most of the liquids have evaporated. Well, you can retain some for the sauce if you want to :-)

If you are interested in more adobo recipes, check our Adobo recipe collection.

myFresha-licious (25March2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Monday, March 25, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, chicken, CHICKEN / OTHER POULTRY, Filipino, Filipino Pork Recipe, Filipino Poultry Recipe, Main Dish, PORK Reactions: MONDAY, 18 MARCH 2013 Adobong Pusit II

Adobong Pusit is squid cooked the popular Pinoy adobo way. Whenever I cook squid into whatever dish that is, I always make sure that I remove the ink. Most of the time, the squid's black ink irks me because it stains the teeth, gums, and insides of the mouth. This is also the reason why I prefer using the frozen sliced squids over the fresh small ones, at least I'm spared from the cleaning part.

I know, I know. The black ink provides more of the squidy-flavor. I get that. No further argument. I think that is also the very reason why, when my husband cooks adobong pusit or any squid dish using the fresh small squids, the black ink is always present.

Here is Frederick's recipe of ADOBONG PUSIT

Ingredients :

Squid, cleaned and sliced - 400 g Garlic, chopped- 10 cloves (+/- or as desired) Onions, diced - 1 medium Black Pepper Powder Magi Magic Sarap Vinegar Fish Sauce Salt to taste Water- 1/4 c Vegetable Oil

Cooking Procedure :

1. Heat oil in a pan, over medium heat, and saute garlic until it is aromatic then add onion. 2. Stir in squids. Season with black pepper powder, magi magic sarap, and fish sauce. Stir fry for a few minutes (about 5 minutes). 3. Pour water and vinegar. Simmer under low fire for at least 10 minute. Add salt as needed to adjust taste

Do not prolong the cooking as the squid will become tough.

myFresha-licious (18March2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Monday, March 18, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook

Links to this post Labels: Adobo, Filipino, Filipino Seafood Recipe, Main Dish, SEAFOODS, squid Reactions: THURSDAY, 14 MARCH 2013 Hot & Spicy Adobong Atay at Balunbalunan ng Manok

One of the things I am not fond of eating is adobong atay (liver) at balunbalunan (gizzard) ng manok (chicken). Since the gizzard is tasteless and tough and the chicken liver usually is overcooked making the texture to be grainy and taste like a bitter mud. But since I need to eat liver and I am still afraid to eat cow's liver, thinking that they belong to the red meat category, I have to deal with chicken liver.

Eating liver is beneficial for those suffering from anemia. That's why I decided to cook a liver dish. And what would be the most traditional way to cook it than cooking it adobo style with chicken gizzard and heart. I made a variation however, since I find the usual adobo recipe to be a little bit boring so I have to create something that adds excitement to it. And I was successful.

The result is a flavourful hot & spicy, sour and a little bit sweet adobo dish. And the gizzard is tender to the bite and the liver is cooked as I wanted it to be - soft and a bit bloody. I love this dish and my husband love it too. Frederick even said that this dish is good as a pulutan (appetizer that goes with beer/alcohol)

There's just one thing though, I should have garnished this dish with onions sliced into rings :-( next tim I will.

HOT & SPICY ADOBONG ATAY AT BALUNBALUNAN

Ingredients :

Chicken Liver - 150 g Chicken gizzard - 150 g Chicken Heart - 50 g

Garlic, coarsely chopped - 5 cloves Hot Chillis, dried and crushed - as desired Sunflower oil - 2 tsp Sesame oil - 1 tspWater - 1 c

Marinade:

Tomato catsup - 4 tbsp Soy Sauce - 3 tbsp

Freshly squeezed lime juice from 2 medium fruits Hot sauce - 1/2 tbsp

Sugar - 2 tsp or to taste Garlic powder black pepper powder

Cooking Procedure:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade. Marinade the liver, gizzard, and heart in it for at least 2 hours 2. Drain the gizzard and heart. Leave the marinade sauce and continue to marinade the liver in it 3. Pour the sesame and sunflower oil in a frying pan add the garlic and dried chilis and saute them under medium fire until aromatic. 4. Stir in the gizzard and the heart for a minute then pour the water and let them simmer for at least 20 minutes under medium fire. 5. Pour the marinade on the gizzard-heart mixture. Leave a small amount to marinade the liver. Bring to a simmer until almost all of the liquids have evaporated. 6. Drain the chicken liver and toss it in the pan. Stir and let simmer for a minute then remove from fire.

Remove the dish from the pan immediately and serve. Let the dish cool down on a plate. Garnish it with onions sliced into rings :-) (which I forgot to do)

myFresha-licious (14March2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Thursday, March 14, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, Beer/Acohol Companion, CHICKEN / OTHER POULTRY, chicken gizzard, chicken liver, Filipino, Filipino Poultry Recipe, Main Dish Reactions: WEDNESDAY, 30 JANUARY 2013 Chicken Pork Adobo

I haven't cooked pork for months now. Pork dishes are one of my favorites that I have to give up due to my hostile gut :-( At first I thought I won't be able to survive not eating pork but I did. I'd rather not eat pork than suffer an agonizing painful stomach for days :-).

And since my husband hasn't had pork since new year, I have decided to use some of those piled pork cuts in our freezer. You see, when we were still in Singapore before moving to Qatar, I thought that pork is not available in this country since it is a Muslim country, but then again, Qatar is one of those open countries here in the Middle East, thus, pork is also sold here. It is regulated though, like alcoholic food and beverages, and it is very pricey. Regular supermarkets in Qatar do not carry pork nor wines and spirits. Not even in carrefour. Restaurants here do not serve pork neither. We can only buy pork when we go buy wines, beer, or any alcoholic drinks since they are sold in one place that is located far outside of the city. That's why when we buy pork, we stock on it. Including pork luncheon meat, pork bouillons, and anything related to pork. One important thing to remember, one needs to have a license to be able to buy pork and alcoholic beverages / food here in Qatar.

CHICKEN PORK ADOBO

Ingredients:

Chicken - 400 g. Pork - 400 g. Soy Sauce - 1/3 c. Fish Sauce - 1/8 c Sukang iloko - 1/4 c White Vinegar - 1/4 c Brown Sugar - 2 tsp Whole Black Peppercorns Garlic, crushed and chopped - 10 cloves Bay leaf - 2 pcs Water Canola or any Vegetable oil

Cooking Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pan and sear pork until browned on each side. 2. Transfer the pork in a pressure cooker, add water just enough to cover the meat, the soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil under pressure for 10 minutes (start timing from the moment the cooker whistles. 3. While pressure cooking the pork, saute the chicken and garlic in the same oil you used to sear the pork. Stir fry the chicken until there is no blood coming out from it and it almost turned brown. 4. After releasing the pressure from the cooker, pour the pork and the liquids on the chicken. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer it until all the liquids have evaporated. 5. Let the chicken and pork fry further on the remaining oil.

Serve with your favorite cooked rice :-)

myFresha-licious (30January2013)

Served by myFresha-licious on Wednesday, January 30, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, chicken, CHICKEN / OTHER POULTRY, Filipino, Filipino Pork Recipe, Filipino Poultry Recipe, Main Dish, PORK Reactions: FRIDAY, 25 JANUARY 2013 Camel Adobo

My husband cooked camel adobo some days ago. Yes, I'm referring to the tall dessert animals with hunched backs. Camel is a popular food in Qatar and the rest of the countries in the Middle East. They are bred either for transport, for sports, or for food consumption.

It's our first time to cook and eat camel. And to be safe, Frederick cooked it adobo style so he won't go wrong. I was actually thinking of nilagang camel for us to be able to taste the real flavor of the camel meat without the interference of too many flavors. But since I am not the cook, I let my husband do what he likes with the meat.

My husband and I agreed that the taste is between a beef and a goat's meat. But it is far tastier than beef and has a lesser gamey flavor of a goat's meat or mutton. And compared to beef, camel meat are leaner and has lesser saturated fats making it a healthier alternative for beef. Uuuhhhm yes I tasted the meat minus the sauce, for the first time and I liked it. But my tummy rejected it :-( I only had a very small bite (less than half an inch!) what a waste :-( (I have IBS and my stomach reacts violently against some food and red meat is its worst enemy)

Interesting facts about camels:

1. camel means beauty in Arabic 2. it's hump stores fat and not water

For more interesting trivias about camels, check Michele Collet's 20 Amazing Fact About Camels.

For those in Qatar who wants to try camel meat, you can buy them from carrefour

CAMEL ADOBO

Ingredients :

Camel meat, sliced into 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" - 500 g. Soy Sauce Vinegar Oyster Sauce Garlic, chopped - 4 cloves Onion, diced - 1 medium Black Pepper corn Bay leaves - 2 pcs Water Magi Magic Sarap

Cooking Procedure :

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Sear the meat until it almost turned brown. 2. Add in the garlic then the onions and pepper corns, stir. 3. Pour water enough to cover the meat and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil under pressure for at least 15 minutes (time it starting from the moment the cooker whistles) 4. Remove pressure from the cooker and continue cooking the meat until it is fork-tender. Add more water as needed.

You can simmer the meat until it becomes dry or you can leave a bit of sauce with it.

myFresha-licious (25January2013) Served by myFresha-licious on Friday, January 25, 2013 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, camel, Filipino Other Meat Recipe, Main Dish, OTHER MEAT Reactions: SATURDAY, 24 NOVEMBER 2012 Adobong Hito

I just realized that I can no longer do one of the things my husband and I used to love doing together - that is eating in a buffet restaurant :-( My sister Tin and I hit Dad's the other day for their buffet merrienda. I only eat a little but I think it is already enough to make P199 (per head) worth it. Tin said the dinuguan is great, the shawarma not bad but they could add more beef than vegetables. I like the biko, the pancit bihon, and the palabok. Overall, along with the refillable iced tea that came in free, my P199 plus P4 for the wet napkin is satisfying for the tummy while easy on the budget. What do you get for a P200 bucks in Manila? Go to fastfood chains and have a burger, fries, and a beverage. Or you can spend it in a carinderia for more than 3 viands, a cup or two of rice, and a refillable NAWASA water :-)

What we are about to post is another recipe for catfish or hito that is often cooked at home. Here goes the adobong hito.

My parents usually cooks hito (cat fish) either with coconut milk, what we call ginataan, fried, grilled, or as adobo. I like adobong hito specially when it comes to its tail part since it is a bit oily but tasty. So when Mammy cooked hito, I got her recipe.

By the way, hito when not cleaned and cooked properly will taste awfully slimy. That's why when we buy hito, my parents want them alive. How does my parents clean the hito? Simple. They rub the hito with dapo (ashes) then with salt. If you can't get your hands with ashes, use salt.

ADOBONG HITO

Ingredients:

Catfish, cut into serving portions - 2 medium pcs Soy Sauce - 6 tbsp Vinegar - 6 tbsp Ground Black Pepper Garlic, crushed Onions, diced Ginger, crushed Water - about 1/2 cup only Vegetable Oil

Cooking Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Saute the garlic until it turns brown then toss in the ginger and onions.

2. Once aromatic, add the catfish and pan fry it until all the liquids evaporated. Stir occasionally. 3. Pour in the water, soy sauce, vinegar, and ground black pepper and let it simmer until most of the liquids have evaporated.

Fresha-licious (24November2012) Served by myFresha-licious on Saturday, November 24, 2012 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, catfish, Filipino, Filipino Fish Recipe, FISH, Ilocano, Main Dish, Tabuk Reactions: SATURDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2012 Adobong Buto-Buto ng Baboy

Adobo again? :-) indeed it is. In a typical Ilocano get-together, there are a few dishes that are almost often present specially when a pig is butchered. Dinakdakan, dinardaraan, lauya, igado, and of course adobo to name a few. These dishes are all part of the spread we had during our family's get together last Undas. (see below the links of those dishes cooked during our family's get-together)

When a pig is butchered, the cook usually separates the meat from the fat and from the bones. The bones are either cooked as soup, as lauya (boiled pork soup) for instance but in our case, the bones were cooked as adobo. My parents usually make nilagang buto-buto as the resulting soup is more flavourful as compared to using lean meat or meat-with-fat specially when it is slow-cooked for hours. The flavors coming from the bones blends deliciously with the rest of the ingredients and are retained in the soup. The same goes true with this adobo. The flavor from the slow-cooked bones-with-meat blended with the spices and the condiments made a delicious oily-sauce. Not to mention that the meat is juicier as compared to using lean meat.

The ingredients? Oh, there's nothing new nor fancy with it. It is the same usual simple ingredients for adobo.

ADOBONG BUTO-BUTO NG BABOY

Ingredients:

Pork Ribs and bones - all of it Soy Sauce - 3 cups Cane Vinegar - 3 cups Black Peppercorns Bay leaves - 10 pcs (+/-) Garlic, crushed - 2 heads Water - enough to tenderize the pork

Cooking Procedure:

Dump all the ingredients in a pot and slow cook the meat for at least 1 1/2 hours or until they are fork-tender . Add more water as needed and let it simmer until most of the liquids have evaporated living a small amount of oily sauce

Below are some of the dishes that were cooked during our family's get-together. These dishes are typically found in an Ilocano get-togethers / parties. Lauya, chicken tinola, chicken adobo, macaroni salad, palitaw sa latik (recipe to be posted later on) and inkiwar were served too. Sangkong Elmer also cooked a duck ala caldereta but I wasn't able to get his recipe :-(

1.Pancit Bihon Guisado 2.Dinardaraan: Crunchy Pork Intestines

3.Dinakdakan nga Baboy 4.Pork Bistek - Ilocano Way 5.Sweet Braised Pork Fat 6.Igado: Stewed Pork Loin, Liver & Innards Fresha-licious (10November2012)

Served by myFresha-licious on Saturday, November 10, 2012 No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Links to this post Labels: Adobo, Filipino, Filipino Pork Recipe, kid's food, Main Dish, PORK, Pork bones, pork ribs Reactions: MONDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2012 Pork Fat Adobo with Catsup

The fatty portions of pork is usually relegated and most of the time, is discarded due to its unhealthy implication in ones well-being. For most people, the site of pork fat in a dish would make them balk from touching it. That's for the health conscious and those who can afford to be choosy when it comes to what food to eat and put inside their bodies. But for those who have no choice but to make do with what is available in front of them, and a slab of pork fat makes a good meal, and for the poor people, a slab of pork means a feast of food.

Despite being branded as an unhealthy food, there's nothing wrong when you indulge in the fatty goodness of pork once in a while specially when it is cooked in a way that will not ruin your palate and cloy your appetite :) When my stomach is still capable of digesting red meat and fat at that, I often overindulge on pork fat that I often get nauseated. But believe me when I say that cooking pork fat this way will not make you surfeit.

This is, by the way, my brother-in-law's recipe. He has other recipe for fatty pork parts which I plan to oblige him to cook some other days and of course I'll share the recipes to you :-) The taste of this is a delicious balance of sweetness, sourness, and savoriness and the pork fat that is chewy-soft to the bite, it will make you guzzle down a pot of rice :-)

CAUTION: THIS IS NOT FOR THE HEALTH CONSCIOUS, OR FOR THOSE WITH CHOLESTEROL PROBLEMS, OR WITH HIGH-BLOOD PRESSURE PROBLEMS, OR THOSE WITH OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS!!! Consult your doctor or your dietician before cooking and eating this dish :-)

PORK FAT ADOBO W/ CATSUP

Ingredients:

Pork Belly or Pork fat with skin on- 500 g. or 2 slabs Banana Catsup Onion Leaves Water enough to cover the pork

Marinade Sauce:

Soy Sauce Cane Vinegar Brown sugar Black pepper, ground Garlic, crushed and minced - 10 cloves Red onions, diced - 3 small

Cooking Procedure:

1. Place the slabs of liempo and water just enough to cover the pork in a pot and bring to a boil under medium heat until the pork is a bit tender. 2. Drain and slice the the pork into 1/2" thick. 3. Mix the remaining ingredients except for the onion leaves and catsup and pour it into the sliced pork liempo. Marinade the meat for at least an hour. 4. Place the meat, the marinade sauce, and the catsup in a pot. Let it simmer under medium fire until the meat fries in its own fat . Add more banana catsup as needed to balance the sweetness and sourness of the dish.

Serve and enjoy. Balance your meal with the addition of high fiber food like a grilled or boiled okra (ladyfinger) or a wholegrain brown rice. http://www.myfresha-licious.com/search/label/Adobo

UESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2012 Paksiw na Lechong Manok sa Mang Tomas Sarsa

One source of income of some families here in our town are home-made cooked food. Some are selling viands (cooked meat, vegetables, or fish and packed in a clear plastic bag) peddling them to offices, or to houses, or for some who has extra space in their yard, they set up a few tables and chairs so passersby or even their neighbors who forgot to cook or are lazy to cook can stop by to dine.

Mammy knew of several food peddlers. She usually gets from them, or I may put it correctly and blatantly, these food peddlers usually force her to buy from them ready-to-eat and preserved foods like embutido, longganisa, tocino, morcon, lechon, etc., name it. One of them dropped-off two whole lechong manok the other day. I learned that Mammy ordered just 1 and I didn't even bother to check with her, so that's hell of a lesson learned. Where would our manners be if we return the other, and besides, Mammy doesn't know where she leaves. So I decided to turn the other one into lechong paksiw. Lechong manok , that's Filipinos call roasted chicken. The chicken was stuffed with leaves which I cannot make out. I thought they were onion leaves or lime leaves, but the taste did not confirm it :-( Nonetheless, the lechong manok was pretty tasty. It was roasted (I'm not sure if she used an oven or a turbo broiler) wrapped in an aluminum foil that may be the reason why the meat was moist.

I added sarsa, Mang Tomas sarsa to be specific. Sarsa is basically a lechon sauce and is made of liver as the main ingredients and some others. I need to try my hands on making sarsa. I like Mang Tomas sarsa, as a dip for any fried or even steamed and grilled meat and fish, and I love to use it in cooking (check our other recipes using Mang Tomas sarsa here.)

Do you know that my nephews and niece loved it so much? They really did that they had it for three consecutive meals and when the dish is all finished we had a difficult time stopping them from wailing. Not even a chocolate drink or coke can pacify them (sigh)

Oh before it slips my mind, I weighed in last Monday when I consulted a doctor (a GP). The nurse got my weight and height, and I am happy to announce that I lost almost 8 kg - I'm 52 kg!!!. The last time I weighed when we were still in Singapore a couple of days before my husband and I left the said country for good, I weighed almost 60kg :-( The secret? Let me share to you

1. No eating of red meat and no eating of fatty foods, but I still eat oily and fried foods once in a while. 2. Less intake of sugary food. But if you can't help it, at least you should be conscious as to the amount of sugar you take per day. And if I need to use sugar, I go for splenda, equal, or brown sugar only. AND, No processed white sugar. 3. Less intake of simple white carbohydrates. I only go for the complex once. Wholegrain red rice or brown rice only. If there is non available, I eat only 2 spoonful of white rice and lots of vegetables or just the root crops if our viand consist of such. For root crops, I choose sweet potatoes, yam, taro, and other high-fiber root crops over white rice and potatoes. 4. I eat three or even 4 times a day but I eat it small portions only. 5. I drink kalamansi juice from 8 to 10 fruits in the morning upon rising or any time of the day as long as it is 4 hours after my last food intake and/or 1 hr before. That's the only fruit I take. If I eat bananas or any sugary food, I do not eat any other carbohydrates anymore. 6. Oh, I'm more into eating vegetables, fish, and chicken, oily or not :-) AND, I indulge myself with chips and sweets at least thrice or more than that a week :-)

PAKSIW NA LECHONG MANOK SA MANG TOMAS SARSA

Ingredients:

Lechong Manok, cut into serving portions - 1 whole Garlic, crushed - 7 cloves Red Onions, diced - 1 large Cane Vinegar - 1/3 c Water - 1 c Soy Sauce - 1/8 c Brown Sugar - 1/4 c

Mang Tomas Sarsa - 1 1/2 c

Salt to taste

Cooking Procedure:

Dump all the ingredients in a pot. I used a non-stick pot. Then let it simmer until half of the liquids have evaporated. Stir occassionally. Serve over steamed rice or like me, over a wholegrain red rice. With a handful of blanched pechay, makes the meal perfect\ http://www.myfresha-licious.com/2012/10/paksiw-na-lechong-manok-sa-mang-tomas.html ================================================================= Adobong Manok sa Gata (Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk) Recipe

Ingredients: 1 lbs free-range chicken, cut in 8 portions 2 stalk lemongrass, pounded 2 tbsp oil 2 tbsp ginger root, julienned 1 pc medium red onion, sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced cup white vinegar salt freshly ground black pepper 800 ml thick coconut cream chili (of your choice) 500 gms green papaya, peeled, seeds removed, properly cleaned and sliced to bite-sized pieces Procedures:

1. In a large pot, saut ginger, garlic, and lemon grass in oil. 2. Add the chicken pieces, season with salt, vinegar and a generous sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper. 3. Cover and cook for 15 mins or until the vinegar is completely absorbed by the chicken pieces. 4. Add 400 ml of coconut milk. Stir constantly for the first 10 mins to avoid curdling of the coconut milk. 5. Cover and simmer for 30 mins or until the coconut milk is half absorbed. Stir occasionally to avoid scorching. 6. Add the slices of green papaya and the chili. When the papaya is half done, add the remaining 400 ml of coconut milk. Stir for the first 10 mins to avoid curdling. 7. Simmer for another 20-30 mins or until all the liquid is almost absorbed and the chicken pieces are falling off the bones. Serve with lots of steamed rice. =================================================================== Cooking a Filipino Classic: My Chicken Adobo Recipe by BEN on APRIL 18, 2013 3 COMMENTS in RECIPE One of the Asian cuisines that is still somewhat of a mystery to many is Filipino food. But there seems to be an upswing of interest, especially after watching Filipino-American Chef Sheldon Simeon get far in the recent season of Top Chef. (I rooted for him because hes from Hawaii!)

When I was growing up in Hawaii, the Filipino community was large and growing. But my only exposure to the food was limited to lumpia similar to spring rolls or egg rolls and chicken adobo. Because Im not a fan of deep-fried foods, I hardly ate lumpia. But I did eat my fair share of chicken adobo, the chicken dish over rice with soy sauce and vinegar flavors.

I tried to make it at home recently, so I searched for a recipe. Most used the basic ingredients of soy, vinegar, garlic and bay leaves. But whenever I made it, it kept coming out tasting like a version of my sticky chicken recipe, which has very similar core ingredients.

I kept experimenting with the proportions of vinegar and sugar, and it still didnt have that unique flavor that I remember from Hawaii. It was too Japanese like or Chinese like. I finally threw in star anise as well as used light soy sauce, and that finally came close to what I remember eating.

Just to be clear I am not Filipino, and Im in no way trying to pass this off as an authentic chicken adobo recipe. Still, its my easy-to-make version with a twist that hopefully keeps this classic going strong. Enjoy!

The finished dish served with steamed rice and greens My Chicken Adobo Recipe Makes 2 to 3 servings

Ingredients: 4 to 6 chicken thighs, bone-in (about 1.5 to 2 lbs.) 1/2 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup light soy sauce 1/4 cup sugar 2 garlic cloves, finely diced 2 bay leaves 1-2 star anise

Prep chicken by removing skin and excess fat (I do this mostly to be healthy, but you can leave the skin on if you want). In a shallow dish, mix vinegar, soy sauce and sugar and then place chicken thighs in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least six hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, place chicken thighs and marinade in a saucepan or frying pan. Add remaining ingredients: garlic, bay leaves, and star anise. Find a pan that fits the chicken while allowing the sauce to barely cover the thighs. Cover the pan and bring pan to a boil, then immediately reduce to simmer. Cook covered for 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Bring heat up to medium and reduce sauce. You might need to skim the sauce first for excess fat. Reduce the sauce for about 20 minutes until the right thickness.

Serve chicken with sauce over steam rice. http://focussnapeat.com/2013/04/18/cooking-a-filipino-classic-my-chicken-adobo-recipe/

TAMARIND CHICKEN ADOBO WITH COCONUT MILK

This recipe makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

1 kg. chicken portions (I used chicken thighs) 2 tbsps. fish sauce 1 tbsp. light soy sauce 1/4 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsps. of cooking oil 3 cloves of garlic, crushed 1/4 c. tamarind puree or ready bought concentrate 2 stalks of lemon grass, smashed 1 tbsp. brown sugar 1 c. coconut milk 1-2 green chillies, sliced diagonally

Method:

Season the chicken portions with the fish sauce, brown sugar and pepper.

Saute the crushed garlic in 2 tbsps. of oil. Add the seasoned chicken and saute until it changes colour. Add the tamarind puree, lemon grass and coconut milk. Simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Add the green chillies. Give it another minute and it's done. http://www.adorasbox.net/2012/03/tamarind-chicken-adobo-with-coconut.html

Ingredients:

800 gms. skinless pork belly rashers, cut in 3" lengths 8 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tbsps. oyster sauce 2 tbsps. light soy sauce 1 tbsp. lemon juice 2 tbsps. white wine vinegar (or any white vinegar) 3-4 dried Chinese mushrooms 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper 3 tbsps. brown sugar 1 tsp. dark soy sauce 1 egg white 1tsp. salt 2 tbsps. water corn flour for dredging oil for frying 1 tbsps. chopped chives

Method:

Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water to soften.

In a skillet, marinate the pork pieces in oyster sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, light soy sauce, black pepper, 1 tbsp. of brown sugar and half of the garlic. Leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer until tender, for about an hour. The liquid can be topped up with the mushroom liquid if it gets too dry. The meat should be fork tender but not falling apart.

Take the meat out of the sauce (reserve the sauce for later). Dredge the cooked pieces of pork lightly in corn flour, shaking off the excess. Beat the egg white with the 2 tbsps. of water and the 1 tsp. of salt. Dip the coated pork pieces in this before again dredging in corn flour. Shake off the excess corn flour. Heat up some oil in a frying pan or wok. Shallow fry the pork pieces in medium heat until crisp and golden brown in color. Drain on kitchen paper, then transfer to a serving dish.

In a clean pan or wok, heat up 2 tbsps. of oil (you can use the same oil the pork was fried in) and fry the garlic on low heat until golden. Skim off the fried garlic and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tbsps. of brown sugar to the same pan and stir until melted. Add the reserved sauce and the 1 tsp. of dark soy sauce.

Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Rinse in cold water before sqeezing dry. Cut into thin strips and add to the sauce. Reduce until medium thick. Check the seasonings.

To serve, drizzle the sauce on the pork pieces then sprinkle with the fried garlic and chives. Serve.

IMPOSSIBLE CAKE (CHOCOFLAN)

I am a doubting Thomas when it comes to trying new recipes. Not that I doubt the recipe. I doubt my skills at following recipes. Sometimes though, there are recipes that I just have to try to make because they look so delicious. I love pouring custard rather than cream on chocolate cake so when I saw this recipe I knew this was something I'd like. Not only did it have chocolate cake and custard, it also had caramel. Just by the looks of it, I could tell how delicious it was.

This cake is also known as Chocoflan. Basically it is a chocolate cake with a cream cheese flan on top of it. Sounds simple and it actually is simple and easy to make. It is the way it is baked that earned it its name. The chocolate cake batter gets poured in a caramel lined pan before the custard mixture is poured on top of it. Once baked, the two mixtures would have switched places. The custard settles to the bottom of the pan and the cake floats to the top. When inverted, the caramel glazed custard would be the crowning glory. I was expecting a much richer tasting cake but was pleasantly surprised that it has a very gentle comforting flavour and texture that you could just go on eating more and more. It wasn't super sweet so serving it with more caramel sauce gave it a more complete taste. I will probably add a bit more cocoa powder next time as my son said it could probably use more.

I chose to follow Marcella Valladolid's recipe because I know that she would be an expert on these sort of things. The recipe is straightforward and all you have to do is to believe that it will work because it actually will. There were a few things I had to change. The size specifications of the condensed milk and evaporated milk tins were a bit different from the ones we have here in the UK. I used a 410 gm. tin of evaporated milk and a 397 gm. tin of condensed milk. Although a 12-cup bundt tin was specified, I used a 10-cup one because that was all I had. I also used half Greek yoghurt and half milk in place of the buttermilk.

The recipe worked like a dream and I was nervous about taking it out of the mold but it came out easily and in one beautiful piece. The cake was dense but not heavy and the flan is soft, rich but not cloying. I was fascinated by how the liquid white flan mixture seeped past the thick chocolate cake batter and still came out untainted. Celebrate World Baking Day on Sunday (May 19). If you want to impress your friends and family, make this cake, make the impossible possible. Amaze them.

Adapted from Marcella Valladolid's recipe of Chocoflan. Ingredients for the cake batter: 10 tbsps. butter, room temperature 1 c. sugar 1 egg 1 3/4 c. plain flour 1/4 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. baking soda 1/3 c. cocoa powder 1/4 tsp. fine salt 1 1/4 c. buttermilk (I used half Greek yoghurt and half milk)

To assemble the cake you will need: butter or baking spray for greasing 1/2 c. (or more) caramel, dulce de leche, cajeta or toffee fudge sauce whole pecans for decoration Instructions: Pre-heat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan (I used a 10-cup one) with butter or baking spray. Pour 1/4 c. of caramel at the bottom of the pan. If the caramel is too thick,

warm it up just so it will settle evenly on the bottom of the pan.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and beat until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Beat 1/3 of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk into the egg mixture. Repeat, ending with the last of the flour mixture. Blend well. Spoon the cake batter into the pan. Carefully drag a fork on the top to even it out without disturbing the caramel at the bottom.

Slowly pour the flan mixture into the cake batter.

Cover with baking paper (so the top won't stick to the foil when cooked), then with foil.

Sit the bundt pan on a roasting tin and add about an inch of hot water. Bake for about an hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. The cake layer should rise to the top. If there are still wet patches of custard remaining on top, cook further. Remove from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Gently run a rubber spatula around the edge and the center of the pan. Put an inverted rimmed plate on top of the pan, jiggle and flip over. Remove the pan and

scrape any remaining caramel onto the cake. Arrange pecans on top and drizzle with more caramel. Slice and serve with caramel sauce. Ingredients for the flan: 1 1 4 3 1 410 gm. can of evaporated milk 397 gm. can of condensed milk ounces of cream cheese, room temperature eggs tbsp. vanilla extract

Instructions: Mix all of the ingredients together and blend in a blender or with a hand blender.

===================================================================

UBE WITH PASTILLAS DE LECHE RIPPLE ICE CREAM

I was stumped by the Kulinarya Cooking Club's theme for this month. I am supposed to make something that I would like to have on my birthday. A seemingly simple task that should actually be easy as it can be anything. The problem is, I don't cook on my birthday. That is my special treat for myself_a break from cooking. But if I were to cook or make something it would be cake or ice cream because no birthday celebration should be without those two treats. So here it is, the recipe for my birthday treat, if ever I decide to have one: ube with pastillas de leche ripple ice cream. This ice cream is denser than store bought ice cream because it is loaded withhalaya (purple yam jam). The streaks of pastillas de leche adds both interest and complementary flavour.

Here's the recipe:

For the UBE HALAYA:

Cook the following ingredients together for 5 minutes: 54 gm. pack of frozen grated cooked ube (purple yam) 1 410 gm.tin of evaporated milk 3/4 c. sugar 1 tbsp. butter 1/2 tsp. vanilla red and blue food colouring You only need half of this mixture for the ice cream. You can eat the rest as is or freeze for future use. For the ube ice cream you'll need: 1/2 of the cooked ube jam 300 mls. tub of double cream 1 c. condensed milk 1 c. fresh milk Use a blender or hand blender to mix all of the ingredients. Transfer to a plastic tub and set aside in the refrigerator. For the pastillas de leche ripple, you'll need: 2 c. fresh milk 1/2 c. white sugar 2 1/2 c. powdered milk 2 tbsps. butter Heat up the milk and sugar in a pan. Add the butter. Take off the heat as soon as the butter melts. Add the powdered milk and stir until smooth. Refrigerate. TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM I used a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker for this. You have to freeze the tub of the ice cream maker overnight. It is better to make the ube ice cream mixture and pastillas de leche ripple the day before and refrigerate so that everything is very cold when you put them in the ice cream maker. Start the machine and

pour in the pastillas de leche ripple. Let this thicken for about 20 minutes. This will not fluff up like ice cream. It will be thick and fudgy. Transfer this to a container and leave in the freezer as you churn theube ice cream. You don't need to wash the tub. Pour the ube ice cream mixture in and run the machine for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is very thick and fluffy.

Get a container and put a few scoops of ube ice cream in. Add a few dollopspastillas in. Add more ube ice cream. Repeat the layers until all the ice cream is in the container. With a butter knife, make a few gentle swirls in the ice cream. Freeze for a few hours to set. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you will have to whisk the ube ice cream mixture and pastillas de leche ripple separately with an electric mixer. Freeze. After a few hours, whisk again to break up any ice particles. Repeat the process until the mixture is evenly fluffy and nearly set. Then layer them and swirl with a butter knife. Freeze to set.

===================================================================

LECHE FLAN CHEESE CAKE

Leche flan (creme caramel) always evoke memories of town fiestas. Although the ingredients are just eggs, milk and sugar, it is always part of the array of special fiesta fare. I don't really know if you can make just oneleche flan as the recipe always makes at least two. Thinking about it brings a flashback of kitchen memories: stacks of flaneras (flan molds) being lined with caramel syrup in readiness for the egg custard, steamers billowing steam clouds ready to be loaded with the uncooked flans, and the best pressed glass platters being prepared to serve the flans. As a child, I always wanted to be in the hub of the preparations. I loved watching people cook. I loved being handed little morsels to taste. What I loved most was to sneak out a prepared flanera, crack the caramel at the bottom and eat the shards. What joy! I have never lost my taste for leche flan but never got to eat a lot of it. It is because I want to reserve it for special occasions. The Kulinarya Cooking Club's theme for April is a memorable and decadent Filipino food. The theme in itself is one mouthful. So I decided to bring to the table a concoction that embodies everything I like. I injected a touch of decadence to the classic leche

flan by adding cream cheese to the flan mixture and using a sponge cake as a base. It is cross between a cheesecake and a custard cake. It has all the goodness and creaminess of an all egg yolk leche flan, mixed with cream cheese instead of just pure milk and flavoured with lime zest and vanilla. The base is soft and light vanilla sponge cake instead of biscuit crumb. The two together has an uninterrupted creamy and voluptuous texture. Caramel syrup contrasts with the cheese cake and crowns the dessert. It gives a toasty accent to this creamy concoction. Note: I have made this cake several times with success and this is the recipe I've used. However, I do apologize, that because of a typographical error, the recipe fails. This has now been corrected, additional instructions supplied and the amount of caramel reduced ( to temper the sweetness). The sponge is not as moist as regular sponge. I have tried other cake bases but this is the lightest one so far and is the only one that floats on the cheesecake base. I have seen similar cakes (called flancocho) that uses yellow cake mix as one of the ingredient for the base but I didn't use that because it comes with a warning that the cake mixture may sink into the cheesecake mixture. This is the recipe for the above cheesecake shown in the picture and I hope you give it a try. Ingredients for the cream cheese leche flan:

3/4 c. sugar 3 tbsps. water 1 can of sweetened condensed milk 8 oz. cream cheese (about a cup) 6 egg yolks 1 tsp. vanilla grated zest of 1 lime

Method: Pre-heat the oven to 325F /170 C. Prepare a 9" diameter cake pan.

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan. On low heat, melt the sugar while stirring. When the sugar melts, stop stirring, and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook on medium heat until the syrup is a deep golden brown. Do not overcook. Brush the sides of the pan downwards with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. When ready, pour into a greased 9" diameter cake tin and swirl to coat the bottom. Set aside. Whisk the rest of the ingredients together until smooth. Set aside. Prepare the cake batter.

Ingredients for the sponge cake:

3 whole eggs, room temperature 1/3 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. flour

Whisk the eggs and sugar until thick and light coloured. The mixture should leave a trail when drizzled on its surface. Sift the flour over it and fold with a metal spoon.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Pour the cream cheese flan mixture into the caramel syrup coated pan. This step is important so that the cake batter doesn't sink: pour the cake batter on the back of a big spoon into the flan mixture. The batter will float on top of the flan mixture. Do not stir.

Bake au baine marie: Fill a baking tray that's big enough to accommodate the cake pan and fill with water to reach up to a quarter of its side. Make sure that your cake pan is tight. Wrap the bottom and sides with foil to be sure. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. Test with a cocktail stick. The cocktail stick should feel sticky when the flan at the bottom is cooked. Leave to cool in the pan. Refrigerate. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cake pan before inverting into a serving dish to serve. If you find it difficult to unmold. Sit the bottom of the cake pan in pan of hot water.
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HOMEMADE LONGGANISA (FILIPINO SAUSAGE)

Filipino sausage is generally called longganisa and the style varies from region to region. When I was growing up, the only longganisa I knew was the bright red, short and fat ones from our local market. They were sold in links and had to be boiled before frying. The main flavouring is garlic and there were no herbs nor spice save for a generous amount of black pepper. The seasoning is a perfect balance of saltiness and sweetness. There was one thing that I didn't like about it. There were big globules of fat interspersed in the minced meat. I know that what I have just said would send some people running off to find THAT sausage but I am not some people. I hated fat then and still do now. I have horrid memories of what fat tastes like so I will end the subject here. Filipino sausages are served with rice. This is usually served at breakfast with garlic fried rice and fried eggs with a side of fresh tomatoes or green papaya pickle. On a recent trip home, I was happy to learn that McDonald's serves this for breakfast. I can't remember how many times I had it. I make my own longganisa because I do not know what goes in the longganisa sold at the Oriental shop. We used to buy them only from people we know. This is as simple and basic as longganisa can get but it is pure clean meat without artificial colouring or preservatives. Being skinless, the only work

you have to do is to mix and fry it.

Ingredients: 3 tbsps. light soy sauce 2 tbsps. shao hsing wine or dry sherry 1 tbsp. crushed garlic 3 tbsps. brown sugar 1 tsp. paprika 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper 2 tbsps. oil 750 gms. minced pork Instructions: In a mixing bowl, blend the soy sauce, wine, sugar, garlic, black pepper and oil together. You can omit the oil if your pork is fatty enough. Add in the minced pork and stir very well in one direction until the mixture becomes pasty. Transfer to a lidded glass container and refrigerate for three days to cure. Divide the mixture into 16 portions. Shape each into a sausage shape. You can pan fry the sausages for 10-15 minutes until cooked through and browned. I like wrapping them in greased foil and baking in a 350 F/180 C oven for 20 minutes for a better shape then pan frying them until browned. Serve with sinangag (garlic fried rice), fried eggs and tomatoes.

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THE BEST RED VELVET CAKE

...recipe search is over. That's what I mean. I have tried a few recipes and this is the best one yet. This recipe makes the most perfect of perfect cakes.

My daughter loves red velvet cake and it has been her choice for her birthday for a few years now. I have been using a different recipe each time I make it because I am still unsatisfied with the outcome. Mind you, it is always "sold out". Maybe I am not a big fan of red velvet cake though I seriously want to be. It is so pretty in looks and in name but the flavour leaves me wanting for more of something that I can't put my finger on. The vibrant red colour probably fools my taste buds into thinking that it has a red flavour. The cocoa is in such a small amount that it doesn't really come out as its flavour. This recipe by Divas Can Cook stood out amongst the rest. I was instantly interested. Their secret ingredient? Coffee! Yes, hot coffee. Cocoa plus coffee equals mocha, right? Not when the colour is bright red. Again, it is the psychology of colours. But never mind what it should taste like, it tastes fabulous! It is very moist and has a lot of flavour. The crumb is perfect. I don't know if you'll approve of what I did next. I know that it already has enough flavour but I really wanted a deeper affirmation of chocolate without adding too much cocoa powder to the cake. I coated the top of each layer with chocolate ganache and that took it to another level of yumminess without diverting the flavour from that of a red velvet cake. In fact it remained unnoticed until I pointed it out. It is that thin line that divides cloud 9 and heaven. Of course the snow white fluffy cream cheese frosting is, shall we say, "the icing on the cake". I used my own favourite recipe for cream cheese frosting and that just tied everything up. All in all, the red velvet cake layers plus the satiny chocolate ganache topped with the creamy cheese frosting makes a cake that's to die for.

Cake recipe by Divas Can Cook. Ingredients for the cake layers: 2 1 1 1 2 c. plain flour tsp. of baking powder tsp. baking soda tsp. salt tbsps. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 c. sugar 1 c. vegetable oil 2 eggs 1 c. buttermilk 2 tsps. vanilla extract 1-2 oz. red food colouring (I used 2 1/4 tsp. of gel food colouring) 1 tsp. distilled white vinegar 1/2 c. of prepared plain hot coffee (don't skip this ingredient) Method: Pre-heat the oven to 325 F/ 170 C. Grease and flour two 9" cake pans. I lined the pans with baking paper. Since it is a moist cake, it sticks a bit so prepare the pans well. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. Mix the sugar and vegetable oil in another bowl. If using gel food colouring, add it in at this stage. You might want to temper the colour (mine's too red, I think). Add in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and food colouring. Stir before adding the coffee and vinegar. Blend everything together. Use a large mixing bowl to combine all the ingredients together. Put about a quarter of the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients gradually, alternating with the dry ingredients, mixing after each addition just until combined. The batter will quite liquid. Divide the mixture equally between the two prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or when a cake tester comes out clean. Do not over bake. Invert on cooling racks. When the pans are just warm, run a knife around the edges to loosen the cakes. Invert onto the cooling racks, peel the lining paper off and leave to cool completely.

Prepare the chocolate ganache and frosting. Ingredients for the chocolate ganache: 1/2 c. double cream 50 gms. of plain chocolate chips or chopped plain chocolate Heat the double cream in a saucepan or in a microwave. It needs to become hot but does not need to boil. Take off the heat and add in the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Refrigerate to cool and thicken. When it is of spreading consistency, it is ready for use. I used both cake layers upside down to make a more level cake. Spread half of the ganache on each cake layer and refrigerate to set before frosting. Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting: 1 c. double cream 1 1/2 c. cream cheese 1 1/4 c. confectioners sugar Whip the double cream until thick and fluffy. Do not over beat. Add in the cream cheese and the confectioners sugar. Whisk again until all combined. Lay one cake layer on a cake plate. Tuck in strips of baking paper under the cake edges to keep the plate clean. Use 1 c. of frosting to fill the bottom cake layer then top with the other cake layer. Use the rest of the frosting to ice the whole cake. Decorate as you like. I used white chocolate buttons which I microwaved for a few seconds. When slightly melted, I sprinkled sugar glitters. I refrigerated this to set. I topped the cake with these buttons and sprinkled sugar pearls.

BUUELOS
Puffs of air rained with sweet sugar, a delight to make and a joy to eat_ this is what buuelos is to me. We buy them in bakeshops and tea shops in Chinatown here in London where they make it extra large for maximum satisfaction. Buuelos are light as air fritters made of flour and eggs. They are actually choux pastries that are fried instead of baked, then dusted with sugar. They are of Spanish origin and are popular in Hispanic countries such as Mexico and Colombia and also in the Philippines. Sometimes the sugar is coloured pink. Although one recipe makes a big quantity, they don't last very long as they are so light and moreish that you can never make enough of them. It is also nice eaten with ice cream and any dessert sauce that you prefer. Ingredients: 1 cup water 3 tbsps. butter 1 c. plain flour, sifted 5 medium eggs oil for deep frying caster sugar Instructions: Place the water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When the butter is melted, add the flour all at once and stir until the mixture forms ball and leaves the side of the pan.

Remove from heat, transfer to a mixing bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Using an electric mixer, beat for 10 seconds before adding the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture will seem curdly at the start but will be smooth after all the eggs are added in. Heat the oil in a pan. When hot, add spoonfuls of the mixture (I used a small

ice cream scoop) and fry until well puffed and golden. The balls will turn by itself and split as it fries but you can nudge it with a slotted spoon to fry it evenly. It is done when it is light (in weight) and golden in colour and have stopped expanding. Remove from the oil and transfer to a kitchen paper lined tray.

Toss in caster sugar. Needless to say, best eaten warm. I'm sure you won't wait long enough anyway.
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CHURROS Y CHOCOLATE
Fried pastry dipped in hot chocolate will be a very sinful indulgence, no matter which way you put it, no matter what the excuse. Indeed, it is something to be partaken with caution and in very miniscule amounts if it can be helped. This churros recipe is sweet enough and just right when dipped in the hot chocolate but of course can still be dusted with sugar or cinnamon if so inclined. The chocolate is actually hot cocoa, not the usual thick dark goo that is more of a dipping sauce. This is how hot cocoa is usually served in my family: with a dash of peanut butter. The taste is not obvious but it gives the drink a sense of richness. All in all, a must have when feeling low and wanting some comfort in edible form. This recipe makes four restrained servings. Churros ingredients: 1 c. water 2 tbsps. oil 1 c. flour 2 tbsps. sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. baking powder Cooking oil for frying Method:

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the oil and take off the heat. Pour all of the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until well blended. It is ready when a medium stiff dough is formed and separates from the sides of the pan. Prepare a piping bag with a star shaped nozzle. Heat up some oil in a frying pan or wok. The oil should be deep enough for the churros to float in. Cool the dough for a few minutes, then spoon into the piping bag. Pipe about 4" lengths of dough into the oil. Use a pair of scissors to cut the pieces of pastry off the piping nozzle. Fry on medium heat until golden. Drain on paper towels. You may sprinkle sugar (confectioner's or caster) while warm. You can also add cinnamon to the sugar. Ingredients for the hot chocolate: 1/4 c. good quality cocoa 2 tbsps. smooth peanut butter 4 c. boiling water 3/4 c. condensed milk 1 tbsp. brown sugar In a big saucepan, measure the peanut butter and the cocoa. Add boiling water a few drops at a time while whisking until you achieve a smooth paste. Add the rest of the ingredients. Put the pan on low heat until nearly boiling. Do not let it boil over. It is then ready to serve with the churros.

ARROZ ALA CUBANA

Rice is so important to the Asian culture so much so that the Chinese greeting "Chifanle meiyou?" directly translates as "Have you eaten (rice) yet?". The concept of food revolves around rice and what can be eaten with it. In the Philippines, it is not uncommon to ask or be asked "Ano and ulam ninyo?" which means "What is your viand?" or "What are you eating with rice?". It is not a poking question but, since it is one of the most important daily concerns, people tend to talk about it, much like talking about the weather. A plate of rice, viand and fried egg is a meal that is very common but it paints a perfect picture of what is regarded as delicious. Add on fried plantains to make that extra delicious. In the Philippines we use Cardaba bananas, which are cooking bananas like plantain and taste practically the same. It is not unusual to serve fried bananas or sweet potatoes with meat dishes.

This dish, arroz ala Cubana translates as Cuban style rice. The rice is plain rice but it is the meat dish, the fried plantain and fried egg that makes the dish what it is. Although it is a Spanish dish, a lot of countries have their own version, each with a twist but still essentially the same. The recipe is very basic and is actually a very common way of cooking meats. Sauting the trilogy of garlic, onions and tomatoes (or tomato sauce) is how a lot of Filipino dishes start. From very basic ingredients, a delicious dish can be made by proper cooking methods and timing. Although I cooked this dish Filipino style, I added olives as the Cubans do. That little touch added a lot of extra taste. Other ingredients may be added to this basic recipe. Green peas, sweetcorn or diced potatoes can be added to make the dish go further without making it any less delicious. The gauge for deliciousness of a dish is how well it goes with rice. If a dish makes you eat a lot of rice, then it is very delicious. I suggest that an extra bowl of rice be served alongside the plated portions just in case. Ingredients: (for four servings)

2 tbsps. olive oil 1 1/2 tbsps. of crushed garlic 2 large onions, chopped 1/4 tsp. fine salt 500 gms. minced beef 1 tbsp. paprika 1 1/2 tbsps. tomato puree (tomato paste) 1 tbps. dark soy sauce 2 tbsps. light soy sauce 1 tbsp. sugar 2 medium carrots, diced 1/4 c. sultanas or raisins 1/4 c. sherry 20 pimiento stuffed olives, halved 1 small dried bay leaf 1 c. water 2-3 ripe plantains 4 c. (or more) of cooked rice 4 eggs Method: Saut the garlic in the 2 tbsps. of olive oil on medium heat until golden in colour. Add in the onions and the 1/4 tsp salt and saut until soft and translucent. Add the minced beef, paprika, tomato puree, soy sauces and brown sugar. Saut on high heat until the mixture is dry (5-10 minutes) and oil exudes from the mixture. Cook further for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is browned. Add the carrots, sultanas, sherry, olives, bay leaf and water. Stir, cover and lower the heat. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the meat is tender. You have to watch this and stir occasionally. It tends to catch because of the sugar and the sultanas. You may add more water, 1/2 c. at a time, stirring well to deglaze the pan each time. A caramelized sauce is what we are aiming for so don't add too much liquid at once as it will dilute the flavour.

At the end of 30 minutes, if the meat is already tender but there's still a lot of remaining sauce, turn the heat up to reduce it. This is now done. Cut the plantains on the slant to make 1/2" thick slices. Pan fry in a little bit of oil, preferrably on a non-stick pan until golden brown and cooked. Fry the eggs individually as preferred. To serve, portion 1 c. of rice, a few plantain slices, a fried egg and a quarter of the meat on a plate.
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NASI LEMAK (TAMARIND FISH AND COCONUT RICE)

My husband had to go to the Malaysian Embassy last week. When he came home, he brought back a treat that really excites me: nasi lemak! Yes, that excites me.

Nasi lemak (meaning rich and creamy rice) is both a Malaysian delicacy and a staple fare. It is peddled in the streets wrapped in banana leaves. It is usually had for breakfast but of course can be eaten at any time of day. I haven't had a real Malaysian nasi lemak in years. The one my husband bought was the basic one: coconut rice, sambal (spicy sauce), egg and crispy anchovies (ikan bilis). It did not fail my longing for it but it was just too spicy for my untrained

palate.

I made my own much milder version for lunch today, although I know the really spicy one would be preferred. I served fried fish instead of the anchovies. My husband didn't speak to me throughout lunch. He was too busy eating.

Ingredients for the coconut rice:

2 c. uncooked rice coconut milk (I used coconut powder made up with water)

2 1 1 4 1 2 1

screwpine (pandan leaves) clove garlic, sliced small onion, sliced big slices of ginger small piece of cinnamon whole cloves tsp. salt

Method:

Wash the rice. Use the same amount of coconut milk as the water you normally use for your rice. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook in a rice cooker. Stir halfway through the cooking time so the rice does not catch at the bottom of the pot. Ingredients for the sambal:

5 big garlic cloves 2"x2" piece of ginger 2 medium onions 1 tbsp. ground coriander 2 tbsps. paprika 1/4 c. dried prawns, soaked and pounded 1 tbsp. tomato puree (tomato paste) 2 tbsps. fish sauce 1 tbsp. brown sugar 1/2 cup of cooking oil 3/4 cup of water Method:

Grind the ginger, garlic, onions, dried prawns, paprika, coriander and tomato puree in a food processor until it forms a paste.

Heat up the oil in a pan. Put the paste in and stir fry on medium heat until the paste changes color and oil starts to exude from it (about 15 minutes). Add the fish sauce, brown sugar and water. Simmer for another 3 minutes. Ingredients for the tamarind fish:

2 small whole mackerels (or 1 large), cut into steaks 2 tbsps. tamarind juice or 1 tbsp. lemon juice 2 tbsps. light soy sauce 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. turmeric powder cornflour for dredging cooking oil for frying Method:

Season the fish steaks with the tamarind juice (or lemon juice), soy sauce, salt and turmeric powder. Dredge in cornflour. Shake off excess. Fry until golden brown. Serve the fish with the sambal, coconut rice and a fried egg per person. Garnish with cucumber slices and peanuts.
Thursday, 30 December 2010

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PORK HAMONADO
Pork hamonado is one of the classic Filipino dishes served at celebrations. It is ever present on the menu, the same way as ham is featured at Western celebrations. It is a dish of rolled up cured pork slices "cooked like ham" (hamonado) in pineapple juice spiked with aromatic spices and sweetened with brown sugar. I used a curing mix for this because the cured pork (called tocino) is not available here. Thick gammon or uncooked ham slices may be cooked this way as well.

The cooked pork rolls are sliced before serving and drizzled with the sauce. It is favoured as a party dish because it presents well and has the popular sweet and sour taste. Unlike ham, it is served with steamed rice. Ingredients: 1 kg. of pork shoulder meat, sliced into large, thin slices 1 packet of McCormick Tocino mix 1/2 c. sugar 1 1/2 c. pineapple juice 3 segments star anise 1 stick of cinnamon 1/4 c. brandy About 3 tbsps. honey Method: Mix the tocino mix with 1/2 c. of water and use as marinade for the pork slices. Leave to cure overnight. The same quantity of ready made tocino (cured pork) may be used instead of the pork. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Take the pork slices out of the curing liquid. Roll the pork slices tightly like a jelly roll and tie with string.

Caramelize the sugar in a dry pan. When the sugar is all melted and browned, add the pork rolls. Turn rolls around to sear and brown in the caramel. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Stir the sauce to melt the sugar. Transfer to a baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake for about 1 hour and ten minutes or until fork tender. Brush with honey and let rest before slicing. Serve with the sauce.

FRIED APPLE PIE (APPLE TURON)

Pocket sized apple pies! This is a twist of the classic Filipino snack and street food Turon na saging (banana turon). Cooking bananas with brown sugar are wrapped in spring roll pastry and fried. Slivers of jack fruit are sometimes added for a special touch. Instead of bananas, the filling I used is apple and pecans flavoured with cinnamon. Somewhat something that would come from beneath the golden arch, but, trust me, this is way nicer. This recipe makes 10 apple pies.

Ingredients: 4 golden delicious apples, cored and shredded 1 tbsp. lemon juice 3/4 c. light brown sugar 3 tbsps. butter 2 tbsps. all purpose flour 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 c. pecans spring roll wrappers cooking oil for frying Method: Put all the ingredients, except for the pecans and the spring roll wrappers, in a pan. Stir over low heat until the apples are cooked and the mixture is thick. Set aside and leave to cool.

Wrap spoonfuls in the spring roll wrapper. Fry until crisp. Serve with cream or ice cream.