Kitchen Essentials

Bicol Express or Sinilihan in Bicol, is a popular Filipino dish which was popularized in the district of Malate, Manila but made in traditional Bicolano  style. This is one of hubby's favortite dish and for him the hotter it is, the better.

Ingredients:

250gms. pork (cubed)

2 cups green jalapeno peppers (sliced thinly)

2tbsp. shrimp paste

1 cup thin coconut milk

1 cup thick coconut milk or coconut cream

1 large onion (minced)

1/2 head of garlic (minced)

2tbsp. cooking oil

Procedure:

In a pan, heat the cooking oil. Brown pork for few minutes then set aside. In the same pan saute onion then garlic until golden brown. Add the shrimp paste then add the pork and jalapeno peppers. Add thin coconut milk until the dish gets dry. Add the coconut cream and let simmer until the sauce thickens. If you want it really hot, you can add 3 cups of jalapeno peppers instead of 2 cups or just add red chili peppers (cayenne).

Hubby and I were craving for lechong paksiw. Since we are not eating rice and fatty foods on dinner, eating lechong paksiw once in a while won't affect much of our diet.  Lechong paksiw is roasted pig cooked in thick sweet and sour liver sauce. You can also use lechong kawali (deep fried pork belly) if roasted pig is not available.

Hubby and I bought roasted pig in the market. I prefer to use a freshly cooked roasted pig for the meat is more tender and still juicy. I cooked lechong paksiw which is just as good and we forgot that we are on a diet.

Ingredients:

1/2 kg. roasted pig with skin (cut into serving size)

1/2 cup vinegar

1 cup water

1 cup thick liver sauce (you can use the sauce 

provided or Mang Tomas)

1/4 cup brown sugar

5 cloves garlic (minced)

1/2 tsp. peppercorn

bay leaf (optional)

Procedure:

Mix together the above ingredients in a skillet except for the bay leaf. Let simmer until meat is tender then add the bay leaf.

Tip: For best result, use freshly cooked or one day old roasted pig.

I grew up in the province where fruit-bearing trees are everywhere and the most awaited tree every summer was my grandmother's evergreen avocado. It is called evergreen because its skin doesn't turn out dark like the usual avocado fruit. We liked to mash its soft-buttery flesh with condensed milk.  However, we were not allowed to eat avocado everyday because according to my grandmother it is high in cholesterol. But that was a myth. Avocado, also known as "alligator pear" because of its rough leather-like skin, is rich in nutrients.

Next to olive oil, Avocado is the second fruit with the highest content (20%) of "oleic acid", a monounsaturated fatty acid that may help lower (LDL) cholesterol. This amounts to almost twenty times that of any other fruit. The monounsaturated fat is known to help the basal metabolic rate and reduce over-eating.

Avocado is a good source of potassium. Its potassium content is three time that of a banana. Potassium is a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. Adequate intake of potassium can help guard against circulatory diseases, like high blood pressure, heart disease, or stroke.

Avocado is the best fruit source of vitamin E. Vitamin E may protect against the development of cancers by enhancing immune function.

Avocado also contains Vitamin K, Folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), Copper and Dietary fiber.

But if you are sensitive or have allergies to latex, avoid eating or touching avocados both in cooked or raw form as it contains an enzyme called chitinase that can cause an allergic reaction.

Ingredients:

4 cups cold cooked rice

4 cloves garlic (minced)

5 slices of ham (cut into small squares)

5 pcs. regular sized hot dog (sliced thinly)

2 eggs (scrambled and fried)

 green onions (sliced thinly)

powder seasoning

cooking oil

In a pan, fry the scrambled eggs. Let cool, cut into small squares then set aside. Sautee the garlic in the same pan until golden brown. Add the rice, stir-fry for a few minutes, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to break it apart. Stir-in the rest of the ingredients.