Misspressy's Kitchen

How To Cook Prawns Curry

2015-07-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Prawns Curry

Prawns Curry

Fresh Prawns

Ingredients:

1 kilo Large Prawns, cleaned

2 Tablespoons Cooking oil

1 Tablespoon Minced garlic

1 piece Onion, chopped

1 cup Chopped Tomatoes

1/2 cup Water

1 teaspoon Chicken powder

2 Tablespoons Curry powder

2 medium pieces Red and Green bell peppers, chopped coarsely

1 piece Carrot, sliced into sticks

1 cup Potatoes, sliced into sticks or sliced eggplants

2 cups Thick coconut milk

2 teaspoons Salt

1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup Calamansi juice or lemon juice

Procedure:

1. Heat cooking oil and sauté garlic, onion and tomatoes.

2. Add curry powder and cook for a minute.

3. Add the prawns and allow to sauté for 3 minutes Add the carrots, potatoes
or eggplants and the water with dissolved chicken powder.

4. Add salt and pepper and simmer until vegetables are done.

5. Add bell peppers and coconut milk. Simmer until the sauce thickens.

6. Add the calamansi juice or lemon juice, before turning the heat off.

7. Serve with hot steamed rice.

8. Share and Enjoy!

Prawns Curry

Note: For a spicier Prawns Curry, you may add a teaspoon of chopped chilies to the dish.

Pork Barbecue Filipino Style

2015-07-23T23:41:00.000-07:00

Pork Barbecue Filipino Style

Pork Barbecue Filipino Style

Pork barbecue on bamboo sticks is a favorite menu item during parties and family outings or picnics. It is easy to prepare because the pork meat is sliced thinly and marinated overnight in the family's barbecue sauce composed of soy sauce, garlic, sugar, calamansi juice (our native lemon), Sprite or 7Up, and some spices like hot chillies and black pepper.

While grilling these barbecues on sticks the assigned cook bastes them to make sure these morsels are moist and well done complete with that smokey barbecue flavor.

When done, these delicious treats are served with a vinegar dip made simply by combining vinegar with salt, sugar and minced garlic with some chillies added, of course do it according to your taste. I prefer eating them with my favorite atchara, our native papaya relish.

I personally made these pork barbecues to make sure I get the leanest barbecue meat without losing its moistness and tenderness.

Ingredients:

1 kilo pork shoulder, sliced into thin slices

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 Tablespoon salt

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup calamansi juice or lemon juice

1 cup Sprite or 7UP

1 teaspoon chopped hot chili peppers or hot chili sauce

For Basting:

1 cup marinade

1/4 cup banana catsup

2 Tablespoons cooking oil

Procedure:

Combine together in a bowl the salt, garlic, calamansi juice, black pepper, sugar, soy sauce, Sprite, hot chili peppers and the pork slices. Mix well to incorporate all the ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate the pork in the refrigerator overnight to maximize flavors, or at least do it for 5 to 6 hours.

Drain the marinated pork, reserve the marinade for basting.

Thread the pork slices in bamboo sticks to make 20 skewered pork barbecues.

Light up the charcoal grill and cook the skewered pork slices for 5 minutes each side, basting with the reserved marinade mixed with banana catsup and cooking oil, make sure they are fully cooked.

5. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with a vinegar dip or homemade atchara.

6. Eat with steamed rice or as snack or appetizer.

7. Share and enjoy!

Pork Barbecue Filipino Style

Chicken Siomai Ni Misspressy

2015-07-14T04:31:00.000-07:00

Chicken Siomai by Misspressy

Chicken Siomai

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo ground chicken

250 grams fresh shrimps, cleaned and deveined, chopped coarsely

2 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, diced finely

1 cup chopped carrots

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Seasonings:

3 Tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

2 Tablespoons light soy sauce

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup water from soaking mushrooms

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon chicken powder

Siomai wrappers

Dipping Sauce:

Hot Chili Sauce

Hoisin Sauce

Procedure:

In a bowl combine ground chicken meat and shrimps with all the other ingredients and seasonings.

Mix everything very well until very sticky.

Put 1 Tablespoon of filling in center of each wrapper. Gather the sides of each wrapper around the filling. squeeze center gently leaving the edges of wrapper shirred.

Line steamer tray with non-stick wax paper. Place siomai on steamer tray over boiling water and steam for 20 minutes.

After steaming remove siomai to a platter at once to prevent sticking.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce, soy sauce with lemon juice and chili garlic sauce, or Shiracha sauce or Hoisin sauce

Share and Enjoy!

Chicken Siomai by Misspressy

Bangus Relleno Or Stuffed Milkfish

2015-07-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

Bangus Relleno or Stuffed Milk Fish

Bangus Relleno (Stuffed Milkfish)

Ingredients:

3 pieces medium-sized Bangus

6 pieces calamansi, extract the juice

1/2 cup toyo

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 pieces large tomatoes, chopped

2 pieces large potato cut into small cubes

1 piece large carrot cut into small cubes

1 piece large red bell pepper cut into small cubes

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup pickle relish

2 pieces Knorr chicken cube

Salt and pepper to taste

3 pieces fresh eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus extra for dredging

3 pieces barbecue sticks

Cooking oil for frying

Procedure:

Fresh Bangus

Bangus Relleno Ingredients

Bangus Relleno Filling

Stuffing Bangus Relleno

Stuffed Bangus Relleno Before Frying

Clean the fish very well. Remove the scales. Make a slit at the back to open.

Remove the intestines and the gills, cut along the big bone along the length of the fish to remove it. Wash away all the blood and dirt in running water. Scrape all the meat from the skin, be careful not to break it and pick out all the bones using a tweezer. When the fish meat is already boneless, chop it finely using your cleaver and set aside. Meanwhile marinate the fish skins in 1/4 cup soy sauce, calamansi juice and ground black pepper then set aside.

In a large frypan sauté in olive oil the garlic, onions and tomatoes. Add to the frypan the chopped deboned fish meat and cook until there are no more red fish meat visible then season with salt and pepper. Add also the potatoes, carrots, red bell pepper, raisins, pickle relish, 1/4 cup soy sauce and the Knorr chicken cubes. Continue to cook while stirring until the potatoes and other vegetables are tender. Check for seasonings and adjust taste accordingly. Remove the cooked filling from the heat and allow to cool.

In a big bowl, transfer the cooked filling then add the beaten eggs and mix in the 1 1/2 cups flour. Combine the mixture very well to distribute all the ingredients together to bind.

Drain the milkfish skins from its marinade then fill up each milkfish with the prepared filling from tail to head then sew the skins together to bring the shape back to its original using a sewing needle and sewing thread. (This is the older way of preparing rellenong bangus.) The newer version is to ask your fish monger to separate the meat from the skin by using a long spatula entering the fish from its head opening. The fish monger is usually very good at doing this and she saves you time and effort. In this newer version you have to boil the fish meat to be able to remove the bones by mashing the fish meat so you do not miss the tiny bones.

This time you can insert barbecue sticks through the mouth of the fish towards the body. This helps to hold the fish together in handling specially in frying them. After doing that you have to dredge the fish skins with flour to ease frying them in hot oil. Fry the prepared rellenong bangus in medium hot heat until the skins are golden brown and the filling inside done. In frying my filled bangus I used the biggest pot cover I have because it is flat, deep enough to hold the frying oil and large enough to accommodate my three medium-sized bangus.

Can be served hot or cold with Papaya Atchara and Catsup.

Share and Enjoy!

Bangus Relleno and Papaya Atchara

Papaya Atchara

Bangus Relleno

Pasta Puttanesca Style By Misspressy

2015-07-10T01:34:00.001-07:00

Pasta Puttanesca By Misspressy

This version of Pasta Puttanesca is a family favorite and has always been in the family party menus. I have tweaked it a bit only by adding sliced fresh button mushrooms to replace the meat we are used to savor in the other pasta recipes.

This is my most favorite pasta dish because it is meatless, very easy to prepare and it is very yummy! I am sharing this with everyone, my meatless spaghetti recipe, even kids love it, too.

A Family Size Serving of Pasta Puttanesca

Pasta Puttanesca

Ingredients:

1 kilo Spaghetti noodles

1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 small bottle Capers, washed and drained

1 bottle Black olives, sliced, washed and drained

1 tin anchovy fillets

2 teaspoons crushed dried chillies

2 Tablespoons dried oregano

2 Tablespoons dried basil

4 tins Chopped tomatoes, (400 grams size)

1 tin Tomato paste, (small tin)

2 pieces Knorr chicken cubes

500 grams fresh button mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese to serve

Procedure:

Cook spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente.

Sauté in olive oil the garlic, capers, olives, anchovies, mushrooms, chillies and dried herbs for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and the chicken cubes, season with salt and pepper then bring to simmer and continue to cook for five minutes, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat.

Toss the cooked spaghetti with the sauce. Correct the seasonings, adjust accordingly. Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive oil if desired.

Serve with cheese.

Share and Enjoy!

A Serving Size of Pasta Puttanesca

Seafood Paella Filipino Style

2015-07-07T03:34:00.000-07:00

Seafood Paella Filipino Style

Seafood Paella Filipino Style

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Virgin Olive Oil

300 grams glutinous rice

200 grams ordinary rice

Pinch saffron, soak in 2 Tablespoons hot water

1 head garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped red tomatoes

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup red and green peppers strips

2 teaspoons paprika powder

2 cups chicken broth or plain water

1 piece Knorr chicken cube

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 kilo big shrimps, cleaned and steamed

6 large blue crabs, cleaned and steamed

1/4 kilo squid, sliced into rings

1/2 kilo mussels, steamed and remove the half shells

1 hard boiled egg, sliced

Lemon wedges to serve

Saffron

Procedure:

Cook glutinous rice together with plain rice in your rice cooker as you would ordinary rice but less water is needed. Remember the rice will still be cooked with sauce. Fluff and set aside.

Sauté in olive oil the minced garlic, chopped onions and chopped tomatoes until mixture is mushy.

Add the tomato paste, paprika powder, Knorr chicken cube, saffron and 2 cups water. Cook until boiling while stirring.

Add at this point the red and green peppers, all the cleaned seafoods steamed shrimps, steamed mussels, steamed crabs, mixing carefully to evenly coat them with sauce and cook further. Carefully remove some of the seafoods from the mixture and set aside for topping.

In the remaining sauce, add the cooked rice and mix to evenly color the rice with sauce. Continue cooking on medium heat stirring rice and sauce until mixture is dry and seafoods evenly distributed.

Check for seasoning and adjust to your taste. Add some sugar to lessen the acidity of tomatoes. Turn off heat.

Transfer Paella in a serving bowl and top with the reserved seafood. You may like to decorate it with slices of hardboiled eggs and cooked green peas.

Serve with lemon wedges or calamansi, our native lemon.

Enjoy!

Seafood Paella

A big bowl of Seafood Paella

A serving of Seafood Paella

Sweet Style Filipino Spaghetti

2015-07-06T07:27:00.002-07:00

Jollibee Style Spaghetti

Jollibee Style Spaghetti is a Filipino style pasta and it is every Filipino kid's favorite fast food noodle dish, of course even adults as well. The sauce is sweeter than its foreign counterparts but sweet and spicy due to the banana catsup addition and this must be the taste that is desired in this famous Filipino pasta sauce adaptation. If you do not prefer the sweet style spaghetti sauce you just omit the condensed milk and add instead equal amount of all purpose cream. Here's a close imitation of that popular spaghetti we Filipinos love, Jollibee style.

Ingredients:

1 kilo Spaghetti Noodles ... Cook according to package direction

For the Sauce:

1 cup olive oil
1 head garlic, minced
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 kilo ground beef round
1/2 kilo ground pork
1/2 kilo Purefoods hotdog, sliced
1 big can Maling luncheon meat, cubed
1 big bottle UFC banana catsup
2 tins Hunt’s tomato sauce, 15 oz. size
1 tin Hunt’s tomato paste, 7 oz size
1 tin can Reno liver spread, big can
1 tin Carnation condensed milk, big can to sweeten the sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon dried oregano powder
2 Knorr beef cubes
1 box Cheddar cheese, grated

Procedure:

Sauté in olive oil the minced garlic and the chopped onions.
Add the ground meats, stir well and get them to brown a bit.

Add the sliced hotdogs and the luncheon meat, mix, stir and cook for five minutes.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and the catsup. Add 3 to 4 cups water at this point and bring to a boil.

Add the Knorr beef cubes and the dried oregano.

Allow to cook for twenty minutes, stirring frequently until sauce thickens.

Add the liver spread and the condensed milk to sweeten. Allow to cook for another five minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Lastly add the grated cheddar cheese and simmer for a few more minutes until the cheese has melted.

Serve on top of your cooked spaghetti and top with more grated cheese.

Enjoy!

Jollibee Style Spaghetti with Cheese

Diced Chicken With Cashew Nuts

2015-03-11T05:35:00.001-07:00

This Diced Chicken With Cashew Nuts is my easy Filipino version of this Chinese chicken dish. This is one of my favorite recipes among its many versions because of its simplicity and ease of preparation.

The only thing that takes time in the process is the chopping and peeling of the vegetables to make them suited for stir-frying.

In this recipe I used chicken thighs which I deboned and marinated in soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, ground pepper and cornstarch.

The vegetables can be anything you fancy suitable for stir-frying like snow peas, green peas, carrot slices, mushrooms, broccoli and of course do not forget the cashew nuts which I roasted in the turbo oven, it surely adds to the dish texture and crunch.

I also used here a cup of seasoned broth which is actually water plus chicken powder, sugar, oyster sauce and cornstarch. This broth gives the dish enough sauce for the white rice we love.

This truly is a tasty dish, try it!

Diced Chicken With Cashew Nuts

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Cooking oil

2 tsps. Minced garlic

2 tsps. Minced ginger

1/2 cup Green peas

1/2 cup Carrots, halved and thinly

sliced

1/2 cup. Turbo toasted cashew halves

1 tsps. Sesame oil

Seasoned Broth:

1 cup Chicken broth

1 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsps. Oyster sauce

2 tsps. Cornstarch

Chicken Mixture:

1 cup Chicken thighs, deboned

1 Tbsp. Soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine

1 tsp. Cornstarch

Ground pepper

Procedure:

1. Chicken Mixture: Combine chicken, ground pepper, soy sauce, wine and cornstarch. Let stand for severa minutes.

2. Heat oil on high, sauté the garlic

and ginger in the hot oil. Add the chicken mixture and stir-fry until chicken is half-cooked, 1-2 minutes.

3. Pour in the seasoned broth. Continue cooking until chicken is tender.

4. Add the vegetables, cashew and the sesame oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Serve hot with white rice. Share and Enjoy!

Chicken Afritada

2015-03-07T07:12:00.001-08:00

Chicken Afritada is a chicken dish stewed in tomato sauce with potatoes, carrots and bell peppers. It is an everyday dish served in most Filipino households. This dish may be too ordinary but with love and proper cooking complete with right ingredients, this dish can be a delightful addition to your family meals.

Here is my version of this everyday fare in my dining table which my family and friends enjoy.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsps. Cooking oil

1 kilo Chicken

1 Tbsp. Minced garlic

1 Med. Onion, chopped

8 oz. Tomato sauce

2 cups Water

1 piece Chicken cube

2 pieces Bay leaves

1 tsp. Sugar

Salt & ground pepper to

season

4 pieces Hotdogs, sliced

2 large Potatoes, cubes

1 large Carrot

2 pieces Bell peppers, cut into strips

Procedure:

1. Stir fry chicken pieces until golden brown. (about 3 minutes per side). Remove and set aside.

2. In the same pan sauté garlic and onions. Add the tomato sauce and cook for a minute.

3. Add the browned chicken, chicken stock cube and water, bay leaves, peppercorns, then simmer for 30-40 minutes.

4. Add the potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, sliced hotdogs and green peas.

5. Season with salt, sugar & cook 7-10 minutes more.

6. Turn off heat then transfer to a serving

plate.

7. Serve with steamed rice. Share and enjoy.

Atchara Green Papaya

2015-03-04T03:31:00.001-08:00

How To Make Atchara Green Papaya

Atchara is a relish made from grated green papaya mixed with aromatics like ginger, garlic, onions and peppercorns and pickled with a one is to one vinegar/sugar ratio of pickling syrup.

The process gives a delightful sweet and sour taste that makes the atchara a good appetizer which makes it a favorite side dish for tasty dishes like barbecues, fried or roast beef, fried seafoods or just anything grilled or fried.

My atchara is a bit intense in flavor as compared to the usual atcharas because I love to double the amounts of the aromatics like garlic, ginger, onions and I add hot green chili peppers to make my atchara spicier a lot. You may want to adjust the ingredients according to your preference of course.

I am sure you will also like my homemade atchara green papaya. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

2 green papayas, peeled and grated

1 large carrots, florets and julienne cuts

1 cup sliced red onions, thinl

1/2 cup sliced ginger, fine strips

1/2 cup sliced garlic (2 heads), thinl

1/2 cup green pepper, strips

1 box raisins, optional

1Tbsp. salt

1 tsp. whole black peppercorns

3 cups coconut vinegar

3 cups white sugar

1/4 cup rock salt to mash the grated papaya

Procedure:

Mash the grated papaya with 1/4 cup rock salt to remove bitter saps.

Wash the grated papaya in water three times until the saltiness is removed.

Drain and squeeze out all the liquid in the washed papaya, you may use a cheese cloth to do it or use your hands to wring out all the water out.

Put the squeezed papaya in a stainless or glass bowl, untangle the papaya strands and combine with the carrots, garlic, ginger, onions, green peppers and raisins if using. Set aside.

Make the pickling syrup by dissolving the sugar in the vinegar, adding the black peppercorns, bringing the solution to a boil for 5 minutes or until the syrup is reduced into a light syrup consistency. Cool. Add salt.

Pour the cooled syrup solution into the grated papaya mixture and stir to distribute the ingredients well.

Transfer the atchara into sterilized jars, cover and keep refrigerated to improve texture and flavor.

Serve cold as an appetizer or use as a condiment to salty fried , roasted or grilled meats and seafoods.

You may want to gift a jar to your love ones or make a business with it.

Share and Enjoy!

Sautéed Broccoli With Shrimps

2015-03-03T23:43:00.001-08:00

Sautéed Broccoli With Shrimps

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Cooking oil

1 piece onions, sliced

1 tsp. minced garlic

125 grams fresh shrimps, cleaned and seasoned

1 head broccoli with the stem, remove hard covering

1 cup beans, cut 1 inch long

1 cup snow peas

1 piece red bell pepper, cut up

1 small carrot, cut into flowerettes

3 Tbsp. Oyster sauce

1 piece Knorr chicken cube

Freshly grated black peppercorns

Procedure:

Season the cleaned fresh shrimps with 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. chicken powder and a dash of freshly ground pepper.

Blanch broccoli, cut broccoli stem pieces, beans and cut up baby corn separately then drain in one colander. Set aside.

Heat oil in a frypan and sauté the onions, garlic for a minute then add the seasoned shrimps and remove from the pan when done and set aside.

In the same pan pour in the oyster sauce, stir to sauté then add the blanched vegetables. Stir fry the vegetables into the sauce then add the Knorr chicken cube and continue stir-frying and sweating all the vegetables.

When the vegetables are almost done, put back the cooked shrimps and stir to incorporate everything. Check for seasonings and adjust to your taste.

Remove from heat and transfer to a serving platter.

Serve hot with plain rice.

Enjoy!

How To Cook Stir-Fried Snow Peas With Shrimps

2015-02-11T22:47:00.001-08:00

Pea pods are also known as snow peas, and here in the Philippines they are known as Chinese green peas or chicharo. They are the tender pods of baby peas. These pods are crispy and sweet, they go well with pork, chicken, beef, shrimps or any seafoods. The color of these pods is green and they are as translucent as jade; they enhance the color of any dish when properly cooked.

Chicharo is a favorite Baguio vegetable, although it is a bit pricey here but a little of this versatile vegetable goes a long way specially when added to noodle dishes or any vegetable dish, we need only a handful and the noodle dish becomes beautiful to look at presentation wise.

Ingredients:

1/4 kilo snow peas, snip off ends, strings removed, washed and drained

1/4 kilo fresh shrimps, peeled and cleaned marinated in 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp Shaoxing wine and 2 tsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp cooking oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp minced ginger

1 small red onion, chopped

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp chicken powder dissolved in

1/4 c water to make chcken stock

4 stalks green onions, chopped

2 tsp dark roasted sesame seed oil

Procedure

Mix all the marinade for shrimps in a bowl and add the shrimps. Toss to coat and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat a saute pan over high heat and add oil and let get hot about 30 seconds.

Add the ginger, garlic and onions, toss to combine and stir-fry for about 30 seconds.

Add the shrimps and all the marinade to the pan. Add the snow peas, oyster sauce, chicken stock and stir-fry until the shrimps turn pink, about 2 minutes.

Add the green onions and stir-fry for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat and add the sesame oil. Toss to combine once more and serve with steamed rice.

Enjoy!

Note:

You may add other vegetables to this dish if you like variety like thinly sliced carrots, celery and cabbage and saute them all together at the same time.

How To Make Buchi/Sesame Seed Balls

2015-02-02T07:48:00.001-08:00

Buchi/Sesame Seed Balls

I enjoyed making these Sesame Seed Balls or better known in the Philippines as Buchi at home because it was fun, I had all the ingredients available in my kitchen, filling and shaping them into perfect balls made it more fun.

I enjoyed the frying part also because I had to turn each ball around with wooden chopsticks to make them in perfect round shapes when they are done. I really enjoyed it.

These delicious snacks are found in many Chinese restaurants like the popular Chowking who usually serve them as dessert during parties or even in the popular packaged menus like their Lauriat plate. Of course there are other choices of after meal sweets such as Almond Jelly, Halo-halo and Fresh Fruits in Season but the Sesame Seed Balls are the most popular choices.

Try them as I have done following a tested recipe here and enjoy it too, as I did.

Sweet Red Bean Paste Inside A Buchi/Sesame Seed Ball

Ingredients:

2 cups glutinous rice powder, 200 grams

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sweet potato flour + 1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup white sugar + 1/2 cup boiling water

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sesame seeds

Cooking oil for frying

Procedure:

Dissolve sugar in boiling water.
Mix sweet potato flour in boiling water until pasty.
Put the glutinous rice powder in a mixing bowl.
Add the baking powder and whisk to mix.
To the bowl add the dissolved sugar syrup and mix to form a dough.
Add to the dough the sweet potato flour mixture and mix to form a soft dough.
Start to knead the dough until it becomes smooth and pliable.
Divide the dough into equal 12 portions and form into balls.
Fill each ball with the sweet red bean paste and form it into a smooth ball.
Roll each ball into a bowl of white sesame seeds until it is covered evenly.
Maintain the round shapes of every ball you make for presentation.
Heat enough oil in a frying pan and start frying the sesame balls. Lower the flame when the oil starts boiling.
Using a wooden chopstick try turning each sesame seed ball while frying it to golden brown for 10 to 15 minutes.
When golden remove the balls from the hot oil and transfer them to a paper towel lined plates to absorb excess oil.
Finish frying the second batch and do the same as the first batch.
Serve.

Share and Enjoy!

Jumbo Buchi/Sesame Seed Balls

Red Bean Paste

1 cup red beans, soaked in water overnight

1/2 cup white sugar

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure:

Boil the soaked red beans in enough water to cover for a minute then throw the water and replace with a new amount and bring to boil until soft for 45 minutes up to 1 hour. Drain.
Mash the soft beans and pass through a sieve to remove the skins. Discard the skins.
Mix the beans puree with sugar, add the butter and vanilla.
Cook the mixture in a non stick pan mixing all the time until the mixture is thick and pasty and leaving the sides of the pan.
Cool and divide into 12 portions and form into 1 inch balls.
Use these sweet red bean paste to fill the sesame seed balls.

A Plate Of Jumbo Buchi/Sesame Seed Balls

How To Cook Steamed Chicken With Chinese Sausage

2015-02-02T00:15:00.001-08:00

Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage

Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage is an easy recipe and takes a few ingredients to prepare. The special sausage combines well with the chicken and the dried mushrooms give the dish a delightful umami flavor.

Try this recipe and see how easy it is to prepare this dish.

Ingredients:

1 big chicken cut into pieces

1 tsp salt

1/2 t pepper

3 Tbsp dark soy sauce

1 Tbsp Shao Xing rice wine

1 tsp slices of ginger

1 stalk green onions, chopped

3 small pieces dried mushrooms, (soaked in hot water, stalks removed and cut into 4 pieces each)

2 big Chinese sausage, cut into 1/4-inch diagonal slices

Ingredients of Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage

Procedure:

Put chicken into bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients.

Place bowl in steamer. Cover bowl with cling wrap and steam over boiling water for 1 hour.

May be prepared in advance, frozen and re steam before serving.

Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage and Mushrooms

Serve. Share and Enjoy!

A Serving Of Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage and Rice

How To Cook Chop Suey With Chicken Livers

2015-01-26T04:04:00.002-08:00

Chop Suey

Chop Suey is a vegetable dish of Chinese origin, this dish is found in menus of most Chinese restaurants. Filipinos have adopted this delicious vegetable medley into their own collection of special celebration foods.

Different vegetables known as Baguio vegetables are chosen as to their availability and those vegetables that are not seasonal are just omitted just to have this exciting stir fry on the table.

Some favorite meats and seafoods are added to this colorful dish just to ensure everything you want in this special dish is included.

Seasonings of Chinese origin are added, too, to ensure that it tastes like the ones found in the restaurants.

The final dish may be thickened with cornstarch slurry and sprinkled with sesame oil to give it the final Chinese taste touch.

Here is one of my versions of my Chop Suey, with chicken livers.

Baguio Vegetables for Chop Suey

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 kilo chicken meat, sliced thinly
1 kilo chicken liver, cleaned
150 grams fresh shrimps meat, cleaned
dash of salt
dash of black pepper
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/4 cups water, or shrimp broth or chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken powder
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup broccoli
1 cup carrot florets
1 cup chicharo, sweet peas
1 cup sweet peppers, red and green

2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water, slurry
1 teaspoon Sesame oil

Procedure:

Heat 2 Tablespoons cooking oil in a wok or frying pan.
Saute in hot oil garlic and onions. To this add the shrimps and saute until pink, remove just the shrimps from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan add more oil to saute the chicken meat, cook for 3 minutes.
Add the chicken liver and cook for 3 minutes.
Add oyster sauce, soy sauce, and pour the water or broth made from shrimp heads or a combination of water and chicken powder. Allow the mixture to boil.
When boiling start adding the vegetables in this order, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, chicharo, cabbage, and bell peppers. Continue to cook and simmer the vegetables until all the vegetables are cooked and done. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Taste for seasonings and adjust.
Thicken the sauce with cornstarch slurry, mixing well to cook evenly until everything is thickened and done. Remove from fire.
Sprinkle with sesame oil.
Serve warm. Share and Enjoy!

Chop Suey with Chicken Livers

A Serving of Chop Suey with Chicken Livers

How To Cook Miswa Patola Soup

2015-01-26T01:12:00.000-08:00

Miswa Patola Soup

Miswa Patola Soup is a good tasting vegetable soup with fine noodles known as miswa , most enjoyed during rainy days. I cooked this dish many times when my own patola (loofah) plant in the backyard gave me the freshest tasting patola fruits after the rest of the harvest was shared with my neighbors, but nowadays, I just buy patola when in season from my vegetable dealer. When the patolas are freshly harvested, they are the best to use in cooking a great tasting Miswa Patola Soup.

Here is my version of this popular vegetable soup.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 pieces small onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon shredded ginger
100 grams fresh shrimp meat, cleaned
8 cups plain water
2 pieces Knorr chicken cubes
2 medium-sized patola (loofah), cut into chunks
2 bundle miswa (fine noodles)
1 teaspoon salt
Some freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 whole fresh eggs, beaten

Procedure:

Saute in olive oil the garlic, onions, ginger and when fragrant add the shrimps.

When the shrimps are nicely colored add the water, cover the pot and bring to boil.

When boiling add the chicken cubes, the patola, salt and pepper and then cover the pot and bring to boil again then lower heat to just simmer until the vegetables are cooked.

At this point add the miswa and cook further for 2 minutes. Adjust the seasonings then turn off fire.

Using a strainer add the eggs in the hot soup then cover for a minute to cook the eggs.

Serve the soup hot.

Enjoy!

Ingredients of Miswa Patola Soup

Cooking the Miswa Patola Soup

Adding Eggs to Miswa Patola Soup

How To Make Puto Pao

2015-01-25T07:52:00.001-08:00

Puto Pao

Puto is a traditional rice cake in the Philippines. It is usually made from rice, sugar and coconut milk, flavored with anise or pandan. The rice is soaked in water to soften it then ground to make it smooth. Water or coconut milk is added and sweetened with sugar. A leavening agent is also added like baking powder.

When ready, the batter is poured to a puto mold and steamed for a certain time until the puto is cooked. Oftentimes the puto is served with freshly grated coconut or buttered and sometimes eaten as is.

In the Philippines puto is a good snack and served during parties to pair with noodle dishes and other snack favorites like dinuguan, noodle soups or even rice porridge.

Puto can be flavored according to your taste. Cheese is the favorite topping and butter is also brushed on top after steaming.

On special occassions puto is colored to give it an eye appeal to match flavors like green for pandan, yellow for cheese, plain white for coconut, violet for ube flavor and so on. My favorite flavor is asado, a meat dish used to fill Siopao or Chinese steamed buns.

Here is how I make my Puto Pao. It is puto filled with Asado Meat and topped with salted egg slice. The texture of the dough is similar to siopao and the taste is as good as the soft siopao I use to make at home.

Ingredients:

2 cups All Purpose Flour

2 Tablespoons Powder milk

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 1/2 cups hot water

3/4 cup white sugar

2 Tablespoons Soft Butter

For the Topping:

2 salted eggs, sliced

Procedure:

Whisk dry ingredients flour, powder milk and baking powder together in a bowl. Sift them to remove lumps.

Combine hot water, sugar and butter in a glass pyrex bowl and mix to dissolve sugar and melt the butter. When liquid is lukewarm add 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast into the sugar mixture.

Add the liquid mixture to the sifted dry ingredients to make a batter without lumps. Rest the batter for 30 minutes at least to 1 hour.

Fill oiled puto molds 1/4 full of the batter mixture then add a teaspoonful of Asado filling into it then cover the filling 3/4 full of the mold.

Steam for 10 minutes, top risen puto with salted egg slices then steam again for another 5 minutes. Adjust time according to the size of your mold.

Serve, share and enjoy!

Puto Pao Reheated

Puto Pao Serving

How To Cook Pancit Palabok

2015-01-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

Pancit Palabok

Pancit Palabok is a native Filipino pasta dish made with boiled rice noodles covered in a tasty red sauce made of ground meat, flavored with shrimp, colored with achuete extract and topped with meat strips, boiled shrimps, sauted tofu, cooked squids, toasted flaked smoked fish, crushed pork crackling, fried chopped garlic, crispy fried native onions and garnished with egg slices and chopped green onions.

Pancit Palabok is also known as Pancit Luglug or Pancit Malabon but the tastes are similar and differ only with slight addition or omission of one or two ingredients, the basic preparation is almost the same.

The Pancit Palabok I grew up with uses fresh noodles which are thicker and made fresh daily by a family in my home town. The recipe I am providing here uses any form of rice noodle available in your neighborhood, satisfaction is guaranteed using the ingredients suggested.

Here is how I cook my Pancit Palabok.

Prepare The Palabok Noodles

500 grams palabok noodles (dry palabok noodles)
Soak the noodles in water to soften for at least 10 minutes
Boil the soaked noodles, stirring twice until tender
Turn off heat and leave the noodles in hot water for 30 minutes to 1 hour
Drain the noodles and transfer to a large serving pyrex or bilao lined with banana leaves or aluminum foil. Here you can pour the sauce, garnish with toppings and serve with your favorite patis (fish sauce) with calamansi.

Palabok Noodles

Cook The Palabok Sauce

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Cooking oil
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

1 red onions, chopped
300 grams chicken meat chopped
4 cups shrimp broth (from the shrimp heads and shells)
1 piece Knorr chicken cubes cubes
1 cup achuete extract (use magic atchuete, 1 Tablespoon per cup of water)
3 Tablespoons Patis
3 Tablespoons Flour, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

Saute in oil the garlic, onions and the chicken.
Add the achuete water.
Add 6 cups shrimp broth.
Add the Knorr chicken cubes.
Add 3 Tablespoons Patis.
When mixture starts boiling, slowly add the dissolved flour and cornstarch to thicken the sauce, stirring well for 10 minutes. You may use other thickening starch like ground rice, only flour or only cornstarch, or both.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Remove from fire and pour all over the cooked noodles.

Red Sauce for Pancit Palabok

Prepare the Toppings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup crispy fried garlic

1/2 cup crispy fried shallots (sibuyas Tagalog)

1/2 cup steamed shrimp suaje meats, 300 grams fresh

2 pieces tokwa, chopped coarsely and sauteed in oil and flavored with salt and pepper

1/2 cup pusit (squid), sauteed in oil, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice, 300 grams fresh

1/4 cup flaked tinapa (smoked fish), toasted dry

1/2 cup chicharon, crushed finely

2 pieces hard-boiled eggs, sliced into rounds or wedges

2 pieces salted eggs, sliced thinly

1/4 c chopped green onions

6-10 pieces calamansi for serving

Toppings for Pancit Palabok

Assemble The Pancit Palabok

Place the cooked noodles in a big serving platter.
Pour sauce all over the noodles.
Add the prepared toppings in this order: toasted tinapa flakes, flavored tokwa cubes, fried garlic, fried shallots, crushed chicharon, sauteed pusit, steamed and peeled shrimps, sliced boiled eggs and salted eggs.
Garnish with chopped green onions.
Serve with lemon slices or calamansi and patis, (fish sauce).

Pancit Palabok Assembly

Share and Enjoy!

Pancit Palabok Family Size

Pancit Palabok Solo Size

How To Make Homemade Kalamay Hati

2015-01-19T07:22:00.001-08:00

Homemade Kalamay Hati

Today I made Kalamay Antipolo or Kalamay Hati or Kalamay Perya. Remember those thin kakanin in banana leaves we see on the streets during Town Fiestas? They say those are from Antipolo, others say they are from Bohol or some from Iloilo accordingly.

Wherever they are from, I like them very much. In Baguio, they sell them inside small ball containers wherein just a pea size of the sticky snack can be found inside. Later on I found some of these kalamay inside coconut shells wherein you get more delicious concoction.

Whatever it is called, I like it specially when it has more latik. The texture is almost similar to soft tikoy, a sticky Chinese sweet rice cake.

Here is a recipe I followed when I cooked this Kalamay Hati which is super better than those bought in the streets sold by ambulant vendors during town fiestas. We need only a few ingredients like sweet rice powder also known as glutinous rice powder, muscovado sugar, coconut cream and milk plus a lot of patience.

Ingredients:

2 cups malagkit rice powder

2 cups muscovado sugar (packed), use all 1/2 kilo in the bag

4 cups gata from 2-3 coconuts, (2 cups cream, 1st extraction) + 2 cups diluted with water from the 2nd extraction

Procedure:

Combine all malagkit rice powder in a big kawa with 4 cups combined coconut milk and stir to dissolve.

Cook this in low heat, mixing and scraping the bottom of the kawa until the mixture turns pasty and makunat.

Add all the muscovado sugar to the pasty mixture, stir to dissolve the sugar and continue to cook on low heat, stirring and scraping the bottoms and sides non-stop.

Continue cooking and scraping the bottom on low heat, the color will turn dark and becoming more makunat.

Continue cooking for a total of 45 minutes doing the same stirring and scraping until you cannot stir it anymore.

Transfer the cooked kalamay in an oiled platter ( you can line it w/ oiled banana leaf ) and spread it thin just like those we buy in the peryas (fiesta fairs).

Plain Kalamay Hati

Top with latik. I'm sure you know how to make latik. If not, just cook a cup of coconut cream until reduced to solids and continue to cook it until it browns but not burnt in its own oil. You have to do it stirring from start to end. Do this before you cook the kalamay so you have oil to use.

"Latik"

Try it, it's yummy.

Hope you like it.

Kalamay Hati With "Latik"

Quail Eggs And Shrimps Special

2015-01-18T09:46:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

24 pieces quail eggs, boiled and shelled

1/2 kilo fresh large shrimps, shelled and deveined

200 grams sweet green peas

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced mushrooms

1 cup diced ham

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 Tbsp. Virgin Olive oil

1 Tbsp. Minced garlic

1/2 cup diced onions

2 Tbsp. Flour

1 piece Knorr chicken cube

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup cream

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

Melt half of the butter in a saute pan and quickly stir fry the cleaned shrimps just until they turn pink, you may do this in batches. Set aside the cooked shrimp.

On the same pan melt the rest of the butter and add the olive oil, stir fry the garlic, add the onions, cook for a minute until onions are translucent.

Add the carrots, the green peas and stir fry for two minutes. Add the mushrooms and the ham, continue cooking for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Sprinkle the flour into the vegetables and ham, continue stirring and stir frying for a minute until you do not see any more flour.

Add to the mixture in the pan the Knorr cube and all the water, bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat, continue to stir until sauce has thickened. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Add the cream to the mixture in the pan, stir and allow to simmer on low heat for a minute.

Add the quail eggs and the cooked shrimps last so that it will not be overcooked, until they are just heated and mixed well to blend with the other ingredients. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving plate.

Serve and Enjoy!

How To Make Homemade Caesar Salad

2015-01-14T07:36:00.000-08:00

Caesar Salad Made At Home

A Caesar Salad is a fresh vegetable salad of Romaine lettuce, crispy croutons, crispy bacon bits, Parmesan cheese and dressed with a creamy dressing made of egg yolk and oil usually olive oil or a combination with other oils, whisked to make an emulsion.

To this emulsion or mayonnaise like mixture other ingredients are whisked in like lemon juice, minced garlic, anchovy fillets, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

When everything is smooth and glossy, Parmesan cheese is incorporated into the mixture. The result is the creamy dressing that gives Caesar Salad that very special taste we enjoy only when we go to fine dining restaurants that offer this specialty which is usually prepared on the table side by a competent personnel of the restaurant.

But going to fine dining nowadays is too costly and going alone is no fun, so I make it at home whenever there is a craving for this delicious salad. My recipe for Caesar Salad is practical and easy to follow.

If you like your restaurant Caesar Salad, you will also like this homemade following this simple recipe.

Caesar Salad Dressing Ingredients:

1 cup Real Mayonnaise by Lady's Choice
2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. anchovy fillets, canned
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

Put the mayonnaise in a glass bowl and add all the rest of the ingredients.
Whisk everything well to combine. Transfer to a clean jar with cover. Chill in the refrigerator while preparing the other ingredients.

Other Ingredients:

1 head of fresh Romaine lettuce, washed and dried well
Some crispy bacon bits, you make your own
1 cup of homemade croutons, you make your own
1/4 cup more Parmesan cheese for topping

Croutons

Make your own croutons by using day old crusty breads like baguette, tear them or cut into small cubes, toss in olive oil, season with salt and pepper or you may add some herbs like chopped parley or chives. Bake the croutons until they are golden and crispy for 10 minutes. Cool.

Crispy Bacon Bits

Make your own crispy bacon bits by slicing finely some bacon slabs and render fat using a non-stick pan until the bacon has turned golden and crispy. Use paper towel to absorb the oil

To Assemble:

Arrange the lettuce into a serving plate, sprinkle with the creamy dressing, top with crispy croutons and crispy bacon bits and finally top generously with extra Parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately!

Caesar Salad Solo Serving

Enjoy!

How To Make Frozen Buco Fruit Salad

2015-01-11T07:24:00.002-08:00

Buco Fruit Salad

Buco Fruit Salad is the most popular fruit salad in the Philippines. It is mostly popular during Christmas season and festivities like fiestas, anniversaries, receptions and for catering it is the most requested of all desserts.

When buco fruit salad is served in buffets, it is the first to disappear in dessert tables, but do not worry, you can easily make them at home because all the ingredients are available in the market.

You only need a few ingredients like young coconut meats or buco, which can be grated or scooped with a spoon or even sliced whatever you fancy, the buco will taste delicious.

Then you mix the buco meat with other favorite ingredients like imported Del Monte Fruit Cocktail, some nata de coco or coconut gels, some kaong or palm fruits, some condensed milk and some Magnolia All Purpose Cream, so easy.

You can chill the buco fruit salad for two hours to enjoy it right away and freeze the rest to serve it later as frozen buco fruit salad for snack or dessert or anytime of the day, very nice for Philippine climate.

Frozen Buco Fruit Salad

Here is how I make Frozen Buco Fruit Salad.

Ingredients:

1 can (850g) imported Del Monte Fruit Cocktail, drained well
2 young coconuts, grate the meats, must be tender like cooked rice
1 cup Nata de Coco, drained well
1 cup Kaong, drained well
1 cup Pineapple Tidbits, drained well
1 can Condensed Milk
2 bricks Magnolia All-Purpose Cream

Procedure:

1. Combine condensed milk and the all-purpose cream in a large bowl. Mix well.

2. Add all the coconut meat, nata de coco, kaong and pineapple tidbits. Toss to
blend well.

3. Transfer to an empty ice cream container or any freezer-proofed container and freeze before serving.

4. Serve frozen in ice cream cups topped with red cherries.

5. Share and Enjoy!

Note: You may add the following if you like:

1 cup diced apples or seedless grapes
1 cup small marshmallows

A Serving Of Buco Fruit Salad

Cherry Topped Frozen Buco Fruit Salad

How To Make Homemade Chili Sauce A La Sriracha Sauce

2015-01-06T02:53:00.001-08:00

Homemade Chili Sauce a la Sriracha Sauce

Sriracha Sauce is a hot chili sauce made from hot chilies or hot peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. It is a sauce I have learned to like when I found it in a grocery shop where I go to and I got addicted to it ever since. This sauce is a bit pricey to my standard so I decided to recreate it.

The bottled sauce was imported from Thailand and I learned from Wikipedia.org that the sauce was named after a coastal city in Eastern Thailand, Si Racha.

It is recommended as a dipping sauce for seafoods, burgers, sausages and almost on anything needing a spicy touch. It is now my all- purpose hot sauce which is quite habit forming as a dipping sauce. It tastes hot, tangy with the sweetness of the brown sugar. The fermentation also added some level of appeal to its taste.

I like it most as topping to steam buns, siomai, fried rice, noodles and soups, always a delicious addition gives more yumminess to foods every time.

If you are a hot foods lover like me, here I am sharing my easy to make recipe of homemade chili sauce, in the style of Sriracha Sauce.

Fresh Thai Chilies

Ingredients:

300 grams Thai red chilies, chopped

1 head garlic, peeled and crushed

8 Tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 Tablespoon sea salt

2 cups Coconut vinegar

2 cups water

Procedure:

Place chopped chilies, sea salt and water in a clean glass container, cover with cloth or paper towel and ferment for three days.

Place the fermented chilies in a glass jar and puree them using a blender stick or use your desired blender method. I use stick blender in this recipe. Scrape the sides to be sure everything is evenly processed.

Transfer mixture to a stainless pot, add coconut vinegar, brown sugar and crushed garlic, mix well to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil, cook until the liquid is reduced to half, 12 to14 minutes.

Strain the cooked chilies in a clean bowl, pushing the pepper bits as much as possible to get the most of the flesh and leave just the seeds and skins on the sieve.

This is now the end result of my homemade hot chili sauce a la Tung Ot Sriracha from Thailand.

Transfer to a clean hot sauce bottle, cover and store in the refrigerator if not using.

Now I have 2 cups of my own style Sriracha Sauce.

Share and Enjoy!

Always handle fresh chilies with care.

A big batch of homemade Hot Chili Sauce.

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce.

A batch of homemade hot chili sauce.

A bottle of my own style homemade hot chili sauce.

Chili seeds and skins residue.

Tip: For the resulting chili seeds and skins, I do not dispose them because I dry them in my turbo oven until crispy dry and pound them fine in the mortar and pestle just like peppercorns to turn them into chili powder for sprinkling in other savory dishes that need extra hot spice.

How To Cook Laing or Taro Leaves

2015-01-03T00:39:00.000-08:00

Laing or Taro Leaves in Coconut Cream

Laing is a spicy dish made from fresh or better yet sun dried taro leaves and stems of the taro plant, cooked with coconut milk and flavored with pork bits, garlic, hot chili peppers and fermented shrimp. The coconuts used in this dish are the mature ones which give the desired creaminess of the milk in the cooked dish. The coconuts are grated in the market and at home I extract the cream manually 3 times to get three extractions. First extraction has no water added, I get the pure coconut cream manually. For the second extraction I add 4 cups water to get coconut milk and for the third extraction I add another 4 cups water to the grated coconut to get diluted coconut milk. It takes a lot of effort to really cook a mean Laing but all of the hardships of the whole process is all worth it. I think my Laing is the tastiest Laing ever. Try it and you will see.

Here is how I cook Laing.

Ingredients:

1 kilo taro leaves and stems, sorted and cleaned

4 pieces matured coconuts, grated

300 grams meaty pork belly, sliced thinly and chopped coarsely

1 head garlic, minced

1/2 cup fermented shrimp, remove unwanted bits

12 pieces bird's eye chillies, chopped

1 piece Knorr pork cube, crushed

Sea salt to taste

Procedure:

Tear the taro leaves into shreds, peel the taro stems by stripping the outside covering off the stems and cut into finger sizes. Clean and wash them very well. Drain all traces of water. I do it in the salad spinner.

Dry in the sun or in the oven to wilt. This process gives better texture and flavor.

Extract coconut cream using manually by using a muslin bag and wring out the pure coconut cream. Reserve the first cream extract. Add 4 cups water in the second extraction, wring the muslin bag to get coconut milk. Add 4 cups for the third extraction, wring the muslin bag to get diluted coconut milk. Let the third extraction settle in a few minutes until the thin cream sits on top and skim this cream and discard the thin water below it.

In a cooking pot big enough, bring to boil the second and third skimmed coconut milk extraction. Add to this the pork, garlic, fermented shrimp and the chopped chillies.

Being to boil until the liquid is reduced into half.

Add the taro stems and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the taro leaves and simmer until almost dry.

Always check and scrape the bottom part of the pot to prevent the leaves and stems from burning.

Add the pure coconut cream and the Knorr cube and mix to distribute the cream evenly.

Simmer on the lowest heat possible and continue cooking until almost dry but not oily and check seasoning. You may add salt if necessary.

Serve with plenty of Rice.

Share and Enjoy!

Fresh Taro Leaves

Note: In the absence of fresh coconuts you may use 4 tinned pure coconut cream instead. You can also buy dried taro leaves in the supermarkets if available.

How To Cook Chicken Adobo

2014-12-29T07:01:00.001-08:00

Chicken Adobo

Adobo could be the most famous of all Philippine foods and every family has its own version of this popular dish. The types of adobo differ from ingredients used but the basic desired taste remains the same, sour and salty.

There are adobos cooked with soy sauce giving it a brown gravy, some add coconut cream rendering a creamy gravy and still others add wine instead of native vinegar, spices, herbs or anything they fancy like turmeric, black beans, pork skins, sugar, flavored oils like olive oil, pork lard, etc.

There is really no exact formula in cooking adobo. But basically adobo is so simple anyone can make a delicious concoction from scratch. The simplest adobo can consist of chicken, vinegar, garlic soy sauce or salt, peppercorns, bay leaves and water.

Here's how I cooked my Chicken Adobo from scratch.

Ingredients:

1 kilo chicken legs, cut up

1 head garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

3/4 cup coconut vinegar

1/4 cup good quality soy sauce

3 small bay leaves

1 cup water

Procedure:

Clean the chicken pieces, wash very well and drain of water.
Put in a cooking pot, add in the crushed garlic, whole black peppercorns, vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves and water.
Cover and bring to a boil and simmer in low heat for 20 minutes.
Skim off the scum and collect the oil pooling on the surface to be used to fry the meats.
Drain the chicken and using a non stick pan, fry the chicken pieces using the fat collected from the top of the adobo liquid.
After frying the chicken pieces return them to the adobo liquid and bring to simmer for 10 more minutes until the sauce has thickened. Taste for saltiness and adjust if necessary by adding salt.
Remove from fire and transfer the adobo into a deep dish for serving.

Serve and Enjoy!

Note: You may opt to serve this adobo for next day to improve on flavor but I could not wait, it tasted the same, delicious adobo as usual anyway...

Chicken Adobo