Arhive for May, 2009
27 May, 2009 at 2:58 am
Amidst news reports bombarding our consciousness of the gloom and doom of the pig flu, good food continues to prevail in the Philippines. Most Filipinos just can’t bear to stay away from a favorite dish called “Lechon” or slowly roasted pig.
“Lechon” is world renowned as American TV chef Anthony Bourdain called it “the holy grail of pork” and Time magazine the “Best Pig” in Asia.
The epicenter of the outbreak, in Mexico there have been 12 confirmed deaths from the illness and 300 others infected, while there have also been infections in Canada, the US and across the globe, but not yet in the Philippines.
The outbreak was formerly known as “swine flu” yet consequently gave a wrong impression that pigs actively carry the virus thus pork should not be eaten at all. To clear out any misconception, the World Health Organization (WHO) is now officially referring to it as Influenza A (H1N1).
The owner of a famous “Lechon” house shares that the business are not affected by it. Lydia De Roca, 62, owner of Lydia’s Lechon emphasizes that none of her 19 branches in the country had experienced a drop in sales. De Roca shares that customers remain to patronize their roast pig joint since they have retain high cleaning standards and pigs are bred to high quality.
Lydia’s Lechon is just one of many restaurants in the area where pigs are slow-roasted over charcoal in full view of diners. The dish is a regular during Filipino celebrations with its golden-brown skin and its juicy white meat adorning the dining table.
The government is also doing its bit to communicate that humans cannot get swine flu by eating pork and although the Philippines produces most of its pork needs, imports from Canada, US and Mexico have been banned just in case. The government had already highlighted the new strain of flu could not be caught from eating pig meat when Health Secretary Francisco Duque said: “You get flu when someone sneezes or coughs on you. Meat does not sneeze or cough on people.”
Nevertheless, pig farmers in many countries have been hit hard and dozens of countries have imposed bans on pork imports. But sellers of the Philippines’ signature dish go on much as before.
Zennaida Correa, owner of “Hiedy’s Lechon”, said she has not suffered a sales drop, saying that previous outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and bird flu fears have done more to scare customers.
“I know about swine flu and I’m very sure you don’t get it by eating roasted pigs,” Myra Valencia said as she accompanied her husband and child to a lechon stall.
“I just wanted to eat lechon,” said another diner, Frederico Bautista. “I have heard about swine flu from the newspapers and television but I don’t know if eating roasted pigs was the source of it.”
The head of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Eliseo Yu, confirmed that pork prices have fallen recently in Manila public markets but is brought about a seasonal demand cycle and is not at all related to H-1 flu virus.
Technorati Tags: 2009, H1N1 influenza A virus, lechon, philippines
27 May, 2009 at 12:46 am
Ingredients:
3 pounds trout, bluefish or tangigue, dressed
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 small bay leaf (optional)
3 tablespoons vegetable or corn oil
Preparations:
1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan except the oil.
2. Marinate for one hour. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Remove fish and set aside. Reduce sauce to half and set aside.
4. Fry fish in hot oil till it is brown, and pour sauce in with fish. Simmer for 3 minutes and serve hot.
Technorati Tags: adobong isda, filipino recipes, fish adobo recipe
21 May, 2009 at 2:39 am
Ingredients:
1 pound whole fish
1 tbsp vegetable or corn oil
1 tbsp finely minced ginger
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp finely minced garlic
2 cups water
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
patis or salt to taste
oil
Preparations:
1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Saute onion, garlic, and ginger.
2. Add water and bring to boil.
3. Add the whole fish and zucchini.
4. Season with patis, salt, and pepper.
5. Let it simmer until done.
Technorati Tags: boiled fish, filiipno recipes, filipino food, tinolang isda
12 May, 2009 at 9:21 am
Ingredients:
2 to 3-pounds lean beef (rolled roast, chuck steak or London broil)
2 strips bacon
3 tablespoons sherry
2 cups water
1 teaspoon chopped pimento
juice of one lemon
1 bay leaf
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 to 3 tablespoons flour
4 big onions, quartered
4 to 5 tablespoons soy sauce
8-ounce can tomato sauce
salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter
6 potatoes, quartered
Preparations:
1. Marinate beef in lemon juice and soy sauce. Make 2 lengthwise slits in the meat and insert the bacon stips.
2. In a large pot, fry the meat until brown. Add the bay leaf, tomato sauce, the marinade, sherry, garlic, salt and water. Cover the pot and simmer until the beef is tender.
3. Remove meat and slice.
4. Thicken sauce with flour and butter. Add pimento, onions and potatoes with the meat to the thickened sauce. Serve hot.
Technorati Tags: beef mechado recipe, Beef Stew with a Wick recipe, filipino food
7 May, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Ingredients:
1 to 2 pounds sirloin steak, sliced into small pieces
1 ripe plantain banana, cut into serving pieces
1 pepperoni or chorizo
½ medium-sized green cabbage, sliced
8 peppercorns
1/2 plantain, peeled and boiled
1 clove garlic, finely crushed
6 cups water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
6-ounce can chick peas
1 bunch green onions or scallions
1 small sweet potato or yam, peeled and boiled
1 potato, quartered
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 pound green beans
1 small onion, quartered
Pochero sauce:
1 medium-size eggplant
1/4 cup white vinegar
1.5 cups tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Simmer beef in water until tender. Set aside broth.
2. Boil potato in beef broth and set aside. Boil plantain and set aside.
3. In a large skillet or saucepan, sautee garlic in oil. Add beef, chorizo or pepperoni, chick peas, broth, green beans, cabbage and green onions or scallions. Add quartered onion and peppercorns. Simmer until vegetables are done. Add salt to taste.
4. When ready to serve, garnish with banana and potato. Serve with pochero sauce.
5. To make pochero sauce, boil eggplant and remove skin. Mash with plantain and sweet potato. In a pan over heat, add the vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Technorati Tags: beef pochero style recipe, filipino food, pocherong baka
1 May, 2009 at 9:26 am
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 cup diced potatoes
½ cup seedless raisins
½ teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks (plus some egg whites to seal empanadas)
1 clove garlic, minced or ½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 small onion, minced
¼ tsp pepper
Pastry
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup water
4 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup oil
Preparations:
1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add the ground beef until brown.
2. Place the meat to one side. Sauté garlic until brown then add onion. Mix the meat, garlic and onion then add potatoes.
3. stir and cook until potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper and mix in raisins.
Pastry:
1. Mix and knead all ingredients until dough is soft. Sprinkle flour on a board, roll out 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 4 or 5 inch diameter circles. You can use a wide-mouthed jar or cup to cut circles.
2. put a spoonful of meat filling in the center of each circle. Fold to half moon shape, wet edges with egg whites, press to seal sides.
3. You can either fry or bake the pies. For frying, deep fry until golden brown. For baking, put in oven for 15 to 20 minutes 425 F until golden brown.
Technorati Tags: baking recipe, empanada beef recipe, filipino food
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