Selling Mussels, Paros etc

My barrio, Sagrada, is one of the coastal areas of Hagonoy where most people would have jobs related to the sea or fishponds -- building boats (like norways, a big fishing vessel), building fishponds like doing pagtatambak (workers would be called mananambak of whose job would be building the fishpond enclosure called pilapil in Tagalog) or pamamanti (fishing using fishnet...leaving it in the waters where fish would be trap, mamamanti would go back after awhile to check if the trap worked).  When I was a child, some of the young people I knew would sometimes end up fishing instead of going to school.  That was the time when the sea was still rich and when people thought it would end.  My cousins would go out fishing with their fathers.  They would usually leave at night and come home early in the morning with fish, prawns, mussels, oysters etc. 

Some would go to the "pakapa" . This is done after the fishpond owners harvested their bangus (milkfish) or prawns.  They would usually allow people to go to their property to clear the fishpond.  This is quite a big feast for the fisherfolks since they would be able to get mud crabs which are quite pricey when you sell them in the fish market or just around the street.  My cousins would sometimes use salakab (a fish trap made from bamboo) to catch fish.  Oysters are usually harvested though. Speaking of oysters, my cousin bought us a sack of this yummy aphrodisiac for Php200.  Goodness, here in Australia, you buy oysters by piece, $20++/dozen!!!  I will definitely eat a lot of oysters when I go back and visit the Philippines late this year.  This time I can eat as many as I want since I am not pregnant (LOL).

One thing that I am proud of, is that, I was able to experience to sell oysters, mussels, paros, and fish on the street with my cousins, Baby and Nora. I remember the buyers haggling the price with us and we would always say "tapat na po" (last price).  We would get the seafoods that we were selling from our uncle and male cousins and in the end they would give us a percentage of the amount we sold.  I could not remember though how much they gave us.  But to me it did not matter...what I love was the enjoyment I got from selling on the street.  The fun of doing it was really the best part!


A comment or two will be appreciated...

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Beef Siomai (repost)

I have always loved eating siomai with all gusto!  It can be served as an appetizer or entree and even the main course and it will still be lovely.  When I was still working at Miriam College in the Philippines, I would always order siomai at the cafetorium.  You have the option to buy the ordinary pork siomai or get the one with the quail egg on it. 

The soy sauce with chilli dip is just so nice to go with the siomai.  I remember ordering 1 whole packet of uncooked siomai from the canteen and bringing it home.  I also love the ones you can eat at Hen Lin's, Chowking, Causeway, Ma Mon Luk, and of course the siomai sold at the Hagonoy town center.
Most of the countries in Asia have their own versions of siomai but this dish originated in China.  Shumai or Shaomai is made from mixture of mince meat and mince carrots and spring onions.  But then again, it would depend on which version are you eating.  The most well known is the Cantonese siomai or pork and mushroom dumpling of which the  standard filling consists of minced pork and small whole or chopped shrimp primarily.

Preparing siomai is not not difficult since you would only need to mix all the ingredients and wrap in the dimsum wrap.  You can even get adventurous with what you add to the main ingredients and the kind of dip that you want to use with siomai.

Ingredients:

500 g ground beef

1 c water chestnuts or singkamas,  minced

4  tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp ground black pepper

2/3 cup onion, minced

1 c carrots, minced

1 c  white mushroom, minced

1 pack won ton wrapper

1/4 c spring onions, minced

2 tsp salt

1 piece raw egg

Procedure:

Mix all the ingredients except the wrapper in a big bowl.

Put  a tbsp of mixture to the wrapper.

Place the siomai in the traditional Chinese steamer and cover.

Steam for 20 - 25 minutes.

Note:  You can add minced shrimp, or replace the beef with pork and chicken.

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Samalamig

If there is one drink that I would always remember drinking as a young kid, that would be "samalamig."  I guess every kid in the province would remember this one better than the juice from the grocery stores.  The word samalamig or palamig comes from the word lamig (cold).  It is usually very saleable during summer time in the Philippines.

The usual palamig would have sweetened or caramelised sago (tapioca) and gulaman (gelatin, jelly) with vanilla flavour.  I used to sell this type of samalamig  in front of our house.  Sometimes, my brother and I would go to the church patio or wherever they're having senakulo (The Passion of Christ Play which is done thru singing) in our barrio to sell them.  We would usually do this (going to the venue of the senakulo) without my father knowing it.  Protective as he was, he would always warn usabout the dangers of being in the middle of the crowd.  Well anyway, going back, I would buy the pre-packed vanilla in a small ice candy plastic tube, the cooked gelatin in an ice cream cup (you can choose whatever color you like) and the plastic bag of sago in a small store at the town center in the lumang palengke (old market).  I think they also had the straws and plastic bags.
I would caramelise the sago with sugar at home.  My brother and my father would help me mix everything --- water, sugar, milk, vanilla, gelatin and sago.  My father would put this big piece of ice (half a block) to make the samalamig cold.  For the taste test? Of course, that would be all of us!  Funny, sometimes I will end up selling half of the container though because of the non - paying buyers.  Del Monte pineapple juice was also a good drink to sell back then...as well as buco juice (young coconut juice with its shredded meat), and melon (rock melon variety).
Samalamig used to be  b, c and d crown favorite but since it has evolved, even the a crowd now is buying it.  They are not just sold on the street or at the small pondahan (small table with some goodies sold) but now they are served even at big restaurants!!!  Now the used to be "poor" samalamig is famous!   Oh when I go back to the Philippines, I will make samalamig again...maybe sell again? I've heard it's being sold now in our place for Php2 - 5?  Hmmm not bad...

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Simple Bacon and Cheese Quiche

The first time I had a quiche, it was a vegetable quiche ( I can not remember though what veggies were present in the quiche. All I know is that that quiche was really yummy) at a house of our family friends.  From then on my husband would always buy the ready made quiche from the shop.  To probably not make it a boring dish, he would buy different kinds of quiche. 

A quiche is an open pastry type of dish similar to a pie.  Well I think, I even told my husband that it's a pie but a different sort of pie.  The word quiche is a French word borrowed from the German word Küeche which means cake.  Usually the ingredients would be meat, veggies and cheese.

Ingredients:

Crust
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, diced
3 tablespoons ice-cold water

Filling

1/2 c bacon, fried a little and cut into small pieces
4 large eggs
1 1/2 milk
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
1 c cheese, grated

Toppings

1/3 c cheese
1/4 c bacon

Procedure:

Crust
Mix flour and salt. Add butter using a pastry blender. Continue doing this until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Add water (a little at a time). Knead a little and form a ball.  Shape into a disk and wrap with a cling wrap and cool in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough in a floured surface. Shape into a circle and fit into a quiche or pie pan.  Trim the edges and prick with fork.  To prevent it from rising too much, line it with a foil and put a pie weight or anything that would hold it down. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 F

Filling

Whisk the all the filling ingredients.  Pour on top of the baked quiche crust and top with additional bacon and cheese. Bake for 375 F for 30 minutes until it is set and light brown in color.

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Oven Temperature Conversion

C	F	GAS
110	225	1/4
120/130	250	1/2
140	275	1
150	300	2
160/170	325	3
180	350	4
190	375	5
200	400	6
220	425	7
230	450	8
240	475	9

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The Chocolate Kiss Cafe

I  can not remember how many times have I gone to "The Chocolate Kiss Cafe" in UP Diliman when I was still working in Quezon City. Just the thought of going to this lovely cafe cum restaurant would always make me smile.  I can still imagine how lucious Classic Chocolate Cake they offer...the richness of the taste of the Chicken Quesadillas...

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Sweet and Spicy Hoisin Chicken Wings

This is one of my family's favourite.  The spiciness and the sweetness brought by the honey makes this dish really yummy.  Most of the recipes I see online or in my cookbooks would not include honey in its ingredients.

But I want to try something different so I added pure honey to it and the result was really good.  Hoisin sauce is also called Haxian sauce is a Chinese dipping sauce.   Traditionally, it is made from sweet potatoes.  Water, sugar, soy beans, white vinegar, salt, garlic, chilli peppers, and coloring agents.  Although the word Hoisin means seafood, there are no seafood in its ingredients.

Ingredients:  1/2 K chicken wings (cut into two, remove tips)
1/2 c hoisin sauce
1/4 c pure honey
1 tsp ginger, grated or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Procedure:

1. Combine all the ingredients by whisking.
2. Marinade chicken wings for half an hour or more.
3. Preheat oven to 250 C
4. Place a foil (big enough to cover the chicken) in a big baking pan.
5. Place the chicken in the foil. Make sure that they are not overcrowded.
6. Pour the marinade and seal with foil.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through and the glaze is brown

Note:  If you want the chicken a bit crispy, open the foil 10 minutes before baking ends.  Turn the chicken after 5 minutes.  I usually use lee kum kee for the hoisin sauce.

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Beef Caldereta (my version)

One of the Filipino dish that my husband really loves is beef caldereta.  He said the best beef caldereta that he had was the one served at Mina's Restaurant in Hagonoy, Bulacan.  This time though he said mine is closer to the caldereta of Mina's....so that means I'm improving? hahhaha. 


 Kaldereta is originally a goat stew made with tomato sauce, potatoes, spices, liver spread, olives, bell peppers and hot peppers. Originally adapted from the Spanish during their 300 year occupation of the Philippines.Kaldereta is a favorite Filipino meal served during parties, festivities and other special occasions in the Philippines. It is a Spanish-influenced dish (the Spanish word "caldera" means cauldron) that became to be Filipinos' favorite and made their own versions. Originally, the main ingredients of this dish includes goat meat, tomato sauce, liver, pepper and cheese.  You can still get this yummy calderetang kambing in Pampanga.


Variations of this dish is with beef, chicken and or pork. Beef Kaldereta is a common dish in the Philippines made with stewing cuts of beef simmered until tender.

In this recipe, I am using Mama Sita's caldereta mix to get the real taste of caldereta.  We are quite far from the Filipino shop so whenever we go there, I will buy a lot of sauce mix.  I do not depend though on the mix itself because I love adding other ingredients and enhance its flavour.  You will notice that I added a lot of garlic.  Believe me it tastes better with more garlic.  So why don't you try cooking this one.  I am quite sure you will love it too.


Ingredients:
1 K beef
3 medium size, carrots
2 medium size, potatoes
1 capsicum (bell pepper), julliene
1/4 C soy sauce
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp garlic, granules
1 medium size, onions, diced
1/3 C cheese, grated
1 tsp flaked chillis
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 pc tomato, diced
50 g butter
1 C coconut cream
1/2 packet of Mama Sita's Caldereta mix

Procedure:

1. Boil beef in 5 C of water with the soy sauce until it's tender.  Remove from water.  Set aside the broth.
2. Sear beef in a bit of oil.  Use non-stick pan if you have.  Fry in the same pan the carrots and potatoes.
3. Lessen the oil in the pan.  Put in the butter.  Sautee onions, garlic, tomatoes and capcicum.  Add the beef and potatoes and carrots.  Let the flavour mixed first before you put in the broth.
4. Boil everything up until a bit of the juice evaporates. 
5. Put in the grated cheese and tomato paste.  Add the caldereta mix. Let it boil.
6. Add a bit of water if it's getting too dry. 
7. Lower the fire.  Add the chilli flakes and garlic granules.
8. Put in the coconut cream.
9. Simmer until the sauce gets thick.
10. Serve hot.

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Leslie's Bulaluhan Restaurant

Tagaytay is not only famous because of view of Taal Lake and Volcano, Tagaytay Highlands and it's cool temperature.  It is also well known because of the cattle produce that it has.  It is equally famous for its bulaluhan restaurants.  Leslie's Restaurant which is located along Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay is quite known for its bulalo.  When you enter the restaurant, you will immediately notice the big bowls of bulalo in each table proving that it is their best seller. The bone marrow that you get from tapping the big bones would just melt in your mouth.  Just a bit of warning though to those who have blood pressure problems.  Aside from bulalo, you can also try the tuyo ( I think it is adobong tuyo) . Aside from enjoying the view  (Taal lake and volcano) and the food, guests are also entertained by a band that goes from table to table singing Tagalog songs.  The price would be a bit dear for locals but it doesn't stop them from going to the place.

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Baked Fish Fillet in Lemon and Olive Oil

Living in Australia makes me crave a lot for tilapya, bangus, asuhos, sapsap, aligasin etc.  I miss the pangat with tomatoes and oil cooked by my father when he was still around.  I guess that's our easy and cheap dish to cook that's why we would always have it.  In Hagonoy, fish and other seafoods are not a problem.  Even if you do not go to the palengke (market) at the town center, street vendors will come to your house selling you freshly caught seafoods. 

My brother would often joke that our meal is called bente - bente (Php 20) because my parents would often buy the Php20/tumpok seafood. That's how cheap it is to live in our place.

Anyway, I am sure that most of the Filipinos from the provinces of the Tagalog region would probably know how to cook pangat na isda.  My father had a lot of ways doing it depending on what kind of fish did we have then.  He would cook pangat na tuyo (dry pangat), pangat sa kamatis (tomatoes), pangat sa kamias (bilimbi) and these are just 3 ways of cooking pangat.  If I make a list of the ways my father cooked pangat, it will certainly be a long one.

I did a twist to the usual pangat that I am used to have.  Instead of cooking it on a stove, I baked it.  The taste is just so good and my husband loved it.  You can replace the fish in the recipe if you want.

Ingredients:
1/2 K of fish fillet (tuna or salmon or hoki)
lemon juice
olive oil
3 big tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C
2. Marinate the fish fillet with salt and pepper
3. Put the fish fillet in a foil.
4. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and seal the foil.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes (depende sa size ng fish)

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Pasta Carbonara

Carbonaro is an Italian word which means charcoal burner.   Italians believe that this noodle dish was first made for Italian charcoal workers.   There was even a suggestion that it was made to give tribute to  Carbonari which means "charcoalmen", a secret society prominent in the unification of Italy.

It was first described after the war a Roman dish, when many Italians were eating eggs and bacon supplied by troops from the US.  It was even called "coal miner's spaghetti" in some parts of the US.  (wikipedia, Better Homes and Garden Magazine)

I've seen a lot of carbonara recipe in cook books, internet and magazines.  Some are complicated though.  What I did is to simplify the ingredients and the measurements making sure that the pasta carbonara will not become dry.  The amount of the ingredients is very easy to memorised.  My husband asked me once when I was cooking at my in - laws' place if I could really remember the ingredients, the measurements and the method.  Of course I said YES!  I can even cook this with my eyes closed LOL.

Ingredients:
500 g spaghetti/fetuccine noodles
400-500 g bacon
100 g butter
1 C thickened cream
1 C parmesan cheese, grated
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 medium onions, minced
5 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Cook the noodles according to package instruction.  If there is no instruction, just cook it in a boiling water with salt and oil for 18 minutes.  If you are using angel hair pasta the cooking time is shorter.
2. Fry the bacon (do not slice yet...most of the recipes you will find will tell you to use bacon rashers which I hate using because I always get blisters from the hot oil or butter) in the butter.  It will depend on you if you want the bacon cooked crisp or not.  I prefer cooking half of the bacon crispy and the other half, just cooked.  When the bacon is cool enough, use a pair of scissors (instead of a knife)  to cut it into small pieces.  Set aside.
3. Whisk in a bowl the cream, cheese and eggs.  Add salt and pepper.
4. Sautee onions and garlic.  Add half of the bacon.  Put in the noodles.  Make sure that everything is well mixed. 
5. Pour the sauce mixture and bled well.
6. Top with bacon and serve.

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Cinnamon Roll ala Cinnabon

Have you ever had cinnamon roll in the morning with a cup or tea or coffee?  It's completely heaven!  There are various bakeshop or cafe where you can buy this lovely sweet pastry.  My favourite is definitely Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls although the price is a bit dear but it's worth it.  In the Philippines, The French Bakers is also a good place to buy cinnamon. 

According to what I have read, this delightful pastry originated in Sweden. It is known as kanelbulle which means "cinnamon bun". It's interesting to know that they even have a day of celebration every October 4 in honor of cinnamon bun. They call it "kanelbullens dag."
I could not remember where I got the recipe (below) on the internet but I got this website www.grouprecipes.com which I think has similar ingredients and procedure.

Ingredients:
dough
1 (1/4 oz) package of dry yeast
1 c warm milk
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/3 c margarine
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 c flour

filling
1 c packed brown sugar (powdered similar to caster sugar texture)
2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 c margarine, softened

icing
1 1/2 c caster sugar
1/4 c cream cheese (kraft easy cheese)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Procedure:

1. To make the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
2. Knead the though into a large balle, using your hands. 
3. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until the dough has doubled its size.
4. Roll the dough on a floured surface until it is approximately 21"x16" in size, 1/4" thick.
5. Preheat oven to 400 F or 200 C if fan forced.
6. To make the filling, combine the ingredients into a bowl.  Spread the filling on the surface of the dough.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon evenly.
7. Roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
8. Cut into 1 3/4 " slices and place in a lightly greased baking pan.
9. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
10. While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing.  Use electric mixer when mixing all the ingredients.  Beat until fluffy.
11. Remove the rolls from the oven and spread on top with the icing.

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