Overseas Pinoy Cooking

Goto, beef Tripe Lugaw is a very popular Pinoy street food merienda. It is peddled in the streets in wooden kart with big cast iron pot complete with kerosene or LPG stove. With the availability of pre-cleaned, pre-boiled and even bleached ox or beef tripe on most supermarket, cooking goto has become easy for the reason that the tedious cleaning process has been reduced. Making the ox or beef tripe tender, requires long hours of simmering. however this could be reduced by using pressure cooker. Just be careful not to overcooked it to avoid a soggy tripe, it should be cooked tender but still retain some of its chewy characteristics. For the rice porridge I used the ratio of two parts glutinous rice and one part regular rice. The consistency defends on one's preference, some like their goto runny but for my self I want it more on the thicker side, that is the reason why I used more glutinous rice for this recipe. Here is my beef tripe lugaw recipe. Ingredients:

Lumpiang Isda or Fish Lumpia is a healthier and cheaper alternative to lumpiang Shanghai which uses ground pork as the main ingredients. I have been cooking this lumpia fish version for sometime now. Fried spring rolls whatever the filling is one of the popular and favorite Pinoy food that is usually served at parties. They are troublesome to prepare because of the added rolling procedure but they are ideal as party food. Fried lumpias are also loved by most kids. For my fish lumpia I used galungong but any firm flesh fish will do. The fish has to be poached first for easier flaking. It has to be sautéed also with garlic and onion to remove the fishiness. Here is how I cooked my lumpiang isda . Ingredients: 1 kilo galungong or any firm flesh fish 1/2 head garlic, crushed 1/2 head garlic, finely chopped 2 medium size onion, finely chopped 1 small size singkamas , finely diced 1 medium size potato, finely diced 1 medium size carrot, finely

Egg Noodles with Mushroom . I always try to cook noodles on whatever ingredients that is available in the kitchen. Some resulted mediocre noodle dish but most of the time yielded good results and this egg noodles with mushroom is another great noodle creation. The dried shitake mushroom I used makes the difference. Using mushroom in stir fried egg noodles is probably not new, but this is the first time I cooked noodles with shitake mushrooms. For this recipe I soaked the dried shitake mushroom until re-hydrated and used the soaking water for extra added mushroom flavors. Another ingredient that contributed to the oriental flavors of this version of stir fried noodles is the used of Chinese sausage and oyster sauce. To finish off I topped it with fried chicken liver. Here's how I cooked my egg noodles with mushroom, enjoy. Ingredients: 1 kilo canton noodles, 1 cup chicken liver, fried, cut into pieces 4-5 pcs. dried shitake mushroom, 1 cup pork, boiled, cut into strips 1

Meatballs with Patula and Misua Soup . Here is a delicious meatballs soup. I used pork that is finely diced instead of the ground pork that is sold at meat shops for my meatballs. This will give more chunkiness to the resultant meatballs. The meatballs are then seared or quickly stir-fried to brown the outer skin of the meatballs and sealing all the flavors inside. The meatballs are then slow cooked/simmered for at least 30 minutes or more, this way the meatballs are very soft that it will literary melt in your mouth. The combination of melt in your mouth meatballs, soft misua noodles and silky soft patula in one great soup dish, I recommend to everyone to give it a try. Here is how I cooked my meatballs with patula and misua soup enjoy. Ingredients: For the Meatballs: 1/4 kilo pork, coarsely chopped or coarsely ground 1 small singkamas , finely diced 1 small size carrot, finely diced 1 bundle kinchay , finely chopped 2 medium size onion, finely chopped

Hainanese Chicken Rice . To Overseas Filipino Workers who are working or have worked in Singapore, Hongkong or even in Malaysia would surely have good stories tell about chicken rice. I myself who have worked on these places have learned to like this popular dish. Chicken rice have become part of my regular meals during my few years stay on these Countries. I have been eating chicken rice at least three times a week, maybe even more. Whenever I would come home for my leave, I always cooked chicken rice to try to introduce the dish to my family. At first I got mixed reactions, Pinoys are not used to eating poached or steamed chicken. Because the chicken looks raw with its natural colors, we have the notion that is “ malansa ”. Of course, this is the condition if not prepared and cooked properly, otherwise it is a very delectable dish. To make chicken rice use of organic chicken is preferable, but other chicken will do if organic chicken is not available. The chicken is first clean by ru

Sweet and Sour Pork and Chicken is another colorful and very popular dish. There are countless sweet and sour recipes that there is no best or greatest sweet and sour dish. Every individual or locality has their own version of sweet and sour this might not be the best for the others but it is the best in ones preference. Sweet and sour dish has become so popular that there is no standard type of ingredients except that it should at least be sweet and sour. Type and quantities of ingredients defends on available ingredients. I have made posts of several sweet and sour fish dishes which we sometimes call them escabeche . But this is my first sweet nad sour meat dish. For my sweet and sour pork and chicken, I used batter-fried cutlet of pork and chicken meat in tomato base sweet and sour sauce with pineapple. Here is the recipe. Ingredients: 1/2 pork, pre-boiled, drained, cut into cubes 2 chicken breast, de-boned, cut into cubes 3 small size onion, quartered 1 small size gree

Ensaladang Ampalaya, Bitter Gourd Salad . It is a fact that ampalaya is rich in iron and other minerals. Eating ampalaya also lowers the blood sugar level thereby very effective home remedy for diabetics. Ensaladang ampalaya is not for everyone, especially for those who would not like the bitter taste of the vegetable. However, those who have acquired the taste of this vegetables ensaladang ampalaya is one great way to cook the bitter gourd. Ampalaya are first sliced crosswise, to reduce the bitterness, the sliced ampalaya could be soaked in salt-water solution for at least 15 minutes. There are some who will eat it raw with tomatoes and onions, but I prefer it blanched for a couple of minutes then drench in iced water to stop the cooking and preserved the fresh and natural green color of the ampalaya. Blanching will also reduce the bitterness. Here is how I made my ensaladang ampalaya. Ingredients: 1 big size ampalaya , cut in half de-seeded and sliced crosswise 1 medium

Chicken Curry with Bamboo Shoots . I thought using strips of bamboo shoots instead of the traditional vegetable for the Pinoy chicken curry would be great. Bamboo shoots are great stewed with coconut milk and a lot of chili, why not try it on the Pinoy chicken curry. I found this bottled bamboo shoots in a Thai food store that is ideal for my chicken curry with bamboo shoots. For this version, I wanted it richer and spicier compared to the regular Pinoy chicken curry. I used generous amount of coconut milk and curry powder. I also added extra chilies, but any amount will do it defends on how much heat one could take to enjoy the meal. Here is the recipe. Ingredients: 1 kilo chicken, cut into serving pieces 2 cup bamboo shoot strips, pre-boiled, rinsed and drained 1/2 head garlic, chopped 2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2” strips 2 thumb size ginger, cut into strips 1 medium size onion, chopped 2 small size potato, quartered 1 small size carrot, cut i

Mapo Tofu is a Chinese-Szechuan Silken Tufo dish, it is a very spicy hot dish of cube silken tofu in ground meat with chili and black bean paste sauce. This is one of the more popular ways of cooking tofu. The dish has already evolved in different parts of the Globe. From chili hot and spicy to milder spiciness versions and to vegetarian versions. Today I want to share my own version that uses mostly Pinoy ingredients that are available in most Pinoy kitchens. Silken tufo is a relative of tokwa or firm tofu as most of us are familiar with. Compared with tokwa, silken tofu is very soft and delicate which require gentle handling when cooking. Silken tofu is most of the time available on larger supermarket. Here is my version of mapo tofu. Ingredients: 1 500g block silken tofu , medium firmness, cut into 1/2” cubes 1/2 kilo ground pork 2 tbsp tausi , fermented black beans, drained rinsed 2 tbsp tausi , fermented black beans, drained rinsed, pounded 1-2 pcs. siling labuyo , (o

Kare-Kareng Pata ng Baboy . This is the pork version of that popular Pinoy food kare-kare dish. The usual choice cut for pork kare-kare is the pork leg and hocks. Although the pork hocks are cheaper, there isn’t much meat on them. Personally I prefer the pork legs, aside from that thick gelatin like skins that is best for kare-kare, there is also plenty of the equally delectable muscle meat. The cooking method is the same as on all my previous kare-kare post using the commercially sold kare-kare mix. Ingredients: 1 1/2 kilo pata ng baboy , pork leg, saw cut into 2” lengths 3 medium size eggplant, trimmed, slice diagonally 1 small size banana bud, trimmed, quartered and cut diagonaly 1 bundle sitaw , trimmed,  cut into 2" long 1 bundle pechay, trimmed 1/2 head garlic, peeled, chrushed, chopped 2 large size onion, peeled, chopped 1 packet Mama Sita Kare-kare mix cooking oil unsweetened ginisang bagoong alamang Cooking procedure: In a large sauce pan

Bulalo, Sinigang na Bulalo is not new but this is the first time I try to cook the dish. Sinigang is one of the more popular Pinoy soup dish. Most Pinoy foods are usually cooked with souring ingredients, from our adobo to paksiw (click here and here ) and our sinigang . I always thought that beef with bone and a lot of fats are best cooked sinigang. The sour flavors of tamarind or any souring ingredients tend to neutralize the fatty taste of the broth. Beef shank in bone cooked sinigang style is a dish I would certainly recommend as an alternative to the usual bulalo . The beef shank is slow cooked for 3-4 hours defending on the beef shank quality. Use the usual sinigang vegetables, and do not forget that gabi, taro root it makes the broth starchy. Another must vegetable is puso ng saging, banana blossom it makes the broth cloudy. Here's how I cooked it. Enjoy... Ingredients: 1 to 1.5 kilo bulalo , beef shank, in one piece 2 bundle kangkong , trimmed 1 medium size banan

Ngohiong or Ngo Yong is Cebu’s Chinese Fried Vegetable Lumpia made up of ubod, palm hearth flavored with Chinese five-spice powder called Ngohiong. The name ngohiong was probably from the Chinese Ngohiong restaurants who are serving this famous ngohiong flavored fried lumpia. The lumpia rolls are dipped in cornstarch batter before frying for that extra crispiness besides sealing in all those flavors that results a very crispy lumpia but with succulent filling. Here is how I made my ngohiong. Ingredients: lumpia wrapper cooking oil Filling: 1 kilo ubod, palm hearth cut into strips 1/2 kilo ground pork 1 medium size singkamas , cut into strips 3 tbsp n gohiong powder, Chinese five-spice powder 1/2 head garlic, finely chopped 1 medium size onion, chopped 1 small bundle spring pinion chopped 3 tbsp. soy sauce salt and pepper cooking oil Dipping sauce: 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup water 1/2 cup liquid from sautéing the

Arroz Caldo is a Pinoy comfort food that is similar to congee or porridge. It is usually made up of glutinous rice and regular rice with chicken sautéed in ginger and garlic. To break the monotonous white color of the rice dilaw or kagasugba florets is added to give a yellowish tint to the thick rice soup. That is why kasugba the cheaper alternative to saffron, coined as dilaw that literally means yellow. I usually give the glutinous rice to regular rice ratio of 2:1. Pinoys enjoy Arroz caldo during breakfast and merienda.  Arroz caldo is also a street food serve along side the equally popular street food goto. Ingredients : 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into serving pieces, 2 cup malagkit , glutinous rice, 1 cup regular rice 1/2 head garlic, chopped 1/2 head garlic, chopped, fried 1 medium size onion, chopped 2 thumb size ginger, cut into strips 1 small bundle kutsay, chives or spring onion, chopped 1/4 cup patis, fish sauce 2 tbsp. dilaw, ka