Tropical Island Cooking. Jennifer Aranas
2 to 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, scraping any browned bits of onion off the bottom of the pan. Add the soy sauce, pepper, chicken stock, eggplant, and prunes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the eggplant is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the pili nuts and spoon alongside the grilled grouper (page 129).
This naturally sweet compote also pairs well with Whole Roasted Red Snapper (page 125), Bistek (page 112), Oven Roasted Pork (page 107), and Stuffed Quail (page 103).
Tomato, Onion, and Garlic Paste
Basic Sofrito
Sofrito is originally a Spanish paste of cooked tomato, onion, bell pepper, and garlic used as a flavor base for any number of soups, stews, and sautés. Naturally, the different Spanish colonies have long since individualized their sofrito so that in Puerto Rico it is different from the sofrito of Cuba or Mexico. In the Philippines, we start many of our dishes with a basic trio of onion, garlic, and tomato sautéed in olive oil. Depending on the dish being made, atsuete (annatto) seeds may be added to impart a burnt russet color and earthy flavor to the oil before adding the garlic, onion, and tomato. Other times, bell peppers are added for sweetness. You can certainly tailor your sofrito to suit your own taste. This recipe gives you a basic flavor template that you can build upon with other ingredients. Keeping a sofrito reserve in your refrigerator will allow you to save time chopping onions, garlic, and tomatoes.
Makes 2 cups (450 g)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan (1 to 2 quarts/liters) over medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the onion. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until tomatoes completely collapse and all the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated. Season with soy sauce and pepper. Remove from the heat and cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Variations: 1. With annatto seeds.
To add a light earthy flavor and russet color to your sofrito, first sauté 2 teaspoons atsuete (annatto) seeds in olive oil for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the seeds from the oil, which should have an orange color. Discard the seeds and continue directions for basic sofrito.
2. With bell peppers. Green bell peppers will add a grassy flavor and red bell peppers will impart their characteristic sweetness. Use one small bell pepper, deseeded and chopped into a fine dice. Follow the original recipe sautéing the pepper with the onion.
3. With misu. Misu sofrito, or sofrito with miso paste, is especially delicious as a base for seafood soups and sautés. You’ll see it used in the Pesa nga may Misu (page 126) although it also pairs well with poultry. In this recipe, I find that caramelizing the onions in butter creates a nice sweetness that is surprisingly delicious paired against the salty miso. See Misu in “Buying Filipino Ingredients,” (see page 171).
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 thinly sliced yellow onion, approximately 1 cup (80 g). Stir and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until browned and well caramelized. Add 1 minced garlic clove and 1 small diced tomato. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until the tomato softens. Stir in ½ cup (125 g) miso paste and stir to combine. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Yields 1 cup (250 g).
Steamed Rice
The thread that weaves through nearly every Filipino table from Luzon to Mindanao is the humble grain of rice. Whether served as the most important component of a meal or as the basis of a quick snack—as shown here in Fragrant Rice with Green Mango (recipe, page 79)—rice is what Filipinos equate with sustenance. Without flair or flourish, steamed white rice is ideal. Long-grain indica varieties are the most widely grown on the islands, which include the jasmine-like milagrosa variety that is so popular for its floral aroma and fresh-cooked stickiness. Many Filipinos rely on their electric rice cookers to steam rice to fluffy perfection, but equal results can be achieved on the stovetop.
Serves 6
3 cups (600 g) long-grain rice
5 cups water
Place your rice in a large deep pot. Wash the rice thoroughly in several changes of water until the water runs clear. This washing will give your rice a cleaner flavor and whiteness. Drain all of the water from the rice.
Pour 5 cups water into the rice pot. Cover the pot and place over high heat. Bring the water to a boil. This may take 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat to the lowest heat setting and allow the rice to steam for 12 to 18 minutes until the rice is tender and all the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to continue steaming for 10 minutes before removing the cover. This method of cooking rice yields a fluffy, moist, and sticky rice. Serve hot.
Varation: Pandan Steamed Rice.
After you have washed your rice, add a 5-inch (12¼-cm) pandan leaf to the pot. Cook the rice as directed.
SHANGHAI EGG ROLLS LUMPIA SHANGHAI
PORK AND GINGER DUMPLINGS SHUMAI
STEAMED RICE CAKES WITH BACON AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS SUMAN NGA BABOY
SHRIMP AND SWEET POTATO FRITTERS UKOY
CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE
ADOBO-FLAVORED PECANS BEEF TURNOVERS EMPANADAS
FRIED SWEET BANANAS PRITONG SAGING
GRILLED CHICKEN WINGS
STEAMED BUNS FILLED WITH CURRY CHICKEN CURRY CHICKEN SIOPAO
CRÊPES WITH SHRIMP AND GREEN PAPAYA LUMPIA SARIWA
SPICED ANCHOVY CRISPS PRITONG DILIS
APPETIZERS AND SMALL BITES
Pampagana may be the Filipino word for appetizer, but merienda (snack), pulutan (bar food), or pica-pica (finger food) suggest the same qualities of an appetizer—such as their small size and ability to kick-start the appetite. However, an appetizer implies a meal served in courses, a Western custom that Filipinos don’t typically follow. Filipinos instead place equal importance on every dish so that all offerings, from salad to soup to the main dish, are brought to the table at the same time. Despite the lack of an appetizer course, per se, Filipinos still embrace every occasion to partake in small dishes, appetite teasers, and grazing tidbits of finger food enjoyed with a beer or glass of wine. The focus of this chapter is on recipes that in the American tradition make good appetizers, casually passed or shared in a large group during the cocktail hour or served individually in a more formal setting.
If you have ever experienced the excitement of Chinese dim sum with the traffic jam of carts wheeling towers of ministeamers to your table, presenting everything from chicken feet to dumplings to silken tofu, you’ll recognize several of the dishes in this chapter. Although not originally Filipino cuisine, centuries of trade with China have deposited dim sum on the islands as an adopted presence, similar to the way pizza has become a transplanted American staple. You’ll see Shumai pork dumplings, best served piping hot directly from the steamer; lumpia egg rolls in different incarnations, from crispy, fried Lumpia Shanghai to the tender and elegant Lumpia Sariwa; and Siopao, steamed buns filled with curry chicken, although the possibilities of fillings are deliciously endless.
One homeland tradition supplanted by the ubiquitous busy schedule is the taking of merienda, the midmorning and midafternoon refreshment that Filipinos enjoy in between main meals. I often think of merienda fare in terms of what my parents would serve to their friends during a lazy, Sunday afternoon mahjong game. Literally translated from Spanish as “snack,” merienda can be sweet or savory, light or heavy,