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Adobong Manok at Baboy

Many Filipinos view adobo as comfort food, something which everyone is expected to know how to make after seeing one's mother or household kusinera cook this dish a gazillion times. But every home has its own version of adobo, based on how sour or salty one's preferred palate is. Mine tends to lean towards the vinegarey side; even growing up I would want a little bowl of vinegar, often with crushed garlic and some salt, by my plate and dip whatever in it. My left eye would sometimes close slightly in the sourness of it all, coupled with the little shiver one gets when you taste something so delicious. Now that may sound over the top, but when I like something I do not hold back! (Image from http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/10/pork-cooked-in-pickling-style-adobong.html) ADOBONG MANOK AT BABOY 1 lb lean pork, cut into 2 to 3 in cubes 1 lb chicken (some people prefer boneless thighs or breasts, cut into chunks; wings can also be used) 1 cup vinegar (preferably Pine...
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Pasta and Roasted Tomatoes

Here's a quick and easy recipe for the meatless days of Lent. I tweaked a recipe given by Cris, one of my co-workers. 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes Extra-virgin olive oil Balsamic vinegar Salt Pepper Fresh pasta (I used 9 oz of Buitoni linguini) Garlic, 4 - 6 cloves, chopped Mozzarella Insalata Fresh basil leaves Capers Baking dish, 9" x 9" or larger Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and cut the tomatoes in half. Place the tomatoes in a glass baking dish, add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss lightly to coat. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cook pasta following package instructions and drain --- do not rinse. Warm olive oil over low to medium heat and add garlic --- do not let garlic brown. Add roasted tomatoes and turn heat off. Add pasta, fresh basil leaves, and some capers. Toss lightly, adjusting seasoning. Add fresh grated mozzarella insalata just before serving or at the table. Serves 4 with left-overs. This dish tastes gr...
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Arroz Caldo

I didn't realize that 2010 slid by without a post from yours truly! I think I was stuck in a food rut for so long that I ended up serving the same old recipes on an endless rotation --- pork and chicken adobo, baked salmon or tilapia, spaghetti with Italian sausage, chicken tinola, and beef laga. Enough for a meal or two (or sometimes three!), plus lunch for Nico. But we must be doing fine since I heard that one of Nico's schoolmates checks his lunch daily; maybe pining for a home-cooked meal since he has to eat school lunch every day! One of the comfort foods I grew up with is Lugaw (or Lugao), a rice-based soup similar to the Cantonese congee, only thicker since the rice isn't boiled to a mushy texture similar to grits, but somewhat similar to that of risotto only with more liquid. (An aside: I smile as I write at the number of cultures that sentence involved --- Spanish, Chinese, Filipino, Italian, and the Southern United States.) The rice is usually boiled in chicken ...
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Turkey Breast with Root Vegetables

With Thanksgiving this Thursday I just wanted to share my turkey story. Before I became a grad student at the University of Florida (Go Gators!!) the only roast fowl I've encountered were the tasty chickens from Robina (remember their Makati branch along Buendia across from Barrio Fiesta?) and chicken inasal in Bacolod, plus an occasional duck. The whole idea of poultry the size of a small dog made me wonder: how can you cook anything that big? After several tasty Thanksgiving dinners hosted by friends, and with me the sous chef for one dinner party, I finally got the nerve to roast a turkey on my own, and invited several friends from my department. In my tiny kitchen (so tiny that I couldn't open both oven and refrigerator doors at the same time; not that I would want to do so!), I made turkey and all the traditional fixings for Thanksgiving. I didn't have a dining table large enough, so we ate just outside the apartment, at one of the picnic tables set up in Married H...
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Seared Ahi Tuna

When I was a child my father was a lawyer with the Judge Advocate Unit of the Philippine Constabulary. His job took him to many military installations around the country, and he met up with people from different backgrounds. Because of this we learned not to ask him too closely about what he did. One morning though, after he had returned from a dinner meeting with a Japanese journalist, I opened our refrigerator to find some unusual leftovers --- they were pieces of nigiri and maki sushi that he didn't eat because the fish was raw, but was too polite to decline when Harai had ordered them for him. This was the start of my love affair with Japanese food. I sometimes make sushi rice, salmon teriyaki, and tamago (egg omelet) for my family, and the rice toppings I found in Asian stores are a godsend when I don't want to deal with toasting nori and sesame seeds. But what I really like is eating sushi, especially mackerel and tuna. They remind me of the sea and in turn, of home, si...
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Nilagang Baka

I just finished working a 14 -hour day and came home to Chinese take-out. I wonder if I should have just eaten the leftovers from the Nilagang Baka I made the other day. When we were growing up my parents would go Saturday mornings to the market near our house. Cartimar in the '70s and '80s was busy, noisy, crowded; fruits and vegetables in one area, fish in another, and meat and poultry in a third. You would make the rounds of your different suki , giving your order for that day, before going home with a full bayong of food, meats and heavier items on the bottom, and fruits and vegies on top. (I remember wondering then why we couldn't buy our food all nicely packaged in plastic!) We always had Saturday lunch together as a family then, with my dad as chef. I don't use oxtail or marrow bones now, but you're welcome to tweak this recipe as you see fit! (Serves 4 with left-overs) Prepare steamed rice. Rinse vegetables and drain before chopping. Rinse meat and pat dry...
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