My Basic Minestrone

The line cook at the L'Opera once told me his recipe for basic minestrone. 

A heartwarming vegetable soup made from the most simple ingredients can become a powerful carrier of flavor and this basic stock can be the foundation of you version of Minestrone. It can be prepared in large batches in advance and stored in serving size containers in the freezer. Heat them slowly over a low flame until it barely simmers. 

 This recipe is good for about a liter of soup but go large or go small using the relative proportions. 

> 3 cups of water (or chicken broth) 

> 1/2 cup of onions diced 

> 1/4 cup of carrots diced to pea size 

> 1/4 cup celery stalks sliced pea size 

> 1 cup of chopped tomato (get the red ripe plumpkind) 

> cooking oil (olive oil if you can) 

> 1 strip of bacon (guanciale is better but smokey bacon will do) cut into half inch strips 

> 1 Knorr broth cube or 1 sachet of Magic Sarap (Omit if using chicken broth) 

> Salt and Pepper to taste 

 Set a medium soup pot to a medium flame

- pour 1 tbsp of oil and as wisps of smoke appear saute the bacon - you don't want crispy bacon, just cooked enough for the edges to brown ever so slightly 

- Add your vegetables all at once and stir until the aroma starts drifting into the kitchen 

- At this point you pour the water (or broth) into the pot and scrape away the browned bits of bacon if any at the bottom - allowing it to boil 

- As it comes to a boil lower your flame to a gentle simmer and lightly cover 

It's done when your tomatoes start breaking down - about 10-15 minutes Taste and add and salt and pepper as you desire. 

This soup will accept pasta (shells or macaroni), potatoes cubed, peas and string beans - even canned red beans as you like. I DO NOT recommend any leafy vegetabes like cabbage - doesntlook nice. With buttered crusty bread, it's actually enough for lunch

Peanut pasta

There are things you want to do that you constant put off. You buy ingredients and then let it sit in the ref until you can't use them anymore. Here goes nothing . . No Here comes something. 

Its a simple noodle in peanut sauce.If you prep the ingredients beforehand, this can come together in 10 minutes. We'll do just the basic and you can add the condiments particularly the proteins if you want to. 

1 small stalk onion leeks sliced (not too fine) 1 clove garlic (crushed. . totally crushed) 1 tsp peanut butter 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp palm sugar or white sugar 1/2 tsp garlic chilis sauce - any kind. dig deep into the bottle soyou get the garlic and chili 1/2 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup salted peanuts ground with a mortar and pestle (or food processor) 1 small bunch noodles - about a cup- rice noodles, egg noodles, vermicelli, spaghetti - any noodle will do. Just 1 cup uncooked then cook it, wash it and cool it 

These are the optionals: 4 stalks asparagus (bent and snapped in the middle then cut into 1 inch lengths) 1 fairly large shiitake mushroom cut in half the sliced into 1 inch lengths Lets begin Timer starts now 

1. set your pan to the flame 2. 2 tbsp of oil (high smoke point like palm or peanut) \ 3. Add garlic mushroom and leeks and stir fry about 1 minute 2.5 add proteins and other optional condiments and stir fry 1 minute 4.add soy sauce and stir fry 30 seconds 5. add half the broth and stir 30 seconds or until simmering 6. add the peanut butter and stir until incorporated 30 seconds 7. add the sugar and stir until incorporated 30 seconds 8. add noodles and garlic chili sauce and toss into the sauce 9. add another dash of soy 10.transfer to a serving plate Sprinkle generously with your crushed peanuts and coriander leaves

That'sit Sorry no photos - i ate it before I could take it Try a cold beer

Cooking rice

We've had our share of exploratory adventures where we rough it up and cook with a wood fire and camped out in a tent. One of our more memorable ones was an Easter weekend in Munting Buhangin long before it became just another over built and over populated resort along Nasugbu beach. Time was there were only tents available and building a bonfire was still a herculean effort of gathering wood among the environs.

On this trip, one of our companions, a lovely, petite girl had offered to be on rice cooking duty. In as much as not all of us were at the time, aware of what and how this is done without a rice cooker we relented. Over the next few days, we had to rummage through burnt kernels and uncooked rice for all our meals. Turns out - this lady had dutifully followed someone's instruction to allow the water in the rice to get up to the first digit of the index finger. Being a petite girl, of course her hands were much much smaller than most, resulting in each rice cooking exercise lacking the requisite quantity of water to cook through.

Now we know better.

Rice is an interesting staple, as unlike wheat that needs to be milled in order to make any kind of reasonable libation, you simply separate the individual kernels from the chaff in the course of threshing and you have a simple white (or brown depending on the type of rice) ready for cooking.

There are different types of rice and generally long grain is favored for its ability to retain the starches within and prevent sticking resulting in a fluffly cooked rice with the individual grains clearly delineated. California, Basmati and most premium rice are this type. Another is the small grain rice such as Milagrosa, the Japanese Honishiki variety Konishiki and Musenmai (washed) which release much more starch during cooking and require quite a bit of soaking in water prior to cooking. Finally ,the medium grain variety, such as the Japonica and most other lower priced rice varieties. Is there any one single standard way to cook rice? I ask my students how they do it and it comes out consistently 1. Measure out the rice 2. Wash - rinse - drain - repeat until the wash water is barely clear enough - still milky but almost clear 3. Add water and this is where it gets touchy - 1.5 times the amount of water as rice OR stick your index finger until barely touching the top of the rice and add water until it reaches the first digit 4. Return to the rice cooker OR set to boil uncovered 5. ONce boiling wet flame to the lowest possible and cover the pot 6. wait at least 8 minutes and resist the urge to look 7. when time is up, check the rice - there should be no bubbles or residual water and there should be dimples and dots on the top 8. it may need another minute or two to get there and only then turn off the fire 9. DO NOT SERVE YET! wait 5 minutes with the flame off. This will give the starches released into the pot to retreat back into the rice grains 10. Now you can eat, fluff it if you want, scoop it into a bowl, or whichever way you like thats simple

A Very Orange broth

Someone asked me about Sotanghon. My brothers and friends used to call it Sotengwan hahaha. The secret to any soup is the stock and I get mine each time I buy a whole chicken Take away the backs and ass and What do you do with the chicken backs and ass? These parts yield very little meat and a lot more fat and skin resides in these parts. You'd be lucky if you get it down to 50 / 50, meat and fat (including skin). But a frugal cook makes use of everything. I even use the trimmings from the chicken breast because you just can take all that meat out. ONce its cooked and you're happy with the flavor just take the chicken out, let it cool, and pick the meat from your bones i small onion half a small carrot and a stalk of celery in a stock pot where all the chicken parts are and top up with water about two inches from the top of the pot under a low flame (this keeps the stock clear) and afte 1 couple of hours you can salt and pepper to taste. Sotanghon is a mung bean based noodle that is translucent and holds up very well despite intense cooking It manages to keep a texture with some amount of bite not to mention the ability to retain heat. You dont need a lot and for 4 just a fist size quantity will go a long way 6 cups of stock The trimmed chicken meat from the stock 100 gms dry vermicelli (sotanghon) 1 tbsp onion leeks chopped fine 1 tbsp minced garlic chips 1 med onion 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp annato seeds (atsuete) 1/4 cup oil A medium soup pot This blog title tells it all. Take your pot and set over a medium flame. Drop the annato seeds in and allow to simmer in the oil until it releases color to almost a bright deep red then fish out the seeds. Sautee onions and garlic in the same oil until fragrant and translucent. Follow that wit the shredded chicken meat until heated through. As the sizzle becomes consistent pour 3/4 of the stock in and allow to boil then turn the flame down. You can drop the vermicelli in and let it cook for about 5-8 minutes Test it if you like the texture, it's ready to serve.

In a small bowl garnish with chopped sprint onion and garlic chips. It couldn't be easier. As it cools the noodles will absorb some liquid so just add on broth as you like.

When it rains, it's Rendang

I don't cook this often enough.

I would accept training assignments in Indonesia on and off from 2012-2014 and there was always time for Beef Rendang. It's not the national dish but it sure is true comfort food. Nothing beats the slow, simmer of this stew with the aroma of coconut and spices wafting throughout the house.

it's not labor intensive but it does demand some labor. First you make a spice paste. You can use a food processor but I favor a mortar and pestle to get that texture of paste that's not totally smooth but gritty. Pretty much like a choice between a longganisa or a hotdog.

Then you brown the meat all dutifully to allow it to caramelize and stick to the pot you'll be cooking in.

AFter that, it's pretty much a gentle, occassional stir to keep all the meats submerged in the liquid.


1 kg. boneless shank or brisket (I get mine at Kitayama)
2 stalks of lemon grass
2 whole Keffir Lime Leaves
half a block (about 2 tbsp) Palm Sugar. You can substitute with Brown sugar
2 cups of coconut milk (two packs of powdered coconut milk reconstituted in 2 cups of water)
3-4 cups of water as needed


For the paste:

1 tsp coriander seed
1/2 half whole nutmeg
1 tsp ground turmeric (powder is fine)
two thumb size pieces of ginger
2 whole Keffir Lime leaves
4 cloves garlic
1 medium spanish onion
2 thai chilis for the heat
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black peper

TO make the paste:
Chop the onions and garlic
Peel and slice the ginger
Chop the keffir lime leaves chiffonade
Chop the chilis and include the seeds.
Put all the dry ingredients in the
mortar and pestle and pound away
to get them as fine as possible
then add the salt and pepper
add in the onions a little at a time,
keeping up the pounding
add the garlic, still pounding it all out
add the ginger and chili and
keep the pounding going
until you get something like this

Time to brown the meat. Take your time. Do two rounds if you must but be sure that the meat is browned on all sides until you get an evenly browned concoction.

Remove the meat from the pot and set aside. Now fry the paste in the same pot, no need to clean it. Sautee over a medium flame, savor the aroma, and wait for most of the liquid to evaporate. Now add the browned meat. Once the spice paste and meats are well combined stir in your coconut milk and allow to simmer. Pound the lemon grass stalks to bruise them and tie them into a knot. Drop it in the stew. Drop in the Whole Keffir lime leaves as well. You should break up the palm sugar and add it to this mixture and turn the flame down to the lowest.

Now you wait. Keep it covered anbd as it simmers, the liquid starts to change color. First it's white, half an hour later a pastel green, another half hour and it turns a strange greenish brown. The oil starts to separate and that's a nice green color. Stir the stew avery 10-15 minutes and don't allow it to dry out yet. Add 1/4 cup of water at a time to keep the meats submerged.

2-3 hours later you should have a deep, dark greenish brown stew and as the meats get fork stab soft, stop adding water.

Reduce the liquid until you get just enough moisture so the sauce coats each individual piece of meat. You should turn the flame up to medium and stir constantly and vigorously to prevent scorching and burning.

A proper Rendang doesn't swim in sauce but instead the gravy coats each individual piece. It really tastes better the day after, with a very very cold Sauvignon Blanc.

Beef Asado San Fernando style

There are heirloom recipes that we always tuck away in the back of our heads and just prepare them every once in a rare while. Somehow that is what we pass on to our children and them to their own and somewhere along the way, it evolves into something else. Let me commit this one to this blog so that we can preserve this version of a classic from my grandmother to my mother and now to me.

300 gms. Flank steak whole trussed up

1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic

¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup red wine
1 ½ cup water
¼ cup olive oil (Pomace will do)

Bay leaf
Sprig of thyme
¼ tsp dried Rosemary
Black Pepper

1 small Sweet Potato
Peeled and sliced into ¼ in thick chips
1 cup sugar

100 gms string bean cut to ½ in lengths
100 gms carrots cut to ½ in x ¼ in lengths

1. Braise meat
Place pressure cooker over fire add ¼ cup olive oil
Brown meat lightly on all sides
Deglaze pan with red wine
Add onions and garlic
As it simmers and starts reducing add soy, vinegar and water
As this comes to a boil add Bay leaf, sprig of thyme and Rosemary
Baste meat several times over while it’s boiling for 5 minutes
Seal pressure cooker and cook for 20 minutes
Release pressure from cooker and remove meat set aside to rest
Make a slurry of ¼ tsp corn starch and ¼ tsp water and add to simmering stock to thicken

2. Prepare vegetables
Place sweet potatoes in a small stock pot
To this add sugar and 1 cup water
Set over flame and as it boils reduce fire to low
Set pan to flame and boil 1 cup water
Blanch carrots and string beans for 1 min each and shock in cold water to set color
Add melted butter to taste

As sweet potatoes are cooked and reduced in syrup set aside

3. Serve
Once meat has reasonably cooled
Cut strings
Slice ¼ in thick slice from the meat
Arrange on plate to sit on sauce. Drizzle a small quantity of sauce over the meat
Serve with Sweet Potato and carrots and beans on the side

Phew, that was a mouthful. Any red wine will do but a big red would be really really nice with this

Paella, it's about time

For years, my daughter has asked me about posting my paella recipe and for years, I've managed to skirt around the issue and ended up posting nothing. It's been a while since my last post but here it finally is. We've been cooking and eating paella for many years. There are about as many variations as there are cooks in the world. My belief is that paella is a technique rather than a dish. They would put all manner of meat from rabbit to probably squirrel. For us, we've learned to appreciate the flavor of meat and seafood in one dish. If you ask me, it's the ultimate surf and turf dish. You can cook this in almost any flat dish. The paellera in fact is nothing more than a flat frying pan anyway. So any frying pan with a tight fitting cover should do. I use a 10 inch pan for this one.

1 medium white onion chopped fine
3 cloves garlic crushed and chopped
2 medium or 1 large ripe red tomato diced

2-3 tbsp olive oil (Pomace will do)

1/2 chicken cut into 6 pcs. - Wing, Breast (2 parts), thigh, leg. back (hind): Season generously with paprika, salt and pepper
then rub with olive oil
4-5 shrimp/prawns
1 squid dressed and cut into rings (save the tentacles)
5-6 mussel
10-12 Manila clams
1 pc Spanish Chorizo. Commercially available but must be a dried red mildly spicy one sliced 1/4 inch circles.

2 cups short grain (arborio, shojihikari, bomba, milagrosa)
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
8 strands saffron steeped in 1/2 cup warm water OR 1 small packet Carmencita paella valencia

bell peppers julienne sliced for garnish
2 hard boiled eggs
1 lemon for garnish

1. Prepare the sofrito

Put the pan on the stove until wisps of smoke appear
Add your onions, garlic and tomatoes
Lower the flame to allow them to simmer
As they become translucent, take a potato riser and mash the mixture. What you're after is a smooth paste.
Set aside

2. Brown the meats


In the same pan, brown the chicken pcs. skin side down first. When browned set aside
return the sofrito onto a medium heat pan
Add the rice
Add the chorizo and mix constantly until the rice grains are all colored by the sofrito and paprika.
Add the saffron including the liquid, OR sprinkle the contents of the Carmencita packet and stir until you get an even orange/yellow color


3. Cook the rice

Now add the rest of the broth slowy, stirring slightly after each cup until the third cup.
Stir once, and never stir again. Turn the flame down to its lowest possible
Submerge the chicken pcs into the rice and then Cover
After 10 minutes, add the prawns ensuring they are sunk into the rice, decorate with the bell pepper slices
AFter 5 minutes more add the squid, and the shellfish, inserting into the rice with the hinges pointing upwards coveragain
Turn up the flame and count out 1 minute
Turn the flame down to its lowest and cook another 5 minutes. If you hear a crackling sound as if frying, add 1/4 cup of broth and cover
After 20 minutes, shut the flame and allow the paella to sit for 5 minutes.

Open and garnish with eggs and lemon wedges and serve

Spaghetti Sunday

As far back as I can remember, every Sunday was Spaghetti day. This goes all the way back to our times in the old house in Conrado Benitez but over the years, our own house version takes over. Today I made some exactly the way i wanted to and here it is.

1 medium onion
1 stalk large celery
half a medium carrot
1/4 kg ground beef
2 strips Bacon
1 pc Italian Sausage (or any pork sausage with sage)
1 tsp Tomato Paste
500 gms Tomato Sauce
1 medium green bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
300 gms spaghetti

Of course it starts with bacon, diced small and fried in olive oil until almost crisp, set aside but leave the oil. Now do your mirepoix of onions, carrots and celery. As it sweats you can dice all the remaining vegetables and sausage. It's mostly assembly from this point on. Add your ground beef and fold in the mirepoix. Don't mix it around too much, you want the beef to brown. As this browns, sprinkle half a tsp of Italian seasoning and half a teaspoon of dry basil leaves. blend in. Add the diced bell peppers and crusehd garlic, and mix them in as well. Make a small well in the mixture and put the tomato paste in the center to let it fry in the oil until it starts getting fragrant. Fold it into the mixture. Now the tomatao sauce. I like to stir the mixture while pouring in the tomato sauce. Turn the flame down and let it come to a boil gently.



Come back to the mixture after 5 minutes and add in the Italian sausage and stir. Add in the vinegar and sugar and allow to simmer over the lowest possible flame. Stir often like every 5 minutes for about half an hour until the oil starts separating from the sauce and its ready.

All you need is pasta and grated parmesan cheese and you're on your way.

I like this with a Sangiovese (spaghetti wine of course!) or a nice Southern hemisphere Shiraz

Voila!

Cabbage stir fry

Some of the best dishes are really made from the simplest of ingredients and the more complicated the more prone a dish is to go wrong and you'd never figure out what happened. My kids want to eat more vegetables so here's a quick simple stir fry that highlights the sweetness of cabbage but still allows the earthy flavors and goodness to come out. Here's all you need.

1 med or 1/2 large cabbage head
1 med white onion
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp sugar
pinch of Pepper
1/2 tsp Cornstarch dispersed in 1 tbsp of water
Oil for sauteeing

Start by preparing all your ingredients cut to size. dice the onion, cut the cabbage by splitting in two, removing the tough core and cutting into rough 1 inch squares. They dont have to be perfect, in fact sometimes I slice them like coleslaw. Start heating your pan, put about a tbsp of oil then add the onions, as they become translucent add the cabbage. Toss several times and when most of the cabbage leaves have some oil onto them, add about 1/2 cup water and cover for 1.5 minutes.

When you lift the cover the cabbage should have started taking on a slightly deeper color. Sprinkle the salt, pepper and sugar and saute/toss the mixture in the pan. after 30 sec more stir the slurry of cornstarch and water then add to the cooking cabbage. Toss and saute in the pan until you see the sticky sauce you've created coating all the cabbage. Turn into a suitable size pan and serve.

See, thats it simple and healthy!

The Hainanese chicken

It started with a little conversation with my Mom about how to make it. I had some dark sweet soy at home and a student was kind enough to give me jar of Hainanese chicken rice chili. After having tried Wee Nam Kee, then Hainanese Chicken Rice at the Mall of Indonesia in Kelapa Gading in Jakarta, and then at Changi restaurant on Vito Cruz, it's about time so here goes.

1/2 chicken
1 liter of water
large onion
bunch of onion leeks
2 thumb size pcs of ginger
4 cloves garlic
salt
Pinch of turmeric powder
sesame oil for the garlic ginger oil
dark sweet soy or plain soy
sambal or chopped long chili mixed with some water and salt, if none, chili oil will do
2 cups of your favorite medium grain rice
big bowl of iced water.

Trim the back bone and neck, set aside the skin, and put the carcass in a large stock pot. Add half the large onion and smash one thumb size piece of ginger then a liter of water into the pot. Start the flame and as it starts to boil set to low flame and throw in a tbsp of salt. There should be enough stock to completely submerge the chicken

This is what you will cook the chicken in for at least 20 minutes. Trim the excess fats and skin from your chicken carcass, you will need this for the rice later. You should have about a handful of skin and fats from the ass, the back and neck, excess skin from the edge of the breast.Immerse the chicken gently then set the flame to its lowest. after 20 mins, remove the chicken and allow to cool and drip dry.

Chop the garlic, onions and ginger to a very fine dice. I smashed the garlic and ginger with my cleaver before proceeding to mince fine. The remaining half onion should be fine.

Take your onion leeks and slice the root ends off then the remaining white to light green parts cut into 1 inch lengths. The dark green parts chop fine you will need this for the ginger garlic oil later.

In a separate rice pot, put the fat and skin over a low flame and let the simmer and melt into chicken chicharon, you can eat this with your beer. As this melts, slowly place your chicken into the stockpot. let it poach uncovered.

after about 10 minutes remove the melted skins and sautee the onion, and half the ginger and garlic. As it gets fragrant add your rice and make sure all the grains come into contact with the oil. Add your pinch of turmeric and mix it in fully. set flame to low and ladle 4 cups of stock into the rice pot a cup at a time. Turn heat on high and when the rice boils, throw in your inch long cuts of onion leeks and set flame to the lowest possible setting and cover. Don't touch it for 15 minutes, dont even look at it.

You can start cleaning up, and after about 10 minutes, your chicken should be done. Carefully take the chicken out so as not to tear the skin and submerge in the bowl of previously prepared ice cold water.

The rice should be done now after 15 minutes of cooking and will be ready to serve 5 minutes after you shut the flame off. Meantime prepare your cucumber, peel, cut in half lengthwise and slice thin and arrange layered on a serving plate. Prepare 3 small bowls for your dips. Into one place a tablespoonful of sambal, into another a teaspoon of sweet dark soy and a teaspoon of plain dark soy. Take a fresh pan over a high heat and put 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Place the remainder of the garlic and ginger and half a tsp of salt. As it gets fragrant add the chopped onion leeks and immediately remove from the fire and into a bowl. To this add half a tsp of
sesame oil.

Ready to serve! Take your chicken and with your hands separate the bone from the breast, then slice the breasts gently so you have nice little coins of white meat, the leg and thigh should be cut and sliced for easy cutting and eating later.

Layer them on the plate full of cucumber and paint some soy over them with a paint brush.

Winner!!! syempre Tiger Beer!

Osso Bucco

I had these beef shanks in my freezer over the holidays and had wanted to make Osso Bucco, a dish I hadn't done in a while. When I last made this and brought it to the birthday party of one of our professors in DLSU, they said nakakalimutan na daw nila ang pangalan nila.

My mom had one thing to say when I told her I was making it, " . .don't forget the grimolatta. . . " Grimolatta?!? what the hell was that? Thanks to the internet it was found. Here is what I did tonight and my son and I barely spoke to each other during dinner.

2 beef shanks (choose the ones with smaller center bones)
500 gms. Australian beef stew cuts (from SM)
one small onion chopped fine
one long stalk celery chopped fine
two small carrots chopped fine
a cup of diced tomatoes (as red as you can get them)
a chicken cube
1.5 liters of water
one sprig of fresh rosemary (eh, kung wala eh di half a tsp of dry)
half a tsp of dry basil
2 large bay leaves
1 tbsp salt
dash of pepper
olive oil
1 tsp of flour
a cup of wine (Shiraz was all i had, but if you cant drink it, dont use it)
1/2 cup of chopped parsley, and
the zest of one lemon - use a cheese grater careful just to get the yellow parts

to start, thaw the meats completely and pat dry.
to this add a tbsp of salt, dash of pepper and the flour, coat evenly.

Heat a large deep dutch oven, to this add the olive oil and brown the meats, as in brown them. After 8-10 mins take them out (there should be some nice caramelization on the meats and on the bottom of the pan. In the same pan sautee the onions, carrots, celery until translucent (yep a classic mirepoix) then add the tomatoes
as the tomatoes wilt throw in one chicken cube and crush it, then add the wine. Use your cooking spoon to scrape away the goodies stuck to the bottom of the pan, and as the liquid simmers, add about a liter of your water.
Now place the meats back into the liquid and lower the flame to its lowest setting. This should sit in the mixture, slowly simmering for 1.5 hours.

Sit back relax and get a beer, in fact get a whole bunch of beers. Don't allow the stew to dry out, add a bit of water every 10-15 mins if the liquid reduces below the level where the meats are no longer submerged.

When the meat is soft enough (use a fork), start chopping your parsley and grating your lemon. This is the grimolatta!!

Let the Osso Bucco sit in the pot for 10 mins and the sauce will thicken slightly by itself. Ladle the stew onto a bowl and sprinkle a generous amount of your grimolatta onto the top before serving. I served this with some potatoes I had quartered and fried.

With plain rice or crusty bread and a warm Cabernet Sauvignon, panalo.

The Crispy Liempo is Ready Your Honor!

If there were one cold cut in a decent Chinese Tea House that I always crave for, it has to be the Crispy Roast Pork. Call it by any other name, Lechon Macau, Roast Suckling Pig, whatever .. nothing beats the sensation of biting into a sliver of pork belly, layered alternatively with fat, meat and topped with a crispy brown skin. A quick dip in HoiSin sauce and it's heaven!!

On TLC one day they showed how a whole pig was roasted and this inspired me to offer up a baked pork belly for our New Year's eve family party. It is just so simple that it once again proves that the best food is the simplest.

You take a whole piece of liempo (pork belly) preferrably the rear end, where there are no more ribs to have to deal with. Wash it in running water until it flows clear, pat dry with a towel then again with paper towel. The piece i got was 2.7 kilos. Now take a sharp pointed knife and stab the skin portion of the pig with the sharp end just enough to prick the skin. I did probably over two hundred jabs at that skin in endless patterns, up and down, left and right, criss and cross, and round and round.

Now get a handful of salt, preferably rock salt and rub this against the piece of pork until all exposed areas have had their share of salt. Leave the salt on until most of it gets absorbed by the pork. This will take about an hour sitting out in the open.

On to your oven. The heat has to be turned up to high at the beginning to start the popping process of the skin in earnest. I set my convection oven to 220 C. and kept it there for 30 minutes. Lay the pork on a baking rack and place a pan underneath to catch the drippings. You should see the skin start to form what first appear like warts, then you realize the skin is popping. After 20 mins at this temp the entire surface of the skin should be popped all over, and you can turn the temp down to 180 C.

30 minutes more and you're all set. Take out the roasted pork, which by now should be studded with crunchy skin and allow to rest and drip. Place the rack over a plate that can catch the liquid that drips out. If the liquid is red, get your pork back in the oven for 10 minutes more at 180 C - otherwise if the drippings run clear, that's good!!

After 2 hours, the pork should be totally cool and you can slice it. Try and run a sharp knife over the skin, hear it crackle and as you slice through, you can see the heavenly goodness of layers of skin, fat and meat. Dip in some hoisin sauce. Get the Lee Kum Kee brand (it's the only one) or if the people at North Park are willing, ask for a cup of their Hoisin.

Beer, White wine, Brandy or even Coca Cola will go well with this, either as an appetizer or a main meal.

The Russians Are Coming!!

Every christmas my wife who is Serbian, makes a potato salad that she calls Russian salad. Just like most heirloom recipes, it was passed on to her by her mother, who got it from her mother (who was in fact a Russian). Like I've said before, the most simple ingredients can make a wonderful dish unique.

So finally, I squeezed that recipe from her.

tanyatom1: well u slice potatoes 1kg, carrots 500gr, peas 500gr, pickles 1 pack,eggs 8pcs, 1 lemon, 500gr ham, chicken breast 1 pcs, mayo as you like

That's it.

What she didn't say is that you should not overcook the potatoes. They should have some bite. The carrots must be cooked just slightly more than blanched otherwise the salad will spoil quickly. The chicken must be hand separated. The pickles must be dill, diced fine. The eggs hard boiled and she was referring to the juice of one lemon, of course, conveniently excluding salt and pepper to taste.

I would pour in some of the liquid of the dill pickle to add a bit more acidity and tartness to the dish.

When assembling the salad, the ingredients must be at room temperature then chilled. Never freeze this salad and when storing, spread a thin layer of mayo on top. it provides a seal that will lock in the flavor.

Potatoes first, then the carrots, eggs, chicken, ham then pickles, now gently spoon in the peas. Mayo and juice of one lemon last.

My mom looks forward to receiving her customary bowl of salad every Christmas.

Pinatisan

Some of the best foods I've tried were made from just a few ingredients.

This has got to be one of them. When we were living in the big house, we had a whole family providing us with home services, from kitchen, laundry, garden and cleaning service throughout the house. Fe was married to Pedro and they had 3 children. Two cousins lived with them providing additional help.

One of the simple dishes she would whip up could be prepared in 20 mins flat. This is my version using less fatty portion of pork.

I prefer the Butterfly cut or Pork slices they offer in Rustan's. Cut diagonally to produce a thin fillet, it cooks quickly and you don't lose much bulk to cooking plus it's not too fatty a portion.

250 gms. Pork cutlet sliced diagonally to come up with a small fillet about the size of sliced radish. you want 1/2 hte number of fillets as slices of radish.
1 whole local radish, peeled and sliced like coins
1 small onion chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed and chopped
1 medium local tomato sliced
1 tbsp. patis
water to simmer in

Start with sauteeing the onions, garlic and tomato over a low flame in a medium fry pan. You just want to allow the ginisa to wilt and turn translucent.

As it starts turning lightly orange because of the tomato breaking down, add 1/2 cup of water and allow to boil.

With your spoon or spatula press down on the tomatoes to crush them slightly

Now add your radish slices distributing them evenly in the pan, follow this with the pork slices evenly as well, several grinds of a pepper mill and allow to boil. Now add your tablespoon of Patis and stir gently.

Press down on the tomatoes again to squeeze the color out of them then lower the flame. As the mixture starts to simmer down, cover and allow to simmer over a low flame for 10 mins. Check that the tomatoes are crushed and the liquid has turned slightly orange.

You want the liquid to reduce to a bit more watery consistency - almost like a soup that's ever so slightly thick.

Turn into a plate that can hold the liquid and serve hot.

Lots of hot white rice goes very well with this.

Maybe even a cold Sauvignon Blanc, in its absence, beer will do

Sweet and Sour secret

Another saturday night and a chance to go crazy in the kitchen, It took me less than an hour to get this ready and it wasnt so bad.

My brother taught me this secret sweet and sour sauce which, according to him, was passed on to him by a cook at the old kowloon house in makati, right beside the Sulo Restaurant in quad at what is now a Rapide auto shop.

By 2 pm i had taken out and thawed a tilapia fillet cut into 1 inch wide strips and 6 shrimp (about 100 grams worth peeled and deveined with tails on)

First season your seafood with salt and pepper and let sit for 10-15 mins

While waiting slice a small golf ball sized red onion into 6 wedges, about 12 1 inch squares of a bell pepper, thinly slice half a thumb size of ginger and a small tomato

Dust your seafood with corn starch and drizzle with a wet handful of water just to moisten the mix. coat evenly and deep fry all the seafood, dropping them into hot oil one at a time and nudging them in the pan to prevent sticking.

Remove them when lightly browned and drain on paper towels.

Now you can do the sauce. Saute in a little oil all your vegetables, just put them all at once in the pan and saute and turn heat on to high. As it starts to sizzle put your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in this order:

a tablespoon of catsup (i used one jollibee sachet) - stir
a tablespoon of soy - stir
a tablespoon of cane vinegar - stir
a tablespoon of sugar - stir
it should be sizzling now
now pour 4 oz or a half a small glass of orange juice (instant is fine)
now wait for it to simmer then turn the heat down to low.

The secret is in smelling the aroma wafting into the kitchen at this point. if it smells like vinegar, its not ready.

when the vinegar smell is gone, just combine the drained seafod into the mix and toss turn onto a plate and time to eat with white rice.

The chilled Gray Goose on ice helped push this dish along.

Seafood A1 (ewan)

Maybe I've been working too hard that I dont have time to put one more recipe on this spot. Everyday I prep something - old or new - for sure that recipe is not here.

My kids visited their grandmother today. Each visit is a cooking adventured filled with a lot of memories (and I can rack up a few after 50 years) from the old house in Pasay to the big house in BF so when my son and daughter told me they were having crabs today at Lola's, i could almost taste it...

We are surrounded by so much coastline that it would be criminal not to know how to prep at least one decent seafood dish. In and of itself, anything swimming in the water has to be delicate and will not take well to extreme flavor. I promised myself I would have to avoid broth cubes, too much salt, too much pepper which is so different from how I cook really . . .

This one is anchored on a basic bechamel flavored with onions, carrots and bell pepper - kinda like a mirepoix without the celery.

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
scant teaspoon of olive oil
1 glass of milk
1 tsp green tops of onion leek sliced fine
1 tsp basil cut chiffonade (rolled and sliced into strips) cut only before adding into the dish

1 small onion chopped fine
1 small carrot diced
1/2 a large green bell pepper diced

fillet of white fish (grouper, snapper, dory or tilapia) about as big as your palm sliced to approximate the size of the shrimp.
4 medium shrimp peeled and split lengthwise in two

salt and pepper to taste

You want to have a nice creamy white sauce so you will be working with a small to medium flame throughout.

Start with a medium size pan, drizzle the olive oil and butter and as the butter melts, add in your onions bell pepper and carrots.

As the onions wilt and get translucent sprinkle the flour and make sure its combined well into the cooking vegetables. Keep it moving so it will not burn. Now you can add your milk, slowly but completely stirring while pouring.

The mixture will start simmering along the sides. As bubbles start to form along the sides, turn your flame down to low

Now add the fish fillet and shrimp a little at a time and allow them to be submerged in the roux.

Cover and simmer for five minutes or until the seafood is poached until cooked. Salt and pepper to taste. To this sprinkle your chiffonade of basil and simmer for 2 mins more and you're ready.

Serve over hot rice, hot pasta or toasted crusty bread. I think if I added some cubed potatoes and chopped clams, it could be a good seafood chowder. Definitely chardonnay.

Asado ni Ima

Here I go again.

The real pleasure in eating is to rediscover that flavor that brings memories back. I guess I'm waxing romantic because I just hit the big 5-oh and long for that flavor now that my taste buds have been numbed by a half century of abuse.

The Chicken asado of my dear Capampangan grandmother has been replicated in its entirety first by my mother, then by our cook, Fe, who had the diligence and patience to actually write down the recipes she learned. This is the bottom line of taking the ordinary and transforming it into legend.

The succeeding words are not mine, but Fe's transcribed from her handwritten scribble. (i will try to translate into english as necessary)

Ingredient:

1 whole chicken
3 pcs garlic
2 tbdsp vinegar
1 onion
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 red bell pepper

Paraan ng pagluluto

Igisa ang sibuyas bawang soy sauce veingar and red bell pepper

(Sautee onions garlic soy sauce and bell pepper, cut into strips i might add)

ilagay ang manko na hinati sa pahaba sa ginisang sangkap at tubigan ng isang tasa

(Place the chicken split in half lengthwise on the sofrito and add i cup water)

at hayaang lumambot ayon sa gusto.

(allow to soften as desired, she obviously acquired the capampangan flair for vagueness)

at pagluto na ay alisin ang manok sa sabaw at patuluin ang manok.

(when done, remove from broth and allow chicken to drip - i guess you set aside and let the liquid from the chicken drain off)

at ang sabaw na natira palaputin sa pamamagitan ng cornstarch & flour

(with the remaining broth thicken with cornstarch & flour, now this part i dont understand, you can make a roux with flour or disperse cornstarch in an equal amount of water)

at bago ihain ang manok ay ifrito ng kunti and manok sa kunting mantika at pritohin ayon sa gustong laki pagkatapos iprito at ihain

(and before serving the chicken, fry in a little oil, that means brown on both sides, as desired, i prefer it a bit burnt over a high heat, then allow to sit in the sauce and baste before serving.)

I can't imagine this dish without salt or pepper. Just the nutty flavor of the fried chicken skin blending with the soy sauce, and the sweetness of bell pepper weaves a magic flavor uncomplicated by herbs and spices. Just the unfettered mixture of the chicken leached into the soy sauce.

I would definitely take a sauvignon blanc for this one

Pasta ni Ima'

In 1989 I took a trip to Rio de Janeiro and stopped by SFO on the way, spending a week with my brother, Bernard. Part of our plan was to watch Dianne Schuur but on the way, we got stuck in traffic on the Sta Monica freeway. We ended up getting a bottle of Absolut and headed back to his apartment. With nothing prepared for dinner he went ahead and showed me how to make a pasta dish that we used to eat in Pasay city at the house of Mercedes Santos vda. de Paras where our grandmother Rosa Tayag Maglutac worked as the chef well . . kusinera. I am convinced that she was our personal experience with what Chef Gene Gonzales described as the legendary sulipan chefs.

Their greatness was not in the use of complex exotic ingredients but in the transformation of the ordinary into legend.

Here goes. You will need

1 Pork knuckle (front or hind doesn't matter)
1 medium white onion chopped fine
1 small white onion peeled and kept whole
4 cloves of garlic crushed and chopped
1 12" stalk celery cut in half - chop half fine
1 medium carrot split in 2 - dice half into little cubes about 1/4 inch square.
500 gms. pasta
water or light chicken broth (in typical capampangan flair, just enough to cook the pasta)
1 bay leaf
Olive or Corn oil, or any oil that won't solidify, the tendons in the knuckle will take care of that.
1 tbsp. Annato seeds steeped in 1/4 cup of hot water
3 hotdog or sausage (not the red but the brown - german franks are fine) sliced diagonally
Salt and pepper to taste.

First make your stock

In cold water, place your knuckle, incl the small white onion, half the celery stalk, half the carrot and enough water to submerge the knuckle. Start the flame and as it starts to simmer, ladle out the scum coming up to the surface. Don't let it come to a rapid boil at once. As the scum disappears you can turn your flame up and let it come to a rolling boil. When the knuckle is cooked, you can tell when you pierce the center no blood comes out, remove the knuckle and pull the meat, skin and tendons off from the bone. Chop this fine.

The liquid should start giving off a grey color. Return the meat, skin and tendons you pulled back into the broth and let it boil rapidly until the liquid is reduced to about ahalf of its original volume. You will notice it has actually turned an absurd dark murky green color. This is what you're looking for. Take out the meats and set aside. Salt your broth, you will need about one teaspoon. Pepper lightly then Keep the broth!

Saute' the onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Allow to sweat until translucent. Add your meats and saute lightly until they are well blended with the sofrito. Now slowly add in your broth then your spaghetti. Ima, would split the raw noodles in half. As it comes to a boil add the liquid from the annato steeped in water, and drop in your bay leaf.

As the liquid starts to reduce, add your sausages and mix once to blend in with the mixture. Watch closely, it will be done in about 10 minutes.

Try not to stir it too much - as the spaghetti becomes al dente, your liquid should be a nice bright more yellow than green colored sauce, just thick enough to coat the individual strands of pasta.

Turn into a large dish and serve at once. I like to drizzle a bit of olive oil after its turned onto a plate.

If this gets cold, it tends to coagulate because of the tendons in the knuckle. It's not exactly your healthiest dish but a minute in the microwave should take care of that.

And there you are, paired with ice cold Absolut on the rocks with a twist of lemon and nice crusty bread and butter, you'll swear by it.

Moroccan style rice with okra

I've lived in Cebu for about 3 months now and try as I might, it's really tough eating out alone. So i cook at home usually just for one. This particular rice is interesting because the okra is mucilaginous (Phew!) and releases a gooey slimey substance that lends itself to the rice and helps lock in the starches that rice tends to release while cooking so your grains dont stick together and you have a fluffy cooked rice where the grains dont stick but still retain that nice moist texture that makes rice the worlds most common staple. You can cook this in a frying pan, provided it has a tight fitting cover. If you dont have one, just use a small crock pot.

1 cup rice (unwashed but make sure you use clean rice, long grain preferred but any other will do except malagkit)
2 cups chicken stock
7 pcs okra (choose the smallest you can find)
1 tsp of raisins
1 tsp of uncooked, unsalted peanuts or almonds
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 stalk of spring onion about a tablespoonful when chopped
olive oil for sauteeing
dash of turmeric (whats a dash? about half a teaspoonful)
half a dash of coriander
ground pepper to taste


start as always wtih your garlic and onions sauteed in olive oil until translucent. Lower the flame to medium and to this you add the okra and the rice. Sautee briefly to coat the rice and okra with the oil then to this add the turmeric and coriander. Most likely your coriander would be dry so you have to cook out the raw essence of coriander and allow the oils remaining to releaase themselves. It will start getting fragrant and at this point add the peanuts. As it starts to sizzle, add your stock gently but completely. You dont want the mixture to cool down too quickly. The mixture should start boiling within a minute from when you add the stock, you could also keep the stock hot if you like. As it boils, give the mixture a stir to distribute the okra evenly over the top. Lower the flame to its lowest possible and cover the pan.

Cooking rice is not an art but a science. For every measure of rice, 1.5 mesures of liquid. if you use broth use 1.75 measures. Once the rice and liquid mixture starts to boil, lower the flame to its lowest point and cover. In 15 minutes it will be done, so shut the flame and let the rice rest covered for another 5 minutes so that the starches in the rice will retreat back into the rice mixture and not stick to the sides of the cooking vessel.

After 5 minutes of rest, you must fluff or stir the rice. Now you can serve but otherwise, covered, it will stay warm for at least another 20 minutes.

Of course white!! More like a chardonnay or Albarino. Nothing too sweet.

Arugula

I have to thank Billy King for introducing me to Arugula. Theres nothing quite like its nutty and mildly spicy flavor that just marries so well with Lettuce. I was at the Metro Gaisano in Cebu and found a section filled with arugula, been here a month but its the first time i've seen any. Here's something that i'm about to do with it.

1 small head of iceberg lettuce
1 handful of fresh arugula leaves stems removed
1 tsp of raisins
1 slice of white bread toasted and cut like croutons
1 tsp of peanuts cracked and crushed (try and get unsalted ones)

for the dressing

1 tsp mustard (they say dijon but american is fine)
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vinegar (ok balsamic if you've got some but use less)
2-3 tbsp of olive oil (pomace will do)
a dash of pepper

Wash and drain the lettuce
just grasp the leaves of the arugula and pull it from the stems
crack your peanuts, use the bottom of a plate or hand chop with a knife

now build your dressing. honey first then mustard over it now drizzle the vinegar
over it. With a whisk, whip it with regular even strokes while pouring the oil slowly over it. It will produce something like a mayonnaise

just toss the lettuce into it, add the arugula, the raisins the peanuts and the croutons and voila!!