Longaniza

I wrote about longaniza last year but haven't made them since, until today. I was going to serve them as longaniza burgers but everybody prefers garlic fried rice with vinegar chili dip, Pinoy kasi. I made some thick patties and the rest I stuffed in hog casings. I love longaniza with everything: rice, pandesal, pancakes, waffles, I should try them next with thick fries.

Longaniza

2½ pounds very cold fatty pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
½ cup sugar
1 head garlic, finely minced
½ - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup annatto powder
½ cup very cold coconut or cane vinegar
hog casings, softened in warm water and rinsed

• Mix pork with salt and sugar. Grind using large die. Transfer into a standing mixer bowl with paddle attached. Add the rest of the ingredients except casing. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Form into patties or stuff into hog casings. Refrigerate for 5 days before storing in the freezer.

longaniza breakfast with garlic fried rice and vinegar chili dip

Pollo Al Chilindrón (Chicken With Sweet Bell Peppers)

This Spanish recipe is adapted from my cookbook The Food of Spain and Portugal by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz. The chicken stew has very few ingredients but very tasty. I love its vibrant color on the plate with the steamed asparagus and fresh fava beans.

Chicken with Sweet Bell Peppers
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 sweet bell peppers, sliced into ¼ inch strips
2 ounces serrano or prosciutto ham, chopped
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

• Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and saute the chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a casserole or large pan. Add the onion to the frying pan and cook until soft then add the garlic, saute for 2 more minutes. Add the peppers and ham and continue to cook until the peppers are soft. Add the tomatoes until everything is well blended. Add the mixture to the casserole with ¼ C water, season with salt and pepper and cook over low heat for 30 minutes. The sauce should be quite thick. Have lots of dinner rolls or french bread to soak up the wonderful sauce.
  

• Variation: If you prefer the dish hot, you can add a small hot red chili, chopped, to the sauce. You can also add sliced green or black olives during the last few minutes of cooking.

I have some homemade mayonnaise that I served with the steamed asparagus, a teaspoon is enough to flavor the vegetables. Hollandaise sauce also goes well with the asparagus.

Mochi & Mache

Sweet mochi is one of our favorite snacks/desserts specially ice cream mochi and the ones filled with sweet azuki bean paste. I have tried making them once before, about 4 years ago, but was unsuccesful. Thankfully, several good recipes have been popping up online using mochiko (glutinous rice flour) and canned Japanese sweet azuki beans, which are readily available from Asian stores. Tip: Buy only the Japanese beans. I do not recommend the Korean or Chinese, both are too watery and you will have to cook it further until it has the right consistency, it's a waste of time, in my opinion.

Mochi with Sweet Azuki Beans
1 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko)
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
a bit of pink food coloring, optional
1 can Japanese sweet bean paste
1 cup toasted soybean or rice flour for dusting

• Transfer beans into a bowl, stir until smooth, store in freezer for 30 minutes while preparing mochi. In a medium bowl mix together rice, water and sugar. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir thoroughly, microwave again and stir, 4 more times until smooth and gluey. Cover with a damp towel to keep it warm while shaping/filling. Have the bowl of toasted flour near your work area. Sprinkle the work surface liberally with toasted rice, dip hands on bowl. Scoop a golf ball size of cooked mochi and drop on the toasted rice, form into a round shape, flatten to about 3 inches, fill with a tsp of sweet beans. Gather edges to cover beans, all the while pinching and form into a ball. Place on a container seam side down. Refrigerate leftovers.

Mache is the Filipino/Chinese cousin of mochi, they have a common ingredient, sweet rice flour, and both of them are filled with sweet stuff. The difference is the filling, mache has sugar and toasted sesame seeds. This is the first time I made mache, I have no idea how to cook them, I just guessed and steamed them. They turned out sooo good. I will use toasted black sesame and boil them (like palitaw) next time I make them.

Mache
1 cup sweet rice flour
¼ cup water + 1-2 tablespoon, if needed
sugar
toasted sesame seeds
toasted rice flour

• In a small bowl mix water gradually into the rice, adding more water if necessary until it has the consistency of galapong. Mix the sugar and sesame seeds in another bowl. Scoop out 1 ½ T of rice mixture, form into a ball, flatten, raise edges and put 1 tsp sugar & sesame seeds in the middle. Pinch edges together and form into an oval. Steam on a parchment-lined bamboo steamer for 10 minutes. Roll in toasted rice powder.

the sugar has melted inside the mache, so sweet, so good

Chicken Adobo Sandwich

Last week I read in the newspaper a very pretty lobster sandwich in a bun. What made it interesting for me is the layer of potato crisps. I made my version of the sandwich with chicken adobo flakes on sliced bread. The potato crisps add texture and wonderful flavor to the already very tasty chicken adobo. What can I say, it's super crunchy, yummy, and...excuse me but I have to go and eat one more. Yay, carbs!

To make: Spread a thin layer of mayo on toasted bread, layer salad greens, sliced tomatoes, adobo flakes and plenty of potato crisps.