One of the most popular Peranakan dishes of Swissotel Merchant Court and even Singapore is the Ayam Buah Keluak or Chicken stewed in Black Nuts. This is the traditional and well-known Nonya dish, normally available in restaurants that feature Peranakan cuisine. Its main ingredients are chicken (ayam) and buah keluak. I know some of you might not be able to get the ingredients locally but for those based in Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia you can try this recipe developed by Chef Shirley Tay of Swissotel Merchant Court. I also got to taste this dish and loved the combination of the black nut paste with the chicken. It’s not too salty too.

You can download Shirley Tay’s recipe here.

And if you are in Singapore, you might want to try out the 100 dishes at the Longest Peranakan buffet slated for July 26, 2009.
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Posted: July 20th, 2009 under Asian Cuisine, Recipes, chicken with 501 views.
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Tsiju Culinary Arts shared this Singapore Chilli Crab recipe which is one of the most popular dish in Singapore hawker centers. It is sometimes known as Singapore’s unofficial “national dish” which had its humble beginnings in the country itself. In the 1950s, Madam Cher Yam Tian had a hawker stall right on the seashore, and she spent her time everyday from dusk till the wee hours of the morning cooking by the light of a kerosene lamp. One of Madam Cher’s specialities? Live crabs in a zesty chilli-spiked gravy, the first version of the Singapore chilli crab.

The recipe looks simple but I still have to try it. Just substitute the ingredients that I noted in the closed parenthesis.

Ingredients

1 Sri Lanka Crab (of course use our local crabs, the bigger the better)
3 tbsp. Canola oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
8 fresh chili, chopped
2 eggs
2 spring onions, sliced
1 ginger, grated
2 tablespoon lime juice (or substitute with calamansi or lemon juice)
2 tabsp sugar
4 tbsp ketchup
1 teaspoon cornflour (substitute with corn starch)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Mix the following for the sauce

1 cup water
4 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
1/4 teaspoon salt

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Posted: July 18th, 2009 under Recipes, Seafood with 2,864 views.
Comments: 3

I will be attending the Singapore Food Festival 2009from July 17 till July 20 thanks to the hospitality of the Singapore Tourism Board. Watch out for recipes and maybe demos on how to prepare some Peranakan cuisine. If you want updates of the Festival, just visit my other food blog at Pinoy Food Photo Blog

(Updated: added the recipe links)

1. Cooking demonstration by Violet Oon on the following:

- Nonya Bak Chang (the filling, the rice, the wrapping) mpling filled with the bak

- Kueh Kledek (fried sweet potato duchang meat stuffing)

- Babi Assam (sour and hot pork stew)

2. Babi Pongteh: Braised Pork with Salted Bean Paste by Shirley Tay

3. Ayam Buah Keluah: Chicken Stewed with Black Nuts by Shirley tay

4. Sambal Goreng Udang (Chilli Prawn)

Posted: July 16th, 2009 under Site News with 600 views.
Comments: 1

Recipes today will be different. I attended an event organized by Argentina Corned Beef, the “Canned Cuisine Chef’s Series” which aims to inspire kitchen creativity by bringing culinary experts and have them share their own corned beef recipe creations to consumers. Like most of you, I only prepare corned beef as “ginisang corned beef” or with diced potatoes. I don’t normally offer canned goods to my family as daily fare but I do indulge every now and then. Just remember that high salt diet is not good for the kidneys and to always drink lots of water. I will share 6 recipes especially to my readers who choose to eat canned corned beef as a viand.

With a little kitchen savvy and a taste for reinvention, anyone can come up with unique corned beef dishes or meals that the whole family will find healthy and deliciously enjoyable. Showcasing the versatility of corned beef were Chef Eugene Raymundo of Five Cows Ice Cream Bar and Restaurant, Chef Sam de Leoz Jr. of the UST-Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management and Chef Mia Carla Yan of the Heny Sison Culinary School and Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts. Each chef presented their own recipes of an everyday meal and a “Weekend Couture Cuisine” dish with corned beef as the main ingredient.

Chef Mia presented her Argentina Corned Beef Frittata and tummy-filling Easy Argentina Shepherd’s Pie/ Cottage Pie.

Easy Argentina Shepherd’s Pie/ Cottage Pie

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Posted: July 15th, 2009 under Beef, Press Release, Recipes with 2,967 views.
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Preparing Bico has got to be the simplest among the Kakanin varieties. There are just a few ingredients. If you prefer to use fresh coconut milk, refer to my tips on Extracting Coco Cream, Coco Milk and Making Latik which you will need for Bico Preparation

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups malagkit Bigas (Glutinous rice)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 pieces coconut magulang- 2-3 cups coconut milk ( see Extracting Coco Cream, Coco Milk and Making Latik )
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Topping is Latik ( see Extracting Coco Cream, Coco Milk and Making Latik )

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Posted: July 12th, 2009 under kakanin, suman, native rice cakes with 2,754 views.
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Any batchoy lover knows it is a noodle soup that originated in the district of La Paz, Iloilo City in the Philippines. Ingredients include various pork organs (liver, spleen, kidneys and heart) crushed pork cracklings, vegetables, shrimp, chicken breast or beef loin, shrimp broth, chicken stock and round noodles or miki. The noodles are similar to spaghetti, but are generally a bit finer. Here is a recipe that is innovated a bit for those who want to select the pork organs.

Ingredients

3/4 kilo batchoy (if you are living in the Philippines, you can buy this from a market vendor. The mix is composed of spleen or lapay, kidney or bato. liver or atay, pig’s heart and pork tenderloin)

——-
If you are not living in the Philippines or want to remove some organs in the packaged batchoy meat, here are the meat parts that I use

300 grams pork kidney
1/4 kilo pork Lapay (spleen)
1/4 kilo pork tenderloin
200 grams pork liver
1 tablespoon ginger, cut into fine strips
1 head garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
5 cups water (or chicken broth if you use chicken meat)
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons patis
200 g. fresh miki, washed

for toppings:
spring onions, chopped
toasted garlic (fried separately)
1/2 cup pork cracklings or chicharon, pounded to your preference
whole raw egg for each bowl serving

(Note: you can remove some organs and replace it with shrimp, chicken breast or beef loin)

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Posted: July 11th, 2009 under Pork, Recipes with 1,004 views.
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I had the original Filipino recipe for Cassava Cake but my overseas readers often want the equivalent measurements to use in America. Here is Cassava Cake with Egg Topping recipe often called Bibingkang Kamoteng Kahoy originally from Filipino Guardian’s Gourmet’s Kitchen cloumn which my sister and I innovated a bit.

Ingredients

2 packs frozen grated cassava ( you can get this at local Filipino stores) or 1 cup grated cassava
2 cans coconut milk (or frozen pack coconut milk)
2 1/2 cans condensed milk
2 eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup macapuno or sweetened coconut strings
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
2 egg yolks, whipped
1/2 condensed milk
Mix and blend the egg yolks and condensed milk

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Posted: July 10th, 2009 under Baking Recipes, Bibingka with 20,521 views.
Comments: 2

I love Coleslaw with pineapple in it. This is one of the first salads I made as a teenager. Here’s to more of our childhood (teenage) memories.

1/2 medium cabbage
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or salad dressing)- I prefer reduced fat mayonnaise
1 cup drained crushed pineapple
1/4 cup cut-up marshmallows (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
raisins (optional)

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Posted: July 9th, 2009 under Recipes, Salad with 2,894 views.
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A lot of you have been clamoring for a siopao recipe. It’s been ages since I last cooked siopao. My recipe is based on”Favorite Filipino Recipes” by Pat Dayrit. The recipe is comprised of two parts: the dough and the filling. Let’s start with the dough first

Dough
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons pork lard

Procedure for Dough

1. Place the sugar and yeast into the lukewarm water.

2. Let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Mix flour, baking powder, remaning sugar and lard.

4. Add the mixture of Number 3 to the yeast mixture in number 1.

5. Knead until smooth.

6. Let rise for 2 hours. (Prepare filling while waiting for the dough to rise)

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Posted: July 6th, 2009 under Filipino Food, Recipes with 16,179 views.
Comments: 12

Even if you’re located in the US, you can still make Cassava Cake. Just buy the ingredients at the Filipino Store. This cassava cake recipe is from my sister in San Francisco. It’s been tested and eaten with gusto by her family.

Ingredients:

2 packages grated cassava
1 can coconut milk
1 bottle macapuno strips
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 can condensed milk

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Posted: July 3rd, 2009 under Filipino Delicacies, Recipes, kakanin, kakanin, suman, native rice cakes with 31,685 views.
Comments: 28

Crispy Dinuguan? I first tasted Crispy Dinuguan in Kanin Club at the Paseo de Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Laguna. It’s located near our country home, just after the Laguna Technopark, along the Santa Rosa road that leads up to Tagaytay. This is dinuguan with a twist and thought I’d recreate this dish for the family. Crispy Dinuguan tastes like your ordinary dinuguan except that the pork is cooked like the Crispy Lechon Kawali way.

So this entry will be divided into two parts, the preparation of Lechon Kawali and then the Dinuguan.

Please don’t cook this dish frequently. The dish is a sure-fire recipe to clogged arteries.

Let’s start with Lechon Kawali

3/4 kilo pork pork belly (or liempo)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon peppercorns
salt
water, for boiling
oil (for deep fat frying)

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Posted: July 1st, 2009 under Pork, Recipes with 1,888 views.
Comments: 3

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 with 3,594 views.
Comments: 4