Octopus sa Kamatis

This recipe was sent to us by Melissa Polito of Polomolok, South cotabato, Philippines.

This is the first time that we’ll feature an octopus recipe and I’m pretty much excited. By looking at the ingredients and procedure, this seems to be a quick and healthy one. Imagine a healthy recipe that only requires less than 10 minutes to cook, I can’t wait to try this.

Thank You Melissa!

Igado

Igado is a popular Ilocano dish made from pork tenderloin and pig’s innards such as liver, kidney, heart. This is definitely one of the best Filipino foods around – in my opinion. However, some might still need to acquire a taste for it.

I’m not sure where the name “Igado” was derived from. Higado is a Spanish word for liver, it might be possible that this dish was named after it; don’t you think?

Since this dish deals with pig’s innards, it is important to make sure that the ingredients that you are using are clean. I usually clean the liver and kidney with running water before slicing; this washes away the impurities (but do not overdo it or you’ll lose the taste). As for the kidneys, I soak it in water with salt for 10 minutes after slicing in order to reduce the odor.

How do you cook your Igado? Do you have other tips to share?

Sarciadong Isda

Sarciadong Isda is literally translated as “Fish with sauce”. Fried fish is simmered in a sauce that is usually composed of tomatoes and onions; some seasonings are also added to enhance the flavor.

In my opinion, this simple and healthy recipe also works well with leftover fried fish. You can still transform your leftover fried fish that you had last night for dinner into a very tasty and hearty lunch meal.

I used tilapia for this demonstration because it’s the only fresh fish available in the nearest market. I don’t hate tilapia (in fact I use it in most of our fish recipes) but I still feel that using saltwater fish for this particular recipe is better. I guess that this is one of the disadvantages when you live in the Midwest where the ocean is hundreds of miles away. This is just my view; there are no specific types of fish required for this recipe so feel free to use whatever suits you best.

Try this Sarciadong Isda recipe

5 Things to Consider in Making the Best Fried Rice

Fried Rice is the result when steamed or boiled rice are fried in oil or animal fat. For practical reasons, the Chinese first used this method to preserve and recycle leftover steamed rice for consumption. Nowadays, several varieties of fried rice are enjoyed throughout the world.

Making fried rice seems simple and easy. When asked as to how this is done, you might say “heat some oil and fry the steamed rice then add the other ingredients that you have”. While this statement is true, there are more things to consider that may help you make the best possible outcome out of what you have.

Humba

Humba is a sweet pork dish that resembles the famous pork adobo in terms of appearance. This is popular in the southern parts of the Philippines and is considered as one of the delicacies of the region. Pork belly, pork hocks, and pork ham are the 3 most common pig parts used to make this delightful masterpiece.

This dish uses all the ingredients of pork adobo; however, certain ingredients such as brown sugar, salted black beans, and banana blossoms make this dish stand out. There are also other variations wherein pineapple juice is used (I learned this from my friends that came from Cebu, Davao, and Gensan) – this gives more life to the dish as far as I’m concerned.

Palitaw

Palitaw is a term used to call a sweet flat rice cake that is eaten in the Philippines as a snack or dessert. Originally, grounded or pounded sticky rice is used to make this rice cake (called kakanin in the local language) – however, the practice of using packaged rice flour became common because it [...]

Ube Halaya

Ube Halaya is a dessert made from boiled and grated purple yam which is locally known in the Philippines as “Ube”. Aside from Ube Halaya, different desserts and pastries such as ice cream, tarts, and cakes makes use of this root crop.

In this presentation, I used a ready-made boiled grated ube that I got from the Asian store. Having a prepared product such as this saves me time but I still prefer making this dessert from scratch using uncooked purple yam (If only there is any available). For those who are using uncooked purple yam – simply boil and mash them before proceeding with the steps below.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs is a pasta dish consisting of spaghetti (a long, thin, and cylindrically shaped pasta that is of Italian origin), tomato sauce, and meatballs. Though spaghetti originated from Italy, it is said that this particular dish was first cooked in New York by Italian immigrants. However, there are claims that a similar version of this dish was served in Sicily even before it became famous in the USA.

This can be considered as a healthy food. The crushed tomatoes produces Lycopene (cancer fighting agents) when cooked for a certain period of time. Herbs such as fresh basil and parsley also contribute to the health benefits of this dish. In addition, baked meatballs contain less oil and fat compared to the fried ones.

Try this Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe.

Corned Beef with Potatoes

Eating breakfast like a king is what I’ve been doing since I can remember. This improves my metabolism and fuels-up my day. There is nothing like a good Corned Beef meal for breakfast especially when served with garlic rice (sinangag): this is what I had just a few hours ago.

Fried Bangus

Before anything else, let me first acquaint you with a section of this blog called “What’s cookin?” This section (or category) is intended to showcase simple yet delicious food that we usually prepare on ordinary or busy days.

Unlike the recipe section, this does not show details on how certain foods are prepared. The ones featured here are done using basic cooking procedures that almost everyone is familiar with. In addition, this section is also intended to promote our appreciation on simple everyday meals that most of us had while growing-up (or still having until now) and remind everyone that some good food does not need to be costly and complicated.

I was craving for pritong bangus (milkfish) since last week: it is not until today that I was able to visit the local Pinoy store to get a pack of bangus marinated in vinegar and crushed garlic. I even saw some salted eggs and was able to grab a dozen.

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