Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelet)

Ingredients:

• 2 to 4 talong (eggplants), average size
• 2 to 3 eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper, to taste
• oil, for frying

(Cooking Conversion Chart)
Cooking Procedures :

1. Broil eggplants until tender (the skins are charred and blister appears).
2. Once cool, peel off the skins of the eggplant and retain the crown and the stem. Gently flatten its meat by using the back of a fork. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
4. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Dip each eggplant, one at a time into the egg mixture. Gently bring the bowl near the skillet and tip, lowering the eggplant onto the heated oil.
5. Fry until golden brown on one side, then turn and brown the other. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm and serve.

Humba Recipe (Braised Pork Belly with Sugar)

Humba Recipe (Braised Pork Belly) is one of the comfort foods of every Filipino household.  It's a popular filipino food dish somewhere in the Visayas and Mindanao regions (I knew it because I used to lived from this two areas).  I don't know how they called it in the Luzon region, but I knew they have a version of humba too. Filipino recipes is really my favorite.  Humba is one of the dishes I prepared during our recentsalo-salo (get together) with friends.  Everyone loved it.  I even heard one of them that he missed it a lot.  They were quite surprised upon seeing potatoes and hard-boiled eggs sitting on the dish.  I've got this idea by my mom's friend, a kusinera (a househelp main job is like a chef who cooks for the entire family household).  Her Chinese style humba has a distinctive flavor that I can't remember exactly how she made it.  Maybe soon, I'll post my Chinese style version.  So, watch out for it!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pork (i usually used pork belly or pork hocks), cut into serving pieces
• 1 cup water
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp. pepper or 1 tsp. peppercorns
• 1 tsp. oil
• salt to taste
• 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered (optional)
• hard-boiled eggs (optional)

(Cooking Conversion Chart)
Cooking Procedures :

1. Combine all ingredients in a big pot and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for about an hour or until pork belly or hocks is tender.  You may wish to adjust the taste according to your style and liking.
2. If you want to add some potatoes and hard-boiled eggs in this dish, potatoes usually cook about 15 minutes.  It's up to you whether you like it very soft or just tender to bite.  You may add it halfway of the cooking time or later.  As for the eggs let it sits for a few minutes before its done to let the sauces covered into it.
3. Remove bay leaf and peppercorns (if used) just before serving.  Serve hot.

Pancit Palabok

Pancit Palabok is a Filipino noodle dish of Chinese origin.  It is called palabok because the thin rice noodles are covered with a bright colored orange shrimp-flavoured thick sauce.  Aside from the sauce, pancit palabok has a toppings of prawns, wedge cut hard-boiled eggs, chicharon (pork cracklings), flaked tinapa (smoke fish), fried garlic and chopped of green onions.  Then finished it with squeeze calamansi (Philippine Lemon) all over.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups water
• 1 cup mongo sprouts
• 1 lb. pancit bihon (rice noodles) or palabok noodles

Palabok Sauce

• 1/4 cup atsuete (annatto) seeds, soaked in
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups shrimp juice
• 6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper,to taste

Toppings

• 1 cup cooked pork, cut into strips
• 2 pcs. fried tokwa (beancurd), cubed
• 1/2 cup flaked tinapa (smoked fish)
• 1/2 cup pounded chicharon (pork cracklings)
• 2 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced into wedges
• 1/2 cup shrimps, boiled and shelled
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions, to garnish
• 1 tbsp. fried garlic, to garnish
• kalamansi (Philippine lemon)

(Cooking Conversion Chart)
Cooking Procedures :

1. Boil water in a pot.  Place mongo sprouts in a strainer and then add the noodles.  Drop strainer into boiling water.  Cook sprouts and noodles until soft.  Drain well.  Pour noodles with sprouts in a large platter.
2. Prepare palabok sauce: Strain atsuete water.  Add to shrimp juice and cook in a saucepan.  Disperse flour in water and add to the pan.  Bring to a boil and stir constantly.  Season to taste.  Remove from heat and pour over cooked noodles.
3. Top with pork and tokwa.  Sprinkle with tinapa and chicharon.  Arrange egg slices and shrimps on top.  Garnish with green onions and fried garlic.  Serve with kalamansi.

Chicken Curry Recipe (Filipino Style)

This curry recipe is one of my favorite Filipino chicken recipes in the database. In my family, chicken curry is a dish that we usually make during birthdays and parties back in the Philippines. But here in Canada, I continue cooking this chicken dish during special occasions because this is one of my famous Filipino recipe that my family and friends loves. They said that when they start eating this chicken curry, they feel a little burning sensation in their mouth and wow really spicy delicious.
Well, many countries had their own version of chicken curry but for me, the Filipino chicken curry is still the best.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tbsp. oil
• 3 potatoes, peeled, quartered and fried
• 1 lb. chicken, cut into serving pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1 tbsp. patis (fish sauce)
• 3 tbsp. curry powder
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into big squares
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into big squares
• 3 celery stalks, cut into 1-1/2” long
• 1 cup coconut milk or evaporated milk

(Cooking Conversion Chart)
Cooking Procedures :

1. Pan fry potatoes. Set aside.
2. In the same pan, fry chicken pieces and brown a little.
3. Add garlic and onion. Sauté for a few minutes until soft.
4. Pour in patis and season with curry powder, salt and pepper. Stir for 2 minutes.
5. Add water. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat; add celery, bell peppers and fried potatoes. Simmer for 3 minutes or until half done.
6. Add milk and stir occasionally. Cook for another 7 minutes (or lesser when using evaporated milk because the liquids will curled).
7. Remove from heat. Serve hot.

Maruya I (Banana Fritters)

Maruya ("Banana Fritters") is one of my favourite merienda when I was in the Philippines. They sometimes place it in a bamboo stick and sometimes they shape it like a hand fans. I miss that moment especially after siesta that when we woke up, my mom cooks us merienda delicacies like this maruya during hot summer day.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 3 ripe saba (banana plantain), peeled and sliced lengthwise
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• flour, for dredging · sugar

(Cooking Conversion Chart)
Cooking Procedures :

1. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk and egg, beat until smooth.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan (or a large saucepan) over medium heat.
3. In batches, roll banana slices in flour and then dip in batter. Fry in hot oil until golden brown.
4. Drain on paper towels. Roll in sugar. Place in a serving dish and serve.

Pork Chop Suey

Pork chop suey is a Chinese dish primarily made up of mixed vegetable with meat like chicken, fish, beef, shrimp or pork, added for extra flavor. Chopsuey is widely believe to be an  American-Chinese immigrants creation, and not an authentic Chinese dish. They said, Chinese farmers was inspired to cook a stir-fried vegetables known now as chopsuey and ate them after a long day working in the fields.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. pork, cut into thin strips
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. oyster sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. cornstarch

• 1 to 1-1/2 cup chicken broth (or water)
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sugar

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-1/2 cup baby carrots, halved
• 3 stalks celery, cut diagonally into 1 inch long
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 15 to 20 pieces snow peas, trimmed
• 1 can slice mushroom, drained
• 1 can miniature cut cobs of corn, drained

(Cooking Conversion Chart)
Cooking Procedures :

1. Cut the pork into thin strips. Combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt and pepper, and cornstarch. Stir to blend and then add the meat. Marinate for 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir to blend and then set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok (or deep skillet) over medium heat. Fry pork for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and onion until soft and translucent. Stir in baby carrots for about a minute. Add the rest of the vegetables, stir-frying for a minute or two after each addition.
4. Add the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and continue stirring until well blended and sauce thickens. Correct seasonings.
5. Immediately remove from heat after heated through. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve hot the chop suey dish.

Nilagang Baboy (Boiled Pork with Vegetables)

Nilaga in filipino means 'boiled'. Nilagang Baboy is another filipino food recipe that is easy to make that you just throw everything in the pot and let it cook until tender. It can be with pork or beef of any kind you like and just add any vegetables of your choice. Corns and ripe saba (banana plantain) is also good in this dish. You may or may not add pork and beans -- it's up to you if you'll like it thickened or just a clear soupy dish. You can even add a thumb-size ginger for a pungent flavor. Nilaga is good in any kind of weather.
My family love nilaga. They like soupy kind of food dish that they quickly finish their meal. I remember that we used to have this dish (we call it nilat-an in our dialect) during Sunday's lunch. We always had our get-together with my in-laws every weekend.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pork (choices of belly, hocks, neck or any bony parts of pork), cut into serving pieces
• 5-6 cups water
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 green onions (scallions), sliced into 1” long
• 1/4 tsp. peppercorn
• salt to taste
• 2 eddoes- also known as taro or gabi, quartered (optional)
• 2 potatoes, quartered
• 1 can pork and beans
• pechay (bok choy) or cabbage leaves

(Cooking Conversion Chart)
Cooking Procedures :

1. Place pork in a big pot and let it covered with water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer until pork is tender for about an hour.
2. Remove all the resulting scum that will rise to the top of the pot.
3. Add crushed garlic, sliced onions, scallions, peppercorn and season with salt.
4. Add quartered eddoes (if using) and potatoes. Cook until tender.
5. Add the pork and beans. Simmer for 5 minutes. Correct the seasoning.
6. Add pechay or cabbage leaves. Do not overcook the green vegetables.
7. Remove from heat. Serve hot.