Siopao Asado (Filipino Pork Buns)

ALDI had their pork tenderloin in ‘red hot special’ a couple of weeks back. Naturally, for a bargain hunter like me, I bought some even if I didn’t have a dish in mind to cook yet.

Today, I felt like siopao (Pinoy style pork buns). Luckily, I’ve got those tenderloins in the freezer which is the ideal cut to make the filling.

I’m a big fan of Panlasang Pinoy.  He’s so passionate about his food and sharing it to the world that he even includes instructional videos with his recipes (complete with Filipino folk music in the background).

I did not come up with a new recipe for my siopao. I used his. Follow the link below for the recipe details and the video.  Thanks Vanjo!

http://panlasangpinoy.com/2009/08/07/how-to-make-home-made-siopao-asado-recipe/

Adobo – The Vegetarian Antidote

As a child I had a funny relationship with food. I went through various aversions/liking to certain food groups. At one stage I would only eat fat. Yes, just fat. Yes, just pork fat! One thing I do not remember though is loving just vegetables.

Hence, it really bothered me when one of my kids started exhibiting troubling signs of vegetarianism. I don’t get it. If there’s one thing a foodie dad dreads it’s a vegetarian for a child. For some time I was totally convinced I spawned one. My eyes were probably closed when it happened…

That fear was not totally unsubstantiated. On burger nights my 3^rd child, Yaya, would have what we now call Elishah’s (her real name) burger. It’s basically rabbit food in a bun. She would only eat the outside of spring rolls. She would remove any trace of meat on her spaghetti. She loves Hainanese chicken rice though… without the chicken. It is worrying as she’s barely 7 years old.

Maybe my comments about how I love cats…deep fried…has something to do with it but I’m still unsure about what brought this “not eating meat” habit on. Regardless, I was determined to nip it in the bud.

I’ve tried all sorts of techniques. Initially she would give in but then quickly revert back to her veggie fix. I felt helpless.

And then one day I cooked adobo for the following week’s packed lunches. The savoury aroma wafting throughout the house began to weaken Yaya’s resolve. Her curiosity got the better of her and asked for a taste. From then on she was cured. And we all lived happily ever after…

Adobo, after all, is the great vegetarian antidote. Now I know…

Pork Adobo ala Beancounter

1kg pork belly cut in fairly large chunks

60ml coconut vinegar

60ml Filipino soy sauce

1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

Black pepper

1 head of garlic chopped finely

1 large onion chopped

Water (just enough to cover the meat)

1 Bay leaf

A bit of oil for sautéing

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot but set aside a quarter of the garlic and onion for sautéing later.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or so or until desired tenderness of the meat is achieved.

3. Remove everything from the pot but separate the meat from the sauce.

4. Heat up a bit of oil in the same pot. Sauté the garlic then the onion.

5. Add the meat pieces back in and fry for a couple of minutes. If you prefer a “crispier” adobo fry it a bit longer.

6. Add the sauce back in and simmer for another five minutes.

7. Serve with steaming hot jasmine rice.

Pinoy Barbie (Filipino Style Barbecue)

And I do not mean a variation to the popular fashion doll. Rather, “barbie” is how Aussies affectionately refer to one of the favourite pastimes downunder, barbecue/barbecuing. Hence it is the cooking method of choice every Australia Day celebration (I meant to post this on that day for that particular reason…but just did not find the time). Large pieces of marinated meat/seafood are “thrown on the barbie” for a quick and tasty summer meal in the great outdoors.

We Filipinos have our own barbecue tradition if you like. Instead of large chunks of meat we like them bite size and skewered (using bamboo) much like the more well-known Southeast Asian satay. But rather than a spicy peanut sauce we Pinoys favour the smoky savoury sweet taste not too dissimilar to the style of our North American brothers.

There is another stark difference between the Aussie and the Pinoy barbie. Rather than cooking over charcoal the preferred antipodeans’ method is the use of a gas heated hot plate or a grill. You will not get the smoky barbecue finish doing it this way so I still revert back to using coal (or heat beads).

Barbecuing is meant to be easy. That is why I do not bother concocting a complicated alchemy of ingredients. The main component of my marinade is a pre-made mix made by Mama Sita’s (a popular Filipino food manufacturer). I add pineapple juice for some fruity freshness and some tomato ketchup for a right sweet and sour balance.

The marinade works well with other kinds of meat but my preference is pork. You do not have to skewer the meat if that’s too much of a chore. I tried this using pork chops and the result was still fantastic. It’s best to use cuts with a little bit of fat to keep the barbecue moist. Otherwise put a bit of oil in your marinade and use it to baste the meat as it cooks.

Grilled eggplants to make an Asian style salad

Quick & Easy Pinoy BBQ ala Beancounter

1 packet Mama Sita’s Barbeque Marinade

¼ cup soy sauce

1 cup pineapple juice

¼ cup tomato ketchup

Chillies (optional)

1 kg pork (belly strips, chops or any pork cut you prefer)

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients.

2. Pour the marinade on the meat and set aside for at least an hour.

3. Prepare your barbecue using charcoal or heat beads.

4. Length of cooking time depends on the thickness of your meat. Baste it from time to time to avoid drying out.

5. Serve with rice and some grilled eggplant salad.

My de-glamorised BBQ assistant

Pork Katsu (Tonkatsu) Curry

Thanks to Hanaichi, one of the fastest growing Japanese eateries in Queensland, Katsu Curry is now available all over Brisbane (in major shopping centres at least). They serve them cheap, fast, hot and very tasty. I figured, why bother making it at home?



But I was inspired after reading Cusinera's (of Busog! Sarap!) take on this popular Japanese take-away to try and cook it myself. It did not seem as fiddly as I thought it would be!





Trying to get the combination of spices spot on was to me very daunting so I never dared. But S&B's Golden Curry mix does away with all that (no, they did not pay me for this blog!).




Cooking this at home also give me more freedom on how it is served. In most Japanese restaurants the curry sauce is poured on top of the katsu. If you've been following this blog you know I prefer my sauces on the side. I decide when my rice gets mixed in with the sauce, not the restaurant (also keeps my katsu crispy!)





For the Curry Sauce:

100g S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix (I used mild but there are "hotter" varieties)
2 1/2 cups water
1 large onion sliced
1 large carrot cut in large chunks
1 stalk celery cut in large chunks
2 desiree potatoes cut in large chunks
A bit of oil for sauteing

1. Heat up a bit of oil in a pot.
2. Saute the onion until soft and translucent.
3. Add all the vegetables and saute for another minute.
4. Add the water and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to simmering point. Simmer until all the vegetables are cooked.
6. Crumble the Japanese curry into the mixture. Stir until all dissolved. Cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Set aside

This is plenty for just one meal. You might want to halve the recipe if you don't like leftover sauce.


For the Pork Katsu (Tonkatsu)

2 pork chops sliced thinly lengthwise to make 4 thin chops
1 large egg beaten lightly
1 bowl of water
Plain flour with a bit of salt
Panko Japanese style breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

1. Heat up oil in a pan for frying.
2. Dip the pork chops in egg.
3. Coat each piece in flour and shake any excess.
4. Dip the coated pieces in cold water for a few seconds (I thought this was a crazy idea. It's a technique apparently used by fast food places to guarantee a crispy coating. It does work! I used the same technique in my Crispy Fried Chicken Recipe.)
5. Coat with the Panko bread crumbs.
6. Fry on each side until golden brown.
7. Chop into pieces and serve with the curry sauce on top or on the side.

Easy Pineapple Glazed Christmas Ham ala Beancounter

This is a wee bit late for Christmas I know but during the holidays I didn’t have so much of a break to sit down and write a single post.

If there is one indulgence during the season that I never let myself miss out on it would have to be the glazed ham. My Christmas does not feel complete without this traditional centrepiece of my family’s noche buena table.

There are a lot more complicated recipes out there. But I wouldn’t want to be slaving in the kitchen and fail to enjoy the festivities. When I tell my friends how I prepare my ham they are shocked as to how simple it is.

The idea is you make pineapple jam and use this to glaze your ham. If you couldn’t be bothered making home made jam a store bought one could work just as well (I think, but I’ve never tried this). And yes, it doesn’t have to be pineapple.


Easy Pineapple Glazed Christmas Ham ala Beancounter

Half a Leg of Smoked Ham (a whole leg does not fit in my fridge)
1 large can crushed pineapple in syrup
500g of brown sugar
1 cup pineapple juice
A bit more brown sugar

1. Start by preparing your glaze. Combine the crushed pineapple, including all the liquid, and brown sugar in a sauce pan and reduce to about half its original volume. Cool down and set aside.
2. Prepare your ham by removing the rind (I’ve been to some households where they forgot this very important step, honestly). Score the fat to make a lattice pattern. Transfer to a roasting tray.
3. Rub the ham with some brown sugar.
4. Smear (yes, not brush) the jam onto the ham.
5. Pour the pineapple juice onto the tray.
6. Bake the ham in a 180°C oven for about an hour or until the glaze has turned nice and dark. Make sure you place it in the lowest rack so it doesn’t turn dark too quickly.
7. Serve hot or cold.

Baon - Pork Adobo

Adobo is a cooking style indigenous to the Philippines but is similarly named to a Spanish cooking method. Filipino adobo basically means cooking meat (sometimes fish and seafood as well) in vinegar. The addition of soy sauce and other spices, black pepper and bay leaves in particular, came later when the Filipinos started trading with other cultures (especially the Chinese).

Homemade ensaymadas for breakfast

There are as many versions of adobo as there are Filipino households around the globe. Mine is quite simple and I prefer to use only pork. To achieve a real authentic adobo I suggest you use Filipino branded coconut vinegar (Datu Puti perhaps) and soy sauce (Silver Swan).


To balance the fattiness of my adobo I would normally serve it with a side of vegetables. For my baon today I brought fried eggplant that I topped with caramelised garlic and onion from my adobo.

Pork Adobo ala Kidpawan

1kg pork belly cut in fairly large chunks
60ml coconut vinegar
60ml Filipino soy sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
Black pepper
1 head of garlic chopped finely
1 large onion chopped
Water (just enough to cover the meat)
Bay leaf (optional, I don’t use it in mine)
A bit of oil for sautéing


1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot but set aside a quarter of the garlic and onion for sautéing later.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or so or until desired tenderness of the meat is achieved.
3. Remove everything from the pot but separate the meat from the sauce.
4. Heat up a bit of oil in the same pot. Sauté the garlic then the onion.
5. Add the meat pieces back in and fry for a couple of minutes. If you prefer a “crispier” adobo fry it a bit longer.
6. Add the sauce back in and simmer for another five minutes.
7. Serve with steaming hot jasmine rice.

Paksiw na Pata – Braised Pork Hocks

“Paksiw” is a Filipino cooking method of braising meat or fish in some sort of a sour broth. Usually with “meat paksiw” soy sauce is added and vinegar is the souring agent of choice.

Among all the paksiws there are Paksiw na Pata would have to be my favourite. It’s shockingly easy to make but don’t cook it too often as your “bad” cholesterol levels will probably shoot up quite literally. It is extremely high in fat but that should not put you off. If you choose your hocks well there should be lots of lean meat to be had as well. Connoisseurs recommend the front legs.

What makes this paksiw unique is the combination of dried banana blossoms (or lily flowers) and bay leaves that give this dish a distinct flavour.

Paksiw na Pata is best cooked over low fire for at least 2 hours. I don’t recommend using a pressure cooker as you need this dish to “age” properly rather force it. It is best eaten the day after it has been cooked when all the flavours have seeped into the meat.

Paksiw na Pata ala Kidpawan

2 pork hocks
1 cup vinegar
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
6-10 whole garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons peppercorn slightly crushed
1 cup dried banana blossoms or lily flowers soaked in hot water
1 cup pineapple pieces
Water

1. Combine all the ingredients together (except the water) in one big pot.
2. Add just enough water to cover the hocks.
3. Bring to a boil then reduce to low to medium hit and braise for 2 hours. Skim off the muck that forms on top.
4. If you want to reduce the sauce further after two hours of cooking I recommend you remove the hocks first. This will keep your hocks intact. Return the hocks to the cooking liquid when it reaches your desired amount.
5. Serve with steaming hot rice.

Crispy Fry Fried Chicken (ChickenJoel TM)/Pork Chops

If you want that “take-away” (“take out” for those in North America) taste in your fried chicken/pork chops it’s pretty hard to go wrong with Ajinomoto’s Crispy Fry Breading Mix. Yup, Ajinomoto! Probably the most well known MSG (monosodium glutamate) manufacturer in the world. So, if you’re MSG sensitive or want nothing to do with MSG at all please look away now.

Well, I don’t know if Crispy Fry has some MSG in it but just in case…

I do want to make it clear though that I was in no way paid by Ajinomoto to promote their product. I’m including it in my blog purely for taste reasons.

There are days when we just feel like eating take away food (take out” for those in North America). Unlike in the Philippines where you can get almost anything delivered right at your doorstep (yes, including McDonald’s), here down under the quickest way would have to be the drive-thru. But sometimes I couldn’t even be bothered to drive. It’s times like those when Crispy Fry comes really handy.

If you like your fried chicken with gravy you’ll be glad to know that each Crispy Fry packet also comes with a gravy mix.

I was introduced to this product by Mister J. He’s also showed me some tricks he’s learned during his stints at fast food restaurants to make your chicken extra crispy.

The recipe below, once again, is Mr J’s very own (in his own words):

Really Krispy Pork Chops (Also applies to ChickenJoelTM)

Rub a small amount of salt & pepper on thinly sliced pork chops (about a kilo or nine pieces).
Let stand for a few minutes. Meanwhile...

Mix about 200 grams all purpose flour, a teaspoon or less of fine salt and pepper. Or just mix the flour with commercially prepared breading mix such as Ajinomoto Crispy Fry or magic seasonings like Knorr Real Sarap.

Break an egg and manually cover the chops. In a separate bowl, bread the chops with the flour mixture, pressing with your hands to make sure the flour sticks to them.

Transfer the breaded meat to a sieve and dip in a bowl of water or wet it a little under a running tap for about 5 seconds. Shake vigorously.

Do the breading for the second time this time without dipping in the water. Be sure to eliminate excess flour by sifting.

Deep-Fry until golden brown.

Binagoongan (Pork in Shrimp Paste)

It certainly wasn’t my intention to write a blog about binagoongan. Well, not last night, that is. But after all the trouble I’ve gone through to get this dish finished I think my binagoongan deserved to be blogged about!

I’m still not feeling 100%. I just wanted to get dinner over and done with (pretty sad huh…not the usual me). The last thing on my mind was to take photos of my cooking…so I didn’t.

About halfway through the process I realised I’ve got no bagoong. And no bagoong (Filipino shrimp paste) means no binagoongan. This essential ingredient just has no substitutes! Patis (Fish Sauce) won’t do. Salt is just not good enough. I’ve got belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste) in the pantry but I couldn’t see how that could work.

Knowing full well that the shops were already shut I’ve got no choice but to visit my closest Pinoy neighbour. By that I mean some 5kms drive away. So I rang them to announce my spur of the moment visit to borrow some shrimp paste. I brought my own ziplock bag to spare the couple further trouble (sad…really!)! But being the good and generous friends that they are they gave me half a jar rather than the few tablespoons I needed (or they probably just want to get rid of me ASAP!). Thanks to Patrick and Pilar for saving our dinner last night!

Binagoongan for me is normally a side dish to kare-kare (oxtail in peanut sauce). But in my condition I just wasn’t up to cooking kare-kare.

Some of you might find the thought of combining pork and shrimp paste horrifying. I say, don’t knock it back till you try it!

The best way to cook this dish is by pre-frying the pork before adding all the other ingredients.

Binagoongan ala Beancounter

500g pork belly diced
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
4 tablespoons bagoong (shrimp paste…Barrio Fiesta or Kamayan brand preferably)
1 teaspoon vinegar (optional)
Chillies (optional)
Oil

1. Heat up a pan. Add a bit of oil and fry the diced pork. Do this in batches to avoid steaming the meat. Set aside.
2. Remove excess oil from the pan. Fry the garlic (till golden brown).
3. Add the onion and cook till translucent.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the shrimp paste. You can add more than 4 tablespoons if you like. It’ll be more like a dipping sauce rather than a side dish if you do. Cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the pre-cooked pork. Simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add the vinegar and cook for another minute.
8. Serve with freshly cooked rice.

Lechon Kawali (Thrice Cooked Pork) ala Beancounter

The good thing about going to Gladstone is that I can get my work done all in a day and then be able to fly home just in time for dinner. I fly in at 6am. I then have a choice of three flights in the late afternoon to early evening back to Brisbane.

Most times on a full and exhausting day like this one we would order out. But for some reason this night all I wanted was Roast Pork. Not the lean western version served with vegies and potatoes or the five-spiced Chinese kind. What I was really craving was a fat laden Filipino Lechon (sleep deprivation being my excuse for such cravings…). At around 6.30 in the evening there is no way I could cook my Easy Roast Pork and still be alive to eat it.

Thankfully, the Filipino’s Lechon range includes one called Lechon Kawali. This is more like thrice cooked deep fried pork belly (can you hear your arteries protesting?). Most Pinoy Lechon Kawali recipes are more “twice” cooked rather than my “thrice” cooked version. The difference? After boiling the meat I bung it in a very hot oven to quickly dry it. Why? To save time and to avoid oil splattering all over my kitchen, that’s why!

Don’t be discouraged by the “thrice cooked” label I added to the name of this dish. It is not as daunting and time consuming as you might think. I was very tired, famished and it was already past 7pm when I decided to cook this. Add to that the meat still hasn’t been defrosted. The whole cooking process probably took an hour (as opposed to my Easy Roast pork which consumes 200% to 300% more time).

Instead of microwave defrosting the meat I put it straight into a pot of boiling water with onions, freshly cracked black pepper, sea salt and a bay leaf. I had to cut the meat in half after several minutes of boiling to hasten the defrosting and infuse more flavour into the meat.

I must say though, I’ve cooked better Lechon kawali than this. But considering all the constraints it still hits the spot!

Anyway, here’s the full recipe:

Lechon Kawali (Thrice Cooked Pork) ala Beancounter

1 piece of pork belly
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
1 bay leaf
Water for boiling
Lots of oil for deep frying

1. Boil the meat in water together with the spices for about half an hour.
2. Pre-heat the oven to about 200°C.
3. Transfer the meat to a roasting rack and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes to dry it especially the skin. This would prevent oil splattering when you deep fry the meat.
4. Heat up a lot of oil in a deep fryer or a deep pan/pot while waiting for the meat to dry.
5. Place the meat in the hot oil and deep fry. This should take another 15-20 minutes.
6. Serve with gai lan with oyster sauce (for balance) and steaming hot jasmine rice.

Easy Roast Pork ala Beancounter

Picture Dr Evil and Mini-me, only cuter, with better fashion sense and a lot more hair. *LOL* That's a bit much! But that's a little bit how it's like when I’m looking after Tikay (Eliyah). I'm frantically cooking in the kitchen with a tiny person dangling in front of me.

So, coming up with easy to prepare meals is not just pertinent, it's a matter of life and death...again too much drama! *LOL*

The love for Lechon (Filipino Roast Pork) is culturally embedded in my genes. But I haven't got time to source a pig, slaughter it and spit roast it for half a day. Fortunately, there are less bloody versions of this much-loved dish. Apart from the traditional spit roast there is the Lechon Kawali (Deep Fried) and the Lechon sa Hurno (Oven Roast) varieties, the latter being the least complex but very tasty nonetheless.

The secret to my Easy (oven) Roast Pork is the cut of meat. Low fat advocates look away now...The best and the only cut I use when roasting this way is a fatty pork belly. Ok, ok! It does not have to be really fatty. That is just to annoy "low fat" people. But a good layering of fat is vital. This would almost always guarantee a roast that is not dry. Pork Belly is quite forgiving in that an extra hour in the oven (due to the onset of dementia) would still result in an edible roast albeit crispy and a wee bit charred!

My recipe is easy but by no means quick. There isn’t a lot of fussing around with ingredients, in fact there are only three, but it involves a few hours of cooking.

The recipe is actually quite basic but that's the beauty of it. Once you feel confident you should be able to embellish without fear. You can add garlic and rosemary sprigs for example.

Also, this roast pork works really well served the traditional Pinoy way with a sweet and tangy lechon sauce eaten with rice. Or you can opt for a more western style of serving with gravy (made from the drippings), roast potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Easy Roast Pork ala Beancounter

1 piece of pork belly
Sea salt
Pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to about 200C.
2. Rub the pork belly with salt and pepper.
3. Put about a cup of water in your roasting tray. Place the meat (skin side up) on a rack on top of the roasting tray making sure the meat is not touching the water. Put it in the oven.
4. After about 30 minutes reduce the heat to about 150C. Cook for another 2-3 hours depending on the size of the meat. This is when the fat becomes really important. The melting pork fat will keep the meat moist. Check it after 2 hours and see how the crackling is forming. If it is done to your liking take it out of the oven at this point.
5. Let the meat rest for a few minutes before serving.

Lunch Club - Thai Red Curry Pork

Thai curries would have to be the easiest curries to make in the world (just as long as you’re happy to use pre-packed curry pastes). It fits perfectly with Lunch Club in that it does not require a lot of preparation and long cooking time.

Usually, the curry paste packet (or bottle) has got a recipe printed on it already. For my first attempt I did follow what the packet says. I then adjusted the recipe to my taste later on.

Here’s how I do my version of this curry:

Kidpawan’s Thai Red Curry Pork

Ingredients

500-750grams of lean pork sliced thinly for quick cooking

2 tablespoons of Thai red curry paste (get the Mae Ploy brand if you can find it)

A bit of oil

3-4 Kaffir lime leaves julienned

Red capsicum (as much as you like)

1 bunch snake beans (string beans can be substituted)

Basil

A bit of palm sugar

Fish sauce to taste

Stock

Procedure

1. Heat up the wok. Add a bit of oil. Stir fry the pork pieces until they change colour. Preferably you do this in batches (depending on the size of your wok) so the meat are fried properly rather than steamed. Set this aside.
2. Add a bit more oil to the wok. Stir fry the curry paste for about a minute or two.
3. Add the pork back into the wok and stir fry for another minute.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir fry. The curry is done when the beans are cooked to your liking.
5. Serve with jasmine rice.