BUKO PANDAN SALAD

This Pandan Salad was truly from my friend (MYMY), she makes the best Buko Pandan Salad that you ever tasted...we usually serve this every time theres a family occasion or special events such as Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas and New years Eve when everyone can share this great delight... enjoy!!!

Ingredients: 1 pack Mr. Gulaman unflavored gelatin 3 cups of water 1 bottle of nata de coco 1 can condensed milk 2 cans of nestle cream 1 cup sugar 1 bundle of pandan leaves Directions: 1. Simmer pandan leaves in water. 2. Take out leaves and strain. 3. In a mixing bowl, dissolve gelatin in 3 cups of pandan water. 4. Add sugar and mix until well dissolved. 5. Let cool at room temperature, then refrigerate it to allow to set and solidify into gelatin. 6. Remove from mold and use a buko scraper. Strain nata de coco. 7. In a salad bowl, mix together gelatin and nata de coco. 8. Pour in condensed milk and Nestle Cream. 9. Mix and well blended. 10. Chill before serving. Enjoy! =D

LUMPIANG SHANGHAI With so many foods we are having for this season, I would have to be blunt and state that for sure, my niche till the middle of January would consist of nothing but pang-handa foods that you would usually find in our party gatherings. One expediency dish that we keep almost year round is the lumpiang shanghai. The simplicity of having this menu ready for frying is so handy especially when you have unexpected guests who arrive by mealtime expecting food. Lumpiang Shanghai Recipe 500 grams ground shrimp 500 grams of ground pork 4 medium sized carrots, diced finely cup raisins 2 tbsp soysauce 4 big onions, diced finely 4 eggs enough lumpia wrapper to roll everything Combine the onions then the meat and the shrimp. Add the carrots, eggs, and season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and vetsin. Roll about half a tablespoon each into each wrapper. First, place the meat in the lower part of the wrapper. Pull up the lower part to encase the meat. Fold the sides and seal with water. Continue rolling up from the bottom and then seal final half inch with water. Set aside. Since we have cooked everything already, we are able to keep this in the fridge for a couple of weeks. But of course, you can as easily fry and serve it immediately.

SMOKED FISH

Here I am sharing one of my father in law's delightful recipe. Ingredients: 1kg Milk Fish 1 cup raw rice brine solution Preparation: 1. Wash the fish thoroughly. 2. Prepare the brine solution i.e., a mixture of water and salt. 3. Place the fish in the boiling brine solution. Be sure that the fish is completely submerged. Boiling the brine solution aids in maintaining the firmness of the fish. 4. Let the solution boil for at least five minutes. 5. Strain the cooked fish. Be sure that excess water is completely drained. 6. Prepare the Steamer raw rice. 7. Cover the Steamer. Smoking time varies according to fish size or dryness of fish. Longer smoking time makes storage longer. 8. Alternate position of fish for even curing and smoking. 9. After smoking, remove the fish and let them cool in room temperature.

LECHON KAWALI

This is another easy dish to prepare during parties. Thinking of it makes me drool! Ingredients 1 kg pork liempo (pork Belly) 1 whole garlic, crushed 1 tsp peppercorn 2 tbsp salt water, for boiling Procedure: 1. Put pork belly in a pan. 2. Add water, garlic, peppercorn, salt 3. Bring to boil until skin is tender. 4. Drain, cool and air dry. 5. Deep fry the belly until golden brown.

Pork Menudo

Pork Menudo is a staple dish in Birthdays, Fiestas, and various Philippine celebrations. It is a Spanish-inspired tomato based dish so it is healthy and flavorful not to mention colorful. We have a different style of cooking Menudo, I guess it is a Kapampangan style of cooking. Ingredients: 500 grams lean pork, cut into cubes (they call it Menudo cut) 200 grams pork liver, cut into cubes 1 pc large carrots, cut into cubes 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips 2 medium potatoes, cut into cubes 1 pack of dried raisins 3 pcs. cheese dog (or some put hotdogs), sliced diagonally 1 pack of tomato sauce 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 whole onion, minced Marinate:

3-4 pcs calamansi (or 1 pc lemon) squeezed Soy Sauce Procedures: Marinate the Pork and liver in soy sauce and calamansi juice for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you have time, you can marinate for overnight. In a skillet, saute garlic and onions. Add the bell pepper. Pour in the pork and some of the marinate excluding the liver. Cover and let it cook for a while. Add the tomato sauce and some water up to your desired amount of sauce. Let it boil until the sauce becomes thick. Add the carrots and potatoes. Cover until the vegetables are cooked but still crispy. Add the liver, hotdog and raisins and bring to a boil. Remove from fire and serve while hot.

kare kare

karekare is not at its best without sauteed shrimp paste on the side.. (no matter how good the person who prepare the dish, u can never apreciate karekare if u eat it w/o shrimp paste)

mom bought peanut butter, sign that she's craving for karekare.. ingredients: 1 kg pork kasim (skinless) (serving size) bunch string beans (sitaw) (cut 4'') 3 pcs eggplant ( diagonal sliced) 1 banana heart (diagonal sliced) bunch pechay 1 cup peanut butter 1 tsp atsuete seeds (coloring) 2 tbsp vegetable oil 3 cloves garlic (minced) 1 med onion (sliced) 1/2 cup fish paste 3 cloves garlic (minced) 1 tbsp cooking oil procedures:

boil pork in 2 cups water and a tbsp of salt for 20 to 30 minutes or till tender.. while waiting for the meat.. saute the fish paste.. heat pan, add a tbsp oil, garlic and fish paste and toss for 3 minutes.. when the pork is done.. heat pan and add oil, remove the pan from the stove and put the atsuete seeds.. wen the oil turns to orange in color, remove the seeds.. saute garlic and onions and pork and the remaining stock.. and bring to a boil.. add peanut butter and simmer for some minutes so the pork will absorb the flavor.. add the vegetables.. string beans, banana blossom, and eggplant, pechay.. (a minute interval in every veggies).. bring to a boil..

CHOP SUEY As I've mentioned in my previous blog, Pampanga is rich in culture and history. About 22% of the Philippine population are Chinese. They are called Filipino Chinese or Chinese Mestizo. Or in short they are called "Chinoy" ( short for Chinese-Pinoy). Having that said, we inherited their amazing culture as well as their cuisine. We started eating noodles, dumplings and the recipe for the day, Chop suey. Chop suey literally means little pieces. The dish consists of meats such as chicken, pork or shrimp. It is usually served with rice but a lot of people eat it with stir-fry noodles instead and call it "chow mein". As for the family, we prefer to eat it as it is. Enjoy!

CHOP SUEY 1 Tbsp minced garlic 1 medium onion sliced 1 lb chicken breast cubed 2 C chicken broth 2 C broccoli 1 C carrots 1 C green beans 1 C Snow Peas 1/4 C Fish Sauce (depending on your taste, you can modify) 1/2 Chopped Cabbage 1 lb small shrimp 2 Dozens Quail Eggs Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Saute the garlic and onions until medium brown.

2. Add the chicken and continue mixing it until the outside part of the chicken is cooked.

3. Add the chicken broth, let it boil then turn down the heat and cover it. Let it simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.

4. Now add the broccoli, carrots, green beans and snow peas or sitsaro and cover it again until the vegetables turned "al dente".

5. It's time to season the dish with fish sauce, salt and pepper.

6. Now add the cabbage and cover it for 2 mins.

7. Add the shrimp and cover until the shrimp are cooked. They will turn bright pink when they're ready.

8. Now for the final step, add the quail eggs then serve... 9. Mangan Tana!