Balsamic Vinegar Vinaigrette

Place reserved drippings and lemon slices from the marinated chicken in a small saucepan. Add balsamic vinegar to taste, more extra virgin olive oil and one mashed and peeled garlic clove. Cook down the balsamic vinegar mixture slightly. Remove from heat, remove the lemon slices. Cool then taste, add juice from one lemon juice and more extra virgin olive oil.

Note:
Use as a dressing for salads or as a zesty added dressing for The moby dick.

Grilled Marinated Chicken

4 whole chicken breasts (bones still attached)
1 teaspoon rock salt
Freshly milled black pepper
Zest from 2 lemons
Juice from 1 lemon
Lots of dried rosemary
Extra virgin olive oil
4 grilled, peeled red bell pepper. Ends removed and the seeds removed
4 whole clean garlic heads, peppery skin removed and the tops lopped off
32 small native onions (shallots?), peeled and cleaned

Clean chicken and drain. Add remaining ingredients. Cut one lemon into round slices and drape over the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 1 – 4 hours.

Cut out foil to make packets. One whole chicken breast per packet. Place the chicken in the middle of the foil (meaty side up), spoon in 2 teaspoons of the marinade. Sprinkle some coarse salt over the garlic heads, a few sprinkles of black pepper and a trickle of olive oil over the whole thing. Stuff under the chicken breast. Add a few sprinkles of balsamic vinegar over the breast and spread so that the whole surface is coated. Drape the pepper over the chicken, add a slice of lemon over the pepper. Arrange 4 native onions on each side of the chicken. Sprinkle some extra virgin olive oil over the chicken, lemon, pepper and the onions. Close and seal the packet tightly and set aside in the refrigerator while making up the rest of the chicken breasts in the same manner

Place the packet inside turbo broiler pot. Open and set to highest heat for about 2 minutes. Lower heat to 350*F and cook for 30 minutes. Let the chicken stand inside the packet for 2 minutes before removing to a cutting board. Place the pepper, native onions and garlic head in a large container. Cut chicken into neat slices and add to the reserved pepper, onions and garlic. Reserve the drippings plus 2 roasted lemon slices. Repeat with remaining packets.

Note:
Use as a sandwich filling for The Moby Dick

Use the drippings to make Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Onion Relish

10 medium onions, Slice into four
400 gm drained small Spanish pimiento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
150 – 200 gm pack basil, remove leaves, clean and dry
4 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until onion is well chopped.

Note:
Adapted from recipe Onion Muffeletta Sandwich from Epicurious
Use as relish for The Moby Dick

Incarnations:
Add 4 roasted and peeled red bell pepper
Add 4 pieces sun dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil

Notes:
Excellent mixed with mayonnaise and used as a salad dressing or alone as salad dressing

The Moby Dick

The Moby Dick

1 short French baguette or one torpedo shaped lean bread
2 tablespoons onion relish mixed with 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Onion relish
Lots of marinated chicken slices
Slivers of roasted peppers
Roasted garlic cloves
White onion, sliced into rings
Lettuce

Slice the bread horizontally but not all the way through.
Slather the relish flavored mayo on both ends of the bread.
Layer the lettuce on one side of the bread. Arrange the chicken slices over the lettuce, top with onion slices and garlic cloves then spoon over the onion relish.
Arrange the roasted peppers over the relish. Close the sandwich and press lightly. Wrap tightly in foil until ready to serve. Serve with the roasted native onions, balsamic vinegar vinaigrette and onion relish on the side. And maybe an optional pickle.

Vintage Recipes from the Baul: Mango Recipes

In preparation for the imminent demise of Mona’s mango tree I am eating as much of it’s fruit as I can (hence the bum stomach – but it was worth it, believe me). Now I know why so many people are crazy about green mangoes and bagoong (salted, fermented shrimp or fish paste/sauce). I am glad all the Hantik (angry, large, obnoxious ants) have left the tree but now the tree is defenseless and open to groups of kids on their summer vacation on the prowl for some poaching action.

I got these recipes from my mother’s friend who worked in the Research and Development Department of the DOST. It was fun to experiment with my favorite fruit (next to mangosteen that is). The mango jam and chutney always turns out mushy when I make it, until I stopped using the kalabaw (Carabao, a variety of mango) which has too much liquid (much nicer to eat than cook anyway). The pico, (Pico is a variety of mango) despite the strange after taste when eaten ripe and raw, is preferable to the kalabaw when it comes to cooking.

I don’t know who would be interested in drying his/her own mangoes at home, but it can be done. Although I do not add preservatives, I do cook it in a sugar syrup to act as a preservative and to counter any sour mangoes. The fruit to use in dried mangoes is also the pico variety.

Of course if you have mangoes in the house, may it be green or ripe, sour or sugary the best way to eat it is still in all it’s naked glory.

Baul: Chest Drawer

Mango Jam

Ripe (mushy is fine) mangoes (pico variety works well)
Refined white sugar

*Use wooden spoons, glass bowls and stainless steel utensils when preparing mango jam.

1. Wash the mangoes well to remove any trace of sap. Slice the flesh and discard the seed.
2. Press the flesh of the mangoes through a strainer. Measure.
3. Place the mango slices in a stainless steel saucepan and add sugar to the ration of 2 cups mangoes to 1 cup sugar. Mix.
4. Cook over a medium-low flame, stirring constantly until thick. 5. Carefully spoon into sterilized jelly jars and cover tightly.

Mango Chutney

1 kilo slightly soft but still green, uniformly sized mangoes (pico variety), sliced
4 tablespoons refined salt

2 cups distilled white vinegar

3 cups brown sugar (depends on the sweetness of the mangoes, start with 3 cups and add more to taste)

1/2″ ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, slightly crushed, thin papery skin removed
8 small native onions (substitute shallots), leave whole. If too big, cut into two.
2 whole pepper corns
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 of a whole star anise
100 grams raisins

1. Wash the mangoes well to remove all trace of the sticky sap. Peel off the skin and remove the flesh in 2 thick pieces. Remove the middle part (the seed) and reserve for eating later.
2. Slice the mangoes in thin strips, about 1/4″ thick and place in large sterilized jars . Sprinkle salt over the mangoes, cover with a piece of cheesecloth and set aside in a cool place (safest would be inside the refrigerator).
3. The next day, drain all the liquid from the bottle of salted mangoes. Set aside.
4. Boil together the vinegar and sugar to make a sourish sugar syrup. This will act like a pickling solution.
5. Add the pepper, cinnamon stick, star anise and raisins. Continue cooking for at least 5 minutes.
6. Add the drained mango slices, the ginger, garlic and the onions or shallots and continue cooking until the liquid looks thick.
7. Remove the cinnamon stick and star anise. Transfer the mangoes, the syrup and the rest of the ingredients into sterilized glass jars and cover tightly.

Dried Sweet Mango

500 gm ripe but not mushy mangoes (Pico variety)
2 cups thin sugar syrup

Clean the mangoes well to remove all trace of sap. Remove the skin and slice the flesh into wide strips. Set aside the seed to eat later. Brush the slices of mangoes with the syrup and set aside in a cool place, lightly covered. Repeat brushing the mangoes with syrup slowly until the mangoes are thoroughly saturated.

Dry under the sun (lay over clean straw) for at least two hours, turn as needed. Can also be dried in an oven, but the temperature must not go over 54*C.

Making Paksiw

2 medium-sized milk fish. Slice the 2 head parts (lengthwise, so that one head can be separated into two pieces). Slice the body into two parts diagonally. Clean well, remove all trace of dried blood. Reserve the tails for another dish.

Place in a stainless steel saucepan. Prepare green chili and 1 large ampalaya (bitter wintermelon). Clean and remove the top of the chili. Slice the ampalaya in half length-wise and scrape all the seeds and white membrane, discard. Cut into 1 1/2″ slices.

Add salt, a generous amount of distilled white vinegar and a thumb-sized piece of sliced ginger to the fish. Add water. Ratio of vinegar to water is about 3:1. The liquid should be sour. Add the prepared ampalaya and lay the chili on top.

Cover and cook on medium-high heat. When the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium. The fish is done in less that 10 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Vintage Native Recipes from the Baul: Trio of Gabi Delicacies

Gabi or taro is a popular root crop in the Philippines. In the Tagalog speaking regions it is commonly added to the deliciously sour sinigang (tamarind soup). I remember my grandmother teaching my mother that the gabi must never be added before the souring ingredient. Doing so would cause the soup to refuse to sour. Of course I only found out that this was an old-wives tale when I was old enough to be allowed near a stove to cook by myself. Nowadays I add the gabi right after I sauté the chicken (In Cavite it is more common to use chicken in sinigang instead of pork and is known as sinampalukan) lightly in very little oil, a bit of ginger and onion. The gabi cooks down to a delicious mush and clouds the broth, adding an appealingly thick texture to the delicious concoction.

Although it is not as sweet as yams and sweet potatoes, gabi can also be boiled and then eaten with freshly grated coconut and panocha (solid muscovado sugar). It is also a popular ingredient in ginataan na bilo bilo (sticky rice balls cooked in sweetened coconut milk). Although starchy like all root crops, gabi has a delicious, subtle flavor when cooked and lends itself well to dishes that have broth-like soups (it is also works well as an extender in savory dishes).

For technical information about gabi try this page from the Bureau of Plant Industry in the Philippines.

I picked the most uncommon recipes from the baul to post, so here they are.

*Baul: Chest drawer

Gabi Pastillas (Gabi Pastilles)

4 cups gabi, boiled until fork tender and then mashed
4 cans evaporated milk
2 cups sugar
¼ cup margarine

Melted margarine to so spread over work table
Sugar to coat the pastillas

1. Mix all ingredients and cook over low flame with constant stirring.
2. Brush the surface of your work table with melted margarine.
3. When the gabi mixture is very thick, spread over the melted margarine.
4. Roll the mixture evenly until approximately ¼” thick in diameter. Cut into thumb sized pieces.
5. Dump some sugar in a piece of wax paper and roll the pastillas on the sugar.
6. Suggested wrappers: plastic wrapper or grease-proof paper cut into squares.

Gabi Jam

2 cups gabi, boiled until fork tender and then mashed
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk (first extraction – kakang gata)
¼ teaspoon calamansi juice

1. Mix together mashed gabi, brown sugar and coconut milk in a heavy saucepan or a heavy duty frying pan with a thick bottom.
2. Cook over a low flame, stirring constantly until very thick.
3. Add the calamansi and mix in well before removing from the heat source.
4. Pack in sterilized jars and keep in the refrigerator.

Rice – Cos – Bi (Toasted Rice, Cassava, Coconut and Gabi)

4 ½ cups coconut milk, first extraction (kakang gata)
3 cups cassava, ground
4 ½ cups gabi, ground
1 cup toasted plain flour

1. Boil coconut milk until the oil separates in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Add ground cassava and gabi. Stir until the mixture is very thick.
3. Place in a small banana leaf-lined bilao (shallow round basket). While still warm flatten with spatulas or hands. Set aside to cool.
4. Cut into desired sizes and then roll in toasted flour.

Black Friday Lunch at Shawarma Snack Center

Eating meat on a Black Saturday.

Sayadeya Fish on Yellow Rice and Alo Kheema

Qurma Beef and Baked Chicken

Freshly squeezed orange juice. A look at their new banner.

Two Favorites from Almon Marina

Sandwich lovers unite at Almon Marina. I miss their Gilmore Q.C. and Park Square Makati branch (they will open soon at the newly constructed structure beside Landmark). BUT for value for your money try their branch at Robinson’s Ermita. I don’t know if it’s because we are regulars there but the sandwiches they dish out are enormous! (uh oh, I hope the owners don’t see this). D and I have a theory that the less popular the branch the more generous they are with the sizes. It has yet to be disproved. Despite the hefty servings, our favorite is still at Megamall because we know most of the staff there. Cap is the best (Hi Cap!), aside from being a walking encyclopedia about movies he is the most senior server there (and the most efficient among the very well trained staff).

California Turkey Sandwich, no cheese. Extra sprouts and a good helping of cranberry jelly. A very big sandwich on it’s own and excellent blend of ingredients so we usually don’t tamper with the filling as much as we usually do.

New York New York Sandwich on Ciabatta. Added extra wasabi dressing. When I crave for a chicken sandwich this is what I order at Almon Marina. What D does when he’s hungry is order their Classic Club Sandwich, change the bread to ciabatta and add a double filling of New York New York. Great monster sandwich and the cost is less than P200 that’s good for 4 people.

Filipino Food Festival: Region 1

Region 1 is made up of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan. Barring some unusual vegetables that are often not available anywhere else, most of their dishes can easily be adapted to suit the taste of the cook. Some (based on the great amount of innards) are for the more adventurous souls but these recipes will give the reader a glimpse into how the people from the North gained their reputation for resourcefulness and thriftiness; evident in their creative incorporation of almost all the parts of the animal and their use of vegetables that were once considered weeds. Because of the unforgiving landscape of the North, they learned to use the fruits of the land to make nourishing dishes that are gaining new ground in other parts of the Philippines, especially in Manila where there is a resurgence of interest in the Northern cuisine.

The Northern diet is mostly made up of indigenous vegetables with either pork or fish (or both) cooked into wonderful, strange concoctions like Pinakbet and Dinengdeng and many viands showcasing nothing but innards cooked in vinegar. It is also the land of Bagnet, a delicious lechon kawali (deep fried meaty ribs), Vigan longganisa (small garlic sausages from Vigan), bagoong (salted, fermented fish or shrimp paste) and a very oily, delicious deep fried empanada. Most of their viands are enhanced with a generous helping of garlic (they grow the best kind) and aside from the deep-fried bagnet, empanada and the longganisa, almost all of their dishes are cooked using the smallest amount of fat.

Region 1 is a juxtaposition of flavors, a land of harsh beauty. The people hewn from hardship and national pride. They are unique and so is their cuisine.

All recipes adapted from Lutuing Filipino Region 1 from The Department of Agriculture in Quezon City, Philippines.

Baguisen (Pork Innards and Blood Cooked in Vinegar)

2 cups small intestines
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons onion, sliced
6 pieces green pepper, long
1 cup pork liver, sliced
¾ cup vinegar
2 cups pork blood, mashed and strained
1 cup water
1½ tsp salt

1. Clean intestines by turning it inside out. Rub with salt and rinse several times. Bring 2 cups of water to the boil, add the intestines. Cook for 1 hour or until tender.
2. Cut the intestines into small pieces crosswise.
3. Sauté garlic and onion. Add sliced intestines and liver. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add vinegar, blood and water. Bring to a boil without stirring. As soon as mixture boils, stir to keep from burning.
5. Add fresh pepper, cook 30 minutes. Season with salt.

Binagoongang Baboy (Pork Cooked in Salted, Fermented Shrimp Paste)

1 ½ lb pork shoulder or butt, cut into 2” cubes
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-sized onion, sliced
1 medium-sized tomato, coarsely chopped
¾ cup water sliced
4 teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons bagoong alamang (salted, fermented shrimp paste)

1. Sauté garlic, onion, and tomatoes in hot oil. Add pork and sauté until pork is no longer pink.
2. Add water, cover and cook for about 45 minutes.
3. Add bagoong alamang and sugar and continue cooking for another 15 minutes or until pork is tender, stirring occasionally over low heat.
4. Serve with green mangoes (unripe mangoes).

Dinaldalem (Sautéed Pork Innards)

½ cup beef fat, cut into pieces
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
½ cup lean pork, sliced
½ cup pork heart, sliced
½ cup pork lungs, boiled and chopped
1 cup pork liver, cooked and sliced
¼ cup vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup green sweet pepper, cut into strips
¼ cup red sweet pepper, cut into strips
¼ cup water

1. Heat beef fat and water in a frying pan and cook until fat is extracted.
2. Brown garlic in fat. Add lean pork and pork heart. Sauté 5 minutes.
3. Add water, cover and cook 15 minutes over low heat.
4. Add lungs, pork liver and vinegar. Cook 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add red and green sweet pepper and cook 5 minutes longer.

Dinengdeng (Milk Fish and Local Vegetable Stew with Salted, Fermented Shrimp)

2 tablespoons cooking oil
½ cup tomatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons bagoong alamang (salted, fermented shrimp paste)
3 cups rice washing (reserved water from rinsed rice)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup string beans, cut into 2” long pieces
1 cup squash fruit, cut into cubes
1 cup okra, cut into 2” long pieces
2 cups squash tops
6 slices broiled bangus (milk fish)

1. Sauté tomatoes and bagoong alamang.
2. Add rice washing and cover.
3. When mixture boils add salt, string beans and squash fruit. Cook 5 minutes.
4. Add okra, squash tops and broiled bangus.
5. Cover and cook 5 minutes longer.

Pinakbet (Pork and Local Vegetables with Salted, Fermented Fish)

1 cup pork, boiled and cut into large cubes (or a medium-sized fish, broiled)
2 medium-sized tomatoes
1 medium-sized onion, sliced
1 cup rice washing (reserved water from rinsed rice)
2 tablespoons bagoong isda (salted, fermented fish paste)
3 pieces eggplants, sliced into 4 lengthwise but not through
2 tomatoes amargoso, sliced into 4 lengthwise but not through
7 pieces young okra, cut into halves crosswise
1 tablespoon lard or cooking oil

1. Fry the boiled pork in the oil until it turns slightly brown. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan or cooking pot, put the rice washing.
3. Add the fish bagoong and bring to a boil.
4. Add the browned pork, tomatoes, onions and arrange the eggplants and amargoso on top. Cover and boil.
5. When it comes to the boil, lower the heat and let it simmer until the vegetables are almost cooked.
6. Add okra, cover and cook until all the vegetables are done*. Correct seasoning. Serve hot.

*In true Ilocano fashion instead of stirring the vegetables are tossed a few times until cooked.

Pinapaitan (Goat Cooked in Bile)

Meat of a young goat
Salt and pepper

1. Roast the young goat and separate the skin from the body using a very sharp knife.
2. Remove the lean meat and intestines (separate the small from the large intestines).
3. From the small intestines, remove the bile or bitter liquid called “papait”.
4. Slice the meat, liver and pancreas into half-inch squares. Place in a bowl and combine the “papait”.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

*Ilocanos usually serve this dish with hard liquor

Sautéed Malunggay Pods

2 cups malunggay pods
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons onion, sliced
½ cup tomatoes, sliced
½ shrimp, shelled
1 cup pork, sliced
2 ½ cups shrimp juice
4 tablespoons bagoong alamang (salted, fermented shrimp paste)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup patani
1 cup string beans, cut into 2” pieces

1. Cut malunggay pods lengthwise into 4 pieces. Scrape white pulp including tender seeds.
2. Discard outer covering. Cut pulp into 1 ½” long pieces.
3. Sauté garlic, onion and tomatoes.
4. Add shrimp and pork, cover and cook 2 minutes.
5. Add shrimp juice and boil.
6. Season with alamang and salt.
7. Add patani, malunggay pods and string beans. Cover and cook 10 minutes.

Delicacies:

Tupig (Glutinous Rice Flour with Coconut Milk)

1¾ cups malagkit rice, ground (ground glutinous rice flour)
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup coconut milk, first extraction (kakang gata)
1 cup coconut milk, 2nd extraction

1. Wilt 14 pieces banana leaves (10” x 7”) over low heat. Set aside.
2. Mix malagkit and brown sugar. Add pure and second extraction of coconut milk gradually and mix thoroughly.
3. On the center of each wilted banana leaf put 1/3 cup of the mixture and form into a rectangle about 6” long and 2” wide. Fold over the long edges of leaf to the center.
4. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake at 300*F or broil over hot coals for 30 minutes on each side.

*Tupig has a long shelf life. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Heat briefly (do not remove banana wrapper) in the microwave.