Overseas Pinoy Cooking

Overseas Pinoy Cooking is now about two years and six months and it’s now time we make the year end round up . The site has grown steadily with regards to visitor and page views traffic . The site page rank has now reached PR4 in a short span of time. This has happened because of your continued support, thank you. The placement of navigation dropdown tabs above the header and search by categories widgets at the sidebar has made the site lay out simpler and more users friendly with regards to ease of finding recipes from the archives, there are now about 350 recipe posts to date. Almost all Pinoy foods have been featured including other alternate versions of some of the more popular dishes. For the year ahead you will continue to expect other versions of recipes that are already on the archives. Now its time to thank once again all my readers and visitors, especially those who have left comments. Happy New Year to one and all!

Suman is traditionally cooked during the Christmas Season, there are countless versions and types from patupat of the Ilocanos to the sinukmane of Laguna. Local names are based of what type of rice, method of cooking or type of leaf wrapping used. I have to post my suman na pirurutong now before the end of the Holiday Season otherwise it would be irrelevant to post the delicacy after the New Year. I have made two variants on my suman na pirurutong . The first one is cooked biko style topped with coco jam. The other one is a typical suman wraped with banana leaf and re-boiled/steamed further with coconut milk. Here are the recipes. Biko na Pirurutong topped with Coco Jam Ingredients: 1 cup pirurutong , violet glutinous rice, soaked, drained 1 cup white glutinous rice, soaked, drained 2 cups coconut milk from 2 pcs. coconut 2 cups brown sugar 2 tbsp. grated orange rind 1 tbsp. grated ginger 1 tsp. salt 1 cup coco jam Cooking procedure: Wash glutinou

Seafood Bringhe Valenciana . Traditionally paella or valenciana is served at our Noche Buena every year. The blog is now about 2 1/2 years and I also made as a tradition to post those Noche Buena paella dish whether it’s arroz, valenciana or bringhe . Last year it was my own seafood paella and the year before it was the rice cooker version of seafood paella . For this year’s Noche Buena I made a Seafood Bringhe Valenciana . It’s a medley of crabs, clams, mussels, squids and fish fillet . To make the dish I used one part glutinous rice and one part regular rice sautéed in garlic, ginger and onions. In addition to the usual chorizo, I also used bacon, fried till crisp and added to the sautéed rice for added flavours. The rice is then boiled with the broth from pre-cooking the seafoods and pure coconut milk in a large pot. It is simmered until most of the liquid is absorbed by the rice before transpering in a large wok lined with banana leaves . It is then cooked to low hea

Pili Nut Pesto Spaghetti with Chicken Barbecue . Do you wish for a different spaghetti for your Noche Buena dinner? Although the classic Pinoy spaghetti is loved by most Pinoy specially the children, more and more Pinoys are beginning to love other types of spaghetti dishes. Spaghetti with pesto sauce is one of the usual choice, and the more popular one is the pesto spaghetti with grilled chicken. Spaghetti with grilled chicken is served at almost all of the popular spaghetti and pasta restaurants. For some reasons, probably health reason(?), most of the grilled chicken topping used by these restaurants are grilled chicken breast which most of the time grilled to almost dry and tasteless. Today I am offering my pesto spaghetti with grilled chicken version using a pesto sauce with pili nuts instead of the usual pine nuts which is not readily available, instead of the dry grilled chicken breast I used the Pinoy style chicken thighs barbecue. Of course chicken breast barbecue

Baby Potato Salad with Chicken and Bacon is my salad dish recommendation for this year’s holiday season. During this time of the year marble size baby potatoes are usually available at most supermarkets for reason that there is a greater demand. Significant numbers of Pinoy prefer to use baby potatoes for their potato salad instead of the regular sized potatoes for better presentation. Young potatoes are also nuttier compared to the regular potatoes. I did not remove the skins of the potatoes, young potatoes have a very thin skins beside it taste better with the skin on. The potatoes are boiled with generous amount of salt, this is the only time salt is used. I also used shredded chicken breast and crispy fried bacon for an added flavour to the salad. Diced carrots and celery stalk add the crunchiness. This salad is not overly sweet as most Pinoy salads are known to. Here’s how I made my version of baby potato salad, enjoy Ingredients: 1 kilo baby potatoes 1 chicken breast,

Seafood Kare-Kare is a popular alternative version of the usual beef tripe kare-kare , oxtail kare-kare or pork leg kare-kare . A cocktail of seafoods and the same vegetables are used for this seafood version of kare-kare. Similar to my other previous kare-kare recipe I used the same Mama Sita Kare-kare mix for convenience reasons. I wanted my kare-kare sauce creamier and thicker so added extra peanut butter and further thicken the sauce using cornstarch. In my opinion plus my love of seafoods, the seafood version of kare-kare is the ultimate version of kare-kare. Of course it would have been better if the kare-kare sauce is made from scratch using the traditional method but that would be troublesome in addition to the extra procedures of individually pre-cooking all the seafood and vegetable ingredients. The traditional way of cooking kare-kare could wait, I will post one in the near future. Kare-kare is one dish that is usually served at gatherings or party lunch

Special Beef Mechado , the traditional way of cooking mechado is done using whole beef round or kalitiran. Strips of pork fats are inserted through the length of the slab of beef at several locations. This procedure is called “ mitchahan ”, that’s how the dish name originated according to my research. The beef is then marinated with soy sauce and kalamansi juice mixture, overnight if using a large slab of beef. The marinated beef is then stewed/slow cooked with tomato sauce, a slice of dayap and other aromatic ingredients until tender. It is then serve in slices with the thick sauce. This cooking procedure is definitely considered special compared to the now common cooking of beef mechado ( Click here to see how ). Now impress you family members or your guests with this special beef mechado . Good luck. Ingredients: 1/2 kilo beef, whole round pork fats, cut into 1” strips 1/2 head garlic, chopped 1 large size onion, chopped 1 cup tomato sauce 2 medium size potato, quartered 1 large s

Chili Cheese and Ham Stick is one unique pulutan or finger food that can be serve these coming holiday celebrations. This may not be ideal for small kids not unless you can find a less potent variety of green chili, but I am sure it will be a great conversation topic on the occasion. Chili cheese stick is a popular starter dish at Gerry’s Grill restaurant, although they had made it popular at a restaurant atmosphere chili cheese sticks are constantly one of the best seller on some of the more upscale drinking bars in the Metropolis. On my version of chili cheese stick I have in addition to the cheese added ham strips. To avoid burning the wrappers before the inside is fully cooked, I diped each roll in a mixture of cornstarch and water. The process also makes the wrapper crispier. Here’s how I made my chili cheese and ham stinks, enjoy. Ingredients: 16 large size long green chili, siling haba, pangsigang 4 pcs. sweet ham slices, cut into strips 1/2 block 180g Eden che

Excelente Chinese Cooked Ham . For those who have not yet shopped for their Christmas ham and planning to shop soon, I would recommend Excelente hams. The famous Excelente Cooked Ham store is located along Carlos Palanca Street near the Quinta Market in Quiapo and opposite the Quiapo Church after Plaza Miranda. Their cooked ham is the old time favorite of a significant number of Pinoys who prefer their Christmas ham made with the age old method against the mass produced hams sold at supermarkets. These people take the time to go to Quiapo every Christmas deifying the traffic both with vehicles and peoples and the infamous things that Quiapo is known for just to get their traditional Christmas ham. Their ham is quite pricy, however they also offer sliced ham and ham scraps with the same quality for those who have limited budget. I would suggest to go there soon to avoid the usual rush of shoppers that is increasing daily. See related ham recipe: Pinoy Pineapple Ham Ham and

Savory Chicken of Classic Savory restaurant is a new (?) addition of chicken dishes to the fried and lechon chicken loving Pinoys. For several months now there is a chicken buzz going around about how great and not so great the Classic Savory chicken is. In the tradition of the famous savory chicken of the then original Savory Restaurant located at the old Escolta, Manila, Classic Savory Restaurant is opening branches all over Metro Manila Malls. They suppose to offer the same savory chicken with the famous dipping sauce in fastfood restaurant atmosphere. Intrigue by the mixed reactions from chicken loving Pinoys and the volume of people dining at their restaurants. I ordered a whole savory chicken take-out with the intention to taste-test myself and try to recreate or make my own version. Upon opening the box at home I get disappointed straight away. The chicken is just re-heated (by deep frying), probably originally roasted in open flames or electric roasters. The skins are lum

Siopao is a steamed bun filled with either pork or chicken. The more popular filling of the Pinoy siopao are pork or chicken asado (with or without boiled egg) and bola-bola (meat balls). Before the coming of siopao in fasfoods restaurant and kiosk, siopao are peddled in the street. Those siopaos then are traditionally prepared or cooked. I could remember, back then besides removing the papers, the outer skin has to be peeled off the siopao. I was not sure why but this was probably for hygienic purposes. Today with the advent of new food cooking techniques and technology, siopao are easier to make, fluffier, whiter and have assorted fillings and flavors. And of course more hygienic. Making a homemade siopao is fairly easy, but requires several trials and of course errors, but once you have perfected it, surely it would be a conversation attraction when ever you served them at any gathering especially these holiday season.  Siaopao Asado  is part of my Celebration recipes fo

Baked Tahong, Baked Mussel , is a popular party dish. Baked tahong is a classic alternative cooking method for the ever abundant tahong beside the usual tinolang tahong . It is a simple dish except for the fairly troublesome cooking preparation. The tahong also needs to be cooked in an oven which is also a problem to some who may not have one. As an alternative an oven toaster can be used, I have used it my self in several occasions, otherwise just grill the tahong but you would not get the burnt mark on the cheese toppings. Here’s how I baked it. Ingredients: 1 kilo large tahong , mussels 1/2 cup butter 1/2 head garlic, finely minced quickmelt cheese, grated Cooking procedure: Wash mussels and place in a container with lid, cover with water and replace lid, let sit for several hours (entire day) to allow the mussels to expel sand and discard sea water, change water frequently and wash and drain. Put the mussels in a large pan, add in 1/2 cup of water, let boil and st

Pancit Molo is both a comfort food and special dish that is served on special celebrations in Iloilo. I have included pancit molo in my recommended celebration dish for the coming holiday for the reason that the dish is also served during Christmas on some Pinoy households. An authentic pancit molo has a simple filling that includes ground pork, crumbled taure (fermented soy beans curd), garlic, egg, soy sauce, salt and pepper. The molo heads or molo dumplings are folded in such a way that it resembles a nun’s hat. To make the dish, garlic, onions and shredded chicken are sautéed before adding the broth. The secret of the dish is from the quality of the broth. This is usually from boiled pork bones, chicken bones, and pounded shrimp heads. When adding the molo dumplings the heat should be set at moderately low setting, with just slight rolling of the simmering broth, this is to avoid the molo dumplings from disintegrating. When the molo dumplings float that would be t

Puto Bumbong is synonym to Christmas and Simbang Gabi in particular to most Pinoy. At the start of Simbang Gabi or Midnight Mass which begin on December 16 till the Christmas eve, streets that lead to the Church are lined with peddlers of kakanin or native delicacies. These are usually rice cakes that are taken for early breakfast by Church goers, puto bumbong is the clear favorite probably because of the uniqueness on how it is prepared and cooked. The traditional puto bumbong is cooked or steamed in a specialy made steamer. The puto bumbong steamer is made out of tin or stainless sheet metal, It usually has three vent or holes on top in which bamboo tubes are attached. These bamboo tubes are filled with the galapong mixture, steam will pass thru the tubes thereby steam cooking the galapong mixture into a finger like and violet colored rice cake. I have several queries on how to cook puto bumbong at home from overseas Pinoys. Not unless you have managed to own a puto bumbo

Home Made Bottled Fish in Olive Oil or Corn Oil, Spanish Sardines Style are great alternative gift on this coming holiday season. There is no better way to express your love by sharing something that is prepared or cooked by your self and bottled foods are one of the popular gift items. The bottles can be elaborately decorated, wrapped or simply tied with a ribbon. I would like to share my version of bottled fish in oil, Spanish sardines style. The recipe uses either bangus or tawilis . Bangus are always available both locally and overseas, however the recommended size of bangus for bottled fish which is the smallest size that is available might not be available especially overseas. The small regular size bangus is fine but the size of the bottle is adjusted to fit the size of the fish. For large sized fish it is recommended that the scales shall be removed and the cooking time is also adjusted accordingly. Tawilis being a type of sardine fish are great for this