Fava Beans Salad

Fava beans are supposed to be nutritiousand therefore good for you. I like them because of their buttery texture and good flavor. They are available fresh still in pods at Korean grocery stores but when aren't in season, I get the frozen ones usually from India or Portugal. I steam them for 3 minutes, peel them, then leave in the refrigerator until I'm ready to season them in butter, garlic, and sea salt.

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Sprouted Seeds Shoots with Yogurt Dressing Salad

salad of green pea and daikon shoots, fresh pineapple, cucumber ribbons, 

halved cherry tomatoes, and dried cranberries with Asian yogurt dressing 

I started sprouting seeds again when I saw organic radish seeds for sprouting at the grocery store. The packet promises a lightly spicy daikon (radish) flavor which can be eaten raw in salads and sandwiches or lightly steamed and added to stir-fries. Indeed, the sprouts and shoots are very very flavorful and I love them on top of sandwich. I also got a packet of green peas for growing into shoots. I buy the shoots when available from the Asian grocery store but I want to try them raw in salads, when very young and only about 3½ inches tall. They are a little grassy when eaten raw but I like them when added to salad with Asian yogurt dressing.

sweet green pea shoots

daikon seeds shoots

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Mango, Cherry, and Orange Salad with Mint and Moscato

There're lots and lots of mangoes already at the Asian markets and Costco. I cubed a few pieces and made a very yummy fruit salad with pitted [frozen] sweet cherries and fresh oranges. The salad doesn't have added sugar; the fruits are mixed with cheap sweet wine and chopped mint. Very refreshing and bright, just like Spring.

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Red White Yellow Blue Plate Special

RED WHITE YELLOW BLUE PLATE SPECIAL
longaniza jamonado, tomatoes
sunny side-up egg, fried rice
blue tater tots

The Philippine flag is Kulinarya Cooking Club theme for the combined months of August and September 2011 co-hosted by yours truly, Ray, Boyet, and Day to celebrate Philippines National Heroes Day, plus Ninoy Aquino Day. 

Blue Plate Special means a low-priced meal with meat and three vegetables all in one plate offered by some restaurants here in the US; it doesn't have any blue food although sometimes served in a blue-colored plate. Well, my plate special is quad-colored and the food in it have the actual colors of red, white, yellow, and blue, all in one blue-rimmed plate; it's priceless! My plate is an ensemble of my favorite Filipino breakfast: longaniza, tomatoes, fried egg/s, fried rice, and fried potatoes.

The challenge was to prepare a dish with the four colors of the Philippine flag all in one plate or dish. They may be a garnish or the plate the dish is served in but we were not allowed to use store-bought chemical food dye to color the ingredients if dyeing is necessary. Finding naturally colored blue food was tough but the first thing that came to mind was the blue potato pancake I made a few years ago. These sweetish waxy potatoes have blue/purple color that deepens into almost navy blue when cooked and have completely cooled to room temperature. I added some salt and sauteed chopped onion into the partially cooked grated potatoes, formed the mixture into small lumps, and fried them in light olive oil and butter until dark brown and crusty.

Longaniza Jamonado

2½ pounds pork, cut into 1-inch cubes 

¼ pound pork fat, cut into ¼-inch cubes

¼ cup fine raw cane sugar
¼ cup white cane sugar

½ teaspoon pink salt

1½ tablespoons kosher or sea salt (not table salt)

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

hog casing, rinsed and soaked in warm water

• Place the pork and pork fat separately in the freezer for 30 minutes or until icy. Coarsely grind the pork. In a small bowl, whisk together sugars, salt, pink salt, and cloves. In a large bowl, mix by hand the pork and fat until fat is evenly distributed. Mix in by hand the sugar mixture. Fill casing or form into longaniza shapes/patties. Refrigerate for 24 hours before cooking. 

 I also made a layered dessert since this is a 2-month challenge. The bottom layer is plain sweet red agar (sorry but the ready to cook red gulaman bar surely was artificially dyed) with a few drops of vanilla extract. The white and yellow layers are yogurt panna cotta, the white is flavored with vanilla extract and the yellow has calamansi juice and grated zest. For the calamansi layer, I soaked a few strands of Spanish saffron in hot cream. The yellow color is very pale because I didn't want to flavor the dessert too much with saffron. It has a definite calamansi flavor and I love the combined tartness of calamansi juice, yogurt, and blueberries cutting the sweetness of the dessert.

Before we agreed on the flag colors, we initially chose yellow, as in Ninoy Aquino yellow. On the same day we all voted yes on the yellow color, part of the dinner I was preparing was vegetables, salted duck egg, and green mango salad and I noticed the components were mostly yellow including the calamansi dipping sauce. I plated them and took pictures. When we changed the color theme a few hours later to include the flag, I didn't think the salad will do but realized all the 4 colors were also present. The blue is the piece of slate that came with the dish and dipping bowls set. Anyway, this sunshine on a plate is definitely Ninoy Aquino's.

SUNSHINE ON A PLATE
Filipino salad of semi-ripe mangoes, roasted eggplants, tomatoes,
steamed sweet potato tops, salted duck eggs
dipping sauce of sauteed fermented micro shrimps,
calamansi juice with fish sauce, sugar, and sliced hot red chile
calamansi juice and sea salt

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Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colourful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for the Filipino Food as we do.

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See more Red White Yellow Blue creations here.

Eggplant Salad

eggplant salad with coconut milk dressing

I like the sweetish small Indian eggplants with an unusual name Hybrid Black Chu-Chu. The size of these eggplants, about 3 inches, is perfect for the Filipino eggplant salad recipe from the guidebook KULINARYA. I love the salad's refreshing coconut milk, vinegar, and ginger dressing which goes well with the deep smokey flavor of the stove-charred eggplants. The simple eggplant salad I usually make has grated fresh ginger, salt, and chopped tomatoes which is also very good but I'm liking this KULINARYA version better because of the dressing, sweet red onions, and crunchy sweet green and red bell peppers. Simply delicious spring or summer salad.

 Eggplant Salad
adapted from KULINARYA
1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 cup diced sweet red bell pepper
1 cup diced sweet green bell pepper 1 green finger chili, thinly sliced
10 small Indian eggplants (or 6 Asian eggplants)
1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
coconut milk vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine ½ cup thick coconut milk, 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger, ¼ teaspoon finely minced seeded green finger chili, 3 tablespoons white cane vinegar, and salt to taste.

• Pierce surface of eggplants with the tip of a paring knife. Roast over an open flame until skin is charred all over. Peel off skin under cold running water. Flatten each eggplant with a fork. If using long-ish Asian eggplants, cut into 3-inch pieces. Season with salt.
• Lay one piece of eggplant on a plate, top with 1 slice each of tomato and onion ring, sprinkle with red and green bell peppers, spring onions, and chili. Top with another piece of flattened eggplant, decorate with a few bell peppers, chili, and spring onions. Repeat with the rest of the eggplants.
• Drizzle with coconut milk dressing. Serve at room temperature or chilled, if preferred.

slightly sweet and tart eggplant salad, specially good with any fried dish

Eggplant Salad is the second entry in my KULINARYA recipe series.

Edamame Salad

We don't have AC since Friday and it won't be fixed until tomorrow. Yesterday was a tiny bit comfortable because of the rains and cooler temperature but today it is warm making me lethargic and not willing to lift a finger or I will sweat an ocean. Cooking an elaborate meal or going out to eat doesn't sound appealing. Lunch was rescued by frozen edamame (soy beans) which I boiled and made into a refreshing salad and paired with vegetable gyoza. Simply delicious!

Edamame Salad
1 package frozen (or fresh) shelled edamame
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons wasabi paste, more or less to taste
1 cup shredded well chilled cucumber or daikon radish
1 sheet roasted nori, torn into small pieces
salmon or lumpfish red caviar

• Boil edamame according to package directions. Drain and rinse with ice cold water.
• In a medium bowl, mix soy sauce and wasabi. Add nori and cooked edamame and mix well.
• Divide into 4 individual bowls. Top with shredded cucumber or daikon and sprinkle with roe. Serve cold.

Buco, Pandan, And Sago (Tapioca Balls)

buco pandan salad with mini sago balls

Over a year ago I had buco pandan salad in a friend's house but I kept forgetting to make one at home. It's similar to the ubiquitous Filipino fruit salad made from canned fruit cocktail, canned cream, and sugar, some recipes add condensed milk which I find too cloyingly sweet. That fruit salad is a dessert that is both beloved by most and perhaps ridiculed by some Filipinos. I grew up eating them at parties, fiestas, or any get-together, and at home. The cherries were so special because there were very few pieces in a can and were divided among us when we were small. I don't know why as children we were attracted to those bright red things.:)

I can't remember the last time I made fruit salad, I normally eat just fresh fruits. Today I had a sudden craving for fruit salad but was not in the mood to drive for a can of fruits, and remembered I have both canned and frozen buco. So I finally made the buco pandan salad which I think is way much better than the canned fruit cocktail and I prefer the combination of buco and pandan flavors anytime anyway which is so much more Filipino, in my opinion. I love this dessert specially with the sago topping.

Buco Pandan Salad
5 pandan leaves, washed very well and snipped into 1 inch pieces
3½ cups water
1 agar bar, shredded
¼ cup sugar, more or less to taste
1 cup water of young coconut
meat of 1 - 2 young coconut, grated
12 ounce can Nestle cream
¼ cup sugar, more or less to taste
½ cup mini sago pearls

• Cook mini sago pearls in rapidly boiling 4 cups water, add sago pearls and let boil until transparent. Drain and transfer into a bowl of cold water; set aside.
• Blend water and pandan in a blender. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium saucepan. Add the shredded agar and let stand for 20 minutes. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally until all the agar has melted. Stir in sugar. Strain into an 8-inch square pan. Refrigerate until completely set, about 30 minutes. Cut into 1-inch squares.
• In a large bowl mix sugar and cream until sugar has melted, add the buco and buco water. Mix in the pandan gelatin squares. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Add 1 tablespoon of cooked sago on top of individual bowls.

I also made buco pandan sago drink which is also very good. To make: in a tall glass mix ¾ cup each buco and pandan water and 1- 2 tablespoons sugar until sugar has completely dissolved. Add ¼ cup cooked mini sago balls. Mix in ½ cup crushed ice.

buco pandan sago drink

Mini Cucumbers & Feta Salad

These seedless mini cucumbers that have been appearing recently in groceries and Costco are so cute and they're easier to eat because they are tiny. I got the recipe for the dressing from the back of its package. The vinegar in the recipe is balsamic but I used white vinegar because I prefer the clean green and white color of the salad. This very simple yet refreshing minty crunchy salad is perfect during these hot hot summer days.

Mini Cucumbers & Feta Salad
3 tiny cucumbers, well scrubbed and sliced
1 tablespoon white coconut vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
2 tablespoons very good extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons crispy fried or fresh shallots
1 tablespoon torn fresh mint leaves
crumbled feta cheese

• Combine cucumbers, vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Add shallots and mint leaves. Chill for 1 - 2 hours. Sprinkle feta cheese just before serving.

Sprouted Mung Bean and Sweet Bell Pepper Salad

The sprouted mung beans (from an experiment) have grown so lush, about 2 inches tall. I didn't want to throw them nor let them grow as big as the full grown ones. I tasted them first, they're fine, not grassy nor bitter and the stems are crunchy.

I mixed them with sweet yellow and orange bell peppers. I made a Korean style dressing: garlic, spring onions, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, salt and the most important ingredient, Korean sesame seed oil. I love it, it's delicious and very simple to prepare, no blanching required as the leaves are very tender. I think I'll make this salad regularly. I'm also considering sprouting adzuki and soy beans. My SIL suggested soft wheat but found out the calories are 200% more than mung and soy beans but will try it for the taste which she says is nutty.

dessert: Champagne grapes, aged Gouda and Manchego cheeses, homemade pistachio turron