Leche Flan

1 can (390g) evaporated milk
1 can (390g) condensed milk
10 egg yolks
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or lemon essence
For the caramel:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water

In a saucepan, mix the sugar & water. Bring to a boil for a few minutes until the sugar caramelize.
Pour the caramelized sugar into aluminum moulds - you can use any shape: oval, round or square. Spread the caramel on the bottom of the moulds.

Mix well the evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and vanilla by hand or blender.
Gently pour the mixture on top of the caramel on the aluminum moulds. Fill the moulds to about 1 to 1 1/4 inch thick.
Cover moulds individually with aluminum foil.
Steam for about 20 minutes OR
Bake for about 45 minutes. Before baking the Leche Flan, place the moulds on a larger baking pan half filled with very hot water. Pre-heat oven to about 370 degrees before baking.
Let cool then refrigerate.

To serve: run a thin knife around the edges of the mould to loosen the Leche Flan. Place a platter on top of the mould and quickly turn upside down to position the golden brown caramel on top.

Beef Wrapped In Lettuce

Ingredients
3 to 4 pounds short ribs
1/2 cup roughly chopped trimmed scallions, shallots or onions
1 tablespoon peeled and roughly chopped ginger
6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup soy sauce
16 to 24 romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Additional soy sauce or bean paste (available at Asian markets), optional


Method
1. Use a sharp knife to strip meat from ribs; it will come off easily and in one piece (reserve bones and any meat that adheres to them for stock). If time allows, freeze meat for 30 minutes to make slicing easier.
2. Combine scallions, ginger, garlic, sugar, pepper, soy sauce and 1/2 cup water in blender, and puree until very smooth. Slice meat 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Toss with scallion mixture, and marinate for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Preheat a grill or broiler, or preheat oven to its maximum temperature, and put a heavy roasting pan in it.
3. Remove meat from marinade, and grill, broil or roast just until done, no more than a couple of minutes a side; it's nice if the meat is browned outside and rare inside, but it's imperative that it not be overcooked.
4. To eat, wrap a piece or two of meat in a torn piece of lettuce; garnish with a drop or two of soy sauce or bean paste if you like.



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Ingredients
3 to 4 pounds short ribs
1/2 cup roughly chopped trimmed scallions, shallots or onions
1 tablespoon peeled and roughly chopped ginger
6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup soy sauce
16 to 24 romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Additional soy sauce or bean paste

1. Use a sharp knife to strip meat from ribs; it will come off easily and in one piece (reserve bones and any meat that adheres to them for stock). If time allows, freeze meat for 30 minutes to make slicing easier.
2. Combine scallions, ginger, garlic, sugar, pepper, soy sauce and 1/2 cup water in blender, and puree until very smooth. Slice meat 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Toss with scallion mixture, and marinate for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Preheat a grill or broiler, or preheat oven to its maximum temperature, and put a heavy roasting pan in it.
3. Remove meat from marinade, and grill, broil or roast just until done, no more than a couple of minutes a side; it's nice if the meat is browned outside and rare inside, but it's imperative that it not be overcooked.
4. To eat, wrap a piece or two of meat in a torn piece of lettuce; garnish with a drop or two of soy sauce or bean paste if you like.

Squid Calamares

Ingredients :

1 kilo of large squids
2-3 c. of flour
salt (herbed, preferably)
pepper
2-3 c. of vegetable cooking oil

Cooking procedure :

Clean the squids. Pull out the tentacles with the intestines, ink sac, etc. Feel inside the cavity and locate the spine. Pull it out. Peel off the skin. Cut off the intestines from the tentacles. Wash well and rinse. Cut the squids’ bodies into rings about one-fourth inch thick. Lay the rings, and the tentacles, on a plate covered with several layers of absorbent paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and let sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Some cooks prefer to season the flour instead of the squids. We prefer to season the squids. They taste better.

Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan.

Place about a cup of flour in a resealable plastic bag. Add about a third of the squid rings and tentacles and shake well. Pour the contents of the bag into a plate or bowl. Test the temperature of the cooking oil by dropping a squid ring into the frying pan. If it sinks and takes too long to brown, the oil isn’t hot enough. If it browns in 2-3 seconds, the oil is too hot. Ideally, the squid should cook in 30-40 seconds with the flour coating turning crisp.

Cook only a few pieces at a time, shaking off the excess flour before putting them into the oil. As the pieces brown, lift them off the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper towels. Do not overcook the squids or they will turn tough as rubber. When the first batch is done, put more flour into the resealable plastic bag and repeat until all the squids are cooked.

There are a lot of dipping sauces that can go with your calamares. Personally, I prefer sour cream with lots of finely minced garlic stirred in.

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa Recipe

Ingredients:
I large ripe mango, remove skin and chop
1 finely chopped tomato
1 green capsicum chopped finely
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp coriander leaves
salt to taste

Combine all the above ingredients and let it sit for half an hour for the flavors to meld.

Baked Mussels With Cheese

1 kilo fresh large tahongs

1/2 cup butter or margarine

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Place tahong on a pan (no water), cover and cook over moderate heat. When shells open up, drain. Remove top shell.Melt butter, add minced garlic. Stir for 3 minutes. Brush each tahong meat with butter-garlic mixture, top with grated cheese and cover with bread crumbs.Arrange tahong on a baking sheet. Bake in pre-heated oven with a low heat (250F). Bake for 10 - 15 minutes.

Paksiw Na Bangus

3 medium bangus (clean, scaled & halved)
2 small eggplants
1 small ginger (crushed)
4 pieces long green pepper
2 cups vinegar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon patis (fish sauce)

1. In a casserole, arrange vegetables at the bottom.
2. Add in bangus, long green pepper and ginger.
3. Pour in vinegar and bring to a boil.
4. Lower the heat and pour in water.

Pansit Malabon

1/2 kilo miki (white, thick & round noodles)

2/3 cup coarsely pounded sitsaron baboy

2/3 cup flaked fish meat (tinapa)

1/2 kilo pork fat (cubed)

1/4 kilo fresh shrimps (cooked, shelled)

1/4 kilo fresh squid (adobo)

1/2 kilo talaba (adobo)

2 eggs hard boiled

5-6 cloves garlic minced

3 tbsp. atchuete seeds

salt to taste

Boil water with a little salt. Drop miki. Cook until tender. Drain. Set aside.

Soak atchuete seeds in 1/2 cup water. Extract color. Add colored water to cubed pork fat, cook until water dries. Stir until oil comes out and pork becomes sitsaron.

Set aside sitsaron. Saute garlic in atchuete oil. Transfer oil with garlic in a small bowl. Set aside. Put cooked noodles on a plate. Sprinkle fried garlic with oil and arrange all ingredients on top of noodles. garnish with slices of cooked egg. Serve with puto or camachile cookies.

Sauce: patis and calamansi juice.

Lumpiang Shanghai

Ingredients :
1/2 k of ground lean pork
1 tbsp of finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp of finely grated ginger
1 onion, finely chopped
1-1/2 tbsp of finely chopped onion leaves
1/2 carrot, finely grated
1 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of sesame seed oil
12-15 lumpia wrappers

Mix together all the ingredients, except the lumpia wrappers.
Place one tbsp. of pork filling at at the center of the wrapper. Take the side of the wrapper nearest you and roll toward the middle. When half-rolled, take the sides and fold them inward, then finish rolling away from you. Brush the edges with a little water to seal completely. Repeat until all the wrappers are filled.
Heat wok or skillet. Pour in the cooking oil. When the oil starts to smoke, carefully lower the lumpia one by one. Do not overcrowd the skillet. Cook only 4 to 5 pieces of rolls at a time. Roll them in oil to brown evenly. Remove once they turn golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Cut each lumpia into 2-3 pieces. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

For the sweet-sour sauce :
3 tbsp of vinegar (you may need more if using mild-strength vinegar)
6 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of chili sauce (Tabasco)
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of cornstarch
1 c. of water sesame seed oil

In a small saucepan, mix together all ingredients for the sweet-sour sauce. Set over medium-high heat until thick and the cloudiness has disappeared. Remove from heat. Add a few drops of sesame seed oil.

Peanut Butter Chicken

1/2 cup peanut oil
1 1/2 kilos chicken, cut into serving pieces
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or 2-3 pieces red chili, crushed
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup toasted peanuts, chopped
cooked rice
5 strips bacon, fried and crumbled
2 eggs, hard-boild then chopped
6 pieces saba, sliced diagonally then fried

1. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan.
2. Add the chicken and cook until brown and tender.
3. transfer the chicken to a platter.
4. Use the remaining oil to saute the onions.
5. Stir in peanut butter and cayenne or chili.
6. Gradually stir in water.
7. Season with salth and pepper.
8. Return the chicken to the pan adn simmer until the sauce thickens.
9. Transfer to a serving plate.
10. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
11. Serve with rice accompanied by crumbled bacon, chopped egg and fried saba

Fresh Lumpia

1/4 kilo ground pork 1/4 kilo ground pork
Mixed vegetable (chopsuey vegies), chopped Mixed vegetable (chopsuey vegies), chopped
4 pieces firm tofu (tokwa) 4 pieces firm tofu (tokwa)
Spring roll wrappers - medium size Spring roll wrappers - medium size
3 tablespoon chopped garlic 3 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 onions, chopped 3 onions, chopped
1 cup peanuts 1 cup peanuts
1 tablespoon white sugar 1 tablespoon white sugar
Salt Salt
Lettuce Lettuce
Parsley (kinchay) Parsley (kinchay)
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Slice the tofu into small cubes.
Saute garlic, 1 chopped onion and ground pork. Season with salt. Set aside when cooked.
Saute garlic, 1 chopped onion and mixed vegetables. Season with salt. When cooked, mix with sauted ground pork. Set aside.
Saute garlic, 1 chopped onion and firm tofu. Season with salt. When cooked, mix with the other ingredients. Set aside.
Pound peanuts or use a blender (ground peanuts should not be powdery).
Add sugar to ground peanuts.
Get a lumpia wrapper.
Put a leaf of lettuce over the wrapper.
On top of the lettuce put at least 2 tablespoons of the sauted pork mixture.
Sprinkle with ground peanuts.
Place parsley on top.
Fold the wrapper.
Eat and enjoy.

Banana Turon

2 large bananas, sliced thinly and diagonally

1 c sliced jackfruit

5 phyllo pastry sheets

2 Tbsp melted butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp brown sugar

cooking oil spray

Syrup

1 c sugar

1/2 c water

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180dec C. Grease a cookie tray with the cooking oil spray. Cut the phyllo sheets into four and cover with a cloth to prevent from drying out as you work. Layer 6 sheets of pastry, brushing each thoroughly with the combined butter and oil. Arrange the slices of banana to cover the top layer. Sprinkle with half of the sugar. Layer another 8 sheets of greased pastry over the banana. Arrange the slices of jackfruit and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar. Top with the remaining 6 sheets of greased pastry. Brush the top of the pastry with the remaining butter and oil. With a very sharp knife, cut into 3 lengthways, but do not cut through the base. Bake in the oven for around 40minutes. Meanwhile, stir the syrup ingredients together in a pan over low heat until the mixture boils and the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. When the pastry is cooked, pour the cooled syrup over the hot slice. When cold, cut into squares or diamonds.

Breaded Porkchop

Ingredients :

4 pork chops
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper
1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
2 tbsp water
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
oil, for frying

Cooking Procedures:

Rub pork chops with salt and pepper. Let stand for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
In a bowl, combine flour and garlic. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg with water and season with salt and pepper until well blended. Set aside.
Dredge each chops with flour. Then dip in egg mixture until well coated and roll in breadcrumbs. Shake off excess crumbs. Place chops on a clean plate and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes for the coating to set.
Heat oil in a skillet (or fryer, if using) over medium heat. Fry breaded chops for about 10 to 12 minutes on each side, turning only once. Drain on paper towels. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.
Alternatively, place breaded chops on a rack of a roasting pan. Put pan in the center of the oven and bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes.

Pineapple Chicken

3 chicken breasts, split
1 lg. can pineapple chunks (drain and reserve juice)
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 c oil1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt

In a large skillet, combine oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add chicken and brown. Add 1/3 cup pineapple juice and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and place on platter. Combine cornstarch another 1/3 cup pineapple juice, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce and add with pineapple chunks to skillet contents. Cook until thickened. Pour over chicken.

Pork Tocino

Ingredients

2 lbs of pork/pork chops or red loin with fat, sliced into 1/4 inch thick
2 tbsp of anise wine
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp salt cooking oil
4 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a shallow pan except for the pork.
Sprinkle the mixture onto the pork and make sure that it is distributed evenly.
Pile the pork inside a container with a cover and keep refrigerated for about 3 days to cure the pork.
To cook, just put a little water in a skillet and add the pork and fry it until done

Thai Beef Curry

Ingredients :

3 tbsp vegetable oil

800 g/1 lb 12 oz braising steak, cubed

2 onions, sliced thinly

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste

1 tbsp tamarind paste or lime juice

2 tbsp fish sauce

850 ml/1 1/2 pints coconut milk

2 tsp sugar

6 cardamom pods, crushed

1 small pineapple, peeled and chopped

Cooking Procedures:

Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole. Brown the beef in batches and set aside. Add the onions to the oil and cook for 5 minutes, then set aside with the beef. Add the curry paste and cook gently for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the tamarind paste, the fish sauce, coconut milk and sugar. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and return the beef and onions to the casserole with the cardamom. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Stir from time to time and if it is becoming dry, cover with a lid. Add the pineapple and cook for 5 more minutes. The curry should be quite dry, but add a little water if necessary.