Thoroughly Filipino Cookbook

A THOROUGHLY FILIPINO COOKBOOK

A GUIDE TO FILIPINO CUISINE BY A TRUE FILIPINO AND HER HALF-BREED CHILD

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A THOROUGHLY FILIPINO

COOKBOOK A GUIDE TO FILIPINO CUISINE BY A TRUE FILIPINO AND HER HALF BREED CHILD.

BY MADDIE & MARISSA KAPFHAMMER

WHAT’S COOKIN’?

8 MABUHAY!

26 ARROZ CALDO

Filipino Cookbook 66 A Thoroughly A Thoroughly Filipino Cookbook

10 BASIC TAGALOG

30 LUMPIA

12 GUIDE TO THE PHILIPPINES

34 CALDERETA

14 PANCIT PALABOK

38 RICE CAKE

18 PANCIT

42 PUTO

22 CHICKEN ADOBO

46 HALO HALO

Filipino Cookbook 88 A Thoroughly A Thoroughly Filipino Cookbook

MABUHAY! Kumusta! Welcome to A

mother cooks by intuition, and

In these pages you will find the

as well. So I urge you to use these

Thoroughly Filipino Cookbook! recipes that were taught to me by

my mother, and her parents before that. Food is truly at the center of

taste, something she taught me

recipes as a guide, not as concrete

set of rules to be followed to the T.

Filipino culture, so when making

Another aspect of my mother’s

take extra care to ensure it did my

book, is the amount of pre-made

this book I knew that I needed to

cooking that can be seen in this

favorite cuisine justice.

ingredients. While I would never

My mother, Marissa, was born and

that if there is a way to make your

raise in the Philippines, and she

is very proud of where she came from. She has always striven to

keep her culture close to home,

despite living thousands of miles

call my mother lazy, she believes

life easier, then you should do that.

So many recipes in this book may require a trip to the Asian store in your town.

away. One of the best ways to do

I hope you find as much comfort

look through her recipes, it should

are a gateway to my childhood.

one to follow the rules, and has

Filipinos use it both as a greeting,

any of the dishes in this book. My

mabuhay friends and lets live!

that is through her cooking. As you

in these recipes as I do. They truly

be noted that she has never been

Mabuhay means “live” and

never followed a recipe to cook

an exclamation and life moto. So

BASIC TAGALOG Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines, and the most

widely understood, along with English. There are actually 8 different dialects that are spoken in the Philippines, each depending on the region. For instance, in Pampanga, where my mother is from, they

speak Kapampanga, but also Tagalog and English. Here’s a simple

guide to give you some basic Tagalog words, along with some that come in handy in the kitchen.

KUMUSTA (COO∙MU∙STA)

HINDI (IN∙DAY)

PAALAM (PA∙AH∙LAM)

PATAWAD (PA∙TAH∙WAD)

PAKI (PAH∙KEY)

MAHAL KITA (MA∙HAL KEY∙TAH)

Hello

Goodbye Please

No

Sorry

I love you

SALAMAT (SAH∙LA∙MAT)

PAUMANHIN (POW∙UH∙MAN∙IN)

OO (OH∙OH)

MATAMIS (MA∙TAH∙MISS)

Thank you

Yes

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Excuse me

Sweet

MAALAT (MAH∙AH∙LAHT) Salty

MAASIM (MAH∙AH∙SIM) Sour

SALAMAT (SUH∙LA∙MAT)

Thank you

MALAMIG (MAH∙LAH∙MIG) Cold

MANOK (MAH∙NOOK)

Chicken

BABOY (BAH∙BOI)

Pork

BAKA (BAH∙KAH)

Beef

GULAY (GU∙LAI)

Veggies

MAINIT (MAH∙E∙NIT)

PRUTAS (PRUH∙TAS)

MASARAP (MAH∙SAH∙RAP)

ISDA (IS∙DAH)

Hot

Delicious

MAGLUTO (MAG∙LOO∙TOE)

To cook

Fruit Fish

KANIN (KA∙NIN)

Rice

PAGKAIN (PAG∙KAH∙IN)

TUBIG (TOO∙BIG)

Food

Water

A GUIDE TO THE PHILIPPINES Welcome to the Philippines, the

My mother is from the town of

a country with a great amount

Now a mostly urban area,

land of a thousand islands. Its

of diversity, both ethnically and geographically. From the small tropical islands, cooler high

mountains, tranquil rice terraces, bustling cities, and active

volcanoes, there’s an ecosystem for everyone. The country has a

great deal of Spanish influence,

since they were the first to colonize there, as well as Chinese, since a

large population immigrated there

Pampanga used to be home to

farm land, especially for raising

Carabao, a water buffalo that is the national animal of the Philippines.

Now days, Pampanga is known

across the country as having the best Filipino cuisine money can buy, something they are very proud of.

I, for one, am partial to the

from main land Asia.

stunning paradise islands of

The capital of the Philippines is

waters, soft sand beaches, and lush

Manila and it is also the largest

city. Its starting to gain popularity

in the food scene as the city starts to expand, well as modernize. A

thoroughly urban area, street food

plays a big role, not only in Manila, but across the nation.

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Guagua in region of Pampanga.

Palawan; with its crystal blue

greenery. A main stay on the most

beautiful beaches in the world list, this island paradise is a must see.

GUAGUA

MANILA

PALAWAN

PANCIT PALABOK

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WHAT TO DO

1 pouch of Mama Sita’s Oriental

1. Dissolve mix in water and set aside.

Gravy (Palabok) Mix 2 1/2 cups water 1 package rice noodles/pancit lug lug 1 tsp minced garlic

2. In a medium sauce pan, cook garlic in cooking oil over medium heat till golden.

3. Add water to sauce pan, and bring to boil. Stirring until thick.

1 tbsp cooking oil

4. Add shrimp to mix. Simmer for 5 minutes.

2 cups of small shrimp

5. While shrimp is cooking, follow instruction

Crushed pork rinds Green onion Lemon Fried garlic Boiled egg

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on the package to cook noodles.

6. Drain noodles, and plate. Add the sauce on top.

7. For toppings add the crushed pork rinds, green onions, fried garlic, lemon juice, and sliced boiled egg.

PANCIT PALABOK

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WHAT IS IT? Pancit Palabok is a noodle dish with a bright orange sauce with shrimp, topped with pork rinds and lemon juice. This colorful dish is perfect for dinner or lunch, since the rice noodle is particularly light.

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS Pancit Palabok is a polarizing dish. Some people love it and some people can’t eat it, much like my own father. They key is to add plenty of lemon juice on top.

Traditionally, you would use calamansi, a citrus fruit native to the Philippines, instead of lemon juice. However, since calamansi isn’t readily available in the States, lemon makes a suitable alternative.

PANCIT

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WHAT TO DO

1 cup Sliced Green beans

1. Boil the boneless chicken. Save the

1/2 cup sliced Carrots 1/2 sliced Cabbage 11/2Boneless Chicken 1 Red Bell Pepper Garlic

broth and put aside to use later.

2. Season the chicken with a bit of pepper and salt. Then, shred it.

3. Wash and cut all your vegetables.

1 medium sized Onion

4. Soak the rice noodles in a tub of water

1 package Yellow Pancit Canton

5. Pour little bit of oil in your Wok,

noodles 1 package White Rice noodles Ground Pepper Soy Sauce Cooking oil Lemon Spring onions Eggs

Sautee garlic and then onion 6. Add the shredded chicken, stir fry a little bit, pour some soy sauce on it.

7. Put carrots, green beans, cabbage, pour some soy sauce and pepper. Cook it for a few minutes 8. pour little bit of lemon juice (prefer fresh lemon), put the bell pepper last.

To cook the noodles, you have to put the chicken broth or the sauce from the vegetables, in the Wok, let boiled before you put the noodles. When you have the noodles inside stir it and then put some soy sauce, CONSTANT stirring then little bit cooking oil over the noodle once the noodles are half way done and add some lemon juice too.

DON’T let the noodles dry up, put some more broth or water (if you used all the broth) and constant stirring you don’t want the noodles to stick on the bottom of the pan/Wok. Try and taste it, see if it need some pepper or soy sauce and make sure the noodle are cook but not over cook.

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PANCIT

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WHAT IS IT? Pancit is a Filipino party staple, and one of the most iconic Filipino foods. This stir-fry is made with chicken, veggies, and two different kinds of noodle. Based heavily in Chinese style cuisine, Pancit is traditionally prepared in a wok. Since Filipinos love to have a partido, its always made in larger quantities to feed every party-goer in attendance

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS To cook the noodles you can use the same wok as the rest of the ingredients. You can set aside the vegetables with the chicken or mix the noodles and the vegetables together. But before you cook the rice noodles you HAVE to cut them in to small pieces, about 6cm long, so you won’t have a hard time when you stir. You can crunch the yellow noodles while they are still inside the package so they are easier to cook, just make sure that they aren’t too small.

CHICKEN ADOBO

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WHAT TO DO

2 pounds chicken breast and/or

1. In a large pan put 2 tablespoons of olive oil. SautĂŠ

thighs, cubed 1/4 cup of vinegar 1 medium yellow onion, sliced 4 cloves garlic, flattened 1/3 Syrup Soy sauce 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns 3-4 bay leafs salt pepper olive oil

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the onion and garlic briefly over medium heat 2. Add the chicken, string occasionally to ensure an even cook. Add salt, ground pepper, and add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce to season. Cook till pink is gone.

3. Add the vinegar, syrup and 3 more tablespoons of soy sauce, and continue to add salt and pepper to taste. Stir, cover and bring to a boil.

4. Turn down to low heat, add peppercorns, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes 5. Add bay leafs. Cover and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Take off heat and serve with rice.

CHICKEN ADOBO

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WHAT IS IT? Chicken Adobo is a classic Filipino meal, and one of the staples of a Filipino dinner. It can also be made with pork instead of chicken Made with simple ingredients, this dish is fast and easy to cook up at home. The one thing that separates Marissa’s recipe from most Chicken Adobos is her addition of syrup, verses the traditional sugar.

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS The key to Filipino cooking, and all cooking really, is to taste as you cook. You’re dealing with a variety of seasonings and flavors and the only way to know that the chicken is seasoned perfectly is to taste it. This way you can adjust the ingredients to your liking and achieve the flavor you desire. As a general rule we don’t measure anything in Filipino cooking, instead we let our taste-buds guide us. So keep that in mind as you add you soy sauce, vinegar, syrup, and seasonings. Also, be sure to stay away from those peppercorns, you wouldn’t want to bite into one of those.

ARROZ CALDO

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WHAT TO DO

3 cups rice

1. Rinse and drain the rice, then set aside.

Spring onion

2. Cut the chicken into cubes.

Garlic 1 tbsp Ginger paste 11/2 lbs Chicken 4 Lemons 4 Chicken broth boxes Eggs boiled

3. Put oil in a pot over 3-4 heat, then add garlic and cook until it turns golden brown.

4. Then add the chicken, and cook until no longer pink.

5. Add the rice to pot and stir for 1 min, then add one box of broth. Watch.

6. When rice starts to look cooked and starts to thicken, add another box of broth and stir.

7. When it starts to boil and rice is cooked, add another broth and add the ginger.

Stir. Taste and add as needed.

8. Squeeze half of a lemon into pot, and season with pepper as needed.

9. Stir to prevent rice sticking. If needed, add 1 broth to ensure soupiness 10. Put pot on simmer 11. For the toppings, cut up spring onions, fry flattened garlic until golden, boil and slice up some eggs, and slice lemon wedges.

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ARROZ CALDO

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WHAT IS IT? Arroz Caldo is a typical Filipino breakfast but can be eaten at any time of day. Perfect for a cold winter’s day, or when you’re feeling under the weather, this rice and chicken broth is sure to warm your heart and your soul.

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS To make sure the seasoning is correct, especially after adding the ginger, be sure to taste test your broth. Also make sure that your rice is fully cooked, no one wants to bite into raw rice when they are expecting fluffy deliciousness. Toppings are key, so be sure to make plenty extra since they tend to go fast.

LUMPIA

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WHAT TO DO

1 lb. ground pork or ground beef

1. Pour 1 Tbsp cooking oil in the frying pan ( high

1 Tbsp cooking oil 2 clove crushed garlic 1 medium size chopped onion ½ cup minced carrots 1 can water chestnuts ½ cup frozen green peas 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp garlic salt 1 Tbsp soy sauce 30 lumpia wrappers 2 cup cooking oil for frying lumpia

heat) and then sauté garlic and then onions.

2. Cook ground meat, put some pepper, garlic salt and a little bit of soy sauce.

Cook the meat until no pink showing.

3. Then add the carrots and water chestnut, add some garlic salt and pepper. cook for 1 minute and then add the frozen green peas for a minute.

4. Remove from the heat and set it aside until it’s cools before rolling. (option, you can leave it in the refrigerator overnight if you like).

5. To roll, place a line of filling an inch from the top of the wrapper. Pull the top of the wrapper down and over the filling. Then roll it back tight to ensure the filling is snug. Roll it half way down before bringing in the edges. Continue to roll until the wrapper is completely folded.

6. Fry the lumpia in oil over High/ medium heat until golden brown.

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LUMPIA

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WHAT IS IT? Lumpia, or Lumpia Shanghai, is a Filipino take on a Chinese egg roll. Since Filipinos love to entertain, of course these make the ultimate party food to share. By the end of the night you are sure to be left with only crumbs on the tray.

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS When you’re rolling the egg roll, make sure that you pull the wrapper tight, and your ends are tucked in neatly. Use some egg whites to seal the edges once you reach the end. For some extra deliciousness get some sweet chili sauce to dip the Lumpia in. MASARAP!

CALDERETA

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WHAT TO DO

2 lbs. beef brisket, 1-inch chunks

1. Pour and heat cooking oil in a frying pan,

1 Tbsp cooking oil 5 gloves garlic, minced 1 tsp salt 3 pcs. Bird’s eye chilies, minced 1 medium onion, sliced 1 tsp. ground pepper 8.8 oz. (250 g) tomato sauce 2.4 oz. (70 g) tomato paste ½ cup liver spread or liver paste (see the recipe how to make it) ½ cup soy sauce 3 pcs. Calamansi limes 4 pieces medium size potatoes, cut into cubes 2 pcs. Carrots, sliced into rounds 1 pc. Big red bell pepper, sliced 1 cup green peas (frozen bag)

sauté garlic and then onions, then stir fry the carrots and potatoes and then set aside.

2. On the same pan, sauté garlic and onions and then add the beef, stir fry until a little brown, put some soy sauce, pepper and calamansi juice.

3. And then pour enough water to cover the beef and bring to a boil.

4. Put half of the tomato sauce and tomato paste and set aside the other half.

5. Mix all the ingredients until well blended.

6. Simmer the beef for 1 hour or more until the meat is tender. Add more water if necessary.

7. Once the beef is tender, add the other half of tomato sauce and paste. And then add the liver spread or paste and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

8. Add the stir-fried carrots, potatoes and stripped bell pepper. Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the sauce is really thick.

9. Then add the frozen green peas, simmer for 1–2 minutes until the peas are cook. Served it with rice.

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CALDERETA

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WHAT IS IT? Caldereta is a spicy stew with veggies and cubed beef.

Filipinos aren’t usually known for their spices but this is a special dish. Perfect to warm you up if its getting chilly, or to just spice up your life.

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS The Caldereta sauce packet makes the world so much easier, so be sure to stop by your local Asian store and pick up some Mama Sita’s Caldereta mix. Don’t forget to cook a nice plate of rice to lay your Caldereta on.

RICE CAKE

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WHAT TO DO

21/2 cups of sweet rice

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

3 to 4 cans of coconut milk

2. Rinse the rice once in a pan, then drain.

3 tablespoons of brown sugar 1/2 can of low fat condensed milk

3. Separate the solid part of the coconut milk from the top of the can, if there is any, and set aside.

4. Add coconut milk to the rice, enough to cover it.

5. Put the rice over medium/high heat and stir continuously .

6. Once the coconut milk has cooked off and rice is partially cooked, add the brown sugar to the mix.

7. Coat a baking pan with butter.

8. Add the rice to the pan and spread it out.

9. Cover the whole top of the rice with the solid coconut milk.

10. Spread a layer of condense milk, the sprinkle broken sugar across the top.

11. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

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RICE CAKE

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WHAT IS IT? Rice Cake is a classic Filipino dessert, traditionally served and cooked in banana leaves. It’s often eaten as a snack if you need a little mid day pick me up or after a meal to end the night. With the delicious sweetness of coconut, its sure to brighten your life.

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS When you buy the coconut cream in the store, make sure you buy a can that feels a little solid inside. The coconut milk will return to liquid with a good shake, but you need a couple cans with the solid stuff in order to make your topping. Speaking of topping feel free to be as liberal with the condensed milk and brown sugar as you’d like. I won’t lie, in our house it was common place to simply lick the spoon after a liberal helping of condense milk.

PUTO

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WHAT TO DO

10 egg whites

1. Put 6-8 cups of water into a large

4 cups of flour 1/2 teaspoon of salt 2 cups white sugar 2 tablespoons of baking powder 2 teaspoons of vanilla 2 tablespoons of melted butter 3 cups evaporated milk

steamer and bring to a boil 2. Combine sugar, vanilla, egg whites, milk and butter with an electric mixer 3. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder with a whisk 4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth 5. Fill cup molds half way with the batter. You may want to do less, depending on the size of your mold, as they will rise.

6. Place the molds into the steamer and steam for 20 minutes.

7. You can also top with cheese after the 20 minutes and place back into the steamer till melted.

8. Top with butter and coconut if desired.

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PUTO

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WHAT IS IT? Puto is a sweet steamed bread that makes a great snack.

You can have it topped with cheese, shredded coconut, or butter, and it tastes just as good plain. It’s a simple recipe with ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS If you don’t have any cup molds, you can recycle any shallow glass containers you have around your house.

No matter what you use as molds, be sure to fill them all evenly and don’t overfill.

HALO HALO

WHAT YOU CAN USE

WHAT TO DO

Shaved Ice

1. Layer your incredients like beans, coconut gel,

Condense milk Evaporated milk Macapuno (young coconut) Coconut gel Palm fruit Sweet beans

palm fruit, etc. in a sundae dish or glass.

2. Add the shaved ice on top.

3. Pour some evaporated milk and condense milk on the ice.

4. Top with leche flan and ube if desired.

Jack fruit Plantains Leche flan Ube jam or ice cream

WHAT IS IT?

MARISSA’S HANDY HINTS

Halo Halo is the Filipino dessert.

Halo Halo is meant to be customized. Feel free

Perfect for those hot and humid days

to add or remove any ingredients to build your

in the Filipino sun, Halo Halo is the

own recipe. If you want a good selection of

frozen dessert that is sure to bring

Halo Halo ingredients, most Asian stores will

the cool on a summer day. It may be

have a jar of most of the items listed below.

simple but it’s Marissa’s favorite dish

They may even have Halo Halo mix, which are

of all time.

all the classic ingredients in one jar. In winter, try putting out a bowl outside when its snowing and use that as your ice. Fresh!

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HALO HALO

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