Nilagang Baboy (Pork Stew) Recipe

Nilagang baboy is a comfort food which is perfect during winter season. I grew up celebrating most Christmas with it because my mother would cook it for Christmas meal. I thought to prepare it as the temperature is now starting to drop here in the Middle East. In a few weeks, the long, dry and hot months will be gone.

This nilagang baboy recipe, which is a Kapampangan recipe, is a pork stew that is quite simple to make. It only involves one step of cooking that is boiling all ingredients by gradually adding them according to the required cooking time of each ingredient. For me, the trick to making a very tasty nilagang baboy is to use lots of different vegetables and make sure that the pork is tender. The pork and vegetables simmered together in a considerable amount of time will create a really tasty soup. All the minerals and vitamins from the vegetables will blend with the pork broth very nicely and one will be surprise at how the soup will taste healthy.


Nilagang Baboy (Pork Stew)

Sinigang na Tilapia Recipe

Sinigang is a common dish for Filipinos. It is a soup characterized by its sour flavor. Different fruits can be used as souring agent such as tamarind (which is the most common), guava, green mango, kamias or bilimbi and santol. Back home, my most favorite fruit ingredient for sinigang is kamias or bilimbi, next is tamarind. We have a kamias tree in the backyard that bears fruits abundantly when in season. I hope it is still alive up to this day. That’s one of the things I would check when we go home this December for vacation.

Nowadays, powdered soup base or cubes have become popular in place of the natural fruits, especially for OFWs like us. They are commonly known as sinigang mix and are made of tamarind or guava. The tamarind powdered soup base is what I used for my sinigang na tilapia recipe. I usually like my sinigang to be really sour. Fortunately, hubby likes the same and so I used the whole sinigang mix pack.

It is best to add an assortment of vegetables to sinigang. I used pechay and banana blossom for this recipe. I learned from my mother that the banana blossom will make the soup white in color. Just be careful on the timing of slicing the banana blossom. I suggest slicing it seconds before it is added in the stew. Slicing it early will darken the color of the banana blossom.


Sinigang na Tilapia

Here’s my recipe for the Sinigang na Tilapia:

Ingredients:
2 pcs whole tilapia fish
1 bunch pechay
1 pc banana blossom, sliced to ½ inch thick, remove tough petals
2 pcs tomatoes, quartered
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced
2 pcs banana chili
1 pack sinigang mix (use only half if you prefer less sour soup)
2 cups water
Salt

Cooking Procedure:
Bring to boil 2 cups of water. Add tomatoes and onion. Simmer until the tomatoes and onions are tender. Add sinigang mix and ginger. Cook until sinigang mix has completely dissolved. Add tilapia and vegetable ingredients. Season with salt. Cook until tilapia is done. Adjust the seasoning according to your taste.

Paksiw na Galunggong Recipe

Paksiw na Galunggong is one of the varieties of paksiw na isda recipes. I like the small-size galunggong or scad fish better than the large ones as I find them more flavorful.

Paksiw is a process of stewing meat or fish in vinegar and some spices. The spices added to it may vary depending on the main ingredient, regional cooking style or preference of the cook himself.

When I’m making paksiw na isda, I don’t use garlic as most people would do. Instead, I’m using onion, which I think makes the broth more appetizing. Another tweak that I do is I add a teaspoon of olive oil to the broth just two minutes before I remove it from heat.

Another tip that is worth trying is to keep the paksiw for a day in the ref then re-heat. It’s much tastier this way. Also, it is best to pair it with garlic fried rice. Yum!


Paksiw na Galunggong

Here’s my recipe for the Paksiw na Galunggong:

Ingredients:
250 grams Galunggong (scad) fish
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup water
1 thumb size ginger root, crushed or finely sliced
1 small onion, sliced
3 pieces banana pepper (siling haba)
2 large eggplants (optional), sliced according to your liking
1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)
Pepper, roughly ground
Salt

Cooking Procedure:
Clean fish well. Remove gills, innards, etc. Combine all ingredients in a pot except olive oil. Turn on the stove and cook from 10 to 15 minutes over low fire, or until the fish and eggplants are cooked. Just keep in mind to add in the olive oil two minutes before turning off the heat. Serve with steamed rice or fried rice.

Halaan (Clam) Soup Recipe

Clam Soup

Halaan or clam soup is one of my favorite soups (and it has now become one of hubby's too). It is so appetizing and refreshing. It also brings back memories of my childhood. We used to eat the clams using our hands and scoop the meat out of the shell using our mouth. Then I would reserve some of the clam shells and dry them under the sun. I and my cousins would then play with them.

These past few weeks, there had been plenty of fresh clams being sold in supermarkets. I think it’s because it’s in season these days. So, before it gets out of season, we’d rather take advantage of its abundance. We decided to cook halaan soup for lunch yesterday.

Here is the Halaan (Clam) Soup Recipe:

Ingredients:
½ kilogram halaan or fresh clams
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 thumb-sized ginger, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
3 tbsp. fish sauce or patis
2 cups water
Cooking oil

Cooking procedure:
1) Wash fresh clams and drain. Place the clams in a container and cover with water. Let it sit for several hours or overnight in the fridge. If possible, replace the water every few hours. This procedure will allow the clams to expel sand.
2) Heat oil in a pot. Sauté ginger and garlic together.
3) Add onion and cook until translucent.
4) Add tomatoes, cook for 3 minutes while stirring occasionally.
5) Add fish sauce and the fresh clams. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
6) Pour in water. Cover and let boil.
7) Turn off the heat when the clams have opened.
8) Serve immediately.

Turon Recipe

Turon or fried wrapped banana is a popular snack among Filipinos. It is usually made of saba bananas covered with brown sugar and wrapped in a very thin pastry wrapper or lumpia wrapper, which is the simple recipe. Another recipe is by adding slices of langka or jackfruit to add flavour and fragrance to Turon.


Turon or Fried Wrapped Saba Bananas

My Turon Recipe is based on the simple version. You only need the following ingredients:
4 plaintain bananas or saba
Brown sugar
8 lumpia wrapper
Cooking oil

Method:
Start by peeling the plaintain bananas or saba and cut them in half horizontally. Roll the bananas in brown sugar. Using a large flat plate or clean cutting board, spread one lumpia wrapper then place the banana. Roll the lumpia wrapper halfway, then fold both ends, and roll the rest of the wrapper. Dip you fingertip in a bowl of water and wet the flap of the lumpia wrapper to seal. Repeat the process until all bananas are wrapped. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough, lower the heat and fry the wrapped bananas for 3-4 minutes each side or until the lumpia wrapper has turned golden brown and crisp. Remove banana wraps in oil and drain on paper towel to remove excess oil. Serve immediately.

Guinataang Tanigue (King Fish) Recipe

Guinataang Tanigue

When I was growing up, I never liked guinataan dishes (except for the deserts) because my mother rarely cooked guinataan. As time went by, I learned to appreciate guinataan flavored dishes. What has drawn me to it is the rich taste of the coconut milk combined with the ginger flavor.

Since I’m a veggie lover I particularly like Guinaatang Sitaw and Kalabasa. Fish cooked in coconut milk has also become one of our favorite dishes.

From the supermarket shelf we went to yesterday, the steak-cut tanigue or king fish were neatly packed fresh and clean. It is always wonderful to cook fresh fish as the taste is quite delicious and the fish meat is tender and firm. Since our last guinataan dish has been a while ago, we decided to cook the tanigue this way.

Here is the Guinataang Tanigue (King Fish) Recipe:

Ingredients:
½ kilo tanigue, steak cut
250ml coconut milk
1 tbsp. ginger, thinly sliced long strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium size onion, sliced
3 tbsp. fish sauce or patis
1 bunch pechay or bok choy
4 pcs. banana chili
Cooking oil

Cooking Procedure:
1) Heat oil in a pan.
2) Sauté minced garlic. Do not brown.
3) Add ginger, sauté for 30 seconds.
4) Add onions and cook until translucent.
5) Pour in fish sauce. Sauté for a few seconds.
6) Pour in the coconut milk. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until the natural oil from the coconut milk comes out. Stir occasionally.
7) Add the banana chili and fish. Simmer for 5 minutes.
8) Add pechay or bok choy. Simmer for another minute or until the bok choy have wilted.
9) Serve hot with steamed rice.

Guinisang Kamatis at Itlog (Sauteed Tomatoes and Eggs)

Sauteed Tomatoes and Eggs

A tasty and easy to cook side dish for fried fish is Guinisang Kamatis or sauteed tomatoes. My mother would make it with eggs or without. The guinisang kamatis recipe without eggs though tastes a little sour than with eggs. But, I like both versions specially that tomatoes are good for us.

Here’s the recipe for Guinisang Kamatis at Itlog:

Ingredients:
6 pieces tomatoes
2 eggs
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small sliced onion
2 tbsp. patis or fish sauce
Salt
Cooking oil

Cooking procedure:
1) Sliced the tomatoes roughly.
2) Beat the eggs and season with a pinch of salt.
3) Heat cooking oil in a pan.
4) Sauté garlic until light brown.
5) Add onions and cook until translucent.
6) Add the sliced tomatoes and sauté until tomato skins curl.
7) Add the beaten eggs. Cook over low heat while stirring constantly.
8) Season with fish sauce and cook until the eggs nearly solidifies.
9) Serve with your favorite fried fish or pork chop.

Tuna Fried Rice Recipe

Hubby turned our canned tuna and leftover rice into a creative dish. The Tuna Fried Rice is an interesting alternative to our usual garlic fried rice.

This recipe can be a complete meal on its own with a little sprinkle of pepper, salt and lemon juice. And, just like any other fried rice, it can be paired to any of your favorite dish. As for me, I like to serve fried rice with saucy dishes.

What I like about this particular recipe is the crunchiness of the carrots. Initially the carrots were intended to add color to the dish. It served its purpose though and as a bonus it did make the fried rice fun and healthy to eat.


Tuna Fried Rice

Here is our Tuna Fried Rice recipe:

Ingredients:
1 can tuna chunks, drained
3-4 cups cooked rice (leftover rice)
1 medium size carrot, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of salt
Cooking oil

Cooking Procedure:
1) Heat oil in a deep pan or wok.
2) Fry the garlic until golden brown.
3) Stir in the diced carrots and cook for 1 minute (or until tender if you desire).
4) Add the tuna chunks and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5) Add the cooked rice gradually in order to blend well with the stir-fried mixture of tuna and carrots.
6) Season with salt and stir constantly to heat the rice throughout.
7) Serve hot!

This recipe serves up to 4 persons.

Eggplant Salad Recipe (Ensaladang Talong)

This pinoy eggplant salad recipe or ensaladang talong is a creation of my hubby, which he learned from my mother-in-law. He did a little modification to the original ingredients by adding vinegar to it. This eggplant salad has instantly become one of my favorite salads. It is best served with grilled or fried fish.

The eggplants can be boiled or grilled. I prefer to grill the eggplants to get the smokey flavor. Since it is not possible to use charcoal grill indoor, grilling the eggplants on a stove top would be enough alternative. If you choose to boil the eggplants instead of grilling, peeling them will not be necessary. They can be eaten with the skin on.

Grilling the Eggplants on a Stove-top
I highly recommend that you try this salad recipe and you’ll surely enjoy it!

Eggplant Salad
Here’s the recipe for the Eggplant Salad (ensaladang talong).

Ingredients:
5-6 medium-size eggplants
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 medium-size onion, thinly sliced
1 piece green or red hot chili, remove seeds and slice thinly
2-3 tbsp. bagoong (add more if desired)
1 tbsp. vinegar (add more if desired)

Preparation Instructions:
1) Grill the eggplants until its skin is burnt.
2) Peel the eggplants. Remove any excess burnt skins.
3) Cut and roughly shred the peeled eggplants into 2 inches long and place in a bowl.
4) Mix in the thinly sliced onion and green chili.
5) Season with bagoong and vinegar, and then mix well all the ingredients.
6) Serve with fish or seafood and steamed rice.

Serving size: 3
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Sardines with Misua

I prepared one quick and easy recipe for a late lunch today. It is the second day of no lunch breaks policy at work to give respect to the fasting traditions of Ramadan. I got home from work with a really hungry stomach at past 2pm. Anything in the cupboard or fridge that can be cooked and eaten was appetizing for me but it had to be done quickly. I initially thought of opening a can of sardines and eat it right away but I had a better idea. Besides hubby is still on his way home so I had to wait a little more. I enhanced the plain sardines in can dish and cooked it with misua.

Sardines with Misua
Misua is made of wheat flour and one of the varieties of Chinese noodles. It is very fine and brittle.

I finished cooking in no less than 15 minutes. It is recommended though that the sardines should be in tomato base but the only available can of sardines we had in the cupboard is in oil. I cooked it anyway with a little twist. I sautéed 2 large ripe chopped tomatoes to satisfy the tomato base. I was brave with the experiment and it tasted just as delicious as in using a tomato base sardines in can!

Here’s the recipe for my Sardines with Misua:

Ingredients:
1 small can sardines
50 grams misua
2 large chopped tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. fish sauce
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1-2 cups water
cooking oil

Cooking Instructions:
1) Heat oil in a small cooking pot.
2) When the oil is hot enough, sauté garlic until light brown.
3) Add chopped onions and cooked until translucent.
4) Put in the chopped tomatoes. Cook until saucy under medium heat.
5) Add the sardines, fish sauce and ground pepper. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring.
6) Add the water and let boil.
7) Put in misua and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
8) Remove from heat, then serve in a bowl.
9) If desired, garnish with toasted garlic and chopped spring onion.

Beef Mechado Recipe

Beef Mechado is one of my favorite beef dishes.

When I was still working in Manila (in the previous job I held before I left for the UAE more than a year ago), I used to rent a small room in a three-storey apartment in Quezon City near SM North Edsa where I stayed for more than 4 years. My landlady in that house, who I fondly call Nanay, makes the best beef mechado. I once asked her what's the secret and she gladly shared that she is using fresh tomatoes instead of canned or processed tomatoes for the sauce.

Fresh Tomatoes
Remembering the cooking tip from Nanay, I daringly prepared beef mechado skipping the traditional tomato paste or tomato sauce.

Here’s the recipe for beef mechado.

Ingredients:
1 kilo beef cut into chunks
2 medium sized carrots, sliced in 1/2" sections
3 medium potatoes, quartered (optional: fried)
8-10 pieces large tomatoes, sliced or chopped (or 2 cups tomato sauce or 1/2 cup tomato paste)
4 onions, peeled and quartered
1 large bell pepper, sliced
2 cups beef stock or 2 bouillon cubes dissolved in water
3 bay leaves (laurel leaves)
1/4 -cup vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Beef Chunks
Cooking Instructions:
1. Combine the beef, tomatoes, soy sauce, bay leaves and beef stock in a casserole. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beef is almost tender.
2. Add the vinegar and let boil for two minutes.
3. Add the potatoes, carrots, onions and bell pepper. Add in salt (if needed) and pepper to taste.
4. Let simmer until all vegetables are cooked. Stir occasionally to thicken the sauce.

Cooking Tips:
1. Choose beef cuts intended for stewing or containing various amount of fat layers.
2. Consider pressure cooking the beef with the beef stock for faster cooking time.
3. Fry the potatoes before adding to the casserole. Aside from giving it a nice taste, it will also reduce cooking time for the potatoes.
4. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil when the mechado dish is almost done for added flavor.

Beef Mechado
Preparation and cooking time: 1 to 1.5 hours (estimated)
Serving Size: 4-5 persons

Bon Appetit!

3-Kind Vegetable Stir-Fry in Oyster Sauce

A lot of parents find it difficult to make their children eat vegetables, but when I was a little kid I never gave my parents a hard time because I would always eat and finish my vegetables. Until today, I am still a veggie lover (but not a vegetarian). I would always like to have dishes with vegetables on it when dining out or make sure to incorporate vegetable servings in our weekly menu plan.

Two nights ago I prepared a dish that’s delicious and very simple to make, which involved vegetables and oyster sauce. I call it 3-Kind Vegetable Stir-Fry in Oyster Sauce. As the title suggests, I only used three types of vegetables namely: carrots, snow peas and white cabbage. Other types of vegetables can also be used like cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers, etc. But, I stick to the three previously mentioned as I’d like to have a quickly prepared meal and within budget.


Stir-fry vegetable is always present in any Chinese restaurant menu but I cannot tell if it is solely a Chinese creation because I’ve seen the same dish exists in Thai cuisine. There is also a similar dish popular in Filipino cooking, which we adopted from Chinese, called chop suey.

Here’s the recipe for my 3-Kind Vegetable Stir-Fry in Oyster Sauce. You will like this because it is light and, as I mentioned, very simple to prepare.

Ingredients:
2 medium-sized carrots, sliced crosswise
100 grams snow peas (remove tips)
½ head cabbage, roughly sliced
½ cup oyster sauce
1 medium-sized onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Spring onions (optional)
¼ cup water (optional)
Vegetable oil


Cooking Instructions:
1. Heat oil in a wok. Sauté garlic and onion.
2. Add carrots and sauté for about 2 minutes.
3. Add oyster sauce and then follow with snow peas and cabbage. Add water if you desire. Add spring onions (optional). Stir constantly until all vegetables are cooked (bright in color). Do not over cook vegetables to maintain crispness.

Preparation and cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Serving size: 2-3 persons

Useful Info:
1. Stir-fry meals are best done using a wok over a high heat.
2. Constant stirring will allow equal distribution of the heat to vegetables and prevent over cooking.

Guinisang Ampalaya with Shrimps Recipe

Guinisang ampalaya is one of my favorite vegetable dishes. As I previously mentioned, Boq and I love ampalaya, one reason is because of its health benefits.


Some people especially the kids do not like to eat ampalaya because of its strong bitter taste. There are actually a couple of ways to reduce the bitterness of ampalaya. One is to soak it (already sliced) with water and squeeze, and the other is to rub it with lots of salt and wash thoroughly. I also encountered one particular cook that she was boiling the ampalaya to reduce the bitterness. I do not like soaking or boiling the ampalaya, what I always like to do is the rubbing and rinsing method.

Guinisang ampalaya can be cooked with strips of pork or shrimps. For this recipe, being another favorite, I used shelled shrimps.


Ingredients:
4 medium size ampalaya or bitter gourd or bitter melon by others, cut in half lengthwise, cored and sliced diagonally
3 medium size tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
3 pieces egg, beaten and slightly salted
300 grams shrimp, shelled
Vegetable oil
Shrimp cubes (optional)
3-5 tbsp. fish sauce

Cooking Instructions:
1. Sauté garlic until slightly brown. Add onion and cook until translucent.
2. Add tomatoes and shrimp cubes. Cook until tomatoes are soft. Then add shrimps and cook until half done.
3. Put in sliced ampalaya. Cover and stir occasionally until cooked.
4. Lastly, add beaten eggs. Stir continuously until egg is completely cooked.


Preparation and cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Serving size: 4-5 persons

Bon appétit!

Pork Sinigang Recipe

As much as I’d like to limit our pork intake not only due to swine flu scare but more so because of the amount of calories and fats we would be stuffing ourselves with, I just couldn’t resist the temptation especially when I know that there’s a half kilo of pork sitting in the fridge.

It’s been a while since we had sinigang and since I still have plenty of sinigang mix brought from the Philippines, I decided to make pork sinigang.

Sinigang, or sour soup in English, is another famous Filipino dish and seems to be everyone’s favorite. It is always present on the menu in any carinderia or Pinoy restaurant.

Sinigang is typically cooked in a lot of water, meat, a selection of vegetables, and should be very sour in taste (although some people would prefer to reduce the sourness).

There’s a variety of option for sinigang's main ingredient. One can choose from pork, beef, chicken, shrimp or fish. The sourness of the soup can also come from a range of sour fruits, such as tamarind, kalamansi (citrus), kamias (bilimbi) or santol. I also know some people who use green mango but using it may seem difficult to achieve the exact sourness compared to using other sour fruits.

For my sinigang, I used the ready mix sampaloc sinigang with gabi (taro). It’s convenient for pinoy travelers and OFWs who aren’t able to find the fresh ingredient in their country of work. The sour taste is nearly authentic. The original ready mix sampaloc sinigang was without bits of taro, the mixture with taro was just introduced later on. I like the taro version more than the original sampaloc mix because it tends to slightly thicken the soup.

Here’s my pork sinigang recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork, sliced into 1 inch cubes (use parts with fat layers or boney parts, whichever of these two is just as great)
4 pieces tomatoes, cut each into 4 parts
1 large onion, cut into 4 parts
1 bundle okra
2 pieces radish, sliced thinly
1 bundle Pechay (buk choy) or kangkong
3-4 pieces green chili (long)
3-4 pieces small taro (optional)
1 liter water
Sinigang mix (tamarind with gabi)

Cooking Instructions:
1. Put pork in a pot and cover with water. Bring to boil.
2. Add sliced tomatoes, taro and onion. Let it simmer.
3. When pork is tender, add sinigang mix and season with salt. Then add radish and cook until half done.
4. Add okra and long beans. When half done add pechay and cook until wilted.
5. Serve with steamed rice.

Preparation and cooking time: 60 minutes
Serving: 2-3

Chunkee Corned Beef Guisado with Green Beans

When you are really hungry and yet you still want to have a decent meal, you can always depend on foodstuff disguising as tin cans. These dependable foodstuffs are famously known among pinoys as “de lata.” :)

Aside from sardines, I always like mixing canned corned beef with vegetables for added nutrient. So even when I was already having hunger pangs I did take the time to do a quick sautéing. Boq and I both like the chunkee variety of Purefoods corned beef because you can really see the beef fiber.

Often, in pinoy cooking, corned beef will be mixed with cube-sliced potatoes. Since I’m not a fan of potatoes, I used green beans instead for this recipe. It was a better choice because green beans required less time to cook than potatoes, meaning I didn’t have to prolong the agony of starving myself and Boq.

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 small can purefoods chunkee corned beef
100 grams green beans, sliced diagonally to half-inch size
1 small onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. Fish sauce
Ground black pepper (optional)
Vegetable oil

Cooking Instructions:
Heat oil in a pan. Saute garlic until light brown. Add onion, cook until translucent. Add fish sauce. Give a quick stirring. Add green beans and cook for 3 minutes or until the beans is bright green. Add chunkee corned beef, stir and cook for another 3 minutes.

Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes
Serving size: 2-3

Inabrao (Dinengdeng) Saluyot and Green Papaya Recipe

My Ilocano root is sometimes kicking in that I feel the need to satisfy my craving for something Ilocano, and my most favorite dish for that matter involves inabrao or dinengdeng.

Saluyot is a green leafy vegetable that is rich with fibre. It is called corchorus in English. It tends to thicken the soup when cooked.

Inabrao is a very simple dish that involves no-fuss cooking even if you are using a lot of different kinds of ingredients as the process only need to boil it altogether. Saluyot is more commonly combined with labong or shredded bamboo shoots but in the absence of labong other veggies can also be combined like string beans or green papaya. For this inabrao recipe I used saluyot leaves, green papaya and fillet of fried fish.

Ingredients:
2 medium bundles of saluyot leaves, thoroughly washed
1 small green papaya, peeled and sliced
Fillet bits of fried fish
1/4 cup anchovy sauce (increase if desired)
Kalamansi (citrus) or lemon
Water

Cooking Instructions:
Fill a pot with half liter of water and bring to boil. Add anchovy paste and cover for 2 minutes. Add green papaya, when half-cooked add the saluyot leaves and fish fillet, then follow with lemon juice. Let boil until saluyot is cook.

Grilled fish superbly complements this dinengdeng recipe but since we do not have the luxury to grill, fried fish is the next best option.

Fish Spring Roll Recipe

Want to try something different for your fish craving? Why not make fish spring roll. It’s healthy and great for light snack or party meal.

This spring roll recipe is quite different than usual. My friend and a former officemate, Gemma, introduced to me this dish, which she fondly calls fish shanghai. Shanghai spring roll is widely known in the Philippines as lumpiang shanghai, which is usually prepared with pork or beef. I first tasted fish shanghai during her birthday celebration in 2008, and I got hooked to it since. Fish spring roll is simply delicious and far healthier than its beef or pork counterpart.

Here’s the recipe for fish spring roll.

Ingredients:
1 kilogram fresh mackerel fish, thoroughly cleaned (or any fresh fish of your choice)
2 pieces medium size carrot, grated or finely chopped
2 pieces medium size onion, (one is grated or finely chopped, the other piece is simply sliced)
1 large stalk celery, grated or finely chopped
1 large egg
Ginger
Vinegar
Water
Salt
Ground black pepper
Pastry wrapper (about 60 pcs)

Instructions:
Boil the mackerel fish in a deep skillet together with ginger, sliced onion, vinegar, salt, ground pepper and water. While cooking the fish, start grating carrots, onion and celery for the spring roll mixture. When the fish is done, separate its meat from its bones, shred and mix with the grated ingredients. Add egg, and then season with salt and black pepper. Wrap a teaspoon size of the mixture using the pastry wrapper. Fry in a low fire until golden brown.


Dip fish spring roll with your favorite sauce (ketchup, sweet chili sauce or vinegar).

Preparation and cooking time: 60 minutes
Serving size: 6-8

Bon appétit!

Chicken Tinola Recipe (Chicken Ginger Soup)

It’s rainy season in the Philippines and one of the best comfort food you can prepare is chicken ginger soup (or stew for others). It will definitely give the desired warmth during cool weather.

Although it isn’t raining here in Abu Dhabi but instead it is scorching hot outside as the summer season is as its peak this month of August, I couldn’t be stopped from craving for a soup.

Tinola is mainly associated with chicken cooked in ginger, onion and garlic and some vegetables, but it can also be done using pork. I'm sticking to the classic tinola though or the Chicken Tinola.

Usually the vegetable ingredients used with tinola are a combination of chili pepper leaves or malunggay and green papaya or sayote. Some of those I know are using spinach as an alternative for chili pepper leaves due to the difficulty of finding the latter in the markets here. I was never lucky too in finding chili pepper or malunggay leaves although some friends say its available in some Philippine stores. I wish we are staying in a villa with a backyard where I can grow malunggay!

Anyway, here's the recipe for this tasty chicken soup.

Ingredients:
500 grams chicken (use any of your favorite parts)
500 grams sayote, sliced to bite size
1 small piece ginger, sliced thinly or matchsticks like
3 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
1 onion, sliced
1 piece chicken stock or bouillon cube
vegetable oil
fish sauce to taste
water

Cooking Instructions:
Heat oil in a cooking pot. Sauté ginger, garlic and onion. Add chicken and sliced sayote and make a quick stir-fry. Add chicken bouillon cube and water. Add fish sauce if desired (the bouillon cube can already give the required saltiness). Let it simmer until chicken is tender.

Preparation and cooking time: 45 minutes
Serving size: 3

Bon appetit!

Binagoongang Baboy (Pork in Shrimp Paste)

If you’re a pork eater, binagoongang baboy will be sinful as it will make you eat more than what you should.

Since it is some kind of good fortune to be able to buy pork in Abu Dhabi as the UAE is a Muslim country, Boq and I would buy a few kilos every 2 or 3 weeks for some pork indulgence. Coupled with the luck to find bagoong or shrimp paste in the country, what else can one think of best to cook to combine the two other than binagoongang baboy.

I actually do have a little clue about how the dish should be prepared but I thought it would also help to consult some web expert and seek advise from our flatmate. The result was an infusion of three different ideas.

I picked up Marketmanila.com’s instruction to boil the pork in water, vinegar and sorts of seasoning then fry. While our flatmate suggested that I add tomatoes to my sauté mixture and I thought of adding slices of green pepper for added spice. I also added eggplant slices for a bit of balance. Trust me, this is just perfect for steamed rice.

Ingredients:

1 kilo of pork, cubes (I used parts with some fat and bones)

4 eggplants, sliced diagonally and fried

½ cup shrimp paste

1 onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Green hot chili (use the labuyo type if you want it more spicy)

4 tbsp. vinegar

Black pepper

Bay leaf (optional)

Vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Boil pork n a pot with water, vinegar, black pepper and bay leaf for about 30 minutes. Remove from the pot and let dry.
2. Fry pork in a deep skillet until light brown.
3. Sauté garlic, onion, tomatoes, shrimp paste and green hot chili in the same skillet. Add the pork and some water while stirring. Add the fried eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes.

Preparation and cooking time: 60 minutes
Serving size: 4-5 persons

Pansit Guisado Recipe

Boq and I bought rice noodles some couple of weeks back and used a few strands for rice noodle soup (I'll post the recipe here in the future). We did not know what to do with the rest of the noodles so I suggested why not make a pansit guisado instead.

Pansit is a popular noodle dish in the Philippines, which is commonly served during fiestas, birthday occasions and widely celebrated holidays.

The typical pansit guisado recipe consists of very thin rice noodles stir-fried with chopped vegetables, soy sauce and some variations of sliced meat (e.g. chicken, pork & shrimps). When eaten, it is normally seasoned with black pepper powder, lemon/kalamansi (citrus) and patis (fish sauce).

In this recipe, I used chicken and liver for the meat ingredient. Chicken liver is tastier than the chicken meat in my opinion. And since it is also ideal to cook pansit guisado using two kinds of noodles I used pansit bihon and pansit canton together.

Ingredients:

200g pansit bihon (rice noodles or vermicelli)

200g pansit canton (Chinese noodle)

100g chicken meat, boiled and cut into strips

150g liver meat, boiled and diced

1/2 kilo cabbage, shredded

200g green beans, sliced thinly

1 medium-sized carrot, cut into strips

1 medium-sized onion, sliced

5 cloves garlic, minced

green bell pepper, cut into strips (optional)

soy sauce to taste

chicken bouillon cubes or chicken stock

vegetable or palm oil

water

For seasoning: lemon/kalamansi (citrus), black pepper powder and fish sauce

Procedure:
1)Heat oil in a large wok or pot.
2)Sauté garlic until light brown then add onion.
3)Add the chicken strips and diced liver.
4)Then add the vegetable ingredients in the following order: green beans, carrots, cabbage and bell pepper.
5)Season with soy sauce then add water and chicken cubes or chicken stock.
6)Add the vermicelli and noodles. Add more water/chicken stock, if desired. Stir continuously until cooked.

Useful Info:
1) To eliminate the difficulty of mixing, boil and cook first the Chinese noodles to make it pliant in a separate pot.
2) Similarly, soak the rice noodles or vermicelli in the water 2-3 minutes to make it pliant.
3) Use a large wok or pot when cooking pansit guisado as the mixing is a bit rigorous.

Preparation and Cooking Time: 45-60 minutes
Serving size: 6-8 persons