AMPALAYA (Bitter Gourd) CON LECHON KAWALI

When we think of cooking ampalaya (bitter gourd), we think of cooking it alongside beef strips which we often call it Amplaya con Carne, meaning stir fried beef strips and ampalaya with oyster sauce. My ampalaya recipe for today makes it a little different because instead of combining it with beef strips, I put Lechon Kawali on it. It's the same nutritional value that you get from ampalaya and goodness and sinful indulgence in lechon. Now check the recipe here.

Ingredient:

1 medium size Amplaya (Bitter Gourd) sliced

1 medium size carrots

2 tbs minced garlic

2 tbs minced onion

1 egg

500 grams Liempo for Lechon Kawali 

Oil for deep frying the Liempo

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure in cooking Lechon Kawali

1. Bring to a boil 500 grams of Liempo and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until meat is tender, then season with salt and pepper.
2. Once it's tender, remove from the water and prepare for deep frying, once cooked and crunchy, sliced according to your per serving preference, set aside.
3. On another pan, saute garlic, onion followed by ampalaya and egg.
4.  Season with salt and pepper. 
5. Turn off the heat right away to retain the freshness.
6. Prepare to plate it by putting the lechon kawali on top of the ampalaya and some mint herbs on top.
7. Serve and Enjoy! Loveat!

ADOBONG PUSIT IN SUKANG PINAKURAT

Sukang Pinakurat is a famous vinegar from Iligan City. It has a distinct taste because it is made up of fermented coconut nectar and spices grown in the farmlands of Iligan. The unique taste of this vinegar gave me the idea of cooking squid in different variation giving it's fullness in flavor and savory taste. My version of Adobong Pusit using sukang pinakurat is simple and easy to cook. It only takes 20 minutes to cook this dish. Check out the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

500 grams Squid, cleaned
3 tablespoons of sukang pinakurat ( you may adjust the acidity by adding according to your preference)
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium size radish or labanos 
green chilies
salt and pepper to taste
1/2  cup of water

PROCEDURE:

1. Mix the squid with the rest of the ingredients in a pan exluding the green chilies.
2. Let it simmer until the liquid becomes thick. 
3. Once cooked....serve and enjoy!

Yield: 3-4 servings

STEAMED AND SPICED UP CHICKEN

Nowadays, chicken is considered as one of the most affordable and easy to cook meat. You can actually create 101 ways to a deli-sh chicken meal. And for those mom on the go or people who never have enough time to create and cook different dish aside from the typical adobo, afritada or the old time favorite crispy fried chicken, here is one of the recommendation I can offer to you. It's quick and can be prepared ahead. Let me introduce to you my own creation, "Steamed and Spiced Up Chicken"... this dish can also be done by "Sous Vide" just packed the spiced up chicken in an airtight plastic container and cook it over a temperature suited for cooking chicken.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pcs quarter chicken or 1 whole chicken
2 tbs of dried spice mixture or whatever is available in your pantry, you can actually combine flavors for as long as the taste compliments with each other, less is more, rule of thumb.
Salt, pepper and water
Garlic
Black fungus
Green onions
Sesame seed
Oyster sauce
Brown sugar
Soy sauce
Sesame Oil

PROCEDURE:

1. Brine the chicken in salt, water, pepper and garlic together with all the spice you have come up. You can actually brine several number of pieces and just store it over the chiller for future cooking. Just make sure you will store the spiced chicken for only 2 weeks or less.
2. You can also do the sauce ahead and store in the fridge. Just combine oyster sauce, water, brown sugar and sesame oil over heat and turn it off right away once it thicken. Once it is cooled down, store it up in the fridge and just reheat it when you are ready to serve it together with the chicken.
3. Once you are ready to cook the spiced up chicken, take the chicken out of the chiller and thaw until it is soften a little and put it over to steamer until it is cooked and tender.
4. You can either pour the sauce over the chicken while it is in the steamer or heat it up separately.
5. Serve and enjoy!

BEEF MECHADO FILIPINO CLASSIC

Another mouth watering dish is about to be unfold, but this is actually no mystery in the traditional Filipino Cuisine. You will often see this cooked and served during special occasions and celebrations. Along side other Filipino dish like Pancit Bihon, Dinuguan, Menudo, this traditional Filipino dish is truly a blockbuster and a sure fire hit in the table. We all have our own ways of cooking Beef Mechado, let me show you how I cook mine...Check out the ingredients and how to cook it:

INGREDIENTS:
1 Kilo bottom round beef from MLA ( I only use Meat and Livestock Australia) on all my beef recipes
1/2 kilos of potatoes
1/4 kilo of carrots
Bell peppers
Pickle juice (juice only)
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
Bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
2 Liters of beef stock

PROCEDURE:

1. In a crock pot or ordinary pot (you can also use pressure cooker, but be careful not to overcook it as it will turn into a corned beef when over done) put the meat, soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste, bay leaf and the beef stock.
2. Set the heat on high fire, and then minimize gradually and allow to simmer for a much longer hour to make it tender.
3. When the liquid has been reduced and the meat is already tender, put on the carrots, potatoes and belle peppers to decorate your plate, serve and enjoy!

ARROZ VALENCIANA FILIPINO CLASSIC

Filipinos are truly rice lovers, we cannot end our day without eating rice at least once in a day. And with so much love for rice, we Filipinos has adapted a lot of rice recipes from our neighboring region as well as from the other parts of the globe. Today, I am sharing my inexpensive rice recipe called Arroz Valenciana which basically consist of glutinous rice, regular rice, chicken meat, Spanish sausages and veggies. Please check out the ingredients and try one for your family.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup glutinous rice

2 cups regular rice

Chicken breast meat - you can actually use left over meat available in your fridge

Spanish Sausage or Chorizo de Bilbao

Hard boiled Egg

Shitake Mushroom

Black Fungus

Green Onions

Garlic and Onions minced

Belle peppers

Carrots

Green Olives for garnishing

Green peas

Saffron (optional)

Tomato Sauce

Chicken Stock 1 liter or more depending on the texture of rice that you will use, you can adjust the liquid if needed

Annato Seed for coloring

PROCEDURE:

1. In a pan, saute garlic and onion, add in the glutinous rice and regular rice season with salt and pepper.
2. Add in the stock and let it simmer until the rice is cooked and tender, adjust the liquid if needed.
3. In another pan, saute another set of garlic and onions, chicken meat, sausage and all the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper. 
4. Once the rice is cooked, transfer the sauteed ingredients from another pan and add in anatto seed extract to color.
5. Garnish with hard boiled eggs on top and some green onions and green olives.
6. Serve and enjoy!

PORK MENUDO FILIPINO CLASSIC

A festive season is coming and food, a lot of food will be flooding our tables this season. It's a year of gift giving, loving and eating. Today's featured dish is almost always present when it comes to traditional Filipino cooking. This dish is cooked and served along with other famous dishes such as adobo, kaldereta to name a few. Check out the ingredients and see my version of this dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kilo pork belly (sliced/Menudo Cut)

1/4 kilo pork liver

3 medium size potatoes sliced

2 medium size carrots

Bell peppers

minced garlic and onions

soy sauce

fish sauce

bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste 

tomato sauce

water

calamansi

PROCEDURE:

1. Marinate pork in soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste, calamansi and bay leaf.
2. While the meat is marinating, fry the potatoes and carrots until cooked and tender. This procedure allows the vegetable to stay firm and not saggy for a better food presentation.
3. When the meat is ready to cooked (30 minutes of marinating over seasoning could be enough time but you can always do this ahead like marinate it overtime) saute it with garlic and onions.
4.  Add a little amount of fish sauce to taste, water and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender. 
5. Once the meat is tender, add the pork liver and allow to cook. Remember not to over cook the liver as it will tend to be hard and chewy. 
6. Add the tomato sauce immediately and other remaining ingredients.
7. Serve and enjoy!