Travel Gourmande: Food

What is Filipino cuisine like? It is a melange of different colonial influences. Personally, I think it's not as spicy as our neighboring countries' dishes.(I want 'em spicy). However, we have a region that's known for cooking vegetables in spicy coconut sauce. I have later realized that almost everyone in the Philippines has a sweet tooth, so there's banana ketchup and sweet mayo. I had the impression, being with other foreign travelers that they either liked it or hated it. There's a lot of fat in the cooking in general, but there are lean versions as well.

Filipinos are gourmands, eating small portions, six times a day. Instead of asking, "How are you? Our pleasantries start with, "Have you eaten?"

Pancit Palabok can be translated as Rice Noodles with shrimps.

Pancit means noodles.
Here is a dish that is typically served during birthday parties,
with the traditional belief that noodles signify long life.

Ingredients:

Palabok noodles- Rice Noodles ( "Super Q" brand )
1 lb Ground chicken or pork
1 pack firm tofu (fry before dicing)
3 hardboiled eggs, for garnish
1 pound peeled shrimp, chopped
Bixa Orellana / Achuete powder (Mama Sita)
2 cans cream of chicken (Campbells)
1 cup chicken broth (dissolve Knorr / Maggi bouillon cubes in water)
Cornstarch mixed with water (to thicken sauce)
Minced garlic (make 2 batches of 1 tbsp each)
Sliced onions (make 2 batches of 1/2 c each)
Fish Sauce (Patis), pepper, cooking oil, juice of 3 lemons (adjust according to taste)
Crushed Chicharon (deep fried pork rind)
Chopped spring onions

Prepare:

Step 1
1. Brown ground chicken/pork in oil, add garlic, onions, shrimp, tofu, & achuete powder.
2. Season with fish sauce & pepper.
3. Cook for 10 mins.
4. Set aside.

Step 2
1. In a different pot, saute garlic & onion in oil.
2. Add chicken broth & cream of chicken, gently simmer them.
3. Dissolve cornstarch with water (depends how thick you want it to be) add to sauce, stir gently.
4. Add achuete powder for coloring (according to your desired redness)

5. Simmer then set aside.

Step 3
1. Cook noodles in boiling water( as per package's instruction)
2. Drain.

Organize:

Place the noodles in a large bowl. Add the sauteed ground chicken/pork (not all) and sauce mixture (not all) according to your preference (dry or with a lot of sauce)
Add in lemon juice
Sprinkle crushed chicharon
Mix them all together.

Toppings: spring onions, chicharon, sliced hard-boiled eggs, sliced cooked shrimps.

Tintin cooked this for us last week before a poker game.

It's the best Pancit Palabok that I ever had, so with her permission,

I'm happy to publish her recipe here.

Et Voila!

Bon Appetit!

XOXO,

Arni

Weekend! Hope you're all having a great one. This week I will be writing much about the trip we did in Bolivia and Peru in 2008. Travel Gourmande will definitely be in a South American vibe this week. I will be quoting some of the passages I've written on my travel journal and all the crazy things that happened to us during that trip.

Though I have made several posts last year in Design Gourmande about them, I thought of re-posting them all down with added details to help me formulate a nice itinerary for my friend, Cyril who's planning an adventurous trip there.

I would like to start this week with a great recipe of the popular Peruvian cuisine that is surely a must-try:

Lomo Saltado

Peruvian Stir-fried Beef & Potatoes

Ingredients:

1/2 kg (1 lb) Beef tenderloin (Stroganoff cut)
1/2 kg (1 lb) Potatoes, peeled and cut into strips
2 Red onions cut length wise
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 big tomatoes, seeded, cut into strips
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup of cilantro
1 sweet red pepper cut into strips
Extra Virgin Olive oil for frying
Salt & pepper
Optional: Aji amarillo, deseeded and sliced into strips

1. Prep. 30mins to 1 hr before cooking: Mix beef tenderloin with garlic, lime juice and 2 tbsp. of cilantro, salt and pepper. Cover and allow it to marinate inside the refrigerator.

2. Fry the potatoes in a pan. Dash some salt and pepper as though they're regular french fries. Set aside.

3. Stir fry the marinated beef in a large wok over high heat for about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.

4. In the same wok, saute onions stirring occasionally for 1 minute and add the tomatoes, red pepper and 1 tsp cilantro stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add in the stir fried beef, vinegar and soy sauce. Cook until the tomatoes soften. Feel free to add in more soy sauce to taste.

You could optionally mix the fries afterwards to absorb a bit of sauce or serve separately.

Serve immediately on top of a rice on plate. It's best when it's hot.

I cooked this dish twice so far. I think it's a great addition to this week's dinner menu. Are you up for it?

Bon appetit!

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