Powdered Ube

I always associate Christmas with Haleyang Ube
[ha-leh-yang ooh-beh], a sweetened dessert of purple yam
(Dioscorea alata). We always make it from scratch.
Mashing the boiled ube, adding milk and sugar and stirring,
stirring, stirring over low heat. This could take an hour
so be sure to have a partner in stirring.

Ube is used in most Filipino desserts. Halo halo,
ube ice cream, ube silvanas, hopiang ube and ube cake.

In a recent trip to Bohol with friends, our host family
served us a delicious ube cake. I was not able to get
the cake recipe but I was able to watch the process
of making powdered ube which they supply in stores
around Tagbiliran City.

Ube is steamed, grinded and dried

Ube Cake

Catsup Packets and Shrimps

I was surprised to see the jar of catsup packets in the kitchen.

I didn't know we had accumulated so much. We got these
from take out orders from our favorite fastfoods. Jollibee,
McDonald's, Greenwich, Pizza Hut. I like McDonald's catsup
packets since they serve Heinz, my favorite catsup.

What to do with these packets? We usually use them when
cooking tomato based dishes like afritada and kaldereta.
This time, I used them with shrimps.

The usual way to cook shrimps at home is "halabos" style.
That is, to cook the shrimps in its own juice and stir fry
in oil for a few minutes. Others would put a little sprite
or seven-up to add sweetness. I tweak it a little by adding
catsup and basil.

Shrimps with Basil

                1/2 k shrimps
1 cup basil leaves
6-10 catsup packets
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Clean shrimps but do not removed shells. Saute garlic in oil
and add shrimps. Stir fry until shrimps changes color.
Add catsup  and  little water. Stir for about 2 minutes.
Add basil and stir until it changes color about 10 seconds.
Serve hot.

WHB #311: Kulawo

I was introduced to Kulawo here in Pila. It’s an eggplant dish
with a smoky coconut flavor. Coconut meat is grilled before
squeezing out the milk to get that smoky taste.  You can
split the nuts first before grilling or grate the coconut
and grill it by placing hot coals on it. . Either way, you’ll get
that rich smoky flavor.

Dad says my grandmother, Lola Angge sometimes use banana heart (puso ng saging ) instead of eggplant.

puso ng saging / bana heart bud

I was able to try it out the other day when Dad harvested
a few puso ng saging. I knew I had to share this recipe to
Weekend Herb Blogging. This week's host is Brii of Briiblog.

kulawo

Grate coconut meat and place in a bowl. Make a well in
the center and place a live coal. Cover with coconut meat to grill.
Repeat the process until the meat turns brownish and smells
burnt. Squeezed the milk from the meat and set aside.

           Slice the puso ng saging into 4 and boil to cook.
Remove water and quickly shred using a fork. Add vinegar,
chopped garlic and minced onion. Season with salt and pepper.
Add coconut milk and mix well.  Serve with fried or grilled fish.

tuna crisps

My last trip to General Santos City, I was not able to buy

fresh tuna for pasalubong. 

But I discovered these in  Acharon market, dried tuna
skin sold for P300/kilo. These would make a good
pasalubong, plenty to distribute but not so heavy
in my baggage.
     

I cut the skin into strips and fry it into crisps.

makes a good pulutan and toppings for my salad

Chicken Inasal

Mom rarely cooks but when she’s in the mood she goes
all out to prepare it. She likes to try out new recipes
from magazine. She does it usually on Sundays. If,
during the cooking, something would go wrong,
that’s when she talks to herself and makes adjustments.
This is her “bulong” or secret ingredient as Dad calls it.

Last Sunday she made Chicken Inasal, adapted from
Yummy  magazine, September 2009 issue.

 Chicken Inasal

2/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soda (7-up or sprite)
1 1/2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tablespoon calamansi juice
  (we didnt have calamansi so we used dayap juice instead)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp rock salt
1 tsp pepper
4 pcs chicken thigh

for the annatto oil:
3 tbsp corn oil
1/3 cup annato seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp local wine vinegar

1.  In a bowl, mix, vinegar, soda, ginger, dayap juice,
     brown sugar,salt and pepper. Rub marinade into
     the chicken and chill overnight.
2. To make the annatto oil: add annatto seed in oil
     under low heat. Stir until the seeds releases color.
    Remove the seeds and add salt, butter and vinegar.
    Simmer for about 2 minutes.
3. Grill marinated chicken and bsate with annato oil
    until cooked. Served with rice and soysauce/dayap dip.

Crispy Gurami

One dish I look forward during summer is crispy gurami.
We used to have a fish net before and a group of neighbors
would borrow it. They would be gone for a week and when
they come back, they would divide the fish they caught with us.

Gurami is a thick-scaled fish found in fresh waters like
Laguna Lake. We often cooked it Pangat style
(cooked in vinegar, garlic, pepper, salt and simmered
until its almost dry).

It is then fried into crisp and served with tomatoes
and the remaining sauce.

Mango, Pomelo and Orange Salad

This is a Thai-inspired salad I learned from my sister.
She served it to some friends who surprised her with
an overnight stay at Lemlunay Resort in General Santos
City. Her friends sponsored the beach trip (read:
snorkeling and diving which I get to tag along!) as her
despedida before she goes to Thailand for work.

Mango, Pomelo and Orange Salad

large green mangoes
chopped fresh cilantro
dried salted fish
orange slices
pomelo slices
togue (mung bean sprouts)
torn leaf lettuce
crushed or chopped peanuts

1 pc siling labuyo (bird's eye chili )
patis (fish sauce )
brown sugar
dayap juice (local lemon)

Mix patis, brown sugar, siling labuyo and dayap juice. Set Aside.

Shred the mango by holding it firmly in one hand and with a
chopping motion, make slices into the cheek. Slice the fruit
thinly to create shreds. Repeat until all mangoes are used.

Place in a bowl and mix with remaining ingredients except
lettuce. Use small size salted fish like Dulong. If you got
big fish, slice into smaller pieces. Season with fish sauce
mixture. Toss well.

Arrange lettuce in a plate and add mango mixture on top.
Place the salad in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

Easy Shrimp Tom Yum

My sister bought some packets of Tom Yum paste from her trip
to Thailand.Since I was feeling adventurous, I decided to try it.

I bought some mushrooms (Volvariella volvacea)to go with it.
These mushrooms are dear to me. I took a Mushroom culture
class in UPLB. My family used to cultivate them using banana
leaves.

Everyday we would wake up around 3:00am to harvest the
mushrooms and by 5:00am I would be on a bus going to
Quezon City to deliver it to Crossings market in Cubao.
Traffic was not a problem then. The trip would only take me
an hour. By 8:00am I would be in UPLB for my first class.

Tom yum paste, checked. Mushrooms, checked. Shrimps
(I brought with me from my GenSan trip), checked.
From our garden I got kaffir leaves, lemon grass and dayap
(local lemon). Now I'm ready for my first Tom Yum.


1 packet Tom Yum paste
200g deveined shrimps
200g mushrooms
1-2 kaffir leaves
1 stalk of lemon grass
fish sauce
dayap juice to taste
3 cups water

Submerge the packet in hot water for a minute. Cut open,
the paste will come out easily.

Boil lemon grass and kaffir leaves in 3 cups water.
Add the paste and bring to a boil. Add the shrimps and
mushrooms. When cooked, add fish sauce and dayap
juice to taste. It's that easy!

Ampalaya with Egg

Ampalaya /bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is popular in the
Philippines as an alternative remedy for diabetes. The Philippine
Department of Health has endorsed the use of ampalaya
capsule and tea to maintain blood sugar levels among diabetes
patients.

Ampalaya is bitter in taste hence it is not in my favorite list
of veggies. There are many suggestions on how to cook
ampalaya without the bitter taste. From slicing it thinly,
sprinkling it with salt, squeezing out the juice, blanching with
hot water and no over stirring. I know of someone who keeps
quiet when slicing it believing that the noise will make it bitter.


Ampalaya with egg is a common dish sold in carenderia together
with Ginisang Monggo, Menudo, Pakbet and Sinigang. It's easy
to cook, cheap and nutritious.

Ampalaya with Egg

1 1/2 cup ampalaya, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium tomato, sliced
1/4 cup water
2 eggs, slightly beaten
salt to taste

Blanched ampalaya in hot water. Set aside.
Saute garlic and onion in oil. Add tomatoes and stir until wilted.
Add water, simmer for about 2 minutes. Add ampalaya, cover
and cooked for 3 minutes. Season with salt. Spread eggs all
over the vegetables, cooked over slow heat until the eggs are
slightly firm. Serve with hot rice.

Gensan Trip

Spent a wonderful time in General Santos City last month.

I had my fill of seafood, snorkeling, visit to their palengke
and watched the Pacquiao-Mosley fight live on the big screen.

Picture taking first before attacking the Seafood galore:
slipper lobster in garlic sauce, stuffed squid,

seafood platter (crispy shrimps, fish and calamari),
salt & pepper prawns, king crab in coconut sauce.

slipper lobster in garlic sauce

salt and pepper prawns

mr. crab agree: one happy face

Pacquiao-Mosley fight on the big screen at KCC Convetion Center

Manny Pacquiao wins! and the crowd goes wild...

watching the fight with friends

My trip would not be complete without a visit to their palengke

this bunch for Tinola costs Php 10 only

dried fish sold at the market

bought some dried tuna skin for pasalubong

a view of the beach at Lemlunay Resort

looking for Nemo

Bread Machine Fun

My sister recently bought a bread machine from her recent US trip.
We all had fun with it and enjoyed the freshly baked bread.

It so easy to use, just dump all ingredients in the machine, set the
cycle and wait for it to cook.

Dad with the bread machine

my sister checking out the manual

Me and mom checking out the baking process

Of course I have to pose with the machine

Voila! freshly baked bread

letting the sesame bread rest before cutting

basic white bread

Nutella goes well with hot bread

mom wanted some raisin bread but we didn't have raisins
that time, so we use trail mix instead

The Incredible Hulk's favorite green bread, Pandan bread :D

Inihaw na Bangus

I got this method of cooking Inihaw na Bangus (Grilled Milkfish) from my
sister. Her secret? Remove the scales to enjoy the skin of the bangus
and wrap it in banana leaves to get a very moist fish.


You can use boneless bangus sold in the grocery but fresh ones from
your local market would be better. Ask the fish monger to remove the scales
and clean it for you. Have it sliced for daing na bangus (the fish is sliced from
the back to expose the whole cavity). Some fish monger would deboned it
for you, if not then you get to debone it yourself :D Remove the main spine
and whatever bones you see.


Mix the stuffing (chopped tomatoes, onions and ginger). Rub the fish with salt
and place the stuffing on one side. Fold back the other side to form the fish
and wrap in banana leaves.


I find it hard to measure the doneness(?) of the fish since since it is covered
with banana leaves. My sister suggests to wrap the fish in 3 layers of banana
leaves. When the inner layer is already charred it is time to turn it to the
other side. When cooked, you'll get a very moist fish with a burnt taste of
banana leaves. Fish sauce with kalamansi would be the ideal dipping sauce.