Day 15: Adobong Manok with Quail Eggs

There are about a million and one recipes on adobo. Every household has its own special recipe that's been handed down from generation to generation. I'm sure that as this blog goes along, I'll be trying several versions. This recipe is a deviation from the traditional garlic, vinegar, soy sauce and meat or fowl mix; I used coconut milk and quail eggs which is not entirely unusual since a lot of families have been maximizing the use of coconut milk which is abundant in these parts. Adobo with Quail eggs and coconut milk is a class of its own and certainly a most welcome twist.

I boil about 24 quail eggs and set them aside. I'll acutally use only about 15 to 18 of the eggs and the remainder is just for snacking. Next, I cut a whole piece of chicken into several pieces and place it in a pot, pour equal parts of soy sauce and vinegar (3/4 cup each), a whole head of garlic or as much garlic as you'd want that's been crushed and peeld, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of whole peppercorns since we like our adobo a little spicy - besides, by adding coconut cream into the sauce, the spiciness is somehow muted. I simmer the chicken till it's almost cooked and then add half a cup of coconut milk. Once the chicken is cooked, I add the cooked quail eggs and half a cup of coconut cream (kakang gata) to make it really creamy. I just let the pot boil again. Once it boils, I turn off the heat and it's ready to be served.

Day 14: Skinless Longganisa, Garlic Fried Rice and Salted Egg with Tomatoes

Try throwing your family a curve-ball for dinner by serving up breakfast treats. This will surely be a welcome surprise especially if you pair your ulam with the ever so fragrant garlic fried rice! There's something about the aroma of garlic fried rice that just whets the appetite :)

I was thinking of fying ready-made tocino for this dinner, but where's the challenge in that? So I made my own longganisa; but since I'm a bit queasy about using the traditional animal casings, I used the kitchen-handy wax paper/cling wrap to form my longganisa sausages.

I learned making skinless longganisa from a summer cooking class way back in high school. The recipe required the use of praque powder, which is not readily available in grocery stores. Cute as it looks with it's cottony pink color, a lot of people have some misgivings in using this partifcular ingredient - myself included - because, as far as I know, praque powder sounds and looks like a chemically generated aritificial preservative. If anybody wants to correct me, please do! So I haven't really used the recipe that was taught to me in cooking school... as in, never.

Instead, I often use the recipe taken from a recipe hand-out from Del Monte Kitchenomics which makes use of tomato sause to flavor the longganisa. This time though, I made use of the Vigan-style recipe posted on the overseaspinoycooking blog post, which tastes really good. Please check it out at www.overseaspinoycooking.com/2008/03/vigan-longganisa-homemade-skinless.html.

I paired the longganisa with garlic fried rice and sliced tomatoes and salted egg. Yummy!

Day 3: Tortang Alimasag at Talong at Minatamis na Saging (Crab & Grilled Eggplant Omelet & Stewed Bananas in Syrup)

The fish monger at our neighborhood grocery had a basin full of fresh crab meat. I instantly knew what we were going to have for dinner, so I bagged 400 grams of crabmeat plus the rest of my ingredients. Eggplants. Check. Spring Onions. Check. Garlic. Check. It’s been a while since we had tortang alimasag.

To add more flavor dimension to this simple dish, it’s best to grill the eggplants first. I’m using six eggplants for this dish. Immediately after grilling the eggplants, place them in a dish/bowl covered in plastic wrap to create steam that would moisten the skin. After about ten minutes, you will find that skinning the eggplants is a cinch. Peel the eggplants and keep the stems intact but resist the temptation to wash them. Washing the eggplants would wash off the grilled flavor. Set aside the skinned eggplants.

In a bowl, mix together the crabmeat, one (1) large egg, a bunch of chopped spring onions, chopped two (2) garlic cloves, a teaspoon of salt and a little bit of pepper to taste.

Beat one large egg in a bowl. Heat vegetable oil in the frying pan. Flatten the eggplant with a fork while being careful not to break it apart. Coat the eggplant with the beaten egg. Transfer the dipped eggplant to the frying pan and fill the face of the eggplant with the crab mixture. Fry till golden brown. Serve with hot rice. You can use catsup as a condiment for this dish.

The Cardaba Banana or Saba is very similar to its Jamaican cousin, the plantain. It’s a cooking variety that is very versatile for both sweet and savory dishes. The minatamis na saba is perhaps one of my most favorite desserts. It’s cheap, festive and simple to make:

Peel and slice a dozen saba bananas into one-inch coins. Place the bananas in a deep casserole with half a liter of water, one a half cups of packed brown sugar and half a teaspoon of salt. Boil for five minutes then simmer until the bananas are tender and opaque in color. Add a teaspoon of vanilla and simmer for another minute. Cool the bananas in syrup and serve it for dessert with crushed ice and fresh milk.