Kulinarya Cooking Club April 2011 : Champorado (Filipino Chocolate Rice Pudding)

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful 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.

This month's theme is Decadence.

For me, anything other than toast or cereal for breakfast is decadent.  Firstly, I eat breakfast quickly in between getting both children fed and ready for the day. Secondly, if I do eat, it's pretty boring. I eat just enough to get me through to lunchtime.

To have Champorado for breakfast is very decadent for me.  Not only it's because it's more than the usual dull cereal but because it's chocolate.  Chocolate for breakfast, I recommend it. 

Champorado is usually eaten for breakfast in Philippines.  It's usually accompanied by fried tuyo (salted dried fish).  It's stinky but lovely. I opted not to include in my breakfast.  It really does stink out the house when you cook it therefore I am forbidden to cook it indoors.  The only option was to cook it outside but I wasn't brave enough to face the cold.

1/2 cup glutinous rice

5 cups water

5 tbs white sugar

2 tsp cocoa powder

50g dark chocolate, chopped

evaporated milk

1.  In a pot, add the glutinous rice and water.  Boil till the rice is tender and most of the water has been soaked up by the rice.

2.  Combine the sugar ad cocoa powder in a small bowl then add to the rice.  Stir to combine.

3.  Add the dark chocolate.

4.  Stir and leave on gentle bubble till the chocolate has melted and it has thickened.

5.  Serve with a drizzle of evaporated milk on top.

NB:  If you want it sweeter, simply sprinkle more sugar on top

You can check out what the other members of the Kulinarya club made for this month's theme here.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Kulinarya Cooking Club March 2011 : Pinakbet

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful 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.

This month's theme is Vegetables.

Filipinos are known for their fatty and fried foods.  But there's more to Filipino cuisine to just lechon and chicharon.  We love to eat vegetables. We also love seafood since the Philippines is made up of more than seven thousand islands, we are surrounded by ocean.

I chose to make Pinakbet.  This dish is a popular vegetable dish and is usually made up of bitter melon, okra, eggplant and fermented fish sauce.  I rarely have this but when I do, I love all the different vegetables that go in this dish. The bitter melon and okra (lady fingers) are vegetables I rarely eat unless it's in this dish.  This is my mum's recipe and she makes it all the time.  Needless to say, whenever I crave this, I just go over to her place to enjoy.

1/4 pumpkin (500g) cubed

1 bunch snake beans cut into 5cm batons

5 lady fingers, topped and tailed

1 bitter melon, halved then sliced into 3-4cm thickness.  Soak in salted water for 10-15mins

1 onion, chopped

4-5 small eggplants, cut into quarter's lengthwise

1 tomato, large dice

1 knob of ginger, julienned

1/4 cup anchovy sauce (bagoong balayan)

100g pork, diced (optional)

100g raw prawns (optional)

1.  In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic and ginger until transparent.  

2.  Add the tomato and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

3.  If adding pork, add and simmer until cooked a little

4.  Add the snake beans.  Stir.

5.  Add the anchovy sauce that has been mixed with 1/4 cup of water

6.  Add the rest of the vegetables

7.  Add enough water just to cover (about 1 cup)

8.  Add the prawns

9.  Simmer until vegetables are cooked through.

10.  Serve with steamed rice and a piece of fried fish.

You can check out what the other members of the Kulinarya Cooking Club cooked up for this month's theme here 

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Kulinarya Cooking Club February 2011 : Morcon

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful 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.

This month's theme is aphrodisiac foods

When Pia chose this theme, she also gave us links to what foods are aphrodisiac.  I chose to make morcon. A Filipino Stuffed Beef Roll.  I changed the recipe a bit from the traditional one so that there are several ingredients in this dish that has aphrodisiac properties.  My version has 4 of the ingredients listed. I added asparagus to the filling along with the traditional carrot.  In the sauce there is garlic and a little bit of ginger.  I served this on Valentines Day dinner for Hubby, however you don't need an occasion to serve this delicious dish.

500g beef steak, cut and flattened into large sheets (I made 5 sheets)
2 tbs lemon juice
4 tbs soy sauce
Pepper
olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion diced
2cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 cup tomato passata
2 bay leaves
3 cups beef stock
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs lemon juice

Filling
5 canned hot dogs or frankfurters, sliced into strips
1 small carrot
3 asparagus spears, split down the middle
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
sharp cheddar cheese

1.  Marinate the beef for 20 minutes in the lemon juice, soy sauce and pepper.
2.  Drain the beef and reserve the marinade.  Lay the beef on a flat surface and arrange the filling in rows lengthwise.  Roll the meat and enclose the filling and tie with kitchen string in several places.  Roll the meat in flour and remove excess flour.
3.  Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and brown the beef on all sides.  Remove and set aside while you make the sauce.
4.  In the same saucepan, add the reserved marinade, garlic, onion, ginger, tomato passata and bay leaves and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced.  Add the beef stock and bring back to the boil.
5.  Return the meat to the saucepan and slowly simmer for about 1 hour until the meat is tender.  Season with salt, pepper and sugar.
6.  When cooked, transfer the meat to a platter, remove the string and slice crosswise.  Drizzle the sauce over the meat and to freshen it up, squeeze the lemon juice over the dish.

Please go and check out what the other member of the Kulinarya Coking Club has cooked up.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Kulinarya Cooking Club January 2011 : Pandan Chiffon Cake with Macapuno Cream

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful 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.

This month's theme is "What Filipino dish (savoury or sweet) would you like to have on your birthday?"

There was no doubt in my mind what I wanted to do for this challenge.  For every birthday, there has to be a birthday cake.  My cake of choice is Pandan Chiffon Cake.  I love all things pandan and so this is my ultimate cake.  I don't like frosting on my pandan cake so just a dollop of macapuno cream goes perfectly to make it that little extra luxurious.

• 8 egg whites
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 cup self raising flour, sieved 3 times
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Pandan extract (green)

1. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff and then gradually add 1/2 of the sugar.
2. Mix flour, half of the sugar, oil, coconut milk, egg yolks, and a few drops of the Pandan extract.
3. Mix egg whites and flour mixture together.
4. Pour mixture into an angel food tin.
5. Bake in moderate oven (180C/375F) for 35 minutes
6. When cooked, take the pan and turn upside down and leave to cool completely.

 To make the macapuno cream simple add macapuno from a jar to a bowl of whipped cream.

Check out what the other members of the Kulinarya Cooking Club made for this month's theme.

I've also entered this post in Sweets for a Saturday on Sweet as sugar cookies Blog.

Kulinarya Cooking Club December 2010 : Spanish Bread.

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful 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.

This month's theme is Homemade Food Gifts.

When I read that what this month's theme was I was super excited.  The possibilities were endless.  So many choices on what to make.  Because of that, I couldn't make up my mind and I spent weeks trying to decide.  I even consulted with my cooking mentor, my mum.  

In the end, I decided to bake Spanish bread.  

Originally, I wanted to make ensaymada, which is popular during Christmas time in the Philippines but I decided to make a variation of the same dough recipe.  Spanish bread is a also another popular bread in the Philippines.   It is a sweet bread layered with butter and sugar.  I researched the net on why it's called Spanish bread but it seems, no one is certain why.

I searched for a good recipe and I found this one by Kusina ni Manang. I liked this version as it uses a bread machine, which made it a lot easier.  And anything that makes things easier for all the Christmas baking I'm doing, is a winner for me.

Recipe :

2/3 cup warm milk

1/2 cup warm water 

1 egg

2 egg yolks

85grams butter

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cup bread flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp yeast

Filling: 

250gram softened butter

1 cup white sugar

Make the dough in the bread machine according to instructions.  My machine instructions suggest to put the liquid ingredients first then add the dry ones except the yeast.  Make a well in the center of the flour then add the yeast in the middle.  By doing this, the yeast doesn't touch the liquid too early enabling the yeast to work better.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the butter and sugar together until totally incorporated.

Once the dough is ready, divide equally into 24 portions.  Roll out the dough into long ovals.  Spread the butter and sugar mixture evenly over the dough.

To roll the dough, start at one end and roll tightly.  Gently cover it with breadcrumbs and place carefully on a tray, cover and leave to rise for 30minutes.

Place in a preheated oven of 180degC and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

These are best eaten warm from the oven.  It can be kept for 3 days in an air tight container and can be reheated up in the oven.

Other members in the Kulinarya Coioking Club is listed here.

Kulinarya Cooking Club November 2010 : Rellenong Alimasag (Stuffed Crab)

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful 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.


This month's theme is Relleno at Christmas

Relleno is means "stuffed".  There are many dishes that are rellenong.  The most common is Rellenong Chicken.  The one my paternal grandma (we called her Nanay) used to make for me, because she knew it was one of her favourite, was rellenong bangus (milk fish).  

For this theme, I decided to make Rellenong Alimasag served with Green Mango Salsa.  This is perfect for Christmas here in Australia.  Aussies love having seafood at their Christmas table since it's right in the middle of Summer.  

4 blue swimmer crabs

1 tomato, diced

1 onion, diced

2 eggs

salt and pepper

1.  Place the crabs in a pot, shell side down with no water.  Steam for about 20-25 minutes

2.  Let it cool then pick the meat out.  Be careful to not get any shell in the meat.

3.  Place the crab meat in a bowl and add the tomato, onion, eggs and salt and pepper

4.  Clean the shell with a paper towel.  Do not wet as it will splatter when you fry it.

5.  Place the stuffing in the crab, nice and tight.

6.  Deep fry, meat side down first till brown, then turn over and cook further for another 1-2 minutes.

To make the green mango salsa, mix together in a bowl :

2 green mangoes, diced

1 onion, diced

1 tomato, diced

2 tbl bagoong (Filipino Sauteed Shrimp paste)

To see what other Kulinarya Cooking Club Members cooked up, click here

Kulinarya Cooking Club October 2010 : Suman (Cassava with Latik)

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful 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.

This week's theme is Suman.

Suman is a Filipino snack usually made of sticky rice wrapped and steamed in banana leaves.  There are many varieties of suman.  You can read about them here.

I am lucky with this month's theme.  I would have been really stressed out about making my own suman because it's not a dish you would normally make unless its for a special occasion.  Growing up, we had suman every Christmas and New year's eve.  My mum would make them in huge quantities and share with family and friends.  Lately, she's been making them more often so who better to ask for her help than my mum?

We decided to make cassava with latik (fried coconut milk solids).  She usually makes the sticky rice ones but we wanted to do something different.

1 fresh coconut, grated

2 x 454g frozen grated cassava, thawed

1 tbs vanilla

1 cup raw sugar

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix

Make latik.  You can get the recipe here.  It is best to make this the day before as it can take up to an hour to make.

1.  Trim banana leaves into about 20cm in length.  Trim the same quantities of banana leaves to 10cm.
2.  Place the small leaf on the bottom half of the large leaf.  Place about 2 tablespoons of the cassava mixture in the middle of the small leaf,  Place 1 heaped teaspoon of the latik on top.
3.  Roll loosely.  With the seam on top, fold the sides under
4.  Place in a steamer cover with foil and lid
5.  Steam for 1 hour until the cassava is cooked through.

This is best eaten freshly cooked.  If you find you cannot eat all of your suman in one sitting, you can freeze them.  To reheat, you can re-steam or simply place in the microwave.

Other fellow Kulinarya Cooking Club Members can be seen here. 

Kulinarya Cooking Club September 2010 : Bunuelos

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with our family recipes.  By sharing these recipes we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.

This month's theme is "Filipino - Spanish".  We are to chose any Filipino dish that has been influenced by the Spanish.

The Philippines is influence by so many different cultures, inluding the Chinese, Malaysians, Americans, and the Spanish.  When the Spanish settled in the Philippines, they brought with them their food and techniques.  The method of sautéing was introduced into the Philippine kitchens by the Spanish.  Sauteeing grlic and onions is the start to many Filipino dishes.

You can read more about the Spanish influences here.  Ziggy of My Filipino Kitchen Blog explains it all.

I wanted to make Bunuelos De Viento  for this month's theme.  Bunuelo is a Spanish fritter or doughnut.  It's a deep fried pastry.  De viento literally means "of wind".  This means no filling.  The inside of the doughnut is light and hollow.

4 tbs unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tbe sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup plain flour
4 eggs
Oil for frying

1.  In a large saucepan over medium low heat, combine the butter, sugar and salt with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil.

2.  Stir to melt butter and dissolve the sugar.  Take the pan off the heat and add the flour all a once, beating continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan  and forms a ball.
3.  Cool slightly.  Add an egg one at a time and mix with the wooden spoon until smooth.  Cool completely.

4.  Heat the oil over a medium heat.

5.  Drop the batter by the tablespoon into the oil.  Cook till the doughnut is nice and brown and puffed.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.

6.  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the doughnut while still hot.  They can also be drizzled with sugar syrup.

These doughnuts are best eaten hot. These can be eaten as dessert or for merienda (snack).  Acutally, I can eat these any time of the day.

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/

Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/

Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/

Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/ 

Caroline - http://whenadobometfeijoada.blogspot.com/

Ninette - http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/

Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/

Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/

Asha - http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/

Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/

Cherrie - http://sweetcherriepie.com/

Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/

Valerie - http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/

Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/

Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/

Dahlia - http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/

Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/

Maribel - http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/

Tressa 

Jen - http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/

Pia - http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/

Malaka - http://thegrandinternational.com.

Mimi - http://lapinchecocinera.blogspot.com

Erika - http://ivoryhut.com/

Kat - http://twitter.com/alanokat

Lala - http://thislittlepiggywenttothemarket.blogspot.com/

Ziggy - http://www.myfilipinokitchen.com/

Kulinarya Cooking Club August 2010 : Lumpia

   

Lumpiang Shanghai (mini spring rolls)

Lumpiang sariwa (fresh spring roll)

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with our family recipes.  By sharing these recipes we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.

This month's Kulinarya Cooking Club's theme was chosen by Myself and Malou from Skip to Malou Blog.  It was only fitting that it was our turn to chose the theme as it is both our birthdays in August.  Happy Birthday, Malou!

This month's theme is LUMPIA!

Malou and I both wanted to choose a theme that was associated with party food as we would be celebrating our birthdays this month.  And without a doubt, Lumpia is always at every Filipino party table.

There are variations of lumpia.  I decided to feature 2.  Lumpiang Shanghai and Lumpiang Sariwa.

Lumpiang Shanghai is a favourite amoungst all Filipinos, most especially the younger ones.  It's easy to eat and more importantly, it's easy to make.

Filling:
250g Pork mince
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 egg
1 tbs patis (fish sauce)

Spring Roll Wrappers
Oil for deep frying.

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly till well combined.
To wrap, place a wrapper down on a flat surface.
Line filling in a straight line about 2cm from the bottom of the wrapper.
Roll the wrapper into a long cylinder.
Before deep frying, cut into 4 equal parts.
These can be fried immediately or frozen to be cooked later.

Lumpiang Sariwa

I never really eaten this beaten this before but saw it many times at Filipino celebrations. I wanted to make it because I really wanted to try it and I knew I would like it... and I did.

With the help of my mum, I'm glad we did because I loved it.  We made a vegetarian version and added fresh cooked prawns.  Quickly cooking the vegetables keeps them crunchy and full of flavour.  I'm also proud that we made our own wrappers for this lumpia though, I think I need more practisc with it, as it came out a little thick in places.  However, it still tasted delicious.

Wrapper:

3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup plain flour
pinch salt
5 eggs

Filling:
1 carrot, julienned
1 small singkamas (jicama), julienned
200g green beans, topped and tailed then halved
1 onion, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbs fish sauce
whole lettuce leaves

Sauce:
1 cup white sugar
3 cups water
3 tbs soy sauce
3 heaped tbs cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 cloves garlic, crushed

To make the wrappers, place the flours, and salt in a bowl. Add 1 1/2 cup water, whisk to combine all the ingredients.  The batter should be fairly wet.  Add the eggs, one at a time and whisk well..  Cover and refrigerate for 30 mins.

On a nonstick skillet, on medium heat, add about 1/8 cup of the batter.  Swirl the pan to thinly cover the pan with the batter.  Cook until set (you'll see the edges curl a bit)  Flip and cook the other side.  This should only take a minute all up.  Remove and keep covered until needed.

In a saucepan,  sautee the onion and garlic till just translucent.  Add the rest of the vegetables and stir well.  Add the fish sauce.  Cover and let cook on a gentle heat for 5 to 7 minutes.  The vegetables should just be cooked through leaving it still a little crunchy.  Once cooked, remove from heat and transfer to a dish to let it cool.

To make the sauce.  On a low heat, in a small saucepan melt the sugar .  In a bowl, mix a little water, soy sauce, cornstarch and salt into a smooth paste.  Then add all the water to this paste.  Poor this mixture sugar.  Add the garlic and stir over heat until thick.

To wrap the lumpia.  Lay a wrapper on flat surface.  Place a lettuce leaf on the wrapper, with a quarter of the lettuce protruding at one side (left side).  Place the filling on top of the lettuce.  Fold the side closest to you over the filling, fold over the bottom (right side) over and roll the rest of the wrapper over to totally enclose the filling.

Serve with sauce poured over.

Other members of the Kulinarya Cooking Club:

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/
Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/
Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/
Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/
Caroline - http://whenadobometfeijoada.blogspot.com/
Ninette - http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/
Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/
Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/
Asha - http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/
Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/
Cherrie - http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/
Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/
Valerie - http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/
Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/
Divina - http://www.sense-serendipity.com/
Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/
Dahlia - http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/
Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/
Maribel - http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/
Tressa
Jen - http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/
Pia - http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/

Malaka - http://thegrandinternational.com.
Mimi - http://lapinchecocinera.blogspot.com
Erika - http://ivoryhut.com/
Kat - http://www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk/default.aspx