Lumpiang Shanghai ( Meat Spring Rolls )

        Tomorrow is harvest day for the mangoes in Samal. My husband and I will be gone all day and will be back at 4pm but the real work shall have only begun. We will be classifying the mangoes according to size, and packing them under newspapers in big baskets until they become ripe in 4-5 days. This second half of the harvesting job is the most taxing, because all the mango pieces need to be packed in, before the day is over. All this trouble is gone however, when the mangoes shall have ripened already, and the mango feast shall have begun.

        Today I made Lumpiang Shanghai or Meat Spring Rolls. One of the kids' all-time favorite dishes and lunches. Its a very simple recipe, requiring only a handful of ingredients. It's biggest come-on is the crisp, paper-thin wrapper, that holds the meat filling. It can be served as hors d'ouvres, appetizer or viand. Served with either tomato catsup or sweet chili sauce, this dish always appears during parties and get-togethers and is a mainstay in Filipino restaurant menus.



Lumpia Shanghai

        One may use  other meats such as ground chicken, flaked fish or ground beef or even meat substitutes, but ground pork remains to be the most popular in Lumpiang Shanghai.

        Lumpia or Spring Roll wrappers are usually made of flour or cornstarch and water, and these are made fresh daily and sold in the wet markets. Care must be taken when separating each wrapper from the rest, as it easily tears. Wheat Flour wrappers do not seal very well, so it is only recommended for the no-cook version. You can find Lumpia wrappers in Filipino Stores or Asian Food Stores.

        Lumpia Shanghai is another crowd pleaser, these are the first to go. when served in any ocassion, because aside from the crunch and texture, you just can't go wrong with this simple recipe.

        Let's Cook!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of ground pork ( some add sliced shrimps, but this is optional)
1 medium carrot, grated
1 T. celery sliced, or spring onion, sliced thinly
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp rock salt
1 tsp all purpose seasoning
1/4 cup singkamas or turnip, grated
10-15 pieces Lumpia or Spring Roll wrapper, separated
1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 T water for sealing the rolls

PROCEDURE:

1. Combine first seven ingredients, mash well with hands until well combined.


the mixture

2. Wrap each tablespoonful on a piece of wrapper, forming into logs about 4-5 inches long. Tuck both ends neatly and taper the loose ends for a neat finish.


form each tablespoonful into a log




Fold the wrapper over

  

tuck both ends and taper loose end





seal with the cornstarch-water mixture

3. Wet the loose ends with the cornstarch-water mixture and press to seal. Do the same for the rest of the rolls.

Pinsec Frito style

4. If you wish to make Pinsec Frito, blanch as many pieces of sliced 4-5 inches spring onion or banana leaf strips. Place 1-2 teaspoons of the mixture in the center of the wrapper. Gather the ends and tie the blanched spring onion or banana leaf strip into a double knot to seal. Pinsec Frito is called as such simply because of its fancy shape, but the mixture and the taste is idenical.


Deep Frying the rolls

5. To cook: heat 2 inches of oil in a frying pan and deep fry in medium-high heat until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve hot and crisp with tomato catsup or sweet chili sauce.

NOTE:
I made the same recipe to look three different ways. The logs are what most people are used to. The small cylinders are the same logs, cut by kitchen scissors into 1 inch pieces. I dipped both ends into some flour before frying, so it doesnt absorb much oil. Most restaurants serve Lumpia Shanghai this way because the rolls stay crisp longer. The third is the Pinsec Frito, fancy looking, but pretty much the same, though these looked like you fussed in the kitchen.


Lumpia Shanghai logs




Restaurant style shanghai rolls




Pinsec Frito

 Lumpia Wrappers come in two colors; yellow and white. Yellow is more commonly used as it is more appealing to the eyes, but restaurants use the white wrappers because the rolls stay crisp for twice as long. So, that's our tip of the day.

Thank you for visiting my blog and please leave your comments below.

Nilagang Baka ( Boiled Beef )

        Yesterday, my husband and I rode off on his bike, to go visit the 14 Mango Trees that my elder brother has planted in his lot in Camudmud, Samal. Samal is a tiny island fronting Davao City and frequented by Davaoenos in the 80's for its pristine beach resorts and nothing else. The 90's however brought modern conveniences and growth, that a casino resort was built on it, prompting its cityhood.

        At present, commuters still take their vehicles on the barge to get there and back. But the budget for the proposed bridge connecting Davao City and Island Garden City of Samal has long been approved. Very soon, construction will begin, and then, more investments can come. 

on the barge

        The reason we went however, was that the Mangoes are due for harvest. As I surveyed the place, the property had been fenced, and some of the ripe mangoes have fallen to the ground, half-eaten by fruit bats. Apparently, the harvesters are waiting for the price of the mangoes to go up so they can make good money. At present, there is an abundance of mangoes, so prices are down. Well, I pray that the prices go up soon, farmers really should not only break even, but make a profit.

on the road to Camudmud

     I love these mangoes from Samal. I have never tasted the more popular Guimaras mangoes, but I'm guessing they must be of the same quality. We have been harvesting mangoes for the past ten years and I have yet to complain of the sweetness of this mangoes. There are quite a number of mango varieties in the Philippines. The more common are called Mangga Cebu, Mangga Carabao ( Water Buffalo ), Mangga Kabayo (Horse)young, green and very sour, and Mangga Wani ( green peel, fibrous to a fault).

ready for picking

nice one

bowing to the ground

within an arm's reach

       These Samal Mangoes have no particular name, but a characteristic sweetness that the Japanese love to import them. The seeds are very thin, the sweetness, undeniable; that even if the fruit has not turned fully yellow, one is sure to ask for more.  We realized that the secret is in the soil. Limestone, which is what Samal is primarily made up of, is responsible for the super sweet mangoes. So sweet, the neighbors have come, year after year to buy 10-15 kilograms each whenever we put them out on a table. Anytime soon, I will be putting out those tables and making bottles of mango concentrate and dried mangoes for the family's use.

        Today, we will be making Nilagang Baka ( Boiled Beef ). This dish is a crowd pleaser and has many variations from the basic broth. We will include the two other variations in the recipe below.

Nilagang Baka

        Let's cook!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb or 500 g. lean beef , sliced into 2 inch chunks
4 cups water
1 bundle native pechay ( bok choi )
2 potatoes, peeled, quartered
spring onions
1 beef bouillion cube
salt and all purpose seasoning

PROCEDURE:

1. Boil beef in a deep pot with 4 cups water. Allow the scum to bubble up and skim the surface. Alternately, you may boil the meat until the scum comes out, and throw the water away with the scum. Replace the water and then boil until tender, about 45 minutes. If pressed for time, place the meat in the pressure cooker and allow 30-35  minutes from the time indicator sizzles.

2. Transfer to a deep pot and add the potatoes, adding water or broth to cover. When potatoes are fork tender, add the seasonings, beef cube and pechay stalks first.

3. After 2 minutes, add the pechay leaves and spring onions. Adjust the seasonings, so that the beef broth comes fully alive. Turn off heat.

4. Serve hot with steamed rice and soy sauce with lemon juice.

Nilagang Baka ( Boiled Beef)

TO MAKE BULALO SOUP ( Bone Marrow ):

Beef Bulalo

1. Replace lean beef meat with brisket and bone marrow combination. Boil until fork tender or 45 minutes in the pressure cooker. The broth will be highly flavorful, and will be containing big blobs of beef fat.

2. Boil further with one whole ear of yellow corn cut into 3 big chunks, until the corn has become fork tender and rendered its flavor to the broth. The potatoes are optional.

3. You may replace the bok choi with a medium cabbage, quartered. The seasonings and flavorings are the same, but the taste will be extremely rich and flavorful. Beef fat and marrow ups the taste ante several notches.

4. Serve very hot or on a chaffing dish to keep the temperature up. The marrow is sucked clean as part of the enjoyment.

5. Since the marrow and brisket will have visible fat, expect this dish to not be as good for you as the Nilagang Baka. To remedy this, you might want to freeze the entire dish and then skim off the solidified fat that forms on top. Reheat and serve. Remember! moderation is key! This dish is very rich and high on the fat scale. Do what you can to reduce the fat.

TO MAKE HINALANG NA BAKA: ( Spiced Beef Broth )

Hinalang na Baka ( Spiced Beef Broth)

1. Use any lean cut of meat and slice thinly like sukiyaki. Pressure cook or boil until tender. Add the beef cube, seasonings, 2 thumb-sized gingers, macerated and 1-2 pieces jalapeno peppers or sili haba ( pangsigang) sliced thinly. Adjust seasonings. To serve, add sliced spring onions on top and ground black pepper.

2. This dish is served hot as a main dish and is more popular among the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

NOTE: Any of these three variations are well received. They are pretty easy to put together though a little more prep time will be necessary. 

Law-Uy ( Visayan Soup )

      Today, I have the privilege of sharing a super simple, super delicious, filling, nutrient-laden and treasured comfort food, popular only in the Visayas and Mindanao Regions. If you ask me, I think people in Luzon are missing out on a lot, here.

        Honestly, I think this soup should be featured more on local recipes, since it has a local flavor and appeals to young and old alike. No other soup says Philippines, more than Law-uy. ( law-pronounced with a short /a/ sound , like 'bow' or 'how' and uy, pronounced like the ui  in feng shui.

Law-Uy Soup

        The reason this soup is seen in all small-scale restos is the fact that it is the epitome of home cooking, plus the the fact that the nutrient-laden horseradish, known locally as Malunggay ( Moringa oleifera) is its primary vegetable. Mom's serve it up several times a week to fortify their children's health. It is therefore not uncommon to hear of local folk saying, they don't need a lot of vitamins, because they eat Malunggay weekly.

        The lowly, but hardy vegetable grows in everybody's backyard. It can be sown into the soil as a seed, or as a cutting from the trunk or any older branch. The great thing about this super vegetable is that virtually every part of the plant is edible; The roots of young Malunggay can be used as a hot base for soups, or as a radish. The seed pods are an excellent vegetable to add to beef soups. The leaves and branches can produce vegetable oil. And of course, the leaves and flowers! are chock full of nutrients,it may be eaten fresh, blanched for a salad, dried and powdered as a supplement, or added in soups. Hardy, because it will thrive in any soil, even with little water. When cut down for any reason, expect the new shoots to come up and replace the cut ones in a week's time. One tree can supply five families with all the Malunggay they need.

        Malunggay surprised everyone in the Philippines in recent years, when research has found it to be Nature's medicine cabinet. Among its many health benefits include: having three times the potassium in bananas, four times the vitamin A in carrots, seven times the vitamin C in oranges and 2 times the calcium in a glass of milk. These substances are potent antioxidants that protect the cells of the body from getting damaged by free radicals. 

        If you want to read more of Malunggay's many health benefits, get more information here.




        As for me, for the longest time, I just knew Malunggay to be a breast milk enhancer for nursing mothers  and as a poultice for wounds, aside from being a truly delicious vegetable to add to fish, chicken and meat soups. But, aside from Chicken Tinola, Law-uy  soup is the best showcase for the multifaceted Malunggay.

Let's Cook!

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 stalks Malunggay or Horseradish leaves, washed and stemmed
1 cup sliced pumpkins or kalabasa
1 pc. eggplant or talong, sliced 
1 bundle or 1 cup pole beans or sitaw, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 stalk lemon grass or tanglad
1 thumb-sized ginger or luya, sliced
1-2 cups leftover fried or grilled fish, flaked and deboned
1 small tomato or kamatis, sliced into quarters, but not sliced through
1 small red onion or sibuyas, quartered
1 young corn or mais, scraped
salt or asin and pepper or paminta to taste
1 tsp. lemon juice and 2 T. soy sauce as enhancers/dipping sauce
1 5 g. Maggi Magic Sarap

sitaw and kalabasa

malunggay leaves

talong

flaked, cooked fish

tanglad and spices

Seasoning

PROCEDURE:

1. Boil 2-3 cups water in a deep pot. Drop the lemon grass, tomato, onions and ginger and scraped young corn. Allow to boil until the stock is fragrant with ginger and lemon grass, and the corn is tender.

extracting the flavors

 2. Add the flaked fish and pole beans and season to taste. When the pole beans are half-cooked, drop the pumpkins and continue to cook until tender. Add the eggplants.

cooking the veggies

3. This dish is one I have to use one 5 g. Maggi Magic Sarap pouch. The soup is delicious in itself but, it comes alive with the addition of this all-in one seasoning.This is available in Asian food stores. If the above is unavailable in your country, simply put a few drops of all-purpose seasoning mix into the soup for an explosive burst of umami goodness. ( MSG use is regulated or prohibited in most Western countries, though Easterners have used it for hundreds of years without much trouble ) If using, do so at this point, and then add the horseradish. Turn off the heat quickly and remove the pot from the fire. The heat of the soup will cook the horseradish leaves. 

4. Serve hot with grilled or fried fish and steamed rice. For the enhancer or 'dipping' sauce, simply place soy sauce in a tiny saucer, add the lemon juice and serve with the soup. This 'sauce' compliments the soup really well.

Law-uy Soup

NOTE:
         Yes, this is a fairly simple dish, but the taste is amazingly satisfying, and one you will keep coming back to again and again.

        Those of us who would like to stock up on nutrition, but want to keep the weight off, can eat bowls of these, many times over without worry. This is an all-around dish for the sick, the healthy, the babies, the elderly and even those tired of saucy and fat-laden food. The taste is refreshingly down-home good, that the tongue feels like it had a spring-cleaning!

Go ahead, try this dish. I promise it will be nice break from the usual greasy stuff. During the holiday season, when people have had enough party food, this is the go-to dish to feel less guilty and to get rid of fatty-food fatigue.

Easy Chicken Curry

        Curries originated from India, no argument here. Though most Filipinos are hardly aware that there is a red curry apart from the yellow one. 

        I too, was disappointed, when back in my high school years I stumbled onto Time Life Magazine's library of Cuisines from Around the World. An entire volume was devoted to Indian cooking, and there it was, Murg Kari. Well, like most, I haven't tasted authentic Indian cooking yet, though I definitely would like to try their Tandoori Chicken and roti parathas. 

        I imagined that if any international dish ever found its way into a Filipino kitchen, it will somehow undergo Filipinizing. You see, most common households do not put salt and pepper shakers on the table. All seasoning is done on the stove top, except for Mami and Pansit Palabok, where it is customary to serve with ground black pepper, soy sauce and fish sauce.  Only dipping sauces are served on the table, namely soy sauce, ketchup or spiced vinegars. A dish is frowned upon when it is found wanting. Expect the cook to take the entire contents of the platter back to the stove and correct the seasonings, while the family members patiently wait for the improved version of the dish, and then everyone can eat.

         I was actually toying with the idea of encouraging fellow Filipino nutritionists to look into the plausibility of promoting Filipino food internationally for a skinny diet. You see, The Filipino diet may look carbohydrate-laden, what with all the rice, bread, potatoes and rice cakes. But obesity among our race is traceable to consumption of western fast food staples, and not our eastern diet. It's a long shot, but worth looking into, don't you think?

         Anyway we're making Chicken Curry Pinoy Style today. I was surprised to find my children requesting these for school lunches since last year. It's easy to put together and you can make it as spicy as you want. You may easily swap the same amount of pork or tuna fish anytime for variations. ( Pinoy is slang for Filipino )

Chicken Curry

Let's cook.

INGREDIENTS:

Curry ingredients

1 whole chicken breast, chopped into serving pieces ( around 2 cups )
1 large potato, cut into wedges
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1-3 T. green or yellow curry powder
1-2 T. Buco Coconut Cream powder or 1 cup coconut milk ( gata)
salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:

1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pot. Place garlic, onions and ginger and cook until fragrant and toasty. 

2. Add chicken pieces and salt generously ( about a teaspoon or so of coarse salt), so the meats absorb the ginger flavor and won't taste bland against the sauce. Toss until the meats have turned white. Cover and let simmer in its own juices until it browns on its sides.

browning the chicken

3. Add 1 cup water or coconut milk, and potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes are almost tender.

4. Add the carrots, curry powder and seasonings. If using water or chicken stock, add the Buco Coconut Cream powder at this point and bell peppers. Let boil.

5. Adjust the seasonings, adding more curry powder if you prefer it spicier. Add more coconut milk, if you want it milkier, with just a hint of curry for the elderly and toddlers. Always, taste as you go.

6. Serve hot as a stand alone viand with steamed rice.

Chicken Curry

NOTE: Curry packs a punch as a viand, and stands out among the dishes that Filipinos find on their restaurant menus as the only one having that distinct color, and spicy, but everyday appeal.

If you noticed, I have recommended at least three Filipino dishes as being ideal food for elderly people and toddlers. This is because we don't make separate baby food from the family's regular dishes.

I'm a firm believer of allowing babies to experience as wide a variety of textures and tastes as well as not shortchanging the elderly of exciting flavors just because they are older.

As a result, I have kids who eat whatever I set on the table. ( What mom would not want that?) and elderly parents who cannot complain. Bland food is not for Pinoys, young or old, better believe it!

Ginataang Gulay ( Vegetables in Coconut Milk )

        I believe many will agree with me that Filipino dishes with coconut milk ( gata ) easily become the most requested dishes by expats when they come home. So, let's let this be our primer on Gata; ( pronounced with short /a/ sounds, quickly, with stress on the second syllable) whenever you see the word; ginataan, this means smothered with, flavored with, or swimming in rich, velvety coconut milk.

Ginataang Gulay

        Good thing, I have never heard of any one having any allergies to coconut milk. Coconut milk is of course, non-dairy and is produced when the grated meat of mature coconuts are extracted by hand or machine. There are two classifications; kakang gata, or the mother coconut milk, is simply the first extraction, usually, about a cup.  The subsequent extractions; simply called gata, are made by adding hot water to the pressed, grated coconut, and is usually the watered-down versions. TIP: In cooking with coconut milk, unless specified, cooking is done with the second and third extractions first. When the dish is almost done, the kakang-gata is added as a finishing touch. And this is where the most delicious aroma of tropical proportions fill the kitchen, and draw the family members to the kitchen to spy on what's cooking.

        Because cooking with gata almost always means having to buy a mature coconut at the wet market, cracking the shell, grating the meat and then pressing them by hand ( a genuine labor of love, if I may say so); most modern cooks simply opt to buy the powdered gata available in pouches in the supermarkets. But, it is not uncommon for cooks to complain of using two or three pouches, but still not getting the taste just right.

        Below are images from the web of coconut graters that Filipinos use. The first image is the most common, we call that kudkuran (grater). To use it would mean sitting on the seat, holding half of the coconut shell with both hands and pressing the coconut meat against the sharp toothed grater in a sweeping downward motion. Believe me, it is quite an upper body work out,  taking anywhere from 7-15 minutes per half a shell, depending on your speed. The 2nd one is a whimsical design and the 3rd is a stainless steel, table grater.

traditional kudkuran ( coconut grater)

whimsical kudkuran

tabletop, handheld

         These next three images will show how coconut grating is done in the wet markets and groceries 1, and the two other options that you might want to use to get the job done.

electric grater

hand grating, old school

hand drill, why not?

       For the longest time, I maintained a fresh-or nothing stance on gata. That is, until I found one that was made without preservatives and captured the very essence of REAL kakang-gata. So, allow me to heartily recommend Buco Coconut Cream Powder. I have been using these for two years, and recommend these to anyone. One 50 g pouch can make me at least three delicious dishes. I think it's amazing how they have captured the taste, the aroma, even the tiny brown bits that appears on naturally grated coconut. Although they do come in variants of liquid coconut milk, toasted, shaved, dessicated and such, I stick with the powder, and am very happy with it. I wouldn't send a loved one abroad without packing some of these in, for when they miss home cooking. Oh, and by the way, they sell these at Amazon.com now.

Buco Coconut Cream Powder

          Another reason I now prefer this method and brand is, that I don't have to use up the entire package all at once. Unlike fresh coconut milk, which must be used and cooked within the day, I can simply fold and clip, and refrigerate the unused portions for later use. You may also opt to dissolve some of the powder in a little water for ease of use, but I prefer mine straight from the package. When feeling particularly generous, I use up the entire pouch, just so I can savor all the  creamy goodness of coconut milk.

     Let's cook vegetables this time.

INGREDIENTS:

Ginataang Gulay ingredients

1 - 1 1/2 cups sliced  kalabasa (fresh pumpkins)
1 bundle, around 12 pieces sitaw (string or pole beans), cut into 2-inch lengths
1 clove bawang (garlic), minced
1 small sibuyas (onion), sliced
1 small kamatis (tomato), sliced
50 g. or about 1/3 cup ground or sliced pork 
1 - 2 T Buco Coconut Cream Powder or 1 cup liquid coconut milk

PROCEDURE:

1. Saute garlic, onions and tomato. Add the meat and about a cup of water ( or the liquid coconut milk ) to cook the meat. Cover and cook for about 8-12 minutes.

2. Add the string beans, cover for about 4 minutes. Add the sliced pumpkins and cook until both vegetables are fork tender. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat to low.

String beans, first in

Pumpkin next

3. Cut open the pouch and sprinkle about  a tablespoon or more of Buco Coconut Cream powder and stir to dissolve. The sauce will slightly thicken, and there will be undissolved blobs of coconut cream. ( I sometimes intentionally do not dissolve some, because I love biting into them, come mealtime). Stirring the sauce will completely dissolve the powder. Turn off heat.

4. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with steamed rice and fried fish or dried fish. Ginataan dishes compliment fried dishes very well.

NOTE: Coconut milk is absolutely delicious, and Filipinos love to use them on everything from main dishes to snacks to desserts. 

        My mom, may she rest in peace, used to manage one of Cebu's best-loved Fried Chicken Houses; Sunburst here in Davao during its heyday.  For the restaurant, they used evaporated milk instead of coconut milk, so as not to have to deal with the latter's spoilage. This means, you may use evaporated milk as a substitute when coconut milk is unavailable, the taste will be quite okay, but not as delish as using the real thing.

       I hope you enjoyed this post. Hanggang sa muli, Salamat! ( Until next time, thank you!)

Bistek Tagalog ( Tagalog Beefsteak )

        Hi guys! Sorry I wasn't able to post these past two days. I was busy with my 5th grader's last minute school needs. Yesterday, June 3rd was the first day of school in all levels in the country. True enough, her teachers, immediately immersed the entire class into serious stuff i.e. the human reproductive system. 

        By the time she came home, her bag was several kilos heavier with 9 books and a research assignment. What can I do? She belongs to the fast learner's class. I need to help her revv up, full throttle ahead, while the rest of regular classes will start formal lessons Monday, next week, she will have, before that time, clocked in almost 200 items worth of quizzes.

        So, how do I prepare her for intense brain work? A fully-loaded breakfast, favorite, protein-rich lunches and hefty snacks and dinners.

        First day of school deserves a favorite lunch. Bistek Tagalog fits this bill. Easy peasy, filling, protein-packed, and flavor-rich. This is the picture I took before I loaded some into her lunchbox.

Bistek Tagalog

        Bistek Tagalog is actually a misnomer as there is no beef here. Bistek is the contraction of beefsteak, and Tagalog can denote the northern regions where the national language, Filipino or Tagalog is spoken, or the language itself, or the native speaker of the language.

        Made only with a few key ingredients, you already have in the kitchen, this will have a sour-salty taste to go very well with plain rice. Very much different from all-time favorite Adobo or Humba.

        Let's cook!

INGREDIENTS:

Bistek ingredients

200 g. thinly sliced pork with as little fat as possible
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 American lemon or 3 pcs Kalamansi ( Philippine lemon )
soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup water

PROCEDURE:

1. Heat 1 tsp. oil in a pan, and brown the garlic. Add the onions and cook until transparent.

2. Add the sliced pork, and brown slightly. Add the water, cover and bring to a rolling boil. Cook for about 7-10 minutes or until tender.

Cooking the Bistek

3. Add the soy sauce for color, the lemon juice and seasonings. Cook further until the sauce is reduced. Adjust the seasonings. You are looking for a salty-sour, umami taste. Do not add any sugar. A cornstarch slurry ( 1 tsp cornstarch dispersed in 2 T. water ) is optional. Some also prefer a spritz of additional vegetable oil to make the dish shine. That, too , is optional.

4. Serve hot over steamed rice.

Simple, flavorful and packs a punch!

NOTE:

Philippine lemons are small, just slightly bigger than a marble, and really sour. You can always adjust the amount of lemon juice, but this dish will not make you grimace at all. And for a dish that is so simple to make, it has a characteristic taste you won't soon forget.

The sliced lemons are just for garnish.  We don't squeeze any onto the dish. 

This is best served for lunch or dinner, with rice or pasta and a crisp salad.

Nilagang Ribs ( Boiled Pork Ribs, Main Dish)

        One of life's greatest joys for mothers is, when the kids ask, " what's for dinner?", and the answer puts a broad smile of expectation on their faces.

        This is one of those dishes. A stand alone main dish we call Nilagang Ribs. Nilaga simply means boiled till tender. Laga is boil, and the prefix Ni- is the prefix for past action verb.

        This tongue pleaser has a thick soup, courtesy of the mashed taro root. It goes very well with the tender meat and the crunch of the native pechay ( bok choi ).  This native pechay has dark green leaves, and a slightly bitter taste when too much is added, but at just the right amounts, my daughter devours them more than the meat. Now, add to that, the pleasure of biting into a section of pork ribs and have the meat fall off the bones.... yummy! 

       I must warn you, the best way to eat the ribs, is with your bare hands, though the meat can very well be manipulated by the fork. Eating with one's bare hands, combined with spoonfuls of soupy rice is not at all unusual.

        Let's not put it off any longer.

Nilagang Ribs

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ( 500 g. ) American style pork ribs ( thick meat) , cut into serving pieces
1 medium gabi or taro root, peeled, sliced into 1 inch chunks
2 or 3 individual native pechay or 1 bundle, ends removed and halved
soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 pork cube
spring onions, sliced

Nilagang Ribs ingredients

PROCEDURE:

1. Place pork ribs in a pot. Fill with water until submerged completely. Turn heat on high and watch pot while it boils.

2. Turn heat to medium low and skim off all scum that forms. This make take some 5 -10 minutes until no more scum forms. Turn heat up once more and boil until the meat is fork tender; about 35-45 minutes. Add the pork cube.

3. Add the taro root and boil until it softens to almost a mush. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper. Mash most of the taro root so it thickens the soup. 

4. Taste the broth, add more water or stock if soup is too thick, or the broth has significantly been reduced. Add the stalks of pechay first, wait 2 minutes, then add the leafy parts, let boil until the leaves have just turned soft, about 30 seconds. Turn off heat and remove from stove.
If you taste the broth at this point, a subtle but noticeable flavor was added by the native pechay that no other bok choi variant can duplicate. Add the spring onions.

Nilagang Ribs with Gabi

5. Transfer to a bowl and serve hot with steamed rice.