Pospas (Arroz Caldo)- November KC Challenge

Better late than never! This is my November Kulinarya Cooking Challenge. Thank you, Joy for the challenge. I really thought i have blogged pospas considering,  this is one of the staple food, comfort food at home.

Growing up and being a Cebuana, pospas is the best comfort food you could ever have and the best food espeically when you are under the weather. Even better than chicken noodle soup, i dare say. I remember how Mama would cook a big cast iron pot of pospas enough for breakfast and mirienda. I just love the aroma as she was cooking, i love the smell of the lemon grass and ginger in particular.

It was only when i went to Manila that i learned that pospas is also called Arroz Caldo and Chinese calls it congee. Actually others call it lugaw but i remember lugaw is just plain rice and chicken broth sans the chicken meat. Lugaw with beef tripes would be called Goto. Goto served with tokwa at baboy (crispy tofu, and crispy pig's jowl)  yum...oh i digress... that will be another version that i should blog.

Anyways, for those who aren't familiar with this dish, i highly suggest that you give this a try. Pospas is good anytime of the day. Like i mentioned earlier we have this for breakfast, mirienda (snacks), lunch, dinner, really anytime. Oh, even midnight snacks, and i'm serious, others, swear that this is a cure for hang over as well.

Also, pospas doesn't call for fish sauce, we use salt. Cebuanos doesn't use fish sauce (Patis) well at least back then. I know for a fact that patis for Cebuanos or Visayas region means soy sauce. It took me a while to adjust and accept that patis in Manila or Luzon region is fish sauce.

So that being said, my dish is staying true based on how my mama prepared it or shall i say a Cebuana's Pospas. This is so simple, ingredients are easy to find, a "straight forward dish" nothing complicated!

Pospas, Arroz Caldo, Congee, Lugaw ....however you call this, i really want you to give this a try if you haven't already. And you tell me which is better Chicken Noodle Soup or Pospas aka Arroz Caldo.

Ingredients:

Serves : 4

4 pcs. chciken leg quarters skin on*

1 1/2 C rice (Jasmine or Calrose) *

1 knob of ginger

2 stalks of lemongrass (remove the green top)
6 C water ( add more if necessary) *
2 T vegetable oil
1 T salt (sea salt or kosher salt)
Dash of white pepper
1 bulb of garlic (sliced thinly) I suggest to use mandoline.
4 pieces of shallots (thinly sliced) or one medium size onions
2 T chives or green onions (chopped. This is for garnish and flavoring)
1 lemon (sliced)

* Chop leg quarters to small pieces, at least 4 pieces per leg quarters. Clean and wash.

* Wash and rinse the rice until the water is clear.

* Should you prefer chicken breast i recommend to use chicken breast, skin on, bone in. Chicken bones gives more depth to the flavor profile.
* You can always add more liquid depending on how you want the consistency of your pospas. We prefer it to be runny, more liquidy

Step One: Use a Dutch oven or any Stew Pot.
Heat up the pot with 2 T vegetable oil.

Shallow fry the sliced garlic enough to make them brown but not burned. Remove and set aside.

Using the same oil shallow fry the sliced shallots until brown but not burned. Remove and set aside.

Step Two:
Using the same oil, sear and brown the chicken in batches. Set aside the brown pieces.
It is imperative to use the oil that was used to fry the garlic and shallots. The oil has been infused with garlic and onion flavor which means the chicken will be seared with the infused oil.
Continue the process until all chicken pieces are done.
Remove excess oil, leaving at least a tablespoon of the grease.

Step Three:
Return the seared chicken into the pot.
Add the ginger and lemongrass.
Sear a little bit or until you get a whiff of the ginger and lemongrass. (Did i tell, i love the aroma of these two being sauteed) I think i did!!! lol!!!
Add the washed and rinsed rice.
Stir until everything are mixed.
Add 6 C of water and salt.
Bring this to a rolling boil then lower the heat and bring to a simmer until the chicken and rice are cooked.
I'd say about 25 minutes.
Constantly and gingerly stir making sure the rice will not stick to the bottom.
Taste and adjust your salt since this is basically the only seasoning you have in this dish.
Add more water if needed.

Step Four:
Remove ginger and lemongrass.
Serve in a bowl.
Garnish with some fried garlic, fried shallots, chopped chives or green onions and squeeze some lemons.
If you can get fresh Kalamansi the better. But sad to say i can't get them here so i either use lemons or limes

Fried garlic

Fried and crispy shallots

Pospas boiling away with a knob of ginger and stalks of lemongrass

I wish you can smell this now. I also remember mama makes this during rainy days especially when we don't have school because the blackboards are  wet! ha!ha!ha! that's a joke. But yeah, she makes this when we have no school because of typhoon etc.

FILIPINO CHICHARON BABOY (Filipino Pork Rind Cracklings) Kulinarya Cooking Challenge

This month's Kulinarya Cooking Club's Challenge is inspired by the colors of the Philippine Flag. It's actually a challenge for the month of August and September. Hosted by Oggi, Chef by day, Boyet and Ray . 

Thanks for the a great challenge guys.

Required for the challenge:
- Must use and show Red, White, Blue and Yellow on your dish from plate to the garnish
-You may include the color of your garnish for as long as it is edible.

For this challenge i thought of Chicharon . I like my chicharon w/ substance, not a big fan of those "airy chicharon" . For me chicharon means Pork skin with fat and meat,  deep fried until it puffs up and become crispy and crunchy. Chicharon is another Filipino favorite pulutan (appetizer) served with cold San Miguel beer or chilled soda. But i personally like this w/ steamed rice. Like bbq, chicharon are ubiquitous in every street corners. Sold in plastic bags w/ vinegar as the dip.


This is one of my no reicpe recipe. It's the method and the process that's very important in order to have a crispy, crunchy chicharon.


Ingredients:


Pork skin with little fat and meat
water
garlic
salt (rock salt or kosher salt. Depends on how many lbs. of pork you are using, about 1/2 tsp per lbs.)
peppercorns (6 pieces)
bay leaf (3 leaves)


Place all dry  ingredients in a heavy pot adding water until the pork is covered about an inch high.


Bring to a boil until pork skin is tender ( about an hour).


Remove the pork and drain really well.


Cut into bite size and let these air dry or put in the fridge uncovered over night or so.


(IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE PORK SKINS ARE DRIED. THIS WILL ELIMINATE OR LESSEN THE SPLATTER DURING DEEP FRYING AND WILL MAKE THE SKINS PUFF )


After drying the pork skins overnight you are ready to deep fry them.


Heat up oil and fry the pork skin pieces in batches and cook until light golden brown and puffed up.


Carefully take the chicharon using "spider" or slotted spoon.


Make your dip. There are a lot of choices to go along the chicharon. Traditionally, coconut or sugar cane vinegar is the dip. You can do that or vinegar w/ little of soy sauce and chili w/c is what i have.


Serve with chilled beer -San Miguel or Stella ;) or plain chilled soda.


Like i said i prefer my chciharon w/ rice.


To my KCC members , after reading the challenge i think i missed one color ;). Well, i do have the colors alright, but technically i'm missing the white w/c was supposed to be in the plate, my white steamed rice. Pls.....pretend it's in there ;) . Thanks, for this challenge, this was clever ;p

GINATAANG BILO- BILO /PINALTOK (GLUTINOUS RICE BALLS WITH COCONUT MILK)- MAY KULINARYA THEME

Better late than never;) Sefie and Connie chose Flores de Mayo for the Kulinarya Cooking Club theme for May. Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May) is one of so many events i look forward to. Pls. click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flores_de_Mayo for a better idea on what this means.

To me, May also means a collage of colors. Not only because of the beautiful flowers, the Procession in honor of  The Virgin Mary,  but because of  the fiesta celebrations, Santa Cruzan and the food!

This is why i opted for Bilo-Bilo because of the colors and a popular snack served during fiestas;) 

Ingredients:

1 pack glutinous rice flour
½ cup water (for the dough) and more if necessary
1 cup water to be mixed with the coconut milk
2 cups sugar
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup tapioca pearls
1 can jackfruit (langka), cut into strips
1.  Mix glutinous rice flour and water into dough. Add more water if needed. Shape into balls depending on what size you want your bilo bilo to be. I prefer a size of an olive. These will expand as they get cooked. I use only half of what was made and freeze the rest of the dough for future use.* (I'D LIKE TO MAKE THEM ALL AT ONCE TO SAVE SOME TIME FOR NEXT BILO BILO)

 2. In a large pot, bring 1 can coconut milk, 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar, and tapioca pearls to a boil. Tapioca pearls are cooked when they turn transparent in color, and  rice balls.are soft and chewy.

3. Add remaining coconut milk and jackfruit when tapioca pearls and rice balls are cooked. At this point taste and adjust the sugar. Boil for 5 more minutes.

4. Serve hot.

Make dough balls, a size of an olive.

.

Use the colored tapioca pearls.

Colorful Tapioca Pearls

Bring the glutinous rice balls, tapioca pearls, sugar, coconut milk and water to a boil until tapioca pearls and glutinous rice balls are cooked.

Add more coconut milk, jack fruit. Taste and adjust sugar and the coconut milk.

        How to freeze the dough balls. Arrange them on a sheet pan like you would a cookie dough and put in the freezer uncovered for few minutes or until it hardens. Then transfer in a freezer bag. Freeze for future use.

Mango Refrigerator Cake (April Kulinarya Theme)

This is my blog for this month's - April Kulinarya theme. Our host Lala of  This Little Piggy challenged us w/ DECADENCE food and the first that came to mind is mango!!! It is Asian mango season here. I know, you'll probably say whattt? they are always available. Yes, the greenish, reddish type of mango which i don't like. and no, i'm not a snub, i'm just spoiled ha!ha!.. Try the other variety of mango which is commonly called Asian mango or Atulfo, i'm sure you'll agree with me. .Asian mangoes are way better. They are sweeter and not fibrous at all. 

This is just to compare and show how big these mangoes are.

I've blogged mango dishes please click http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/search/label/Mangoes.
Mango Cheesecake
http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/2010/08/mango-cheesecake.html


Mango Ice Cream
http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/2009/08/mango-ice-cream.html






This time i made MANGO REFRIGERATOR CAKE. This dessert is easy, no baking needed and oh so good!!!


THE  QUANTITY/MEASUREMENT FOR THIS DISH ARE ESTIMATES.  I BELIEVE THAT IT WILL REALLY DEPEND ON HOW MUCH YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE AND HOW MUCH MANGOES YOU'D LIKE TO PUT IN YOUR CAKE.


Cake and Mango
Ingredients:

5 packs of broas (Lady fingers) add more if you want more layers.
6 mangoes sliced thinly (depend on the size of the mango)


Directions:
1. Slice mangoes thinly, discard the seeds. Set aside.
2. Coat the baking pan with softened butter.
3. Arrange and layer broas on bottom of the pan.
4. Pour and spread about 1/2 cup of the buttercream frosting.
5. Arrange sliced mangoes.
6. Repeat process, layer broas, then buttercream then mangoes.
7. The top most must be the buttercream layer.
8. Arrange the sliced mangoes. I made two different ways to arrange the mangoes. Please see below pictures.
9. Chill in the fridge for an hour or more and Enjoy!!!




Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:

2 cans 18.7 oz. condensed milk
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 t vanilla extract

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (as needed)

Directions:
1. Beat softened butter, condensed milk, vanilla, and slowly add the  confectioners' sugar..

2. Continue beating until frosting  reaches desired consistency. I want mine a bit loose.

Rosette mangoes as garnish.

Arrange sliced mangoes this way.

A slice of the cake the following day. The color of the mango will change but the flavor is not compromised. Still delicious!!

ATCHARANG SITAO (Pickled Long Beans)- KCC Theme for March

For this months challenge our host Erika of ivoryhut challenged Kulinarya members to "showcase" vegetables....the front and center. There is a plethora of Filipino dish that calls for just vegetables, i chose atchara which i believe is a favorite (well, it's our favorite) especially as a side dish for grilled or fried meat or seafoods.

Atchara basically means pickled vegetables. The most popular atchara is the green papaya which i love but i opted to pickle long beans also called string beans. This recipe works great for almost all vegetables, such as okra, radish, peppers and more.

Ingredients:

2 C apple cider vinegar
2 C sugar ( or less if you want it tart)
2 T salt
1 t whole peppercorns
1 lb long beans (usually sold in bundles)
4 cloves garlic, julienned
1 medium sized carrots (julienned)
1 knob of ginger (julienned)
1 medium red onions or sweet onions (julienned)


1. Bring vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil in a large saucepan.
2. Arrange all the vegetables, spices in a cleaned sterilized jar.
3. Pour hot vinegar liquid over the beans and cover.
4. Set aside to cool.
5. Place cooled jars in the refrigerator.
The atchara is ready in a day or two and will keep refrigerated for several weeks which never happen in our house especially during "grilling season"! Oh it's gone in few days!

Some recipes call for cooking the vegetables first, and that may be necessary if you’re canning them. But cooking them first makes for mushy pickles, so I prefer to skip that step. Just make sure to really wash the beans really good!  I believe the fresher the long beans, the crunchier the pickle.

Thanks, Erika for a great challenge!

KCC Challenge- Feb=Valentines=Aphrodisiac Filipino Food:Champorado (Chocolate Rice Porridge)

I'm privileged to host this month's KCC challenge. Please click HERE
for further information about Kulinarya Cooking Club. Come and join us and share your Filipino recipes or learn how to make Filipino dishes and learn the Filipino culture as well.

The theme i chose for this month is February=Valentines=Aphrodisiac Filipino Foods. I thought that this would  be an opportunity for us to prepare a scrumptious valentine Filipino dish for our love ones.

I know balut would be the first food that come into ones mind but really there are a lot of Filipino foods that could be considered aphrodisiac foods. Check Aphrodisiac Food List for some idea on what to prepare on Valentines day or any day that you feel romantic. Oysters would be a good one but  a dozen of them wouldn't suffice, they are so expensive here.

So i thought of one of my favorite breakfast dish that calls for the most popular yet affordable aphrodisiac ingredient..CHOCOLATE!!!  My family love, love champorado.  So perfect for valentines day or any day actually. We could eat it for breakfast, mirienda, lunch, mirienda again and dinner, i kid you not. I am happy with a drizzle of condensed milk but with the addition of cheese, oh my goodness, I'm in heaven!!! See, what i mean?!! lol!!

You can be creative with your champorado presentation. You can form a heart as you drizzle your condensed milk, cut your cheese into heart shapes or the rustic way, tear the cheese.

This is a very simple, easy recipe yet so amazingly delicious!

Ingredients: Serves 4
1 C glutinous rice
3 C water
3 disc/tablet of chocolate (Tablea/Tabliya) or 1/2 C of cocoa powder
1/2 C brown sugar
Condensed milk
Slices of cheddar cheese and cheese you like.


Cook rice in a medium-sized pot with 3 C water. Stir constantly. When rice is ready (rice should be transparent and fluffy), add more water if needed. Then add cocoa and sugar. Serve in bowls with drizzle of sweet condensed milk and cheese on top.

TIPS:

*You can use regular rice if you can't find glutinous rice.

*Add more water if you want a thinner porridge consistency.

*I want my champorado on the darker color so i add more cocoa powder if needed.

*You can use white sugar if you don't have the brown sugar. But i prefer the brown sugar because it gives a molasses flavor w/c i like.

* Southern Luzon serves this w/ dried fish too. It's good but since this is a valentines breakfast w/c is meant to be an aphrodisiac, i believe serving it w/ dried fish is just not right=;)

100% Cocoa (Filipino Chocolate disc called Tablea/Tabliya).



The main ingredients: Chocolate disc, Brown Sugar, Glutinous Rice



The Valentine presentation=;)

The rustic presentation

The simple presentation=;). Ha!ha! i poured the condensed milk!



CHICKEN INASAL (KULINARYA COOKING CLUB FOR JUNE)

I've been craving for this type of inasal for the longest time, but for some reason i always end up making something different. It has been years and years since i last had the real Bacolod Inasal at Manokan Country.

Thanks to Ninette and Peachy (Kulinarya Cooking Club) for choosing Pinoy BBQ for this month's theme. I have posted a version of Pork-  Pinoy BBQ, pls. check them out  HERE .

So for this theme, Bacolod Chicken Inasal was my choice of bbq, no doubt about it!! I knew i won't be able to replicate the exact inasal but this is the closest flavor i could do to satisfy my craving.

I've surfed and surfed for a recipe but can't find exactly what i wanted or what i thought would fit the Bacolod Chicken Inasal "profile" ha!ha!ha! So here goes my version based on my memories of how it tasted. If ever you get the authentic Bacolod chicken inasal recipe pls..pls... share it w/ us=;)

I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT MEASUREMENTS FOR THE MARINADE.

2 CUPS (DATU PUTI) VINEGAR-  add more if needed (I BELIEVE THAT SUGAR CANE VINEGAR IS THE KEY TO A GOOD CHICKEN INASAL.

1 BULB OF GARLIC - minced ( DIVIDED INTO TWO BECAUSE YOU'LL NEED SOME FOR YOUR GARLIC RICE)

A STALK OF LEMON GRASS (SLICED THINLY)

1 MEDIUM SWEET ONIONS-GRATED.

SALT AND PEPPER.

(MIX THE ABOVE INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THE MARINADE)

A CUP OF ACHUETE*** OIL WHICH IS A CUP OF OIL AND HALF A PACKET OF ACHUETE POWDER STIR AND MIX. SAVE A HALF CUP OF THE ACHUETE OIL FOR YOUR GARLIC RICE.

**SOMEtIMES CALLED ANNATTO OR ACHIOTE

Marinate the chicken w/ the marinade for at least 6 hours or overnight. Baste the chicken w/ the achuete oil as you grill.

Brown the minced garlic using the achuete oil. Pour and garnish at least 1 tablespoon of the cooked garlic and oil on top of your steamed rice. Normally fried rice is served w/ the inasal but i wanted the steam rice.

Served w/ sinamak vinegar - Datu Puti, chopped garlic, ginger, onions, siling labuyo (Thai bird chili) and salt and pepper.

Served w/ slices of tomatoes or cucumber. I served this w/ radish and it was really good as well.

I originally wanted to use some skewers but the chicken are just big that there is no point of using them.

I LOVE THIS RECIPE. IF THERE IS ANYTHING I'D CHANGE TO THE RECIPE IS THE ACHUETE THAT I USED. I WILL USE THE WHOLE ACHUETE POWDER TO ACHIEVE THE ORANGE COLORED INASAL. THE SMELL WHILE GRILLING...MADE ME THINK OF MANOKAN COUNTRY=;) "KULANG NA LANG AY SAN MIGUEL BEER" LOL!!!

PANCIT SOTANGHON

This is my first month with Kulinarya Cooking Club. This months theme is Pancit. I decided to showcase SOTANGHON also known as vermicelli or cellophane noodles.

There is an array of pancit dishes that i can't decide which one. So i narrowed it down to our favorites, i opted to choose sotanghon which is a staple in my pantry along with bihon. I have blogged a bihon dish a while back which is also one of our favorite CRISPY PANCIT

My family is a minimalist when it comes to pancit. The less meat and veggies the better hence my calling this my minimalist version.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 C pork (thinly sliced, any pork cut w/ the marbling)

4 packs of vermicelli/ sotanghon (individually packed at 1.5 oz.)

2 T scallions (thinly sliced on a bias)

1 t minced garlic

1 t chili paste (SRIRACHA) optional

½ C black fungus mushrooms (julienned)*

2 T oil

½ T of sesame oil


Sauce Ingredients:

2 T soy sauce

1 t oyster sauce

½ T sugar

2 T water

Soak Sotanghon/vermicelli in warm water for 10 -20 minutes or until soft. Drain and set aside.

Soak the black fungus for about 15 minutes or until soft. Julienne then set aside.

Heat wok or pan and add 2 T oil.

Stir fry garlic and chili paste for few seconds.

Add the thinly sliced pork, sear with garlic and chili paste.

Add the black fungus and sauce, stir fry until pork and the black fungus are cooked.

Taste and adjust right before you add the noodles.

Mix in the noodles until well incorporated w/ the rest of the ingredients and noodles have absorbed all the flavors and are hot.

Finish with sesame oil.

Garnish with the sliced scallions.

BLACK FUNGUS is also called "tenga nang daga" don't ask me why=;)

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colourful cuisine.Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.


Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/
Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/
Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/
Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/
 Caroline - http://whenadobometfeijoada.blogspot.com/
Ninette - http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/
Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/
Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/
Asha - http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/
Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/
Cherrie - http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/
Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/
Valerie - http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/
Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/
Divina - http://www.sense-serendipity.com/
Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/
Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/
Maribel - http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/
Dahlia- http://energychef.blogspot.com/
Tressa Jen - http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/
Pia - http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/