Milkfish Tic-Tac-Toe

Are you tired of the usual fried milkfish (bangus) dish that you serve? If you are, maybe your family is, too. But they’re just too nice to tell you. Make your mealtimes more exciting with this new bangus tic-tac-toe recipe.

Ingredients

Bangus belly, cut in one inch squares
Cornstarch with salt and pepper
Pesto sauce
Olives, cut in thin circles
Sun dried tomatoes, cut in strips

Cooking Procedure

  1. Dredge the bangus belly squares in cornstarch seasoned with salt and pepper. Fry till golden brown.
  2. Top the drained bangus belly squares with pesto sauce and olives or pesto sauce and sun dried tomatoes.
  3. Arrange it in a tic-tac-toe formation for presentation.
  4. Serve with love.

Dinengdeng

With all the news about colon cancers, we think of switching to vegetarian diets. Maybe we can try this dinengdeng recipe. This is an Ilocano recipe as vegetables abound in the backyards of the Ilocanos.

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 pc grilled fish, sliced
2 tbsps bagoong Balayan, strained
2 tbsps shallots
1 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp tomato
1 cup string beans, cut into 1″ pcs
1 cup ampalaya, sliced
1 cup eggplant, sliced
salt and pepper

Procedure
1. Boil water with fish to absorb flavor.
2. Remove the fish and set aside.
3. Pour in bagoong Balayan. Let it boil.
4. Add ahallots and ginger.
5. Add the string beans then the eggplant and, lastly, the ampalaya.
6. Simmer for a few minutes and add the tomato. Let it boil again.
7. Lastly, add the grilled fish on top and simmer to cook.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Arroz a la Valenciana (Rice Casserole)

This recipe is a local version of the Spanish dish “paella”. Arroz a la Valenciana is great for fiestas, birthdays, and family get-together after the Sunday mass. It’s a complete meal, a one-dish meal of meat, rice and vegetables. It’s healthy, too.

I don’t actually cook this dish but I tasted one that really made me like it. If you’ve got any suggestion to make this dish more sumptuous, please share it here for a yummy arroz a la valenciana. Gracias!!!

Ingredients
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 k pork kasim, cut into cubes
2 pcs chicken legs, cut-up
1 tbsp atchuete seeds
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 pcs 11g MAGGI Chicken Broth Cube dissolved in
5 cups water
1 cup rice, uncooked
1 cup malagkit rice, uncooked
1 medium carrot, cut to wedges
2 medium potatoes, cut to wedges
1 tsp paprika
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into cubes
1 pc hardboiled egg, peeled

Procedure
1. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry pork and chicken until brown.
2. Remove from pan then fry atchuete seeds until color comes out. Remove seeds from pan and saute garlic and onions, and tomato paste.
3. Add broth and rice. Cover and let simmer until rice is half-cooked.
4. Add in fried pork, chicken, carrots, potatoes and paprika.
5. Simmer until rice is cooked then toss in peas and bell pepper. Serve garnished with sliced egg.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Muffins

This recipe includes muffin pre-mix that you can store and consume within 6 months. Isn’t that wonderful? I won’t have to rush making those muffin mixes to bake yummy muffins for my kiddies…for the next few months.

A. Muffin Pre-Mix Ingredients

8 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions for Muffin PreMix

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well. Put in a large airtight container. Label with date and contents. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 to 8 months.
2. Makes about 11 cups of Muffin Mix, enough for 4 batches of muffins.

That’s it! Now, here’s the recipe for that melt-in-your-mouth muffins. You’ve got to try it one weekend, then tell me what you think!

B. Melt in Your Mouth Muffins Ingredients

2 3/4 cups Muffin Mix
1 egg — beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine -melted or
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions for Melt in Your Mouth Muffins

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Put Muffin Mix in a medium bowl. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine egg, milk and butter.
3. Add all at once to Muffin Mix. Stir until mix is just moistened; batter should be lumpy.
4. Fill prepared muffin pan 3/4 full. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Place pan on wire rack for 5 minutes; remove muffins from pan and serve immediately, or place on wire rack to cool. These muffins freeze well.
6. Makes 12 muffins.

Note: To make these muffins attractive to the kids you can decorate them with choco chips, ground peanuts, crispy rice, tiny MnM or Nips sprinkled over colored or white frostings.

Peanut Sauce for Fresh Lumpia

Here’s our very own peanut sauce recipe for fresh lumpia. I especially love it with garlicky peanut dipping over the crepe.

Ingredients

10 cloves garlic
1/2 cup roasted pecans (peanuts if you prefer), roughly chopped
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup brown sugar (maybe white would be better) + 1 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce (maybe light would be better)
1-1/2 cups water
salt, if needed
4 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/3 cup cold water

For the Crepe Topping

1 clove garlic, minced (to be added after cooking the sauce)
1 cup chopped roasted pecan nuts for topping

Cooking Procedure

Mix the sugar, soy sauce, and water. Saute the garlic in peanut oil until golden brown then add the chopped nuts and stir to cook for about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture and stir, add 1 tbsp white sugar, and salt as necessary. thicken by pouring the cornstarch-water mixture in a slow stream while stirring, stopping when the desired consistency is achieved.

To Serve

Put the fillings in the middle part of the lumpia crepe or wrapper. Place a layer of fresh greens at the bottom (lettuce is recommended), then the filling. Add some sauce before you fold the sides over the filling. Spoon the sauce over the fresh lumpia, then top with chopped nuts.

Happy eating!

Fresh Lumpia

I love fresh lumpia! It’s one of the mainstay dishes that I server whatever the occasion may be– birthdays, fiestas, and even Noche Buena. And when I go out to dine at a restaurant that serves Philippine food, I make it a point to sample their fresh lumpia, if available.

You, too, can enjoy delicious fresh lumpia right in your own home. Just follow this fresh lumpia recipe. By the way, fresh lumpia is Filipino for spring rolls. This recipe yields 10 servings.

Ingredients for Wrappers/Crepe

2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp cooking oil for frying wrappers

Ingredients for Filling

1/2 cup onion, julienned
1 tsp garlic, minced
Boneless skinless chicken breast, half thinly sliced. You can also use 1 lb ground pork.
1/4 lb medium raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, and halved
1 1/2 cup jicama, finely julienned
1/2 small carrot,  finely julienned
Ggreen onions, finely julienned
2 tsp oyster-flavored sauce
1 tsp Filipino fish sauce (patis)
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly-ground

Cooking Procedure

Prepare the Wrappers

  1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, water, cornstarch, flour, and salt until smooth. Strain batter.
  2. Place a nonstick 8-inch omelet pan over medium heat until hot; brush with 1/4 teaspoon oil. Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan. Tilt pan so batter covers entire surface. Cook until edge of wrapper is lightly browned and surface looks dry, about 45 seconds. Loosen edge with a spatula, turn wrapper, and cook 10 seconds longer. Turn wrapper out of pan onto a plate. Repeat to use all batter.

Prepare the Filling

  1. Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon oil, swirling to coat sides. Add onion and garlic. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.
  2. Add chicken and shrimp; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove from pan.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add jicama and carrot; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add green onions; cook until vegetables are tender crisp, about 2 minutes.
  4. Return chicken mixture to pan; add oyster-flavored sauce, fish sauce, and pepper; cook for 1 minute. Cool.
  5. Cut lettuce in half lengthwise. For each lumpia, place a piece of lettuce on wrapper. Spoon about 1/3 cup filling into center of wrapper. Fold bottom third of wrapper over filling, then fold in sides.
  6. Serve with garlic dipping sauce or a mixture of hoisin sauce and soy sauce.

You might also want to check out our peanut sauce for fresh lumpia recipe. It will complete your fresh lumpia fantasy!

Embutido

For most Filipinos, embutido is one of the mainstay dishes at the Christmas dinner table. If you’re looking for Christmas dishes to prepare, you should definitely include embutido.

Here’s our very own Filipino embutido recipe. Of course, you can cook it even when it’s not Christmas. By the way, Filipino embutido is also called Filipino style meatloaf by some people.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup (6 slices) finely chopped (sweet or cooked) ham
3 tbsp minced green bell pepper
3 tbsp minced red bell pepper
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
1/4 cup raisins
3 whole eggs
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
A dash of liquid seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp cornstarch
slices (wedges) of hard-cooked eggs (see recipe)
slices (wedges) of Vienna sausage
aluminum foil, 10″ x 12″ sizes

Cooking Procedures

  1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until well blended.
  2. Divide the mixture into 2 to 4 portions (depending on how many you want to make).
  3. Spread and flatten the mixture onto the center of each foil.
  4. Divide the slices of hard cook eggs and Vienna sausages and place each slices at the center of each mixture.
  5. Hold the foil onto your hand and roll until the ends of the mixture covers the eggs and sausages. Alternately, by holding each ends of the foil, roll the mixture back and forth until it covers the slices of eggs and sausages in the center.
  6. Finally, roll the aluminum foil into a tightly packed log about 1″ to 2″ in diameter, sealing on both ends. Repeat with the remaining pork mixture.
  7. Place the embutido in a steamer and steam for an hour. If you don’t have a steamer, use an oven. Place embutido in a wire rack on a baking pan, half filled with hot water. Cover with aluminum foil (make sure the steam does not escape). Steam-bake in the center of the oven for an hour.
  8. Remove from the steamer or oven. Let it cool and slice into rings. Serve with your favorite catsup or sauces.
  9. Refrigerate unused embutido.

Note: You may use a steamer or an oven. If using a steamer, prepare it and set aside. If using an oven, prepare a baking pan and a wire rack and preheat oven to 350°F. Remember not to cut the embutido if it’s still hot. Your embutido will be disfigured and will crumble.

Pinakbet

Pinakbet is originally an Ilocano dish, but it’s popular all over the Philippines. Many other regions have their own versions of the pinakbet. But, of course, the Ilocanos still make the best pinakbet. Pinakbet is a vegetarian dish that is perfect for those who are on diet.

Ingredients

2 tbsp bagoong
1/2 c water
1 med onions
6 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 inch stem ginger, slivered or pounded
6 small eggplants, cut lengthwise
2 young, bitter melon fruits (do not choose large fruits with obvious ripeness)
20 small okra, cut through ends
1 bn sitaw or long beans cut stem ends and pinch to desired lengths
1 c green lima beans. (may substitute cooked, 1/4 dry beans)

Procedure

  1. In a small pot, boil the bagoong in the water until it has dissolved.
  2. In the pot where the pinakbet will be cooked, put the following vegetables in a layering order: minced onions, tomatoes, ginger, eggplants, string beans, and okra.
  3. Then strain the boiled bagoong before pouring the broth on the vegetable pot. Discard the rest of the bagoong.
  4. Cover the pot well.
  5. Put the fire on high and when it starts to boil, lower the heat to simmer. Be careful not to burn the vegetables. This will take not more than 25 minutes.
  6. Do not mix the vegetables with a spoon while simmering the dish. Why not? It’s a cooking secret!
  7. Remember that the pinakbet is done when the vegetables appears “wrinkled”.
  8. Serve hot with rice.

Puto (Rice Cake or Steamed Muffin)

I have a dear friend, Beth, who loves to cook, too. We worked in the same school for many years and lived together with our siblings in a house when we were young and unmarried. I remembered how she would cook on weekends.We would look forward to weekends because she’d be cooking for all of us.We specially liked her lumpia shanghai and gulaman flan. Now she’s residing in Ohio with her husband John and daughter, Lizzy. I missed her because we have shared many important events in our lives like my wedding, my first born’s baptism, her wedding, our common friend’s wedding, and many memories of our younger days as teachers back at Saint Joseph School. Though we were continents apart, I discovered that we still share the same passions, not only in teaching but also in cooking!

I am posting this recipe of steamed cake ( puto )for her. Beth, you may try Method #3. You won’t just be cooking steamed cake but also leche flan because you’ve got to use the egg yolks for the leche flan recipe.

METHOD #1
Ingredients
2 cups white rice
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Procedure
1. Soak the rice for at least 8 hours or overnight, then grind and mash it until it resembles batter. Mix with sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. Pour into large muffin molds until the are 3/4 full, place them in a steamer for 1/2 hour.
3. Turn the molds over, and garnish with coconut.

METHOD #2
Ingredients
2 cups rice, soaked in 1 1/2 cups water, overnight
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1 1/2 cup white sugar
4 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar, for egg whites
coconut

Procedure
1. You may use long grain.
2. In a heavy duty blender, puree soaked rice in water until very fine.
3. Pour in a bowl; add sugar and 2 teaspoons baking powder.
4. Mix well and set aside.
5. Beat egg whites until stiff.
6. Add 2 tablespoons sugar to keep the air in the beaten egg whites.
7. Fold the egg whites into the beaten rice batter and pour into muffin pans.
8. Steam for about 20 minutes or until done. (Optional: Sprinkle a few anise seeds on top of the puto)
9. Serve with grated coconut.
( Note: You may use basket steamer in a wok half filled with water.)

METHOD #3
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups flour
3 cups milk
3 1/2 tbsps. baking powder
4 egg whites
2 1/4 cups sugar (get 2 tbsp to be added to the eggwhite while beating it)
3 tsps. vanilla

Procedure
1. Sift and mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together.
2. Beat egg whites until stiff. Remember to beat in one direction only so you won’t lose the consistency of the eggwhite. ( Note: You’d know when the beaten egg whites is okay it is stiff that when you lift the beaters (or wire whisk), stiff peaks are formed on the surface of the egg whites. That’s when the tips do not bow down. ) Put the remaining two tablespoonfuls of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
3. Then add the milk and vanilla.
4. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the mixture until it becomes nice and smooth.
5. Pour into small non-stick muffin tins about 3/4 full.
6. Steam for about 10 minutes until the toothpick inserted comes out clear.
7. Add some grated or strip of cheese on top.
8. Cover it again for about 1 minute until the cheese becomes melted. Serve it while it is nice and hot!

METHOD #4
Ingredients
1 c. rice flour
1 stick butter
3 eggs
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. Bisquick
1 (19 oz.) can coconut milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt

Procedure
1. Mix all the ingredients to form a batter and pour in a deep baking pan (round) 2/3 full and cook in a steamer for 45 minutes.

METHOD #5
Ingredients
2 c. Bisquick mix
2 eggs
1 c. white sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. melted butter
Grated coconut

Procedure
1. Blend all ingredients; stir until smooth. Fill muffins pans 2/3 full with mixture.
2. Steam for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the puto comes out clean. Serve with grated coconut.

Cooking time: 30 minutes. Makes 18 medium-sized puto.

SPECIAL BONUS RECIPE: Puto (Rice Cakes) with Itlog na Maalat (Salted Duck Egg)

Ingredients
1/4 c. of butter or margarine, softened (not melted)
1 c. all purpose flour
1 teaspoonful of baking powder
5 rounded tablespoonfuls of sugar
3/4 c. of milk
4 egg whites
slices of any quickmelting cheese (you can also use slices of salted eggs or kesong puti)

Procedure
1. In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
2. In another bowl, cream the butter (or margarine) with three tablespoonfuls of sugar. To cream is to beat until light in texture.
3. Add the flour mixture and the milk alternately into the butter-sugar mixture mixing as you add.
4. Beat the egg whites until stiff.
5. Fold the egg whites into the flour-milk mixture. When you beat the egg whites, the volume triples because of air bubbles which will make the steamed cake light and soft so you do not want to break them.
6. Fill the puto molds (you can use muffin pans) until about 3/4 full. Top with cheese slices.
7. Steam the puto for about 20 minutes. If you’re using a metal steamer, you may have to place a towel or muslin (katsa) between the pan and the cover. The cloth will catch the steam and prevent the condensation from falling into the puto which will prevent them from rising properly.
8. Cook the puto after 20 minutes in the steamer. Cool before removing from the molds.
(Note: Never attempt to remove the puto from the molds while they’re still hot. It will disfigure them. )

You may try experimenting with the recipe using cake flour, too. When I did, I discovered the puto to be finer and smoother, but not heavy on the tummy. Also don’t be mistaken in using baking soda instead of baking powder. Use baking powder as the recipe requires.

Lechon Paksiw

Lechon paksiw is usually cooked a day or two after a big feast. It’s a pork recipe and the main ingredient is the head of a roasted suckling pig (lechon) or what was left of it. It’s usually the meaty part of the lechon, plus its skin that isn’t crispy anymore.

But you can cook lechon paksiw anytime — not only after a fiesta. Just buy cooked lechon downtown if you want to cook this dish. This lechon paksiw recipe is easy to cook. And once you’ve tasted it, you’ll definitely want another serving.

Ingredients

1 kilo cooked lechon
1 cup ready-mixed sauce (Mang Tomas Lechon Sauce) or 1 can liver spread
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar (pack)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp whole peppercorn
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon vetsin
2-3 pieces laurel leaves
1 cup water
1/2 cup dried oregano (optional)

Cooking Procedure

Chop lechon into small serving pieces. Put in pan and add all the ingredients. Boil. Lower heat and simmer until lechon skin becomes very soft and sauce thickens.

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