Overseas Pinoy Cooking

Lasang Pinoy 22: Rice to the Challenge This is my second entry to LP22, see also my other entry Special Lugaw , Pinoy Special Congee posted last December 18. Included on this post is Overseas Pinoy Cooking 2007 Year End Round Up. Happy New Year to All! Lasang Pinoy 22 Rice to the Challenge, what does it mean? All the while I though I will just have to cook something out of rice as the main ingredient, write something about it and publish it anytime during the event period which is the month of December. After analyzing what it really meant I realized that there was something that is a must to it. It is not just cook, write and publish thing, It’s a challenge to cook rice food that is never tried, a novelty, unique or new at least to myself. LP22 theme Rice to the challenge is very relevant at this time of the year. Filipinos are celebrating two very important occasions, Christmas and New Year, this is the time when most Pinoys are cooking and preparing rice foods for the holid...

The authentic Chicken Binakol uses native chicken. It is cooked with young coconut water and meat in a bamboo tube. The Visayan version of chiken binakol, also uses native chicken. It is simmered with tanglad in the coconut shell itself. The home cooked version of chicken binakol is cooked similar to tinola with the addition of fresh young coconut meat and water which adds a touch of sweetness to the broth. See my previous post on tinolang manok sa papaya . Likewise the Visayan version is simmered with tanglad (lemongrass) in addition to ginger and onion to give that extra zest. Ingredients: 1/2 kilo chicken fresh buko meat from 1 medium sized buko , choped fresh buko water from 1 medium sized buko 1 thumb size ginger, cut into strips 1/2 garlic, chopped 1 small size onion, chopped 1 stalk tanglad stem, crushed 1 bundle sili leaves, remove from stem 1 tsp. peppercorns, crushed 2 tbsp. patis salt cooking oil Cooking procedure: Cut chicken in...

Lechon Kawali . Lechon baboy or r oasted whole pig in open charcoal flame is a Pinoy traditional dish cooked only during fiestas or major celebrations. Lechon kawali on the other hand is crispy deep fried pork belly in palayok . Roast pork is not an every day dish so when ever Pinoy crave for the crispy pork rind, crispy pata and lechon kawali are the popular choice. See my previous post on crispy pata . How ever lechon kawali is more economical and easier cook. To cook lechon kawali, the pork belly is boiled in water with spices and plenty of salt, drained then let cool in the fridge and deep fried until rind is crisp and golden brown, moist and succulent in the inside. It has to be served immediately. The fat congeals once it cools and rind becomes rubbery. Re-heating or re-frying is not recommended as it makes the meat too dry. Ingredients: 1/2 k. pork  liempo  (pork belly), whole cut 1 cup Sprite or 7-up 1/2 head garlic 1 tsp. peppercorns 2 tbsp sal...

Utan ug Buwad, Utan Bisaya is simple assortments of vegetable dish boiled and simmer in plain water, season only with salt and topped with buwad (dried fish). These dish is a native of Visayas Region. It is similar to dinengdeng of the Ilocos Region or bulanglang of Tagalog Region. See my previous post on dinengdeng . Amongst the assortment of vegetables of utan Bisaya, malungay is an essential leafy vegetable ingredient, it gives a peculiar aroma and flavor of the dish. While the okra provides a slightly creamy characteristic, the squash and gabi give texture to the broth. Ingredients: 3 medium size buwad (dried fish), 1 bundle malunggay leaves, removed from stem 2 c. kalabasa , cut into wedges 1 bundle sitaw , cut into 2” length 1 c. labong , sliced or cut into strip, parboiled 3 medium size gabi , cut into wedges 1 bundle okra , cut into wedges 3 small size talong , cut into wedges 1 bundle alugbati (if available) 1 small bundle spring onions, c...

Merry Christmas everyone! Every body is on the celebration mode already or are now celebrating Christmas. The traditional Noche Buena meal on the eve of Christmas is must on every Christian Pinoy no matter how simple, it is way of thanks giving and a family reunion. For most Pinoy Christmas and New year celebrations are incomplete without buko , fruit, macaroni, potato or buko pandan salad. See my previous post on buko panda n salad. I would like to share a simple recipe of Buko Fruit Salad , these Pinoy dessert we call salad is made up of young coconut meat and fruit cocktail mixed with cream and condensed milk. Ingredients: 2 cups buko meat, cut into squares 6 cups fruit cocktail, drained 1 cup sweetened kaong , drained 1 cup red sweetened nata de coco , drained 1 cup green sweetened nata de coco , drained 1 cup thick all purpose cream 1 cup condensed milk Method: Combine and mix thoroughly all the ingredients in a big bowl. chill in a refrigerat...

Bistek Bulalo . The Pinoy traditional way of cooking beef shank in bone, has always been boiling with vegetables and/or potatoes, these soup dish is called bulalo. See my previous post on bulalo . Beef shank when boiled slowly till the meat and litid almost detached from the bone in addition to the bone marrow give a very rich flavor of the broth of bulalo. Today I am offering another cooking method of beef shank, I call it bistek bulalo. The dish is prepared ala pepper steak complete with gravy sauce but with a touch of the equally famous bistek . See my previous post on bistek . The gravy is made from the rich flavored stock of boiling the beef shank, plus the distinct salty sour taste of soy sauce and lemon juice of bistek. Ingredients: 1/2 k. bulalo , beef shank, saw cut crosswise into 1” thick 1 small size onion, quartered 1/2 tsp. whole peppercorns 1/2 head garlic, crushed 2 medium size onion, sliced into rings 1/2 tsp peppercorns, crushed 1/4 c soy sauce 2 t...

La Paz Batchoy has always been my favorite mami noodle. The nature of my work require that I travel to different places and Iloilo is one of the place I could never forget, food is one of the City’s attractions. To name a few they have chicken inasal , piaya , biscocho , pancit molo and of course La Paz batchoy. La Paz batchoy is a must dish when ever I travel to Iloilo, the authentic La Paz batchoy of Iloilo has that distinct salty, sweet and spicy flavor that is only unique in Iloilo. The most famous are Ted’s Oldtimer La Paz batchoy and Deco’s La Paz batchoy. If you are from Metro Manila, Ted’s Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy has brought this Iloilo’s pride to the big city, they have branches in malls and around Metro Manila. I have tried to duplicate the broth, it might not be the same but its close enough to call it batchoy and here is the recipe. Ingredients: 1 k. mami noodles Broth: 1 medium size onion, quartered 1/2 head garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp. shrimp paste (...

Lasang Pinoy 22: Rice to the Challenge Special lugaw , Special Pinoy congee. Lugaw is one my favorite traditional Pinoy merienda . It is so popular and loved by most Pinoys, this is attested by the sight of lugawan and gotohan at everyone’s neighborhood or even at malls and food courts. It is one of the most popular street food as well until it was repackage by some entrepreneur taking advantage of the popularly of these Pinoy congee, it is now sold at fast food chains. Lugaw is easy to prepare, being a simple dish it does not need any special cooking procedure to enjoy it at home. There are several variations though, it defends on what type of toppings used, the most common is goto (topped with beef tripe or pork innards) and arroz caldo (topped with chicken). Toppings can be anything as long as it goes well with the rice porridge. See my previous post on seafood l ugaw . Following is my recipe of special lugaw , remember you can use your own toppings, I used what e...

Sardinas at Pechay . Pinoy canned sardines in tomato sauce can not be compared with other canned sardines produced by other countries, there is the distinct sweetish Pinoy taste on the thick tomato sauce of our canned sardines. Canned sardines in tomato sauce can be eaten straight from the can. How ever there are countless ways on how we cook it, from the basic Pinoy ginisa , with egg, with vegetables, tortang sardinas … and the list go on. My favorite is ginisa with pechay and here is how I cooked it. Ingredients: 1 bundle pechay, cut crosswise into thin strips 2 cans small Ligo red label sardines 1/2 head garlic, crushed, chopped 1 medium size onion, chopped 1 medium size tomato, chopped salt cooking oil Cooking procedure: Wash and drain pechay, cut crosswise into thin strips, separate the stalks from the green leafy part. In a skillet, sauté garlic, onion and tomato. Add 1 cup of water let boil and simmer for a minute, season with salt to taste. Add pechay stalks...

Vigan empanada and ukoy are the famous local street food of Vigan. For those who are planning to visit Vigan , Original Vigan empanada and ukoy two of the must eat foods while in this rustic city. Empanada and ukoy are made and cooked right before your eyes and served crispy fresh off the wok at several empanada stalls under the Vigan Cathedral bell tower at Burgos Plaza . It is served with a dipping mixture of vinegar ( sukang Iloco ) , onions ( lasona ) and sili. Empanada and ukoy are best eaten right away while it is still crispy, it turn soggy quickly. Experience eating under the bell tower, with the back draft noise of scooters and tricycles and the clacking sound of kalesa all this provide the appropriate streetfood ambience for enjoying this local crispy delight of Vigan. Vigan empanada is made from a freshly-rolled galapong (rice-flour dough) into thin flat crust, filled with a mixture of grated green papaya, carrots, boiled monggo and togue and fol...

Upo, Tabungaw nga Buridibud.  Buridibud is a variation of dinengdeng . Diced kamote or sweet potato is the dividing factor between dinengdeng and buridibud. Dinengdeng is usually cooked with a medley of native vegetables boiled with bagoong na isda, at times kamote cubes/wedges is also added to add a bit of sweetness to the dish. Buridibud on the other hand is usually cooked with a choice of vegetable like upo, malungay fruit and other leafy vegetables or any other similar type of vegetables or in combination and of course diced kamote. The kamote should be cooked until it start to disintegrate and this will add a texture on the broth of the dish. Dinengdeng and buridibud are cooked without the usual aromatics. It is simply boiled with bagoong na isda and best topped with grilled or fried fish. Ingredients: 2-3 tbsp. bagoong na isda 1 small size kamote , diced 1 medium size upo (tabungaw) , sliced into thin wedges 1 medium size tomato chopped grilled or f...

Kalderetang Baka . My third post was kalderetang kambing that was sometime in June, That dish is one of the most visited item on this blog and I would say kaldereta is one of the most searched food item in the net as well. Beef for most Pinoy is cooked as nilaga or sinigang because it is simple to prepare and with simple ingredients also, how ever majority would also wish they could cook it as kaldereta but most likely they would not know how, that’s why it is one of the most search food item. Beef and goat are the most common meat used, but you could always innovate and use alternate ingredients. Obviously kalderetang kambing is my favorite, what’s your favorite kaldereta ? Ingredients: 1 k. beef spareribs 2 medium size green/red bell pepper, cut into 1” square 2 medium size potato, quartered 1 medium size carrots, cut same size as potato 1 can button mushroom, cut into halves 2 medium size onion, chopped 1/2 head garlic, chopped 1 can liver spread 1 cup tomat...

Pansit Sotanghon with Togue Guisado . Sotanghon or glass noodle is made up of mungo or mung bean starch . Sotanghon guisado is also cooked on special occasions although is not as popular with pansit bihon and canton guisado it is equally delicious. It is actually best for noodle soups. On this post I have add togue or mung bean sprouts , it goes well with sotanghon noodles. I wish I had tengang daga or black ear fungus but its not available. I used spring onions for garnishing instead of the usual wansoy or kinchay , para pang ulam talaga . Ingredients: 100 g. chicken breast, boiled, shredded 100 g. pork, boiled, cut into strips 50 g. pork liver, boiled, cut into strips 100 g. small size shrimp, shelled 1/2 k. sotanghon noodles 1/2 k. togue , mung bean sprouts 2-3 stalk spring onions, chopped 1 medium size carrot, cut into strips 1/2 small size cabbage, shredded 100 g. green beans, cut diagonally 1/2 head garlic, minced 1 medium size onion, chopped 3/4 cup ...

Afritadang Bangus, Milkfish Afritada . Here is an alternative way of cooking bangus if you are tired of your regular daing, paksiw or sinigang na bangus . The bangus I used on this recipe is frozen that are sold at supermarkets. The freshness compared those that are sold at wet market here they are equally good and at times better, it must have been frozen right after it they were caught. As mentioned on my previous post of paksiw na bangus there are countless ways to cook bangus and afritada is one way. Ingredients: 1 medium size bangus (about 1/2 k.), sliced into 1” thick 1 potato, sliced into 1/2” thick 3 bulb garlic, minced 1 small size onion, chopped finely 1 small size bell pepper, sliced 1 c. tomato sauce 2-3 tbsp. cornstarch 2-3 tbsp. patis 2 pc. bay leaf salt and pepper cooking oil Cooking procedure: Fry sliced potato and bangus until colour turn to golden brown. Remove from frying pan, set aside. In a sauce pan sauté garlic and onion until ...