Sisig Pizza

This morning, I had an epiphany. As i was sitting in front of my computer, swimming through the endless ocean that is called the interwebz; searching, pondering, quasi-meditating, something struck me– I bet sisig would be good on a pizza! Random, I know. Alas, like a lot of sudden revelations, it inspired me to get up and venture forth on a lazy Sunday morning (today is my Sunday) to get gather ingredients to make up this dish.

Sisig and pizza.  These things are two of my favorite foods ever, so I thought to myself, why not have both?  So for this post, PinoyGrub will show you how to make a simple but very satisfying only-a-fatty-can-think-of kind of fusion cuisine dish, the Sisig pizza.

Ingredients

Calamansi and Garlic Sauce (basic white sauce with added ingredients)

4 cups milk

5 tbsp. butter

5 tbsp. flour

salt and white pepper to taste

juice of 2 calamansi or 1 lemon

1 whole head of roasted garlic (roast garlic in 350° oven with some olive oil for 40 mins)

Toppings

Sisig (see sisig post. for this dish, I substituted pork belly for the ears/snout)

Shredded Mozzarella

Diced Jalapenos

Crumbly Fresh Cheese (such as quesong puti, queso fresco or feta)

Fresh pizza dough ( in this case, i used a store bought one. Don’t use that pre-cooked crust. Dat sh* nasty)

Making the pizza is fairly simple, you basically just put the ingredients together and bake it. The only step that needs some attention is making the sauce. It is made from a Bechamel, which is made by making a roux (heat the flour and butter together to make a paste then cook a few minutes, stirring constantly) then stir in hot milk until it makes a thick sauce. Modify the recipe in here as you would like, I think I used a bit more roux to make it much thicker, so that it would make a better base for the pizza. After making the Bechamel, you simply add in mashed roasted garlic and the calamansi juice.

After this, all you need to do is deal with the dough, oven temperature (about 450-500°) and assemble your pizza. Cook it in the oven for 8-15 minutes.

the ingredients

Roll out your pizza dough into your desired thickness, spread the sauce on top, sprinkle the mozzarella, and top with the sisig.

before

Place in the oven and cook for 8-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

after

top with diced jalapeno and crumbled cheese. Slice up and enjoy.

slice ’em up!

There you have it! A pizza that Pong Pagong would eat if he existed in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle universe. Cowabungga! Hanggang sa muli! Paalam!

Pancit Luglug

Pancit is a type of noodle dish that can be seen all around the Philippines. They vary from region to region, much like most Filipino dishes. There are literally dozens of different recipes, each unique from the other.

This particular Pancit dish, which is called Pancit Luglug, is one of my favorites. Why you ask? Try saying the dish’s name out loud. Isn’t it awesome? No? Well at least I think so.

Kidding aside, the thing that fascinates me about this particular dish is how well all its ingredients go together to create something that has a deep, rich flavor, which is unique and satisfying. Something about mixing ground up deep fried pork rind with flaked smoked fish and shrimp juice to create the base of the sauce, just works. Pour that over Pancit Luglug, which is a cornstarch based noodle, and you got yourself one of the most yummiest noodle dishes.

I am not too versed on the dish’s history but I would guess that Pancit Luglug is the child of Pancit Malabon, which is the main delicacy in the city of Malabon, one of the municipalities that make up Metro Manila. The city is known for their Chicharon or deep fried pork rinds and their fishing industry. Pancit Malabon, Luglug and Palabok are all similar. The main difference that I know between them is that Malabon is usually drier, while Luglug and Palabok is served with more sauce. The difference between Luglug and Palabok is the type of noodle used. Luglug uses a type of noodle that is cornstarch based and is thicker and chewier once cooked while Palabok uses bean thread vermicelli which is much thinner and is softer when cooked.

Like a lot of recipes here in PinoyGrub, Pancit Luglug is simple. The elaborateness in the dish comes from the preparation of each ingredient, but once you have everything ready, it is just a matter of putting them all together to create this wonderful dish that is both enjoyable to eat and a pleasure to look at.

This is how you make Pancit Luglug PinoyGrub style.

Ingredients

16 oz. package of dried pancit luglug (use bean or rice vermicelli for Palabok)

6 cups chicken stock

1 pound shrimp (shell and head on)

1 pound ground pork

1/2 cup Tinapa (smoked fish) flakes

2/3 cup ground Chicharon (pork rind)

3 tbsp. Annatto infused oil

1/2 medium onion finely diced

3-4 cloves garlic minced

1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in water

3 hard boiled eggs cut into wedges

chopped chives for garnish

Calamansi wedges (use lemon or lime if  Calamansi is not available)

Patis (fish sauce)

Salt and white pepper

Start off by soaking the noodles in warm water for 10 minutes then cooking them in boiling water for 8-12 minutes or just cook them according to the package’s instructions). Drain and shock them in cold water then set aside.

Peel and de-vein shrimp but keep the shells and head. Place all the heads and shells in chicken stock and simmer until you feel that the juices from the shrimp is infused enough in the stock. Run the stock through a strainer squeezing the shrimp juice through then keep in a simmer. grill or pan fry the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

brown the ground pork, season with salt and pepper then set aside when done. in the same pan, add the annatto oil and saute the onion and garlic until soft. Place the ground pork back into the pan along with some of the Chicharon and Tinapa flakes (leave a small amount out for garnish). Pour in the hot stock. Let it simmer then stir in cornstarch slurry. Simmer while stirring until thick. Season with Patis and white pepper.

Plate the noodles, pour the sauce and place the shrimps along with hardboiled eggs on top and garnish with Chicharon, Tinapa, chopped chives. Serve with Calamansi or Lemon/Lime wedges. Eat. Enjoy.

Pancit Luglug

So there you have it, a noodle dish of awesome, Pancit Luglug! Hanggang sa muli, paalam!

GBD Rolls

Egg rolls are finger food that are served as a quick snack on the streets, a meal eaten at home or as part of a spread on fieastas.  In the Philippines, they are called Lumpia and there are a lot of different versions of them.  They are either filled with meat, vegetables, fried or soft, or served for dessert like Turon.

For this entry, I was driven by my craving for Ilocano Empanadas.  Ilocano Empanadas are fried pastries filled with a mixture of green papaya and Vigan Longganisa, which is a type of sausage with lots of pepper and garlic.  Given what I had at the moment, I tried to make Lumpia with a papaya and pork filling and it turned out great!  I call this recipe Lumpiang Vigan (nope it’s not vegan lol).

Here is how you make Lumpiang Vigan:

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds Pork Belly or Pork Shoulder, ground coarsely or diced small

1/2 medium green papaya, sliced into thin strips

2-3 eggs

1 head of garlic, minced

2 tbsp. cane vinegar (sukang Iloko) or malt vinegar

Egg Roll wrapper

egg wash

salt

pepper

oil for frying

Start off by cooking the diced pork over high heat until completely done, then throw in the minced garlic then season with salt and pepper.  Set aside and let cool.  Mix in the beaten eggs and vinegar.  Get the cut papaya, meat and egg roll wrapper ready.  To assemble the rolls:

place papaya and meat on the bottom third of the wrapper

fold the bottom over and fold the sides towards the center

brush with egg wash and roll over

seal and repeat the process on a second layer of wrapper (if making large rolls)

fry in batches

I like frying them in oil that comes up halfway.  I get better control over them this way, I just flip them over to brown both sides evenly.  Fry them until golden brown and delicious.

drain over paper towels and serve with cane/malt vinegar on the side for dipping

So there you have it, GBD Lumpiang Vigan!  Hanggang sa muli, paalam!

Pinoy Slow Cooking pt.3

A lot of Filipino dishes are hearty, comforting, and rich, albeit their often simple ingredients and way of cooking.  Brasing, stewing, and boiling is also a very common method of cooking a lot of Filipino food,  dishes that are stewed like this one I am about to show you are often made in big batches and feed the whole family for several meals.  This particular dish is called Pochero.  Pochero is a stew with beef, chicken or pork (or a combination of each) and vegetables in a tomato based broth.  Three key ingredients in making this dish are Chorizo (not to be confused with the mexican version), Ham bone, and Saba bananas.  Chorizo is a sausage with a slightly tangy and spicy taste and along with it, the ham bone adds to the richness of the broth.  Saba bananas are like a cross between a plantain and a banana, they are starchy and sweet and are often added to Filipino stew recipes to give them a unique banana flavor.  Here is how you make Pochero, in this case, Beef Pochero.

Ingredients

4-5 pounds soup bones

1 ham bone

2 pounds beef shank/stew meat

3-4 gallons of water

2 large onions chopped

3 medium carrots chopped

4 stalks celery chopped

4 cloves of garlic

3 bay leaves

1 tbsp. whole black peppercorns

3 tbsp patis (fish sauce)

3 oz. tomato paste

4 chorizos sliced

1/2 head of bok choy

1/2 head of cabbage cut into quarters

3-4 potatoes sliced into sixths

3-4 carrots sliced

3 saba bananas cut into 3-4 slices

16 oz. cooked garbanzo beans (optional)

salt and pepper

olive oil

saba

Start off by browning the bones, meat, ham bone, meat (if using larger cut pieces) and chorizo with olive oil and salt and pepper in a 450° oven for 30-45 minutes, flipping to brown all sides.  You can also roast your onion, celery, and carrots.  Add all these except for the chorizo and meat (if using small cuts) in 3-4 gallons of cold water.  Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic and tomato paste and simmer for 6-8 hours.  Do not stir.  After the broth is done, strain it into a container and let it cool overnight in the refrigerator, this way, you can easily pick the fat off the top and discard.  Reheat the broth over the stove and place stew meat in and simmer for 3 hours or until the meat is tender (you can also cook this ahead of time in the broth along with the soup bones if you get shank meat and cut it into larger pieces).  Add the chorizo, carrots and potatoes and cook until right about done.  Place in the cabbage and bok choy.  When everything is just about cooked to the right tenderness, place in the Saba.  Taste it for seasoning.  Cook for 2-3 minutes more and serve.

simmering

pochero

So there you there you have it, Filipino stew, Beef Pochero!  Hanggang sa muli, paalam!

Pinoy Slow Cooking pt.2

This post will be another slow cooked Filipino delicacy.  The last post’s dish used ox tail as its main ingredient but for this entry, the main ingredient will come from the other end of the cow, which is tongue.  Tongue or Lengua, is a Filipino delicacy that is often prepared only on special occasions or gatherings because of the amount of preparation it requires.  Cleaning, tenderizing and cooking it takes a tremendous amount of time.  Otherwise, the whole preparation is fairly easy to do, just put a little love and effort into it. The dish that I am about to show you is a simple but rich recipe that uses cream and mushrooms.  This is PinoyGrub’s version of Lengua in Mushroom Sauce.

Ingredients

3-3.5 pounds ox tongue

8 fl oz. heavy cream

3 tablespoons clarified butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon calamansi juice (or lemon juice)

16 oz. white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

scallions, chopped

for boiling(A)

8 cups of water

1/2 onion cut in half

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

Start off by boiling the tongue in water for 20 minutes, then drain.  This will help in peeling the grey skin off the tongue.  Peel the tongue and boil in mixture (A) for 2-3 hours or until just about tender.  Make sure to not tenderize it too long because you are still going to braise it later.  When the meat is just about tender, take it out and let it cool enough to be able to handle.  Slice the meat into 1/2″ thick slices and marinate for at least 2 hours in the soy sauce and calamansi (or lemon) juice.  Also, take the fat off the broth.  It would be easier to separate the fat if you let the broth cool to make the fat solid,  That way, you can just pick the solidified fat off from the rest of the liquid.

the ingredients

Heat some of the clarified butter in your pan and brown the meat for several minutes per side.

browning

Take the meat out and add some more of the clarified butter if necessary.  Saute the onions until soft then add in the garlic.  Sautee for a couple more of minutes then add the mushrooms.  Add a pinch of salt and stir.  This will help draw the moisture out of the mushrooms.  Cook the mushrooms over low to medium-low heat for 12-15 minutes until they reduced in about 1/2 to 3/4 in size.  Add in 4 cups of the broth (should be heated).

simmering

Add the meat back in and simmer until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.  I simmered for about an hour, but you can simmer for a shorter peiod of time if you want a lighter colored sauce.  Pour in the cream to finish and simmer for 3-5 minutes more.  When everything is done, plate it up and garnish with the chopped scallions and fried garlic (if desired).

lengua in mushroom sauce

You can serve it over a puree of sweet potatoes, cream and butter (left overs from the recipe).

lengua over sweet potato puree

So there you have it, a delicacy filled with love, Lengua in Mushroom Sauce!  Hanggang sa muli, paalam!

Pinoy Slow Cooking pt.1

A lot of Filipino dishes take a long time to cook.  Food that is braised over low heat for hours is a common method of cooking a lot of Pinoy dishes.  One of these slow braised delicacies is called Kare-Kare.  Kare-Kare is a beef dish in peanut sauce with vegetables.  It is a very popular dish that is easy to make, but takes a very long time to prepare and cook.  Like most Filipino dishes, I feel like the ingredients and method of cooking are very simple and modest.  The beauty in the food is that they require you to put a good amount of effort, a good amount of love, into making them.  The key to this dish is to pay very close attention in preparing each component of the dish.  This is PinoyGrub’s take on Kare-Kare.

Ingredients

3 pounds ox tail, cut into pieces

2 pounds honeycomb tripe (This is optional.  Most people do not like it, but I do!)

2 small eggplants, cut into rings, dredged in flour and fried

1 baby bok choy, blanched

1/2 pound green beans, blanched

1-2 tablespoon Patis (fish sauce)

1/3 large onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1.5-2 cups peanut paste*

3 tablespoons toasted rice powder**

1 cup annatto infused broth***

(A) For boiling the tripe

8 cups water

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

4 tablespoons salt

2 lemons, halved

2 dried bay leaves

1/3 large onion, cut in half

(B) For boiling the ox tail

8 cups water

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

4 tablespoons salt

2 dried bay leaves

1/3 large onion, cut in half

Bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) to serve on the side

*turn unsalted roasted peanuts into paste by taking 2 cups of peanuts and running them through the food processor for 5-10 minutes until they turn into paste, much like a looser peanut butter.  You can add some oil while processing to help in pureeing, but it might not be necessary.

**roasted rice powder is made by toasting uncooked grains of rice in a pan over high heat until they smell nutty and then ground into a fine powder through a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder.

*** Infuse 1 cup of the broth from the ox tail with 2-3 tablespoons of annatto seed by steeping the seeds in the hot broth for 10-15 minutes and running through a strainer to take the seeds out.  The broth should have a deep red-orange color.

Start off the dish by boiling the tripe in salted water for 10 minutes then discarding the water.  Boil again in mixture (A) until tender.  This will take 2-2.5 hours.  Make sure not to boil it too soft, as you will still braise it along with the other ingredients later.  Boil the ox tail in mixture (B) for roughly the same amount of time.  Drain the meat and save the broth for later (use one cup of broth to make annatto-infused broth).  Let the broth cool over the counter or in the refrigerator to harden the layer of fat so it is easier to take off and discard.

peanut paste, annato broth, toasted rice powder

When everything is ready.  You can start putting the dish together.  Saute the onions and garlic in oil until they become soft then put the meat and tripe in.  Saute for a couple of minutes with the Patis then pour in the broth (which should be heated) along with the annatto broth.  Let it boil then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

simmering

Take out the meat and tripe then mix in the peanut paste and stir until completely incorporated then stir in the rice powder.  Continuously stir the sauce until the rice powder is dissolved then cover and let simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

the sauce

When everything is done, put all the ingredients together and serve with Bagoong.  Enjoy!

kare-kare

So there you have it, Filipino feel-good food, Kare-Kare!  Hanggang sa muli, paalam!

Patatim and Fried Rice

For this entry, I will show you a dish called Patatim.  The name patatim comes from the two words pata, which means pork leg, and itim, which means black.  So basically, this dish’s name translates to black/dark leg of pork.

Pata is a popular cut of meat in the Philippines.  There are several ways of cooking it, one of the most popular being the Patatim.  This dish is prepared by braising it slowly along with vegetables and spices.  This is pinoygrub’s way of making Patatim.

Ingredients

One leg of pork, with knuckles intact (about 5 pounds)

1 large onion

3 cloves of garlic

2 medium carrots

6-8 leaves napa cabbage

6 oz. dried shitake mushrooms

3 pieces star anise

1 tsp whole black peppercorn

1 cup dark soy sauce

1 cup oyster sauce

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chinese cooking wine or sherry

6 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 6 tbsp water

8-10 cups water

water for boiling

Start off by boiling the pata in a pot with enough water to cover it completely.  Boil for 30-40 minutes then drain the meat and discard the water and let cool.  Make cuts on the pata up to the bone, but do not take the meat off.  Put the pata back into the pot and combine with all the liquid ingredients, black peppercorn, brown sugar, and star anise.  Braise for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender.  Take the meat and place in a 400°F oven for 15-20 minutes, flipping the pata half way through the cooking time.  While the pata is in the oven, place the vegetables and mushrooms except for the cabbage.  Take the meat out of the oven and let it stand for 3 minutes.  Put the cabbage into the pot and cook for 3 minutes.  Arrange the vegetables and mushrooms on your serving platter.  Mix in the cornstarch mixture into the sauce and stir until it thickens.  Pour the sauce over the meat and serve with fried rice.

patatim

Fried rice is a common dish served in the Philippines.  Left over rice from the night before, is usually fried along with some left over grilled or fried dish that was served with it the next day.  For this entry, I will show you how to make fried rice to go along with your Patatim.

Ingredients

6 cups cooked white rice

4 pieces lap cheong (chinese sausage) (you can also other left overs like left over pinoy bbq), cut into pieces

3 eggs scrambled and fried, cut into pieces

1 pound bag of frozen peas and carrots

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 stalked of green onions chopped

3 tbs. dark soy sauce (add more according to your taste if desired)

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Start off by rendering the fat off the chinese sausage on medium-low heat, then set aside.  Turn the heat on high then quickly stir-fry the garlic for a couple seconds then toss in the rice.  put in the soy sauce and sesame oil and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients and stir-fry some more until everything is hot and done.  Serve immediately with the Patatim.

fried rice

fried rice and patatim

So there you have it, Patatim and Fried Rice!  Hanggang sa muli, paalam!

A Very Jolly Kind of Food

American culture has also been a huge influence to Filipinos, given the country’s history.   For a time, the Philippines was under the rule if the United States.  During this time, I would imagine that a lot of facets of Filipino culture changed and shifted more towards that of modern America.  Filipinos over time, would adapt their everyday way of living towards a more westernized (more like Americanized) way.  This would mean that food culture favor big, chain fast food joints.  Now when you talk about fast food in the Philippines, one would immediately think about fried chicken and spaghetti.

For this entry, I will show you my take on Pinoy Fried Chicken and Spaghetti.  This particular dish is a favorite among kids and kids at heart and is often served on children’s birthday parties.  Also, you are hard pressed to not find this on the menu of any Pinoy fast food joint.  So, here is how you make it.

Pinoy Spaghetti 

1 pack dried spaghetti noodles (8 oz.)

1-2 pounds ground beef/pork or combination of both

4-6 hotdogs, cut on the bias

bacon strips

&bacon strips

&bacon strips

&bacon strips (4 in total, cut into tiny pieces)

1/2 onion, grated

2 medium carrots, grated

3- cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups tomato sauce

2 cups banana ketchup

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 cup grated cheese (any good melting cheese will do, i used munster)

salt and pepper

First, Cook the pasta according to the Package’s instructions

Start off the sauce by rendering the fat off the bacon.  After the bacon bits have crisped up, take it out and set aside.  Leave around 1 tbsp. of fat in the pan.  Put in the ground meat and cook until brown, season with salt and pepper, then set aside.  Saute the onions, garlic, and carrots in the oil for around 10 minutes then put the meat back in.  Pour in the tomato sauce, ketchup and sugar and season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Put in the sliced hotdogs and simmer for 10 more minutes.

the sauce

When the sauce is ready, pour it on the cooked noodles and top it off immediately with the grated cheese and bacon bits.  Serve with the Pinoy Fried Chicken.

Fried Chicken

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces

oil for frying

dredging mixture

1 1/2 cup semolina flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup corn meal)

1 1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon granulated onion

brine

1 gallon watter

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup white sugar

gravy

1/2 teaspoon flour

chicken stock

a pinch of sugar

salt and pepper

Boil the water with the salt and sugar to dissolve them completely.  let it cool down completely and soak the chicken pieces for at least 3 hours, 6 at max (any longer and the chicken will come out rubbery and salty).  After brining, wash the chicken pieces and pat them dry.  Dredge the chicken pieces in the mixture and let them air-dry for around 20 minutes.

the chicken

This is a good time to start heating up you oil in a big, heavy pan on medium heat.  The oil should cover 1/2 of the chicken pieces when placed in the pan.  When the oil is hot ( you can check by putting a little bit of the flour in, if it sizzles, then it is ready), place the chicken pieces carefully one at a time.  keep flipping the chicken pieces 5 minutes per side for 20-30 minutes to keep them from developing burned spots.  Place them on a cooling rack or a dish lined with paper towels after to drain them from the fat.  Meanwhile, pour the fat out of the pan, except for about 1/2 tablespoon and make a roux out of it and the 1/2 teaspoon of flour.  cook for a couple of minutes then whisk in the chicken stock, sugar, salt and peper. Serve with the Pinoy Spaghetti.

fried chicken and spaghetti

pinoy spaghetti and fried chicken

So there you have it, Filipino fast food, Pinoy Fried Chicken and Spaghetti!  Hanggang sa muli, paalam!

Pancit is Bananas

As much as the Spanish has influenced Filipino cuisine, Chinese is also a big part of Filipino food culture.  A lot of techniques and methods of cooking Filipino food were adapted from the Chinese, from wok cooking to pinoy versions of dim sum.  A wide variety of noodle dishes or pancit can be seen in Filipino food and various regions have their own type of pancit.  I will show you a dish that is almost always served on Filipino birthday parties and gatherings.  It is a customary belief that eating long noodles on your birthday would make your life longer.  That is how I know that I will live to be a thousand years old, just like a dragon.  The dish that I will show you how to make is the pinoy version of chow mein, called Pancit Canton.

Pancit Canton can be prepared in different ways with different ingredients, even I make it differently all the time.  But today, I will show you how to make a basic version of it.

Ingredients

1 pound of fresh or dried pancit canton noodles

4 pieces of lap cheong (chinese sausage) sliced thinly on the bias

10 oz. shrimp, peeled and deveined, with the heads and shells set aside for later

1 medium carrot, around 5-7 oz. julliened

1/4 of a head of cabbage, around 7-10 oz. shredded

1/2 a medium onion sliced thinly

3 cloves of garlic minced

3 tbs. soy sauce

1 tbs. fish sauce

juice of 2 calamansi or 1/2 a lemon

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

Boil the shrimp heads with the 2 cups of water for 10-15 minutes then strain and set aside.  You should then boil it with the 2 cups of chicken broth while starting to cook your pancit.

For the pancit, start off by placing the sliced Chinese sausage in the wok and turning the heat on medium-low.  The sausage will render a good amount of fat so there is no need to add oil.  Cook it for 10-20 minutes, stirring constantly to keep it from burning.  After the sausage has crisped up a little bit, take it out and set it aside.  Leave the oil in the wok and turn up the heat to high.  When you first see smoke coming from your wok, it is time to stir fry.  Put the peeled shrimp in and stir fry for a minute or two then take it out and set aside.  Put the onions, garlic and stir fry for a minute or two before putting the carrots and cabbage in.  Stir fry for 2-3 minutes then throw in the noodles.  Again, stir-fry for a couple of minutes then add some of the hot broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, and calamansi/lemon juice.  The amount of broth you put in will depend on your noodles, if you are cooking dry noodles, you will have to put some more, adding a little at a time until you get the right done-ness.  Turn off the heat when the noodles create a nice thick sauce from the broth.  Stir the shrimp back in.  If you want, you can stir-fry the noodles some more in peanut oil for added flavor.  When all is done, plate your dish and serve immediately.  You can garnish with green onions, fried garlic, and calamansi halves or wedges of lemon.

pancit canton

pancit canton

So there you have it!  The Filipino birthday food, Pancit Canton.  Hanggang sa muli, paalam!

Offal is not so Awful

In my last post, I touched upon Filipino food using offal ingredients.  Offal is any part of an animal that is often discarded, like internal organs, the head, etc.  Like in most Asian cultures, Pinoys use most parts of an animal in our food.  We tend not to be queesy when it comes to food heck, ever heard of Balut?

For this entry, I will show you one of the more popular dishes in the Philippines.  It is served in a lot of places, may it be in small side street eateries or in big chain restaurants.  It uses pork cheeks, snout and ears and chicken liver and is often served sizzling hot on a cast iron plate.  This dish is called Sisig.  Different places have different ways of making sisig, and all of them are good.  Here, I will show you how to make PinoyGrub’s version.

So here is how you make my version of Sisig.

Ingredients

1.5 pounds pork cheeks/snout/ears

4-5 pieces of chicken liver

1/2 medium onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

juice of 2 calamansi or 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 piece siling labuyo or thai bird chili minced (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

for boiling the pork

1/2 onion

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon whole pepper corn

salt to taste

water enough to cover the meat

for the calamansi aioli

1-2 cloves of garlic made into a paste

juice of 1-2 calamnsi

1/2 cup olive oil (or 1/2 olive oil 1/2 vegetable oil)

1 egg yolk

salt and pepper to taste

Start off by cleaning the pork parts and boiling them in the water with onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper for around 1 hour or until the meat is tender.  After taking out the meat, let it air-dry for around 20 minutes.  This is a good time to fire up your grill, but you can also put it in the broiler.  After the meat has dried up for a little bit, put it on the grill/broiler until the skin blisters and crisps up a little bit.  Also, grill the chicken liver until they are done for around 10-15 minutes.  When everything is done grilling,  let them cool down just enough for you to be able to handle them.  This is the fun part.  Take your pork parts and chicken liver and mince them to little tiny pieces.

chop 'em up

This is a good time to heat up your pan.  Cast iron would be best since it holds up so much heat.  When everything has been chopped up, place all the remaining ingredients, except for the aioli and chili peppers in the pan and mix them up.  Cook for about 5 mins, stirring it up constantly.

sizzling

For the aioli, here is a good youtube video that teaches you how to make a basic one, just replace the lemon with calamansi juice:

Calamansi Aioli will be a little bit more tangy than the basic one.

calamansi aioli, almost there!

So to plate this, you can just serve it on your cast iron skillet and squirt it with some of your calamansi aioli, sprinkle with your chili peppers if you are using any (in this case i used a powdered dried pepper).

sisig

So there you have it!  The Philippines’ favorite bar food/ family dinner/ sidewalk eatery dish, Sisig!  Hanggang sa muli, paalam!