Macaroning Sinabaw

This is my take on Lola Gunday's macaroning sinabaw, which has been a family favorite for generations:

For the kitchen:

3 heads of garlic, finely chopped
3 white onions, finely chopped
4 pieces of Chorizo Bilbao El Rey, thinly sliced
300 grams Chinese ham, chopped into strips (Excellente, Majestic or Adelaida's are okay, and if you like you can also include the ham bone)
1 whole jumbo chicken
300 grams of bacon
500 gram pack of long macaroni (Royal used to have this, but if you can't find it, any brand of short macaroni will do)
5 heaping tablespoons of cheese spread (Kraft or Magnolia)
2 chicken cubes (Knorr or Maggi)
1 liter tomato sauce (Del Monte original)
1 small can tomato paste (Contadina)
Rock/sea salt and pepper to taste

Tableside:

1 can evaporated milk (I like Carnation, some other evaporada brands are too sweet for my taste)
Grated parmesan or grated Edam (traditionally Doble Ganza or Marca Pina; frankly I wasn't happy with Marca Pato)

Instructions:

Cook the macaroni per the instructions on the package and set aside.

Pressure cook the chicken with the chicken cubes (30 minutes), debone, chop into fine strips or cubes and set aside.  If you would like to include ham bones, include the ham bones in the pressure cooker with the chicken so that the flavor mixes in.  Don't throw the soup stock away, set this aside too.

In a large cauldron, saute the bacon with some olive oil.  As the bacon starts to brown, add in the garlic and the onions.  As soon as this starts to smell wonderful, add the chorizo Bilbao, and the chinese ham.  In around 4-5 minutes, you can add the chicken.  Stir fry for another 2 minutes in high heat.  Lower the heat and add the tomato sauce and tomato paste.  You can then pour in the chicken stock (which would be around 3-4 liters).  Scoop in the cheese spread.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer at low heat for around 10 minutes.  Add the macaroni just when you are about to serve (it is usually served piping hot, right off the stove).  Usually, you add in your own milk (which brings down the liquid temperature to perfect levels) and sprinkle your own cheese.  Table side evaporated milk and cheese, however, can be substituted with fresh milk, low fat milk or any kind of grated cheese if so desired.

As usual in my recipes, you can vary the proportions according to your taste, specially the amount of the chicken stock which dictates the thickness of the soup.  Some people don't like it cheesy so you can also omit the cheese spread.  I sometimes add an extra 300 grams of chicken liver or a couple of cans of liverwurst, but that's if you don't have a uric acid problem.  Sometimes, I also pour in a 240 ml pack of Nestle all purpose cream, but that also raises the calorie count.

This basic soup can also be modified by adding any combination of herbs (e.g. parsley, basil, sage, rosemarie, thyme or cilantro), or mushrooms (e.g. button, truffles, abalone, straw, porcini, even shitake), and refrigerated leftover meats (e.g. prosciutto, jamon serrano, lamb, diced parma, jerky, salami, pepperoni, and even pastrami), but that's really up to you to experiment...  As Gwammy says, "Throw it in!"

This soup usually tastes better on the second or third day, and we sometimes intentionally leave some in the ref for a couple of days.  While most people want their soup hot, I've grown accustomed to cold pasta for early morning wake-up, and when served as leftover brekky, the soup is almost like gazpacho.

Lola Segunda, Tita Meng, Tito Jay and Gwammy have their own recipes, and my variations have probably been more of "hit-or-miss" versions than theirs!  Well, I must admit, that there have been times that my recipe deviations were not appreciated by Michaela, Erika and Anita, but that's a different story... ;-)

Cheese Pimiento Spread

I found a baby queso de bola in the refrigerator this morning, probably one of those that Vicky received over the Christmas season, and it suddenly dawned on my that I haven't made cheese pimiento spread in many years.  This easy to make picnic/party spread used to be my favorite preparation to volunteer in school activities--no hassle, yet was instantly appreciated by people.  Just spread on bread, crackers, bread-sticks, and voila!

1 baby ball of Edam cheese, grated fine or course, depending on  your preference (the Marca Pina brand shown above is by far the standard, which I recommend over Marca Pato, although Gwammy says that Doble Ganza brand was better)

1 slab of 250g butter, already at room temperature

1 can of red pimientos, mashed (I use Del Monte or Ram, you can use a fork to mash the pimiento, the fineness of which depends on you)

Instructions?  Well, just mix them all in an airtight container, then spread on whatever you can get your hands on--works well with Sky Flakes, Fita, soda crackers, Sunflower crackers and the like.  Nice with soft bread.  Wonderful as dip to carrot and celery stalks.

If you want added spreading consistency, you can scoop in a tablespoon of mayonnaise.  Some like the tangy zing, some don't, so use your better judgement.  Enjoy!

Ham & Bean Soup

Delicious dinner tonight, with Vicky slaving over at the kitchen stove, putting together a Spanish dish using Chinese ham.  Digressing a bit from the HK travelogues, here is the Ham & Bean Soup recipe of Vicky, which I better write down before I forget:

1 leg of Chinese ham

3 heads of garlic, chopped

2 onions, sliced

500 grams of white kidney beans

8 medium sized potatoes, sliced into chunks

3 medium sized carrots, sliced

500 grams of abitsuelas (Baguio beans)

300 grams of chopped cabbage

2 pork cubes

Soak white kidney beans overnight.  Slice meat of ham leg into bite size portions and set aside.  Retain the ham bones.  In a large soup cauldron, sautee garlic and onions.  Lower heat and add ham meat and 2 pork cubes.  Drain white kidney beans and add to the cauldron.  Add around 5-7 liters of water (depending on the size of your ham leg), and add ham bones.  Increase heat and bring to a boil.  After 10 minutes, reduce heat and boil for another 30 minutes.  Lower heat and add potatoes.  Boil for another 10 minutes and add carrots.  Boil for another 5 minutes and add abitsuelas and cabbage.  Serve piping hot.

Perfect for a cold night!

Chicken Sotanghon Soup

Now this recipe came about because we found a pack of dried shitake mushrooms that was bought by Becca around a year ago, and because it was nearing expiry date, I just dreamt up some novel dish for it.  Notice that we used commercially cooked chicken for the recipe--in this instance we bought roasted chicken from Chooks-To-Go which is the roast chicken division of Bounty Fresh group (they have branches all over Metro Manila).  This not only makes it an easy last-minute decision, but also the built-in flavor of the chicken makes the soup so much tastier!  You can, of course, buy cooked chicken from any neighboring store (e.g. Senior Pedro, Baliwag, S&R, SM, Robinsons, Max, Andoks, etc.).


3 heads of garlic, chopped
2 white onions, minced
1 whole cooked chicken (preferably roasted), deboned and sliced (if you are in a hurry, forget the deboning part, just slice and throw in...)
100 grams of dried shitake mushrooms, soaked for a few hours and sliced (if you are in a hurry, you can also use the equivalent amount of canned shitake)
2 chicken cooking cubes (Knorr or Maggi will do)
200 grams sotanghon (soaked for around an hour)
3 liters of hot water (add if you want it soupier, then adjust on the chicken cubes)


Saute garlic and onions, add in shitake mushrooms at high heat.  After a couple of minutes, lower heat, add cooked chicken & chicken cubes.  Pour in water, bring back to boil.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  In about 10 minutes, add sotanghon and wait a few more minutes until cooked.  Serve hot.


Sometimes the kids love this with a little calamansi and chopped green onions sprinkled at table side.  Enjoy!

French Beans

We passed by Unimart this morning and Vicky was delighted to find very fresh French Beans at the vegetable counters.  This bean is a miniature version of the Baguio Bean but costs much more (P480/kilo).  However, when cooked, the resulting crunch is absolutely a wonder to the palate!  Here's a sample of her recipe, which was prepared in just under 30 minutes:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 head of garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped into fine bits

1/4 kilo chopped bacon (her original idea for the recipe called for pancetta but I had to protest as this makes the cost go over the roof)

1/2 kilo French beans, blanched (it helps to take off the fibrous sides by breaking off the tips and stripping the fiber thread off, as this fiber thread makes it quite difficult to chew)

Saute the garlic and the onions in the olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste.  Pop the bacon in the pan and cook until almost golden brown.  Add the French beans and  stir fry in high heat for another 3-5 minutes until cooked.  Serve hot.

We had this for lunch today, and both Monique and I raved at her simple yet so delicious invention.  The dish goes well as a vegetable dish to various meats, including steak and lamb.  Perfect with baked potatoes and sour cream!

Chicken Asparagus Soup

Here's one of my favorite Chinese-style soups.  It's so simple to make, and I must say Yaya Rufina has already mastered the technique:


1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
4 heads of garlic, chopped
3 small white onions, chopped
1 can of white asparagus (800 grams)
3 chicken cubes


Saute garlic and onions, add in chicken pieces and chicken cubes.  When chicken is slightly browned, pour in 4 liters of water.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Let the soup boil for around 20-30 minutes to ensure that the chicken is tender.  Add the asparagus, including its brine for added flavor.  Let boil for another 5 minutes, and serve piping hot.  If you want, you may add a little sesame oil just before shutting the heat off, to get a little zing!

Gwammy's Potato Salad

Gwammy makes wonderful potato salad; we tried to do a test run from memory and it turned out quite delicious:

1/2 kilo potatoes, boiled and cubed
1 dozen eggs, hard boiled and diced
1/2 kilo boiled habituelas (Baguio beans), deveined and cut into half inch bits
1 750g bottle of mayonnaise (I use Lady's Choice)
3-5 tablespoons of sweet pickle relish or dill pickle sauce (depends on your taste)

Mix all ingredients in a salad bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.  Add the mayonnaise and mix well.  Chill to appreciate.  Simple, easy to make!

Sopa de Ajo

Vicky made a cauldron of good old fashioned garlic soup last night and Monique enjoyed it very much.  I told her that I used to make this recipe since I was in high school (Gwama used to call it her "poor man's instant soup"):

1/4 kilo garlic, chopped
2 chicken buillon cubes (Knorr or Maggi will do)
1/2 loaf of Pan Americana
1 can of evaporated milk (Carnation, Alpine or Alaska)
4 eggs
3 liters of water

Toast the bread in an oven toaster until golden brown, then set aside.  In a pot, brown the garlic in some olive oil.  Add the water and the chicken cubes, bring to a rapid boil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drop in the eggs, add the toasted bread and pour in the milk.  Easy, no-brainer soup in 30 minutes!

Casa Mabini Chicken Stew

Had dinner at Gwammy's last night and she cooked up great chicken stew, the recipe of which, she reminded us, has been in her family since pre-war days when the family lived along Mabini St., in Ermita:

2 chickens, cut up
1 small can garbanzos
1 medium can red pimientos, cut up
3 pieces carrots, diced
8 pieces medium potatoes, diced (you can substitute marble potatoes)
4 pieces chorizo bilbao, sliced (yes, she used the Don Anastacio Alba's chorizo Vicky sent over)
1 medium bottle of olives (green, black--whatever you have in the ref)
2 heads garlic
2 large white onion
1 chicken seasoning cube to taste (take your pick, Knorr or Maggi)

Saute garlic & onion in olive oil.  Pop in chorizo.  Stir-fry for a minute, then turn the heat on high, and add the chicken.  Wait for the sizzle to die down (the chicken will have brown grill marks from the high heat, preventing the juices to run off) and then add the garbanzos, including the brine.  Drop in the olives, excluding the brine.  Put the seasoning cube, then add salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a rapid boil for one minute then bring the heat to low.  After around three minutes put red pimientos and potatoes.  After another 5 minutes, pop in the carrots.  Should be done in around 30 minutes, as soon as the chicken is cooked.

I would have added button mushrooms, but Gwammy says that was never in there version of chicken stew.  I would have also added a little paprika, but Gwammy also says that would already be a variation on the theme.  Definitely this style has no tomato sauce, which would make the dish chicken afritada, hehehe...

Staple Spaghetti Sauce

This concoction came about because we had to clean out the Taft Avenue refrigerator of Lola:

1/2 bottle of basil pesto sauce (olive oil)
5 cloves of garlic
2 white onions, sliced into bits
1/2 kilo of ground beef (Monterey is good)
2 cubes flavoring (we usually use Knorr beef, sometimes Maggi)
1 stick chorizo Bilbao, sliced thinly (the one we used came from Senor Alba, Purefoods is also okay)
1 bottle of tomato garlic nacho dip (we used Bravo)
1 liter tomato/spaghetti sauce (we used Clara Ole, 3 Cheese flavor, Hunts/Del Monte/Heinz are okay)
1 pack 250g all purpose cream (most of the time we use Alaska, this time we used Nestle)
1 kilo cooked pasta (take your pick, we usually use spaghetti or fettucini)

Saute the garlic & onions in the basil pesto, add in the ground beef and the flavoring cubes.  Stir for around 2 minutes and add the sliced chorizo.  Turn around until golden brown, then lower the heat.  Add in the tomato garlic dip and the tomato/spaghetti sauce.  Add salt & pepper to flavor.  Simmer for a while and pop in the all-purpose cream to get that creamy effect.  Pour over cooked pasta, and top with a sprinkle of grated cheddar (Kraft, Magnolia and Che-Vital are okay, but I'm really a QBB fan) or grated Edam (since Doble Ganza can no longer be found, Pato is okay, but I prefer Marca Pina).

I remember a time when Chorizo Bilbao El Rei (came in large green cans) was my top choice, but because of the high price (I think thats around P2,500 a can), we've been shifting to other chorizo brands which can be bought in smaller quantities.  Hehehe... Vicky has been asking why her supply of Don Anastacio's chorizo has been dwindling over the summer months--the kids just love the darn thing and we've been using it as the regular flavoring!  Hush, hush.... don't tell!