Ingredients:
2 pounds sirloin steak, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
1 cup thinly sliced white onion rings
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup water
Directions:
1. Marinate the meat in lemon juice, soy sauce, pepper and salt for 3 hours or more.
2. Cook onion rings in oil until color turns transparent. Transfer to a serving dish, leaving the oil in the skillet.
3. Add the meat to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring often until tender. Transfer the meat to a serving dish.
4. Add marinade and water to the skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes and pour over the meat and onion rings.
Christmas is definitely in the air. Everybody is looking forward to share that special time with the family on Christmas eve. The festive Noche Buena is what comes to mind when we think longingly to Christmas. The whole family celebrates over delicious Filipino food partaken from the Noche Buena table. Start planning the dishes you want to serve for Noche Buena by checking the list below:
Filipinos celebrate Christmas as early as September for as long the month ends in “ber” such as September, October, November, and December. Filipinos love to put Christmas decorations in display to bring in the festive mood of the season. In fact, the appearance of star-shaped lanterns sprawled along the street in the Philippines often signals the start of the yuletide season. The parol has become an iconic symbol of the Filipino Christmas as equally comparable to the Christmas tree in other cultures. These lanterns are called “parol” as a symbol of anticipation for the most wonderful time of the year for Filipinos like in any other countries.
Parols come in a variety of shapes and sizes having that distinct star-shaped pattern as the most commonly used design. Modern designs of the parols also include angels, Christmas trees, happy faces, Santa Claus’ face and beer or soda cans. The basic concept of parol lies in the source of light underneath its exterior wrought out of a casing made of bamboo sticks. The exterior of the lantern are translucent giving the fact that materials used are Japanese paper or colored plastic. The handmade lanterns are meticulously added with layers of these materials in addition to variety of stickers to create an illusion of contrast and depth despite of the only one source of light. Some lanterns employ a moving mechanism that exposes many sides to observers passing by. It only makes sense to find parol hung outside doors and windows in most homes that it certainly shine along the streets of the Philippines aglow with colorful designs for more than 3 months.
Parol making contest
Yearly competitions are regularly held particularly in Paskuhan Village in Pampanga, Philippines. You will see giant lanterns studded with colorful bulbs all over it. Each bulb is painstakingly arranged in such a way that the wires will touch a huge rotating wheel behind the lantern’s face at a particular synchronized timing. The timing is based on the location of the “catch wires” that connect with the individual bulb’s wires to light up the parol in time with the musical piece. The more than regularly sized parol have to be mounted on big trucks together with the power source, usually arrays of batteries in case no outlets are available. The basis of the competition is according to the synchronicity of their bulbs lighting with the music being played as well as the artistry applied on the lanterns. The annual event is a crowd-drawer in the Philippines thus costs millions to come up with.
The meaning behind the Filipino lantern
The parol is a showcase of the Filipino’s distinctive qualities of ingenuity, hospitality and passion for hope and peace. Ingenuity, because the materials used for parol are of different kinds. Some parols are made of indigenous materials such as bamboo, or a pliable wood called rattan. Some parols are also made of recycled materials such as plastic containers, newspapers, used canisters, empty bottles among others. Intricately designed parols are made from small sea shells can reach up to 5 feet in diameter alone. The parol is also a symbol for hospitality because the people who hung parols in their houses intend to welcome visitors during the Christmas season. Lastly, the parol is a symbol of the Filipino’s longing for hope and peace despite the commercial overtures and gift-giving rampantly obvious this season.
Ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork loin, sliced into pieces
1 small can pineapple chunks
1 large onion, quartered
1 red & 1 green bell peppers, sliced into strips
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of peanut oil
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
3 tablespoons of ketchup
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cloves of minced garlic
Directions:
1. In a pot, boil pork in 2 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt until tender, then drain. Keep the pork stock for later.
2. Mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and soy sauce then coat the pork with the cornstarch mixture.
3. Fry the pork in a skillet until golden brown, set aside.
4. Dissolve the remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch on 1/2 cup of pork stock - set aside.
5. Sauté garlic and onions on oil, then add the bell peppers, pineapple chunks (including the syrup), ketchup, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the dissolved cornstarch. Stir until sauce thickens.
6. Pour over fried pork then serve with rice.
Christmas is not the same without caroling. In fact, Filipinos also love to express the joys of Christmas season through songs called caroling. It is an integral part of the Filipino Christmas tradition. “Misa de Gallo” or Dawn Mass, Simbang Gabi often witnesses carolers quick on their feet to sing cheerful and heartfelt Christmas carols form house to house to spread the season’s spirit.
Little children form their own groups and hops from a house to another house singing Christmas songs such as “Silent night”, “Jingle Bells”, Filipino Christmas songs like “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit”, “Pasko na naman”, “Namamasko” and other traditional and modern songs.
The ingenuity of Filipino can also be seen in caroling. Carolers usually have handmade musical instruments like tambourine made out of bottle tops, drums made from cans or biscuit tins. The caroler will be very delighted when you hand them coins as a sing of appreciation. After you do, they will be sure to sing thank you for your generosity, which goes “thank you, thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo.”
Caroling does not only apply to children, even church organizations, clubs, group of friends get into singing Christmas tunes to raise funds. Some of these groups will give you a letter in advance to inform you the date and time they plan to go into caroling at your house.
Most of these caroling groups carry musical instruments such as guitar, drums and tambourine to make their performance even livelier. These groups dedicate time and effort into practicing the songs weeks in advance. They are most ready to sing from their hearts to spread the joy and warmth of the Yuletide season. Caroling is a tradition kept alive in the spirit of generosity is in the air this Christmas season.
Filipinos have come to love Creamy Macaroni Chicken Soup or popularly known as Sopas. This is a soup dish that we Filipinos have come to own.
Ingredients:
500g chicken breast
4 cloves garlic (minced)
2 white onion (minced)
1 large bell pepper (seeded and sliced into strips)
freshly ground black pepper
2 carrots (sliced into thin strips)
350 g macaroni noddles
2 cups evaporated milk
1 medium cabbage (roughly shredded)
2 tbsp margarine
fish sauce (patis)
rock salt
chopped spring onions
Directions:
1. Boil chicken breast in 4 cups of water. Save the broth to be used later.
2. Shred chicken meat with your fingers. Set aside.
3. Saute garlic and onion in oil over medium heat.
4. Add the bell pepper and cook until aromatic.
5. Stir in the shredded chicken.
6. Season lightly with ground black pepper.
7. Add minced carrots. Do a quick sauté. Then add the macaroni. Stir the mixture well.
8. Pour in the chicken broth and 5 cups water. Simmer.
9. Pour in the milk. Stir the mixture gently.
10. Add the cabbage. Boil until macaroni is tender.
11. Add the margarine.
12. Season with patis or salt.
