Pasalubong

sagada, benguet, and barako coffee beans from Baguio

I love getting pasalubong from the Philippines, who doesn't? It's exciting to open the box to find what goodies are inside. I received one such box from Texas today, many many thanks to my good friends Yoly and Joe L for the pasalubong they got for me on their recent trip to the Philippines. XOXOXO!

a cup of dark roast sagada which I believe is arabica

caycay - a yummy candy from Bohol
peanuty candies that resemble Butterfinger but better because they're less sweet

puto bumbong steamer made of tin or maybe steel

Pasalubong Part 2 (from hubby) tomorrow...

Yoly asked me to rate the coffee beans. I will have a taste test and compare them with my regular coffee beans and will post the result sometime this week.

Tokwa't Baboy (Fried Tofu And Boiled Pork)

tokwa't baboy and lugaw
Blogging makes me want to eat Filipino food that I did not eat frequently while living in Manila. The pork, which is usually ears and some meaty parts, in Tokwa't Baboy I probably ate just once. It's weird that when I chewed on the ear I felt like I was chewing my own ears, much like the way I feel when eating ox tongue, as if I'm chewing my own tongue. But I love fried tofu, one of my favorite food ever, specially with vinegar/soy sauce/garlic dipping sauce. I can eat them everyday without getting tired of them, seriously. A week ago I read about the tofu frites over at White on Rice Couple blog and made them yesterday. I convinced myself to buy a few pig's ears, and I also bought 2 thick strips of pork belly (in case I gag while eating the chopped ears), boiled them for almost 2 hours in water, salt, garlic, whole peppercorns, and bay leaves and ate them with lugaw (congee). My meal was just fantastic! I didn't mind the crunchy ears, they are actually very good with the excellent yummy crrrunchy tofu fries.:D

tofu fries with flaked sea salt

the pork does not look appetizing yet delicious

lugaw (congee) topped with fried shallots and calamansi juice

Lugaw (congee)
1 cup rice
6 cups water
1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
salt, to taste
topping: slivered ginger, fried shallots, sliced green onions, calamansi juice

• In a Dutch oven, boil rice, ginger, 1 tablespoon sea salt, and water for 2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more salt to taste.
• Serve with calamansi juice and choice of ginger, fried shallots, or green onions

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

mint chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting
I have been making cupcakes recently. Cupcakes have been the "it" thing since the Magnolia Bakery cupcakes became famous. Many copycat bakeshops have sprouted not just in the USA but everywhere on the planet and I have been reading about them in several food blogs. Recently a very successful bakeshop that only sells cupcakes in Washington, D.C. was featured in the Washington Post which makes me want to open my own bakeshop, if only I can find a rich partner or financier or the courage to start a business. I have baked red velvet cupcakes before which were delicious but require a lot of work and clean-up. The latest I made was chai cupcakes which were just okay, the chai flavor was very faint and the recipe had loads of sugar. Next on my cupcake list is either chocolate or an alcohol drink inspired (margarita, zombie, etc.) but when I found online a really easy chocolate with mint cupcakes I knew right then the zombie cupcakes can wait. The mint chocolate cupcakes are a breeze to make, not excessively sweet, and have a super soft melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I iced them with my favorite buttercream frosting tinted with green food color gel. (Just in time for St. Patrick's Day celebration.) I have already devoured 3 of these delicious cupcakes, 15 more to go.:-)

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
½ cup boiling water
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup grapeseed oil or butter
½ teaspoonvanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely minced mint leaves or ½ tsp mint extract
4 large eggs, separated
1¼ cup sugar
¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
for garnish: small mint leaves, chopped roasted pistachio

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line 18 cupcake tins with baking papers.
• In a heatproof glass cup, add cocoa powder to boiling water, stir until smooth. Add oil or butter, vanilla extract, and mint. Stir until mixture is glossy, set aside to cool. Stir the egg yolk with a fork until smooth, set aside.
• In a large bowl, sift together 1 C sugar, the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, set aside.
• In another bowl, beat egg whites with mixer on high for 1 minute, add 2 tablespoons of the remaining ¼ cupsugar and beat on high for 30 seconds. Slowly add the remaining sugar, beating until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes, set aside. Add the chocolate mixture and egg yolks to the flour mixture. Using a flexible rubber spatula, stir by hand until well combined, scraping bottom well. Add ½ cup of the whipped egg white and stir well to lighten the flour mixture. Gently fold the rest of egg white mixture until the batter is of uniform chocolate color. The batter will be light.
• Using a small ladle, spoon batter ¾ full. Bake for 15 minutes or until top springs back when touched. Cool in pans until ready to frost.

the softest velvety smooth chocolate cupcake

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