This recipe is so Filipino! It reminds me of the parties we hosted — and memories of my mother testing recipes we loved. This one is a particular favorite but I cannot remember which cookbook this came from. This recipe is very similar to my Buko Fruit salad sans the spaghetti noodles.

SPAGHETTI-BUKO SALAD

1 package pre-cut spaghetti (8 ozs.)

1-1/2 cups young coconut (buko), shredded

1 cup pineapple tidbits

1 (#2-1/2) can fruit cocktail

1/4 cup pickle relish

1/2 cup condensed milk

1 (6 oz.) heavy cream, chilled

1/3 cup cashew nuts, chopped

1. Cook spaghetti noodles as directed. Drain and arrange in a salad bowl. Chill.

2. Meanwhile, drain shredded coconut, pineapple tidbits, fruit cocktail, and pickle relish. Combine with cooked spaghetti and nuts.

3. Mix the condensed milk and chilled heavy cream thoroughly and pour over spaghetti mixture. Toss lightly until well blended.

4. Serve cold on a bed of lettuce.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Posted: September 29th, 2009 under Noodles, Recipes, desserts with 3,561 views.
Comments: 4

There are many versions on how to bake Leche Flan. I have shared my mom’s recipe on Leche Flan. Like I said before, the perfect flan is such that when you slice through it, it barely quivers like jello. There is very little syneresis, that is, no weeping (or lots of holes in it!). Surprisingly, I know a lot of people who likes holes in their Leche Flan. Of course, I prefer mine to be smooth I’d like to share with you another Leche Flan Recipe which is richer than my mom’s recipe because the egg whites are removed.

Ingredients
2 cans of Evaporated Milk
1 teaspoon lemond Rind
1 cup white sugar
8 egg yolks

For Caramel syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water

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Posted: September 15th, 2009 under Recipes, desserts with 7,471 views.
Comments: 10

There are many variations of Sweet and Sour Pork. Here is one that does not need a lot of ingredients than my previous recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 kilo lean pork (boiled then cut into 1 inch cubes)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup pineapple chunks
1 piece green bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, cut into rounds
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
Oil to fry

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Posted: September 12th, 2009 under Pork, Recipes with 3,781 views.
Comments: none

It’s the time of the year when one needs to plan for the holidays. As early as September, I already know what to bake for Christmas. A childhood memory that never fails to remind me of the Christmas season is Fruitcake. I used to bake a lot of fruitcake in the past but the girls never really got around to acquiring a taste for it. They preferred the Gingerbread Man Cookies because of the story behind it after I bake the first batch. That’s my then 16 year old daughter, Lauren when she helped me with my fruitcakes a few years ago. Fruitcake flavor is best when it has been aged for a few months in a cool place (preferably the refrigerator in the Philippines).

For those of you who want to bake Fruitcakes for the Holidays, here is a recipe which I call Golden Fruitcake. I’ve modified this based from my mom’s original fruitcake recipe. My Golden Fruitcake does not have a strong taste of brandy nor is it too sweet. Anyway, there’s a lot of preparation so make sure you run down the list carefully.

Here is my Golden Fruitcake recipe

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Posted: September 9th, 2009 under Baking Recipes, Cakes, Pastries & Desserts, Christmas with 13,291 views.
Comments: 5

I am not an expert when it comes to making kakanin. I rely a lot of my knowledge from my Food Preparation class back in college. The most basic of which is How to Extract Coconut Cream. However, there are packs of coconut cream that I’ve tested out for maja blanca. Sapin-sapin is a number one request from most of my readers and it took me quite a while to test this recipe but finally here it is. Remember , we will be making 3 layers.

5 cups Coconut Cream (How to Extract Coconut Cream) From 2 Coconuts
2 cups rice flour
2 cups white sugar
1/4 teaspoon powdered aniseed
1/2 kilo ube
Red Food Color
latik (How to Prepare Latik)

Bamboo steamer
Big Pan or steamer

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Posted: September 7th, 2009 under Recipes, kakanin with 9,018 views.
Comments: 1

I find it expensive to buy siomai. Don’t you? So why not make your very own siomai and freeze it? The price of Siomai alone forced me to concot my very own Siomai recipe taken from various sources. My kids love to dip their dumplings in soy sauce and calamansi mixed with chili garlic sauce. If you are a pesco-vegetarian like me, just replace the pork with chicken meat or crab meat. I usually cook it separately because the rest of the family love their siomai to contain pork. I will add the photos soon but in the meantime, enjoy cooking.

Wonton Wrapper (You can make your own wrapper or just buy them at the grocery)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg white
4 tablespoon lard
3 tablespoons water

1. Place flour in a bowl. Make a well in the center.

2. Add the egg white, lard and water in the center. Mix the ingredients in the center thoroughly and quickly work in the flour. Knead well.

3. Roll out thinly and cut into rounds of about 4 inches in diameter.

4. Put filling in each wrapper.

Filling
1/2 kilo Ground Pork with a bit of fat (instead of ground, diced to small pieces or chopped)
1 kilo cooked crab, shelled and chopped (or just substitute with 1 kilo ground pork)
1/4 kilo shrimps
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. rice wine
3 Tablespoons Chopped spring onions
8 Chinese dried mushrooms (soaked in hot water until softened and chopped)
1 small chopped water chestnuts or Singkamas or 1 small can bamboo shoots, drained and chopped
1 small carrot, grated
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 teaspoon sugar
dash of black pepper
1 teaspoon 5 spice powder (if You don’t have this, see below on how to prepare the 5 spice powder or buy the McCormick Chinese Five Spice (Ngo Yong) at your favorite grocery store)

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Posted: September 4th, 2009 under Pork, Recipes, Seafood with 12,049 views.
Comments: 8

3 cups of Hearts of Palm, julienne
1 head of cabbage, julienne
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
mayonnaise to moisten (I use salad dressing because it’s less fatty with the same taste)
salt and pepper to taste
raisins (optional)

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Posted: September 1st, 2009 under Recipes, Salad with 1,625 views.
Comments: 1

Nothing beats eating tapa for breakfast. With garlic rice and fried egg, it’s a breakfast fit for anyone expecting a busy day. My beef tapa recipe is a mixture of pepper and sweetness the way I like my lean and tasty beef tapa to be. Remember to marinate overnight (two days for better absorption) so that the seasonings seep well into the beef slices.

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Posted: August 28th, 2009 under Beef, Recipes with 33,292 views.
Comments: 8

Who says cooking has to be labor-intensive? Preparing filipino dishes can entail so much preparation and if you are feeling lazy, there are alternatives like easy to cook recipes that are just as delicious. I got invited to a Dona Elena Cuisenra Club cooking demo on “Easy to Cook Recipes” at the Podium last saturday with a presentation of 3 easy to cook recipes. Even your teenage kids or siblings can prepare this pasta dish. I have prepared a similar pasta in the past and my kids loved it. This attractive dish can also be great for parties or when you suddenly have surprise guests. You don’t need to call fastfood chains to deliver food to your home.

Ingredients

1/4 cup Dona Elena Pure Olive Oil
10 pieces Garlic cloves, peeled
1 Tablespoon Chili flakes (dried)- this is optional if you don’t like spicy dishes
20 pieces Dona Elena Anchovy Fillets (you can substitute with spanish sardines)
2 cups Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup Dona Elena Capers, drained.
To taste salt and pepper
250 grams Penne Pasta
for garnish, parsley chopped
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Posted: August 24th, 2009 under Pasta, Recipes with 947 views.
Comments: 3

I suddenly remembered my mom’s Binangkal recipe after a recent visit to Cebu. Well, Binangkal is round , shaped from dough and covered with sesame seeds and is a popular Cebu delicacy. Here is our recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla flavor
1 teaspoon butter flavor
Seasame seeds
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Posted: August 20th, 2009 under Baking Recipes with 1,457 views.
Comments: 2

I remember mom often baked Bread pudding for our unsold or returned stale bread. So, after making sure that the bread chosen had no molds, I would trim the sides of the bread (I didn’t want to use them) and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes.

4 cups bread, cut into small cubes
4 cups evaporated milk (I used a 1:1 ratio — that is, 2 cups evaporated milk and 2 cups water; but you can use “pure” evaporated milk so that you can have a leche flan “feel” to the pudding)
1/3 cup sugar for caramelization (for the baking pan)
1-1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten with a fork (at room temperature)
2-1/2 tbsps. margarine, melted (melt in your microwave beforehand; set aside to cool down)
1/4 tsp. vanilla (or more)
3/4 cups raisins
Optional: you can add chopped candied fruit and some nuts also. When you do this, add a little more milk to the mixture (to prevent drying due to the added ingredients).

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Posted: August 19th, 2009 under Recipes, desserts with 6,833 views.
Comments: 2

I’ve shared recipes on Torta Banawa and Torta Cebuana. My sister who is now based in Chicago shared me these torta recipes. Torta is quite a popular baked product in Cebu and all of Visayas. Here is a contribution from my sister:

My managing editor at Filipinas Magazine, Gemma Nemenzo, is rarin’ to try the Torta a la Argao. Since the Torta’s secret is the use of tuba, I’ve been putting off making this particular treat especially since it is so cholesterolific. She has the “hulmahan” or the molds — which are actually brioche molds, if you want to order them at Sur La Table. The challenge will be to find a close cousin of tuba in the US. I’m thinking about a light beer, which is slightly fermented. I’ll update you all with my experiments.

A reader shared this I would suggest instead of tuba for the torta visaya, some sparkling wine, such as ricadonna or asti spumanti, or even a sparkling rose if you dont want it so sweet. – Thanks Tony!
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However, for those of you in the Philippines, you have no excuse. Go ahead and try this one!

This recipe was contributed by Annie Osmena Aboitiz. It is found in Nora Daza’s cookbook, “A Culinary Life: Personal Recipe Collection.”

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Posted: August 16th, 2009 under Baking Recipes with 14,759 views.
Comments: 5