New Asian Cuisine » Filipino

Filipino Biko Sweet Sticky Rice Recipe

admin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:56:22 +0000

Recipe and photos courtesy of Erika of Ivory Hut

Biko is my all-time favorite Filipino dessert or merienda (snack) item. It uses only 4 ingredients—which, in a pinch, can even be cut down to 3—and is so simple to make and requires no special tools or pans, which makes it an easy endeavor for someone who doesn’t yet have a properly-equipped kitchen.

Biko is like a soft, warm, sticky rice cake. It uses sweet rice or sticky rice. It is sometimes called glutinous rice because it gets gluey when cooked but it contains no gluten. It’s a different kind of grain and often, attempts to substitute other kinds of rice for sweet or sticky rice just don’t yield the same results.

Biko Recipe (Filipino Sweet Sticky Rice)

Makes one 9×13 pan

You need to use sweet rice or sticky rice (sometimes called glutinous rice) for this recipe. Coconut cream is found in most Asian and ethnic stores but if you can’t find it, just use the the thick cream from the top layer of a good quality can of coconut milk. Don’t worry if you end up with less coconut milk to use with the rice—simply add enough water to reach the desired amount of cooking liquid.

This recipe can easily be halved. If you like crunchy rice edges, cook the biko in muffin pans or brownie bar pans. Be careful when you pull it out of the oven; the caramelized brown sugar is very hot and can burn you if you try to taste it immediately.

Ingredients:

3 cans (14 oz. can) coconut milk
4 cups sweet rice
2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup coconut cream

Pour coconut milk and about a cup of water into a pot and let it come to a simmer over medium heat. When simmering, add in the rice and stir constantly to prevent burning. Lower the heat if necessary. Preheat oven to 350F.

When rice is sticky and almost dry (it will look like risotto), about 10-15 minutes, add 1 cup brown sugar. Stir well and take off heat. Pour into a lightly buttered 9×13 pan and smooth the top. Mix the remaining 1 cup brown sugar and coconut cream until smooth and pour it over the rice.

Bake for about 1 hour or until topping is dark brown and has thickened. Cool slightly before serving.

Spring Rolls (Lumpiang Shanghai)

grace — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:02:32 +0000

Spring Rolls (Lumpiang Shanghai)

By Miki Garcia, Filipino Cookbook: 85 Homestyle Recipes to Delight Your Family and Friends

Reprinted with the express permission of Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group.

Filipino Cookbook: 85 Homestyle Recipes to Delight Your Family and Friends

Spring rolls are a great finger food that everybody loves. Filipinos know them as lumpia, which is derived from the Hokkien word meaning “mixed vegetables and meat rolled up.” This version, Lumpiang Shanghai, refers to a spring roll stuffed with ground pork and then fried, but ground chicken, shrimp or crab can also be used. I always make some extra spring rolls and store them in the freezer for a quick meal later (frozen spring rolls don’t need to be defrosted before deep-frying them). When frying, use medium heat to be sure that they cook through completely but be careful not to burn the outside. Use smaller 6-inch (15-cm)-square wrappers make perfect-sized rolls; if you use larger wrappers, simply cut the cooked spring rolls in half before serving.

Serves 5
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

One 8.8-oz (250-g) package spring roll wrappers
1 egg white
2 cups (500 ml) oil for deep-frying (page 18)
Sweet and Sour Sauce (page 21) or Spicy Garlic Vinegar Dipping Sauce (page 22), for dipping

Filling
1/2 lb (250 g) ground pork
2 water chestnuts, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 small carrot, peeled and minced or grated
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of knife and minced
1/4 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the Filling ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Place a wrapper on a flat surface and spread about a tablespoon of the Filling all along the bottom third of the wrapper. Roll the wrapper over the Filling, tuck in both ends, and roll it up tight. Moisten the edges of the wrapper with the egg white and press to seal.

Heat a medium saucepan or wok over high heat and add the oil. Use a wooden chopstick or skewer to check if the oil is hot enough. When it’s hot enough, bubbles will form all around the stick. (Or use a deep-fryer thermometer to read the temperature, which should be between 350° and 375°F or 175° and 190°C when ready). Reduce the heat to medium once it reaches the desired temperature so that the oil doesn’t burn.

Deep-fry until brown and crispy. Do not overcrowd the pan. Serve hot with Sweet and Sour Sauce or Spicy Garlic Vinegar Dipping Sauce. For a light meal, serve with hot steamed rice.

Noodles with Shrimp and Tofu (Pancit Luglug)

grace — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:43:44 +0000

Noodles with Shrimp and Tofu (Pancit Luglug)

By Miki Garcia, Filipino Cookbook: 85 Homestyle Recipes to Delight Your Family and Friends

Reprinted with the express permission of Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group.

Initially, this dish might be confused with spaghetti, but it’s really a unique dish that is bright orange in color and has the distinct aroma of cooked shrimp. This impressive dish—known as Pancit Luglug or Pancit Palabok depending on the region in which it is made—uses cornstarch noodles. When cooked, these noodles don’t last long so they need to be consumed the day they are prepared. Dried rice vermicelli may be used in place of cornstarch noodles.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

1/2 lb (250 g) fresh shrimp, preferably with heads and tails on
2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of a knife and minced
1 onion, minced
3 cups (750 ml) water
1/2 cup (75 g) diced pork shoulder or loin
One 31/2-oz (100-g) package deep-fried pressed tofu (tokwa), diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (125 ml) annatto water (page 19) (optional)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
8 cups (2 liters) water (for boiling noodles)
16 oz (500 g) cornstarch noodles (or rice vermicelli)
2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into wedges
2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced (green part only)
4 limes, quartered
One 3-oz (75-g) bag fried pork rinds (chicharon), crushed (optional)

Twist and pull the heads off the shrimp. Shell and devein but leave the tails on. Set the cleaned shrimp tails aside. Mash the shrimp heads in a mortar or bowl. Pour the 3 cups (750 ml) of water, a little at time, while pressing the heads and shells against the side of the mortar or bowl with the back of a wooden spoon. Strain the shrimp liquid and set aside. Discard the mashed heads.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly browned. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Transfer the garlic and onion to a bowl and set aside.

To the same skillet, over medium heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil and sauté the diced pork for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and tofu and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the salt and the sautéed garlic and onion. Stir to combine and set aside.

To make the shrimp sauce, combine the reserved shrimp liquid, annatto water, if using, fish sauce, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes until the mixture thickens, stirring frequently to make sure the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.

Bring 8 cups (2 liters) of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the noodles and cook according to package instructions or until soft (about 7 minutes). Lightly rinse with cold running water to keep the noodles from sticking together. Drain well and transfer the noodles to a serving platter.

To serve, pour the shrimp sauce over the noodles and top with the pork mixture, hard-boiled eggs, and green onion. Squeeze some lime juice over the noodle mixture and sprinkle crushed fried pork rind. Garnish with lime quarters and serve hot.

Filipino Fruit Sundae (Halo-Halo)

grace — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:00:58 +0000

If there is such a thing as a national dessert of the Philippines, halo-halo proudly holds the title. Meaning “mix-mix,” this multilayered dessert is a sundae-milk shake-slushy hybrid that’s sure to quell summer’s simmering heat. Halo-halo features an assortment of tropical fruits and sweetmeats chilled with shaved ice, ice cream, and evaporated milk. As the name indicates, halo-halo ingredients are a mélange of flavors and textures ranging from fresh bananas to sweet corn to preserved delicacies such as coconut gel (nata de coco), purple yam paste (ube), and sweetened kidney beans. Master halo-halo makers even go so far as to include flan custard, agar-agar, puffed rice (pinipig), or garbanzo beans. Perhaps it’s my Western upbringing, but I’ve always preferred more fruit in my halo-halo than anything else, which is why this recipe is subjectively fruit-sided. The signature flavor of jackfruit is fundamental as are the chewy strands of coconut sport (a variety of the coconut palm plant), which you’ll find jarred under the name macapuno.

Filipino Fruit Sundae (Halo-Halo)

By Jennifer M. Aranas, Author, The Filipino-American Kitchen

The Filipino-American Kitchen: Traditional Recipes, Contemporary Flavors

Serves 4

3 cups (300 g) shaved ice
1 cup (170 g) diced mango
1 cup (175 g) diced pineapple
1 cup (150 g) diced jackfruit, with juice
1 cup (225 g) macapuno strings
1 cup (200 g) preserved purple yam (ube)
1 (12-oz/340-g) can evaporated milk

Vanilla ice cream, garnish

In 4 tall sundae or milk shake glasses, place 3⁄4 cup (75 g) shaved ice. On top of that, add 1⁄4 cup (approximately 50 g) each of mango, pineapple, jackfruit, macapuno strings, and purple yam. Pour 1⁄2 cup (125 ml) evaporated milk and some of the jackfruit juice into each glass. Top the halo-halo with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Serve with long ice cream spoons to mix the layers together.

Variation: If you don’t feel like buying each ingredient separately, prepared halo-halo fruit mixes are available at the Asian grocer. These convenient, pre-made mixes come in glass jars and, depending on the brand, include a combination of halo-halo staples such as sweetened beans, coconut sport, purple yam, coconut gel, and palm nuts. Place a few spoonfuls of the mix in a glass, then top with shaved ice, evaporated milk, and vanilla ice cream for a nearly instant halo-halo. I find the mixes are a great base to which you can add your favorite fruits such as jackfruit, litchi, banana, mango, papaya, or guava.

One of the keys to an authentic halo-halo is shaved ice. Though crushing ice in a blender may seem like a viable alternative, a blender can’t process ice into the fine flakes that make halo-halo unique. Since shaved ice drinks and desserts are popular throughout Asia, you’ll be sure to find either an electric or manual ice shaver at an Asian grocer. They are also available at large chain stores that sell kitchen goods.

Reprinted with the express permission of Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group.

Mango Natilla

grace — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:16:13 +0000

Mango Natilla

By Trissa Lopez, Trissalicious

My Mango Natilla starts with a layer of rum soaked sponge fingers and then a rich blanket of a mango infused custard and finally topped with a burnt sugar topping. The technique of infusing the custard with mango was inspired from a recent visit to Etch restaurant in Sydney. This is where I had the most amazing banana creme brulee with a salted peanut butter brittle. I loved the idea of infusing the custard because with every spoonful you get the mango flavour without any of the pulp. The technique for infusing the custard I share with you today is from Bourke Street Bakery’s Cookbook.

350 ml cream
2 large ripe mangoes, peeled, sliced
40 grams sugar
5 egg yolks
10 sponge fingers
1 tablespoon good quality rum
10 grams sugar for the rum
Sugar for topping

Put the cream and mangoes in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the mixture boils, remove this from the heat and allow to cool. Tranfer to another container and allow the flavours to infuse overnight.

The next day, remove the mangoes from the cream and reheat the infused cream over high heat before using and set aside.

Lay the sponge fingers in the cazuelas. Mix the rum, 10 grams of sugar and 30 ml of water in a container and use a brush to spread over the sponge fingers.

Place the yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until combined. Place this mixture and the mango cream over a saucepan of simmering water and make sure that the base does not touch the water, otherwise it will curdle. Whisk the mixture until it becomes thick (like a custard), this will take around 15 minutes.

Pour the mango infused custard over the sponge fingers and allow to cool. Place in the refrigerator and allow to set for one to two hours.

Top with more sugar and use a blow torch to caramelize the top.

Stuffed Crabs (Rellenong Alimasag)

grace — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:01:10 +0000

Stuffed Crabs (Rellenong Alimasag)

By Miki Garcia, Filipino Cookbook: 85 Homestyle Recipes to Delight Your Family and Friends

Reprinted with the express permission of Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group.

This dish is time-consuming but the result is worth it. I find that some crabs don’t have much meat, so I buy an extra crab or two to make sure the crabs I serve are nicely stuffed.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 1 hour

5 lbs (2.25 kg) fresh crabs (about 10 small fresh crabs or 5 medium ones)
8 cups (2 liters) water
11/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of knife and minced
1 small onion, minced
1 small tomato, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
Sweet and Spicy Sauce (page 21) or banana ketchup

Wash the crabs thoroughly under running water. Bring the water and 1 teaspoon of the salt to a boil in a saucepan. Submerge the crabs and boil for 5 to 10 minutes. Take the crabs out and set aside.

To remove the crabmeat, break the crab legs and claws off with your fingers. Place the crab with their underside facing up on a cutting board. Use a small knife to pry up the end of the crab’s “apron” (this is a small tab) and pull it off. Pry the hard shell off the body (you can use your hands to do this or a small knife inserted at the rear of the crab where the apron has been removed). With a small knife, scrape off the gills—a grayish white matter—and discard. Break the body in two to make it easier to remove the meat (you can do this with your hands or with kitchen shears). If the legs and/or claws look meaty, use kitchen shears to cut them in half and remove the meat. Discard the body cavity and legs after removing the meat. Set the crabmeat aside. Clean and reserve the outer shell of 8 of the small crabs or 4 or the medium-size crabs. Discard the remaining shells.

Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly browned. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the tomato and potato and sauté for 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the crabmeat, soy sauce, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Fill each crab shell with the mixture, pressing lightly with a spoon. Brush egg over the mixture. Lightly drizzle the cornstarch mixture over the filling (use the back of a spoon to spread it around). Then sprinkle and lightly press the breadcrumbs on top of the cornstarch.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil to a skillet over medium heat. Place the shells stuffing-side down and fry for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Alternatively, bake in a preheated oven at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes stuffing side up. Serve with steamed rice and banana ketchup or Sweet and Spicy Sauce (page 21).

Pork and Tomato Stew (Menudo)

grace — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:56:31 +0000

Pork and Tomato Stew (Menudo)

By Miki Garcia, Filipino Cookbook: 85 Homestyle Recipes to Delight Your Family and Friends

Reprinted with the express permission of Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group.

Some Filipinos believe that Menudo will cure a hangover, and whether that is true or not, this hearty dish will definitely satisfy a craving for meat. Menudo means “small” and so the pork in this dish is sliced into bite-size pieces. Unlike the spicy Mexican Menudo, this version is milder and sweeter.

Serves 4 to 6
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

1 lb (450 g) bone-in, pork belly (also called “side pork”) or loin, rinsed and cut into cubes
1/4 lb (110 g) pork or chicken liver, rinsed and cut into cubes
2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of knife
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 green bell pepper, deseeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and diced
One 15-oz (420-g) can chickpeas, drained
1 tomato, chopped
One 8-oz (227-g) can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup (70 g) raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the pork and liver and cut into bite-size cubes. Place the cubed meat in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to gentle boil over medium heat. Boil for 10 minutes and then drain the meat well (discard the cooking liquid).

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly brown. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the meat and liver and fry until lightly brown. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, carrot, potato, fish sauce, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the green and red bell pepper, chickpeas, tomato, tomato sauce, paprika, water, and soy sauce. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally.

Add the raisins, salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Prawns with Coconut Milk and Preserved Crab Fat (Ginataang Hipon with Gata and Taba ng Talangka)

grace — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 04:37:29 +0000

Prawns with Coconut Milk and Preserved Crab Fat (Ginataang Hipon with Gata and Taba ng Talangka)

By Trissa Lopez, Trissalicious

This recipe is probably one of those “inspired from” the 15 or so Philippine cookbooks that I have. For me, coconut milk goes extremely well with the Philippine’s holy trinity of ginger, garlic and onions, sauteed and blended with a chili pepper to create a gravy base. Then I added freshly peeled prawns and spinach leaves. On top of this, I blame Shirley, who reminded me about how damn delicious Taba ng Talangka could be, so I added a few spoons of this preserved crab fat to the dish. Now tell me, who can resist this dish with a steaming bowl of rice?

500 grams fresh prawns, peeled
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small knob of peeled ginger, sliced, around 30 grams
1 red chili, seeds removed, chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
200 ml coconut milk
2 tablespoons, taba ng talangka (crab fat) – available from Filipino/Asian groceries(optional)
Handful of spinach leaves

Heat the oil and add the onion, fry until translucent, around 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger and red chili and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes and then process in a food processor.

Once done, fry the paste for a few minutes and add the fish sauce and coconut milk.

Allow to simmer for around 15 minutes then add the crab fat.

Add the prawns and cook for around 2 to 3 minutes and then add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted.

Serve over steamed rice, top with some more taba ng talangka (crab roe).

Philippine Style Stuffed Crab (Rellenong Alimasag)

grace — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:50:32 +0000

Philippine Style Stuffed Crab (Rellenong Alimasag)

By Trissa Lopez, Trissalicious

Serves 4

A cooking process commonly used in the Philippines, is called relleno which means to stuff. Relleno makes it’s appearance during the Christmas season. Meat is removed from the crabs and mixed with some vegetables and refilled on the top shell and then fried. This is one of the most festive dishes that I could think of that really celebrates the fresh seafood we have in the Philippines. The dish itself is not difficult to make, but it is quite time consuming to remove all that meat from the crab – if you are lucky enough to afford good quality shelled crab meat, it makes life easier. Sometimes I add diced prawns if I’ve “accidentally” eaten some crab meat filling in the process of picking out the crab meat!

4 live blue swimmer crabs
100 ml olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 small waxy potato, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Place the crabs in the freezer for 30 minutes to send them to sleep, then drop then in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove from the pot and allow to cool. Pick out the meat from the crabs and place them in a bowl. Reserve the top shells and give them a good rinse and set aside.

Heat 50 ml of the olive oil in a large pan and saute the onion for around 5 minutes until translucent. Add the diced carrot and potato along with the garlic cloves and cook until the vegetables are soft, around 10 minutes over a low heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the vegetables in a bowl with the reserved crab meat and mix in the lightly beaten egg. Allow to cool slightly and then divide the crab mixture among the four shells.

Heat the rest of the olive oil in a large pan and carefully place the crab shells (crab mixture facing the pan) on the heat and cook for around 5 minutes over a medium heat until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve with ketchup (banana is my preference) and mayonnaise on the side.

Coconut Chicken with Pineapple (Pininyahang Manok)

grace — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:56:01 +0000

Coconut Chicken with Pineapple (Pininyahang Manok)

By Miki Garcia, Filipino Cookbook: 85 Homestyle Recipes to Delight Your Family and Friends

Filipino children love this dish. The tender pieces of chicken and the sweet pineapple chunks float in a creamy bath of coconut milk. This savory and sweet combination produces a dish that people of all ages will love. This recipe demonstrates the flexibility of pineapple, a fruit that is used for a main dish as well as a part of a dessert. Evaporated milk can be a convenient substitute for coconut milk.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of knife
1 onion, sliced
11/2 lbs (750 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs or drumsticks, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 tomato, diced
One 131/2-oz (400-ml) can coconut milk
21/2 cups (250 g) fresh or canned pineapple, cubed
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly browned. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Remove the sautéed garlic and onion, and set aside.

Toss the chicken cubes with the salt. To the same skillet over medium-high heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil. Stir-fry the chicken for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the garlic and onion.

Add the tomato, coconut milk and pineapple and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Season with the fish sauce. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Reprinted with the express permission of Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group.