It’s been a long time since I ran recipes. I bumped into people who asked for suggestions they could take to a picnic on the beach.
This year I had a boodle fight featuring local flavors with an Asian touch, and fruits in season.
I’m sharing these recipes as a summer treat:
Fiesta Ensalada
(Mixed greens, pako, sea grapes and roasted eggplant salad with guava-mango dressing)
There’s nothing like a cold salad on a hot day. Wash and spin the leafy greens dry. Keep them in a Ziploc bag in a cooler to keep them fresh.
Assemble the salad just before serving.
Salad components:
Pako
Salad greens of choice
Tomatoes, sliced
Red onion, sliced thin
Green mango, grated
Eggplants, grilled, peeled
Baby okra, steamed
Sea grapes, cleaned
Prawns, blanched
Salted eggs, peeled, sliced
Arrange salad components.
Dressing:
1/3 c white vinegar
½ c white sugar
1 tsp crushed garlic
¼ onion, sliced
¼ c water
¼ c vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp peppercorn
2-3 tbsp guava purée
Bring ¼ water to a boil. Peel, seed and slice 3 ripe native guavas. Cook guava until soft.
Purée:
½ c ripe mangoes, small dice
2 tbsp red onion, chopped
2 tbsp green bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp red bell pepper, diced
Coriander leaves and stems, chopped
In a saucepan, combine first eight ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.
When the vinegar mixture cools, add in the rest of the ingredients. Serve with greens.
Fried Beef Short Rib Adobo with Pakwan Salsa
2 k beef short ribs, cut according to your preference
Water
Salt
¼ c cornstarch + ¼ c water
Oil for deep-frying
Fried garlic
Boil short ribs in water with salt until tender. Leave ribs in cooking liquid until cool. Drain. Dip in cornstarch water.
Deep-fry in hot oil until golden and crisp. Serve sauce on the side. Garnish with fried garlic. Serve with watermelon salsa.
Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp garlic, crushed
½ onion, sliced
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 bay leaf crumpled
½ tsp pepper
2 c boiling liquid of short ribs
1 tsp panucha, or brown sugar
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp whole peppercorns
In a saucepan, melt butter. Add flour. Keep whisking until flour turns brown but not burnt.
Add oil and sauté garlic and onion. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer until garlic is soft.
Check seasoning. Strain
Pakwan salsa:
4 c diced watermelon
1 c diced red onion
2/3 c fresh cilantro leaves
2 tbsp mint leaves
2 pcs jalapeño, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
2-3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp calamansi juice
Mix to combine. Season to taste. Let sit for an hour before serving.
Inihaw na Manok sa Bayabas
8 chicken leg quarters, scored
Marinade:
2 tbsp calamansi juice
1/3 c guava juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp liquid seasoning
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp pounded garlic
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp hot sauce
3 tbsp vinegar
Combine ingredients. Check seasoning. Marinate chicken overnight in the fridge.
Grill chicken. When almost cooked, brush with guava glaze.
Serve chicken barbecue with vinegar with chopped onions, guava and cilantro.
Guava glaze:
½ c + guava puree (Double recipe of guava puree. See salad dressing recipe)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
¼ c honey
1/3 c chicken stock
1 tsp sugar
In saucepan, combine ingredients and simmer until basting consistency. Check seasoning and add more guava puree if desired. Strain.
Humba with Fried Saba
2 k pork liempo, sliced pang-ihaw but 1-inch thick then cut into 3 pieces
1 c oil
1 c brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp garlic, pounded
2 tbsp abalone sauce or oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 small can pineapple tidbits
2 tbsp tausi
2 tbsp taucheo salted yellow beans
¼ c Chef Reggie’s Wine or Xiao Xing
¼ c rice vinegar
4-6 c pork stock
¾ c roasted peanuts, peeled
½ tsp pepper
½ c chopped green onions for garnish
Coriander for garnish:
6 fried saba bananas, save some for garnish
Heat 1/3 c oil and brown the pork pieces. Set pork aside.
To the remaining oil in the pan, add enough oil to make 1 c. In the oil, caramelize sugar. Do not burn sugar.
Add the rest of the ingredients except those for garnish. Simmer over low heat until sauce thickens and glazes the pork.
Add fried bananas. Garnish with green onions, coriander and more fried bananas.
‘Dampa’-inspired Sugpito in Sweet-Spicy Butter Sauce
1½ k sugpito
2 tbsp margarine
¼ c butter
1/3 c garlic
2 c 7-Up or Sprite
¼ c white sugar
1 tbsp liquid seasoning
1 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tsp water
2 tbsp abalone or oyster sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Chef Reggie’s Wine or Xiao Xing
2 tbsp patis
Chilies, +/-
¼ c coriander, chopped
Fried garlic garnish
Chopped green onions garnish
With a knife, cut through sugpito by the back curve to devein. In a large pan, melt butter and margarine. Sauté garlic until aromatic.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Add sugpito and cook until it changes color.
Remove sugpito and cook sauce. Thicken with a little cornstarch slurry and season to taste. Toss sugpito in sauce. Garnish with fried garlic and green onions.