Food Friday: Gourmet Tuyo

I never thought I'd see gourmet and tuyo together on a food label which is sort of an oxymoron. Tuyo is a Filipino heavily salted and dried herring which used to be a poor man's ulam (viand) but apparently Filipinos have converted them into gourmet food, whatever that means. The last time I ate tuyo was when I was still in elementary school, and although I liked them specially with hot pepper and vinegar dipping sauce I haven't had for most of my adult life. They made me want to throw up right after eating, I don't know why. Maybe because the tuyo of yesteryear were processed from not-too-fresh fish.

When I saw the jar of gourmet tuyo with garlic and packed in olive oil I just had to get it to find out what's gourmet about it. I was surprised to find I really love it; the familiar tuyo flavor is present without the imagined rotten quality and I now prefer them to Spanish sardines because they're not as fishy tasting as sardines. Indeed they are gourmet tuyo.

Milkfish Paté

grilled bangus (milkfish) spread in banana leaves

Adora and Diona, our lovely KCC hosts chose WHITE food theme for this wedding month of June. Lots of ideas came to mind; however, most of them have already been featured on this blog.

I made fish spread using bangus (milkfish) and coconut milk, wrapped small portions of the fish paste in pieces of banana leaves, and grilled the packets for a few minutes on each side. I got the method of wrapping the fish in banana leaves from the cookbook FLAVOURS OF THE PHILIPPINES by Glenda Rosales-Barretto. The finished fish spread is delicious served with rice and a few squirts of calamansi or lemon juice, or with salted egg and tomato salad, or as topping for pandesal toast and SkyFlakes crackers.

I love the spread together with lumpfish caviar on top of
garlic-flavored SkyFlakes crackers

Bangus Paté
1 cup diced uncooked bangus or any white fish filet
1½ tablespoons fish extract or to taste
1½ tablespoons lemon or calamansi juice
2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
a pinch of ground white peppercorns
a pinch of ground cayenne
1 egg white
1 cup coconut milk
6-inch pieces banana leaves, wilted

• In a food processor, pulse all the ingredients except coconut milk and banana leaves for 30 seconds. Scrape sides with spatula and add coconut milk; process for 1 minute. Place about 3 tablespoons of fish paste on a piece of banana leaf, wrap all around. Place the bundle on another piece of banana leaf, fold two sides toward the center and twist the ends like a candy wrapper. Secure with thin pieces of banana leaf or with twine. Grill for 2 minutes on each side. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy more KCC white food here.

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Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney (Kath, Trisha, and Trissa), who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful 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 Filipino Food as we do.

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Mango Tea with Tapioca Pearls

milky mango flavored black tea with mango and tapioca pearls


mango "noodles"

Mango and sago pairing has become a summer favorite, this time in a refreshing iced mango tea drink with whole milk, golden raw sugar, and crushed iced. I scraped the mango into "noodles" using a melon scraper and boiled regular size tapioca pearls because I love to chew on those. For a large 12-ounce glass I used 2 mango flavored black tea bags, ½ mango, ½ cup cold whole milk, 2 tablespoons raw sugar, 2 tablespoons cooked sago, and crushed ice. I love it. Next time I'll add the pair to pandan tea and mint.

Daring Cooks: Healthy Potato Salads

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

I prepared 3 kinds of potato salad, and I think they could be considered healthy because I don't load them with a lot of dressing or salt.

Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad

24 ounces fingerling potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1 inch-thick pieces
1 clove garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 ounces diced pancetta
3 tablespoons minced shallots
3 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar or white balsamic
3 tablespoons apricot jam
sea salt to taste
2 fresh apricot, unpeeled and diced
fresh snow pea shoots, watercress, or baby spinach

• In a large bowl, toss potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic clove, and salt. Roast in a 400°F oven until lightly browned, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove garlic after 20 minutes.
• While potatoes are roasting, cook pancetta in a skillet until brownish; transfer into a small bowl and set aside; remove all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat in the skillet. Stir fry the shallots in the same skillet until soft. Transfer to a small bowl.
• Whisk together the vinegar, half a teaspoon of sea salt, and jam. Remove peel and mash the garlic and add to the vinegar mixture together with the shallots.
• Toss the still warm potatoes and pancetta in the vinegar dressing, taste, and adjust seasoning. Leave for 30 minutes at room temperature or 2 hours in the refrigerator if preferred chilled.
• Gently toss in diced apricot and pea shoots just before serving.

Potato Salad with Miso Dressing

1 pound small potatoes, unpeeled and sliced thin
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
water to cover potatoes
a bowl of ice water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon light olive oil
2 tablespoons light- colored miso paste
½ cup chopped nori (dried seaweed)
1 tablespoon chopped scallions (white part only)

• Place water and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium pan. Add the potatoes, let come to a boil and cook potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes. Using a wire scoop or sieve, scoop out the potatoes and plunge into the ice water; leave in ice water to cool completely for 1 minute. Drain well.
• Mix lemon juice, oil, miso, nori, and scallions. Add potatoes and gently toss. Serve immediately or chill for 1 hour, if preferred.

Potato Salad with Boiled Egg

4 medium size Yukon gold potatoes, about 1½ pounds
¼ cup Champagne wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup Kraft® mayonnaise with olive oil
1 hard boiled egg
slivers of hard boiled egg white and crumbled boiled egg yolk for garnish

• Boil unpeeled potatoes until tender, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool slightly then peel off the skin. Cut crosswise into ¼-inch thick slices. Place in a shallow container. Drizzle all over with vinegar and sprinkle with salt. Toss gently and leave for a few minutes to cool to room temperature.
• Separate the yolk from the white. Finely chop the egg white and add to the cooled potatoes. Mash the egg yolk with a fork and blend with the mayonnaise and mustard.
• Gently mix dressing and potato mixture. Chill in the refrigerator or serve immediately topped with slivers of egg white and crumbled egg yolk.

Zucchini Blossoms Crêpes

savory crêpes filled with zucchini blossoms, baby vegetables, and cheese

fiori di zucca (zucchini blossoms)

I grew up eating plenty of vegetables and one of my favorites was steamed squash blossoms. We never had them stuffed nor deep-fried; we cooked them by putting on top of freshly cooked rice and left to wilt and soften for a few minutes. They were simply served with sea salt and lemon juice (calamansi).

I planted a few seeds of fiori di zucca bought from an online seed company, the catalog promises the plants will yield mostly flowers and few tiny/baby fruits. Indeed the plants have lots and lots of bright orange blossoms and one or two tender tasty sweet fruits. I chopped the fruits and sauteed them with the blossoms, shallots, and baby Swiss chards and used it to fill savory crêpes for a light but delicious and satisfying summer lunch dish. I love the Parmesan cheese crust and the crispy edges but tender on the inside pancakes. The mild flavors of the vegetables and Provolone go perfectly well with the small amount of Parmesan cheese.

Fiori di Zucca Crêpes
crêpes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1¼ cups water
¼ cup light olive oil

• Blend ingredients in a blender and let rest on the kitchen counter or refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat; brush lightly with light olive oil. Stir batter and pour about 2½ tablespoons, swirling to coat the skillet evenly. Cook until edges come off the skillet, then flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a plate and continue with the rest of the batter.

filling for 8 crêpes
20 pieces zucchini blossoms
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
1 cup coarsely chopped baby zucchini
1 cup chopped baby Swiss chard, optional
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
½ cup grated Provolone cheese

• Reserve 4 blossoms cut in half lengthwise for garnish; cut remaining blossoms into 4 pieces; set aside. Heat butter in a skillet and saute shallots until soft, about 2 minutes. Add baby zucchini and saute for 2 minutes; add blossoms and Swiss chard, if using, and saute for 2 minutes. Turn heat off and mix in ¼ cup Parmesan cheese.
• Fill crêpes: Place 2 tablespoons of grated Provolone on one half of each crepe, top with 2 tablespoons of sauteed vegetables, fold over in half and fold one more time. Repeat with the rest of ingredients. Place filled crêpes on an oven-proof dish, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle top of each with half a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and press one blossom half on top. Place under the broiler until Parmesan is golden brown and edges of crêpes are crispy.

Ensaimada Loaf

After shaping 2 large ensaimadas filled with ube jam, I realized I had to attend to a lot of stuff around the house, make tons of phone calls, and do errands. To save time I formed the rest of the dough into eight 2½-ounce rounds and placed them in a 9 x 4 x 4-inch loaf pan a la Brioche Nanterre. The baked ensaimada loaf is just as pillowy soft as regular ensaimada. I made the slices extra thick; so good with lots of butter, sugar, and grated cheese, and of course ube jam.

The recipe for ensaimada is here.

*It's nice to be back cooking, baking, and blogging after a brief break*;-)

Steamed Flower Rolls for Kulinarya Cooking Club

steamed flower rolls (pao)

Sefie and Connie chose Flores de Mayo (May Flowers) for this month's Kulinarya theme. Flores de Mayo is a colorful month-long festival held all over the Philippines honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary, with small girls all dressed in white offering flowers. The highlight at the end of the month is a combination religious and beauty pageant procession [held after attending a novena in church] called Santacruzan (from the words Holy Cross) featuring pretty young ladies dressed in beautiful elaborate gowns, each portraying biblical and historical women such as Veronica, Queen of Sheba, the 3 saints/virtues as queens of Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the last spot in the order of the procession is the queen of all the queens, Reina Elena (Empress Helena of Constantinople who is traditionally credited with finding the one true cross), escorted by a boy portraying her son Constantine. This spectacular religious flower festival is a must-see for anyone visiting the Philippines during the month of May.

Now on to the challenge. I was initially stumped and couldn't think of any Filipino dish to make that has flowers or at least flower design on it. I made a paella-like dish with whole banana blossoms, clams, prawns, and pork. The dish was delicious but not photogenic and was eaten right away before I was able to take photos. I didn't want to make a cake or another sweet stuff so I braised pork belly with soy sauce, sugar, fermented black beans, and dried banana blossoms and lily flowers. But heeding Sefie's suggestion to think outside the "flower box" I ended up making steamed buns (pao) but followed the shaping method for making Chinese flower rolls. *I need a little more practice to have perfectly looking flower pao.* These are so good with the braised pork and great for soaking up the greasy sauce.(^-^)

pork belly braised in soy sauce, fermented black beans,
brown sugar, dried banana blossoms, and dried lily flowers

And because I'm an ube (purple yam) fiend, I couldn't resist adding ube jam to a small portion of the dough, layered it on top of another small portion of the dough for a sweet ube pao. They don't look like a flower at all but they are delicious.

Steamed Flower Rolls (Pao)
1 recipe siopao dough
light olive oil
sea salt
chopped scallions

• Prepare the dough. After the first rising, divide into 3 portions. Flatten each portion into a rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick or thinner. Brush all over with oil, sprinkle salt and scallions. Roll from the short end jelly roll style and cut into 1½ inch slices. Press a plastic chopstick in the middle of the sliced dough all the way to the bottom being careful not to sever it; place on a piece of parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes. Steam over rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes.

See more flowery dishes from KCC members here.

Psst, check out my "flower" desserts, Apple Carpaccio and Cherry Blossom Friendship Cake, and drink Almond Milk with Rose Essence.

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Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney (Kath, Trisha, and Trissa), who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful 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 Filipino Food as we do.

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A photo courtesy of EricRP of a moderately attired reina, the Queen of Justice. The list of procession participants is here.

Santacruzan, originally uploaded by EricRP.

Dayap Daiquiri Slushy

I was watching the 1959 black and white movie Our Man In Havana from the director/writer team of Carol Reed and Graham Greene (THE THIRD MAN and FALLEN IDOL) and "the man in Havana", played by Alec Guinness always has a Daiquiri, the popular drink made with lime juice, a little sugar, and rum.

I made mine with dayap (Key limes) and more sugar into a Daiquiri slushy using a blender. It's watered down because of the ice but that's how I like it, sweet and tart with a little bit of alcohol. BTW, the proper pronunciation is "die-kee-ree," not "dack-uh-ree".

Dayap Daiquiri Slushy
serves 1

juice of 3 Key limes
1 tablespoon rum
1½ tablespoons sugar
1 cup ice
water, if needed

• Blend on high until slushy. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Goose Egg

I'm happy I got a goose egg, not a zero but a real goose egg. I bought a few pieces along with duck eggs directly from the farm where the birds are being raised. I would have bought a turkey egg but they ran out. Maybe next time when I go back there which is not too far from my house, about 20 miles, but driving there was a bit dizzying. From the main highway I had to drive on a narrow 2-lane loooong and winding road which I thought at first is endless. There are a lot of farms in the area with livestock, fruits, and vegetables. Some of them sell in the farmer's market near my house but the family who sells duck and goose eggs doesn't want to pay the annual fee for a space in the farmer's market. So if I want more duck/goose eggs I will have to drive there again.

Goose eggs are huge. One egg is equivalent to 4 large chicken eggs. The white is translucent and much thicker too. I cooked one with half a tablespoon of butter very slowly on low heat while stirring constantly. The result is a creamy and moist omelet with almost like yema (egg yolk) candy consistency. The flavor is rich and not as eggy. I also made a fluffy omelet with one each of duck, goose, and chicken; that's equivalent to a 7-egg omelet.

their free-range chicken eggs are also huge, almost as large as a duck egg

goose eggs have very thick shells; artists blow out the
contents, paint something on the shells, and they sell them

duck, goose, and chicken omelet

I don't have the patience to poke one small hole and a pin-size hole on two ends of the goose egg shell and also I can't draw or paint that well so I put one of my photos on an Easter egg design on the Dumpr website where you do all sorts of things to your photos, like distorting your face or make them look like old photos. Try it, it's fun.

Queijadas

A reader asked if I will soon be baking a Filipino cheese bread that doesn't have any cheese in it and I said I've never heard of this bread. But I have come across the phrase "no cheese in the dough" and mistakenly looked for it in one of my Spanish cookbooks, but later found it in FLAVORS OF PORTUGAL by Tania Gomes. The custard tartlets are called queijadas (cheese tarts) but they don't contain any cheese. The recipe is short and simple with very few ingredients. The tarts have a creamy consistency and very satisfying as a dessert or snack.

Queijadas
adapted from FLAVORS OF PORTUGAL by Tania Gomes

3 whole eggs
1 cup sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2¼ cups milk
soft butter to grease muffin pans

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
  
• Generously grease shallow non-stick muffin cups with butter. (Do not line muffin cups with paper)
  
• In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until very light and lemon colored. Whisk together flour and baking powder and blend into the egg mixture. Stir in vanilla extract and milk. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Store/serve on paper muffin liners.
  

Peanut Sans Rival

peanut sans rival

This semi-frozen sans rival has tons of peanuts and a little chocolate, peanut lovers will surely love it. I made the peanut meringue layers thicker than the regular sans rival but crunchy, the filling/frosting has peanut butter buttercream then sprinkled with a little chopped semi-sweet chocolate, and the top is garnished with chopped Choc*Nut. Sooo delicious and peanut-y.

Sans Rival recipe is here.

the ultimate peanut sans rival for peanut lovers

Sweet Red Bean Paste

I love the smoky flavor of sweet red bean paste and regularly buy the canned Japanese ones but lately I find them overly sweet. I decided to make the paste from scratch mainly to reduce the sugar content. It's not a very difficult process and 2 cups of dried beans make a large batch of sweet paste, about 5 cups, that can fill a lot of pao (steamed buns), baked buns, and hopiang hapon (Japanese-style Filipino-Chinese cakes). I've made the super flaky Filipino Chinese hopia which is a tad complicated and thought making hopiang hapon would be easier because the dough I remember was not as flaky and greasy as the regular hopia, probably closer to moon cake dough.

There aren't many recipes for Filipino hopiang hapon and I adapted the dough from the only one I could find. I underbaked the hopia and they came out pale; and although they don't look like the ones from the Philippines, they taste almost identical. The dough is soft and not sweet at all and I can't stop eating them, they're that good. I'll use a moon cake dough recipe next time I make these.

mini sweet red bean pao

baked sweet buns

hopiang hapon

Sweet Red Bean Paste
2 cups small red beans (azuki)
4 cups water + more to cover
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light olive oil

• Clean, rinse, and soak beans overnight in 4 cups water. The next day, drain beans and place in a large non-stick sauce pan; add fresh water to cover and cook over medium heat until tender. Drain, add sugar and oil, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often until soft and mixture appears dry. For coarse consistency, mash with a potato masher or blend in a blender if fine consistency is preferred. The paste should hold its shape but still moist. Let cool to room temperature, transfer into a container, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

The recipe for steamed pao dough is here.

Hopiang Hapon

dough
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
¼ cup cubed cold butter
¼ cup light olive oil
¼ cup water
1 whole egg

filling
1½ x ½-inch sweet red bean paste disks

egg wash
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water

• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter with fingertips. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until combined. Knead lightly just until a smooth dough is formed. Divide into 2 equal pieces and form into logs. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Slice each log into 8 pieces. Flatten each piece into 1/8 inch thick circles. Place a disk on the center and gather the edges. Pinch together and place on a sheet pan, seam side down. Brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated 375°F oven until golden.

Bonus info: The Japanese use ground azuki beans as a facial exfoliating agent. A fellow shopper, a Japanese woman, told me while we were at The Body Shop that her secret to a smooth unblemished facial skin is ground azuki which the store was selling at the time. The grounds came in a tiny box with holes at the top. You wet a small amount on your palm and massage the paste in a circular motion all over your cheeks, forehead, and chin. I used the ground beans on my face for many years but the store discontinued the product. It really works great in removing dead skin making my face smooth as a baby's. I should probably grind some.;-)

Food Friday: Cookies and Candies

paciencia (patience), very crunchy 1-inch macaron-like cookies but without nuts

Filipino candies

Paciencia cookies, which are of Spanish origin, look like the French macarons complete with tiny feet but they are made with just flour, egg whites, sugar, and vanilla extract. The ones from La Pacita bakery have egg yolks, though, but I like that they are very very crunchy and addicting...you can't stop eating once you start popping one in your mouth. And I just had to grab a packet of Mangorind, combination mango and tamarind, when I saw it at the store. They are sweet and tart and I love its chewy texture similar to fruit leather or pate de fruits. The packet of hard mints with soft chocolate centers was a gift from an online Filipino grocery store. The candies taste a lot better than the ubiquitous Halls mentholyptus (menthol + eucalyptus) candies and perfect as after-dinner mints. I keep several pieces in my handbag so I have something to "eat" when I get hungry while shopping.

Crispy Flaked Chicken and Pork Adobo

I first read about crispy adobo flakes from the Filipino cookbook MEMORIES OF PHILIPPINE KITCHENS by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan. As much as I wanted to try it at the time I was deterred by deep frying. That was 4½ years ago. Last week, I discovered the flaked adobo doesn't have to be deep fried. A tablespoon or two of olive oil and a cast iron pan do the job well. I was reheating some left over pork and adobo in a cast iron pot and left it for a few minutes on medium heat. The meat on the bottom of the pot became crunchy. I turned off the heat, let the meat cool down a bit, then I flaked them, returned some to the pot with a tablespoon of olive oil and pan fried, while stirring every 2 minutes until dark brown and crispy. There, crunchy flavorful adobo flakes without the inconvenience of deep frying.

Crispy Flaked Pork and Chicken Adobo
1 pound boneless chicken pieces
1 pound skinless pork belly, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup coconut or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 whole garlic bulb, skinned and smashed
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
extra virgin olive oil for frying

• Place all ingredients, except olive oil for frying, in a medium nonstick pan and cook until dry, stirring once or twice. [Do not add water.] Remove bay leaf and discard. Let cool and flake meat. Fry small batches in a cast iron skillet on medium heat until golden to dark brown and crunchy. Serve as appetizer, on pandesal, or with rice.