Chop Suey

        Another exciting event to look forward to during Kadayawan Festival would be the fluvial parade, usually held the Sunday immediately after the Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan  which literally translates to 'dancing in the streets'.

A stylized eagle head float

Durian and Waling-waling depiction

Bahay Kubo Float

Forest Themed Float

Engkantada ( Fairies ) and waterfalls Float

Turtle Float

Waling-Waling Float

Waling-Waling and Durian Float

        Commercial establishments as well as Government entities dress up trucks in Kadayawan themed floats adorning the same with indigenous flowers and compete for top prizes.

        A month long Agribusiness trade fair is also held  where local growers of herbs, vegetables, orchids, ornamentals, landscapers, nursery owners, livestock owners, organic farmers and hobbyists get to display their wares, close business deals and expand their networks. This alone is garden heaven where the well-heeled matrons and tourists brave the open air, sprawling hectares of wares and snag rare orchids and imported ornamentals for a bargain. Expect also to see driftwood furniture and bahay-kubo resthouses to go on sale at these venues.

        Today we're making Chop Suey. Chop Suey is of course as Chinese as Chinese food can get. But Chop Suey has been so integrated into the Filipino culture that it will naturally make an appearance in any special occasion as well as ordinary days at home.

Chop Suey

        Of course, one may choose to go all out for special occasions, some also go for a fully vegetarian Chop Suey, some dress it up and still some dress it down. So you'll probably get a gazillion versions of the same dish anywhere.

        Let's make a modest home version of Chop Suey. Though I'm listing all the ingredients you can add to dress it up.

INGREDIENTS

150 g pork sliced into thin strips
50 g pork liver, sliced into strips ( optional )
50 g. shrimps, peeled (optional )
50 g. squid, sliced (optional)
1 medium head cabbage, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 medium sayote ( Chayote or Mirliton Pear ), sliced
1 medium chinese pechay, sliced
1 small head broccoli, cut into florets ( optional )
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets ( optional )
50 g Baguio beans, sliced 
50 g snow peas, tops and bottoms trimmed ( optional )
50 g turnips or singkamas, julienned ( optional )
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
1 T. oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 T. cornstarch dispersed in 2 tsps. water
sesame oil, (optional )

Ingredients

PROCEDURE:

1. Saute garlic, onions and tomatoes in 1 T. oil. Add the pork and cook for about 5 minutes. or until its own juices come out. Add the rest of the meats and or sea foods and simmer until cooked, adding a cup of water.

2. Season with salt and pepper, add the carrots, sliced sayote, Baguio beans and singkamas if using. When half-cooked, add the rest of the veggies.

3. Adjust seasonings. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat, drizzle some sesame oil and serve immediately.

Chop Suey

NOTE: You might be looking at my Chop Suey and not find the other ingredients listed, I did say I was making the dressed down, modest home version before listing the ingredients. No worries, the taste is the same, well, almost!

If you are unfamiliar with Chayote or Mirliton Pear, below is a picture of the tasteless, watery vegetable, that's quite filling and neutral and so, a complimentary foil to the crunch of the other vegetables.

Chayote or Mirliton Pear

I must also teach you that there is a technique in handling these. Before peeling the vegetable, cut-off at least an inch off the narrow end and, rub against the cut side in a circular motion until a whitish foam develops. Do this until no more foam develops, wash, peel, halve and remove the seeds before slicing. Why? because if you omit this important step, the vegetable gives off a slimy, clingy film that sticks like glue to your skin and will take days before it comes off. Aside from the discolor, the affected skin wrinkles and dries up, pretty much what would happen if rugby cement was left on skin.

Chicken Tinola

        It's July 18 and Kadayawan Festival in August is almost around the corner. Kadayawan Festival is Davao City's biggest festival, where the entire city pulls out all the stops to make the celebration grandiose and interactive. This is also called the king of festivals because it started a trend among key cities across the country to hold city-wide festivals. I thought, this would be a good month-long theme to carry: everything Davao and ethnic food.

       Started in 1985 by the then Mayor Elias B. Lopez, the festival was first named Apo Duwaling Festival. A name that's simply a mash-up of Mt. Apo, ( the iconic highest active volcano in the Philippines, visible from the city's main streets),  Durian ( the king of Davao's fruit basket ) and Waling-Waling, the iconic king of orchids found endemic to Mt. Apo and a symbolism of Davao City and Mindanao.

2012 Kadayawan theme and logo

        It was changed after a few years into Kadayawan Festival, when people began to think that the festival was to thank an Aboriginal god by the name of Apo Duwaling for the bountiful harvest. 

       August also happens to be the month where all of the bountiful harvest of fruits, vegetables and all sorts of produce multiply. Such that it is not uncommon for private vehicles to park in public places and sell their own harvest of fruits. This is one festival where all of Mindanao's provinces bring their contingents to participate in the city's street dancing featuring all the known tribes and tribal dances across Mindanao. School children in their most colorful ethnic garbs and accessories move and groove to the beat of native drums and culminate in a show-stopping showdown of dance moves in front of thousands of tourists, both local and foreign in the city's main streets. Here are some pictures of the action:

high school boys wielding their bangkaw while the girls crouch on the side

headdresses, skintone body suits and painted banana leaf hats

colorful tribal costumes like these are standard

at least a 2 kilometer dance path under the sweltering sun and yet, always giving their best

it's hard not to want to dance along with them

it's at least 37 degrees and these kids are smiling as they give their all while kneeling on the scorching pavement

        If these pictures made you feel like you want to see them in person and in action, I can totally understand. I'm a local resident and I still get excited to watch them do their thing. There's more to look forward to in Kadayawan Festival after all, not just the street dancing.

        One iconic Filipino dish to match the iconic things we've been talking about, is one we call Tinolang Manok or Chicken Tinola. Basically, its native chicken, meaning, non-GMO, free-range organic chicken, boiled a few hours to tender perfection, with natural yellowish oils floating on top of the soup. Easily a winner because it has a comforting warmth, and the taste of ginger and lemon grass as one bites on tender chicken meat is an absolutely magnificent experience.

Chicken Tinola

        Though, it is quite acceptable to use broiler chicken parts, nothing beats the mm-mm, good! taste of healthy native chicken. 

        Chili leaves do not contain any capsaicin so it will not taste hot at all. It adds just the right flavor to the soup. Here's a closeup pic of chili leaves, before I removed the leaves from the stalks. Make sure to remove raw and ripe chilis so as to avoid the danger of biting into one.

Chili leaves with an incidental chili

Let's make Tinola!

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole native or free-range, organic chicken, cut up into serving pieces
1  small unripe papaya, peeled and sliced
1 bundle chili leaves ( dahon ng sili), separated
1 stalk lemon grass
1 thumb-sized ginger, slced
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion, sliced
salt and fish sauce to taste

Chiken Tinola ingredients

PROCEDURE:

1. Pressure cook chicken parts for 45 - 50 minutes with lots of water. Cool. Remove chicken parts to a bowl. Keep the broth.

2. In a big pot, saute the garlic in a tablespoon of oil. When brown, add the onions and ginger. when fragrant, add the cooked chicken and toss to allow the ginger flavor to penetrate the chicken. Add the broth, lemon grass and papaya slices.

3. Season with fish sauce and salt. Adjust seasonings. When the papaya is tender, add the sili leaves and cook for 5 seconds. Remove from fire, serve hot in a soup bowl.

NOTE: This is a very healthy dish, perfect for dieters, the young and the elderly and all in between. For the very young and the elderly, flake or slice the cooked chicken into cubes they can easily eat. Those of us who can handle forks and knives can handle the boney parts.

a bowl of Chicken Tinola

On Being Mom To an Alpha Pre-Teen

        In the wake of my "successful venture" into sewing, I decided to make new blouses for uniforms for my youngest. Seeing that she, as a pre-teen, has become more conscious of her appearance, I figured, it wouldn't hurt if I made her new uniforms to match her new-found self-confidence. She'd lost baby fat and has recently grown womanly curves, despite still being a child.

        After just one day, I finished all three new white blouses, washed and pressed them. When she finally wore one last Monday, she got rave reviews from classmates, saying she looked trim and bright with her super white, crisp and well-made blouses. Yay!

        Monday, at lunch time, while she was walking home under the sweltering heat of the sun, ( there was no available tricycle at that time, and school was cancelled for the afternoon, due to a freak heavy rainfall in the early morning, that caused flooding to most of her classmate's homes) a boy she was crushing on, accompanied her while shielding her face with his hands from the sun and walked her home, from 5 houses away from where he saw her.

Arianne in pink shorts in grade three with a nurse friend and neighbors

        But what happened yesterday, I wasn't quite well-prepared for. Imagine my reaction when my 10 year old, told me that a 6th grader next door to her classroom, asked her to go to the school garden with him and there, confessed his 'love' for her, whilst holding her hand. Blushing and shaking, was how my little girl described the "culprit" when he said those words.

        My baby heard her very first and monumental " I love you" yesterday, July 16, 2013 over at lunch break at a public elementary school right here in Davao City, Philippines. And my head is shaking in disbelief.

         I was torn between amusement and concern. Well. first, I laughed as my baby was describing how her pulse raced and that she didn't quite know what to do or what to say. She simply shrugged and said " Pag-sure oy!" which would roughly translate to "come on, are you sure?" And then after watching the butterflies and flowers that the boy was pointing to, ( Arianne was basically telling me she barely heard, let alone understood, the other things the boy was saying, after she heard that shocker of a confession, which I could understand, was how any girl would feel under the circumstances.)

At grade four trying on a Forever 21 jacket

        And then the barrage of questions, ranging from "can I have a boyfriend, now?" to "why not? not even for just a month?" I patiently answered ALL my little angel's childish questions. She was still processing the incident and hasn't really fully understood the implications of what just happened to her.

      I must say that I have to give some credit to the boy. I've seen the boy a few times as Arianne has pointed him out, after learning from his friends that he was eyeing her. For one, the boy is an Alpha pre-teen himself, being a leader of the boys in his class. He has a group of other classmates who follow his lead in scouting and Tae Kwon Do. Though not audaciously handsome, he's quite attractive being neat in his appearance and ways. From what I learned, he introduced himself to her, and would grab every opportunity to make friends with her, even sending other boys to tell her, he's been crushing on her. 

       Yesterday, when I learned that he wasted no time, and gathered up the courage to tell her how he felt, and apparently planned the walk to the garden, when school was just a month and a half into the school year. This early, he wanted to beat others to the door,and secure for himself a possible spot in her heart. Now, that's an Alpha male, brave and bold.

       Processing my daughter's recent experiences all throughout summer and now, while in fifth grade, I was also able to finally conclude that she too, happened to be an Alpha female, a magnetic and influential personality, who can instantly change the chemistry in any room the minute she walks in.

        Arianne was still chubby when school ended in March, but all throughout summer, she lost baby fat, gained 12 new friends and half of these are boys, whom she could easily compete with on boy-oriented games. Though not boyish, she's adept in Dragon Nest, CrossFire, I-Date and other computer games requiring high level skills. Sometimes she teaches them; boys and girls, the necessary skills to upgrade and level up. Being naturally people-oriented, she easily makes friends, is not easily offended and accepting of other kids, making no discrimination irregardless of status, height or appearance. Despite being the youngest girl in her circle of friends, she also attracts the boys the most. At least four of these boys have taken turns stealing opportunities to hold her hands whilst playing ball games and computer games. I know because I can hear the teasing and she reports the incidents to me every night.

        As her family constantly surrounds her in most of her activities, we have collectively observed how she has developed into having a curvacious figure, disarming smile and a magnetic personality. Her presence and absence is felt whether by us, or by her friends.

       All the while I thought this was only my observation, her older siblings and own father have noticed the same things too. So this early, despite not being fully woman yet, she has become a boy-magnet, such that an unlucky fellow has fallen hard for her effortless charms already and confessed, I can only expect to hear more of these happening now and in the near future.

       I have already worked out my plan to monitor her school activities, having her female school adviser apprised of her experiences and to regulate her break time activities. I'm also planning to tap her former adviser and male teacher to do a non-threatening man-talk to the boy to remind him of his youth and limitations as a minor.

       In the evening, I helped Arianne process her feelings and reminded her she cannot be in relationships just yet. That it was okay for the boy to give her notes and little tokens, but not to take her anywhere inside or outside the school for extended talks. And that she should have a female classmate with her should the love-sick boy ask to speak with her just to be on the safe-side.

        Every experience as a mother is an adventure. and though this recent one is both funny and disconcerting, I pray for protection for my daughter as she has barely entered into the tumultuous world of crushing, loving and teenage hood. I hope the open communication we have established together becomes the foundation of a less-difficult transition into her adulthood.

        Thank you for the opportunity to share my experience with my youngest. So far so good, I AM rocking this mom role. Good luck to your mothering!

Beef Mechado

        It's 5 minutes before 10 pm and I'm smiling from ear to ear. God answered my prayer. It's also started raining, so now I can post a recipe, finally. The kids have gone home, and the computers are available for me to use.

        I made Beef Mechado today. A very special occasion dish and mainly prepared in the Luzon areas, but seldom in the Visayas and Mindanao.  I took extra time to make this dish. I've always loved the way it tasted, but the fact that the recipe enlists no extenders, only meat, and a long preparation time had always been a drawback. But just the same, I ventured to make Beef Mechado once and for all. And the sacrifice paid off.

Beef Mechado

        I served the dish for lunch and was surprised it did not make it to dinner. I think that's proof enough that the family liked it.

        I must warn you though, that this is a fussy dish in terms of cooking time. But if you have a slow cooker or crockpot, it would make life so much easier.

INGREDIENTS:

500 g beef, cubed
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 T. kalamansi juice (lemon)
1 onion, sliced
1 T. garlic, minced
1 8 g. sachet Maggi Magic Sarap
1 cup tomato sauce

PROCEDURE:

1. Marinate beef cubes in soy sauce, Maggi Magic Sarap and kalamansi juice for at least 30 minutes.

Marinade and beef

2. Saute the garlic and onions in a little oil until limp. Add the beef and marinade and bring to a boil. Simmer for one and a half hours or until tender, adding more water as needed.

3. When tender, add tomato sauce and simmer for another 15 minutes. Turn off fire and serve hot.

saucy, meaty Beef Mechado

NOTE: This recipe requires no salt and pepper and may taste a little on the sour side while cooking. This is the natural flavor of Mechado, You may choose to add a little sugar to get the edge of the sour taste, if you wish.

The dish has a very strong flavor and can stand alone with rice as accompaniment. But a mild tasting soup might be a great foil to this strong tasting dish.

I looked up Google pictures of Beef Mechado and was surprised to see that their recipes included potatoes, bell peppers, and carrots, among others. But the Mechado I've known had none of these, otherwise, it would look no different than Beef Caldereta. Though, adding potatoes as extenders wouldn't hurt, here's one I liked.

Yummy spoonful, huh?

Great weekend everyone!

Fish Sarciado

        Lately, I've been studying online to improve my knowledge on internet marketing. I have some wild business ideas I've been nurturing since November last year, and I figured it would be to my advantage if I learned the ropes myself. I also asked the children to learn as much as they can, since my middle child is into Computer Graphics and Animation and the eldest is into Web Applications Development and Design. Now, I'm no techie mom, so this is a challenge to me.

        By the way, this is also the reason I will be posting recipes and other posts at least 4-5 times a week instead of daily. I hope that's okay.

        Have you ever had a wild, business idea or product, that you just knew would make you huge amounts of money but never acted on it, and then a few months later, you see that same idea now being sold in stores or implemented by another person? Chances are, you have, right? Well, I believe they are divine inspirations given by God to us. And maybe, just maybe, next time you come up with a million dollar idea, you will put that into writing, explore it and act on it. Who knows, that might just be the break you need.

        How and why did I get into that? Well anyways, today we will be making Fish Sarciado. Literally the name means, Saucy Fish. From the word ' sarsa' or 'salsa' . I think it's more of soupy fish, though. It is one of the easiest dishes to make and serve.For those times, you feel particularly lazy or busy, this will be put together in 15 minutes or less.

Fish Sarciado

        Let's make Sarciado!

INGREDIENTS:

3-6 pieces whole small fish or fish fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper, fried
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 onion sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
2 cups water 
salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:

1. For whole fish, simply season with salt and pepper and fry. For fish fillets, season with salt and pepper and dip in flour before frying. Set aside.

Frying the fish

2. Saute garlic, onions and tomatoes in a tablespoon of oil. Add the fried fish and the water. Cover and simmer to combine the flavors.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Drop an egg and disperse with a fork. Laddle into a soup bowl and add a few drops of olive or sesame oil on top. Serve hot with rice.

Dispersing the egg

NOTE: This is a great dish to reuse leftover fried fish.

Better served in a bowl than a tray, right?

Molo Soup ( Wonton Soup )

        Hi, everyone! I'm so glad to be back after one week of absence. Actually, I never went anywhere, just had to make my college children's uniforms as no tailor would take them anymore. 

        Now, I'm no tailor nor dressmaker. I haven't even finished my dressmaking lessons in the 90's. But I am happy to say that thanks to YouTube and the Sewing Guru, I was able to make two pairs of pants and two polo shirts for my 16 year old boy, and three pencil skirts and two blouses for my 18 year old girl. Whew! I never thought I could make them myself, but after much prayer, pricking my fingers, sewing, and adjusting, they're all done! 

        I have greatly benefited from the experience though; 1. I gained experience making wearable clothes. ( It did matter that I was on a tight schedule, and that the materials were special edition cloths that bore the school's initials, and that I could not afford to make junk out of them) and 2. As my hands were busy, I filled my mind with Christian music, wearing headphones all day, everyday for a week. My mind and soul had a work out and I felt my faith strengthened, and 3. I lost about 5 pounds, sitting on my sewing machine and sewing away from 8 am until 10 pm in the evening. Yay!

        Okay, so today we're finally making Molo Soup. Molo is a district in a town in Ilo-Ilo, where the locals traded with the Chinese. The place quickly gained the reputation of becoming a Chinatown as many Chinese came and settled there even before the Spanish colonization, so that the place used to be called Pari-an ( meaning, Chinatown.)

Molo Soup

        It is safe to say that  Molo Soup was influenced by the Chinese Wonton soup but has taken on a more local flavor. Some people still call it Pancit Molo, though technically there are no noodles in  the soup. ( Pancit;  means noodles ) but few reason that the main ingredients of noodles still make up the wanton wrapper, or so they say. But, pancit or not, I love it, love to make it, and prefer it to any other soup, bar none!

        It has a light, velvety, sexy texture because of the wonton pieces, but is filling with the wonton dumplings. This is one dish you can serve as a light meal, as snack or as soup. This is also perfect for teething babies and toddlers, as well as the elderly, who cannot digest well.

        The Ilonggo ( Ilo-Ilo, a region in the Visayas or Central Philippines ) version of Molo Soup seems to be the most popular, so that's what we will be making.

INGREDIENTS:

A. FOR THE MOLO OR WONTON DUMPLINGS

250 g or a cup of ground pork
50 g of chopped up shrimp (optional, but adds oomph!)
2 T. sliced green onions
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup grated turnip or singkamas
1 T. patis or fish sauce
salt and pepper to taste
30-50 pieces wonton wrapper ( molo wrapper or siomai wrapper )


B. FOR THE BROTH

1 chicken breast
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sliced white onions
6-8 cups water
salt, fish sauce and pepper to taste 
sliced spring onions

PROCEDURE:

1. In a deep pot, saute the garlic and onions until fragrant and transparent, add the chicken and water and a little salt and pepper. Boil until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken breast and let cool a little. Flake the chicken meat and discard the bones. Place the chicken flakes in the broth again.

2. In a bowl, mix the first seven ingredients for the dumpling. Wrap each teaspoonful in a wrapper, sealing with water. Set aside. Below is a step by step tutorial on wrapping the molo.

center a teaspoon of the mixture on a wrapper and wet the top two sides with water to seal

Bring up the lower half to seal into a triangle

inserting a finger in the middle, fold up one side, wet the tips with water

Fold the remaining tip over and you're done!

Do the same to the rest. You could end up with 40-50 dumplings

3. Bring the broth with the chicken flakes into the boil again and drop the molo dumplings one by one. Cook for about 10-12 minutes. Tear the remaining wrappers and add to the soup. Adjust the seasonings, adding more fish sauce and ground pepper as needed.

4. To serve: Laddle soup and molo into a soup bowl and sprinkle green onions on top. Serve hot!

Big bowl of Molo Soup

Easy,  and delicious, right? 

NOTE: To make this dish fast, you can use store-bought dumplings instead, and simply get started with the broth. But, if you have time to spare, it would be nice to make them from scratch. Your family will think you fussed, though the dumplings are pretty easy to make.

You may also make the dumplings in advance and freeze until you make Molo Soup.

Til next time, ciao!

Special Puto ( Rice Cakes )

        Great day to y'all ! I haven't been posting my recipes of late as I was ' forced ' to DIY my college student's uniforms as all the tailors and dressmakers in the area have begged off. I'm thinking of posting that project under DIY but then, the pants materials is dark colored, I'm not sure if my camera can do justice to my project.

         I have finished one pair of pants last night, and will be working on the second one today, hopefully finish it, and then work on my daughter's skirts. Good thing the sewing guru in Youtube is very helpful with his tutorials. I wouldn't know what to do if it weren't for his tutorials.

        Today, we're making Puto or Rice Cakes. 10  or 15 years ago, special tiny colored puto cheese came out in the market and it was an instant hit. Every single colorful morsel was just the right bite-size, and so people started consuming trays upon trays of Puto Cheese.

        The great thing about this recipe is that, it is the exact recipe for Puto Cheese. To change it up a bit, one may use sliced Red Eggs on top in lieu of cheese. I did not put cheese on top of these so I'm not calling these Puto Cheese this time.

Special Puto

        Puto is a lightweight, fluffy, steamed rice cake made from flour and coconut milk. For ease of preparation, milk may be used without affecting the taste. Puto  always appears on our KAKANIN spreads alongside KUTCHINTA.

        When we say KAKANIN;  that almost means a dessert table, but then again showcasing only native delicacies, which doubles as breakfast and snack fare. Unlike desserts which normally is eaten after a full meal, KAKANINs hold their own, and are offered even in Hotels and restaurants and tourists, as a taste of Philippine Culture on a plate. On some occasions, festivals are held and KAKANIN's take centerstage. I remember attending a sunrise wedding some 20 years ago where the couple served different varieties of KAKANIN along with Kapeng Barako  ( Strong, native coffee ) and Native Hot Chocolate or SIKWATE.

        It's Summer in the West, so why not make some to take to pool and beach parties or make some for the kid's snacks? I promise that one bite won't be enough, and you will find yourself making these again and again.

Let's make Puto!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups All Purpose Flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1 cup sugar, white
2 cups coconut milk or fresh milk
slices of cheese or salted eggs ( optional )

PROCEDURE:

1. Grease the smallest muffin tins you can find. Or plastic or metal Puto molds, if you have them. Set aside. 

2. Blend together the first four ingredients. Divide into four bowls and tint with different pastel food colors. Pour into molds, almost to the top.

Tinting with pastel colors

and placing them in molds

3. This is optional : put a sliver of cheese on top of each for puto cheese. Or 2 thin slices of red eggs for exotic taste. Plain is perfectly acceptable.

Steaming them halfway 

4. Steam covered for 15-20 minutes. Slide off the molds and arrange on a plate and serve.

NOTE: If you can find the 1 inch puto molds, those are perfect for making hundreds of pastel colored puto for children's parties and other events. They look pretty and are equally tasty treats. These are healthier versions than muffins or cupcakes. I'm sure the elderly and the very young kids will enjoy this as well. 

I have given the variations above, for Puto Cheese and Puto with Red Eggs. These are Google pics of those:

Commercially available Puto Cheese

Brightly colored Puto Cheese

Puto with Red Eggs closeup

Puto with Red eggs

Once more, thanks for visiting and do let me know if you have made these.  My readers usually leave their comments on Facebook. I think they're as shy as I am. But your feedback gives me encouragement, so thank you, again!