piri piri

Piri-piri or piri piri, a fiery chili from Africa, is no other than the same super hot bird's eye chili we call "siling labuyo" (Tagalog: literally wild chicken chili) or "sili ti sairo" (Ilokano, or devil's chili). Piri piri hot sauce is popular in both Portuguese and African cooking and used mostly on chicken, prawns, and others.


Piri piri chicken, piri piri prawns, wow! I want this on next whole chicken!

(Photo credit: Food Stories)

(Photo credit: Channel 4)

(Photo credit: The Food Pornographer)

(Photo credit: Gourmet Mom)

(Photo credit: Leite's Culinaria)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Photo Credit: Salt of Portugal)

Now, let's try this piri-piri chicken recipe from Food Stories!


And this piri piri sauce recipe from Leite's Culinaria...


And how about this turkey salad with piri piri sauce?

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black paella

A black paella? Yes it is, and it's real. Arroz negro. Kind of exotic.Yeah, and I really wanna try it. So unusual yet it's simply "blackened" with squid or cuttlefish ink, heheh! Or, do it with a special kind of grain, black rice.

Photo credit: depositphotos.com

Photo credit: dessertcomesfirst.com

Here are black paella recipes worth trying:

• Overseas Pinoy Cooking's Pinoy Black Paella
• Spectacularly Delicious' Paella Negra
• Market Manila's Arroz Negro a la Marketman

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kobe beef

This is a dream food for me, kobe or wagyu beef, and perhaps for most of us foodtrippers. Its taste is sure heaven, and fittingly, its price is high heavens, :-). Let's see why, besides having the blessed cows being regularly rubbed with sake (really no ordinary rubbing alcohol, huh?) and even being fed with expensive beer:

Kobe beef For meat lovers Kobe beef is the holy grail of steaks. In Japan a meal consisting of this meat, prized for its rich flavour, tenderness and heavy marbling of fat will set you back around ¥13000 ($130/£65) on your credit card. The criteria for authentic Kobe beef is very strict: the meat must come from the black Tajimi-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle, and be born, raised and slaughtered in the Hyogo Prefecture region of Japan (in which lies the city of Kobe). (source: Kitchen Geekery) 

While Wagyu cattle are raised both in and outside Japan, the Kobe varietal which is raised specifically in the Hyogo prefecture is the most elite. Employing the most traditional production methods, Kobe beef comes from cows that are allegedly fed only beer and massaged by hand to ensure a tenderness and marbling beyond compare. These dishes can be out of range for the average restaurateur, carrying an unhealthy load of fat and a price tag to match. For your next after-work social, you might try taking your associates to New York City’s Craftsteak, where a full Wagyu rib eye was served up to a private party for $2800. (source: Pakmasti)

Hmm, for now, I'll just have to content myself salivating over these photos:

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Photo credit: mano-pakmasti.blogspot.com

Photo credit: lushbling.com

Photo credit: Dateriles

Photo credit:  The Gastronomist

Photo credit: Most Expensive of Things

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pata, pork hind legs & knuckles

Oh, I sure love pork, and I'm particularly fascinated with its pata, tendon-y and fat-y and flesh-y pork's hind legs and knuckles, which magically turns into a delicious and insanely crackling crispy pata, or into a hearty and oh-so-tasty paksiw na pata ng baboy, hmmm, and into a heavenly adobong pata, too, so much so with my mission/ambition to get rid of fatty and cholesterol-laden foodstuffs, I just wanna indulge sometimes because I'm just a mere mortal, a human, so prone to sin!

Paksiw na Pata. Photo credit: Mga Luto ni Lola

Crispy Pata. Photo credit: Sweet Nothings

Braised pork knuckles. Photo credit: The Peach Kitchen

Pata Tim. Photo credit: Skip to Malou!

Lets have a try on these pork delights!

• Pata tim recipe from Skip to Malou!
• Crispy Pata recipe from Sweet Nothings
• Braised Pata recipe from The Peach Kitchen
• Paksiw na Pata recipe from Mga Luto ni Lola

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magnum

Magnum? No, not the gun, particularly not the caliber .357 single bullet that downed Ninoy Aquino. Magnum. It's the latest summer craze in the Philippines. Magnum, the ice cream. That oh-so-yummilicious rich vanilla-flavored and chocolate-coated ice cream bar that oozes with pure delight and goodness...! It's been around most of the world for some time, but it's only now that it was formally introduced in da Pilipins, and boy, do Pinoys go gaga and crazy over it, eating it is kinda status symbol. I tend to say this is like having those expensive coffee concoctions just for the heck of being called "sosyal" or high "class." Yessir, slurping down Magnum Ice Cream is like gulping down Starbucks coffee, well, for some, you simply indulge to get "in."

(Photo credit: foodbeast.com)

So, do we have a recipe? Of course, we can't be lucky to have the Magnum recipe itself, for a song. But you can make the same ice cream if you want, and be your own. Just the other day, me and my daughter made a very delicious mango and apple ice cream (you only need some milk, cream, some egg yolks, sugar, and other flavorings blend it over with the fresh fruits in a food processor, then freeze it overnight, and presto you have your ice cream the next day, sweet and frozen for you to dig into and start licking and slurping! yeah, and just last night, we made a honey dew ice cream, heh-heh!)

(Photo credit: Quick and Dirty in the Kitchen) 

(Photo credit: A Taste of Koko) 

(Photo credit: A Taste of Koko)

But anyway, how about these ice cream recipes from the Ice Cream Park!

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roast goose

I always am fascinated with a goose, a goose dish, that's it. It's rare, meat and/egg are kind of scarce. It's not readily available in the local market, not common as chicken. It's not bred for mass production. It's rarity and thereby its high price might be reasons enough that it became a kind of delicacy, and even exotic just like duck (like Peking duck). But once I tasted goose stew or a tinola a ganso (boiled goose, soup, with green papayas and chili leaves) and it's so unforgettably delicious and wickedly tasty that I wished it was a regular fare. Of the roasted goose, I have yet to encounter. And so with a roasted duck. The elaborate preparation and the roasting is essentially the same, goose and duck, I guess so. A chance of a lifetime, especially if it's done as palatable as these:

(Photo credit: worldisround.com)

(Photo credit: wikipedia.org)

(Photo credit: simplyrecipes.com)

Why don't we try to roast or own roast goose? We'll follow some recipes at Simply Recipes and at Wrightfood!

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escargot

Escargot, anyone? Don't be intimidated by the name. Or by the *right* way it's said or pronounced. Exoticism at its best. French and a kind of gourmet food. But those are just snails. Kuhol. Bisukol. Shells we use to pick usually in some shallow freshwater. As a child, I used to gather black snails in the rice fields, ponds, lagoons. My mother would then boil it with lots of ginger and lemongrass. Or cook it in coconut milk. A delicacy but not an exotica for us then. But of course, it's a kind of exotic fare for those who didn't yet try. Or for those adamant. How about treating your local kuhol into a gourmet escargot with the recipes below?

(Photo credit:  steamykitchen.com)

(Photo credit: mrsmartinezravesandrants.blogspot.com)

(Photo credit: blauearth.com)

Try this escargot with garlic, butter and a splash of cognac at the Steamy Kitchen, or this old Pinoy recipe of the quintessential ginataang kuhol at the BlauEarth blog.

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longanisa

Who doesn't love sausages or chorizos? Pinoys love it, and they have their own longanisa (longganisa, langgonisa, longaniza). Pork sausage, that's it. Perfect for breakfast, or in any meal time for that matter as it could serve as an appetizer to your main dishes. It can also be grilled or barbecued on stick and consumed as a snack. And it serves as a hearty delectable filling for empanadas like those ones in Vigan and Batac in the Ilocos. There's a lot of longanisas in the Philippines, almost every town or province has their own variation of this ground pork and garlic mix foodie. And here are some four of the most popular....

Vigan Longanisa. Photo credit: nomorewhitecoats.blogspot.com 

Batac Longanisa on stick. Photo credit: Leilanie Adriano

 Lucban Longanisa. Photo credit: pagkaing-filipino.blogspot.com

Ybanag (Tuguegarao) Longanisa. Photo credit: skiptomalou.net

Tuguegarao longanisa is not as popular as that of Vigan's or Batac's, but it has it's own distinct flavor and texture that's uniquely delicious. I want to try making it, join me, the Ybanag Longanisa recipe at the Skip To Malou! blog is worth a try!

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crab claw

I always crave for crabs, crab meat, crab fat, and mostly for its claws with which thick shells shields delicious meat. I love the task of cracking it open, and ate morsel by morsel the succulent and fragrant white meat. I love crabs simply steamed, as is, because it's sweeter and juicier and tastier. I especially like freshwater mud crabs locally grown (fattened) or in the wild in the lagoons and rivers in Cagayan, especially in Buguey area. Big and fat crabs with lots of crab fat and bulging with crab meat.

Photo credit: foodspotting.com

Photo credit: eatfirstthinklater.blogspot.com

Photo credit: rasamalaysia.com

Besides steamed crab, I also love crab chili and others. How about a sweet and sour crab claws from Rasa Malaysia? Let's try this out!

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unlaid, "immature" chicken eggs

Really, really missed this! Unlaid eggs (actually egg yolks) still intact, with different sizes, from almost mature to the tiniest morsels, and without shells, inside the chicken. When I was a child, we used to "quarrel" with my siblings over this delicacy every time my mother butcher and make a tinola out of an egg-laying hen. When the tinola is ready we'll hunt for the little and tiny shell-less eggs and egg sac in the bowl or right in the pot. This is a real kicker, so delicious and tasty--I especially love the egg sac. And I'm used to it. But now, it has been ages since I remember I saw or consumed one, because we are now used to buying "45-day white" chicken by the parts (wings, breast, neck, back, thighs, legs, liver, etc.).

Photo credit: marketmanila.com

Immature chicken eggs with its egg sac. Photo credit: casaveneracion.com  

Chicken adobo with immature eggs. Photo credit: marketmanila.com

Dry chicken adobo with immature eggs. Photo credit: Gina Bumatay Cayaban

I'll scour the local market soon and see if can chance upon a "native" free range she-chicken for sale. I just hope I can find a really laying hen although I'm not sure if any folk will sell an egg-laying hen.

Besides, tinola, i'll try those adobo and arroz caldo recipes offered by Casa Veneracion. How about you?

Meanwhile, here's an article form the The York Times about unlaid eggs consumption.

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brussels sprout stir-fry

When I first came upon this veggie, I innocently thought these were miniature cabbages, heheh! And ever since, I craved for it as cabbage is one fave vegetable of mine which I usually take slightly blanched or even raw and simply dipped into or dressed with bugguong (salt-fermented fish paste/sauce) with sliced tomatoes and onions. I learned later that this is after all a type of wild cabbage, and that those tiny bulbs grow actually as buds (hence "sprouts") in a rather large stalk. And ever since, I wanted to try to boil/steam it and make it into an Ilokano salad. But here, it's stir-fried/sauteed, and they're just as lovely I wanted them.

Photo credit: chowtimes.com

Photo credit: vietworldkitchen.com

Here are brussels sprout recipes to try: from chowtimes.com and from the Viet World Kitchen


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pancit batil-patung

Pancit (flour/rice noodles) is ever popular in the Philippines and almost every region (ethnographic group of provinces) has its own brand of pancit unique to their own taste and cooking procedure, from the making of the miki (noodle) to the choice of toppings. Tuguegarao City and the southern towns of the province of Cagayan has its own pancit called pancit batil-patung (or patong). Aside from the locally made miki, batil-patung has as main ingredients carabeef (carabao or water buffalo meat) and egg, and other toppings. It is served with diced fresh onions, calamansi slices, and lots of toyo (soy sauce), and vinegar-fermented chili. This pancit variation is normally cooked the same as the popular pancit canton or pancit guisado, but what makes it stand out and alone is the egg put atop it and the corresponding egg soup that accompany it.

Photo credit: pinakbetrepublic.blogspot.com

Photo credit: pinakbetrepublic.blogspot.com

In Tuguegarao, there are no similar batil-patung preparations, taste, or even texture and presentation as each panciteria (noodle house) has their own recipes and "styles." I always wanted to mimic my favorite panciterias' secret concoctions but I always fail. Ugh. I have yet to perfect my own formula and patent it soon as a closely-guarded trade secret. Heheh!

Now here's a pancit batil-patung recipe from the Skip To Malou foodblog, if you fancy a try.

And here's my own amateur cellphone video of various pancits in the city, and of course, a video of one of my pancit escapade one rainy day in the city.

And for my Ilokano readers, here's an essay I wrote some years ago, about pancit batil-patung, Tuguegarao City's pride.



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balut adobo

Pinoys usually eat balut (also balot, boiled fertilized duck--or chicken--egg) as is: you crack the still warm egg's top shell open, taking care not to spill the really oh-so-tasty "juice" for a pleasant sip, sprinkle some salt in it (others even "dress" it with vinegar and chili), and eat the whole thing, embryo and the remaining egg yolk matter, discarding the hardened white... Oh, well, but this is not for the squeamish, though. Balut is even included in some "most bizarre food" or "yucky food" lists elsewhere. But then, balut can be prepared and presented in a variety of well, "presentable" ways. Such as being cooked as adobo.

Photo credit: thepeachkitchen.com

I really wanna try my next balut into a delicious adobo. Join me in my balut craving, there are nice balut adobo recipes at The Peach Kitchen and at Casa Veneracion, and also at the Pinoy Recipe site.



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isaw

Isaw, chicken intestines, grilled/barbecued, is a popular street food in the Philippines. Marinated in vinegar, ketchup (banana) and other condiments and then skewered with bamboo stick and grilled right on live coals and then dipped into a vinegar with chili and onions or into a mixture of thick, sweet and spicy sauce. Not every body, even some self-professed gourmands or culinary aficionados may have the intestines, errr, guts, to try this Pinoy street delicacy. But aren't these ohotographs sweet and wicked temptation enough? Come on!

Photo credit: philboxing.com

Photo credit: pinoyphotography.org

Photo credit: tumblrrmokong.tumblr.com

I prefer to make isaw at home, though, when ever I can, as I am wary I may ingest those dreaded street germs causing some unpleasant and unnecessary ailments. Have your isaw only on your trusted isaw vendor to make sure it's prepared clean, at least.

There's a simple recipe at the Food Recap waiting, let's give it a try!






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grilled mussels

Mussels (tahong), who doesn't love mussels? Baked. With soup. Fried. And grilled. Anything you fancy, it's still tahong with that so unique flavor, aroma, texture distinct from other shellfish. Now, let's have these sea shell bounty simply grilled, succulence intact, its own juice oozing as it cooks, its tantalizing smell, errr,  fragrance wafting mischievously:

Photo credit: bucaio.blogspot.com

Photo credit: lyzalane.info

Photo credit: lyzalane.info

Let's grill them tahongs by following the simple recipes at the Bucaio blog and at Lyza's Lane!



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