At home at "A Taste of Home"

My family attended "A Taste of Home" at the Filipino Community Centre in Petone last weekend.  It's an event showcasing Filipino food and culture.  But to be honest, we were actually more interested in seeing MasterChef runner up Leo Fernandez in action!

There were of course, a wide assortment of Filipino food for sale.  What would a Filipino event be without food?!

Sisig - crispy, spicy bits of pork meat, ears, skin, usually served on a hot plate with a raw egg on top.  I love this dish, though I do need to ease up on the pork dishes...

Filipino makes it to MasterChef NZ Top 4

If you haven't been watching the latest edition of MasterChef NZ, you still have time to catch up with the Top 5 competition.  And there is good reason to watch, for we have our own 32 year old Leo Fernandez who made it to top 5!

 We weren't actually able to catch the early episodes ourselves.  A friend alerted us about this and we have been tuning in ever since.  We would have loved the episode where he showcased maja blanca and adobo!

If your region allows it, you can still watch the more recent episodes on 3 Now.  On TV, MasterChef is on Sundays at 7pm and on Mondays at 7.30pm.

In the meantime, here is one of Leo's recipes.  The judges found the lettuce spring roll very flavoursome so I would like to try that!

Photos and recipe from the TV3 website (no copyright infringement intended, such TV-related articles disappear over time so I would like to keep a copy here for archiving purposes).

Crispy Pork Belly

I came across this recipe from Annabel Langbein's website and I can just imagine how mouth-watering this recipe can be!  And to top it all, it just needs seasoning, pork, and milk!  I tried this recipe one Saturday night when we had friends over.  I was only able to get a morsel for my taste test and placed the rest on the table.  I never got to have a bite again - they made short work of it!

Embutido (Filipino-style Meatloaf)

The Filipino version of the meatloaf - the embutido - usually makes an appearance during celebrations only.  Perhaps it's because making this dish is a bit labour intensive.  It takes time to make a batch.  But that's not to say it's difficult to do.  Check out the procedure below and you'll see what I mean!

Since it is steamed, embutido is already cooked as is and can be served cold.  However it tastes best when sliced then fried, paired with ketchup or your favourite dip with meat.

Note that you will need a steamer (or a similar device) to make embutido.

Chicken Katsu

I had a sudden craving for Pork Tonkatsu, one of my favourite Japanese dishes.  I thought about making some at home, but did not know the first thing about making this dish.  Good thing Just One Cookbook came to the rescue!  However, in this case I tried Chicken Katsu instead and it was great.

Easy Baby Back Ribs

The first time my wife cooked this, I was intrigued merely because the ribs have been cut up into serving pieces.  I guess she knew that I prefer the meat to be well done.  I love this dish; one simply picks up a piece and gnaw until only the bone remains.

The second time she served some I simply had to ask how it was prepared.  She said that she simply cut up the ribs and marinate these in store-bought barbecue sauce, mixed with a bit of salt and pepper.  Leave to soak for at least a couple of hours (longer is preferred if you have the time), and then deep fry the ribs.

To borrow the words of a certain fast food ad, it's simply finger-lickin' good.

Inihaw na Liempo (grilled pork belly)

I had this during our vacation in the Philippines a couple of months back.  I totally enjoyed our lunch, and while I know that the fat is not good for the health, I could not resist munching through the melting fat, the crunchy skin, and the moist meat.  Simply mouth-watering!

Igado

I love having igado for any meal.  I request for either this or bopis from my Nanay whenever I visit her when I was still working and living in Manila.  I have never taken particular attention to how it is cooked (indeed, it's ready there when I arrive!), so when my elder sister said we will be having igado for lunch, I simply could not let the opportunity pass to learn how to cook this tasty Ilocano dish.

Paksiw na Pata (Pork Stew in Vinegar)

Paksiw na pata is an irresistably good pork recipe.  Its rich sauce is poured freely over hot rice, and the tender pork pieces will make you forget your diet.  You have been warned. :-)

Cooking in vinegar is an age-old tradition in the Philippines.  In the past, when refrigeration was virtually unheard of, cooking in vinegar was an effective way of preserving meat, fish, and veggies.  The process is known as paksiw.  But not only does it preserve the food, but it also makes a tasty meal which, like adobo, becomes richer the following day - if it can last that long!

This recipe uses dried banana blossoms (because this is what we have from the Asian store).  If buying the dried variety, give it a good wash before soaking in water to remove much of the salt content.

Pork Binagoongan sa Gata (Pork with Salted Shrimp Fry and Coconut Milk)

Pork Binagoongan sa Gata

Pork Binagoongan is - not surprisingly - quite a salty fare. But a little bit goes a long way when mixed with hot, steamy rice. The saltiness gets dissipated with the rice and the dish becomes so irresistible you momentarily forget your diet. You have been warned :-). The addition of coconut milk makes this dish even more appetising as it mellows down the saltiness and one can't help getting more sauce than usual to mix with the rice.

Total time: 45 minutes

Pinakbet

Pinakbet

Pinakbet is one of those dishes that taste great when immediately served, and tastes even better the following day as the flavours become more intense. Traditionally, ampalaya (bitter gourd) is also added. But for those who are not fans of this bitter treat, leaving this out still makes for a great pinakbet. I personally love ampalaya but we could not find some in time for this recipe.

Tokwa't Baboy

Tokwa't Baboy (Fried Tofu and Pork)

This dish is as straightforward as its name suggests. But, simple as it may seem, this dish has seen many happy days, as it is popular beer food. It's just the perfect fit for munching in-between gulps and chatter. Tokwa't Baboy, however, is also a popular snack item, usually paired with rice porridge. 

In a sense, Tokwat's Baboy is comfort food. Just mention the name and it never fails to bring out smiles all round. 

This recipe is not the traditional dish in a sense, as pig's ears are normally used. But pig's ears are hard to come by where I'm in. So I used pork liempo instead. Also, the sauce is usually mixed right in with the pork and tofu and served as such. But when we order this dish, we ask the waiter to place the sauce in a separate dish and we dip the yummy pieces in. That's because the tofu slurps up the sauce so you get mushy bits after some time. This is also how I present this recipe.

Meatballs in sweet and sour sauce

Meatballs in sweet and sour sauce

This is a really nice dish. Where else can you find bits of pineapple chunks in your meal? Very tropical. The sweet and sour combination can be a bit tricky though, but what we are looking for is the sweetness first, and then we get a hint of the sour taste.

We initially settled on trying to balance it out using vinegar, sugar, and pineapple but the last minute addition of ketchup worked really great (and it added a nice colour to the sauce). Also, you may deviate from the measurements listed in the ingredients list, depending on your taste.

Sisig in New York? Yes!

Great with San Mig Light too!

Baking ham

Ham is traditionally reserved for special occasions, especially for Christmas and New Year dinner. Last December, I experimented with glazing and after a couple of tries, I have one which I (and others who had the amazing opportunity to taste it) am happy with.

Grilled pork on a beautiful weekend

What better way to spend a sunny weekend than a fun afternoon with friends and food from the barbie?  And that's exactly where we found ourselves, basking in the sun and having a jolly good time!

Adobong Puti (White Adobo)

Adobong Puti is so-called because it does not have the characteristic dark colouring of adobo as a result of soy sauce.  Indeed, this version is noted for the absence of soy sauce, with white vinegar as the main flavouring agent.  As a result, this is a sour version of adobo which you can balance with a hint of sweetness using brown sugar.

This dish is best served after many hours, preferably overnight.  We had some of it for dinner right after I cooked it and it strongly reminded me of paksiw.  In fact, I was wondering if this white abodo is paksiw all along.  But when we had it for lunch the following day, the vinegar had substantially mellowed out and the flavours 'marinated' into the pork pieces, and it was good.  It is indeed adobo, but different!

PS This is different from the white adobo version where patis (fish sauce) is used.  Others though say that version is called pinatisan and not adobo.  Intriguing.  Might try that too some other time.

Dinuguan (Blood Stew)

I am a bit selective about eating Dinuguan. It's because one of the primary ingredient involves blood, and I want to be sure it was handled and cooked properly. Which is why I go for the home-cooked meal. There were instances, however, when I get my Dinuguan fix from the Red Ribbon Bakeshop in Manila. Strange that a bakeshop actually sells Dinuguan, but it's really good. So they're the exception. I like having their Dinuguan, which they serve with a piece of fresh siling pangsigang (green finger pepper). I cut the pepper open, scrape off the seeds, then cut the flesh into small pieces to go with my rice and Dinuguan.

Lechon Paksiw

Paksiw is essentially cooking food with vinegar and is closely associated with fish. Having a hot and humid weather like we have in the Philippines, I guess it was just natural to find ways and means to preserve food. And vinegar was just the right thing. Fish can keep for an extended length of time when cooked by paksiw.

Incidentally, this method also goes well with roasted meat, be it chicken or pork. Lechon, or roast pig, is especially popular in celebrations. In the event that there are leftovers, this can be transformed to yummy lechon paksiw. But you do not need to wait for leftovers. Cook up some pork and convert it to paksiw!

Pork and beans

Tired of the canned pork and beans where there is - literally - a tiny piece of pork swimming amongst the beans?  Why not cook your own?  It's loads better than the canned variety!

White kidney beans are normally used for this recipe, but this variety softens and breaks up rather easily when cooked.  This is not bad at all, though.  In fact, my older sister mashes some of the beans before serving it up, making a thick, yummy sauce out of it.  But for variety you might want to try out the red or black kidney beans.  These are better able to hold their shape, so you get to satisfyingly munch on the beans.  In this recipe, we used red kidney beans.  Bitter gourd (ampalaya) leaves are available from the Asian store, in frozen packets.