Overseas Pinoy Cooking

Dinuguan is one of the best sellers of Goldilocks a popular bakeshop that has ventured into a fast food restaurant. I am a fan of Goldilocks ever since, my personal favorite are their laing , pansit malabon , lumpiang ubod and their dinuguan with puto . Of course, those mentioned dishes are not comparable to homemade versions but they are superior on its class as fast food, particularly their dinuguan. Whenever I feel hungry, I would prefer to eat at Goldilocks than those food outlets at mall’s food courts, the usual order of course are those that I have mentioned. For the drinks, I like their sago at gulaman or take a fresh fruit juice drink at a nearby fruit juice kiosk. I am sure a lot of our kababayan overseas have surely missed foods that are offered by Goldilocks, the bakeshop have been around before most burger, fried chicken and spaghetti fast food restaurants become popular. Or have been craving for a dinuguan in particular. Goldilocks have now, in fac...

Chopsuey is a vegetable stirfry usually made up the cabbage, cauliflower, beans, and bell pepper. Other similar vegetables are also used like sayote, celery, carrots and mushroom. There is no exact measure or combination as long as it is the Baguio type of vegetables , for flavoring, strips of meat and/or seafood is added. Chopsuey is so popular that it is the typical accompaniment vegetables of most meat and seafood dish at fiestas or any other celebrations. It is also as popular in most Pinoy and even Chinese restaurants . Here is a the basic chopsuey recipe Ingredients: 1 cup pork, boiled, sliced thinly 1 cup medium size shrimp, shelled 1 cup chicken thigh, boiled cut into pieces 1 can cooked quail egg 12 pcs. young corn, cut diagonally 20 pcs sitsaro , stringed 1 small size cauliflower, cut to pieces 1 medium size carrot, sliced thinly 1 small size cabbage, cut into wedges 1 small red bell pepper, cut into wedges 1 small green bell pepper, cut into wedges 1 st...

Braised Pork Leg with Hoisin Sauce . Pata or pork leg to most Pinoy is usually cooked as crispy pata , paksiw na pata or nilaga . Should you are looking for an alternative way to cook pork leg other than those mentioned traditional Pinoy method here is my version of braised pork leg with hoisin sauce. The dish has a touch of Chinese due to the addition of star anise and off course the hoisin sauce. I have been using hoisin sauce on some of my recipe, it gives a hint of Chinese to the dish that supposed to taste like one. It is sometimes troublesome to cook authentic Chinese dishes, because it requires ingredients that are not common on the average Pinoy kitchen , however using these ready to use Lee Kum Kee Sauces always do the job. Here is how i cooked it. Ingredients: 1 pc. pata , pork leg 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp. Hoisin sauce 2 tbsp. oyster sauce 1 head garlic, crushed 2-3 pcs. dried chili 1 pc. star anise 1 tbsp. cornstarch 1 tsp. sugar salt Cooking procedure: Ask the butcher to...

Ginataang Lechon Kawali . This dish is from a leftover lechon kawali that we had the other day. Most Pinoys love any kind of ginataan, dish cook with coconut milk is part of the Pinoy cuisine for the reason of the country’s abundance of the tree of life especially the Bicol Region. On this dish I used coconut milk powder since they are always readily available here compared to freshly extracted coconut milk. Using powdered coconut milk usually results in thicker sauce. Here is the recipe of my  Ginataang Lechon Kawali.  Ingredients: 1/2 kilo lechon kawali , cut into cubed 1/4 kilo green beans, sliced diagonally 1 small size bell pepper, cut into wedges 1/2 head garlic, chopped 1 medium size onion, chopped 2 cups coconut milk powder, diluted in 2 cups of water 2-3 red chillies, chopped salt and pepper cooking oil Cooking procedure: In a sauce pan, sauté garlic and onion. Add 1 cup of coconut milk, let boil, add in lechon kawali and simmer for 5 ...

Chicken Macaroni Salad . Chicken is the usual meat ingredients of this Pinoy style pasta salad. I have already posted a version using ham and bacon. My ham and bacon macaroni salad was suppose to be the special version for the reason that it uses ham and bacon tidbits instead of the usual shredded boiled chicken breast. Chicken macaroni salad is as popular as any other Pinoy pasta salad. It will most likely be serve on Pinoy parties as a dessert. It is simple to prepare and economical as well, this is probably the reason of its popularity. There is always personal version of each individual, there are no exact measures of ingredients from the basic of the average Pinoy to the more elaborate concoction using imported ingredients version of the wealthy. Nevertheless, here is my simple version that anyone can make. Ingredients: 1/2 kilo salad or elbow macaroni, pre-cooked 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup sandwich spread 1 pc. chicken breast, boiled, shredded 1 cup finely dic...

The final destination of our Ilocos adventure is the north most town of Ilocos Norte where some of Ilocandia’s magnificent tourist attractions are located. Today I would be taking a break on my usual post about food and recipe instead I will share to you some of the beautiful places that we have visited. Northern Ilocos is well known for some of the country’s pristine beaches. Some of the more popular, which are slowly being discovered by local and foreign tourist, are located in Pagudpod the last Town of Ilocos Norte where the Cordillera Mountain Range meet the China Sea. After about 3 hours drive from Vigan we arrived at Laoag City the Capital of Ilocos Norte, being Sunday we passed by at the Church of Laoag for a thanksgiving pray for our safe travel. The church bell tower is famous for as the Sinking Bell Tower of Laoag. The bell tower is located right at the center of the City, a street away from the Church of Laoag. A visit to the Laoag public market, which is just a ...

Here is another version of the Ilocano dinengdeng with labong , saluyot and sigarillas ingredients. Dinengdeng is a dish of boiled vegetables flavored with bagoong na isda and topped with grilled fish. Usually dinengdeng is made up of assorted vegetable that are available at backyard gardens of most Ilocano homes in the countryside. Using labong is considered as s special for dinengdeng. Labong is the young shoot of a bamboo sliced thinly crosswise and pre-boiled. For the Ilocanos labong is best cooked with saluyot, the fibrous texture of labong is compensated by the slimy texture of the leaves of saluyot. If you do not like saluyot, it can be ommitted or substituted with any leafy vegetables. Ingredients: 1/4 k. labong , sliced, parboiled 2 bundle saluyot leaves, trimmed, coarsely cut crosswise 2 bundle sigarillas , cut into wedges 2 pcs. grilled alumahan or any other fish 4 tsp. bagoong isda 2 medium size tomato, quartered 1 small size onion, choppe...

Escabecheng Talakitok . On this post is my version of yellow tinted escabecheng isda. Talakitok can be substituted with any fish but I would suggest white flesh fish. This is mainly for the reason that it will look more vibrant with the yellow sauce. The fish I used for this dish is about a kilo in size and weight. I want it serve as is, one whole fish with all the yellow sweet and sour sauce pour over it. I have to use an oval frying pan for the job. Don’t worry if you don’t have this kind of frying pan. You can always cut the fish in half to for easier frying. Just arrange the fish back together in a big platter before pouring the sauce over, otherwise use sliced fish instead. Ingredients: 1 medium size talakitok , or any white flesh fish 1 cup pineapple juice 1/4 cup vinegar 2 thumb size ginger, cut into thin strips 1 medium size carrot, cut into thin strips 1 large size bell pepper, cut into thin strips 1 large size onion, sliced thinly 1 tbsp. cornstarch 1/2 head...

Vigan is the second stop of our Ilocos adventure. After about 4 hours drive from Baguio City ( see the Baguio City food trip post ), we have to stay for a day in Vigan City to visit and say hello to relatives and to my sisters. Our adventure two main objectives are to explore the Ilocos and to rediscover its famous unique foods. First on the menu list is Vigan empanada , we arrive in Vigan at around five-o-clock in the afternoon, just in time for a quick snack of empanada and ukoy . The empanada stalls under the bell tower are packed with tourist we have to wait for sometime to get a table. This time I have to dissect a piece to see the inside. I am hopping to replicate it when I get home in Manila or perhaps in Abu Dhabi. There is no other way to enjoy an authentic empanada , only under the bell tower of Vigan St. Paul Cathedral or at Plaza Burgos where all it has began. Crisologo Street under the dusk, the nostalgia of this UNESCO heritage site is being amplified by the...

This Puto post is overdue I should have posted it before my puto pao recipe . But at that time I was trying to post as many celebration recipes as I could and I thought puto pao is one special native food that should be prepared on such special celebration. Of course the ordinary puto is as especial, it is one of the foods that are usually found on the dining table, whenever there is an occasion to celebrate in our household. Today I am posting my puto recipes, special and flavored puto. I love puto especially when they are offered in assorted flavors. Frankly, there is no secret on flavored puto recipe, the most convenient is to use essences, which are also tinted to the color relative to the flavor. Off course if you prefare to extract flavors from natural sources that would require more work and revision of the recipe. But for now we want it simple and convenient after all this is how OPC should be, simple recipes. Please note that the texture of puto defends on how the batter...