Posts made in August, 2013

Chicken Empanada (Chicken Pie in Serving Sized Portions)

Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped onions 50 grams (3 1/2 tablespoons) butter 2 tablespoons cooking oil 250 grams bacon – sliced into 1/4-inch pieces 250 grams ham – sliced into 1/4-inch pieces 1 whole chicken – boiled till cook, deboned and cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1 small can Vienna Sausage, halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise into 1/8-inch thick slices (half moon) 1 small can green peas or 100 grams frozen peas and cooked 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 hard-boiled eggs – peeled and sliced into 8 half moons Crust: See Empanada Pastry Recipe Mixture for Sealing Pie Edges: 1 egg white 1 tablespoon cold water Mix together well and use to brush edges of pie crust and to brush top of pie. You may also use milk to brush edges and top. Procedure: In a medium wok over medium-low fire, saute onions in butter and oil until transparent. Add bacon and cook until half cooked. Add ham, chicken, Vienna sausage, peas, salt and pepper. Simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking at the bottom and to blend the flavors. The mixture must be moist but not wet. Remove from fire and let cool. When cool, put 2 tablespoons (for small pies) or 1/4 cup (for bigger pies) of the mixture onto one side of rolled out pie crust. Top with a slice of hard boiled egg. Brush edges with egg-white/water mixture. Fold over the pie crust and seal edges by making small folds around. Brush top with egg-white/water mixture or milk. Arrange pies on a greased and floured cookie sheet or line cookie sheet with baking paper. Bake in pre-heated oven at 175ºC or 350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown. Makes 30 small pies or 25 big pies. The small pies are good for merienda and bigger ones for...

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Empanada Pastry (Pie Pastry)

Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups (420 grams) all purpose flour 2/3 cup (130 grams) sugar – you can lessen this 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup sour cream 3/4 cup shortening Procedure: In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture (push mixture up sides of bowl), and pour sour cream and shortening into well. With a pastry blender, or fork and knife, cut sour cream and shortening into flour until particles are the size of peas. Using your hands, shape dough into a ball and knead until smooth. Divide dough into four pieces. Take one piece of dough and cover the rest with plastic wrap or a hand towel, until ready to use. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/8-inch thick. Cut out 4-inch (for small pies) or 5-inch (for bigger pies) diameter circles, using cardboard pattern as a guide. Gather the left over pieces and roll them out again. Repeat with other pieces of dough. Fill pastry with dough. Seal the edges with egg white/water mixture and make tiny folds all around the pie to seal edges nicely. Notes: Fill per batch of rolled out dough so that the dough does not stiffen. Remember that the dough was divided into four lots. Roll and fill per part of...

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Kalderetang Kambing (Goat Casserole)

It is said that the development of one’s palate starts during childhood days. If so, then Kalderetang Kambing would be one of those dishes that molded my tastes as it was a childhood favorite of mine. Lola Charing, my maternal grandmother, used to serve this dish during her birthday. During those days, it was impossible finding goat meat at the supermarket. One had to go to great lengths to find one, have it slaughtered, then prepare and cook it. As the goat had to be cooked in its entirety, it really warranted a special occasion for its preparation since that was a lot of meat to eat just for a family meal. That is why Lola served it for her birthday celebration. When I was older and much more into cooking, I asked my grandmother how she would cook kalderetang kambing. I sat by her bedside and as Lola Charing was going blind, she gave me the whole process, as a storyteller from long ago would share a tale by the fire: “Choose a young, healthy looking goat; if it is male, it is preferable to slaughter it before it has begun to develop mating instincts otherwise the meat will be too gamey. “Before slaughtering the goat, force it to drink a pint of native vinegar. For the life of me, that was truly hard to do – the goat refused to drink the vinegar. “Then, with a very sharp knife, slit the jugular vein and let it bleed to death. When that is done, you can remove its skin and washed the goat with vinegar. Cut open its belly and remove its innards; set aside its liver for making the sauce of the kaldereta. “Truss and tie the goat’s hind legs then hang it upside-down to drain the blood for four hours. While the goat hangs suspended, rub vinegar over the goat to remove the gamey taste and smell. “Once it’s ready, you can begin to prepare the meat. Cut the meat into 2-inch cubes. Do not include the head and hooves. Do not cut the liver into pieces. Wash the meat, then drain well in a colander. “Transfer the meat and liver to a large wash basin (palangana). With your hands, mix in calamansi juice, and salt, making sure that all the meat cubes are coated. Let the meat stand in this mixture for 1 hour. This will further remove the strong taste. “Wash the meat well and drain it thoroughly. Dry the meat on a flat bamboo strainer in a shaded area, and not under the sun. “Soak meat in sherry, mixing the sherry well with the meat. “In a large, heavy frying pan, over a...

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Pancit Molo (Pork and Chicken Dumpling Soup)

There is a town in the Visayas that is known for this soup and it’s biscuits from Panederia de Molo. I have never been to that town but I do like their soup and biscuits. Pancit Molo is a merienda favorite and a slice of Mamon Tostado goes so well it. Here is my version which I know you will enjoy. Ingredients: Dumplings: 250 grams ground pork 100 grams ground chicken 1/3 cup water chestnuts – slice into tiny cubes 1/8-inch 2 tablespoons chopped spring onions 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 50 pieces wonton wrappers Broth: 200 grams tiny shrimps – peel, save heads and skin to get juice 1 tablespoons minced garlic 2/3 cup chopped onion 1 tablespoon cooking oil 1/2 cup shrimp juice – boil the heads and skins of the shrimps with 1 cup of water for 10 minutes. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the heads and skins and return to cooking liquid. Simmer for another five minutes and strain the liquid. 1 tablespoon fish sauce (patis) 6 cups chicken broth salt and pepper to taste, start with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and dash of pepper Garnishing: 1/4 cup finely sliced spring onions 2 tablespoons crushed garlic that have been sautéed in 2 tablespoons oil till light golden brown Procedure: Dumplings: In a medium sized bowl, place pork, chicken, water chestnuts, spring onions, pepper, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Lay one piece of wonton wrapper on plate or chopping board and fill with 1 teaspoon of mixture on one corner of the wrapper. Roll the wrapper until past the middle; and then tuck the left and right sides on the opposite side of the middle; you have made a little hat looking dumpling. Set aside on a flour dusted tray. Continue with all the wantons and set aside. Broth: Using a medium sized cooking pot (capacity 8 cups), over medium low fire, warm pot for 1 minute. Saute garlic and onion in oil till onion is wilted and translucent. Add the shrimp juice and simmer for 5 minutes; this is to remove the fishy smell of the shrimps. Turn fire to low. Mix in the shrimps and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Add in the fish sauce and saute for 30 seconds. Pour in chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the dumplings and continue to simmer for 10 minutes or till the dumplings are cooked. Adjust taste before serving. Sprinkle with garlic and spring onion before serving. Note: If you do not have fresh chicken broth, or boxed chicken broth, you may use chicken cube or chicken powder. Use one cube per two...

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Dinuguan (Pork with Blood Stew)

Dinuguan (Pork with Blood Stew)

Filipinos can be very choosy about how they like their dinuguan; some like it dark with blood and the others prefer the pale, whitish one. Fear not, we are not the only “vampires”, blood eating people; blood pudding and sausages are also served in other counties too!  The secret to good dinuguan is the amount of vinegar used; that it is eaten the day after it’s cooked; and how well the intestines are cleaned (very important). To make it the dark kind, some of the blood must be mashed and added with the cooking early on. This recipe is the pale kind or Pampanga style. A good friend, Cora Ballestamon, likes to put in slices of liver and a spoonful of sugar in her version of dinuguan. Ingredients: 1 kilo pigs ears – cut into 2-inch long by 1-inch wide pieces 1 1/2 kilo porks’ Fallopian tubes or pork small intestines 1/2 kilo soft bone pork cut into 1-inch pieces or pork belly (liempo) – cut into 1/2- inch cubes 2 cups pork blood aka pork blood jelly – slice into 1/2-inch by 1-inch pieces (if you want to have the dark kind, save the liquid that comes out and use to darken the stew) 1/4 cup cooking oil` 2 tablespoons crushed garlic 1 cup thinly sliced onions 1 cup palm vinegar 2 cups water or pork broth 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 1 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns 2 pieces siling mahaba (lady finger chili) salt to taste – start with 1 teaspoon Cleaning the ears, and intestines: In the Western world and in Australia, the pigs ear is already clean; one can just remove the forgotten hair here and there. In the Philippines, we have to use a sharp knife to scrape off the hair, the thin membrane around the inner ears’ opening. That being done, proceed to cut them into size; bite size. Place the ears in a cooking pot with enough water to more than cover the ears; add a teaspoon of peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, and simmer till the ears are tender but still crunchy. If one can find fallopian tubes, they don’t need cleaning; just a good wash and cut into 2-inch lengths. Place fallopian tubes in pot with equal amounts of water and vinegar to cover the tubes and simmer till tender. Drain from cooking liquid and save cooking liquid. The tricky one is the small intestines. First they have to be washed well and whatever is left inside, be totally removed. Then cut into 2 inches length. In a glass or plastic bowl, dissolve a marble size of alum (tawas) in enough water to cover the intestines and...

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Buko Lecheas Gulaman (Young Coconut with Lychees in Gelatin)

Among Asians, the Coconut tree is known as ‘the tree of life’. From the roots to the fruits, one can find a multitude of uses. The trunk is used as building material; the leaves as roofing material or made into a ball for ‘sipa’; the ribs of the leaves are dried and turned into ‘walis tingting’ (garden broom); the imaginative exporters turn the dried ribs into baskets and the heart of the coconut into that oh so delicious ‘lumpiang ubod’ (heart of coconut spring roll). Even the flowers and the stems are dried and used as decorative items. From the young green coconut comes that refreshing ‘Buko’ juice (young coconut juice) and from the mature brown coconut that much used coconut milk (gata), copra, decicated coconut, and coconut gel ‘nata de coco’. The freak of nature ‘macapuno’ (coconut string), so good with halo-halo and as a topping to Leche Flan. What a wonderful work of creation! The Maker must have been truly inspired or is it a sample of the works of creation and we just have not found their uses? Ingredients: 2/3 cup (135 grams) white sugar 2 tablespoons powdered gelatin 1 cup cold buko (young coconut) juice 1/2 cup lychee juice (from the liquid in the can of Lychee) 1/2 cup canned lychee fruit – cut into quarters 1 1/2 cups buko meat, scraped into 1-inch string pieces 2 cups buko juice 3 drops red food color 1 cup whipping cream, slightly whipped for topping Procedure: In a small saucepan, combine sugar, gelatin, 1 cup cold buko juice and lychee juice. Let stand for the gelatin to expand. About 15 minutes. Over low fire, stir mixture constantly until sugar and gelatin completely dissolve. About 5 minutes. Remove from fire. In a medium sized mixing bowl, pour in gelatin mixture. Stir in lychee fruit, buko meat, 2 cups buko juice, and red food coloring. Using a 6 cups capacity serving dish, pour the mixture and let to set in refrigerator; about 2 to 3 hours. One hour before serving, whip the cream and spread on top of set gelatin mixture and chill for about an hour and then...

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Petite Fortune (Cashew Macaroons)

Petite Fortune (Cashew Macaroons)

There is this belief that the best way to a man’s or anyones heart is through the stomach. Before World War II, when my father was courting my mother, the ‘aphrodisiac’ that my mother prepared for my father was Petite Fortune. I would only taste it when a grandaunt (Rosario Arnedo Gonzalez) would bring some to the Sunday lunch that my grandmother (Rosario Valdes Gonzalez) hosted. As a child, I would stuff these bite sized jewels into my pockets and slowly gobble them up. They tasted absolutely heavenly! At that time I didn’t know how to cook nor bake or even have the guts to ask ‘how did you make them?’ When Lola Charing Arnedo Gonzalez (to distinguish her from my Lola Charing,since both were Gonzalez) passed away, I found that out the bake shop Hizon’s made them. When I would have the craving for them, I would go to Hizon’s Bake Shop and have my fill. I hardly let any bake shop or restaurant, get away with them being the only ones to fulfill my heart’s cravings. In due time, through research and experimentation, I finally came up with my own version, since I didn’t ask for the recipe from either of them. My husband, Stan, would say “these are so addicting; you can never have just one or two; you want more and more!” See! the old adage is true. Ingredients: 350 grams cashew nuts – slightly toasted in oven; cooled and finely ground; use a food processor or nut grinder 135 grams (2/3 cup) caster sugar 50 grans (1/3 cup) confectioner/icing sugar – sift well 1 whole egg 1 egg white 1/8 teaspoon salt 55 grams (1/4 cup) butter – melted 6 tablespoons thick cream Special Equipment: 50 pieces 1-inch diameter patty pan liner (tiny cup cake paper) 2 patty pans with 12 holes each (cup cake tray for tiny cup cakes with 1 1/5-inch holes) Procedure: Preheat oven to 300ºF (150ºC). In a mixer bowl, place all the ingredients. Using the paddle attachment of mixer, mix the ingredients for about 5 minutes; till well blended. Scoop 1 1/2 teaspoons of the mixture into each patty pan liner. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool in pan for 5 minutes and remove from pan and cool on baking rack. Store in air tight jar or package them in containers. Note: These scrumptious bites make good gifts; specially for the Christmas season since they keep well even if they are not...

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The Art of Making Tabang Talangka

I learned how to make tabang talangka as a very young girl. I would spend summers and All Saints Day holidays with my grandmother, Lola Charing (Rosario Valdes Gonzalez) in Bacolor, Pampanga. Sometimes it would be the season of talangka and seeing the whole ritual of this tiny crab being turned in crab paste (tabang talangka) was quite an adventure for me. Talangka is found in fishponds. The pond owners called them ‘singaw’ (because they come out of nowhere). When the ponds would be emptied and cleaned in preparation of the stocking of fingerlings, one would find the talangka in abundance, appearing seemingly from out of nowhere. In fact, pond owners would even poison them because they were the pests of the pond. Sacks of the talangka would be delivered to my grandmother’s kitchen then it was all hands on deck. First, the talangka would be poured into huge vats (batya), first to be rinsed and then the males would be segregated from the females. It was the tiny female crab that was needed for making this delicious paste. The males were then bound for the steamer and eaten; the prized ones were the females. It was the females with their delicious orangey fat that was needed to make the tabang talangka. In fact, one knew if the bottled paste was pure or had a mixture of male crabs by the color of the fat: if it was pale orange, then male crabs were added to it, lowering the quality of the crab paste. The more orange-y it was, the higher the paste’s quality. Nowadays, most commercial tabang talangka is a mixture of female and male talangka. Producers find it a waste to use only the female crabs, as adding male crabs into the mix add body to the paste. Also, a purely female tabang talangka becomes prohibitively expensive. Aside from segregating the males from the females, all the dead crabs would also be discarded. The major rule was: NO DEAD CRABS in the lot. This rule is rigidly observed: dead crabs had a rotten smell and would spoil the batch being cooked. Even when the crabs are ready to be squeezed, one had to smell each and every tiny crustacean just in case one dead crab escaped someone’s eye (and nose). The next step in the talangka preparation is more of an artistic approach. There is no measurement. One just knew, by looking at the tiny crabs, how much salt one had to put in to pickle the crabs. The crabs would now be divided into manageable amounts and put in huge casseroles that were covered, then vigorously shaken with both hands. I could see the crabs scrambling...

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Mango Samurai (Filipino Mango Crepes)

Many moons ago, there use to be competitions among the hotels in Manila as to who could come up with delectable desserts. My memory is a bit slow as to which hotel came up with this delicious dessert but that is how I came to make my own version. One would say that crepe is French, but we do have our fresh lumpia wrapper that is made of crepe, therefore, we could say that this Mango Crepe is also Pinoy.   Crepes – makes 8 pieces of 8-inch crepes Crepes Ingredients: 2 whole eggs 70 grams (1/2 cup) all purpose flour 50 grams (1/4 cup) melted butter 1 cup fresh milk 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Crepes Procedure: In a blender, place all the ingredients and mix till batter is smooth. Let stand in refrigerator for about 4 hours. Using a non-stick frying pan, pet pan on medium heat. When a drop of water dropped on pan sizzles and rolls, pan is ready. Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into frying pan and make sure that you fill the bottom of the pan by tipping and tilting the pan, covering any holes left with a drop of batter or just by tilting in that direction. The lift the crepe by using a spatula and see if it is slightly brown and then flip over slowly and cook the other side till also light brown. Place cooked crepe on baking or plastic paper, separating each with the paper and stacking them one on top of the other. Cover top with another baking/plastic paper. Set aside. Sauce Ingredients: 21 egg yolks 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar 1 cup cream 2 cups fresh milk 1/3 cup orange liqueur – Cointreau or Grand Marnier   Sauce Procedure: In a double boiler, place the yolks and sugar and mix tell blended and then pour in the cream and milk. Fill the double boiler bottom with just 1 inch water and put over medium heat and place top part. Mixing continuously, cook the sauce till it is slightly thick; the sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the top from the base and continue stirring till slightly cool; then add the orange liqueur. Set aside. Filling Ingredient: 4 to 6 ripe yellow mangoes – the best of course is the Carabao mango – peel and slice into 1-inch cubes Assembly Procedure: Use a 14-inch by 8-inch by 2-inch high serving dish. Take one crepe and place on a plate. Arrange 1/3 to 1/2 cup of cubed mangoes on the middle of the crepe and just roll up. Place on one side of serving dish, crosswise; repeat and place rolled crepes beside each...

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Brazo de Mercedes

When I was a very young child, and asked my grandmothers’ cook what was for dessert and she said “Brazo de Mercedes”, my minds’ eye saw this enormous lady’s arm on a dish being served. This woman’s arm sure tasted so good because brazo meant arm in Spanish-Filipino. Now I know that it is a rolled meringue with egg yolk (yema) filling. Ingredients: 12 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar Filling: 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar 1/4 cup (35 grams) all purpose flour 1/2 cup (112 grams) butter 6 egg yolks 1/2 teaspoon zest of lime – optional Procedure: Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) Line a 12-inch by 14-inch by 1-inch baking pan with baking paper or foil Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until foamy, then add sugar gradually in four additions, beating until stiff but not dry. Spread evenly in pan. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or till the top is a light golden brown Turn out on a cheesecloth dusted with a mixture of powdered and granulated sugar; half and half (about 2 tablespoons each); on top of cooling rack. Let cool for 2 hours. While waiting for the meringue to cool, make the filling. Spread evenly with filling, leaving 1-inch space on all sides. Leave until the filling is very cool but not refrigerated. Roll lengthwise into a 14-inch cylinder. Cut two pieces of waxed paper and place on each end of roll to prevent filling from leaking out. Filling Procedure: Combine sugar, flour, and butter in a double boiler over low fire and stir until sugar is totally dissolved. Add egg yolks, zest and cook, stirring constantly until mixture coats a wooden spoon. An old fashioned way to test if it’s ready is to place water in a small dish and drop a bit of the filling into the water and it’s ready when you can almost make a little ball with it. Be careful not to overcook or it will be difficult to spread...

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