A COLLECTION OF FILIPINO MAIN ENTREE RECIPES

CHICKEN / PORK ADOBO (CHICKEN AND PORK STEWED IN SOY SAUCE AND VINEGAR)

The Philippines pride and national dish.  Every household knows how to prepare Adobo and it seems that every region in the country has its recipe.  Nevertheless, Adobo would always contain these basic ingredients listed below.  Eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner; eat it fried or stewed, the Filipinos love for adobo will never fade.

500 grams pork belly

500 grams pork shoulder or other cut for stewing

500 grams of boneless, skin-on chicken thighs (or bone-in chicken legs, thighs)

2 heads of garlic

2 tablespoons of black peppercorns

1 cup cane vinegar (or palm, white)

1/2 cup Filipino soy sauce (or reduced-salt)

4 dried bay leaves

Barely enough water to cover the meat

1 teaspoon of oil

Prepare the meat. Slice everything into chunks (about 1.5 inches).Remove garlic cloves and mash. Heat the teaspoon of oil on high heat in a deep pan. Saute garlic just until soft. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, vinegar and soy sauce. Add  the meat into the pan and turn to coat all the pieces. Pour in just enough water just enough to cover the meat. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat. Simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour (or until desired tenderness is reached). Turn off the heat. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon. Set aside. Pour the sauce into a separate heat-proof bowl. From here, you can choose whether to serve the adobo as it is or fry it until crispy to make adobo flakes

Adobo Flakes: Take 3-4 chunks of pork shoulder. Shred them into small strings or flakes. Heat a deep-fryer or about a half-inch of oil in a wok. When hot, fry the flakes until crispy. Dry the flakes on paper towels. These can be sprinkled on top of the adobo just before serving for an added crunch.

SEAFOOD KARE KARE  (SEAFOOD PEANUT STEW)

Another dish that is considered a national dish.  Just like the Adobo, it seems Kare Kare has different versions, the most popular using pork trotters.  Listed below is my seafood version.  Serve it in a clay pot for added authenticity.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup peanut butter
200 grams string beans, cut into 1/2 lengths
200 grams eggplants, sliced
1/2 kilo fish fillet, cubed
1/4 kilo squid, cleaned
1/4 kilo mussels, cleaned
1/2 kilo prawns, cleaned
1/4 kilo oysters, shucked
2 tsps. Kalamansi (local lime) juice
Patis (fish sauce) to taste
1/2 cup bagoong alamang (shrimp paste)

COOKING PROCEDURE :

In a cooking pot, sauté onions and garlic.  Add the peanut butter and shrimp paste.  Add the eggplants and seafood with enough water to cover.  Simmer until seafoods and eggplants are cooked.  Add the string beans and bok choy and simmer until cooked through.  Adjust seasoning.   Serve in a clay pot with more shrimp paste as a condiment of desired.

CRISPY PATA (DEEP FRIED PORK TROTTERS)

What could be better than slicing succulent pork fresh from the deep fryer.  Crispy Pata is the quintessential fiesta dish !! Dip the fried chunks of pork in soy sauce mixed with birds eye chili.

1 pork trotter (front or hind leg of a pig including the knuckles)

1 can of  lemon soda (7Up or sprite)

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon whole peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)

1 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG)

4 tablespoons of flour

Enough oil for deep frying

Enough water for boiling

Clean the pork trotters by removing all hairs and by scraping the skin with a knife. Wash thoroughly. Make four to five inch cuts on the sides of the trotter. On a deep stock pot, place the trotter in water with soda, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes and continue to simmer until pork trotters are tender and cooked through.. Remove the trotter from the pot and  thoroughly drain the pork trotter and refrigerate for a few hours.

After the above process, rub fish sauce on the trotter and sprinkle flour liberally.

In a deep frying pot, heat cooking oil and deep fry the pork trotter until golden brown.

Mix 3/4 cup of vinegar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 head of diced onion and 1 hot pepper. Salt and pepper to taste.

PINAKBET (STEWED VEGETABLES WITH SHRIMP PASTE AND BITTER MELON)

The Philippines most popular vegetable dish.  Most people get put-off with the bitter melon which is an essential ingredient of this dish, but it does grown on you.  Perfect with steamed rice.

Ingredients :

1/4 kilo pork with fat (cut into very small pieces)

3 tablespoons oil

1 1/2 cup water

2 medium size ampalaya (bitter melon) (cut into 8 pieces each)

2 medium size eggplants (cut into 8 pieces each)

1 cup diced squash

6 pieces okra halved

6 pieces tomatoes quartered

1 small garlic head minced

2 small onions diced

1 small ginger sliced

4 tablespoons bagoong (shrimp paste)

Pinch of pepper

Cooking Procedure:

In a pan, cook pork until lightly crispy, set aside. Saute garlic, onion, tomatoes, and ginger in the pork fat and mix in pork. In a pot, boil water with bagoong. Add in the pork and spices.Add all the vegetables and cook. Serve hot.

CALDERETA (FILIPINO BEEF STEW)

The quintessential lutong bahay dish ( homey comfort food). The local version of  Beef Bourguignon.  This dish has many variations as well, goat meat being used by the locals as an alternative option.

Ingredients:

1  kilo beef or goat  round or chuck

¼ cup white vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

2-3 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons worceteshire sauce

1 chopped onion

1 chopped bell pepper

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups tomato sauce

2 cups stock

2 cups cubed potatoes

1 cup peas

 ¼ cup liver spread

¼ cup grated cheese

Mix the beef, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic together in a large bowl. Marinate, refrigerated overnight. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry, reserving the marinade. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large pot. Brown the beef in batches, removing it to a plate or bowl. When the beef is all browned, add more oil to the pot if needed and sauté the onions, peppers and garlic over medium flame until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato sauce and worcetershire sauce and  simmer for 3 to 5 mnutes. Return the beef to the pot, along with the reserved marinade and the stock or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 30 to 40 minutes. Sir in the potatoes, peas, salt and pepper and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the beef is tender and the potatoes are cooked through. Add a little more water if necessary. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the liver spread and grated cheese Adjust seasonings to taste and serve hot over rice.