Sauteed Radish

Sauteed radish (or kilawin labanos in Filipino) is one of my favorite Philippine vegetable dishes. Its tinge of sourness reminds me of sinigang, without all the soup.

Ingredients

1 cup radish, cut into thin coins
1/4 cup pig liver, sliced
1/4 cup pork, sliced
1/4 cup pig heart, sliced
1/4 cup pork spleen, sliced (lapay)
1 tbsp onion, sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 tbsps corn oil
1 1/2 tbsps yellow ginger (powder or freshly grated)
2 tbsps vinegar
2 1/2 tsps fish sauce
1 pc laurel leaf
2 tbsps tomato sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch cracked black pepper

Cooking Procedure

  1. Saute garlic, onion in oil for few seconds.
  2. Add pork, heart, spleen and liver one at a time.
  3. Add the tomato. Pour in the vinegar. Do not stir until it boils.
  4. Add the fish sauce and the yellow ginger.
  5. Season with salt, pepper and cracked black pepper to taste.
  6. Simmer to cook.

Pork Adobo (Laguna Version)

Here’s a variant of the pork adobo recipe, probably the most popular Filipino dish. This adobo recipe is usually used in the Laguna area.

Ingredients

1/2 kilo pork, cut into cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons of garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons of onion, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons of vinegar
1 cup water
Whole black pepper
Cooking oil

Cooking Procedure

Sauté garlic and onion in oil. Add pork and stir for 5 minutes, then add soy sauce, vinegar and pepper. Sauté for another 5 minutes. Turn down the heat and add water. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the pork is cooked.

Pork Adobo Recipe from Laguna

Pork Adobo Recipe from Laguna

Stuffed Pork Roast with Prunes

Christmas is coming. If you’re tired of serving the same old set of standard Filipino dishes for Christmas, maybe it’s time to try something new. How about preparing this stuffed pork roast with prunes for your Noche Buena?

Ingredients

3 kilos uncut pork chop (or whole rack); take out bone and leave meat part
2 tsps mustard
2 tbps olive oil
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp sage
1/8 tsp thyme
2 cups pitted prunes

For the Ginger Confit

180 grams young ginger, julienned
1-1/2 cups water
2-3 tbsps honey
1/2 cup sugar

Procedure

To prepare the stuff pork roast:

  1. Poke a hole in the middle of the pork chop.
  2. Stuff with prunes. Tie the roast.
  3. Rub pork with mustard, rosemary, sage, pepper and thyme.
  4. Rub with salt before roasting. Sear pork roast until the outside is brown.
  5. Roast in the oven until cooked.
  6. Serve with port wine and ginger confit.

To prepare the ginger confit:

  1. Boil ginger at least 4 times or until the ginger smell is very subtle. Throw the water every time.
  2. Mix sugar, honey and water.
  3. Add ginger and simmer until liquid becomes syrupy.
  4. Serve with pork roast or lamb.

Fresh Filipino Bouillabaisse Seafood

Do you love seafood? Then you should try this sumptuous Filipino Bouillabaisse seafood dish.

Ingredients

400 grams seabass or mahi-mahi, cut into 1 inch cubes
400 grams salmon, cut into 1 inch cubes
250 grams mussels
250 grams clams
250 grams scallops
250 grams shrimp, peeled and shells saved
3 pcs slipper lobster, cut into halves
1 large onion, roughly cut
1 head garlic, peeled
1 pc carrot, peeled and roughly cut
2 pcs stalk of celery, roughly cut
3 pcs bay leaves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 pcs tomatoes
1 liter  water

For the Garnishing

Sprig of parsley
Truffle oil
Garlic bread
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Procedure

  1. Prepare all the seafood. Be sure to wash all seafood under cold running water. In a large pot, add all vegetables and shrimp shells, bay leaves and peppercorns. Simmer for 1 hour then strain the stock.
  2. Add the fish, simmer for 2 minutes then add mussels and clams. Simmer for 4 minutes and add scallops, shrimp and lobster meat and simmer for 5 more minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and serve, pile seafood in center of bowl, cover with stock and drizzle with truffle oil. Garnish with parsley sprigs and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
  4. Serve with garlic bread.

Strawberry Banana Milkshake

Bananas and strawberries are fruits that are good for your health and they go very well with milk. You may have used them on your cereal. But do you know how delicious they can be for milkshake? Here’s our strawberry banana milkshake recipe.

Ingredients

2 bananas
10 oz. box frozen strawberries, partially thawed
2 cups milk
2 pints strawberry ice cream

Cooking Procedure

Slice the bananas. Combine bananas, strawberries, milk and 1 pint of the ice cream in blender, in batches.

Blend until smooth. Top each with scoop of remaining ice cream.

Try it and let us know what you think. Yummy, right?

Squash Blossoms in Coconut Milk

Filipino dishes are truly delicious and typically nutritious. Amazing, too how resourceful and creative Filipinos can be with their choice of ingredients for any recipe. There’s always something new that’s cooking up in every Filipino kitchen, like this squash blossoms in coconut milk recipe.

If you are a vegetarian, you should definitely try this one and let us know if you liked it!

Ingredients

1 cup squash blossoms (bulaklak ng kalabasa)
1/2 cup chicken meat, sliced
1/2 cup shrimp, sliced
1 tsp egg white
1 cup fresh coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp fish sauce (patis)
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, sliced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp white ginger, sliced
3 pcs finger chilies

Cooking Procedure

  1. Chop shrimp and chicken together. Add salt, pepper and egg whites. Mix well to blend. Stuff in squash blossoms.
  2. Saute garlic, onion and white ginger in oil until golden brown.
  3. Add coconut milk and season with fish sauce and ground ginger.
  4. Add stuffed squash blossoms and simmer to cook.
  5. Add finger chillies and simmer again.

Milkfish Crispies

Looking for new and exciting recipe for an appetizer? Surprise your guests with this crispy milkfish recipe.

Ingredients

Milkfish (bangus) skin
Cornstarch
Salt and pepper
Canola oil

Cooking Procedure

  1. Peel the skin from the bangus flesh. Make sure there are no flesh leftover on the skin . Its not a crispy with the flesh. (We use boneless bangus that is cleaned, scales removed and deboned.
  2. Cut the bangus skin sheet to the desired size. Dip the skin strip in cornstarch with salt and pepper. Make sure to just coat the skin.
  3. Deep fry till golden brown.
  4. Serve with wasabi mayo (mayonnaise with 2 tablespoons of wasabi powder ) or your favorite dip.

Try it and let us know what you think!

Crab in Black Bean Sauce

Are you looking for a great crab recipe? Try this scrumptious crab in black bean sauce recipe!

Ingredients

1 pc large fresh crab
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tbsps cornstarch
1 pc egg white
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 pc green pepper
1/2 knob fresh ginger, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp salted black beans
1 tbsp chinese wine
1 tbsp soy sauce

Cooking Procedure

  1. Steam crab over rapidly boiling water for 15 minutes, then remove the top shell and separate the claws from the body.
  2. Crush the claws and cut the body of the crab into serving size pieces, whisk egg white with half the cornstarch and pour over the crab.
  3. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside 20 minutes.
  4. Mash the black beans with 2 tbsps oil.
  5. Heat the remaining oil in a work until very hot, deep fry the crab for 2 minutes.
  6. Add the green pepper and onion and cook further. Add ginger, garlic and black beans.
  7. Stir fry for a minute.
  8. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar.
  9. Mix the remaining cornstarch with 1 tbsp water and stir into a sauce to thicken.
  10. Transfer to serving dish.

Chicken Cocido

Chicken minus its skin is a healthy meat option. Most dishes served to the family include chicken. Cook up something new like this chicken cocido recipe. And just in case you’re wondering, cocido is Spanish for stew.

Ingredients

1 kg chicken thighs
4 slices sweet ham
1 pc chorizo bilbao, cut diagonally
1 medium cabbage, sliced into 4-6 wedges
2 medium sized potatoes, cut into quarters
6 saba bananas, sliced diagonally and fried
2 tbsps cooking oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 chopped onion
1 750g spaghetti sauce
2 cans garbanzos
salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Cooking Procedure

In a large sauce pan, boil chicken and simmer until tender. Add in the ham and chorizos. Remove meat from sauce pan and use meat stock to boil potatoes and cabbage. In hot oil, saute garlic, onion and spaghetti sauce. Add meat and just enough broth to cover. Add garbanzos, fried bananas and other cooked vegetables. Simmer for 5 minutes or until vegetables are done. Add seasonings if desired. Arranged in a serving dish, with the meat on one side, the vegetables on the other.

Jackfruit with Crab in Coconut Milk

Bicolano dishes are often cooked in coconut milk (gata in Filipino). One of my favorite Bicolano dishes this jackfruit with crab in coconut milk recipe. Locally, it’s called ginataang langka sa alimango. Whenever my mother would cook this dish, I always hold out for the last serving from the pot or casserole — because that’s where all the flavor is!

Ingredients

1 cup young langka (unripe jackfruit)
1 pc female crab (alimango in Filipino)
1/2 tsp. yellow ginger, cut into strips
2 tbsps onion, sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 tsps yellow ginger
1 pc. finger chili
2 tbsps fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Procedure

  1. Put the garlic, onions and yellow ginger in the pot or pan. Add the coconut milk.
  2. Bring it a boil. Do not stop stirring until it boils. This is to make sure that the coconut milk does not curdle.
  3. Add the crab (alimango) and jackfruit (langka).
  4. Add the fish sauce. Simmer for a few minutes.
  5. Season with salt and pepper. Add the finger chili and continue to simmer until it is cooked.

Note: To ensure that your “ginataan” dish is really creamy, always set aside the kakang gata and pour it to the dish before it’ is cooked. Be sure to bring it to a boil before putting off the fire.