The Lucky Cook

Travel: VIGAN

2012-12-03T21:27:00.002-08:00

The last stop in our Ilocos trip was City of Vigan , the capital of Ilocos Sur. It is a World Heritage Site in that it is one of the few Hispanic towns left in the Philippines, and is well known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine and Oriental building designs and construction, with colonial European architecture.

Baluarte

We first visited Baluarte, a mini-zoo that was owned by Gov. Chavit Singson. You can visit this place for free. You can check my post for Baluarte here.

St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral

After going to the mini zoo we visited St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral. The seat of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. Burial place of the great Ilocano poet Leona Florentino. It also houses the replica of the Miraculous Santo Cristo Milagroso (the original being in Sinait, Ilocos Sur).

Burgos Park

Beside the cathedral was Plaza Burgos Dedicated to the memory of Father Jose Burgos which is located beside the Vigan Cathedral. Most of ilocano's gather here during weekends. You can also check the Empanadaan beside the park.

famous Vigan empanada

In visiting Vigan you must eat thier famous empanada which vegetable filling is made up of green papaya that is grated, toge or mung bean sprouts, monggo or mung bean and shredded carrots. Its meat filing consist of whole egg and skinless Vigan longganisa. The double special Vigan empanada has two servings of the meat filling. For the health buff, Vigan empanada sans the longganisa is also available. There are two dips that you can choose from, sweet vinegar and spicy vinegar.

different varieties of Vigan empanada

The Vigan empanada is much in keeping with the Vigan people’s love for vegetables in their cuisine. It is similar to a thin taco that is fried to a crisp, with vegetable and meat filling. Rice flour is used for making the crust or the shell. The galapong or rice flour dough is made a day before it is used. Atchuete or orange food color, salt and oil are mixed into the rice though.

freshly made Vigan empanada's

At around forty pesos each, it’s quite cheap to have as many as you need to fill your hunger after touring the city.

We also visited Crisologo Museum, the mansion of the Crisologos is open for public viewing throughout the week. Entrance is free for the museum and view the antiques, memorabilia and other prized possessions of the Crisologos.

ehemmm...

antic kalesa which they use during fiesta

pictures of crisologo's

Last stop for Vigan tour was Calle Crisologo, you can buy many Ilocano delicacies here and the major attraction of Vigan is its mestizo district which is filled with Spanish-style houses.

exploring calle crisologo

For visitors who want to experience being transported back to this period in Philippine Spanish colonial time, a walk or a calesa ride.

kalesa at dawn

Just got Lucky!

Travel: Baluarte Zoo - Vigan Ilocos Sur

2012-12-03T20:36:00.000-08:00

Our first destination in Vigan City was Baluarte, a mini-zoo located in Salindeg where visitors can see a variety of animals (including tigers and ostriches). It is also a popular venue for special events such as seminars and conferences. This is owned by Gov. Singson which you can visit for free. Entrance is totally free and you can roam this beautiful zoo without spending a centavo.

don't forget to take photo's with the governor and his tigers

This zoo was made for the people of Ilocos Sur which was owned by Governor Chavit Singson. You can stroll around by riding in donkeys, feed animals like camels and take some pictures with other animals.

There are many cute and child-friendly animals here. Some of these are ostrich, tigers, camels, different kinds of birds, butterfly garden and donkey.

my wife feeding the camel

lovely tigers

birds :)

You will also be amaze by this huge man-made Brachiosaurus. This structure will welcome you once you enter the place.

Brachiosaurus and my wife covering due to high noon sunlight.

Baluarte Zoo

Vigan City, Ilocos Sur

7 AM to 6 PM - 7 days a week

Entrance to Baluarte is FREE, Rides are FREE.

Just got Lucky!

Pork Binagoongan

2012-11-29T20:24:00.002-08:00

My recipe for today is simple, sumptuous, savory and sulit (affordable). Pork binagoongan is simply pork cooked in shrimp paste. This is a native Filipino dish that most of my kababayan loves to eat. Tender pork cuts that was cured by the salty shrimp paste and hot chili fingers. You must prepare a plenty amount of rice when this is your ulam for the day. Shrimp paste are widely used in Filipino cuisine, it is most often used as flavor enhancer for vegetables, meats and seafoods. It's mostly known as a dip for unripe mango's and the best partner for kare-kare (peanut stew). You can prepare and cook this dish for 15 minutes.

Ingredients

1 kilo pork (cut into bite size)

2 medium onion (julliened)

5 cloves garlic (minced)

3 pcs tomato (julliened)

1 cup shrimp paste

2 tbsp vinegar

5 pcs chili fingers (chopped)

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

oil

Instructions

1. In a large pan, heat oil then saute garlic and onions until golden brown.
2. Add the tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes are cooked.
3. Put the pork and stir properly then add water. Simmer until the pork is tender. Add water as necessary.
4. Pour the shrimp paste and vinegar then cook for a minute.
5. Add the chili fingers.
6. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

Just got Lucky!

Tajimaya Charcoal Grill

2012-11-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

Last week my wife and I dine in at Tajimaya Charcoal Grill. It is located in SM Mall of Asia in Pasay. This Japanese restaurant offers yakiniku style of dining. "Yakiniku" is a Japanese word that means "grilled meat". This Japanese style of cooking bite-sized meat, seafood and vegetables over charcoal. The customers will order different types of raw meat and veggies which are brought to the table with built in grill. Most of their ingredients were from Japan.

The grill was not like other yakiniku style restaurant here in Manila because they use charcoal which gives you more smoky flavor. Most yakiniku styke restaurant here use electric grill.

We ordered this set which cost 580 pesos per head + 12% vat. It's and eat all you can yakiniku set, they will be the one who will serve the ingredients right at your table. You don't need to go back and forth for the things that you want to cook. They will quickly refill if you request but single serving was enough for both of us. It includes one serving of rice and bottomless ice tea. As a freebie you will receive a side dish or a salad. We opted for the salad, it consist of lettuce and Japanese vinaigrette. My wife love this one.

The ingredients are cooked by the diners on a grill built into the table throughout the duration of the meal, several pieces at a time.Usual ingredients are beef, pork, chicken, seafood and veggies.

beef

chicken

pork

cuttlefish

japanese hotdog

shrimp

The ingredients are then dipped in sauces, you can create your own sauce for this one. It is best eaten with a cup of Japanese rice, they also serve an abundant serving of romaine lettuce which you can dip and then wrap the meat.

They also change and refill the charcoal once there was no enough flame to cook the meat. Each of you will also have tongs for cooking. They uses charcoal but it's a smokeless grill. You will still smell the aroma of the food while cooking that will makes you savor more of this grilled goodness. My wife live in Japan for 2 years that is why she like and love this kind of dining ambiance.

Most of the time she's in charge of the cooking and yours truly in indulging. We will surely go back here since we enjoyed our dining experience.

Tajimaya Charcoal Grill

SM Mall of Asia

2nd Level, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines

Phone Number
(+63 2) 556-8929

Operating Hours
Monday to Sunday 10:30am to 11:00pm

Cebu Lechon Paksiw

2012-11-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

You can never go wrong with Lechon! This is what most Filipino's say when eating lechon. Even foreigner's and tourist loves to eat this indulging piece of pork meat cooked slowly in charcoal. With its crispy skin your mouth will burst in every bite and with its tender meat you will never stop to eat. This recipe was very simple all you just need is to have lechon. Lechon Paksiw is lechon meat cooked in lechon sauce with a kick of vinegar and some spices. It is very easy to cook and you can prepare this within 10-15 minutes. You can try this one specially on birthdays and holidays.

Ingredients

1 kilo Lechon Cebu/ Lechon(diced)

2 medium onion (julliened)

5 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 cup lechon sauce/ mang tomas

2 tbsp vinegar

3 pcs dried bayleaf

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot put the lechon and lechon sauce and simmer for 3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and onions and stir. Wait until the garlic and onions to soften.
3. Pour the vinegar and add the bayleaf.
4. Sprinkle some salt and pepper.

Just got Lucky!

Laoag: Macy's Diner

2012-11-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

US? No, we're here in Laoag. This American boulevard inspired restaurant is located in the beautiful city of Laoag. Macy's Diner offers a wide variety of food from traditional Filipino dishes and American favorites.

The bar was designed just like the usual food stores in the US. You will see road signage and the traditional tables and chairs. We ordered humungous clubhouse sandwich and longsilog but we forgot to take some pictures because we're already hungry that time. Here are some other details of the place.

The ceiling has names of famous landmarks in the US and some well-known artist and singers.

new york, times square, hollywood blvd.

my wife checking some Elvis Presley pictures

There also a tarpaulin of tourist attractions in Ilocos which is good to promote the rich culture of Ilokano's.

Macy's Diner

Gen. Segundo Avenue, Laoag City

077 770 3551

TRAVEL: Laoag

2012-11-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

Laoag is our second stop for a 3D/2N Ilocos escapade. It was a 2 hour bus ride from Pagudpud to reach the city. At 10 AM we checked in at our hotel first which is La Ellana Hotel, it is located among the busy street of the city. You will find many cheap hotels along these street.

Before going to Paoay Church we opted to take lunch first at Saramsam Cafe. You can check our dining experience here

To reach Paoay Church you will need to ride a trike and tell the driver to drop you at Paoay Terminal. You'll see the jeep sign Laoag-Batac-Paoay. You will need to travel for 30-45 minutes.

my wife and I at Paoay Church

Paoay church is a well-known tourist destination in Laoag. Many local movies are shoot here because of the beautiful scenery. The church was old but well-maintained. There are many pasalubong stores in front of the church. We roam around the church and find ourselves hungry again, luckily there's Herencia Cafe.

Herencia Cafe

After a quick snack we rented a trike going to Malacañang Palace of the North. When we arrive at the place it already 4 PM and the guard told us that they are only open until 4:30 PM. Instead we tell the tricycle driver to bring us to Paoay Lake, we can visit this place once we go back here in Laoag.

Paoay Lake

We call it a day and there's more to come the next day.

Goodnight Laoag

In the morning we also visited Laoag City Hall, St. William’s Cathedral and Sinking Bell Tower. After roaming around the city we take a breakfast at Macy's Diner.

After taking our breakfast we rush to our hotel and prepare for a trip to Vigan. Here we come Vigan!

Laoag: Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant

2012-11-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant is an authentic Ilocano restaurant that is located in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. Most of their dishes are fusion of traditional Ilocano and Italian cuisine. The place was like an old traditional house with antic furniture. This restaurant is well-known for its dishes like dinuguan and pinakbet pizza, poqui-poqui and the famoust bagnet. Here's what we got.

dinuguan pizza and bagnet

Dinuguan pizza was a usual pizza topped with dinuguan (pork blood stew) and bagnet was also pork that was fried twice using lard. Bagnet came with KBL (kamatis. bagoong, lasona) as a dip My wife also ordered a serving of longanisa pasta.

ilocano food treat!

They also sell pasalubongs like chichacorn, taro chips, banig bags, sukang iloko, sugarcane wine (basi), malungay chips.

pasalubong treat!

dining area

Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant
N. Corpuz Building, Rizal cor. Hizon Streets
Barangay 7-A, Laoag City

.

Kapuluan Vista Resort

2012-11-22T14:52:00.003-08:00

Kapuluan Vista Resort is the perfect place for a romantic and relaxing way to experience Pagudpud and a resort that makes you closer to nature. You will be captivated by the warm welcome of the resort staff and the prestige design and architecture of the place.

Kapuluan Vista Resort is located at Blue Lagoon beach in the Municipality of Pagudpud. You will easily find the resort because it was on the farthest part of the beach. This resort is a hit for surfers because huge waves will welcome you when you go to their beachfront, you can also rent surfing gears here.

All rooms at the resort are pleasant, clean, and reasonably priced, ranging from very inexpensive dormitory style to great value, first class private rooms, each with a loft and en-suite bathroom.We booked for a standard room for $50/ night. When we arrive at the place, the staff told us that we can stay on their Deluxe Room with Loft due to the non-availability of standard rooms "just got lucky".

The room was well designed, you will experience a traditional with modern architectural creation. The ceiling of the room was so high and reminds you that you're on a special place.There are also some fresh flowers on top of each bed.

loft

bathroom

Due to a long bus ride and an all day tour we take a short nap when we checked in our room.

When we woke up, we checked their bar and resto to have dinner.

bar

The furniture's here are perfectly designed for a nature-inspired place.

Our dinner for that night was Kahlua Pig for my wife and Adobo for me. Food is delicious and has a distinctive flavors which assures you that it is made from fresh ingredients. Most of the ingredients for the dishes comes from their own organic garden.

We enjoyed the rest of night by drinking some beer in our room and when morning arrives these beautiful sunrise greet us.

My wife and I also swim for a while on the pool.

It was definitely a good place to stay when you're in Pagudpud. Resaonable price, good service, well-maintained facilities, and makes you closer to nature. When we plan to go back and visit Pagudpud again we will definitely book Kapuluan Vista Resort. You can check their website here

TRAVEL: Pagudpud

2012-11-21T21:45:00.001-08:00

Yes, it looks like Boracay but this white sand beach is located at the northern part of the Philippines. It is usually called the Boracay of the North "Pagudpud".

Pagudpud is our first stop for a 3D/2N Ilocos escapade. We spent a night to roam around Pagudpud.

Pagudpud Entrance

We went to Pagudpud by land on a 12 hour bus ride. You can reach Pagudpud by land or by plane via Laoag airport and a 2 hours bus ride..

Saud Beach

Saud beach was one of the two beaches in Pagudpud, there are many cheap hotels that is located in this beach. This beach is best for family and backpackers. Room rates here were merely form Php800 to Php1000 for 4 person. Unlike in Boracay there are no fastfood or fancy restaurants here. You can eat at your hotel or go to the market and make "paluto" style. There are vendors of fresh lobsters and fish that always roam along this beach, it is much cheaper than the ones on the market.

Maira-ira Beach/Blue Lagoon

We stayed at Kapuluan Vista Resort which is located at the Blue Lagoon. I will write a different post for our accommodation here. Blue Lagoon is a 15 minute tricycle ride from Saud beach. This beach best suites for couples and lovers. The wave here are much bigger than Saud that's why we are able to see many surfers here.

my wife and I enjoying the waves

Here are our tour in Pagudpud. We hires a local tour guide with a tricycle for Php1000. The exploration started in Cape Bojeador.


my wife on her way to the light house

view from the light house

There was no entrance fee for most of the tourist sites here but you can donate for the maintenance of the place.

Our next stop was the Kapurpurawan White Rock formation.

White Rock

You are going to have a 15 minute walk to reach this beautiful and huge rock formation.

my wife and manong tour guide

with my wife

view from the white rock

Our 3rd stop: Bangui Windmills

huge windmills

The windmills are perfectly located on the side beach where the wind was so strong. Most of Pagudpud's electricity was generated by these windmills.

enjoying fresh air from the north

4th stop was Patapat Viaduct

5th stop Agua Grande and Paraiso ni Anton

Our last stop was the Kapuluan Vista Resort which is located at Blue Lagoon. Along the way to the resort we are able to see this Tingmangtang Rock and Bantay Abot Cave.

Tingmangtang Rock

Bantay Abot Cave

view from Bantay Abot Cave

There is also a falls that was located in Pagudpud, it was the Kabigan Falls. We are not able to check that place because you are going to have a 30 minute trek to reach the place. Our next destination after Pagudpud was Laoag. Check my post for our Laoag tour here.

Pinakbet con Lechon

2012-11-21T20:22:00.002-08:00

As an Ilocano you already know what Pinakbet is. This is the most-cooked ilocano dish here in the Philippines. It is usually made from vegetables like long beans, eggplant, bitter-gourd, okra, squash, and sigarilyas. It is sauteed and cooked together with fish sauce or shrimp paste, some prefer shrimp paste because it is easier to find even in mini stores in the neighborhood. I've learned to eat this dish when I'm in high school because most kids before and even today do not like vegetables. The typical meat that was combined with this was pork but to give it a twist I've used our left over Lechon Cebu that we bought from the supermarket. Lechon Cebu alone was flavorful enough to give flare on the vegetables. The best partner for this dish was crispy fried fish. I hope you can enjoy and like this dish.

Ingredients

1/2 kilo Lechon Cebu or Pork (diced)

2 medium onion (julliened)

5 cloves garlic (crushed)

1/2 cup long beans

1/4 cup bitter gourd

1/2 cup eggplant

1/2 cup squash

5 pcs. sigarilyas

5 pcs. okra

1/4 cup shrimp paste

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

4 tsp oil

Instructions

1. Cut the vegetables into serving size. Make sure to cut it in proper proportion to each other for better appearance.

2. Heat oil in a large pan, saute garlic until golden brown and onions.

3. Add the pork and simmer for 5 minutes then combine the water. Wait to boil.

4. Put the long beans, bitter-gourd and squash. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.

5. Add the rest of the vegetables and shrimp paste.

6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste. It is best not to overcook vegetables so that it's still full of vitamins and minerals.

Just got Lucky!

Mochi Sweets

2012-11-02T23:45:00.001-07:00

We found a Japanese favorite dessert in SM MoA last week, Mochi Sweets. Mochi is a Japanese rice cake that has a different filling inside and it is shape like a ball. It is a round rice cake that has a indulging sweet filling and has many flavors to choose from.

Mochi cost for about 70 pesos each, I'm not a fan of Mochi but it is nice to eat this kind of dessert once in a while. My wife bought a box which cost 720 pesos and it has a dozen of different flavored Japanese rice cakes. Here are the 15 different flavors of Mochi Sweets:

Black Chocolate

Blueberry Cream

Caramel Macchiato

Chestnut Cream

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Cream

Green Tea

Honey Lemon Cream

Mango Mousse

Mango Yogurt

Peach Cream

Purple Potato

Red Bean

Sakura

Strawberry

Photo Courtesy of Mochi Sweets PH

http://www.facebook.com/MochiSweetsPh

Chicken Adobo

2012-11-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

I will now share my favorite Filipino dish, Adobo. It has been called the quintessential Philippine stew, served with rice both at daily meals and at feasts. I consider it as the national dish of the Philippines. It is well known worldwide especially in the US. There is also a movie about a Filipino who lives in the US and the title was "American Adobo". Adobo is commonly packed for Filipino mountaineers and travelers because it keeps well without refrigeration. Its relatively long shelf-life is due to one of its primary ingredients, vinegar, which inhibits the growth of bacteria. It is a common dish during out of towns, team buildings, friends and family gatherings. There are also many variations of Adobo, there are some with liver, coconut milk, turmeric etc.. This one is tuyo (no soup) version, it is my preferred way of cooking adobo because this is perfect for steamed rice. I hope you can also enjoy my version of tuyong adobo.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, (cut into serving pcs)

2 medium onion (julliened)

5 cloves garlic (crushed)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

5 pcs chili fingers

2-3 pcs dried bayleaf

2 tsp ground pepper

2 tsp oil

Instructions

1. In a large pan, heat oil then, saute garlic until it turns to golden brown and add onions.

2. Put the chicken and stir. Simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Pour the soy sauce and vinegar.

4. Add the bayleaf, chilis and ground pepper. Simmer until only left sauce was the oil of the chicken.

5. Serve with steamed rice.

Sinigang na Hipon

2012-11-02T20:37:00.003-07:00

Sinigang again? Yes, my wife and I both love sinigang. This time it's shrimp version for Filipino's most love dish. Shrimp is abundant in our country but sometimes the price was still high. You can buy medium size shrimp for 400-500 pesos ($8-$10) a kilo. My wife requested for this one because she has a flu that day. Warm sour soup are perfect to replenish his body for faster recovery. Tamarind base soup are perfect for shrimps because it will take having the stench or taste of fish.This dish was also a best seller among restaurants here in Pinas. Most balikbayan's love to munch on this one on the day that they arrive here. I hope you can also enjoy this simple but sumptuous dish.

Ingredients

1 kilo shrimp

5 long green chilis

2 medium size red onion (quartered)

2 tomatoes (quartered)

1 bunch kangkong

1 sinigang mix (1 liter pack)

750 ml water

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot, put the water and bring to boil.

2. Add the onions and tomatoes, simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Put the shrimp and simmer until it turns red.

4. Add the kangkong, long green chilis and other vegetables. You may add other vegetables like horse radish, eggplant, string beans.

5. Pour the sinigang mix and stir well. You may add water depending on the level of sourness that you prefer.

6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

Just got Lucky!.

Pork Sisig

2012-10-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today I will share one of Filipino's most favorite dish, Pork Sisig. It is made from pig ears that was boiled and grilled with chicken liver. There are many varieties of Sisig in the Philippines, the most popular version is from Pampanga. This dish is a best seller among restaurant's around Manila. It is usually served on a sizzling plate together with fresh egg on top. When we dine out together with my family this is the one that I always pick from the menu. When we go out with our friends for some booze we always have this one on the table. It is the best pulutan for most of us.

I hope you can enjoy this one together with a glass of beer or serve it to your family with steamed rice.

Ingredients

3/4 kilo pig ears

1/4 kilo liempo (pork belly)

1/4 kilo chicken liver

2 medium onion (minced)

3 pcs calamansi

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 knob ginger (minced)

5 pcs chili fingers

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp oil

2 pcs egg

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot, boil water together then put the pig ears and pork belly. Simmer for 45 minutes then drain.
2. Grill pig ears and pork belly until it turns to golden brown. Chop and mince then set aside.
3. In a large pan, heat oil and add butter then saute half of the onion until its soften.
3. Add ginger and chicken liver then cook for 5 to 10 minutes.Crush and break the liver finely.
4. Put the mince pig ears and pork belly then simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the soy sauce and chili then mix well.
6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.
7. Put the eggs and stir it gently until it blends with the pork.
8 Serve it on a large plate and put chili and onion on top. Put calamansi when you're ready to eat.

Just got Lucky!.

Baguio Beans with Longanisang Lucban

2012-10-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

This time I will share a budget-friendly recipe that you can prepare for only 10 minutes. This is sauteed beans with longanisa from Lucban. Longanisa sausages are flavoured with indigenous spices, with each region having its own specialty. There are many varieties of longanisa in the Philippines, Lucban is known for its garlicky longanizas ; Guagua for its salty, almost sour longanizas; Vigan for its smoky and galicky longanizas; Baguio longanizas is known for its distinctive sweet taste and small portions.

I love to eat longanisa any meal of the day but my wife doesn't have similar taste buds when it comes to this one. My favorite is the one from Vigan, maybe because I'm Ilokano. This one is the most garlicky and smoky longanizas. You can make longaniza from pork, beef and also chicken. I hope you can enjoy this simple and tasty dish.

Ingredients

3/4 kilo baguio beans (cut diagonally)

1/2 kilo lucban longanisa

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 red onion (minced)

2 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tbsp oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Remove the pork meat inside the longanisa.
2. In a large pan, heat oil then saute garlic and onion until its soften.
3. Add the longanisa and simmer until the meat is cooked.
4. Put the beans and stir fry for 3 minutes.
5. Combine soy sauce, oyster sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl then pour it to the pan.
6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

Just got Lucky!.

Pork Sinigang

2012-10-13T22:06:00.002-07:00

In this post I will share the dish that most Filipino's love to eat. Pork Sinigang was a usual viand that was serve during lunch or dinner. If you read my previous post, sinigang has a sour soup base. Its base is usually made from tamarind, guava, etc. You can use most parts of the pig in cooking sinigang. For a creamy texture of the broth you may add smashed gabi (taro). For the vegetables, you may add okra, kangkong, radish (daikon), long green chilis, eggplant, etc. It is better to use the bonier part of a pig to have a rich soup flavor.

Try this recipe and you will surely love this one.

Ingredients

1 kilo pork (cut into serving size)

"Sinigang Mix" for 1 liter soup

2 red onion (quartered)

3 pcs tomato (quartered)

4 pcs long green chilis

1 bunch water spinach (kangkong)

1 medium radish (cut diagonally)

5 pcs. Okra

800 ml water

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot or pressure cooker, put the water, pork, onions, tomatoes and 2 tsp of rock salt. Let boil and simmer for 30 minutes until the meat soften.

2. Add the radish and okra, simmer for 3 minutes.

3. Put the kangkong and long green chilis.

4. Pour the Sinigang Mix and add water depending on the level of sourness that you prefer.

5. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

Just got Lucky!

Kilawing Tuna sa Gata ( Tuna Ceviche)

2012-10-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

Last week we travel to Bulan, Sorsogon for a 4 days vacation with my wife and in-laws. It was a 13 to 14 hours drive from manila. It is strategically located at the southwestern most tip of the island of Luzon and is a premier town in the Province of Sorsogon. Major export of this town are from its coastal waters, agricultural lands produce rice, copra, and abaca fiber. Most bicolano dishes are cooked with gata (coconut milk).

We bought this fresh tuna from Bulan wet market and his uncle prepared the dish. This dish is typically made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices such as vinegar or lime and spiced with chili peppers. Additional seasonings like chopped onions, salt and ginger are also added. The twist here is the coconut milk that was added which is not usually a part of the ceviche. At first I was curious if why did her uncle put coconut milk on this one but when I tasted it all questions was answered. Coconut milk add creaminess on the dish, it is still the usual kilawin but made creamier. This dish is so easy to prepare but make sure that the fish is fresh to avoid food poisoning.

Ingredients

1 kilo tuna

2 thumb ginger (minced)

3 medium red onion (circle cut)

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup coconut milk

2 tsp ground-pepper

5 chili fingers (chopped)

salt

Instructions

1. Fillet the tuna and cut into small pieces. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, put the vinegar and coconut milk.

3. Add the chopped tuna, ginger, chili's and onions

4. Sprinkle some salt and ground-pepper.

5. Stir until all blended together. You may add more chili's for more spicy kick.

Just got Lucky!.

Braised Pork Belly and Tofu

2012-10-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

Pork belly or "Liempo" is a boneless cut of fatty meat from the belly of a pig. This pork cut is popular among Asian countries that is used in many different cuisines. Tofu or bean curd originated from China and may Filipino use this as an extender. Tofu is a great source of protein and has a low calorie content which is good specially for vegetarians.

This tokwa't baboy recipe came from my mom's homecooked meals. I remember when this was our lunch or dinner, I assure you that leftovers has no room for us. Try this tasty recipe to add some varieties to your daily meals and this is best eaten with steamed rice.

Ingredients

1 kilo pork belly

1 block tofu

4 cloves garlic (minced)

1 medium red onion (julliened)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

1 cup water

4 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup chinese celery/kintsay (minced)

1/4 cup butter

cooking oil

salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cut pork belly and tofu to your desired serving sizes.
2. In a frying pan, heat oil and fry tofu until golden brown. Set aside.
3. In a medium pot, saute garlic and onion then add the pork belly, soy sauce, vinegar and water. Let boil and simmer until the meat becomes tender. Add water as necessary.
4. Add the tofu and simmer until it absorb some of the sauce.
5. Put the chinese celery and stir well.
6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

Just got Lucky!.

Buttered Garlic Shrimp

2012-10-06T20:03:00.001-07:00

You want an easy and tasty shrimp recipe? Yes, the dish was so easy and you can't go wrong in preparing this one. If you already read my previous recipe's, it is given that my wife love shrimp dishes. This was prepared during a weekend lunch together with my mother-in-law. Seafood taste better when cooked together with butter.

"Buttered Garlic Shrimp" is a best seller in dampa style restaurants. In dampa style restaurants, you will be the one who will buy fresh seafood's from their mini wet market. You will also choose if what type of dish it will be coo from their menu. Most shrimp dishes in this type of restaurants are sinigang, tempura and camaron rebosado.

This recipe usually comes with lemon-lime flavored soda (sprite), you can use any lemon flavored soda that is available. I hope you can enjoy this dish together with steamed rice.

Ingredients

1 kilo shrimp

6 cloves garlic (minced)

1/4 cup butter

200 ml lemon-lime flavored soda

2 tsp freshly ground peppercorn

salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot, put the shrimp and lemon-lime flavored soda. Wait to boil and simmer until soda completely evaporate then set aside.
2. In a large pan, put the butter and saute garlic until golden brown.
3. Add the shrimp and mix until it blended with the sauce.
4. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

Just got Lucky!.

Dad's Merienda Buffet

2012-10-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

My wife and I love eat-all-you-can or buffet style restaurant. Most of our friends and relatives also loves this kind of food feast. In recent years, buffet style dining are blooming here in Manila. One of our favorite buffet style restaurant is "Dad's Ultimate Buffet". It's a buffet that includes 3 restaurants namely Dad's, Kamayan and Saisaki. Dad's specializes in continental dishes, Kamayan for Filipino dishes and Saisaki for Japanese dishes.

Dad's also offer "Dad's Merienda Buffet", it's an eat-all-you-can merienda (snacks or light meal) where you can enjoy a feast of sumptuous Filipino dishes. The buffet is only available at a certain time which is 3PM to 5PM everyday. We're about 20 persons when we first tried this buffet at their branch in SM Megamall.

When we went to Makati to fix some documents we opted to try their Glorietta branch. Since it's only 2:30PM when we arrive at the place we've decided to buy some stuffs first. It's a late-lunch date with my wife. Here's my first plate.

shawarma, burger, dinuguan (blood stew), fried/steamed siomai, pansit malabon

You will only pay 189 pesos ($4) for over 30 food choices. It includes soup, mami, stiry fry noodles, pastries, fries, dumplings, rice cakes and many more.

My wife's first plate:

puto't dinuguan, tokwa't baboy, fries, okoy, 2 kinds of pansit

Some of the pastries:

Since we are busy munching on this treats I only captured our first plate's. All in all, my wife had 3 plates and I had 5-6 plates. We had a great merienda-lunch that day. Next time when we go here I will surely take pictures first before enjoying the food.

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Bitter Beef Stew (Papaitang Baka)

2012-10-04T23:53:00.000-07:00

One of Filipino's favorite comfort food "Papaitan". This dish is mainly compose with innards of beef or goat. It includes small intestines, ox tripe, cow's heart or liver and the bile. The bitter taste or flavor of this dish mainly comes from the bile. It is sometimes bitter-sour stew because other varieties includes tamarind (sampalok). Its a hit among beer drinkers here in our country and it's one of the most requested "pulutan". In manila if you want to eat "Papaitan" just visit the nearest cafeteria or carenderia and I assure that they got a serving for you. Most of my kababayan prefer this as a pulutan but for us it is best eaten with steamed rice.

I've prepared this one on a gloomy afternoon, the richness of this stew can invigorate your body in this kind of weather. You can easily distinguish papaitan meat vendors in the market. Just tell the butcher if how many kilos are you going to buy and they will give you proper portion of the innards. You also need to buy some meat of beef.

My wife enjoyed this one, she even reserve a bowl of papaitan for her to munch while watching TV later that night. I hope you can also enjoy this recipe.

Ingredients

1 kilo beef innards

4 cloves garlic (minced)

2 pcs medium onions (quartered)

5 pcs long green chili

1 thumb ginger (julliened)

sampalok mix

1 sachet Maggi magic sarap

2 tsp freshly ground peppercorn

1 tsp bile

2 tsp oil
5-7 cups water

salt to taste

Instructions

1. Properly clean the innards by washing it through running water. You may scrub it with salt then rinse.
2. In a large pot or pressure cooker, boil water and add the innards. Wait for 45 to 60 minutes until all the innards are tender.
3. Drain the water and cut the innards into small pieces. Set aside.
4. In a large pot, saute garlic and onion until its soften then add ginger.
5. Put the innards and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Add 5 cups of water and let it boil.
7. Put bile and chili's then add salt and pepper to taste. If you want a bitter-sour taste add the sampalok mix.

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Baby Back Ribs BBQ

2012-10-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last year when my wife and I unwrapped all the gifts for our wedding we are so excited and guessing what's on the big boxes and small boxes. Appliances are the most common gifts for wedding couples here in the Philippines. First, we opted to open small boxes which consist of a flat iron, kitchen utensils, plates and a lot of glasses. There are also a set of sleeping pillows and two cute small pillows that says "Mr. Right" and "Mrs. Always Right". When we are finished with the small ones, here comes much bigger gift boxes. I told my wife before our wedding if how many rice cooker are we going to have. When we are done unwrapping, we got three different rice cooker. Some of the gifts are an airpot, induction cooker, electric stove and a turbo broiler. The main reason why I come up with this recipe is because of our turbo broiler. First thing that comes to my mind we I saw this thing was a sumptuous baby back ribs. This recipe is easy to prepare it will only take less than an hour or two to enjoy this fancy meal.

By the way here's the gift live in action :)

Ingredients

1 kilo baby back ribs (cleaned)

for the dry rub:

2 tsp rock salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

4 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp garlic powder

for the bbq sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce

5 tsp tomato ketchup

3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp oyster sauce

Instructions

1. Clean the baby back ribs by removing the membrane of the meat. The membrane is a thin skin-like layer on the bone side of the ribs. It will make your dish more tasty and flavorful if this was remove properly.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the dry rub in a bowl. Mix well until it all the powder blended well with each other.
3. Put the dry rub all over the baby back ribs, make sure that dry rub are distributed well on the meat. Put it on a plastic or zip-lock bag and refrigerate for 3 to 5 hours. Overnight is much better.
4. Wrap the meat with aluminum foil, put it on the turbo broiler and turn the temperature to the highest level. Cook it for 75 minutes.
5. In a separate bowl, combine all the ingredients for the bbq sauce.
6. Turn off the turbo broiler then take off the foil on the meat. Distribute and spread the bbq mixture on the meat.
7. Put the baby back ribs on the turbo broiler and wait until its charred for a more smoky flavor. Occasionally put bbq sauce on the meat every 5 minutes.

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Salmon head sinigang with miso

2012-09-30T20:29:00.001-07:00

My wife and I can eat Sinigang daily or even a week. Sinigang is a Filipino stew characterized by its sour flavor most often associated with tamarind as its base. This dish is perfect for the rainy season to keep our body warm and active. There are many varieties of soup base for Sinigang, you can use guava, kamias, calamansi or any sour fruit and vegetable that you want as your base. It usually comes with vegetables like kangkong (water spinach), radish and sitaw (long bean). You can cook this using beef, pork, chicken, fish and shrimp. I always cook this dish once or twice a week. I hope that you can try this one at home.

Ingredients

1 kilo salmon head (chopped)

100 grams miso paste

3 tbsp pure tamarind paste or 20 grams "Sinigang Mix"

3 tsp oil

1 red onion (julienned)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

3 pcs tomato (quartered)

3-4 pcs long green chilis

1 bunch water spinach (kangkong)

800 ml water

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat oil then saute garlic together with the miso paste.
2. Add water, onion, and tomato. Wait to boil.
3. Put the tamarind paste or "Sinigang Mix". Add more water depending on your preferred level of sourness.
4. Add salmon head and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
5. Put the water spinach and chilis.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve with rice and enjoy.

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Bibimbap (Mixed Rice with Vegetables)

2012-09-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

Bibimbap or mixed rice with vegetables and meat are one of the first Korean dishes that I've tasted. It's like a Mongolian bowl but the ingredients are cooked separately. This one is a complete healthy meal, rice for carbohydrates, meat and egg for protein, vegetables for vitamins and minerals. The main highlight of this dish is the chili pepper paste but in this one I used garlic chili paste. Korean food are now popular in many countries together with their music and tv series/drama. Maybe someday I can visit Korea and try their authentic cuisine. Most Korean dishes are spicy, this is because of the cold weather in their country. You will notice that most of my recipes are about spicy and hot foods. Its a great thing that both my wife and I share the same spicy taste buds.

Ingredients

250 grams beef strips

2-3 cups steamed rice

2 pcs egg

1 medium carrot

1 medium cucumber

1 large onion

1 cup beansprouts

1/4 cup onion leeks

salt

freshly ground peppercorn

for garlic chili paste:

5 cloves garlic

3-5 chili fingers

2 tsp flour

5 tsp water

Instructions

1. Cut carrot, onion leeks, cucumber and onion according to your preferred size.
2. Blanch the carrot, beansprouts and cucumber in hot water for 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a pan, saute onion and onion leeks, add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from oil and set aside.
4. Put beef strips on the pan and saute until meat is cooked then set aside.
5. In a blender, put the garlic, chili fingers, flour and water. Blend until the consistency becomes smooth. You may add more chili's depending on the level of spiciness that you prefer.
6. In a bowl put rice on the center and all the other vegetables on the side including the beef strips.
7. Fry egg then put it on top and add generous amount of garlic chili paste.
8. Mixed all the ingredients and enjoy.

Just got Lucky!