sautéed young/green garlic

as i have mentioned previously, green garlic (or young garlic, or spring garlic), is a delicacy in my hometown. i do not recall what time of the year these are abundant in the philippines but i remember it being planted after  rice is harvested because they use rice straw for mulching.  garlic is one of the produce my uncles grow in the farm they inherited from my grandparents, aside from rice and more common vegetables like tomatoes and eggplants.  growing up i would volunteer to help my uncles pluck young garlic in the field behind our house.   why pluck them out? to make more growing space for the "main" garlic, which will be harvested later when it is matured and cured.  {for in-depth information on how they grow garlic in my province go here.}

green garlic looks very similar to green onions.  some would have a bit of bulb, while others would have bigger heads with the individual cloves starting to form. the simplest way to tell the difference between a green onion and a green garlic is the smell. but if that fails look at the stalks.  green onions have tube-like stalks, young garlic stalks are flat open.

i have seen young garlic at the farmer's market and sometimes at whole foods, but they are expensive ($4 for a small bundle) and seldom available.  just for fun i have planted some in early spring in my tiny window box alongside other herbs.  the harvest was scant but it was sufficient to satisfy my craving.  last week, i was pleasantly surprised when i came upon so many of them!  this harvest came from my mother-in-law's boss's backyard.  the generous lady, jen, who grows them, gave me a generous amount to my heart's content. i kept a handful for myself but i shared most of it to my grandma. she believes garlic helps regulate her blood pressure.  she recently stopped taking her blood pressure medicine and has opted to just munch on garlic chips.  if it is sufficient to keep her bp under control i do not know.  however she eats mainly fish and vegetables so i am not all that worried. besides for an 85 year old, she is in good health and can still whip my behind if she needs to :)

anyhow, what to do with green garlic? you can make green garlic soup like molly did,  you can make a tart or pesto like erin did with her garlic scape, or cook it with spaghetti. the recipe that follows however is one that most resembles what my mom used to make.  simple and filling when eaten with rice. 

the recipe goes like this...

cut up some pork and brown it. i used bacon because it is what i had available. if you want it healthier you can just use olive oil.  all you need is a little fat.  instead of pork, you may also use shrimp or tofu.

when bacon is browned remove all but 1 tablespoon of the oil. 

add the tomatoes and sauté until it softens. 

add seasoning to taste- you  may use kosher salt, sea salt, patis (fish sauce), soy sauce, bouillon, chopped up anchovy, or whatever you prefer to use. i added a pinch of cumin to mine although it isn't really necessary. if it's too dry, add a little water. it depends on how soupy you want it.

add the white portion of the young garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes.

next add the green part. check for seasoning and adjust as needed.

cook for a couple minutes or until the leaves start to wilt.  do not overcook. 

remove from heat and that's it!

post script: don't worry about it being too garlicky. young garlic is much milder and sweeter than regular garlic. you won't get garlic breath afterwards i promise.

moringa (marunggay)

my brother got lucky to have found a moringa plant at the farmer's market on saturday.  he took the young  moringa home, ready to be replanted at my grandma's backyard for us to enjoy in the months to come.

marunggay (or malunggay) as called in the philippines is hands downs my favorite vegetable- leaves, fruit and flowers.  in the north western tip of the philippines where i came from, the marunggay leaves is a staple, a common ingredient in a dish we call inabraw or dinengdeng (a stew of mixed vegetables).  i consider myself lucky that i live in a place where filipino vegetables isn't a rarity. even after many years of residing in the u.s. there are days i crave for the exotic vegetables i grew up eating.  on those days i would simply visit my lola (grandma) whose fridge always seem to have a serving of inabraw, ready to be eaten.  

back to marunggay, in the past few years there have been studies on the many health benefits of this leafy green vegetable.  it was even featured on dr. oz once, i suppose, as mentioned here.  marunggay  leaves they say contain twice the protein in milk, three times the potassium in bananas, four times the vitamin a in carrots and seven times the vitamin c in oranges.  and that's not it,  marunggay  helps strengthen the immune system, controls blood pressure, relieves headaches and migraines, prevents diabetes, reduces inflammations and arthritis pains, heals ulcers, prevents the growth of cancer cells and is useful for lactating mothers in increasing their breast milk. the list goes on. 


so how do you cook marunggay leaves?  marunggay is very versatile and can be stewed with a variety of other more common vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini and okra.  the authentic ilocano inabraw calls for diluted fermented fish paste we call buguong but i usually substitute with chicken broth for a more american-husband-friendly version.  (my husband cringe at the sight and smell of fish sauce or fish paste.)  


my simple marunggay soup is as easy as boiling a couple of cups of chicken broth with a sliver of fresh ginger then adding a cup of marunggay leaves.  the leaves cook quickly, just a blanch, about a couple of minutes with the pot covered, and that's it.  never overcook it.  you want the leaves to stay green, not brownish. my dad's trick so it doesn't overcook is to transfer the dish immediately to a serving plate so it stops cooking. for more details on how to cook marunggay hop on over to pinakbet republic. the blog also has a variety of dinengdeng posted if you're interested.


{back when i was still breastfeeding my little one, my grandma would make me chicken soup with marunggay when i go visit.  she claims it increases breast milk production.  i didn't really notice the difference to be honest but i was also taking fenugreek and blessed thistle capsules at the time for that same purpose. some of my friends however agrees that it helps with milk production.}

bacon fried rice

fact: i grew up a rice-vore.  i used to eat rice at every breakfast, lunch and dinner.  growing up, my breakfast was mainly fried rice and fried eggs.  yes, rice for breakfast. it is completely normal. rice is fuel for us filipinos, we eat it at every meal.  and why not?  it is what gave our ancestors the energy to go out and work on the farm at the break of dawn. i may not eat it as often anymore, but fried rice for breakfast for me is bliss. it means i could go on for a long while without feeling hungry. on many days i dream of the wide variety of fried rice and egg combinations served in the philippines.  we call fried rice, sinangag and egg, itlog.  they are the two basic components to many creatively named combinations such as tapsilog (tapa-beef jerky, fried rice and egg), longsilog (longganisa-pork sausage, fried rice and egg), hotsilog (hotdog, fried rice and egg), tocilog (tocino-sweet cured pork, fried rice and egg) and bangsilog (fried bangus-milk fish, fried rice and egg).  i'm sure there are many more.

last saturday i decided to reward myself with a good breakfast- bacon fried rice and fried eggs.  ok, fine. plus another piece of bacon on the side.  basilog, or is it baconsilog?  anyhoo, i ate it in front of my husband who gave me weird looks. "rice for breakfast?"  but i didn't care, it was a delightful feast specially whilst enjoying a good cup of coffee. life is too short, indulge once in a while.

BACON FRIED RICE

2-3 cup day old rice (above, i used a combination of brown and white rice)

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup frozen peas

3 slices bacon, cut 1/2 inch long

2 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon spanish smoked paprika

coarse salt and ground black pepper (to taste)

heat wok. add bacon and cook until browned.  discard all but 1 tablespoon of the oil.  

add onions and sauté until soft then add garlic.  

cook garlic, stirring, for about a minute.

add rice to the wok and toss, breaking the clumps in the process.  

add the soy sauce, black pepper and  smoked paprika.   

taste a spoonful and adjust seasoning as you prefer.  

move the rice to the sides and create a space in the middle of the wok.  pour the beaten egg in it.  

stir the egg gently as you would in scrambled eggs and when cooked, toss it with the rice

add the green peas and toss again.

remove from heat.

serve with a fried egg on top.

there is nothing like a spoonful of fried rice and runny yolk.

yumm!

Chicken Afritada

Afritada is one of my favorite Filipino comfort foods.  There is something about the combination of tomatoes, potatoes and bell pepper mashed in white rice.  I remember when I was a child, pork afritada was a staple in every neighborhood party.  In the country, many people just crash a party uninvited and this is the go-to dish to feed these many "extra" guests.  Rice soaked in pork afritada is distributed and was pretty much enough to satisfy the hungry guests.  

This is the chicken version of the dish.  As much as I love this dish I have never cooked it at home because I was not confident my better half will like it.  This time I had to tell him it is a Spanish dish (well sort of) so he can be more open in trying it.  I believe fish sauce is traditionally used in this dish but I omitted that and used soy sauce and bouillon to add flavor.  I also added a splash of wine, not necessary, but I had some left over white  wine so I though - why not.  The results?  It was delicious and tasted exactly how I remember it.  

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken - (use cut-up whole chicken or assortment of your favorite parts)
2 tablespoon Olive oil
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1 14oz can tomato sauce
2 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 chicken stock
1 green bell pepper, sliced in strips
1 medium carrot, sliced or cubed if desired
3 big russet potatoes - peeled and quartered

1) Heat 2 tablespoons oil and brown chicken a few pieces at a time. Set aside.
2) Saute onion, carrots, tomatoes and garlic. Add wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the browned bits at the bottom.
3) Add add tomato sauce, broth, bay leaf, black pepper, soy sauce, bouillon. Bring to a boil.
4) Add back chicken into the pan. Boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
5) Add potatoes, and cook for another 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
6) Add green pepper and cook for 10 minutes.
7) Serve over hot brown rice.

T.G.I.F. - Thank God It's Filipino

I realized I have not posted much Filipino food here on the blog, hence the title :)

My lunch for today is Adobo, the most popular dish of the Philippines besides other dishes like pancit and balut. I decided to brown-bag it today.  It's the first Friday of this lenten season, which makes it a day of abstinence, yet I will be consuming meat for economic reasons.  I reasoned that instead of eating out and spending about $8 to $10 for lunch, I will just eat left overs and give the savings to charity... or use the money to pay tax dues, or accrued debts, or unpaid medical bills.  Financial worries is mounting these days.  By the way, Uncle Sam just billed me with a whooping $1800 for 2010 taxes.  With these in mind, not spending money for lunch is just the right thing to do.

On the other hand I only had meat dishes to choose from for my brown bag - coq au vin or adobo.  I went for the latter.  The thought of pairing it with the salted duck eggs I bought at 99 Ranch yesterday seemed just hard to pass up.

FYI, I only ate 1 salted duck egg although the photo shows six.

Adobo is gaining popularity lately, even featured on New York Times.  In the Philippines, the recipe varies not only by region, but in every household.  It's a variation of many things - the liquid to meat ratio, or the soy sauce to vinegar ratio, or if you even use soy sauce at all like Market Manila.  Some like it with coconut milk, some like it with pineapple juice instead of vinegar, some like it sort of sweet thus adding sugar.  Some like it a little fried while others prefer it with a little gravy or kind of saucy.

Basically adobo uses a simple blend of garlic, vinegar and soy sauce.  And you can pretty much make any type of meat into adobo - chicken, pork, beef, fish, squid and even some vegetables like kangkong. But for everyday cooking I prefer to make pork adobo... using a fatty cut.... like... pork belly!  It's artery clogging but  a few bites won't hurt I think.

My adobo continues to evolve.  I keep experimenting, trying different recipes for it but it is always good to know the basics.

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 2 pounds pork or chicken (i prefer pork belly)
• 5  cloves garlic, pressed
• 1  cup  vinegar
• 1/3  cup  soy sauce
• 1  teaspoon  whole black peppercorns
• 2  bay leaf
• 1 cup water

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add meat and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, then turn over and cook an additional 5 minutes. 

2. Add garlic and cook, about 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate. Bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover and cook, covered, for 30 minutes.

3. Uncover, increase heat to medium and cook 10 to 15 minutes more, occasionally spooning sauce over  meat, until sauce thickens a bit and meat is tender and nicely glazed with sauce. Remove bay leaf before eating.

Serve over rice.
Note: If you dread the fatty oil, you can cool and refrigirate a bit then remove the fat that harden on the surface.

Kissing Summer Goodbye

Summer is my favorite season and I am sad that it has come and gone so quick I barely had a chance to enjoy it.    Today I sit at my desk and recall, 'What did I do this summer?'

- For the first time I grew my own tomatoes & herbs!  We do not have a backyard, but thanks to upside down patios which made it possible to grow a few on our small balcony.  Really, you can taste the difference of a freshly picked vine ripened tomato from one that has been sitting on the store shelf.

- I took my daughter to the beach for the first time, and it was magical!  I could never forget her amazement at the sight of the waves.  She couldn't wait to get on the water.  The cool breeze and the sound of the splashing waves alone made her giggle.

- We did a few trips to the Los Angeles Zoo.  My daughter is becoming more and more fascinated with animals and taking her to the zoo made her aware of many different kinds.  She was specially delighted seeing a live hippopotamus as she enjoys her book "But Not the Hippopotamus".

- We took strolls at the neighborhood park.  I packed snacks to bring to the park while Sophia played.  She loves the swing and over the course of the summer she has grown accustomed to getting on the slides.

- We had a lot of grilled meats for dinner this summer (steaks, lamb kebabs, pork belly, korean barbecues, etc).  Thanks to having a balcony at our new apartment!  For a long time our grill was parked at the garage and we had to improvise and cook our steaks on a cast iron.  Cast iron pans are great but nothing beats grilled steak.

I guess it was an enjoyable summer after all.  Summer, I will miss you....

Grilled Pork Belly 
(Inihaw na Liempo)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound bone in pork belly (cut in 1/2 to 3/4 inch strips)

1/4 cup scallions, cut very thinly

1 tablepoon juice of a lime

for Marinade:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
2-3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoon steak seasoning (I like 21 salute seasoning from Trader Joes)
1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional)
(note: 21 salute is a blend of the following - onion, black pepper, celery seed, cayenne pepper, parsley, basil, marjoram, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, savory, rosemary, cumin, mustard, coriander, garlic, carrot, orange peel, tomato granules, lemon juice powder, oil of lemon)

1. Combine marinade in a large sealable plastic bag.  Add pork and coat meat evenly.  Let stand at least 1 hour at room temperature (or up to 1 day in refrigerator).  Heat grill to high, then add meat and grill over medium heat, about 16-20 minutes total. Watch grill closely as fat drippings from the meat can create flare ups.  If this happens, lower heat a little bit then when fire is gone, increase heat again.  Flip the meat as needed, constantly to get even browning on each side.  
2. When meat is cooked through, transfer to platter and let it rest for 5 minutes.
3. Cut off pork skin and discard, then cut each strip into bite size pieces.
4. Drizzle with lime juice and garnish with scallions.  
5. Serve with wasabi mashed potatoes, and sauted spinach.

on the side:

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes:

Boil 4 russet potatoes (peeled and cut ) in a pot of water.  Add salt and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and mash to desired consistency along with 1/4 cup cream and 2 tablespoons wasabi paste.  Add salt to taste.   

Sauteed Spinach:

Heat 2 tablespoons Olive oil. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add 6 cups spinach and 1/4 chicken bouillon cube.  Stir furiously for about 1 minute or until spinach is slightly wilted.

Cost:

$ 11.00 ---  1 1/2 lb pork belly

$   3.00 ---  russet potatoes

$   2.00 --   spinach

Total : $16.00

Ilocano Pakbet

Pinakbet (or Pakbet) is just about my all time favorite Filipino dish. During the summertime I enjoy going to the farmer's market and shopping for my Filipino vegies to cook this dish. As a child I hated the commonly disliked ampalaya but over the years I have come to like them that in fact they are now a favorite. There are several ways to cook pinakbet and it varies from one region to another - the Ilocanos like it shriveled while the Tagalogs like it half cooked and crunchy. Also the Tagalog style usually calls for squash, and shrimp paste is used instead of bagoong. Either way you have to be prepared for the smell :)

The recipe that follows is more of the Ilocano version, much simpler I suppose. Enjoy!

Ingredients: (Serves 3-4)

• 1 cup liempo (pork belly), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 pcs small ampalaya (bitter melon), whole but slit in the middle
• 6 pcs baby Philippine or Japanese eggplant, whole but slit in the middle
• 12 pcs okra (i love okra!)
• 8 pcs sitaw (long beans), cut into 2" long
• 3 medium size tomatoes, wedged or better is use several cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup bagoong sauce (thick anchovie sauce, not the same as fish sauce).
• 4 cloves garlic, pounded
• 4 thin slices of ginger
• a drizzle of oil to coat the pan
• other optional veggies that can be added are Patani (lima beans) , pallang, sili, alukon and patola
• Note: Bagnet or bacon could be an option to liempo.

Directions:
1) Heat oil in a pan and add garlic and pork liempo. Cook in low heat, slowly (to tenderize meat)until meat is golden brown.

2) Add vegetables in layers in the following order ampalaya-okra-eggplant-long beans-ginger,
and put tomatoes on top.

3) Strain bagoong and pour it over the vegetable. Add half a cup of water, cover and simmer.

4) After 3 mins after it boils, toss the pan (do not stir to mix) so that the vegies on top goes to the bottom. After 2 minutes, toss again. Do this until vegetables are cooked to desired doneness.

I prefer it cooked the Ilocano way shriveled and almost dried-up. After all, Pinakbet is actually a short term for pinakebbet, an Ilocano word meaning dried up and wrinkly.

Serve hot over steamed white rice.