Chicken Curry

Filipinos have adopted dishes from all over the world, but most of our cooking is influenced by the Spaniards and Asian cuisine. There are several versions of Chicken Curry; the most popular ones are the Indian version which mostly uses powdered curry and the Thai version which uses curry paste.

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. Skinless & Boneless chicken breast cut into 2 cubes

1 Can coconut creme (14oz.)

1 Tbs. Patis (fish sauce)

1 Medium onion (diced)

1 ½ Cups of green and red bell peppers cut into bite sized pieces

1 Cup Celery cut in ¾ inch pieces

5 Jalapeno peppers (stems removed)

3 Potatoes (quartered)

¼ Cup ginger (julienned)

4 Cloves of garlic (smashed)

¼ Tsp. freshly ground peppercorns

½ Tbs. Crushed pepper flakes (optional)

4 Tbs. Cooking oil

For the Curry Powder:

½ Tsp. Cumin

½ Tsp. Caraway

½ Tbs. Whole White Peppercorns

1 Tbs. Coriander

¼ Tsp. Nutmeg (powder)

½ Tsp. Turmeric (powder)

Cooking Process:

For the curry powder: Begin by roasting all whole spices (cumin, caraway, white peppercorns, and coriander) for 1 minute on high heat. Once they are roasted, pound them using a mortar & pestle or electric spice grinder if you have one. Set aside.

For the chicken breast: Lightly season chicken with 5 Tbs. cooking oil and a pinch of salt & pepper. Mix well and brown on all sides and set aside.

For the potatoes: Brown potatoes on all sides with 5 Tbs. of cooking oil. Set aside.

Cook garlic until golden brown using the remaining cooking oil you used to brown potatoes and chicken. Add the onions when the garlic is golden brown and let them cook until soft.

Add the ginger once the onions are soft and stir it well. Allow the ginger to cook for one minute and then add the chicken you browned earlier.

Let the chicken breast saute for one minute and season it with patis. (fish sauce) Next, add the spices you roasted and pounded earlier along with the ground Nutmeg and ground Turmeric.

Stir well for half a minute and add the coconut creme. Stir coconut creme, return the cover, and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. Lower your heat and stir coconut creme intermittently during the ten minutes to avoid scorching the coconut creme.

After 10 minutes add the potatoes, stir well, and let the potatoes cook for 5 minutes. After that, add the celery and allow it to cook for 5 minutes before adding the red and green bell peppers.

When the celery is cooked, add the red and green bell peppers and again let it cook for 5 minutes.

At this stage, you can do your taste test and adjust accordingly by adding more salt and pepper if needed. After that, you are ready for your last and final ingredient which is the 5 Jalapeno peppers. Serve Chicken Curry with white steamed rice.

Optional: Garnish Chicken Curry with crushed red pepper flakes.

Pork Fried Rice

As with most Asian countries, the most consumed food in the Philippines is rice. It is most often boiled and served during most meals. Left over rice is often fried with garlic and onion to makesinangag (fried rice), which is the typical way of Filipino style fried rice. One of the most common dishes served with classic fried rice are Silogs.

As most Filipinos know they come in several combinations, but the most common ones are Tapsilog, Longsilog, and Tocilog.

One of the keys to making fried rice is using the right type of rice. For example, don’t use a rice that is very sticky or you will have a hard time  incorporating all the ingredients. The rice will stick together rather than breaking apart. Also let the rice sit overnight in the fridge. This will help to break the rice apart a lot easier or at least let it totally cool off before cooking it. There are endless combination’s when it comes to fried rice, but we are not going to talk about all of them today. Instead I’m going to show you my version which is pretty simple, but it has enough ingredients in it that it could be eaten by itself. This version of fried rice is inspired by the way the Chinese cook theirs, which also became very popular in the Philippines. The same common ingredients are found in both versions. Let’s cook shall we?

Ingredients:

5 Cups of cooked long grain rice

1 Cup of diced pork barbecue

1 Cup of diced Ham

1 Small onion diced

½ Cup of diced carrots

½ Cup of frozen green peas

2 Eggs scrambled and sliced into small pieces

1 Tbs. Oyster sauce

2 Tbs. Soy sauce

½ Tsp. Ground black pepper

½ Tsp. MSG (vetsin) optional

½ Tsp. Salt

2 Tbs. Corn oil

8 Stalks of green onions

Note:
Slice green onions ¼ in. long and then use 4 stalks for cooking and the other 4 as a garnish.

Directions:

Prepare the rice by breaking it apart completely before you begin. In a large wok heat oil over medium high heat and saute carrots and green peas for 1 minute. Next add the rice and mix it for about one minute. Then add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, barbecue pork, and ham. Keep mixing for 3 minutes. Add the onions, eggs, and season it with msg (vetsin), salt, and black pepper. Keep mixing for another 5 minutes, then add the green onions stirring for another 2 minutes and you’re done. Serve with Filipino style pork barbecue and Lumpia (shanghai). Garnish fried rice with the remaining green onions just before serving. Enjoy!

Chicken Sopas

Aside from it’s delicious and creamy flavor, Sopas is fairly easy to make. A few parts of chicken, some hotdogs, and macaroni can put a smile on the faces of most Filipino children or adults

Sopas which means soup in Spanish and Portuguese is another dish where I assume Filipinos have inherited the name from the Spaniards. Sopas can be found not only in the kitchen in most homes during afternoons, but it is also very popular in side walk cafeterias known as Turo-turo restaurants in the Philippines.

Sopas is often served in mid-afternoon as a snack to tie people over before hitting the big supper in the early evening. Sopas is good on a hot summer day, even better on a rainy day back home, or quite a treat on cold winter days in America.

Ingredients:

1 Boneless chicken breast

2 Cups macaroni shells (elbow is fine if you prefer)

12 Cups chicken stock

1 Cube chicken bouillon

1½ Cups milk

¼ Cup shredded carrots

1 Cup shredded cabbage

2 Hotdogs cut into matchsticks pieces

4 Garlic cloves

½ Tsp. Ground black pepper

2 Tbs. Patis (fish sauce)

7 Cups water

3 Cans chicken stock (6 cups)

Pansit Bihon / Sauteed Ricesticks

It is quite amazing how common this dish is in the Philippines; you will find it at just about every special occasion. 

Ingredients:

1 Package Pansit Bihon noodles (ricesticks)

1 Split chicken breast (boiled and shredded)

20oz. Chicken stock

1 cup of shredded cabbage

1 Cup shredded carrots

½ Cup thinly sliced celery (3 stalks)

½ Cup finely chopped green onions

1 Tbs. Patis (fish sauce)

3 Tbs. Toyomansi (regular soy sauce is fine)

4 Cloves of garlic (smashed)

1 Tsp. Ground black pepper

5 Tbs. Cooking oil

Pork Sinigang

Pork sinigang has got to be one of the most popular comfort foods in the Philippines.

Ingredients:

2 Lbs of Pork Belly cut in 2 in. cubes (Liempo)

1 Small radish cut in 2 in. small pieces (Labanos/Daikon)

1 Medium Onion sliced thinly

1 Small tomato diced

1 Eggplant cut diagonally

1 Cup of Sitaw cut in 2 in. length (String Beans)

3 Cups of Kangkong (Water Spinach)

2 Pcs. Of Siling Mahaba (Finger Peppers)

1½ Packet of Knorr Sinigang Mix

1 Tsp. MSG (Vetsin)

Salt to taste

1½ Quarts of water

Directions:

In a large pot add water and bring to a boil. Next add pork, cover, and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Remove scum from the broth and then add onions, tomatoes, siling mahaba, (finger peppers) msg, (vetsin) and the sinigang mix and let cook for 10 minutes. Then add the Labanos, (radish) cover, and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Add eggplant and cook it for an additional 10 minutes. Finally add the water spinach (Kangkong) and add salt if needed. Let it cook for three more minutes and it’s ready. Serve with rice. Enjoy!

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.