Filipino food for dummies

"You don't know how to cook," my grandmother mutters under her breath as she whips up some fresh carne norte (corned beef hash) for me for lunch.  My husband sniggers at her comment from across the kitchen as we watch her glide through the kitchen with ease.  In self defense, I proceed to explain to her that I KNOW how to cook, it just simply isn't the food she's used to.  "Well, let me show you a few things," she says...and begins to give me a mini lesson on the basics of Filipino cooking.

What she reminded me that afternoon was that a delicious dish begins with a few simple ingredients.  Namely, garlic, onion, and a little bit of olive oil.  If you've entered a kitchen with this trio simmering, you know it's heavenly scent.  I didn't grow to appreciate the smell of these three ingredients until my husband and I relocated to the west coast a month after we married.  I no longer had the luxury of a home cooked pot of chicken adobo waiting for me when I arrived home.  So much for the sunny California beaches!  I wanted my own pan of pancit!!

My husband and I searched the San Fernando Valley high and low for an authentic Filipino restaurant that could do my grandmother and mother's cooking justice.  However, what we found were dishes that were too salty...too tangy....or just plain bad!  It was back to the drawing board...and I realized I would have to learn how to make the dishes myself.

The following weekend I awoke bright and early on a mission to get the recipe just right.  I called my mom and prepared her to educate me on the "secret family recipes."   This wasn't just some regular catch up call....it was for real.  My stomach and palate depended on it!  

I spent the latter part of the morning on the phone with my mom, recording a detailed grocery list for lumpia, pancit, and chicken adobo.  I know it seemed a bit much for two people...but I was determined to get it right!  I spent the next 3 hours doing my best impression of an Iron Chef.  My mother was patient and walked me through the entire process...from rolling each individual egg roll wrapper, to stirring the final bits of bay leaf in the adobo pot.  One last taste...and....it was a success!

My husband and I dined like kings that evening..and it was worth every ounce of sweat and love that went into the process.  The following are the Abeto Family recipes for my favorite Filipino dishes.  There are a multitude of variations for each dish, but this is what I think of when I think of home.

I hope you'll find some time to try these for yourself or to share with your family.  You don't need to be an Iron Chef to create these...but your family will treat you like one when you're done!!

Tayo'y magsikain!  (Bon Appetit!)

Filipino Chicken Adobo

(c/o Ludie Litz and Esperanza Abeto)

Ingredients (amounts will vary according to taste):

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped or minced

1 onion, chopped

1/3 cup white vinegar

2 tbsp.oyster sauce

1 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp. lemon juice

3 or 4 bay leaves

2 lb. chicken (either drum/wingettes, boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs)

1 tsp. Accent (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

Heat a pot over medium heat and coat the bottom with olive oil.  Add the garlic until it’s golden (not brown).  Add the onions until they are soft.  Brown the chicken.  Season with salt and pepper.  Once chicken is almost cooked, add the vinegar to the pot. Cover pot and allow chicken to simmer for about 5 minutes.  Once chicken is cooked, add oyster sauce, soy sauce.  Stir.  Break up bay leaves into pieces and add to pot.  Add accent, a little more salt and pepper, lemon juice.  Give one more good stir, then cover pot and let simmer at low heat (will taste better the longer it gets to simmer). 

Filipino Pancit

(c/o Ludie Litz and Esperanza Abeto)

Ingredients:

Canton (Flour) or Bihon/Bijon (Rice) Noodles (1 or 2 packages depending on how much you want to make)

2 or 3 pieces of bacon

3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion chopped

2 or 3 pieces of carrots and celery, chopped

½ head of cabbage

Soy sauce to taste

1 can low sodium chicken stock

Black Pepper to taste

Red Pepper to taste

Oyster Sauce to taste

1/3 cup of water

½ lb. shrimp (optional)

Cut up bacon into small pieces and brown.  Add olive oil and garlic.  Cook until garlic is golden.  Add onions, cook until soft.  Add shrimp until cooked.  Add veggies, then soy sauce and oyster sauce (just enough to make the mixture look a brown color).  BE SURE NOT TO BOIL OR OVER COOK THE VEGGIES.  Add red pepper.  Take out half of mixture and put in a bowl.  Add 1 can of chicken stock to the half of the veggies still in the skillet.  Wash noodles and add.  Add 1/3 of the chicken broth can of water.  Cook the noodles until they are soft.  Add remaining veggies and serve.

Filipino Lumpia

(c/o Ludie Litz and Esperanza Abeto)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef (can substitute turkey, or any other meat you want in it)

2 carrots, finely chopped in food processor

2 celery, chopped as carrots

1 small can of water chestnuts, chopped

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 egg

1 or 2 packages of Lumpia wrappers (can find at any asian food store)

Sweet Chili Sauce for dipping

Heat pot with olive oil.  Add garlic and cook until golden.  Add onions until soft.  Brown ground beef until cooked.  Drain excess liquid out of pot.  Incorporate chopped veggies until mixed in.  Set aside.

Break egg into a small dipping dish.  Spoon small amount of filling into a wrapper, roll, and seal with a bit of the egg. 

Once done rolling all of the egg rolls, fry in oil and serve with sweet chili sauce.