Arroz a la pobre
Another variation of the traditional Paella, this is a very economical way to prepare a stylish dinner for 20 people without spending more than PhP 200.00 (US$ 3.3636). The earlier agreement to keep our Saturday evening get-togethers to after-dinner drinks and pica-pica suddenly went down the drain after one of our friends announced on Friday [...]
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Kalderetang bangus
I had this theory once that anything that could be done with meat, could also be done with fish. Well, of course, I was not 100% correct; only about 90% so.
Kaldereta is a traditional Filipino dish commonly cooked using goat’s meat. Other popular choices include beef and chicken. I figured that there was no reason [...]
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Rice noodles and dumplings
The funny thing about eating out in Metro Manila is that you’d find more Western than Asian food. The fastfood chains are the kings. Their usual fare consists of fried chicken (that’s a mainstay), spaghetti, pizza, french fries and sundae. Among Asian restaurants, half would be Chinese, a fourth would be Japanese and the remaining [...]
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Fresh vegetable lumpia
Filipinos refer to vegetable lumpia as “fresh” to distinguish it from “fried” lumpia. They both contain sauteed vegetables with a little pork and/or shrimp. In this version of fried lumpia–a vegetable combination I learned from an aunt–small cubes of sweet potatoes are added to create a variety of texture.
In making lumpia, store-bought wrappers are [...]
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Hot and sour soup
A classic oriental recipe cooked a little differently. Instead of using black chinese mushrooms, I used chicken leg mushrooms, a variety that has recently become available locally in vacuum packed pouches straight from China. And, instead of using sweet peas, I used snow peas (chicharo). The taste was traditional hot and sour soup; the crisp [...]
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Stir-fried Beef and Straw Mushrooms
Sorry about the lag. I’ve had a bad, bad cold for the past two days and I’ve been sleeping a lot. In fact, I slept practically the whole day yesterday. I’ve been ignoring my coffee and switched to salabat (ginger brew) instead. Good for itchy throat and clogged nose. When I was younger I [...]
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Macaroni soup
If you want a hearty soup to go with your fried or grilled fish or meat, try this easy macaroni soup cooked with browned bits of ground pork, carrots and lots of chopped onion leaves. My husband, who grew up with the idea that no lunch or dinner is complete without soup, was perfectly happy [...]
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Creamy Chicken & Vegetable Soup
Chunks of chicken, carrots, sweet peas and corn kernels in a creamy soup topped with grated cheese. Simple, filling, satisfying.
Once in a while, we run out of fresh vegetables. With the market quite a distance from our house, it isn’t practical to there for just a few things. We try to do our marketing in [...]
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