Chicken Pork Adobo

 This easy-to-cook version of the famous adobo is an 

all-time favorite. Doing away with the usual pepper and laurel 

leaves, this simple blend of garlic, soy sauce and vinegar is fast 

and easy to prepare, even for beginners. The secret is in the 

technique, with the quality of the soy sauce and vinegar major 

contributing factors. Without wishing to sound like a 

commercial, I find that Silver Swan or Marca Pina soy sauce 

and Datu Puti Vinegar seem to give the best results.  

Ingredients:

1/2 k pork liempo (belly)

1/2 k chicken 

1 head of garlic

180 ml soy sauce (almost 1 cup)

  70 ml white vinegar (sukang puti)

1/4 cup cooking oil

When you buy the pork and chicken, ask them to chop 

it up for you in cubes (about as big as a matchbox) to save you 

some grief especially if you do not have a sharp knife at home. 

If you soak or wash the meat, be sure to drain it as 

much as possible. We want the meat to be "thirsty" so that it 

will soak up the sauce. 

Peel and crush the garlic. You can add a bit more if the 

head is small. 

Heat the pan (wok) & oil until small wisps of smoke 

start appearing before saut‚ing the garlic. Putting in the garlic 

while the oil is not yet hot enough will affect the taste (although it 

will still be edible). 

The real key to this dish is in saut‚ing the garlic until it is 

just right, meaning golden brown but not yet toasted because 

this will tend to make it bitter. Use a moderate flame and keep 

mixing to avoid burning the garlic. Next, put in the pork and 

chicken and mix it with the garlic for about 2 minutes (or until it 

changes color). 

Pour in the soy sauce and mix again occasionally for a 

minute or two. Add the vinegar, lower the flame to just enough 

to keep it boiling, then cover the pan. Aside from mixing it a few 

times (about every 3-4 minutes) to make sure everything is 

evenly cooked, there is nothing more to do except to prepare 

yourself to do battle in 15-20 minutes. 

In this you have a choice: you can either stop cooking 

when there is still a bit of sauce or you can wait until the sauce 

almost dries out. Both are delicious. Try to keep the flame as 

low as possible so the sauce has more time to seep into the 

meat. Be careful not to totally dry out the sauce during the last 

few minutes or it will taste dry and bitter. 

You can adjust the proportion of the soy sauce and 

vinegar a bit while cooking, if desired, but do not put in too 

much soy just to have more sauce because this will make it too 

salty. If you put in a bit too much vinegar, just add one or two 

tablespoons of water and cook a bit longer. The vinegar will 

dissipate, but try not to do this. Also, do not add water (for 

extra sauce) unless you are cooking native chicken, which will 

take a lot longer to get tender.

Be sure to cook a lot of rice because this dish is 

notorious for increasing rice consumption. Bananas also And in 

the rare event that there be any left-overs, rejoice, because it 

tastes even better after a while. Perfect also with bread and 

butter and to take for picnics.  

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INIHAW NA BABOY

If you like fat, the tastiest cut of pork to grill is the 

liempo (belly) which is the part that looks like uncut bacon. Ask 

the butcher to cut it up in strips. If you prefer lean meat, get 

pork chops. Ask them to remove the skin. 

As in frying, we want meat with more fat to be sliced a 

bit thinner than lean meat so that we can cook it to the proper 

degree. The thing is that fat takes a bit longer to cook (to its 

most delicious state) than lean meat. Thus, if we get the fat nice 

and crunchy, the meat will tend to be a bit dry while if we want 

the meat nice and juicy, the fat will tend to be undercooked and 

well, fatty. It is therefore a matter of preference.

When buying leaner cuts however, like pork chops, we 

want them to be a bit thicker (about " to _ inch) as much as 

possible so that they will be juicy. Slicing pork chops really thin 

is a result of overpopulation rather than an ideal cooking 

practice. 

While there are all sorts of marinade we can use, the 

fastest and simplest, especially for beginners, and my personal 

preference as well, is to simply rub salt on it as described in the 

section on the topic. At least you won't have to soak it for 

hours or days. In case you do make a marinade, although you 

won't get the tenderizing effect from soaking the meat overnight, 

(or several days) you can get the taste into the meat for instant 

cooking just by massaging it well into the meat for about five 

minutes (not one or two, I said five!) before grilling.  

I personally prefer to just salt the pork and grill it. Serve 

it with a sawsawan (dip) of vinegar mixed with a clove of garlic, 

salt and siling labuyo (hot chili pepper) a side dish of ginisang 

bagoong with talong. 

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BONELESS INIHAW NA BANGUS

While most fish are traditionally simply salted and 

grilled, bangus (milkfish) occupies a special place of its own in 

the gallery of Philippine culinary delights because of its distinct 

flavor. The only complaint about this fish is that it is rather bony 

and so, boneless inihaw na bangus evolved!

Inihaw na bangus is milkfish commonly stuffed with 

tomatoes and onions. What many don't know is that adding 

ginger to the mix makes this already tasty meal into a heavenly 

dish.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo bangus (1 pc)

3 large tomatoes

2 medium onions

ginger (about the size of a large onion)

2 tbsp salt

banana leaves

or aluminum foil (optional)

patis

calamansi

siling labuyo

Although you can of course stuff any size of fish, inihaw 

na bangus is best when using the larger ones between half a kilo 

to a kilo per piece. When buying, make sure the fish is fresh by 

checking the gills. The brighter red they are, the fresher. Look 

for the ones with small pointed heads (these come from 

Dagupan) and choose those with thick bodies and bellies (to get 

more of the delicious fat!). 

Be aware that cheap fish sold by the sidewalk vendors 

sometimes has a burak (muddy) taste. This is caused by 

unscrupulous fishpen owners who feed their fish just before 

selling to get a better price. The fish are fed chicken dung which 

causes the awful taste. Try to by from long-established dealers 

so you don't get victimized because they would never sell such 

fish to protect their reputations. 

 Once we have chosen our fish, we have a choice: we 

can either let them clean the fish, telling them it is for inihaw so 

that they cut it properly or just let them wrap it up and do it 

ourselves at home. The downside of having them do it is that 

although you will save some effort your bangus will not be 

boneless.  If you decide to do it yourself, don't worry. It will 

take less than five minutes to remove 95% of the bones. By the 

way, do not remove the fish scales.

All you have to do is first split the bangus from the top 

down the middle head-to-tail. Now, be careful. We want to 

slice exactly down the middle so that we cut as close to the 

bones as much as possible. Slice only to until almost the middle 

and stop when you encounter the ribcage. Be careful not to cut 

any of the bones so they will all come out at once.  Then insert 

your thumb and gently free the rib bones from the flesh, 

beginning from the top where you will have to break the 

connection between the head and spine down to the tail. Free 

the other side of the fish with the same technique and break the 

connection to the tail to remove the skeleton. Next remove the 

innards of the fish including the gills. Be sure to clean it well so 

you don't get an aftertaste, but take care not to damage the 

belly fat. You can also put back the whitish part that may be 

wrapped around the liver and put it back in the belly. You now 

have bangus which, although not totally boneless, is almost 

anyway.  

Now mix the onions, garlic, tomatoes and salt together 

and stuff it into the fish including the head. Ideally, banana 

leaves are used to wrap the fish before grilling but aluminum foil 

will also do. In a pinch, you can also just directly lay the fish on 

the grill naked but you will find the result juicier and tastier 

grilled wrapped. The only problem is that it is more difficult to 

see if the fish is cooked if it is wrapped. Which makes it all the 

more important that you have the charcoal burning well before 

you place the fish. Use a slightly lower temperature for 

unwrapped fish so as not to burn it.

Though not as crucial, try to follow the one-turnover 

rule. You will know that it is time when you start smelling a 

mouth-watering aroma. At this point, the fish is about 70% 

cooked already since the top side has already been partially 

cooked as well. Be careful not to overcook the fish as it will 

become dry to the taste. Once the fish is done you have about 

two or three minutes of  the "ideal time" to stop cooking before 

this happens. If you get it just right, you'll have a dish you will 

surely remember for a long time.

I use patis (fish sauce "Rufina") mixed with calamansi 

(lemon) and siling labuyo (hot chili pepper) for sawsawan 

although others prefer to use soy sauce instead of patis.

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Sinigang

While some are easy but require some care, sinigang is 

one of the most fault-tolerant dishes I can think of. Even if it is 

your very first time to cook, all you need are sense of taste, 

some guts and determination. Of course, a few tips wouldn't 

hurt either! 

To the rest of the world, sinigang is a soup dish made 

from pork, fish or beef (the chicken version is called 

sinampalukang manok so it's not sinigang.). It gets its particular 

sour taste most commonly from the fruit of the tamarind tree 

although other sour fruits such as santol, kamias, green mango 

and even guava (although it is not sour) can also be used.

The beauty of sinigang lies in its varied forms. You can 

add all sorts of vegetables to give it a richer taste or you can 

just keep to the most basic ingredients. Either way, you can 

have a truly fulfilling meal, particularly on those cold, wet, 

stormy days.

Sinigang na Baboy/Bangus

Basic Ingredients:

1/2 kilo pork (liempo or ribs) or bangus

two large onions

three medium tomatoes

1 medium labanos (white radish)

1 tali kangkong

3-4 cups water

Salt and/or patis to taste

Other vegetables you can include:

Siling Berde   (Long Green Pepper)

Gabi

Okra

Sigarilyas

Talong           (Eggplant)

Sour flavoring:

150-200g fresh tamarind fruit

(or  tamarind powder from the store for instant freaks)

You can also use santol, kamias, green mango and even 

guava

When buying pork, the most common cuts to use are 

liempo (more meat) or ribs (more soup). If you are cooking a 

lot, I suggest you use both, Ask them to chop it into cubes. 

When buying bangus, as usual, make sure it is fresh. 

Have them scale, clean and portion the fish. The only difference 

when using fish is that it cooks faster and you need to add in the 

onions and tomatoes immediately.

The main thing to remember when cooking sinigang is 

not to use too much water. Although even this can be remedied 

(by boiling it off or adding instant pork cubes), the best thing is 

to start right and boil the meat in not too much water. You can 

add in the onions and tomatoes anytime while softening the 

meat. This should take between 15-20 minutes. If you are using 

gabi, you can drop it in at this point to soften it as well. While 

that is happening boil the fresh tamarind in about a cup of water 

until it softens up and you can mash it with a fork to get the juice 

out. Drain the juice into a bowl without getting the fruit skin into 

it. When the meat is done, season with salt and/or patis and the 

tamarind juice (or powder) to taste. At this point, if the soup 

tastes a bit flat you can still add in an onion or tomato to give it 

a bit more taste and boil it a few minutes more. Just be careful 

not to add in too much salt or tamarind juice all at once because 

that is harder to fix.

When the soup tastes fine, add the rest of the vegetable 

in last-to-get-cooked-first order and .... you're done! 

Happy Eating! 

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Bistek

Bistek, which translates to Beef Steak, Filipino Style, is 

one of the few beef staples on the menu of the most popular 

Filipino dishes. 

Here is another case of a few key ingredients which, 

when prepared properly, can turn into a truly satisfying repast.   

                   Basic Ingredients:

                   2 large red onions

                   1/2 kilo sirloin, thinly sliced

                   (you can use tenderloin 

                    if you can afford it!)

                   Marinade:

                   170 ml soy sauce

                   4 large calamansi

When buying the meat, aside from making sure it is 

tender, try to get some with a bit of fat. If the meat is all lean 

some vendors will consent to give you some fat without extra 

charge. I know it's bad for the health but it's so delicious! 

Unless you have a sharp knife at home, ask them to slice it as 

thin as possible. 

To start, make the marinade. Taste it to be sure that the 

balance of the soy sauce and the kalamansi is okay. It should be 

neither too salty nor too sour, otherwise adjust accordingly. 

Check the meat and slice more thinly any parts that are 

still rather thick. This will also help the meat to absorb the 

marinade. Here comes the key part: don't just soak the meat in 

the marinade but massage it in for about at least 5 minutes. 

Have the patience and be justly rewarded! 

Slice the onions in rings and set aside.

Those of us who really like the sauce are prone to using 

a bit too much soy sauce. Try not to as this will make the sauce 

overpower the taste of the meat. It should be just enough to 

soak the meat and perhaps just a bit more. 

Once you are done massaging the meat, squeeze out 

the marinade from the meat and set it aside. Heat a frying pan 

and put in a small amount of oil, perhaps two or three 

tablespoons. When the oil starts emitting a few wisps of smoke, 

drop pieces of meat one-by-one into the pan. Do not overload 

the pan as this will cause all the juices to escape from the meat. 

Fry them a few pieces at a time. If the oil is hot enough and the 

beef sliced thinly enough, the pieces of meat should cook in less 

than a minute. Take care not to over-cook the beef. Rather 

remove them from the pan once they appear half-cooked and 

replace until you are done.

Finally, sautee the onions just a bit before putting the 

meat, together with the rest of the marinade, into the pan. Cook 

for maybe three or four minutes more and that's it! By the way, 

just like adobo, bistek keeps just about indefinitely. The 

problem is if there will be any leftovers.

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