I started my herb garden when we moved to our new home. It’s a great feeling to pick freshly homegrown basil and add it to our pasta. This afternoon, I cooked Shrimp and Pasta with Pesto sauce to make up for the Lechon Manok that I was supposed to buy.

Here is the recipe that is even beginners can follow.

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Posted: June 30th, 2009 under Pasta, Recipes, Seafood.
Comments: 5

I am sure all of you enjoy feasting on comfort food. One of my fondest childhood memory is eating Ginataang Mongo. The flavor of toasted mongo and the malagkit is quite distinct. With the rainy season upon us, a hot bowl of ginataang mongo is dish that truly delights my children. Here is my recipe.

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Posted: June 28th, 2009 under Filipino Delicacies, Recipes, Rice.
Comments: none

Ube (Purple Yam) Halaya is one of my favorite desserts that I remember with fondness. Mom often prepared Ube Halaya in a pyrex dish. I liked the natural purple color instead of the bright purple color that I often see in commercial ube halaya. The best ube comes from Bohol because of its aromatic fragrance and sweetness. Perhaps, this legend explains the gift granted to the Bohol Ube Kinampay. Kinampay is a kind of ubi, the most expensive kind yet there are many varieties that are named Kinampay. The Bohol Ube Kinampay can be found in Dauis, Panglao, Tagbilaran, Corella and other southwestern towns of Bohol.

Granting you have the Bohol Ube, here is a simple recipe of Ube Halaya prepration. There are many variations that use coconut milk and evaporated milk but I use condensed milk.

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Posted: June 27th, 2009 under Cakes, Pastries & Desserts, Filipino Food, Recipes, desserts.
Comments: 3

There are many ways to cook ukoy. In Vigan, ukoy like the one above is prepared from a mixture of galapong (sticky rice with water), shrimps, onions, spring onions and salt to taste. One has to prepare galapong first but I prefer to use rice flour . (You can prepare galapong though)

Ingredients

1 cup small fresh shrimps
1 cup rice flour (or cornstarch if rice flour not available)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup green onions part julienned
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
oil for deep fat frying
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Posted: June 24th, 2009 under Recipes, Seafood.
Comments: none

I very rarely prepare Paella because it entails so much preparation. Twenty five years ago, my sister shared me this Paella, Filipino Style recipe and it seemed simple to prepare. Until a year ago, that’s the only Paella recipe I ever cook. Apparently, the recipe is just similar to Paella a la Valenciana, the difference is in some ingredients. Paella is tasty because of the flavors that seep through the rice grains from all the ingredients mixed into the rice. Paella a la Valenciana is just as similar in taste as my Paella, Filipino Style. The Paella a La Valenciana recipe I am sharing is not exactly the same as the original recipe from the typical, rich rice dish from Valencia, Valencia happens to be located on the east Mediterranean coast of Spain. Even though one can taste this rice-dish all over Spain and even world-wide, its true origin is the area of Valencia and Alicante.

Ingredients

1/2 kilo pork tenderloin
500 grams chicken breast
1/2 kilo large shrimps
salt and pepper
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 large sized crabs
2 cups clams (halaan)
1 cup mussels (tahong)

1/2 teaspoon of sweet red paprika
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 cup string beans (sitaw), sliced into 1 inch pieces and blanched
3 chorizo de bilbao, sliced thinly
3 cups rice, American Variety or long grain rice
1 can tomato paste ( around 70 grams)
6 cups clam broth (used for boiling the clams)
1 small laurel leaf
salt and pepper for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon saffron , mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1 cup green peas
1 pieces pimiento (cut into 1 inch squares)
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced for topping

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Posted: June 22nd, 2009 under Recipes, Rice.
Comments: 2

Upon seeing the spring chickens in the Salcedo Saturday Market, I suddenly recalled my Max-style Fried Chicken recipe which I have been wanting to cook again. The extra crispiness of the chicken skin is due to the boiling of the chicken and refrying it twice. I showed this recipe a couple of months back but have edited some steps to make it easier for you to cook. Here is a Max Fried Chicken Style recipe which I got from my sister over 20 years ago:

Recipe

1. Rub whole small chicken (inside the skin also) with a mixture of:

• 2 Tablespoons rock salt
• 1 tsp pepper

2. Steam right away for 30 minutes (How to Steam)

3. Drain off all the liquid. Pat dry the Chicken with paper towel so frying it later won’t cause so much splatter.

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Posted: June 20th, 2009 under Recipes, chicken.
Comments: 21

I never got to appreciate laing until I came here to Manila and got exposed to all sorts of food from the various regions of the Philippines. Dishes cooked with coconut milk is my all time favorite dish. No wonder, laing then became one of my favorite dishes. I loved the hotness and the coconut milk mixture. I am sure you will too.

Ingredients

15-20 pieces wilted taro leaves (some markets already provide dried taro leaves)
2 coconuts, grated (Prepare Coconut milk)
1/4 kilo dried fish meat (bones removed)
1 large onion, diced
1 ginger, thumb sized
8 cloves garlic, minced
6 to 8 pieces cayenne peppers
1 Tablespoons Fermented shrimps ( Bagoong Alamang)
Salt to taste
tanglad or Lemon Grass

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Posted: June 18th, 2009 under Coconut Milk, Recipes, Vegetables.
Comments: 3

Cheese cupcakes is now sold commercially in supermarkets for kids to bring as “baon” to school. It is not quite the same Cheese cupcake mom used to bake in our bakeshop. Cheese cupcakes are supposed to have that distinct “cheese” taste. Here is a recipe that’ll surely give you that tasty cheesy cupcake.

Ingredients

1 bar margarine (225 grams)
2/3 cup white sugar
grated cheese (around 125 grams/ less than half a box of 225 grams cheese pack. Leave some for toppings)
4 pieces whole eggs
2 cans condensed milk
5 cups all purpose flour
Vanilla flavor (mix with milk)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

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Posted: June 16th, 2009 under Baking Recipes, Cakes.
Comments: 15

I already posted a Beef Mechado recipe but that version used vinegar. The one featured here will use calamansi. It was supposed to have no tomato too. There are other versions of mechado that doesn’t use tomato but I prefer my mechado to have tomato. I just like my beef to have that tomato goodness in it. However, you can choose to remove the tomato. So here is the beef mechado recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 kilos kilo beef (strip of fat inserted) or kabilugan
4 calamansi (Squeeze the juice and set aside)
5 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 tomatoes cubed (optional)
1/4 cup tomato sauce (optional)
1 large onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons sherry
1 1/2 cups water
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 small bay leaf
3 tablespoons all purpose flour (toasted)
2 tablespoons butter
2 potatoes, quartered

Olive Oil

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Posted: June 12th, 2009 under Beef, Recipes.
Comments: 1

Wikipedia says that Arroz a la cubana, means Cuban-style rice. Maybe the Philippines version came from our Spanish ancestors. The Philippine version consists of rice; ground beef sauteed with onions, garlic, tomato sauce, diced potatoes and diced carrots; a fried egg and a native plantain (saba), sliced length-wise and fried. I love dishes with anything that contains “saba” so here is a simple recipe I want to share with you.

1/2 cup ground pork
1/2 cup ground beef
1/4 cup raisins
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup onion , sliced
1/3 cup tomatoes, sliced
4 saba bananas
salt and pepper to taste
cooked rice
eggs

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Posted: June 7th, 2009 under Beef, Pork, Recipes, Rice.
Comments: 2

I love the sweet and sour combination of this recipe. Unfortunately, my kids find it strange. I only cook this when we have guests over for dinner. I hope you like it as much as I do. The recipe consists of two parts: preparation of the pork and the sauce.

Ingredients for pork

1/2 kilo pork tenderloin
4 tablespoons vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 head garlic, minced
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
Extra cornstarch for rolling pork
Oil for deep fat frying
salt and pepper to taste

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Posted: June 4th, 2009 under Pork, Recipes.
Comments: 1

It seems every birthday celebration is not complete without a noodle dish. A few days ago, I prepared Pancit Guisado as my potluck contribution to a friend’s birthday party celebration. I actually prefer the thin rice noodles as compared to pancit canton or dried Chinese noodles.

Ingredients

1/8 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 onion. minced
1 cup boiled pork, sliced (keep broth )
1 onion., minced
1 small cabbage, shredded
1 large carrot, strios
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 cup broth from boiled pork
1 bundle of Kintsay or Chinese leeks
1 bundle or roughly 250 grams of 1st class Bihon China (rice noodles or rice sticks)
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Garnishings

2 pieces Chinese sausage, fried and sliced
Spring Onion, chopped for toppings
Sliced calamansi

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Posted: June 3rd, 2009 under Noodles, Recipes.
Comments: 1