A Scientist in the Kitchen

Each year, on my father’s side of the family, the whole clan gathers for a Christmas lunch. It used to be that Christmas lunch was spent in my grandmother’s house, each family bringing some dish for luck. There would be lots of food, laughter and gifts for everyone. A time to update and keep in touch. Lots of stories and games for the yound and young at heart. Time for me to measure how much my nieces and nephews have grown taller (I am barely five feet!) since the last time I saw them. I really like it there, as after a lunch I can have siesta in my Lola’s bed. Though during those times, it becomes everybody’s bed - from grandchildren to great-grand children all wanting to snuggle in Lola’s bed.

Lola passed away several years ago, and my father’s siblings decide to rotate hosting the Christmas lunch starting from the eldest sister to the youngest. Lunch is always potluck and as early as October, I start daydreaming about what dish to bring. We usually bring turkey caldereta or make turkey ham. Sometimes it’s a chicken dish from the free-range chicken we raise at home. For this year, my mom has decided we’ll bring braised pork and tofu for lunch. Mom has been cooking new dishes lately, reading from magazines or learning from cooking shows. She seldom cooks so it is really a special occasion when she does. She made this dish several weeks back when I wasn’t at home. It seems my dad liked it as he requested this dish one weekend I was there. So to the kitchen, my mom, sister and I went. My mom dictated what to prepare and how to cook. My sister and I taking turns to cook the dish.

Waiting for Christmas? You bet! We’re making the dish for lunch with the whole clan. Take note, though, that this is not what we serve traditionally. For a more traditional Christmas fare, I still have to decide what to cook.

Braised Pork and Tofu

500 grams liempo/pork belly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sized onion, diced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp pepper, crushed
250 grams tofu
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1 bunch Chinese celery
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp flour dissolved in 1/4 cup water

1. Cut pork into one inch cubes and boil in water till tender. Reserve 1/2 cup of broth.
2. Fry tofu till brown on the outside. Cut into one inch cubes.

Frying tofu blocks

3. Saute garlic and onion in 2 tbsp cooking oil. Add the pork cubes and mix. Saute for a few minutes till
4. Add soy sauce and pepper. Mix till meat is browned. Add the reserved broth and the oyster sauce. MIx well then add the fried tofu. Make sure sauce coats tofu all over.
5. Add the Chinese celery and mix for a few seconds. Add the dissolve flour and mix all over. Make sure that the Chinese celery is not overcooked. Remove from fire then add the sesame soil.
6. Serve in plate and garnish with Chinese celery.

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Sausages are one of my favorite things. In the Philippines, there are towns that specialize in sausages and I guess I could divided them into two kinds- those that are preserved with salt and garlic or those with vinegar and sugar. Now, I am partial to the garlicky, salty ones such those that come from Lucban, Quezon - the towm famous for a farmers’ festival each May 15. We call it Longganisang Lucban to denote that it comes from Lucban.

Longganisa Lucban

Longganisa means sausage. So you always know where it comes from. Like we have Longganisang Laoag, Longganisang Vigan, etc… I never really like them sweet so Longganisang Lucban is still a favorite. Luckily, we live near the origin so I can enjoy it as much as I can. It has lots of garlic which I really like.

Well, this post is about herbs but I’m not writing about garlic. This post is about fennel. Fennel seeds, to be exact.

Fennel seeds

I’ve tasted Italian sausages perviously and immediately like the flavor. I was trying to guess the herbs that went with it, especially some seeds that I’ve bitten and burst out all its flavors. I’ve read a lot about herbs such as fennel though I have not tasted it yet. I have my suspicion that the seeds were fennel seeds based on what I have read. And I’ve looked at recipes of Italian sausages and that was the only ingredient I am not familiar with. Finally I got the chance to buy fennels in Manila. There’s a shop in Manila that sells all sorts of spices you wouldn’t think you were in the Philippines once inside.

So I made my own sausages with fennel seeds and other herbs. I don’t think this recipe is unique, as I’ve read a lot of recipes for Italian sausages and I just mixed up what I had from our kitchen.

Before the recipe, some fennel facts:

- the scientific name is Foeniculum vulgare
- flavour is similar to that of anise and star anise
- India, it is common to chew fennel seed (or saunf) as a mouth-freshener
- it is an essential component in Chinese five spice powder

Now for the recipe:

Homemade Italian Sausage

500 grams ground lean pork
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp mixture of dried basil, oregano, thyme and sage
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp ground black pepper
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients very well. Since I couldn’t get any sausage skins, I just shaped them into 3-inch sausages. Let it marinate for at least an hour in the refrigerator. You can fry them or store them in the freezer. Enjoy them with fried rice, too. We enjoyed eating these sausages in a picnic right in the garden, where we’ve also installed an outdoor lighting. Can’t wait to try this out again.

Now, if I could only get the recipe for Longganisa Lucban!

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Astrid of Paulchens Food Blog is hosting Weekend Herb Blogging # 113. Please send your entries at foodblog@paulchens.org.

There are several tomato-based dishes in Filipino cuisine. Of these, the most special would be the caldereta - a Filipino beef stew consisting of beef, potatoes, bell pepper, liver spread, olives and nuts. This is usually served on fiestas and other special occasions.

Since we raise turkeys at home, we usually have turkey caldereta instead of beef. When do we serve it? Birthdays, fiestas and Christmas lunch with my cousins. Oh, and this year, my dad’s high school classs will be celebrating their 50th year of graduation from high school. It’s a potluck lunch. Guess what he will be bringing?

While caldereta may be Filipino dish, each family has it’s version of a good caldereta. Here’s mine. And this my contribution to Festive Food Fair.

Ingredients

Marinade:

5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup soy sauce
2 tsp black pepper, crushed

Caldereta:

2.5 kg turkey meat (any part will do, chopped*)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
500 grams potatoes, quartered
2 pcs each red and green bell pepper
1/2 cup seeded green olives
1/4 cup capers
2 cups tomato sauce
50 grams liver spread
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped coarsely

1. Mariante turkey meat in garlic, soy sauce and black pepper for an hour.

2. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pot. Brown the turkey meat. Reserve the marinade for later use.

3. When meat is browned, and the meat juices have evaporated, saute garlic and onion. Put the meat on the side so you can saute the garlic and onions. When onion is cooked, mix everything in the pot. At this stage, it is like frying the meat with very little oil.

4. Add the potatoes and sautee some more. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil till meat is tender. The amount of water depends on the meat. In our case, since turkey is raised in the backyard, it can be more tough so we tend to cook it longer. Check if potatoes are done and remove from the pot.

5. Check that there is enough broth that cover half the pot. When meat is tender,add the olives, capers and tomato sauce. Put back half the potatoes. Mash the other half of the potatoes and put back in the back. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes until thick. The mashed potatoes acts as a thickener so that you would have a coarsely-thicked sauce.

6. Add the liver spread, bell pepper, and peanuts to the pot and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Well, since this is a Filipino dish, this is really good with rice!

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I have my own sopas version in which I’ve put a lot of herbs. But for an honest-to-goodness Filipino sopas, here’s what I learned from my aunt.

Ingredients:

300 grams chicken
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup cabbage, shredded
salt and pepper to tast
patis/fish sauce to taste
3-4 cups broth
1 1/2 cup uncooked macaroni pasta

1. Make chicken broth by puting chicken and 1 teaspoon salt in 4 cups of water. Bring to boil then to cook the chicken. When cooked, shred chicken and reserve broth for later.

2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pot, saute garlic and onions then add the shredded chicken. Add 1 tsbp fish sauce
and a dash of crushed pepper. Saute till chicken, is almost browned. Add the carrots and saute some more.

3. Add 1/4 cup broth and let it simmer. Add the uncooked macaroni and mix well.
Add the 3-4 cups broth that have been kept hot to the pot. (I usually heat the broth while I am sauteeing the ingredients for the sopas.).
4. Cook until macaroni is almost done, around eight minutes or. Add the shredded cabbage and bring to a boil. At this point you may add more broth depending on your preference for a thick or thin sopas). When cabbage is cooked, add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Remove from fire then add 1/2 cup of milk. Mix everything then it is ready to serve.

Note: You can also use pork meat and broth instead of chicken.

Variations? Adding bits of hotdog to sopas is also common and makes for a colorful sopas.

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