nilagang baka

nilagang baka or beef stew. we were able to purchase beef ribs from the grocery since we are refraining from eating pork due to the swine flu outbreak. it has been a long time since we had beef in our meal.

this already taste really good but k would have preferred if i added tomato sauce/paste. hehehe... the beef ribs were cooked over low heat for 2 hours with tomato, ginger, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. that even made the soup really tasty.

ingredients:
6 pcs. beef short ribs
1 thumb-size ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion, quartered
1 medium tomato, quartered
salt and pepper
water¹
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and sliced
1 medium carrots, chopped
1 handful string beans, sliced into 2" long
6 pcs. young corn
3 cabbage leaves, quartered

procedure:
boil the beef ribs with ginger, tomato, onion, garlic and salt and pepper. bring to simmer and continue cooking the beef over low heat until tender. you might be able to keep on adding water along the way.

once tender, add the carrots and potato. cook until slightly tender.

then add the bell peppers and young corns. season with salt and pepper to taste. cook for about 5 minutes.

then turn off the heat and add the cabbage and string beans and then cover for a few minute. the heat from the soup will be the one to cook the cabbage and string beans just right, still crunchy.

serve hot

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¹ you can use beef broth.

spare ribs sinigang

sinigang is another dish and its characteristic flavor comes from tamarind which gives it a sour taste and overwhelms the taste of its meat. another variety is prepared with guava and is less sour than those with tamarind. raw mango, calamansi and bilimbi can also be utilized. however, i chose to use powdered soup base or bouillon cubes for sinigang in place of natural fruits since it is available in my kitchen. however, i'd like to try using the sampalok fruit the next time.

ingredients:
7 slices pork spare ribs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, sliced
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 small tomato, sliced
1 medium bisol, sliced into chunks
1 handful string beans, sliced into 2" long
1 bunch pechay, separate white part from green part
1 tbsp. sinigang mix¹
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. cooking oil

procedure:
in a sauce bowl, heat oil and saute onion, garli and ginger until aromatuc.

add pork spare ribs and cook until brown (pour excess oil if necessary). pour enough water until meat are covered. boil and simmer over low heat until meat is tender. you may need to add more water along the way.

when meat is tender, add the bisol and cook for another 5 minutes.

add the sinigang mix. season with salt and pepper. adjust according to your taste.

add the string beans and the white part of the pechay and simmer for 1 minute.

turn off the heat and add the pechay leaves. cover for 1 more minute. serve hot.

• • • • • • •

¹ you can add more if you like it more sour.

pork ribs nilaga

k bought pork spare ribs from the grocery as well as bisol (gabi?), pechay and string beans. therefore i conclude, i had to prepare nilaga.

mmmm... i liked the bisol and the soup was just oh so good.

ingredients:
7 slices pork spare ribs
1 onion, quarted
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1 spring onion, separate white part from green part, chopped
3 gabi, peeled and cut into serving portions
1 bunch pechay, separate the white part from the green part
1 handful string beans, sliced into 2" long
salt and pepper
water

procedure:
in a casserole, place the pork spare ribs, onion, white part of onion and ginger. pour enough water. boil over high heat and then lower the heat and simmer until very tender, about 1-2 hours. you may need to add more water.

when tender, add the gabi, tomato and season with salt and pepper. continue simmering until gabi are tender.

taste according to your preference. add the white part of pechay and the string beans and simmer for another minute. turn off the heat and then place the green part of pechay on top. cover.

serve real hot.

sinabawang halaan (clam soup)

i've been craving for this one for as long as i remember. since we got here in uae, i think i only ate this dish once. i should be having this more often now and specially after i give birth since it is important in producing breastmilk.

this dish is best with malunggay leaves. unfortunately, we don't have it and no supermarket here sell malinggay leaves. when we were still living in jabal, k planted a malunggay plant and we get our malunngay supplies there. i told k to plant malunggay again here in al wagan, even just in large pot, as long as we have malunggay plant.


k gave me a tip... in buying clams make sure that you choose those still closed, they are fresh and still alive. opened clams are dead already and should be discarded. k cleaned the clams with a brush to get the sand off of its shells. make sure also that you clean them very well since you don't want any sand on your soup.

ingredients:
1/2 kl. clams, cleaned
1/2 small onion, sliced
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 small tomato, seeded and sliced
1 spring onion, separate the white part from the green part and chopped
1 siling haba
2-3 cups water
salt and pepper

procedure:
in a casserole, put the onion, white part on the spring onion, ginger and water. bring to a boil.

add the clams, tomato and siling haba. simmer until the clams opened. if they are all opened, it means they are already cooked.

season with salt and pepper. turn off the heat and put the green part of spring onion.

serve hot.

• • • • • • •

best with malunggay leaves. if you planned to add malunggay leaves, just before seasoning the soup, add the malunggay leaves.

upo misua soup

i have an upo remaining in the kitchen for almost a week now and some part of it was starting to get spoiled. so, instead of throwing it into waste and since i found some misua in the pantry i'll make a soup for our lunch. i was glad that it's a sure hit to the father-and-son.

it's easy to prepare and at the same time budget-saving as well. i was not able to measure the ingredients but you can always experiment as to your preferences. this serves 3-4 persons.

ingredients:
upo, peeled, halved and sliced
pork, cut into small pieces
garlic, crushed and sliced
onion, sliced
ginger, sliced
tomato, sliced
pork cube dissolved in water
misua
cooking oil
salt
pepper
spring onion, green part only, sliced

procedure:
in a wok saute onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant.

add pork slices and fry until brown.

add the tomatoes and upo. saute for 1 minute.

add the pork cube dissolved in water. cover and let boil.

add the misua and add more water if needed.

season with salt and pepper.

serve hot with green onion leaves for topping.

chicken and corn soup

i wanted to have soup for tonight and i have cream corn in my pantry. chicken corn soup immediately came into my mind.

this was all we had tonight for supper with garlic bread. my husband's getting bigger that's why i wanted to prepare light dishes for supper. and besides, it's cold tonight, so a hot soup is nice also.

this recipe makes 2-3 servings:

ingredients:
3 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp. onion, sliced
1 tsp. ginger, grated
1 cup creamed corn
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup button mushroom, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 green onion, sliced
2 tbsp. cooking oil
salt
freshly ground pepper

procedure:
heat oil in a saucepan and saute the onion until wilted.

add the chicken and mushroom. then add the creamed corn, chicken stock and ginger. cook until simmering.

blend cornstarch with water then add to the stock mixture. stir over heat until soup boils and thickens slightly.

gradually add egg, in a thin stream, to simmering soup. continue mixing until the egg is dispersed well. season with salt and pepper.

turn off the heat and add green onion.