Healthy(!?) Filipino Food, Tinolang Manok: Boiled Chicken with Ginger

Like someone said:  "Is there really such a thing as healthy Filipino food?"  I think there is... we just have to practice some self control and be smarter with some of the ingredients we put in our dishes. 

I changed the recipe to make it as healthy as possible.  By omitting the patis (salty fish sauce), reducing the amount of oil and salt added and getting healthier cuts of meat, I have made this dish low in fat and sodium.  Yey for me!

I heard that tinola was great for nursing mothers, since the ginger promotes lactating.  Not sure if that's true... but I guess it doesn't hurt.



My two week hiatus had me eating tinola for a week and a half.  I did miss this dish a lot and am very happy to have cooked it.  I also realized that the recipe can be used with clams for halaan (Oh Joy!).   


Ingredients



2 Tablespoon vegetable oil 1Tablespoon Oil
1 1/2 Tablespoon finely minced garlic
1/4 cup finely minced onion
1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger root (I added more than this)
2 lbs bone less, skin less chicken breasts (trimmed of fat and cut to bite size pieces).
1 tsp salt (I chose to add as little salt as I can)
ground black pepper
2 Tablespoon patis or salt Low Sodium Dish!
3 Cups Water 49 oz of low sodium canned chicken broth
2 cups cubed green papaya 2 small Cheyote Squash, cubed
2 cups spinach leaves

Directions

• Saute the onion, garlic and ginger in the oil over medium-low heat for about 10 - 20 mins until onions are translucent and garlic is golden brown.
• Add chicken pieces and stir well until chicken is partly cooked.
• Season with salt, pepper or patis.
• Add the broth/water.
• Cover and let simmer over moderate heat until chicken is tender (approx 30 - 45 mins)
• Uncover pot and add the Cheyote, foor for another 15 - 20 mins, until the veggies are tender.
• Turn off heat and add the spinach leaves.

Chicken Pastel

  

This has been one of the hardest recipes I have tried yet, all because I had to make a pie.

Making the filling was easy enough, but I had succumb to the temptation of straying from Rey's recipe and changed some parts of the recipe to my liking.  The recipe had no intention to thicken the sauce of of the filling so I decided to add some rue to thicken the sauce.  Also instead of using the recipe to make the pie crust, I used Alton Brown's pie crust which I've been wanting to try.  So in the end I kinda made a Filipino-style chicken pot pie.

The Filling (based on Reynaldo Alejandro's The Philippine Cookbook)

• 2-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces 1.5 pounds of chicken breasts, cubed into bite size pieces.
• 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1 cup margarine 4 Tbsp margarine
• 1/4 cup finely diced onions 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced in half 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 pepperoni, sliced into pieces
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp white wine
• 1 diced carrot
• 1 1/2 cup diced potatoes
• 1 14 oz can vienna sausage 10 oz vienna sausage
• 3/4 cup green olives
• 1/2 cup sweet peas
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• salt & pepper
• 1 beaten egg

Additional ingredients for rue:

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup warm milk

Directions:

I marinated the chicken in juice of one lemon and 3 Tbsp soy sauce for one hour.

Then I started with cooking the mushrooms first in the 4 Tbsp margerine.  When raw, the mushrooms were a little over 2 cups but when cooked their sizes reduced to a cup.  I set the cooked mushrooms aside for later.

 I browned the chicken, but then once cooked I cut the chicken to smaller pieces and set it aside for  later.

Then in a large pot I caramelized the onions before adding the mushrooms, vienna sausage, sweet peas, carrots and potatoes.

Once throughly mixed I added the chicken broth and I allowed the pot to simmer for an hour to cook the potatoes, carrots and soften the chicken.

This was when I realized that the sauce was not as thick as I'd like, so I added rue to thicken the stew.  Simmer for another 20 - 30 mins to allow the filling to thicken and turn off the heat and let it cool.  Meanwhile I made the crust.

                                      

Then after following Alton's recipe, I assembled the little pies.  Then placed it in the oven until the crust is cooked.

                                      

The recipe was good but because I'm not too familiar with making pies this was harder than I thought it would me.  Furthermore, the recipe just wanted me to top the pie pan with the crust but I wanted a whole pie (so I create problems for myself, hahah).

  

Improv: Weekend Fried Rice

We got a new lens (50mm Prime 1.8f) for our camera (Nikon D90)  and I just couldn't wait to test it out.  I had some left over meat that I used for the Lumpia Sanghai.  I also had steamed white rice left over from eating Mechado and I just had some green onions and eggs in my refrigerator.  Since this a cooking improv, this doesn't count towards my once a week cooking plan.  

Ingredients

• Left over seasoned meat (pork & shrimp)
• Left over steamed white rice
• One egg
• Green Onions
• Crushed Garlic

Directions

Sauté garlic.

Cook the meat.

When meat is cooked, add the rice.

Mix vigorously, then add scrambled egg and green onions!

All done and ready to serve (or in my case, pack it in a lunch box for work).  I think I should've added some soy sauce. but I realized it wasn't a problem since the meat I used for the lumpia was already seasoned.  However if I was using unseasoned meat, adding soy sauce to the party shouldn't be too bad.

My pictures were a little blurry, since the lens I used was really for portraits.  I definitely need practice.

Mechado: Beef Stew

Beef Mechado Adaptation from Reynaldo Alejandro's The Philippine Cookbook

Beef Mechado is common ground for me and my husband.  It has the ingredients that he is familiar with (like beef, onions, potatoes and tomato sauce) and it has the memory of my mom's home cooked meal.

Despite the fact that I have eaten Mechado several times in my life, this is the first time I've cooked it.  It's not hard, but the recipe that I had was a little vague and lacked details that could've helped me prepare the dish better.  So I had to update the process, change some of the ingredients and mind the time for cooking.  I also researched online for a substitute for pimento, since I had resolved that I will refrain from going further than the grocery store across the street from my apartment.  After cooking this recipe, I realized it had similarities to beef bourguignon, but the fact that this is Filipino Cuisine makes it special.  I think this will definitely find its place in my recipe box.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs lean meat, cubed for stewing
• juice of one lemon
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 6 oz of bacon
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 oz of tomato sauce
• 3 Tbsp sherry or cooking wine
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• salt
• group black pepper
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 large red bell peppers, finely diced
• 2 large onions, quartered
• 6 potatoes, quarted
• Tabasco (optional)

Modified Directions:

1.  Marinate beef in lemon juice and soy sauce.

2.  Make 2 lengthwise slits in the meat and insert the bacon strips.

3.  In a large pot, brown the meat.

4.  Add the bay leaf, tomato sauce, the marinade, sherry, garlic, salt and water beef broth.

5.  Cover the and simmer until the beef is tender.

6.  Remove meat and slice.

7.  Thicken with flour and butter.

8.  Add pimento diced red bell pepper, onions and potatoes with the meat to the thickened sauce.

I prefer to use meat that has already been cut into bite size pieces, so I skipped step # 2.

I marinated the meat in a zip lock bag and left it in the refrigerator for an hour (The recipe didn't really say exactly how long the meat had to marinate, so I guessed).

Since I am omitting step # 2, I rendered the bacon's fat and then use the fat to brown the meat.

While the bacon was cooking, which took around 20 - 30 minutes over low heat.  I started to chop the potatoes and onions.

Though it didn't say in the recipe, I cooked browned the meat in batches.  The recipe called for 2  - 3 lbs of meat, I bought 2.5 lbs, which I think was too much.  For future reference I will buy less meat.

Once I browned all the meat, I replaced it all back into the pot.  Then I added the bay leaf, tomato sauce, the marinade used for the beef, sherry, garlic, salt and water beef broth. I thought it would be better to use beef broth instead of water to give the stew more flavor.

I added the potatoes, finely diced bell peppers (to replace the pimento I do not have) and onions pot and simmer until the beef is tender.  I moved step # 8 sooner since I wanted the stew to have all the flavors of the onions and red bell peppers.  The meat will tenderize while the potatoes get cooked.  Since the beef was already sliced, I omitted step # 6.

I timed it and it took approximately 60 to 90 minutes.  I added flour and butter to the stew to thicken the sauce.

I let it simmer for another 30 - 45 minutes, to let the flour cook and also adding just a hint of chili (all I had was Tabasco) to make the stew a little spicy.

Serve warm with steamed white rice.

Shanghai Noon: Philippine Fried Egg Rolls, Shanghai Style

Lumpia Shanghai from Reynaldo Alejandro's The Philippine Cookbook:

1. Combine pork, shrimp,water chestnuts, green onion, egg and soy sauce.
2. Seasons with salt and pepper.
3. Place a level tablespoon of filling on each egg roll wrapper and seal with a few drops of water.
4. Deep fry in hot oil and drain on paper towel.
5. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

Sounds, easy enough?  Right?  For an amateur fryer like me I had to sacrifice 2 -3 pieces to find out that the oil was too hot and even though the outside was almost burnt, the inside was still raw.  I did change a few of the steps, like using a spoon to fill each egg roll wrapper.

Here's the shrimp prior to cutting it up.  I finally get to use the knife set my parents gave me and Will for our birthday.  They worked great!

Here is the combined ingredients prior to wrapping.  It doesn't look appetizing, yet.

The technique:  I learned this trick from watching so much cooking shows.  You take a zip - lock bag, fill it with meat and cut out the corner to make it into a piping bag.  Worked great for me.

Wrap the lumpia!  Look how dramatic they look.  The wrapper I used was the only one I found available at the local grocery, so it's thicker than the normal lumpia wrappers found at the Filipino or Asian Grocery.  

This fryer was given to me by my cousin Marc for Christmas 2008, I finally get to use it!

This part scared me the most.  Is it cooked?  It looks burnt.  It took me several tries and finally realized that the fire had to be on a medium-low setting and the lumpia floats once it's almost cooked.  I have to let it brown after it floats or else it looks too pale.

You'll see that they don't exactly look like the traditional lumpia because I used a thicker wrapper.  They look more like those egg rolls from Panda Express (but they taste better!).

The Warm Up: Mac and Cheese

Ironically, this will be my first recipe posted.

Very American but thanks to Ina Garten's recipe  it has a European twist by using Gruyere and Roquefort.  For a while I was calling it "Adult Mac n Cheese" which suspiciously sounded unappetizing, so I was very relieved to see that it was really called "Grown Up Mac n Cheese."

Instead of using traditional elbow macaroni or cavatappi, I tried Mini Penne.  I followed the recipe and used 2 Cups of Pasta but after seeing it all cooked, I decided to make another batch and use the rest in the box. 

The recipe called for cooking bacon on a baking rack, which I do not have.  I do however, have a roasting rack that came with a roasting pan.  It looks weird but it works.

After 30 - 40 minutes in the over at a 400 F the bacon looks nice and crispy.  The best part:  the fat has dripped into the baking sheet away from the bacon.

I wrestled with the food processor for a good five minutes.  I have not used it in a while so I forgot how to lock it, I think I almost broke it at one time.  I actually don't have a cheese grater, but there's an attachment on this that will actually do the job. 

Gruyere cheese is named after the town it's made in:  Gruyere, Switzerland.  Those people know how to make cheese.

This is the white sauce after the rue was made with the flour, butter, milk and cheeses. 

The cooked penne looks so good...

A brief intermission:  Clean As You Go.

Instead of plating the dish individually, I had it in a baking dish.  The recipe said it would make two servings, either Ina and her guests eat a lot but I think this is more than two servings.  I love left overs, anyway.

Inspired.

I like to cook and I like to eat.

I take pleasure watching people eat dishes that induce foodgasms, especially when those dishes were made by me.  Today, has been one of the most interesting days I've had so far.  I wanted to cook, but I wanted to cook with an enlightened purpose.  I realized that most of the dishes I've longed to cook were all Filipino Dishes, but more importantly I wanted to share food with my husband and my family.


I went ahead and purchased Reynaldo Alejandro's "The Philippine Cookbook".  This project perhaps may seem far too similar to the Julie/Julia Project but I guess it doesn't matter.

 

A picture of my small and cozy apartment kitchen, after some quick clean up is somewhat suitable for public viewing.