Pakbet or Pinakbet Recipe

Estimated cooking time: 35 minutes

Pakbet Ingredients:

• 1/4 kilo pork with fat, cut into small pieces

• 2 Amapalya (bitter melons) sliced to bite size pieces

• 2 eggplants, sliced to bite size pieces

• 5 pieces of okra, cut in two

• 1 head garlic, minced

• 2 onions, diced

• 5 tomatoes, sliced

• 1 tablespoon of ginger, crushed and sliced

• 4 tablespoons bagoong isda or bagoong alamang

• 3 tablespoons of oil

• 1 1/2 cup water

• Salt and pepper to taste

Pakbet Cooking Instructions:

• In a cooking pan, heat oil and fry the pork until brown, remove the pork from the pan and set aside.

• On the same pan, saute garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes.

• In a casserole, boil water and add bagoong.

• Add the pork in the casserole and mix in the sautéed garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

• Add in all the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook.

• Salt and pepper to taste.

• Serve hot with plain rice.

Chicken Pork Adobo Recipe

Estimated cooking time: 50 minutes

Adobo Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo pork, cut in cubes

• 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces

• 1 head garlic, minced

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 1 cup vinegar

• 2 cups of water

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 5 laurel leaves (bay leaves)

• 4 tablespoons of cooking oil or olive oil

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 3 tablespoons water

Adobo Cooking Instructions:

• In a big sauce pan or wok, sauté garlic and onions on cooking hot 2 tablespoons of oil.

• Add the pork and chicken to the pan. Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, vinegar, paprika and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or when meat is tender.

• Remove the pork and chicken from the sauce pan and on another pan, heat cooking oil and brown the pork and chicken for a few minutes.

• Mix the browned pork and chicken back to the sauce and add cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken. Bring to a boil then simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

• Serve hot with the adobo gravy and plain rice.

Adobo Cooking Tips:

You have the option to add crushed ginger to the onions and garlic when sautéing. Ginger adds a unique flavor to your pork/chicken adobo.

Kalderetang Baka Recipe (Beef Kaldereta)

Estimated cooking time: 1 1/2 to 2 hours

Beef Kaldereta Ingredients:

• 1 kilo beef, cut into chunks

• 1 big can (350g) liver spread or ground liver

• 5 onions, minced

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 6 tomatoes, sliced

• 1 cup tomato sauce

• 3 green peppers, diced

• 3 red peppers, diced

• 4 pieces hot chilli peppers, minced

• 3/4 cup grated cheese

• 2 cups beef stock or water

• 1/4 cup cooking or olive oil

Kaldereta Cooking Instructions:

• In a casserole, sauté: garlic and onions in oil. Then add tomatoes, red & green pepper and chilli peppers.

• Add in the beef, tomato sauce, liver spread and water or stock. Salt to taste and let simmer for at least 1 hour or until the beef is tender.

• Add cheese and olives (optional) and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens.

• Serve with plain rice

Cooking Tips:

• Instead of beef, goat’s meat (kambing) can be used. If goat’s meat is used, marinate the meat in vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper for at least 15 minutes.

• For a special kaldereta, do not use water or beef stock. Use an equivalent weight of onions to the beef (1 kg of onions : 1 kg of beef). The onions will serve as water to the dish.

Pork Menudo Recipe

Estimated preparation & cooking time: 50 minutes

Menudo Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo pork (cut into small chunks)

• 1/4 kilo pork liver (cut into small cubes)

• 5 pieces chorizo Bilbao (also cut in small pieces)

• 4 potatoes (peeled, cut in small cubes, fried)

• 1 green and 1 red bell pepper (diced)

• 1 cup chickpeas

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1 cup pork or chicken stock

• 2 teaspoons of patis (fish sauce)

• 3 tablespoons oil

• 1 tablespoon atsuete oil (optional)

• 3 tomatoes (diced)

• 1 small head of garlic (minced)

• 1 medium size onion (diced)

Menudo Cooking Instructions:

• In a pan or wok, heat cooking oil and atsuete oil.

• Saute garlic, onion. Then add the pork, liver, chorizo de Bilabo, tomatoes, bell pepper, paprika, patis and the stock.

• Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the pork is tender.

• Add the chickpeas, potatoes and raisins. Boil of another 2 minutes.

• Salt and pepper to taste.

• Serve hot with white rice.

Chopsuey Recipe

Estimated cooking & preparation time: 45 minutes.

Chopsuey Ingredients:

• 1/4 kilo pork, sliced into small pieces

• 1/4 kilo shrimps, shelled, deveined and halved

• 1/4 kilo chicken liver and gizzard, sliced to small pieces

• 1/4 kilo cauliflower, broken to bite size

• 1/4 kilo string beans

• 1/4 kilo snow peas (sitsaro)

• 1/4 kilo cabbage, cut into squares

• 2 stalks of leeks, cut into 2″ long pieces

• 3 stalks celery, cut into 2″ long pieces

• 5 cloves garlic, diced

• 2 onions, diced

• 1 carrot, sliced thinly

• 1 piece red bell pepper, cut in strips

• 1 piece green bell pepper. cut in strips

• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

• 2 cups chicken stock (broth)

• 3 tablespoons of sesame oil

• 3 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)

• 4 tablespoons of corn oil or vegetable oil

• Salt to taste

Chopsuey Cooking Instructions:

• In a big pan or wok, sauté garlic, onions then add in the pork. chicken liver and gizzard. Add 1 cup of stock, pinch of salt and simmer for 15 minutes or until pork and chicken giblets are cooked.

• Mix in the shrimp then all the vegetables. Add the remaining 1 cup of stock, patis and the dissolved cornstarch. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are done. Add the sesame oil.

• Salt and pepper to taste.

• Serve hot with rice

Chicken Afritada Recipe

Estimated cooking time: 50 minutes

Chicken Afritada Ingredients:

• 1 kilo chicken, cut into pieces

• 5 pieces potatoes, peeled and halved

• 1 red onion, diced

• 1 head garlic, minced

• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

• 2 cups pork or chicken stock (broth)

• 1 cup tomato sauce

• 2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)

• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil

Chicken Afritada Cooking Instructions:

• In a cooking pot or wok, heat oil.

• Sauté garlic and onions.

• Add chicken and slightly brown.

• Pour the tomato sauce and stock. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked.

• Add potatoes and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

• Add the green and red bell peppers, simmer for an additional minute or two.

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Serve hot with rice.

Kare Kare Recipe

Kare Kare is beef and or ox tail in peanut sauce.

Estimated cooking time: 2 hours

Kare Kare Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo beef (round or sirloin cut) cut into cubes (for a more traditional kare kare, use cleaned beef tripe instead of beef)

• 1/2 kilo oxtail, cut 2 inch long

• 3 cups of peanut butter

• 1/4 cup grounded toasted rice

• 1/2 cup cooked bagoong alamang (anchovies)

• 2 pieces onions, diced

• 2 heads of garlic, minced

• 4 tablespoons atsuete oil

• 4 pieces eggplant, sliced 1 inch thick

• 1 bundle Pechay (Bok choy) cut into 2 pieces

• 1 bundle of sitaw (string beans) cut to 2″ long

• 1 banana bud, cut similar to eggplant slices, blanch in boiling water

• 1/2 cup oil

• 8 cups of water

• Salt to taste

Kare Kare Cooking Instructions:

• In a stock pot, boil beef and oxtails in water for an hour or until cooked. Strain and keep the stock.

• In a big pan or wok, heat oil and atsuete oil.

• Sauté garlic, onions until golden brown, then add the stock, toasted rice, beef, oxtail and peanut butter. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Salt to taste.

• Add the eggplant, string beans, pechay and banana bud. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes – Do not overcook the vegetables.

• Serve with bagoong on the side and hot plain rice.

Bicol Express Recipe

Estimated preparation time: 30 minutes

Estimated cooking time: 30 minutes

Bicol Express Ingredients:

• 1/4 kilo pork, thinly sliced

• 1 cup Baguio beans

• 3 cups long chili or jalapeno peppers

• 1 onion, minced

• 1 head of garlic, minced

• 1 cup coconut milk

• 1 cup coconut cream

• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil

• Salt to taste

Bicol Express Cooking Instructions:

• In a bowl of water with salt, soak chili peppers for 30 minutes then rinse and strain.

• In a cooking pan, heat cooking oil and brown sliced pork for a few minutes.

• In another pan, sauté minced garlic and onion.

• Add to the sauté the browned pork.

• Then add the coconut milk, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

• Add the chili peppers, Baguio beans and cook until dish gets a little dry.

• Add the coconut cream and simmer until the sauce thickens.

• Salt to taste.