Day 21: Halabos na Alimasag & Tahong Soup

A while earlier, an office mate was asking our group out to lunch at the famous Dampa market where fresh seafood of all shapes and sizes could be purchased, cooked according to your preference and served right there and then. I wasn't able to join the group for lunch but the prospect of having all that seafood was so consuming that my appetite for seafood demanded to be satisfied.

And so we had halabos na alimasag and tahong soup for dinner. It's a modest take on Dampa, just enough to satisfy my craving for seafood. I bought a kilo and a half of Alimasag (P210) and a kilo of Tahong (P40). Not bad for a Dampa-ish dinner sans the traffic, pollution and, yes, it's relatively easy on the budget.

In cooking Halabos na Alimasag, just place the crabs in a pan; add 1/2 cup of water and sprinkle one and a half tablespoons of rock salt over the crabs. Turn on the fire and cover the pan to allow the crabs to cook from the steam created by the boiling water. This process takes only about 15 minutes.

For the Tahong Soup, immerse the mussels in a pot of water for about ten minutes, then remove the mussels from the pot. You will find sediments of sand and other foreign matter at the bottom of the pot. Discard the water and the sediments; discard the mussels that have opened up as it means they have turned bad already and would therefore be unsafe to eat. Remove any beard sticking out from the remaining good ones; return the cleaned mussels into the pot. Add two cloves of minced garlic, an onion that's been sliced and a finger and a half size of ginger that has also been sliced. Add about eight (8) cups of water. Bring the water to a boil and allow it to simmer for a few minutes; it won't take long for the mussels to cook. When the mussels are cooked, turn off the fire and add a bunch of sili leaves. Add patis to taste.

Day 20: Sinampalukang Manok

I went to the neighborhood grocer today to get some inspiration on what to cook. At the vegetable section, I saw packs of tamarind leaves and there I had my eureka moment. I knew I had to take advantage of the precious find and make Sinampalukang Manok for dinner. It's easy to find sampalok leaves in the provinces; at least one household in every street nurtures a Sampalok tree in their backyard. But in urban Manila, it's certainly not the case. So it's best to take advantage of the ingredient whenever it's available.


Sinampalukang Manok is actually easier to make than, say, sinigang na baboy or hipon, since there is no other ingredient to the dish than the sampalok leaves and the chicken, well, aside from the usual aromatics. So, if you'd like to conserve on energy, Sinampalukang Manok is a great option; plus, it's a real comfort dish.



Saute a sliced onion and three (3) cloves of garlic in tthree (3) tablespoons of oil. Add a whole piece of chicken that's been cut into pieces. After a few minutes, add eight (8) cups of water, a pack of sinigang mix and one (1) chicken bouillon cube. Simmer till almost done. Add the sampalok leaves and simmer for another five miutes.

Day 19: Steamed Cream Dory and Baguio Spinach in Oyster Sauce

I had a 500 gram pack of Cream Dory fillets that's been in deep freeze for about two months now. I was certain to make a chinese-inspired dish out of it but as to what exactly, I haven't really thought it out. It was a toss-up between sweet and sour-style or just plain steaming. Eventually, I decided on the latter option. For after all, if you have a good ingredient such as Cream Dory, it's best to let the flavors of the fish shine. My family was very pleased with my choice.

Steaming fish is very simple to do. Just place the fish on a heat-proof plate, sprinkle a 2-inch long ginger that's been thinly sliced and the white part of 3 stalks of green onions on top of the fish. Then pour a mixture of 2 tablespoons each of chinese cooking wine & soy sauce, one (1) tablepoon of sesame oil, half a teaspoon of sugar. Steam the fish for about 15 minutes; when the fish is cooked, sprinkle the remaining chopped green onions over the fish.

I paired this dish with Baguio Spinach with oyster sauce. Wash the leaves of two (2) bags of spinach and set it aside. Chope four cloves of garlic and fry it in a tablespoon of oil. Then add the washed spinach and add about four (4) tablespoons of oyster sauce, 1/4 cup of water, one (1) tablespoon each of sesame oil and chinese cooking wine, hald a teaspoon of sugar. Once the spinach wilts, remove it from the pan and thicken the sauce with a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a little water.

Day 17: Giniling Turo-Turo Style

This recipe of turo-turo style giniling which I found at the Filipino food lovers blog is so reminiscent of my college days http://www.filipino-food-lovers.com/?p=82. Giniling was a carinderia favorite since it was so packed with flavor that barely a platito of giniling was more than enough for two heaping cups of rice.

I tried the recipe found in the blog above for dinner but I used green peppers instead of yellow peppers since the latter is very expensive; I also added half a cup of raisins which made it even more delicious. Pair this meal with a glass of your favorite ice cold cola and you'll see the look of satisfaction in everyone's face.

Day 18: Pinoy Fried Chicken and Ginisang Upo

Before we were introduced to the KFC-style fried chicken, Filipinos had their own idea of what fried chicken should be. I for one enjoyed the tart & salty flavor from my family's style of cooking fried chicken. It certainly has no resemblance in taste and appearance to the breaded fried chicken of today. In fact, no breading is required for this version of fried chicken. And cooking it every once in a while just gives me a mega dose of nostalgia of life way back then.

Here's how:


Cut a whole chicken into several pieces and marinate it for an hour in a mixture of 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of Calamansi and some pepper to taste. Make sure that the chicken stays in the refrigerator while it marinates so it won't develop any harmful bacteria. Turn the chicken half an hour into the marinating process. After an hour, drain the liquid off and deep fry the chicken in hot oil till it is fully cooked and till the skin turns crispy. It's a bit dark in color because of the soy sauce marinade but I assure you, it's very tasty. It goes well with tomato catsup.


For the vegetable accompaniment, I made ginisang upo. Upo is very similar to a zucchini but it's much bigger in size. In making this dish, peel a whole piece of upo, chop it into bite-size pieces and set it aside. Saute some garlic, onions and tomatoes in a large pan till they release their flavor and aroma. Add 1/4 cup of dried shrimp or Hibe, half a cup of water and the chopped upo. Add some patis and pepper to taste and simmer the upo till it's done.

Day 16: Liver Steak

My sister has iron deficiency and so the doctor requires her to eat foods rich in iron as often and as much as possible. Liver is very much on top of the list of iron-rich animal sources since liver contains what is called "heme-iron"; heme-iron is easily absorbed by our bodies. Of course, vegetables and lentils are excellent sources as well.



I made liver steak to attune our meals to my sister's particular dietary requirements. I found a liver steak recipe at http://www.panlasangpinoy.com/2009/08/11/lutong-bahay-atay-liver-steak-recipe/#more-1831 and I must say that this recipe is right on the money! It's delicious!

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.