denengdeng

Denengdeng

The simplest Ilocano vegetable dish with only bamboo shoot, beans, jute leaves and fried fish cooked in anchovies sauce. This dish primarily uses vegetable ingredients that can be found natively in gardens and backyards.

Ingredients

• 1 Can (19 oz) bamboo shoot
• 1 Cup lima beans
• 1 Bundle jute leaves
• 1 Medium size milk fish
• 2Tablespoons fermented fish
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 3 Cups water
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Clean, cut and season the fish with salt, fry until golden brown or done
• Dilute fermented fish in 2 cups of hot water, strain and reserve the juice
• Boil 3 cups of water in a pan, then add onion
• Pour the juice from fermented fish and simmer for a few minutes
• Remove the scum that floats from the soup
• Add bamboo shoots, beans and fried fish, simmer for another few minutes
• Add jute leaves, season with salt.

Cooking Tips:

1. Fermented fish measurement can be adjusted to desired taste
2. Vegetables of choice can be added in this recipe.

Watch cooking video:

Ginisang Upo

Ginisang Upo

Sautéed Bottle Gourd

Sautéing are the healthiest and easiest variant to cooking in the Philippines. Ginisang upo (Sautéed bottle gourd), one variety of sautéing, wherein we added shrimp and rendered fat to extend the flavor of the soup.

Ingredients :

• 1 Large bottle gourd (upo)
• 1/4 Lbs Pork fats
• 1/2 Lbs  shrimp
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• 1 Onion
• 1 Tomato
• 2 Tablespoon fish sauce
• Cooking  oil
• Salt

Directions :

• Reduced the amount of rendered fats, sauté garlic, onion and tomato.
• Add pork and shrimp, stir fry for a couple of  minutes.
• Season with fish sauce and shrimp juice, keep stirring until boil.
• Add gourd simmer until the vegetable is half cooked.

Shrimp juice

• Wash shrimps, remove head, peel off shell and tail of each shrimp..
• Pound shrimp head using mortar and pestle to extract juices.
• Dilute in 2 c. of warm water and pass thru a sieve to separate shells from the juice.

Render Fats from pork

• Slice pork fats into cubes or small sizes.
• Pour a small amount of water into non-stick pan.
• Add pork, keep stirring until fats are rendered.

Cooking Tips :

1. Pork fats can be replace with vegetable oil.
2. Do not overcook the vegetables.

Watch Video :

Pinasingawang Isda

Pinasingawang Isda

Steamed Fish

The artistic colourful garnish makes this dish as a center  piece on the table for feast and family celebrations. Whole white fleshed fish, steamed and garnished with chopped carrots and a hard-boiled egg .

Ingredients :

• 1 Whole fish
• 1/2 Cup mayonnaise
• 1 Piece hard boiled egg finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup finely chopped carrots
• 1/2 Cup Pickles relish
• Salt and pepper 
• 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine    

Side Garnishes :       

• 1 Cup Broccoli
• 1 Cup cauliflower
• 5-6 Pieces of green beans
• 1 Stalk of spring onion
• Slice of cucumber

Directions :

• Remove scales, innards and score the fish across the back on both sides, wash thoroughly and drain.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper, rub the flesh of the cuts and cavities.
• Place the fish on a steaming plate, arrange the green beans, broccoli and cauliflower on the side.
• Spread butter or margarine on fish and vegetable, steam over medium-high heat for 20 minutes.
• When done, remove the fish stock  in the steaming plate and let it cool.
• Spread mayonnaise on  the topside of the  fish and arrange the chopped garnishing on top as per desired artistic pattern.

Cooking Tips :

1. You can use, Apahap (sea bass), Lapu lapu (grouper) or any white flesh fish.
2. Stuff the cavity with the green onion, ginger, and onion before steaming.
3. Your choice of chopped vegetables for garnishing.

Bikol Express na may Sigarilyas

Bikol Express na may Sigarilyas

(Bicol Express with Winged Beans)

From the city of Camarines to Sorsogon, the Bicol Region. This  dish 

become their landmark, a stew of hot chilli, pork, coconut milk, fish sauce

 and vegetables.

Ingredients :

• 500 Grams pork belly, cut lengthwise 
• 10-15 Pieces winged beans
• 5-10 Pieces green long chilli (siling pampaksiw)
• 2-3 Pieces bird's eye chilli (siling labuyo)
• 1/2 Cup shrimp paste 
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• 1 Medium size onion
• 1 Can coconut milk
• Cooking oil

Directions :

• In a pan, heat oil, saute garlic and onion.
• Add the sliced pork belly and stir fry until pork turns brown.
• Add shrimp paste, mix for another minutes.
• Pour the coconut milk, cover and simmer until porks are done.
• Add the bird's eye chilli, green long chilli and winged beans.
• Cover and simmer in medium heat for 10 minutes or until the coconut milk had reduced to a thick oily gravy.

Cooking Tips :

• For mild spice, don't add bird's eye chilli or soak green long chilli in water.
• Lima beans (patani), Baguio beans and Cassava leaves are other vegetables that can be added.

Bulanglang

Bulanglang

(Vegetable, Pork in Shrimp Paste)

Favourite dish in the Southern part of the Philippines, Batanggas. Very nutritious

 and an everyday cooking in places, where there is an abundance

of  local harvest.

Ingredients :

• 200 grams pork
• 6-8 pcs of stringbeans
• 1 bittermelon (ampalaya)
• 1/4 regular- size squash
• 5-7 pcs of okra
• 8 stalks of kangkong
• 1 onion
• 3 pcs tomato
• 2 tbsp shrimp paste (bagoong)
• 3 gloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup water

Directions :

• Boil the pork in a small amount of water, until the oil comes out. Remove the pork and set aside.
• Saute' garlic, onion and tomato sauce in pork oil.
• Add the pork, shrimp paste and squash.
• Pour 1/2 cup of water, cover and let it boil.
• Add stringbeans, bittermelon, kangkong leaves and eggplants.
• Cover, lower heat to medium high and cook 6-9 minutes or until vegetables are done.

Pinakbet

Pinakbet

( Vegetable Stew in Shrimp Paste)

Famous dish from the northern Ilocos region, where the people need to make something

from their harvest. Eggplants, okra, stringbeans and other vegetables are stewed 

with their famous Ilocos fermented fish.

Ingredients :

• Milkfish
• 4-6 pcs malunggay fruit (remove the skin and cut to 1 1/2- 2  inches long)
• Small pcs of squash
• 1 pcs eggplants
• 1 pcs bittermelon
• 6-8 pcs of stringbeans
• 8-10 pcs of okra
• 10 stalks of kangkong
• 2 tbsp sauted shrimp paste 
• 1 cup water
• 1 tomato
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Cooking oil for frying
• Salt

Directions :

• In a cooking pot, boil the shrimp paste in water, until dissolve.
• Add the vegetables in a layer, start with tomato, onion, bittermelon, eggplant, stringbeans, malunggay fruit okra squash and garlic.
• Layer the fried or grilled fish, cover and cook on high and when it starts to boil, lower the heat to simmer.Cook for about 20-25 minutes.
• Add the kangkong leaves, and simmer for few minutes. 

Cooking Tips :

• Pinakbet is done, when vegetables appear wrinkled.
• Do not mix the vegetables while simmering.
• Grill the fish to reduce fats.