Bistek

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. Round Roast (lean beef)

1 Large red onion

1 Cup of soy sauce

1 Cup of water

7 Packets of frozen calamansi or fresh ones

½ Tbs. MSG

Corn oil for frying

In a large bowl marinate beef in soy sauce, water, calamansi, and msg for an hour. Heat frying pan and add 2 Tbs. of corn oil and fry meat in batches until they all have good sear marks on both sides. Remove meat from the pan and set aside. Repeat the process for the next batch. You will need to add more oil each time you fry more batches of meat. When you are done frying, add all the meat back into the frying pan and add the remaining marinade to the pan. Let it simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat and then add the onions and let cook for another minute. Serve with rice and enjoy your Bistek!

Tip 1:

When buying the meat, have your butcher slice the meat no thicker than 1/8 of an inch. If you have to slice it yourself and don’t have an electric meat slicer you may do so. The easiest way to do this is to partly freeze the meat. It will make it easier to slice thinly. Just make sure that you do not freeze it solid otherwise you will have to thaw it out and try to do it again.

Tip 2:

Pot roast meat is not the most tender cut of meat. Cutting the meat against the grain will make it more tender, although meat cut against the grain is not as presentable as it is when it is cut along the grain. Bistek meat is sliced very thinly so this is not going to be a big factor for this particular dish. As for myself, I cut mine along the grain. You decide which cut you prefer and let the butcher know before you have it sliced.

Giniling Guisado

Ingredients:

1 Lb. of Lean ground beef

1 Large potato diced

1 Small onion diced

1 Small tomato diced

2 Gloves of garlic smashed

2 Tbs. Corn oil

3 Tbs. Soy sauce

½ Green bell pepper diced

½ Red bell pepper diced

½ Tsp. Ground black pepper

½ Tbs. MSG

Pinch of salt if necessary

Directions:

In large pan saute garlic in corn oil until golden brown and then add the ground beef. Break ground beef apart as it cooks, cover, and simmer for 3 minutes. Add onions and let them cook until they hit the shiny stage. Next add ground black pepper, msg, soy sauce, potato, and tomato. Stir, cover, and simmer on medium low heat for 10 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Add the bell peppers and cook for an additional 1-minute. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Note: I just recently posted (November 2, 2007) the Turo-Turo Style Giniling. Check it out!

Optional:

To make the bell pepper bowl: cut around the bell pepper with a carving knife in a saw tooth, jagged edge pattern. Remove all the seeds and rinse. Scoop the cooked ground beef into the bell peppers and arrange on an individual plate and serve it with white or fried rice.

Ginisang Baguio Beans

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ Lbs. of Baguio beans (green beans)

1 Lb. of Ground beef

1 Small tomato sliced in small wedges

1 Small onion cut in half and sliced crosswise

4 Cloves of garlic peeled and smashed

1 Tbs. of Patis (fish sauce)

4 Tbs. of Soy Sauce

1 Tsp. Msg (vetsin)

Salt and Pepper

Oil for sauteing

Directions:

Begin by slicing the Baguio beans about an inch long and then rinsing them well.
Heat and coat wok with a tablespoon of corn oil. Then saute ground beef for 4 minutes and add the garlic. Let it cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add the tomato and onion slices, stir, and then add the patis. Cover and cook it for 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, Baguio beans, msg, and ground black pepper. Stir, cover, and let simmer for 6 minutes on medium low heat. Remove cover and stir. Add salt and pepper if needed, then replace cover, and cook for 6 more minutes or until the beans are tender. Serve with rice and fried pork chops on the side. Enjoy!

Beef Stew

This is another perfect example of how you can turn one dish into another without compromising the flavor. Most of the time we don’t think much about left-overs, but if you take a closer look at what’s inside your refrigerator I bet you can come up with another dish using what your family ate the last couple of nights.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to using left over food. The only thing you have to consider is the flavor. The rule of thumb when it comes to left-overs is to only cook dishes that are similar to one another.

In other words, don’t use Adobo and try to convert it to Sinigang. I guarantee no one would eat it. The dish I am going to cook is Beef Stew made from left over Nilagang Baka. The ingredients are very similar and the best thing about this is that the meat is already tender which means the cooking time is a lot less than cooking it from scratch. Another thing about this dish is not only are we converting it to another dish, but we are also going from Filipino food to American food. Beef stew is quite popular here in the U.S. especially this time of the year when wintertime is lurking around the corner. So let’s get cooking!

Ingredients:

1 Lb. Left over Nilagang Baka

1 ½ Cup of diced potatoes

½ Cup diced carrots

3 Cups of left over broth strained

1 Cup of water

1 large onion peeled & diced

1-11oz. Can of whole kernel corn

1-14.5oz. Can of cut green beans

1 Packet of McCormick beef stew seasoning mix

2 Stalks of celery w/ leaves sliced diagonally

1 Tsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Ground black peppercorns

1 Tbs. Corn oil

Directions:

In a large pot heat oil and saute onions and celery until onions hit the shiny stage. Add beef and let it saute for 3 minutes. Then add the left over broth. Drain both green beans and corn, rinse the green beans, and add both to the pot along with the potatoes, carrots, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl pour 1 cup of cold water, dissolve the beef stew mix, and add it to the pot. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Adjust the taste by adding salt & pepper if needed. Serve with saltine crackers and Colby-Monterey jack cheese. Enjoy your beef stew!

Tip 1: Use a strainer to remove the solids from the broth.

Tip 2: Use cornstarch to thicken the stew if needed.

Chicken Afritada

Whenever we’re talking about food that Filipino’s inherited from the Spaniards, Afritada is one of the dishes that stand out. In Philippine cuisine there are several dishes that use tomato sauce based ingredients and Afritada is definitely one of them.
There are two types of Afritada, pork and chicken, and chicken is the easier version to cook. That is why I often prepare this dish rather than the pork counterpart. I have to admit I like the pork version better, but when you have limited time to spend in the kitchen, Chicken Afritada makes the perfect candidate to satisfy my taste buds. Now the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 Large chicken breasts cut into 2 in. cubes

5 Beef franks hotdogs cut in 1 in. diagonal pieces

1-15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1-8 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 Medium sized onion sliced thinly

4 Garlic cloves peeled and smashed

2 Medium potatoes peeled and quartered

1 Large carrot cut in 2 in. long pieces

1 Red bell pepper seeded and cut in 1 in. strips

1 Bay leaf

1 Tsp. Ground black peppercorns

½ Tsp. MSG

½ Tbs. Salt

Note:

You can substitute the hotdogs with chicken liver if you prefer. I have also combined chicken and pork belly before with great results.

Directions:

In a large pot combine chicken, garlic, onion, ground black pepper, msg, tomato sauce, (both cans) and bay leaf. Stir and bring it to a simmer. Cover pot and let it cook for 12 minutes on medium low heat. Add hotdogs, carrots, and potatoes. Stir and cover pot and let it cook for another 15 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender. Adjust taste by adding more salt & pepper if needed. Finally add the red bell peppers and cook it for another 5 minutes. Serve rice and top with chicken Afritada and patis for dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Patis = Fish Sauce

Beef Caldereta

Beef Ribs Caldereta Reconstructed; This is a perfect example of how you can turn one dish into another without compromising the flavor. This one is made from left over Nilagang Buto ng Baka (beef soup bones.) These are two different dishes, but the ingredients are very similar to one another.

Ingredients List:

6 Pieces of left over beef back ribs

1 Medium size onion, cut in half, thinly sliced

8 Finely crushed black peppercorns

1/2 Cup cider vinegar

1 Cup left over beef broth from Nilagang Baka

3 Cups tomato sauce

1 Bay leaf (Laurel leaf)

6 Cloves of garlic, crushed

4 Tbs. Oil (corn oil)

1/2 Red bell pepper

1/2 Green bell pepper

1/2 Cup green peas optional (frozen if you can’t get fresh ones)

1/4 Cup pitted green olives optional

1 Large carrot optional

3 Medium potatoes, quartered

2 Tbs. Chili sauce (Hot Sauce, I use Louisiana hot sauce)

1/2 Tbs. Salt

1/2 Tbs. MSG optional

2 Tbs. Beef marinate

Cooking Directions:

Marinade; Beef left over in vinegar, peppercorns, and garlic for 30 minutes, drain well. In two tablespoons oil, fry beef in batches, and brown it on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add onions and more oil if needed. Saute on medium heat until it reaches the shiny stage. Add the beef and the broth from the left over Nilagang Baka, tomato sauce, beef marinade, hot sauce, bay leaf, MSG and salt. Reduce heat to medium low and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Add potatoes and let simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. At this point you may add the green peas, pitted green olives, and let it cook for 2 minutes. Then add the bell peppers. Serve with rice!

Fresh Version:

Ingredients List:

1-1/2 Lbs. Rump Roast cut in 1-1/2 inch cubes

1 Medium size onion, cut in half, thinly sliced

8 Crushed black peppercorns

1/2 Cup cider vinegar

3 Cups beef broth (I use canned beef broth)

3 Cups tomato sauce

1 Bay leaf (Laurel leaf)

6 Cloves of garlic, crushed

4 Tbs. Oil (corn oil)

1/2 Red bell pepper

1/2 Green bell pepper

1/2 Cup green peas optional (frozen if you can’t get fresh ones)

1/4 Cup pitted green olives optional

1 Large carrot optional

3 Medium potatoes

2 Tbs. Chili sauce (Hot Sauce, I use Louisiana hot sauce)

1/2 Tbs. Salt

1/2 Tbs. MSG optional

Cooking Directions:

NOTE: If you wish to use the un-cooked beef back ribs you may do so, just cut your simmer time to an hour. Beef back ribs are pretty tender and do not require a longer time to tenderize. With these ingredient measurements you may use the whole rack of beef back ribs between 1-1/2 to 2 Lbs. Cooking procedure stays the same. Marinade; Beef in vinegar, peppercorns, and garlic for at least 30 minutes to an hour, drain well. In two tablespoons oil, fry beef in batches and brown it on all sides.

Remove and set aside. Add onions and more oil if needed, saute in medium heat until it reaches the shiny stage. Add the beef, broth, bay leaf, MSG and salt. Reduce heat to medium low and let it simmer for 2 hours or until the beef is very tender. Add tomato sauce and hot sauce and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then add potatoes and let simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. At this point you may add the green peas, pitted green olives, and let it cook for 2 minutes. Then add the bell peppers. Serve with rice!

Note: When stirring avoid using a spoon, it will break the meat apart as the meat tenderizes. Use the method below when stirring!

Cooking Tips & WARNING! After adding the tomato sauce stir frequently to avoid scorching.

The best way to stir it is to agitate the pot GENTLY in a CIRCULAR motion while HOLDING the lid firmly. Cook safely and enjoy your Caldereta!

Arroz Caldo

Ingredients:

For the stock:

1 Whole chicken cut-up into smaller pieces

6 Quarts of water

1 Onion peeled and thinly sliced

1 Tsp. MSG

1 Tbs. Salt

For the rice:

1½ Cup of long grain rice (jasmine rice)

9 Cups of water

For the soup:

1 Large ginger peeled and sliced thinly

5 Cloves of garlic peeled and smashed

10 Cups of chicken stock

1½ Tbs. Safflower

½ Tbs. Ground black pepper

½ Tbs. MSG

3 Tbs. Patis (fish sauce)

1 Tbs. Salt

Hard-boiled eggs*

Fried smashed garlic*

Directions:

Prepare the chicken and the stock; Rinse the chicken very thoroughly and cut it all up into smaller pieces, with the exception of the two breast halves. Place chicken cut-up into an 8 quart stock pot with 5 to 6 quarts of water. Bring water to a boil and remove scum as it rises. Next add the onions and salt. Cover and let it simmer for 1 hour.

After an hour turn heat off and remove the meat from the pot. Place meat on a tray and let it cool off. In a large bowl, using a strainer, pour the stock and strain all the solids that are in the stock. Next discard the solids removed from the stock and set the stock aside.

When chicken is finally cooled off locate one of the breast halves and one chicken thigh, de-bone, and discard the bones. Remove the meat from the bone by shredding the meat from the bone and saving the skin. Slice chicken skin into small strips and set aside. As for the rest of the chicken carcasses, place them in zip lock bags and freeze them to save for later cooking.

The Soup:

Using the same 8-quart stockpot heat 3 Tbs. of corn oil and saute garlic until golden brown. Next add onions and cook until they hit the shiny stage. Then add ginger, chicken meat, chicken skins, black pepper, msg, and fish sauce (patis) and let it cook for 3 minutes. Add the rice. While stirring constantly, let it cook for 2 minutes. If the rice has thickened add 2 cups of chicken stock and mix it well. Make sure all the lumps are smooth before adding rice to the pot. After the 2 minutes add 10 to 12 cups of chicken stock into the pot depending on how thick you want your Arroz Caldo. Bring it back to a simmer while mixing it constantly. As soon it starts to simmer add the salt, safflower, keep stirring and let it cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes while stirring constantly. Finally adjust the taste by adding more salt & pepper if needed. Serve hot with hard-boiled eggs and topped with green onion (scallions) and fried smashed garlic. Drizzle it with fish sauce and calamansi. Enjoy your mouth-watering Arroz Caldo!

The Rice:

In a pot add 1½ cups of rice and add 9 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium low, and let it simmer for 45 minutes un-covered. Stir the rice frequently to avoid scorching. Set aside.

The Hard-Boiled Eggs: *

Add eggs into a small pot and cover with water until it’s about half an inch from the top of the eggs. Boil for 15 minutes (10 minutes for soft boiled). This might sound silly, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t know how to properly cook hard-boiled eggs. People say that you should just leave it boiling long enough for it to cook. That is somewhat true, but the problem is if you leave it cooking too long you will have a hard time de-shelling the eggs as the membrane between the eggs and the shell will act like glue. You will wind up with pretty torn up eggs.

For the Fried Garlic: *

Peel and smash 8 cloves of garlic. Set aside. Over medium low heat, heat oil in a small frying pan and add smashed garlic until dark golden brown. Transfer the garlic onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain the oil and set aside.

Note 1:

I use safflower for this dish to give it a yellowish hue. That gives it the look you expect from this rice soup.

Note 2:

When making arroz caldo you have to remember that the stock is what gives this soup it’s good flavor. It is very important to have a very good quality stock. If at all possible make your own stock by using a whole chicken to give it the maximum chicken flavor. Avoid using chicken bouillon or cheap low quality canned chicken stock.