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  • Pork Meatballs with Water Spinach Egg Drop Soup

    This Pork Meatballs with Water Spinach Egg Drop Soup is very easy to prepare. It uses common ingredients.  The main ingredients are eggs, ground pork and water spinach leaves!  With these three (3) main ingredients, you can come up with an easy to prepare dish perfect for rainy or cold weather.  Your family will love this recipe. They will ask you to cook it always. In case you want to cook this dish again, use ground beef or ground chicken instead.

    Even beginner cooks will find that this soup is easy to prepare.  The steps are simple and easy to follow.

    Water Spinach in Filipino is called kangkong.  It is widely available in the Philippines.  Egg drop soup in its simplest form is very easy to make and is common in Chinese cooking.

    Pork Meatballs

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    Ingredients:

    Pork Meatballs:

    • 1/2 kilo ground pork
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
    • 1 tsp ground pepper
    • 2 tbsp fish sauce (patis)
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced

    Soup:

    • 1 bunch water spinach leaves
    • 1 thumb-sized ginger, julienned
    • 6 cups chicken stock
    • fish sauce (patis), to taste
    • ground pepper, to taste
    • 2 egg whites
    • 1 tbsp cooking oil

    Garnish (optional):

    • leeks
    • fried garlic

    Instructions:

    1. For the pork meatballs, mix the ingredients well until sticky and form into balls.
    2. In a pot, heat the oil and saute the ginger.
    3. Add the chicken stock and start adding the meatballs.  Boil until meatballs are cooked.
    4. Add the water spinach leaves and drop the egg whites.  Stir gently to mix.
    5. Season with fish sauce and ground pepper to taste.
    6. Garnish with leeks and fried garlic (optional).
    7. Serve

    Pork Meatballs

    Pork Meatballs with Water Spinach Egg Drop Soup

    This Pork Meatballs with Water Spinach Egg Drop Soup is very easy to prepare. It uses common ingredients. The main ingredients are eggs, ground pork and water spinach leaves! 

    Pork Meatballs

    • 1/2 kilo ground pork
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
    • 1 tsp ground pepper
    • 2 tbsp fish sauce (patis)
    • 4 cloves garlic (minced)

    Soup

    • 1 bunch water spinach leaves , , to taste
    • 1 pc ginger (thumb-sized , julienned)
    • 6 cups chicken stock
    • fish sauce (patis) (to taste)
    • ground pepper (to taste)
    • 2 egg whites
    • 1 tbsp cooking oil

    Garnish (optional)

    • leeks
    • fried garlic

    1. For the pork meatballs, mix the ingredients well until sticky and form into balls.

    2. In a pot, heat the oil and saute the ginger.
    3. Add the chicken stock and start adding the meatballs. Boil until meatballs are cooked.
    4. Add the water spinach leaves and drop the egg whites. Stir gently to mix.

    5. Season with fish sauce and ground pepper to taste.

    6. Garnish with leeks and fried garlic (optional).
    7. Serve

    Recommended Cookware:  Masflex Induction Non-stick 22cm Platinum Casserole With Glass Lid.  A Stainless Steel Pot will also be OK.

    Other recipes may be found HERE

    This recipe also appears in So Yummy! So Easy!

  • Pork and Chorizo Stew

    Here is a pork and chorizo stew recipe that is very easy to cook.  This pork stew recipe is certainly very good for a Sunday lunch.

    What is Chorizo?

    Chorizo in English is a pork sausage.  From Wikipedia:

    Chorizo is a type of pork sausage. Traditionally, it uses natural casings made from intestines, a method used since Roman times.

    In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked sausage, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or added as an ingredient to add flavor to other dishes. Elsewhere, some sausages sold as chorizo may not be fermented and cured, and require cooking before eating. Spanish chorizo and Portuguese chouriço get their distinctive smokiness and deep red color from dried, smoked, red peppers.

    Due to culinary tradition and the high cost of imported Spanish smoked paprika, Mexican chorizo is usually made with native chili peppers of the same Capsicum annuum species, used otherwise rarely in Mexican cuisine, but is used extensively in Mexican-American restaurants.  Spanish-American cuisine adds vinegar instead of the white wine usually used in Spain.

    Chorizo can be eaten sliced in a sandwich, grilled, fried, or simmered in liquid, including apple cider or other strong alcoholic beverages such as aguardiente. It is also sometimes sliced and used as a pizza topping in a similar manner to salami and pepperoni. It also can be used as a partial replacement for ground (minced) beef or pork.

    pork and chorizo stew

    For this pork and chorizo stew recipe, we used Chorizo de Bilbao.  This is a type of sausage with lots of paprika and is either canned or vacuum packed with lard.  Popular belief is that this type of chorizo originated from Bilbao, Spain but it seems that this is a purely Filipino term as there is no such variant in Spain.

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    Ingredients:

    Instructions:

    1. Saute garlic and onions.  Add pork until brown.
    2. Add chorizo de bilbao, red & green bell pepper, tomato sauce, pork broth and white wine.  Let boil.
    3. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add the potatoes, laurel leaf and black olives.  Let simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
    4. Serve hot.

    pork and chorizo stew

     

    Pork and Chorizo Stew

    Here is a pork and chorizo stew recipe that is very easy to cook. This pork stew recipe is very good for a Sunday lunch.

    • 1/2 kilo pork (cut into cubes)
    • 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
    • 2 pcs onions (sliced)
    • 2 pcs red and green bell peppers (cut into strips)
    • 1 cup Chorizo de Bilbao (sliced)
    • 1 pack tomato sauce (250 grams)
    • 1 cup pork stock/broth
    • 2 tbsp white wine
    • 1/2 cup black olives
    • 1 cup potatoes (cut into cubes)
    • laurel leaf
    • salt and pepper (to taste)

    1. Saute garlic and onions. Add pork until brown.

    2. Add chorizo de bilbao, red & green bell pepper, tomato sauce, pork broth and white wine. Let boil.
    3. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the potatoes, laurel leaf and black olives. Let simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
    4. Serve hot.

    Other recipes may be found HERE.

    This recipe alsp appears in So Yummy! So Easy!

  • Filipino Style BBQ | Pinoy Pork Barbecue Recipe

    Filipino Style BBQ | Pinoy Pork Barbecue Recipe

    This pinoy pork barbecue recipe is simple enough for anyone to follow.  The Filipino style BBQ is the ultimate Filipino street food.   Everywhere you go around the Philippines, for sure there is a restaurant or food stall that sells pinoy pork barbecue.

    pinoy pork barbecue

    Street food has suddenly become popular in the Philippines once again. In the past few years or so, I’ve seen a number of food parks rise up all over.  Maybe because of the change in eating habits of people today. People are busier, there is less time to cook.  Together with the lack of time, people are also looking for cheaper alternatives to eating out. Hence, the popularity of pinoy pork barbecue.

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    Filipino Style Pork Barbecue are skewers of pork marinated in garlic, soy sauce, sprite (or 7-Up) and banana catsup.  Sprite (or 7-Up) acts as the meat tenderizer.  Banana catsup gives the pinoy pork barbecue its reddish color. The pork skewers are grilled until cooked and slightly charred.

    Very easy to make.  Can be eaten while on the go.  And most important, delicious!

    Did I say that they also are very good pulutan with beer?

    BTW, I served this together with the Ensaladang Talong which can be found HERE.

    pinoy pork barbecue

    Ingredients:

    • 400 g pork fillet, sliced finely into around 1 inch by 5 inches
    • 500 g pork belly, sliced finely into around1 inch by 5 inches

    Ingredients for marinade:

    Ingredients for the spiced vinegar dip:

    • 1/2 cup white vinegar
    • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
    • 1/2 onion, peeled and finely chopped
    • 1 to 2 Thai chili peppers, chopped
    • 1/8 tsp freshly-ground pepper
    • 1/8 tsp salt

    Instructions:

    1. Soak 20 barbecue sticks in water for at least an hour.  This is to ensure that the sticks do not burn while grilling.
    2. Mix all the marinade ingredients and then add the strips of pork.  Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours (preferably overnight).pinoy pork barbecue
    3. Skewer the meat into the pre-soaked barbecue sticks.pinoy pork barbecue
    4. Grill meat over hot coals for about 2 to 3 minutes each side, basting occasionally until the meat is thoroughly cooked.pinoy pork barbecue

    The grill I used is a Weber 741001 Original Kettle 22-Inch Charcoal Grill.  It is quite huge to grill only a few skewers of pinoy barbecue.  You need lots of charcoal to grill the barbecue.  It looks like this:


    Maybe I should get myself a Hibachi grill, it is smaller, and may be possibly used indoors.  It looks like this:

    What do you think?



    pinoy pork barbecue

    Filipino Style BBQ | Pinoy Pork Barbecue Recipe

    This pinoy pork barbecue recipe is simple enough for anyone to follow. The Filipino style BBQ is the ultimate Filipino street food. Everywhere you go around the Philippines, for sure there is a restaurant or food stall that sells pinoy pork barbecue.

    • 1/2 kilo pork fillet (sliced finely into around 1 inch by 5 inches)
    • 1/2 kilo pork belly (sliced finely into around1 inch by 5 inches)

    Marinade

    • 4 cloves garlic (sliced)
    • 2 tbsp brown sugar
    • 1/4 cup soy sauce
    • 1 cup sprite or 7-up
    • 1/4 cup banana catsup
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Spiced Vinegar Dip

    • 1/2 cup white vinegar
    • 2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
    • 1/2 piece onion (peeled and finely chopped)
    • 1 to 2 Thai chili peppers (chopped)
    • 1/8 tsp pepper (freshly-ground)
    • 1/8 tsp salt

    1. Soak 20 barbecue sticks in water for at least an hour. This is to ensure that the sticks do not burn while grilling.

    2. Mix all the marinade ingredients and then add the strips of pork. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours (preferably overnight).

    3. Skewer the meat into the pre-soaked barbecue sticks.

    4. Grill meat over hot coals for about 2 to 3 minutes each side, basting occasionally until the meat is thoroughly cooked.

  • How to cook Pork Dinuguan | Pork Dinuguan Recipe

    Pork Dinuguan is a Filipino savory stew of pork offal (typically lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart and snout) and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili (most often siling mahaba), and vinegar.  Offal refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal.

    – From Wikipedia

    pork dinuguan

    Pork Dinuguan is a type of stew made from Pork and Pig blood.  Pork Dinuguan is on my bucket list of dishes that I want to cook.  I have to be careful with this one as pork dinuguan is not for everybody.  A lot of people, particularly non-Filipinos, have an aversion to this dish due to the offal and pig’s blood.  My own children will say a big NO to this dish!  So when I searched for a recipe of pork dinuguan, I had to make sure that it is acceptable.  This one from Panlasang Pinoy uses pork shoulders and pork large intestine.  I might replace the pork shoulder though with pork belly and make a crispy version.  Or I might also take out the pork intestine too.  Who knows?  I will update this once I get to the actual cooking of this recipe.  It is a tradition to pair pork dinuguan with puto (rice cake) but plain rice will also do.  Below is a video of the actual process in making pork dinuguan (from the Panlasang Pinoy YouTube channel):

    Ingredients

    • 1 Kilo pork shoulder, cubed
    • 1/2 Kilo pork large intestine, cleaned thoroughly (optional)
    • 1 to 1½ cups pig blood
    • 2 to 3 pieces banana pepper
    • 2 thumbs ginger, minced
    • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
    • 6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
    • 2 cups water
    • ¾ cup cane or white vinegar
    • 1 piece pork cube (optional)
    • 3 tablespoons cooking oil
    • Salt and ground black pepper to taste

    Instructions

    1. Heat the oil in a cooking pot.
    2. Saute the garlic, onion, and ginger.
    3. Add the intestine. Saute for 3 minutes.
    4. Add the pork. Cook until light brown.
    5. Pour the water in and add the pork cube. Let it boil. Simmer until the pork becomes tender.
    6. Pour the vinegar in the cooking pot. Let it re-boil.
    7. Add the banana peppers. Cook for 3 minutes.
    8. Stir-in the pig blood and make sure to continuously stir during the first minute to avoid the blood from forming. Cook in low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
    9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
    10. Serve with puto. Share and enjoy!

    pork dinuguan

    Pork Dinuguan

    Pork Dinuguan is a Filipino savory stew of pork offal (typically lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart and snout) and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili (most often siling mahaba), and vinegar.

    • 1 kilo pork shoulder (cubed)
    • 1/2 kilo pork large intestine (cleaned thoroughly (optional))
    • 1 to 1 1/2 cups pig blood
    • 2 to 3 pieces banana pepper (siling haba)
    • 2 thumbs ginger (minced)
    • 1 piece yellow onion (medium, diced)
    • 6 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)
    • 2 cups water
    • 3/4 cup cane or white vinegar
    • 1 piece pork cube (optional)
    • 3 tbsps cooking oil
    • Salt (to taste)
    • ground black pepper (to taste)

    1. Heat the oil in a cooking pot.

    2. Saute the garlic, onion, and ginger.
    3. Add the intestine. Saute for 3 minutes.
    4. Add the pork. Cook until light brown.
    5. Pour the water in and add the pork cube. Let it boil. Simmer until the pork becomes tender.
    6. Pour the vinegar in the cooking pot. Let it re-boil.
    7. Add the banana peppers. Cook for 3 minutes.
    8. Stir-in the pig blood and make sure to continuously stir during the first minute to avoid the blood from forming. Cook in low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
    9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
    10. Serve with puto. Share and enjoy!

    Other Food & Recipes posts are HERE.

  • Skillet Potatoes And Bacon

    Skillet Potatoes And Bacon

    Earlier, I posted a recipe called Bistek Tagalog. Fried potato chips is what we pair with this all the time. But I decided to do something different.  This time, I decided to prepare Skillet Potatoes and Bacon.

    Skillet Potatoes And BaconSkillet Potatoes and Bacon is an easy to prepare addition to any meal. Everyone will fight for the last piece! It has crispy edges, the centers are creamy and with lots of flavor. When I prepared this together with the Bistek Tagalog, this was the first to go.

    This skillet potatoes and bacon dish is so easy to do, all you need are common ingredients and does not take too much time to prepare. This dish is addictive. You might as well double the ingredients to ensure that everybody in the family enjoys this.

    Ingredients

    • 3/4 kilo potatoes quartered lengthwise
    • salt to taste
    • 7 slices bacon chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
    • 2 tbsp green onions chopped
    • pepper to taste

    Instructions

      1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine potatoes, pinch of salt and enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes or until the potatoes begin to soften, but not completely cooked. Drain the potatoes and dry.
      2. In a skillet over medium heat, add bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally until it renders fat and becomes crispy. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.
      3. Add the potatoes to the pan. Cook, turning as needed for about 7 to 10 minutes or until brown and tender. Add the garlic, bacon, salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir for about 1 to 2 minutes until the garlic slightly matte. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve hot.



    Skillet Potatoes And Bacon

    Skillet Potatoes And Bacon

    Skillet Potatoes and Bacon is an easy to prepare addition to any meal. Everyone will fight for the last piece! It has crispy edges, the centers are creamy and with lots of flavor. When I prepared this together with the Bistek Tagalog, this was the first to go.

    • 3/4 kilo potatoes (quartered lengthwise)
    • salt (to taste)
    • 7 slices bacon (chopped)
    • 2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
    • 2 tbsp green onions (chopped)
    • pepper (to taste)

    1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine potatoes, pinch of salt and enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes or until the potatoes begin to soften, but not completely cooked. Drain the potatoes and dry.

    2. In a skillet over medium heat, add bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally until it renders fat and becomes crispy. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.

    3. Add the potatoes to the pan. Cook, turning as needed for about 7 to 10 minutes or until brown and tender. Add the garlic, bacon, salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir for about 1 to 2 minutes until the garlic slightly matte. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve hot.

    Check out other recipes HERE.

  • Bistek Tagalog

    Bistek Tagalog

    Bistek Tagalog, which literally translates to Tagalog Beef Steak, is normally made with strips of sirloin beef and onions slowly cooked in soy sauce and calamansi juice. Calamansi juice is a key ingredient here. Some of you may not know what calamansi is particularly to non-Filipino readers.

    Bistek TagalogCalamansi is also known as Calamondin. It is a citrus fruit relative to lemon and lime. In Asian cuisines, calamansi juice is also used for fish, poultry and pork seasoning. It is normally used as a condiment in Filipino cuisine. It is also used in the basic sawsawan (dip) of calamansi juice and soy sauce, for fish, spring rolls, dumplings and various meats. Other terms for calamansi include kalamunding, kalamansi and Philippine lime. If you do not have calamansi available, replace the 10 pieces calamansi with 2 pieces of lemon. Sirloin is a tender cut of beef and is generally used for broiling . Since it is tender, it only takes less than an hour to cook. Bistek is best eaten with rice. You can have it with regular steamed rice or with garlic fried rice.

    Ingredients

    • 1 kilo beef sirloin, sliced thinly
    • 10 pcs calamansi, juiced
    • 1/4 cup soy sauce
    • 1 pc onion, peeled and sliced thinly
    • 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
    • 1/4 tsp pepper
    • 3 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 cup water
    • salt to taste

    Instructions

    1. In a bowl, combine beef, lemon juice, soy sauce, onions, garlic and pepper. Massage marinade into meat and marinate for about 30 minutes.
    2. In a cast iron wok, over high heat, heat oil. Add beef and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Remove meat.
    3. In the pan, add onions and garlic (from marinade mixture), and cook, stirring regularly, until limp and aromatic. Return meat to pan.
    4. Add reserved marinade. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and simmer for about 40 to 50 minutes or until meat is fork-tender and liquid is reduced.
    5. Season with salt to taste.
    6. Turn off heat.
    7. Garnish with onion rings (optional) and cover to allow onion to cook slightly in the steam.
    8. Serve hot.



    Bistek Tagalog

    Bistek Tagalog

    Bistek Tagalog, which literally translates to Tagalog Beef Steak, is normally made with strips of sirloin beef and onions slowly cooked in soy sauce and calamansi juice. 

    • 1 kilo beef sirloin (sliced thinly)
    • 10 pcs calamansi (juiced)
    • 1/4 cup soy sauce
    • 1 pc onion (peeled and sliced thinly)
    • 1 head garlic (peeled and minced)
    • 1/4 tsp pepper
    • 3 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 cup water
    • salt (to taste)

    1. In a bowl, combine beef, lemon juice, soy sauce, onions, garlic and pepper. Massage marinade into meat and marinate for about 30 minutes.

    2. In a cast iron wok, over high heat, heat oil. Add beef and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Remove meat.

    3. In the pan, add onions and garlic (from marinade mixture), and cook, stirring regularly, until limp and aromatic. Return meat to pan.

    4. Add reserved marinade. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and simmer for about 40 to 50 minutes or until meat is fork-tender and liquid is reduced.  

    5. Season with salt to taste. 

    6. Turn off heat. 

    7. Garnish with onion rings (optional) and cover to allow onion to cook slightly in the steam.

    8. Serve hot.

  • Buttered Steamed Vegetables

    Buttered Steamed Vegetables

    Buttered Steamed Vegetables is a companion dish to the Beef Salpicao that I cooked.  Nothing fancy here and is very easy to prepare.

    buttered steamed vegetables

    The only thing that comes to mind here when steaming vegetables is diet food that it is boring and bland. Alright it is a very simple dish but would you call it boring? Definitely not. Steaming is one of the speediest and easiest cooking methods for vegetables.  It is an excellent way to bring out the true flavor of just about any vegetable. Cooked properly, steamed vegetables are loaded with numerous nutrients.  Adding butter to steamed vegetables is a classic, quick and easy way to prepare them, and you can serve just about any vegetable as a buttered dish. For this buttered steamed vegetables, I only cooked what I had available at home.  I had carrots, green beans and a can of young corn.  But you can use other vegetables for steaming like baby artichokes, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, baby or fingerling potatoes and sugar snap peas.  Go ahead and try this recipe!

    Ingredients

    • 1 piece large carrot, diced
    • 1 can young corn
    • 1 bunch green beans
    • 1 tbsp butter
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 1 pinch parsley flakes (optional)

    Instructions

    1. In a steamer (I used a pot and an aluminum collander), boil water.
    2. Once water starts to boil, add diced carrots.  Steam for 5 minutes.
    3. Add young corn, steam for 2 minutes.
    4. Add green beans, steam for another 3 minutes.
    5. Remove vegetables from steamer and put in a mixing bowl.
    6. Add butter and mix.
    7. Season with salt and pepper.
    8. Sprinkle with parsley flakes (optional).
    9. Serve.

    buttered steamed vegetables

    Buttered Steam Vegetables

    Steamed vegetables with the addition of butter is a classic, quick and easy dish to prepare.

    • 1 piece large carrot (diced)
    • 1 can young corn
    • 1 bunch green beans
    • 1 tbsp butter
    • salt and pepper (to taste)
    • 1 pinch parsley flakes (optional)

    1. In a steamer (I used a pot and an aluminum collander), boil water.

    2. Once water starts to boil, add diced carrots.  Steam for 5 minutes.

    3. Add young corn, steam for 2 minutes.

    4. Add green beans, steam for another 3 minutes.

    5. Remove vegetables from steamer and put in a mixing bowl.

    6. Add butter and mix.

    7. Season with salt and pepper.

    8. Sprinkle with parsley flakes (optional).

    9. Serve.

    Check out other recipes HERE.

  • Beef Salpicao

    Beef Salpicao

    Sundays are the times when my two college kids are at home and I usually come up with something to let them experience home cooked meals instead of the usual fast food fare they eat whenever at the university and their dorms.  I decided to cook Beef Salpicao, which is a favorite whenever we eat out in restaurants.  Most of the time, at least one of my children will order this, if it is on the menu.  Although I have a pretty good idea on how to cook Beef Salpicao, I still searched for recipes online to see if I am forgetting something.

    beef-salpicao-1During my search, it appears that Beef Salpicao is a Filipino dish.  Even with the foreign sounding name, I thought at first that this must be Portuguese cuisine introduced during the times when the Philippines was a colony of Spain.  According to the sausage wiki, salpicao is a traditional Portuguese sausage which by the way the dish is not. The Filipino Beef Salpicao is a garlicky stir-fried dish.

    I couldn’t find much on the origins of Beef Salpicao (in other words, too lazy to dig further).  But let us use some word play.  Salpicao (Portuguese) is a beef or pork sausage flavored with garlic and paprika.  Salpicado (salpicar), on the other hand, is a Spanish word that means splatter, sprinkle, dabble or pepper.  Since the dish is splattered with lots of garlic, could salpicao be just a derivative of salpicado?  I don’t know.  You be the judge.

    Beef salpicao is very delicious.  It is salty and sweet with the smell and taste of garlic.  It is as if the flavor was produced by too many spices although salpicao has very few ingredients that are readily available anywhere. It is a quick stir-fry dish with a very simple and uncomplicated cooking process.  It is a perfect main dish but is also good as cocktail food, what we call in the Philippines as “pulutan” (appetizer taken with alcohol, like beer).

    The recipe calls for beef sirloin cut into 1″ cubes but my meat shop misunderstood my instructions and cut the beef into strips.  Nevertheless, it still came out OK.

    For stir-frying, I normally use my Lodge cast iron wok because of the even heat distribution.  It looks like this:

    Lodge-Cast-Iron-Wok
    Lodge Cast Iron Wok

    Are you ready to cook Beef Salpicao?  BTW, I paired this off with Buttered Steam Vegetables and the recipe can be found HERE.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 kilo beef sirloin cut into 1-inch cubes
    • 1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
    • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
    • 1 tsp brown sugar
    • 1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
    • 2 tbsp butter
    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 head head garlic peeled and minced
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Instructions:

      1. Combine beef, salt and pepper. Marinate for about 10 minutes.
      2. Combine Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and red chili pepper flakes. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
      3. In a cast-iron wok over medium heat, add butter and oil. When butter begins to melt, add garlic. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 1 minute or until garlic lightly browns.
      4. Increase heat to high and stir garlic continously to prevent from burning. When the wok is very hot, add beef and spread across wok. Allow to sear for about 1 to 2 minutes and then turn to sear on other side.
      5. Add Worcestershire-soy sauce mixture and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for about 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot.

    beef salpicao

    Beef Salpicao

    • 1 kilo beef sirloin (cut into 1-inch cubes)
    • 1/4 cup Worchestershire sauce
    • 1/4 cup soy sauce
    • 1 tsp brown sugar
    • 1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
    • 2 tbsp butter
    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 head head garlic (peeled and minced)
    • salt and pepper (to taste)

    1. Combine beef, salt and pepper. Marinate for about 10 minutes.

    2. Combine Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and red chili pepper flakes. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

    3. In a cast-iron wok over medium heat, add butter and oil. When butter begins to melt, add garlic. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 1 minute or until garlic lightly browns.

    4. Increase heat to high and stir garlic continously to prevent from burning. When the wok is very hot, add beef and spread across wok. Allow to sear for about 1 to 2 minutes and then turn to sear on other side.

    5. Add Worcestershire-soy sauce mixture and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for about 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot.

    Check out other recipes HERE.

  • Ensaladang Kangkong (Water Spinach Salad)

    Ensaladang Kangkong (Water Spinach Salad)

    This Ensaladang Kangkong (Water Spinach Salad) recipe is very easy to make and goes well with fried or grilled meat, particularly fish.  This recipe only needs a few ingredients and takes just two steps to complete! Ensalada in English is salad.  Kangkong is known in English as water spinach, river spinach, water morning glory and water convolvulus.

    ensaladang kangkong

    In Southeast Asia, kangkong is known as Chinese spinach, Chinese watercress, Chinese convolvulus, and swamp cabbage.  Kangkong is usually available at Asian markets.  In case you cannot find kangkong in your neck of the woods, suitable substitutes are either kale or spinach leaves.

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    A key ingredient that makes this salad very tasty is bagoong.  Bagoong is a Philippine condiment made from fish or tiny shrimps (krill) that are salted and fermented for several weeks.  In general, bagoong made from shrimps produce  a firmer and more colorful paste.  Bagoong made from fish is in liquid form and is darker.  For this recipe, the preferred bagoong is of the shrimp paste variety.  Amazon carries a wide variety of bagoong from the Philippines.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 bunch kangkong blanched and drained
    • 4 pcs medium tomatoes sliced
    • 1 pc medium onion chopped
    • 4-5 tbsp shrimp bagoong sautéed

    Instructions:

    1. Put everything in a bowl and toss until completely mixed.
    2. Serve with fried or grilled fish and steamed rice.

    Ensaladang Kangkong

    Ensaladang Kangkong

    This ensaladang kangkong recipe is very easy to make and goes well with fried or grilled meat, particularly fish.

    • 1 bunch kangkong (blanched and drained)
    • 4 pcs medium tomatoes (sliced)
    • 1 pc medium onion (chopped)
    • 4-5 tbsp shrimp bagoong (sautéed)

    1. Put everything in a bowl and toss until completely mixed.

    2. Serve with fried or grilled fish and steamed rice.

    Check out other recipes HERE.

  • Lentil Soup

    Lentil Soup

    A few months back, I was in Laguna Central for a meeting. My wife, daughter and granddaughter stayed at Paseo de Sta. Rosa while waiting for me. My wife, while at Paseo, decided to buy lentils and Spanish chorizo from Santi’s Delicatessen. We love the products available at Santi’s.  This is where I get my bottles of red wine too!  So I figured it is time to make Lentil Soup.

    Lentil soup is a favorite of mine so I figured, why not post a recipe. Not wanting to waste these very good ingredients, I searched the web for a good recipe and found one at San Pasqual’s Kitchen.     This recipe is exactly how my grandmother used to make this soup when I was still a kid. I just remembered, every time my grandma cooks lentil soup, I would conveniently be at their place right before lunch to enjoy this very good dish.

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    The lentil comes from a bushy annual plant from the legume family and known for its lens shaped seeds. Lentils have the second-highest ratio of protein per calorie of any legume, after soybeans. Canada and India are the world’s largest producers of lentils.

    This lentil soup also has chorizo. Chorizo (Spanish) is a type of pork sausage that traditionally uses natural casings made from intestines, a method used since Roman times. Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with pimentón – a smoked paprika and salt. It is generally classed as either picante(spicy) or dulce (sweet), depending upon the type of pimentón used.

    Why don’t you give this recipe a try? I bet you will not regret it.

    Ingredients:

    • 1¾ cups lentils
    • 1 chorizo sliced, 9 oz
    • 4 cloves garlic unpeeled
    • 1 medium onion diced
    • 1 large potato peeled and diced
    • 2 carrots peeled and diced
    • 1 tbsp Spanish paprika
    • Olive oil for sautéing
    • Salt to taste

    Instructions:

    1. Wash lentils.
    2. Place lentils, chorizo, whole garlic cloves, carrots, and potatoes in a large pot.
    3. Pour water at least 3 fingers over total.
    4. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Let cook uncovered stirring occasionally.
    5. Fry onions in a pan with olive oil until slightly browned, then add Spanish paprika.
    6. Add onions to the pot of lentils. Salt to taste.
    7. Cook for 45 minutes.
    8. Remove the cloves of garlic, squeeze garlic from its skin and mash.
    9. Return to the pot. Salt to taste.

    lentil soup

    Lentil Soup

    This Spanish lentil soup (lentejas con chorizo in Spanish) is a great tasting dish. Try this authentic Spanish recipe at home!

    • 1¾ cups lentils
    • 1 chorizo (sliced, 9 oz)
    • 4 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
    • 1 medium onion (diced)
    • 1 large potato (peeled and diced)
    • 2 carrots (peeled and diced)
    • 1 tbsp Spanish paprika
    • Olive oil for sautéing
    • Salt to taste
    1. Wash lentils.
    2. Place lentils, chorizo, whole garlic cloves, carrots, and potatoes in a large pot.
    3. Pour water at least 3 fingers over total.
    4. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Let cook uncovered stirring occasionally.
    5. Fry onions in a pan with olive oil until slightly browned, then add Spanish paprika.
    6. Add onions to the pot of lentils. Salt to taste.
    7. Cook for 45 minutes.
    8. Remove the cloves of garlic, squeeze garlic from its skin and mash.
    9. Return to the pot. Salt to taste.

    Check out other recipes HERE.