RSSFilipino Chopsuey
There are various colorful stories about the origin of Chopsuey. It is alleged to have been invented by Chinese immigrants in America but recent claim points to a province in China. Whatever the origin is, this dish obviously found its way throughout different countries through the years and has been a favorite meal in families at home.
Generally, Chopsuey is just a mixture of whatever vegetables, with some kind of protein (chicken, beef, pork), and cooked at high temperature in a wok (a chinese frying pan). In China or India, I notice that their Chopsuey version is usually with just a little amount of sauce, even dry. Filipinos eat Chopsuey with rice so they opt for more soup in it, but of course the soup should also attain a thickened texture by adding cornstarch.
This is my recipe for Filipino Chopsuey. Try not to overcook the vegetables by being conscious on the timing of sauteing the ingredients and keenly observing the change in color of the vegetables.
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Ingredients: (Good for 2-3 servings)
80g chicken
70g chicken liver
8 quail eggs
young corn
broccoli
green,orange,yellow bellpepper
carrots
napa cabbage (hakusai in japanese)
snow peas
onion
garlic
cornstarch
1/2 chicken cube
cooking oil
fish sauce (optional)
salt and pepper
Methods:
1. Cut the chicken, liver and all the vegetables in small sizes.
2. In a wok or any cooking pot, put 1 tbsp of cooking oil and fry the garlic until golden brown. Add the chicken and fry it together with the garlic.
3. Add all the vegies (except the napa cabbage), chicken liver then saute everything. Cover the pot for a few minutes to make them tender.
4. Add 1/2 chicken cube then put water just enough to half-cover the ingredients. Cover and let it simmer.
5. Adjust the taste according to your preference by adding salt, pepper and fish sauce (patis).
6. Add the napa cabbage and let it simmer for a while.
7. Finally add the mixture of 1/2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water to thicken the sauce. Serve while hot.
Pochero
Filipino Puchero or Pochero is a delicious stew made from chicken, pork or beef. It’s a Philippine adaptation of a traditional Spanish dish called cocido.
This recipe I learned from a fellow cook is a hearty stew of vegetables and pork, which i kinda given a tweak by adding pork and beans to give it a bit of thick saucy sweetness and asparagus instead of the usual string beans to make it healthy.
The recipe is very easy, but it took me about an hour to cook it to make the pork really tender and the taste will seep in. (But it will only take minutes if you will use a pressure cooker to tenderize the pork.)
Here’s how to prepare Puchero or Pochero the Filipino way.
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Ingredients: (Good for 3-4 servings)
350g pork
1 big carrot
2 potatoes
1 camote
5 asparagus
1/4 cabbage
1 can pork and beans
3-4 tbsp tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic
cooking oil
fish sauce (optional)
salt and pepper
Methods:
1. Cut the meat and all the vegetables in big chunks. Chop the garlic.
2. Boil the pork in 2-3 cups of water for about 45minutes (or until tender). Turn off the heat and separate the pork and broth.
3. In a cooking pot, put 1 tbsp of cooking oil and fry the garlic until golden brown. Add the pork and fry it together with the garlic.
4. Add the camote, potatoes, and carrots. Cover the pot for a few minutes to make them tender.
5. Add the pork broth, tomato sauce, pork and beans and asparagus. Cover and let it simmer.
6. Adjust the taste according to your preference by adding salt, pepper and fish sauce (patis).
7. Finally add the cabbage and let it simmer. Serve while hot.
Eggplant Omelet
Eggplant Omelet or Tortang Talong in tagalog is a very simple, cheap dish that Filipinos love. It is usually served on breakfast. The traditional way of cooking it is just grilled eggplant with beaten egg seasoned with salt and pepper. For variation some would put ground pork/beef on top of it which is what I did in this recipe.
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Ingredients: (Good for 2 servings)
3 eggplants
15g ground beef
2 eggs
cornstarch or flour
salt and pepper
soy sauce
cooking oil
Methods:
1. Boil the eggplants. When tender, put on a plate and flatten it with a fork. Set aside.
2. On a frying pan, put a teaspoon of oil and fry the ground beef. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce.
3. When cooked, put the fried ground pork on top of the flatten eggplant until it has covered the whole surface.
4. In a bowl, beat the 2 eggs and add salt and pepper. Put 1 tbsp of flour to thicken the mixture.
5. Pour the egg mixture on the eggplants.
6. On a frying pan, pour cooking oil. When it is hot already, fry the eggplant mixture.
7. Serve with kechup or vinegar w/garlic or siling pula.
Aglio Olio (Peperoncino Pasta)
Aglio Olio is a traditional Italian pasta. They say one of the oldest ways to dress pasta was with raw oil and garlic. The sauce consists mainly of garlic fried in olive oil, plus peperoncino (dried red chili peppers) and at the end, parsley is also added. My version will have additional bacon to enrich the very basic flavor of peperoncino.
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Ingredients: (Good for 4 servings)
1 lb. spaghetti
3 oz. extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2-3 chopped dry red peppers
Handful of chopped parsley
3-4 tbsp of salt for the pasta
200g Bacon (cut in strips)
Methods:
1. Boil the pasta following the instructions on the package approximately 7-8 min. Add salt.
2. When the pasta is ready, drain and set aside.
3. Saute the garlic and red peppers in the extra virgin olive oil for 5-7 minutes until the garlic becomes golden brown. Add the bacon strips.
4. When the bacon is already fried, put the pasta and mix well.
5. Finally, top it with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Egg and Spinach Saute
This is a Japanese dish called “Tamago to Hourenzo No Itame” . I sauted spinach, mushroom, bamboo shoots and fried egg. This dish is very simple to make and healthy too! (only 198 calories per serving)
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Ingredients: (Good for 2 servings)
2 eggs
spinach - measure as desired
60g bamboo shoots (soft boiled)
4 pcs kikurage (”Jelly Ear” Mushroom in English)
*you may also use button mushroom as another option but kikurage is still suited for frying
4 tbsp salad oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp soup
Methods:
1. Cut the spinach and boiled bamboo shoots 4cm long.
2. Submerge kikurage in water to soften it. Then cut them in bite-size pieces.
3. In a bowl, scramble eggs and add salt and sugar to taste.
4. Heat the fry pan and put salad oil. Fry egg while mixing it. When fried, set aside.
5. On a fry pan, put salad oil and saute kikurage, bamboo shoots and spinach. Add soy sauce and soup.
6. Serve immediately while hot.
Pork Barbeque and Spinach Adobo
This is another addition to my usual vegetable-and-meat tandem dishes! I paired pork barbeque with spinach adobo. This dishes really match together as the spinach also serves as a neutralizer to the meat dish. You may also match spinach adobo with other meat dishes such as pork spareribs and steak.
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Ingredients: (Good for 2 servings)
* Pork Barbeque
200g sliced pork
1/2 cup barbeque sauce (I recommend “Clara Ole Barbeque Marinade”, you may also reinvent on your own)
* Spinach Adobo
1 bunch of spinach
2 cloves galric
1/4 white onion
butter
salt and pepper
1-3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
4 tbsp soup/stalk
Methods:
1. Marinate the sliced pork with your favorite barbeque marinade. Leave for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
2. Prepare the ingredients for spinach adobo. Chop garlic and onion. Wash the spinach leaves and cut them in 1-inch width.
3. Heat the fry pan. If it’s already hot, put butter then fry the garlic and onion until quite brown.
4. Put the kangkong leaves then immediately add the soy sauce, vinegar and soup/stalk. Don’t cover unless the it has already boiled . (By that time, the vinegar is already cooked.)
5. If it is already boiling and the smell of vinegar is gone, add salt and pepper to taste.
6. After a few minutes, turn-off the heat so as to not overcook the leaves. Transfer it on a plate.
7. Get the marinated meat. Heat fry pan and add 3 tbsp cooking oil. If the oil is already, put the marinated meat. (* If you have griller in your stove, you may also choose that option.)
Hayashi Rice
Hayashi rice is a popular dish among families here in Japan. Basically, it is a dish of thinly sliced beef, onions, and button mushrooms in a sauce which is a delicious blend of rich bouillon and vine-ripened tomatoes. It resembles Japanese curry, but is not spicy. It is sometimes topped with white cream, but I prefer *hanjuku tamago (japanese soft-boiled egg), the rich yolk of the egg blends deliciously with the sauce.
The beef used is usually made from cuts that are tender enough to be cooked quickly. Sukiyaki beef is great for making Hayashi rice.
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Making hayashi rice from scratch can be very complicated. To be able to attain a concentrated beef stock that is thick and paste-like, you have to create a strong beef stock from beef bones, meat trimmings, etc . For beginners, I suggest you use tomato hayashi rice sauce (normally sold as roux blocks) and prepared demiglace sauce (normally canned), which are commonly available at Japanese supermarkets.
Ingredients: (Good for 4 servings)
1 pack(200g) Tomato Hayashi Rice Sauce
150g thinly sliced beef
1/2 big white onion (chopped)
2 spoonful of button mushrooms
1/2 tbsp butter
2 3/4 cups (550 ml) of water
Methods:
The steps are simple, just saute everything in butter, then put water and hayashi sauce.
*How to make hanjuku tamago
Put the egg into a boiling water (it should be boiling hot). After 5 minutes, get the egg and place in a bowl of cold water. Top it on the Hayashi Rice afterwards (just like in the picture above).
Revie’s Original Buttered Salmon Con Tomato Salad
In restaurants, I notice that the chef really sees to it that the dishes (be it simple or complex gourmet) would appear delightful to the eyes of the customers they serve. I also kinda apply this when I cook for my avid customer (ahem, Jay). If the menu for the day is fish, I would always find ways on how to make it appetizing by adding a side menu. And instead of serving it separately in a bowl which is quite boring, I thought of serving it together with the main dish - as a garnish. For me, it was also fun doing it this way!
So I came up with this healthy and simple dish! I fried the salmon w/butter, mixed the ingredients of the tomato salad, then arrange it around the buttered salmon on the plate.
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Ingredients: (For 2 Servings)
*Buttered Salmon
300g Salmon
Butter
Black Pepper
*Tomato Salad
2 Boiled Eggs
5 fruit tomatoes
Onion Leaves (measure as desired)
1/4 white Onion
3 tbsp Ponsu (Japanese Soy sauce mixed with lemon)
Few drops of Patis
Methods:
1. Boil the eggs while chopping tomatoes, onion, onion leaves.
2. If you have 2 burners, you may cook the fish while boiling the eggs.
Fry the salmon w/butter then sprinkle ground pepper while turning on the other side
* To preserve the juicyness and tenderness of fish, do not overfry it
3. After frying for a few minutes, settle the fish on a plate.
4. Get the boiled eggs and remove the shells. Cut the boiled eggs, at least 1cm.
5. Mix the chopped boiled eggs in a bowl together with the chopped tomatoes, onion, and leaves. Add the rest of the ingredients. You may adjust according to your taste.
6. Spread the tomato salad around the buttered salmon.
Adobo (Revie’s Version)
Every single Filipino knows Adobo. It’s the legendary Filipino dish that everybody loves, it has even gained popularity on other countries.
Adobo is of spanish origin and was carried to the Philippines from Mexico. At that time, the two islands (Philippines and Mexico) were used as the stopping point for their Acapulco-China trade. The Filipinos, already influenced by the Chinese, added soy sauce to their adobo. To the Spanish, adobo is primarily a marinade, but to the Filipinos, it is the flavors of flavors and can be used on rice as well as meats and fish.
As generations passed by, variations of Adobo has flourished, from its original taste to a sweeter one. Others even add pineapple to it. My version of adobo still carries the taste of the original one(soy sauce/vinegar flavor), I just added a little bit of potatoes to make the sauce thicker and boiled eggs as garnish.
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Ingredients: (Good for 2-3 servings)
200g pork
1 potato(cut in cubes)
4 cloves of garlic
2 eggs (hard-boil them separately)
soy sauce and vinegar
*I use laddle (or sandok) to measure this.
Usually, I put 3/4 sandok of soy sauce then 1/3 sandok of vinegar(the ratio is always 1 is to 3)
3 laddle(or sandok) pork broth
Whole Black Pepper
1 Laurel Leaf
1/2 tsp sugar
salt
cooking oil
Methods:
1. Place the whole pork in a cooking pot, add water and boil until it tenderize. If the meat is already tender, turn off heat get the pork meat and cut it in cubes. Set aside the pork broth.
2. Heat a tbsp of cooking oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes. Then set aside.
3. Heat again a tbsp of cooking oil in a frying pan and saute garlic until golden brown.
4. Add the pork and saute in garlic.
5. In medium heat, add the soy sauce, cover it and let it simmer for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, add the broth, whole black pepper, laurel leaf, then finally the vinegar. Don’t stir until the vinegar is already cooked (the sour smell should go away).
6. Add the fried potatoes and simmer again.
6. Adjust taste by adding salt and sugar.
7. To make the sauce thicker, dillute a tsp of cornstarch 2 tbsp of water then add.
8. Serve immediately and add the egg garnish (as shown in the picture).
8. Serve immediately.
Egg Omelet
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Most of us tend to skip this because of lack of time in the morning. But preparing food in the morning should not be that complicated as there are a lot of meals which are simple and very easy to prepare. Like egg omelet.
This is my version of egg omelet. This is very good to pair with ham and/or rice.
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Ingredients are as follows: (Good for 2 servings)
2 Egg
White Onion
4 Small Fruit Tomatoes (it is called ”puchi tomatoes” here, sweeter than the big ones)
Salt and Pepper
A pinch of sugar
1/2 cup milk/all purpose cream (this will keep the eggs soft and fluffy w/a creamy taste)
Grated Cheese
Ham (I used spam)
Beef Strip and Lettuce Chahan
“Chahan” is the fried rice counterpart here in Japan. It is adapted to Japanese tastes, tends to be lighter in flavour and style than the Chinese version from which it is derived. You can make your own chahan depending on your ingredient preferences. I am quite a vegetable eater so instead of putting just meat stuff, I thought of adding lettuce. This is a lighter counterpart of cabbage, so adding it will not make a big difference on the final taste.
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Ingredients are as follows: (Good for 2 servings)
Egg
2 leaves of Lettuce
Leaks or Onion - chopped
400g Cooked rice
100g Beef thin slices - cut into small pieces then *marinate
*Marinate Mixture
Salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp Japanese Cooking Wine (Sake)
1/2 tsp Flour
* Final Flavoring
1/2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1tsp tsp Japanese Cooking Wine (Sake)
Salt and Pepper
Pork Igado
Igado is an authentic Filipino Ilocano dish. My grandmother and my mom (who are both Ilocanas) usually cook this at home when I was a child. I haven’t tried this before, but based on the smell and look of the dish I recalled the ingredients and just tried to cook it for the first time for Jay. I’m so glad it went well and he liked it!
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Ingredients: (For 2 servings)
180g Pork Meat
80g Chicken Liver
1/2 Red Bellpepper
1/2 Raddish (optional)
1/2 Onion
3 cloves Garlic
3/4 laddle(or sandok) of Vinegar
3/4 laddle(or sandok) of Fish Sauce (Patis)
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
3 laddle(or sandok) of Pork Broth
Methods:
1. Cut everything in strips (liver, red bellpepper, radish, onion, garlic, etc) except pork.
2. Boil the whole pork in water. When the pork is tender, turn off the heat then set aside and save the broth.
3. Cut the boiled pork in strips.
4. In a fry pan, put some 1 spoon of cooking oil, then fry the following in order:
garlic, onion, pork strips, red bellpepper, radish, liver
5. Add the fish sauce, cover and simmer for 2 minutes (so fish sauce will sink in the meat). Then add the pork broth and vinegar. Don’t stir until it has boiled (so the vinegar will cook.)
6. Add ground pepper to taste. (Add salt if necessary).
Lumpia and Pinacbet
ISKARGU - a Filipino word abbreviation for “ISda KARne at GUlay”. Is this word familiar to you? If yes, then we grew up in the same era, and we are called BATIBOT kids! hehe!
So what’s the connection of this song to this kitchen blog anyway? Well, I always remember this song everytime I prepare a meal, to always have a combination of vegetables along with the meat dish. In other words, always attain a balance dish at least once a day. So when I cooked lumpia, I thought of cooking a vegetable dish that will quite complement it.
This two dishes have simple ingredients and cooking procedures. Let me share them to you so please refer below.
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Ingredients are as follows:
Lumpia (Good for 2 servings)
180g Ground Beef
Lumpia Wrappers
Chopped Onion
Chopped Carrots
Kinchay (optional)
Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Egg
A teaspoon of flour
Pinacbet
Eggplant, Okra, Squash
Ground Beef or Pork (para pangsahog)
Onion
Tomatoes
Garlic
Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Knorr Chicken Cube (optional)
Menudo in Tomato-Basil Sauce
Basically, menudo is a dish of diced meats and vegetables in thick tomato sauce. It is traditionally served on special occasions in the Philippines, and I heard that this is also a well-known dish in Spain and Mexico.
If one has mastered how to cook adobo, one will be able to cook menudo (and its close counterpart, afritda) even with eyes closed. (just kidding!) What I mean is it will be very easy as the initial steps are just the same, it’s the addition of tomatoes that makes it different.
By the way, instead of using the usual tomato sauce, I used pasta sauce which is a combination of tomato and basil. I served the dish with matching buttered rice to make it more palatable. Finally, eating this dish won’t be enjoyable without a glass of ice cold coca-cola!
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Ingredients are as follows:
*Meat section
Pork Meat
Chicken Liver
*Veggies
Potatoes
Carrots
Red Bellpepper
*Panggisa Basics
Onion
Garlic
Tomato
*Taste section
Pasta Sauce (Tomato and Basil)
Soy sauce (I recommend Silver Swan)
Vinegar (I recommend Datu Puti)
Patis
Sugar, Salt & Pepper
1 Laurel Leaf
Baked Macaroni 1.0
I was already cooking the usual baked macaroni before, but this time I felt that I want to invent my own version of it. So here it is, Baked Macaroni version 1.0. Jay said its delicious (of course, hehe!) but Im not yet satisfied so I think there will be more versions to come!
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I will give the recipe details later.
