elcome
to "Kain Na! Christmas is
just around the corner and it is during
these times that I have the Holiday
Blues. I miss spending the Holidays in
the Philippines, nobody celebrates
Christmas like us Filipinos. It's
been said that we have the longest
Holiday Season in the whole world.
I
remember the whistling sound from the Puto-Bumbong steamer after the Simbang
Gabi mass, and the warm Bibingka with melted margarine and salted eggs
on top. It makes waking up very early worthwhile.
So
for this issue's recipes, I decided to feature dishes that we Filipinos
usually have during the Holiday Season. We have a version of Chicken
Pastel I've taken from one of my cookbooks, sorry, I can't share the family
recipe, it's a family secret. LOL We also have Embutido, the
Filipino version of the American Meatloaf and in my opinion it also tastes
better. We're having Puto-Bumbong
and Bibingka for Desserts and yes,
it is possible to cook Puto-Bumbong without that whistling cooker as long
as you have a steamer, you can do it.
I
want to acknowledge my mom, Dr. Sonia Tillano-Buensuceso for her recipes.
My love of cooking and baking I got from her, along with her delicious
recipes which I'll be sharing with you from time to time.
We
accept contributions from our members, so just send them all to me to be
included in our issue.
If
you have any questions in cooking or baking, feel free to post them in
our Yahoo mail and I'll try to help you.
I
hope that you'll enjoy this page and be inspired to try new recipes.
Maligayang
Pasko !
~Barb~
COOKING
REMEDIES
-
Fish has strong fishy odor - pour milk over the fish and let it sit
for 15 minutes. The milk will absorb the fishy odor.
-
Strong onion of other cooking odors - To prevent odors while cooking,
set a cup pf vinegar in a pan and let it boil.
-
Sticky rice - Rinse rice thoroughly with warm water to wash out the
excess starch. Grains will separate.
-
Shell cracks while egg is boiling - Add a few drops of vinegar to the
water: use eggs at room temperature.
-
One egg short of recipe - Substitute one teaspoon of cornstarch.
-
Stored coconut is dry and hard - Put coconut in a strainer over a steaming
pot of water for a few minutes.
-
Too much salt - Add a little vinegar and sugar, then taste. A
raw potato helps absorb salt in soups or stews.
-
Too keep sugar soft and moist - Place a slice of bread in the container
and cover tightly.
-
Frying fat has strong flavor, odor - After frying strong-flavored foods,
cool fat: clarify it by adding a raw potato: reheat slowly, discard potato,
strain fat: store.
~Source:
Internet~
FEATURED
VEGETABLE
AMPALAYA
Ampalaya (Tagalog) or
Amorgozo (Aklanon). Known in the west as Chinese bitter melon
or bitter gourd, ampalaya became popular in the news recently because of
its putative medicinal value especially against HIV/AIDS (Compound Q).
The truth is, it is considered medicinal by many native herbolarios. In
folk medicine, the bitter this vegetable is, the more medicinal value it
has. We were always reminded during elementary grades to eat our ampalaya
because it is rich in iron. It probably is. It's really an ugly looking
vegetable and considered an acquired taste because of its bitterness. The
smaller (or more elongate) and greener variety is more bitter than the
larger (or plumper) pale green ones that are usually found in Asian-American
markets (see picture).
Try
it as an omelet (fabulous!) or as a salad (with onions, tomatoes, and cilantro
in vinaigrette dressing) in between courses to clean your palate. As a
main dish, ampalaya con carne with black bean sauce is also wonderful -
the saltiness of the black beans counteracts the bitterness - and pinakbet
(a melange of tropical vegetables like squash, eggplant, string beans
and amplaya in piquant shrimp paste sauce) is heavenly. The young leaves (ampalaya tops) are also used in dishes like ginisang
monggo.
Here's
a tip: to remove the bitterness, roll sliced ampalaya pieces in salt; the
juice will start to flow; squeeze the juices some more.
~source:
FilipinoRecipesLink.Com ~
PUTO-BUMBONG
Ingredients:
1 c
long-grained rice
5 tsp
purple food coloring
1/2
c margarine
1/2
c sugar
1/4
c grated coconut
Directions:
-
Soak the rice in a bowl of cold water for 6 hours then grind in a food processor.
-
Mix in the purple food coloring and hang in a cheesecloth for at least 12 hours.
-
Remove the rice from the cloth and wrap thin strips in Banana leaves. Steam for 1 hour.
To serve, open the Banana leaves, spread the margarine on top and sprinkle the grated coconut and sugar.
~source:
Favorite Filipino Dishes~
|
CHICKEN
PASTEL
Ingredients:
Crust:
Directions:
-
Marinate the chicken with the juice of the pickles containing little salt for
about an hour.
-
Saute the onion in butter for about a minute.
-
Add
chicken and saute for about a minute more.
-
Add
tomato sauce.
-
When
it boils, add enough water to cook the chicken.
-
When
nearly cooked, add sausage and let it boil for a few minutes.
-
When
cooked, put in a pyrex and top with crust.
Crust:
- Mix
all the ingredients and form into a dough.
- Roll
the dough to about 1/4 in thick.
- Spread
the dough onto the top of the pyrex dish.
- Brush
dough with butter before baking.
- Bake
at 350 F until golden brown.
~Source:
Favorite Filipino Dishes ~
EMBUTIDO
~Photo Credit: Manong Ken's Carinderia at
http://www.tribo.org/filipinofood/~
Ingredients:
-
1
lb. Ground Pork
-
1/2
c chopped pickles
-
1/2
c chopped olives
-
1/2
c cooked ham, chopped coarsely
-
2 pcs
Chorizo Filipino, cut lengthwise
-
2 pcs
Pork Sinsal (optional)
-
1 tsp
salt
-
1/4
tsp pepper
-
1 tsp
soy sauce
-
1/2
cup cornstarch
-
2 hardboiled
eggs, quartered
Directions:
- Mix
ground pork, chopped pickles, chopped olives, and ham together with 2 beaten
eggs, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a bowl.
- Lay
Sinsal leaf and spread mixture evenly on top. If you dont have Sinsal
leaf, you can use plastic wrap (Saran Wrap) or aluminum foil.
- Top
with two pieces chorizo and 2 pieces of hardboiled egg.
- Roll
tightly together as in making Lumpia Shanghai.
- Seal
the edges neatly.
- Steam
in about 2 cups of water for 30 to 45 minutes, till tender and well-cooked.
- Slice
when cold and arrange in platter and top with peas and sauce.
Embutido
Sauce:
- 1/2
c broth from Embutido
- 1
c green peas, cooked
- 1
tbsp butter
- 1
tbsp flour
- salt
and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Melt
butter in pan, add flour and mix well until dissolved.
- Add
broth and blend well.
- Add
salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour
over sliced Embutido and top with cooked peas.
~Source:
Favorite Filipino Dishes ~
BIBINGKA
Ingredients:
Directions:
-
Beat eggs until light and creamy.
-
Add sugar gradually, beating well
after each addition.
-
Sift flour and baking powder together.
-
Mix in the flour mixture into the egg
mixture alternately with the coconut milk.
-
Pour batter into two 9" cake pans that have been greased and lined with banana leaves.
-
Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.
-
Take out pans and sprinkle with cheese.
-
Bake 20 minutes more.
-
Brush twice with margarine while baking.
-
When done, brush again with margarine and sprinkle with sugar.
-
Serve with freshly grated coconut.
~source:
Let's Cook with Nora~
|