My sister, Lorna experimented a lot of bibingka recipes so I will present a few of these recipes that she experimented. One of these was Mimi Alvarez bibingkas. Lorna says ” I had never attended any of Tita Mimi’s cooking classes but before she immigrated to the United States.

During one of my trips to National Book Store in the Philippines, I saw Tita Mimi’s cookbook for sale. I just had to grab it! Here’s her version of the Bibingka recipes. It’s a good idea to check the proportions of the ingredients that are used in the several versions that I’m presenting here so we can come up with our own unique signature Bibingka recipe.”

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Posted: February 1st, 2010 under Baking Recipes, Bibingka with 6,884 views.
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This is a memorable recipe that my sister, Lorna picked up at one of these local TV cooking shows. I tried it out and I love its simplicity. I think this dish may even be called “Chop Suey”. Of course, I have now eliminated the monosodium glutamate (MSG) or ajinomoto.

Remember, it’s the sesame oil that gives this dish a piquant flavor. Let’s make sure our children eat their veggies!

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Posted: January 25th, 2010 under Recipes, Vegetables with 3,561 views.
Comments: 1

Just looking at the photos makes me want to eat more kilawin or kinilaw na isda. Once can use either tuna or lapu-lapu fillets to make this dish. I always associate the Kinilaw with a beach outing. Preparing dishes with vinegar ensures there is little chance of food spoilage. The fish is “cooked” using vinegar as the meat turnes opaque in color. Though kinilaw may not be as popular as adobo, it certainly has a one-of-a-kind taste that many Pinoys abroad crave for.

In Philippine Food and Life (released by Anvil Publishing in 1992), Gilda Cordero-Fernando narrates of an Ilokano group who, during the Spanish period, were part of the crew English navigator Thomas Cavendish’s ship. Right after the sailors threw all the intestines of a goat into the sea, the Ilokano assistants dived into the sea for their kilawin — dipped or cooked in bile sauce or broth. The chronicler, who was ignorant of what the Pinoys were preparing, described the dish as “a disgusting mess.”

Not only goats, which is believed to be a good source of protein and calcium, however, may be made into kilawin. Beef, carabeef, fish, shelfish, including octopus are also popular options.

(Sources: Alegre, Edilberto N. and Fernandez, Doreen G. “Kinilaw: A Philippine Cuisine of Freshness.” Bookmark Inc.,1991;Cordero, Gilda Fernando. “Philippine Food and Life.” Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, 1992)

Kilawin na isda is so easy to prepare too.

Here are the ingredients:

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Posted: January 16th, 2010 under Asian Cuisine, Filipino Food, Recipes, Seafood, kakanin with 10,390 views.
Comments: 5

The best and healthy grilled dishes are always seafood. First of all, there is minimal fat used in the grilling process and of course seafood is always healthy. Make sure the squid is fresh to start with.

Ingredients

1 kilo medium to large fresh squid
1 bottle or 1 cup Sprite or 7-up (for extra sweetness)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Calamansi juice
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper

Optional stuffing for body cavity
2 medium-sized onions, sliced
2 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
salt and pepper for seasoning

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Posted: January 10th, 2010 under Grilled, Recipes, Seafood with 9,536 views.
Comments: 2

I first learned how to cook suman from Prof. Matilde Guzman Food Preparation class. I love the combination of mongo and coconut-flavored sweet sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup malagkit (glutinous rice)
1 cup mongo
1-1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups coco milk
coco cream from 1 grated coconut

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Posted: January 6th, 2010 under Recipes, kakanin with 12,533 views.
Comments: 3

Happy New Year! If you truly want to have a prosperous and Happy New year, we must start with our health. A lot of Pinoy cooking uses oil. A sure way to make healthy dishes is replacing regular cooking oil with olive oil. The dilemma of most Filipino homemakers lies on the high prices of olive oils, unlike the more affordable lesser quality oils. Fortunately, I got introduced to Olive oil that can provide the same throng of health benefits, not to mention a rich a flavorful taste without going over the budget. Once can cook Pata Tim with olive oil but don’t use virgin olive oil for cooking. Here is their recipe:

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Posted: January 3rd, 2010 under Pork, Recipes with 29,633 views.
Comments: 6

My daughter Lauren was dying to cook paella for our Christmas Eve dinner over 2 years ago. I bought all the ingredients in the morning but I wanted to cook it already while the seafood was still fresh. My recipe for paella is one where I can pre-cook everything and place it on the pyrex dish for baking at a later time. It made sense to prepare it now then bake it just before Christmas dinner. I can’t be hassled with cooking just before the Noche Buena.

Here is my Paella, Filipino Style recipe. Lauren assisted me with the cooking.

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Posted: December 30th, 2009 under Beef, Filipino Food, Pork, Recipes, Seafood, chicken with 28,664 views.
Comments: 10

Apple pie is one of the many deserts I prepared last Christmas. I’ve already shared an Apple Pie recipe with you where you make your own crust. There is another version of Apple pie called Apple Crisp. Last year, my sister-in-law and I went to the Farmers’ Market and discovered a pile of apples on a truck. The kind lady gave us a taste of the green-yellow apples. The juicy and tart apple made it the perfect apples for Apple Pie which my sister-in-law immediately bought for a $1.00 a bag. Instead of Apple Pie, she wanted to try the Apple Crisp.

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Posted: December 28th, 2009 under Baking Recipes with 4,378 views.
Comments: 3

How was your holiday celebration! I hope you all had fun with your family and friends.

I know that it’s a little late for holiday giveaways, but I’m giving away an amazing prize to one lucky Pinoy Food blog reader or subscriber based in the Philippines. All you have to do is share a photo with your Real Leaf Green Tea Story! It’s really simple.

Click for the mechanics: Contest: Get the chance to win an 8GB Nano with your Real Leaf Story.

Posted: December 28th, 2009 under Site News with 117 views.
Comments: 1

Noche Buena is never complete without the traditional chinese Ham. I always choose Majestic Ham because it isn’t too salty for me. The secret to their moist, mouthwatering ham products is in their curing process. Their hams are cured in oak barrels, aged for full flavor, and seasoned with select spices before being cooked to perfection. It’s my preference, of course especially since they are so established with 70 years of curing and cooking ham to perfection under their belt.

The common glaze used is pineapple but this time, I used Apple-cinnamon glaze.

Here’s the recipe for Chinese Ham with Apple Cinnamon Glaze:

Ingredients
1 2 to 3 kilos Chinese Cooked Ham
2 cups Apple Juice
1/4 cup cherry brandy
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 medium apple , chopped
2 pieces bay leaf
1 tsp cinnamon powder
slices of green and red cherries
toasted cashew nuts
celery leaves

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Posted: December 25th, 2009 under Filipino Food, Noche Buena with 27,621 views.
Comments: 3

My memories of Suman Luya dates back to Christmas Eve and my mother. She would cook the sticky rice in a big kawali in the dirty kitchen. Suman Luya is extremely smooth tasting with the right amount of sweetness. It’s perfect for hot chocolate drink during the noche buena. The taste in itself reminds me of Christmas in Cebu.

Here is the recipe of Suman Luya (Suman Flavored with Ginger) or you can buy Suman Luya from this entry Where to Buy Suman in Manila

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Posted: December 24th, 2009 under Recipes, kakanin with 7,582 views.
Comments: 4

Today is the day before Christmas eve or the noche buena. Before I share this recipe, let me greet you my valuable readers for being part of my simple food dishes. Here is my greeting card to all of you.

I created a video greeting for all of you and to share our Christmas through the years in three different homes, starting in Pasig, then Makati then back to Pasig. Lauren was 12 while Marielle was 11 years old with another girl and 2 boys from the Manila Children Choir. The choir conductor chose only 5 children for this recording but with recent technology, it sounds like they are a big group of kids.

The card template is a bit off-tangent with the music but it’s cute. Pasko na Sinta ko is actually a love song but the melody is very poignant.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the kitchen of the Dado family to your kitchen.

My daughter hosted the Man Blog Christmas party at our house last year and she decided to prepare fiesta ham so it would really feel like a Christmas dinner. She didn’t want to use the pre-packaged sauce that came with the ham so she looked around the Internet for a simple ham sauce recipe she can make on my own. Eventually, she came across a recipe for a beer sauce that she modified a little bit. The beer sauce turned out to be a huge hit among her friends. By the time the party was wrapping up, the ham was completely gone – pineapple garnish, sauce and all!

She still needs to make a couple of adjustments to the recipe; I think it needs more sugar and more beer. But this is the beer sauce recipeshe used for the Christmas party.

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Posted: December 23rd, 2009 under Noche Buena with 16,014 views.
Comments: 3