November 1 Week-End Baking Pictures

Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Callebaut Ganache

Roasted pepper Rosemary Focaccia

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Filipino Food Festival NCR: Galantina de Gallina

Recipe from the NCR

I was in Megamall a few days ago and was shocked by the price of Galantina in Dulcinea. They couldn't even tell me if it was 100% chicken. Granted, all our family's Chicken Galantina recipes also had pork, but if you add up the cost of the ingredients plus a little for profit and even a little more for other costs it would'nt add up to a thousand for 1 bird! It was even worse in a week-end market when I spied a vendor selling Galantina. Just make your own the next time you get a hankering for it, it's a whole lot cheaper and I bet more delicious (plus, because YOU control what goes into it there is no more second guessing the ingredients).

A Galantina is basically a stuffed, deboned chicken. It's a masterpiece of engineering, it isn't easy to remove all the bones from a whole chicken and then to stuff and mold it like a large piece of play do. It's also important not to pierce or damage the skin to maintain the chicken's good looks. The filling is pretty adaptable, but a few ingredients are a must for it to be still called a Galantina, these would be the frankfurters (Grandma's would insist on Salchichas Oxford), the liver sausage and the eggs.

Galantina de Gallina

1 medium fresh chicken (1½ to 2 kilos), boned
3 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs. calamansi (or lemon) juice

Stuffing:
500 grams freshly ground pork
1½ pcs. German frankfurters (or preferably Salchichas Oxford), minced
½ cup liver sausage, minced
1 cup cooked ham, minced
½ cup sweet pickle relish OR mince 1 large sweet pickle
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tbs. sifted all purpose flour
Salt, approximately ½ teaspoon or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon

3 medium hard-cooked eggs, shelled but kept whole
1 large peeled and partially cooked carrot, cut into thin sticks

Cheese cloth
Kitchen twine

Clean the chicken and then carefully remove the bones from the chicken. Make sure you don’t puncture the skin. Combine the calamansi juice and the soy sauce in a small bowl. Massage the chicken with this mixture. Set aside while making the filling.

Prepare the stuffing:
In a large bowl combine the ground pork, frankfurters, liver sausage, ham, pickle relish, egg yolks, flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. If the mixture is too loose add a little bit more flour, but don’t add too much. Mixture should just hold together.

Fill the de-boned chicken with the stuffing mixture. Insert the whole eggs and carrot in even sections (keep in mind that when you slice the chicken it’s desirable to have a bit of carrot and a slice of egg). Wrap the whole chicken tightly with the cheese cloth (cavity down) and tie with kitchen twine.

Place in the top part of a steamer and steam (covered) over simmering water for about 1 hour. To check if the filling is cooked, carefully peel back a small portion of the cheesecloth and pierce the thigh joint. If clear juices comes out and not blood it’s ready. Remove the chicken to a rack placed over a large cookie sheet but do not unwrap. Let it cool completely. When cool place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before cutting. If possible place a heavy object on top of the wrapped chicken to weigh it down. When ready to serve, unwrap and slice cross-wise (not lengthwise), place in a platter and decorate as desired. Left-overs (if there are any left) also good heated in the toaster oven.

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A Different Lasagna

Italians will kill me for saying this, but I've always avoided eating lasagna because of the lack of filling, too much layers of soggy pasta and uninteresting sauces. Was it possible to make a lasagna to suit you, can it still be called a "lasagna?". The only lasagna I ever liked were made by friends. Now that I'm avoiding carbohydrates I stay away from pasta all together, that is, until last week-end came along when I suddenly had the urge to make a lasagna that suited my requirements.




Because of the excellent karabao's milk cheese available in Imus I used that instead of ricotta. For the filling I made a thick bolognese. I pre-cooked the pasta half-way and drained it. Instead of layering the pasta I formed it into large tubes and filled it half-way with the filling. Layered them with generous slices of cheese and topped it off with more bolognese. I made a separate cheese sauce and swirled it over the tops and sides, covered the whole pan lightly with foil and baked it for 40 minutes. It was delicious and definitely different.

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Some Week-End Garden Pictures

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Filipino Food Festival NCR: Lumpia

Recipe from the NCR

Lumpia (chicken, pork and vegetable rolls)

Different, but closely related to so many deep-fried roll incarnations of our regional neighbors. The differences lie in the choice of vegetables, presence of meat (or not) and the kind of meat filling. All are, to my opinion delicious. This recipe is very flexible, you can replace the meat with flaked cooked fish or you can skip the pork and just use all chicken. You can even replace all the meat with tofu and/or mushrooms. Deep frying scares a lot of people but when the temperature of the oil is correct and the right size and shape of pan is used the resulting lumpia is divine. It’s a little labor intensive, but it makes enough to feed an army and it freezes well. For a really healthy alternative instead of wrapping and frying you can use large lettuce leaves, preferably native lettuce or romaine to wrap and eat. I usually just have it “hubad” (naked) with no wrapping.

Filling:
1 kilo chicken, cut into serving pieces
250 grams lean boneless pork butt, cut into 4 pieces
1 onion, peeled and quartered
A few celery ribs
1 large bay leaf (laurel)
3 tsp salt, divided
2 cups water

1 tbs olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and cut into very thin slivers
4 cloves garlic, crushed and then finely minced

400 gm string beans, cut diagonally into thin slivers
200 gm carrots, peeled and grated with coarse-holed grater
200 gm bean sprouts
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 small cabbage, cleaned and sliced into 1/8” wide strips
2 tbs. soy sauce

1 recipe lumpia wrapper
Coconut oil for deep frying

Combine chicken, pork, quarted onion, celery, bay leaf and 1 tsp salt in a big saucepan. Pour in the water and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to the lowest setting possible, cover tightly and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken and pork are almost tender (pierce with a sharp knife, should still show a slight resistance). Drain the chicken and pork and set aside until cool enough to handle. Strain the broth and set aside, don’t throw it away! Remove the bones and the skin from the chicken and pork and chop it into small pieces. Discard the bones and skin.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion and garlic. When the onion looks transparent and the garlic is cooked through, add the cooked meat mixture and cook until it is slightly browned. Add the vegetables in order given. Don’t over-cook. Add ½ cup of the reserved broth, the remaining salt and the soy sauce. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes more. Transfer everything to a large colander and let it drain then set aside to cool. When completely cool mix in the water chestnuts.

To Assemble:
Use 1/3 cup of filling for each lumpia. Place the filling in the center of your lumpia wrapper and shape into a thin log, about 5” long. Arrange it so that the log is vertical to you. Wrap like a spring roll, that is, fold the bottom part of the wrapper towards the center and do the same for the top part of the wrapper. Turn the wrapper counter- clockwise so that one side of the unfolded wrapper is facing you (and the lumpia filling is now horizontal). Fold the flap nearest you over the log, and grasping the filling over the wrapper, tightly roll it up. Just before reaching the top part, wet your fingers and gently swipe it on the remaining strip of wrapper. Continue rolling tightly to seal in the filling. Sounds complicated but gets easier with practice. If you don’t like large rolls cut the wrapper in the middle and make smaller rolls. This usually works better for us. Stack the lumpia in a plate or canister (place waxed paper in-between layers because the wrappers might stick), cover tightly and keep in the freezer if not frying right away – freezes well.

When ready to fry, heat your oil to 375*F and fry a few pieces at a time until golden brown. If both ends of the lumpia are the only parts that brown it means you are not using enough oil. Drain it standing up on a metal colander lined with paper towels. Serve with sweet chili sauce or tomato catsup.

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Filipino Food Festival NCR: Fresh Lumpia Ubod

Recipe from the NCR

Fresh Lumpia Ubod (Fresh heart of palm roll crepes)

Delicious and light. Unfortunately this recipe is not for the vegetarian but it’s very easy to transform it into an all-vegetable one. Replace pork and shrimp with equal amounts of minced fried tofu and sautéed minced shitake mushrooms. Instead of shrimp juice use vegetable stock. This lumpia is a bit garlicky, so if you’re not into garlic just reduce the amount but don’t remove completely, it just isn’t the same without garlic.

Filling:

2 kilo ubod (heart of palm), cut into thick slivers (julienned)

2 tbs. cooking oil for sautéing
1 head of garlic, peeled, crushed and minced finely
4 onions, peeled and sliced
400 grams shrimps, shelled, head and veins removed. Chop into small pieces.
4 tbs. shrimp juice (pound the heads with a little water, sieve – make sure to press it to get all the juice)
Salt and pepper

1 bunch of kinchay leaves (coriander), clean well and then mince

24 pcs. Crepe wrapper
500 grams native lettuce (romaine works very well as a substitute), wash well and separate the leaves
100 grams spring onions, washed well and minced finely
1 kilo ground chicharon (chicharon from Bulacan, the meaty kind)

Lumpia sauce
¼ cup garlic, crushed and then minced

For Lumpia Filling:

Wash the ubod slivers, drain well.

Sauté the garlic, onions and shrimps until the shrimp changes color. Add the shrimp juice, increase the heat and it come to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for a few seconds. Stir in the ubod and the kinchay, season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly and continue to let it simmer until the ubod is tender. Remove everything with a slotted spoon and drain it well in a colander. Let it cool completely.

Place 1 piece of lettuce leaf and a stalk of spring onion in the middle of one piece of crepe wrapper. Place about ¼ cup of the ubod filling over the leaf and spring onion. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of crushed chicharon over the filling and carefully fold the ends of the wrapper one over the other. Place seam side down in a platter. Spoon some sauce over the lumpia and sprinkle some of the minced garlic over the sauce if serving individually. Serve extra sauce on the side.

Lumpia Sauce:

1½ cup sugar
½ cup cornstarch
2/3 cup soy sauce
Dash salt
6 cups chicken or pork broth (or water)

½ cup chopped peanuts
4 tbs. garlic, crushed

Whisk together all ingredients except peanuts and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to the boil with constant stirring until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and mix in peanuts and garlic. (The garlic and the peanuts can be added directly on top of the lumpia).

Crepe Wrapper
(Makes 24 wrappers)

To be honest, I have a problem with this recipe, mine doesn’t always turn out perfect like my Auntie’s but in a pinch it will do. If any of you have a better recipe, please email it to me, thanks!

100 grams cornstarch
6 eggs native chicken eggs (native eggs will give the wrapper a nicer color), separated
2 cups water

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the yolks and mix in lightly. Put cornstarch in a cup with a few tablespoons water, mix well until cornstarch completely melts. Whisk lightly into egg mixture.

Heat an 8” non stick pan brushed with a little oil. Spoon the egg mixture in and tilt the pan until the whole surface is evenly covered with a thin layer of the batter. Invert immediately to cook the other side. Stack in a large place and cover until ready to make the lumpia.

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Mea Culpa

A good friend of mine (who had the sense not to place it as a comment in my blog so as not to embarass me!) took note of the fact that I was, to say the least, erratic when it came to posting. Looking at the number of posts per month and the intervals I realized that yes, he was right.

I apologize to, well, no one in particular, well maybe to this blog for neglecting it for so long. For not giving it the proper attention that it deserved. Though I've said it before, that this blog is to chronicle my adventures and hopefully make a dent on my ever expanding baul, to vent now and then and not for profit or fame it doesn't excuse my proscrastination and laziness.

From now on I will try to make an update at least twice a week, if I can't I will have a valid excuse (work is not one of them, hehehe).

To the very kind people who sent me emails in the past with questions and requests for recipes, I am still working on it, I am sorry, I really am for being so slow in answering. I have to weed out so much spam in my inbox that still manages to get through despite the filter that I sometimes unknowingly trashed some legitimate ones.

Here is my new email for this blog.

To the people who somehow still read this blog regularly, thank you for putting up with me :)

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Filipino Food Festival NCR: Camaron Rebusado

Recipe from The NCR

Camaron Rebusado (Deep-fried battered shrimp with sweet and sour sauce)

We ate camaron rebusado so often as kids in Chinese restaurants that it’s a wonder to me now why we still made it at home.

1 kilo or about 48 medium shrimp
3/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

2 cup all purpose flour, sifted
2 cup warm water
2 tbs. peanut oil
Vegetable oil for frying
2 egg whites

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
¼ cup cornstarch
2 cup cold water
1 cup white vinegar (apple cider vinegar is also nice)
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 tsp. salt

For shrimp and batter:
Peel and clean the shrimp, but leave the tail intact. Carefully remove the black vein and partially butterfly (cut shallowly so that the shrimp can be opened up like a “butterfly”). Wash and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to lowest setting. Line a large, shallow baking pan with paper towels. Set the pan in the middle of the oven.

In a deep bowl combine flour, warm water and 1 tbs. peanut oil. With a whisk, mix until smooth and creamy, do not over beat. Beat the egg white with a clean and dry whisk until stiff but not dry. Fold the egg white into the flour mixture.

Heat vegetable oil in a deep-fry skillet or wok (375*F). With a slotted spoon or with tongs, immerse one shrimp at a time into the batter to coat thickly and then drop carefully into the hot fat, fry 3 to 4 shrimps at a time for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on both sides. Transfer the shrimp to the lined baking pan to keep it warm.

Serve on a heated platter and the warm sauce on the side.

For sweet and sour sauce:
Combine the cornstarch and water in a cup. Mix well to dissolve the cornstarch. Tip into a bowl and add the vinegar, brown sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixtures come to a boil and slightly thickens. Remove from the heat and cover to keep the sauce warm.

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Filipino Food Festival NCR: Caldereta Vaca

Recipe from The NCR

Caldereta Vaca (Beef Stew)

I find it fascinating that every culture around the world has some kind of meat stew. I love meat stews, specially beef ones but for years I limited my intake of beef, mistakenly thinking that it would be bad for me. I recently learned that by taking the right Vitamins and supplements the cholesterol from the organic beef that I was consuming will not oxidize and harm me. So nowadays I am not limited to chicken stews anymore. This is a very old caldereta recipe and originally written in Spanish.

Spanish olive oil
500 grams punta y pecho (beef brisket), cut into large cubes

500 grams beef short ribs (ask the butcher to cut it into cubes)
500 grams kenchi (beef shank), cut into large cubes
1 head garlic, peeled, crushed and then minced
2 large onions, sliced

Enough water to cover all the beef in a large stewing pot (we sometimes use one bottle of dry red wine)

½ tsp tomato paste
2 pcs. Red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 – 2 tbs. Marca Piña or Silver Swan soy sauce
2 – 4 tbs. Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1-2 pcs. Siling labuyo (native hot chili pepper), bruised
Salt, to taste
½ Freshly ground black pepper

1 small can liverwurst
½ cup green olives stuffed with pimiento
100 grams green peas, drained

Brown the beef on all sides in heated olive oil. Place in a stewing pot and set aside. In the same oil (remove some of the oil if it is too much) sauté the garlic and onions. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in the pot with the beef.

Pour in enough water or red wine just to cover. Bring the mixture (covered) almost to the boiling point, reduce the heat and let it simmer tightly covered until the beef is very tender. Add the tomato paste and mix in well. Cook for a few minutes then add the bell pepper, soy sauce, Lea and Perrins, ground black pepper, liverwurst, green olives and green peas. Continue cooking on low heat still tightly covered for 5 - 10 minutes. Add the chili and mix in. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve piping hot.

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Filipino Food Festival: NCR

The National Capital Region or NCR (Metro Manila) includes: Caloocan City, Las Piñas City, Makati City, Malabon City, Mandaluyong City, Manila, Marikina City, Muntinlupa City, Navotas City, Parañaque City, Pasay City, Pasig City, Pateros, Quezon City, San Juan City, Taguig City and Valenzuela City.

In the beginning I had a difficult time compiling recipes from my baul that’s unique to this area of the Philippines. I initially thought that this was because of the numerous foreign culinary influences in Metro Manila but as I continued with my research I realized that Metro Manila is heavily influenced not just by foreign culinary wonders but also by our regional neighbors who have, through the years moved to Metro Manila, settled and inter-married here. Lumpia can be found in the South where the sauce is already inside the lumpia; the pancit is available in every region and contains whatever is most readily available, and the lechon which has a very yummy counter part in Ilocos. Further research on my part is needed to find out who started what and when, but for now here are some of the recipes of the food that are commonly (I am not saying uniquely) available and cooked in Metro Manila.

Recipes:

Caldereta Vaca
Camaron Rebusado
Fresh Lumpiang Ubod
Galantina de Gallina
Kare Kare
Lumpia
Lumpiang Shanghai
Morcon
Pochero
Rellenong Alimango
Sotangjon
Tinola
Crema de Fruta

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The Wrath of 2 typhoons and the Burning Question

This post has been burning a hole in my draft folder for some time now. With everything that has happened because of the flood and destruction wrought by typhoon Ondoy and Lupit the last thing I want to do is to add to the swelling tide of grief and despair on the net but the question has to be asked.

The still flooded streets, thousands of homeless families and destroyed property and submerged crops have been shown again and again on television, hashed and rehashed to death on the radio. One Pastor reminded his flock to investigate, question and “throw in the water” the people responsible for the flooding. He cited his belief that Filipinos were prone to band together well during adversity but are useless in preventing disasters from happening in the first place. One very prominent television personality even went so far as to pronounce that what happened was not an act of god but the fault of man. I say that God allowed it to happen because of the abuses that man has done to our environment. I believe that God allowed this disaster to happen to give us a good shaking. Wake up!

Which brings me to the question. What is the lesson that He wants us to learn from all of this? Should we, as the Pastor said, seek out and punish the people responsible or should we instead look inside our selves and get a reality check. It’s like a chain reaction of sorts; if we are unconcerned and uninterested in the moral fiber of the leaders that we elect and instead focus on looks and popularity how can we in turn blame these people from acting true to form? Leaders who allow subdivision developers to build on the mouths of creeks and lakes and turn a blind eye to people who squat on water ways and floodways because it would mean more votes for them. We gave these people the authority to rob, cheat and mislead us and we have no one to blame but ourselves. It's frustrating.

When circumstances are too much for the human brain to comprehend, lots of prayer, quiet time and Bible reading clears the mind and soothes the heart. Here’s what the Bible has to say about leaders:

A person from amongst us and not a stranger. A person who will not lead us back to slavery and oppression. He should not be a collector of wives or excessive wealth. When that person is elected he should have a copy of the law of God (the Bible) and keep it with him always, regularly reading it and doing everything written in it so that he will not think himself above his constituents and so that he will not stray. In this way he will prolong his position as our leader.


15Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
16But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
19And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
20That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his ki ngdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Deuteronomy 17:15-19

Some Verses to meditate on:

19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5: 19-21

10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1Tim. 6: 10-11

19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matt. 6:19-21

24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matt 6: 24

8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Phil. 4:8

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Vintage Recipes from the Baul: Gambas y Chorizo Casero

Did I mention that I was a mongrel. In a way I am, or rather, we all are. Filipinos are a mixture of some other race or other, I am just a little more diluted than most. My grandmother was a mestiza Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, Filipina with Japanese Aunts and Uncles thrown in the mix while my father is part Chinese and part Filipino. Since our mother was a Chemist who loved to bake, had two grandmothers who were exceptional cooks (my Nanay on my mother's side cooked Spanish food and my Lola from my Dad's side was a good Filipino/Chinese cook) and a grandfather (Daddy side) who loved to experiment with baking (not to mention cousins and aunties who are no mean bakers) it just seems inevitable that we would inherit some of this food loving gene. My cousin went so far as to die for food, almost literally eating himself to death, but that is a morbid story that I will save for next time.

With that said, it is not surprising that I have collected quite a handful of gems for the family baul. I am, after all the self appointed archiver of our family recipes. All my grandparents have long passed away, and I never met my Lolo Alfred the intrepid donut maker while most of my Aunts and Uncles have also gone first but they remain alive and well in their recipes and the stories that are told around the dinner table while we savor their creations.


Gambas

1/2 cup Spanish olive oil
lots of pounded then minced garlic (usually one whole head)
1 kilo prawns (large ones), please shell and remove the dark vein
6 pieces calamansi (or lemon juice)
1/4 cup white wine
6 tbs. tomato sauce (Hunts)
1/4 cup shellfish broth (or water will do)
2 dashes Spanish paprika
Salt - to taste
2 pcs green sili (long, green pang-sigang chili or jalapeno)
2 tbs. parsley, chopped

Sauté garlic in heated olive. Do not burn. Add the cleaned prawns and cook until it changes color. Sprinkle in the calamansi and white wine. Remove the prawns with a slottled spoon and set aside. Pour in the tomato sauce and the broth (or water) into the pan. Add the chili, increase the heat and let the mixture come to the boil, decrease heat and simmer for a few seconds. Mix in the prawns and season with salt and paprika. Add more hot sauce if desired. Garnish with parsley.


Chorizo Casero

1 1/2 kilo fatty pork, chill well and then ground coarsely
3 heads garlic
1 1/2 tsp curing salt
3/4 cup salt
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/4 cup native vinegar
1 1/2 tbs ground black pepper
3 tbs annato seeds, pounded
2-3 tbs Spanish paprika

Mix all the ingredients in a large basin. Transfer to a smaller bowl, cover with cling wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 day. Force through a funnel and fill casings with it to make sausages OR shape into logs around some caul OR shape into small patties and fry.

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Vintage Recipes from the Baul: Espasol and Palitaw

Strangely enough Espasol was one of my beloved pet's favorite snack. I remember he used to get really excited by the sound of paper being pulled back and could hardly wait as I pinched off small pieces for him to eat (he was a very dainty eater). Not strangely though I only got to eat about 2 pieces for every whole espasol that I dessimated for him. With my fingers still dusty from the rice flour I would gently pat his white broad head and thank God that I had such a sweet pet who loved native kakanins. He is gone now but the sight of those dusty white goodies never fails to bring him to mind. I miss you Oskie.

My brothers and I used to enjoy our mother's Palitaw when we were growing up. We waited, seated in our dinner table as she fished it out of the boiling water, our plates right side up and forks waving in the air. We would take great big sniffs of air and the smell of sesame seeds would waft across the stove to where we were and we would know that it was almost ready. She doesn't make them anymore, but the recipe lives on.

Espasol is a sticky rice flour kakanin that is very yummy, tender and addictive, with a pleasing contrast of textures when you bite into it. Of all the native delicacies available in the Philippines, this belongs in my top ten favorite sweet delicacies. The fact that it's easy to do makes it all the more appealing to me. Palitaw is a another deceptively plain snack that is unbelievably delicious. It is simply ground sticky rice and water combined and boiled. The combination of the sticky texture, the toothy coconut slivers, sweetness of the sugar and crunch of the sesame seeds all combine deliciously.


Espasol (Sticky rice snack)

3 cups sticky rice flour (malagkit)
2 cups coconut milk, 1st extraction
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 young coconut, grated

Over low heat, in a flat-bottomed skillet tost the rice flour. Reserve 1/2 cup. Set aside to slightly cool.

Place coconut milk in a saucepan and heat until it boils. Add the sugar and keep stirring. Cook for about 15 minutes. Blend in young coconut and the toasted rice flour. Cook over low heat untilt the mixture is thick enough to roll. Set aside to let it cool until abit easier to handle.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper, dust this with the reserved toasted rice flour. Spread the cooked mixture on the tosted rice flour to about 2.5 cm thick. Slice into 3x10" bars and wrap each neatly with wax paper.


Palitaw (sticky rice floats)

2 cups ground sticky rice (malagkit)
2/3 cup water
2 cups coconut, grated
1 cup sesame seeds, toasted and ground
1 cup sugar

Mix sticky rice and 2/3 cup water. Form into a flat oval and shapes. Set aside.

Boil water in a medium saucepan. Drop the pieces into the boiling water and wait for it to float. Once it floats fish it out with a slotted spoon. Drain well. While still warm dredge in grated coconut then in sugar and then in the sesame seeds. Serve warm.

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Filipino Food Festival Region 3: Mazapan de Pili

Recipe from Region 3

Mazapan de Pili (pili nut candies)

3 cups ground pili nuts
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. dayap juice
1 tsp. dayap rind
2 cups evaporated milk
½ cup fine bread crumbs
3 large egg yolks

Blanch the pili nuts and grind finely using a food processor or grinder. In a deep frying pan cook ground nuts, sugar, milk and water for about 15 minutes or until thick. Add the egg yolks, juice, rind and bread crumbs and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Place in small paper candy cases. Makes 10-15 large candies.

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Filipino Food Festival Region 3: Tamales

Recipe from Region 3

Tamales (ground rice and peanut cake with savory topping)

1 cup powdered rice or rice flour
1 cup coconut milk
2 ½ cups chicken broth
¼ tsp brown sugar
1 ½ tsps. salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup finely ground peanuts
½ cup cooked chicken breast cut into strips
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Toast the rice flour over medium heat until golden brown. Remove from heat and gradually add the coconut milk. Stir or whisk until smooth. Mix in peanut butter, salt, sugar and pepper. Add the chicken broth and continue cooking, constantly stirring until mixtures turns into a thick paste. Turn the heat down and continue cooking with constant stirring for 10 more minutes. Taste and correct the seasonings. Remove from the heat and add half of the pork, chicken, ham and chorizo pieces. Transfer to a lightly oiled 9x9x1½” square pan (or 9” pie plate). Smooth out the surface and arrange the remaining cooked meat slices and eggs over the top. 6 servings.

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