Filipino Food: Exotic Delicacies

Into Exotic Delicacies? Try Filipino Food

The Philippines is a land of 7000+ islands. They are consisted of many different ethnicities and therefore their culture is quite mixed. This is why the Filipino food is indeed a variety. There are many different Filipino food recipes that many people would love to get to try. There are some, however, who consider them gross. Well, what I can say about Filipino food is that they may seem weird and gross, but they are definitely delicious and tasty. This is why I have decided to share with you the Filipino food that you should try when you get there. Read on and get to know more about these delicacies that the Filipinos love.

Balut. The Balut, as the whole world knows, is a boiled duck egg. What’s so exotic about this Filipino food? Well, when you open it, you will see a fertilized ducking inside. Yes, a duckling. You will see it as a whole – with the beak, feet, and feathers. This is why most people find it weird. But the Filipinos don’t. To them, this is a yummy snack. I find it yummy, too. But as a reminder, so that you won’t end up throwing up when you taste this Filipino food, close your eyes! Don’t think of it as a fertilized duckling. Don’t think about the feathers or the beak or the feet! This way, you will get to enjoy the taste of this Filipino food. You will get to know why the Filipinos love balut so much.

Dinuguan. The Dinuguan is a saucy dish that is made from pork blood. The Filipinos have always been hard on resources and money. Therefore, they make sure that they are able to make the most out of everything. They make sure that nothing comes to waste – in this case, the pork blood. The traditional Filipino food recipe of this dish actually contains just a little meat. The proteins used in this dish are the intestines of the pork and the other insides of the pork. Sounds crazy? Well, it is indeed. This is a dish that is found everywhere in the Philippines. When you want to get a taste of the pork blood stew, dinuguan, you can look around you and you will get to see many places that offer them. The pork blood is cooked with vinegar, giving it some sour – savory taste. But there are some people who cook this Filipino food with coconut milk to enhance the taste, which is very effective by the way.

Isaw and Chicharon Bulaklak. The Isaw and Chicharon Bulaklak are popular snacks in the Philippines. They are very different from one another but they have something in common – they are both made from intestines. Yes, intestines. Is this exotic enough for you? The Isaw can be either pork or chicken. The intestines are cleaned and grilled. They are then dipped into a sauce to enhance its flavor. You eat is like a barbeque. And just like the dinuguan and balut, you can see this Filipino food everywhere in the Philippines. Chicharon Bulaklak, on the other hand, is a dish of deep fried pork intestines. Yes, the Filipinos have grilled them, now they fried the intestines too. There are some versions of these Filipino food recipes that use mesentery as well. Now, this is exotic. Indeed, the Filipinos are not one to waste any part of the pork they eat. This is one of the things that make the Filipino people resilient, I guess. They do not let anything go to waste, food or not. Therefore, as exotic, gross, or weird you think the Filipino food are, they are still genius ideas that are delicious and tasty as well.

 

Filipino Food Recipe: Kare Kare

Kare-Kare is a well loved Filipino food. It is a party favorite that is made from oxtails, beef tripe, and vegetables that is cooked in a special peanut sauce. It is served and eaten with shrimp paste that is sautéed to enhance the flavors. Indeed, the Kare Kare recipe is one of many Filipino food recipes that many people from all over the world would love to taste and try to cook.

The Kare Kare Ingredients. When preparing this Filipino food, you should make sure that you have these ingredients on hand. Of course, you have to get the main part of the Filipino food, the oxtail. Get around 2 pounds of this and cut in 1 inch thickness. Also, prepare a pound of beef tripe and cut them in 2 inch squares. Keep in mind that the tripe takes a long time to cook. Therefore, before you prepare your Kare Kare, you should first pressure cook your oxtail and tripe for at least an hour. Then prepare half a pound of string beans and slice in three inch lengths. Get 2 pieces of eggplants and slice in three inch wedges. Prepare also a banana bud or a banana heart and slice them in strips. Get 6 stalks of pechay (or Chinese cabbage) and cut them in two inch lengths. Then rather than getting peanuts and do all the work, you can opt to use peanut butter. Get ½ cup and dissolve it in 1 cup of beef broth. Get ¼ cup of powdered and toasted rice and dissolve it in ½ cup of beef broth. Get additional 3 ½ cups of beef broth. 2 tablespoons of annatto seeds, ¼ cup cooking oil, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper then set them aside. Get 2 cloves of garlic and mince them. Get 1 medium onion and chop them. And lastly, get sautéed shrimp paste and set it aside.

The Cooking Procedure. First, keep on mind that the oxtail and the beef tripe should be pressure cooked in advance so that they will be as tender as you need them to be. Then you can start cooking this awesome Filipino food recipe. So, here it is – first heat the oil and put in annatto seeds for a couple seeds. Then, when the color has been spread through the oil, drain the seeds. Then, you can now sauté the onion and the garlic in the annatto oil. Add the oxtail and the tripe, pepper, salt, beef broth, sugar, and peanut butter. Wait for the mixture to boil. When it is already boiling, turn the heat down and pour in the vegetables, but not the pechay. Cover for 10 minutes. Add the rice so that the sauce will thicken. Add pechay and cook for one more minute. Well, that’s pretty much it!

The Serving Method. When the Kare Kare is cooked, it is best placed in a clay pot. Then, when serving this Filipino food, you can add the sautéed shrimp paste alongside it. Much like any other Filipino food and dishes, the Kare Kare is served and eaten with rice.

Now all that’s left is for you to enjoy this amazing Filipino food. There are many different ways of cooking this dish but the process that I listed above was the easiest of the Filipino food recipes of this dish. If you are in the Philippines, you will be able to see a lot of Kare Kare around. Make sure that you try it and you will surely be able to appreciate this wonderful Filipino delicacy.

 

Filipino Food Recipes: Tinola

Tinola is a chicken soup cooked the Filipino way. This well known Filipino food is loved by the millions of Filipinos all over the world and this is why I have decided to share with you all the cooking procedure of this awesome Filipino food. There are many Filipino food recipes of Tinola, but this one is the easiest to cook and serve. So without further ado, here is the Filipino food recipe of Tinola.

The Ingredients. The ingredients for this Filipino food are quite easy to find. Most of these can be found in your pantry, I suppose. This is what makes tinola one of the staple dishes of the Filipinos. The ingredients are easy to find. It doesn’t take too much time preparing as it doesn’t take too much time cooking as well. So let’s start gathering the ingredients for our tinola. First and most importantly, get 2 pounds of chicken thigh and legs. Cut the chicken into serving slices. Then, get a thumb sized ginger and slice it into strips. Get a green papaya and cut them into wedges. Get half a cup of pepper leaves too, which in Filipino is called “dahon ng sili”. Of course you will need to prepare around 5 to 6 cups of chicken broth. Prepare also 4 cloves of minced garlic and 1 medium chopped onion. Prepare as well half a teaspoon of pepper and about 4 tablespoons of fish sauce. Oh and by the way, prepare cooking oil because you will need to sauté. Once you have gathered these ingredients, you are now all set to start cooking!

The Cooking Procedure. It will take you roughly 10 minutes to prepare the ingredients. For the cooking procedure, Tinola will ask for 30 minutes of your time. This isn’t too long, really. This is because the cooking procedure of this Filipino food is really quite easy. First, get a large pot. Pour a small amount of cooking oil – just so you can sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger. Then, it’s time to add the chicken. Just add them in the pot and stir continuously for 2 to 3 minutes. After this, you should now add the fish sauce. Cook for a couple of minutes. Now you can add the chicken broth. Wait for it to boil then turn the heat down. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the papaya. Simmer for 15 minutes. Sometimes this will take longer than 15 minutes because you will have to make sure that the chicken are tender, so be patient. Then add your pepper leaves and season with the pepper. That’s it. Your Filipino food, tinola, is now ready to serve.

The Serving Method. To serve this Filipino food, you should get a large bowl. Although tinola is a soup, it is considered an entree in the Filipino cuisine. Therefore, as most other Filipino food recipes, you will need to serve tinola with rice. You don’t have to mix the two together when serving. Just get a large bowl for the tinola and another bowl for the rice. That’s how the Filipinos eat this wonderful Filipino food. Many people love this dish as they know that it is something that is easy to prepare and cook. It doesn’t take too much time and effort. It’s delicious and nutritious as well. Indeed, tinola is one of the many Filipino food recipes that everyone should learn to cook. For sure, the people who will be able to taste it will be glad and enjoy this fantastic chicken soup. So go ahead, don’t be shy to try cooking it. I can guarantee that you will love this Filipino food called Tinola.

 

Filipino Food Recipes: Arroz Caldo

The Filipino food that is considered by many Filipinos to be their comfort food is Arroz Caldo. Arroz Caldo is a rice soup. As many people would know, the Filipinos are rice people as it is one of their biggest produce. Arroz caldo is eaten by Filipinos the whole day. Some people like eating this Filipino food during breakfast. Some like to eat this during dinner. There are some people who like eating the Arroz Caldo as their midnight snack. Indeed, this Filipino food recipe should be included in here as this is the favorite of many Filipinos out there – and I know you will love it too!

The Ingredients. The best thing about the Arroz Caldo is that the ingredients are most probably already in your pantry. This is why many Filipinos love this dish. It’s very easy for them to get the ingredients and start cooking. But really, what are the ingredients of this Filipino food recipe? Here they are. First and most importantly, you should have a cup and a half of rice grains. In Filipino, rice grains are called Bigas. Prepare 2 pounds of chicken legs and thighs and cut them into serving pieces. Get one head of garlic and mince them. In this Filipino food, prepare ahead half the garlic and fry them before starting to cook your Arroz Caldo. Then, get 2 thumb size pieces of ginger and chop them finely. Get 1 medium chopped onion. Prepare also 2 tablespoons of fish sauce (or Patis, in Filipino). Prepare also 2 pieces of chicken cubes as well as 12 cups of water. If you don’t want to use the chicken cubes, you can use 2 cups of chicken broth instead and 10 cups of water. Prepare 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper. For sautéing, prepare around 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. For garnishing, prepare 2 pieces sliced green onions. Alright, now that you have the ingredients ready, it’s time to move on to the cooking part of this Filipino food recipe!

The Cooking Procedure. Get a big pot and boil the water. Get a separate pan and put that on medium heat. Fry on the pan the other half of the garlic then sauté onion and the ginger for just a minute. Then, add the chicken, rice grain, fish sauce and the chicken cubes to cook them for about 3 minutes. If you are using the chicken broth, then just add the 2 cups of broth in the pan too. After the 3 minute cooking time, move the contents of the pan to the big pot. Adjust the heat to medium and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes. Do not forget to stir every now and then so that the rice will not stick -just wait for the soup to thicken. Then when the soup is thick enough, then you can now add the pepper. Your Arroz Caldo is now cooked.

The Serving Method. To serve the Arroz Caldo, you will need to get a small bowl. Just pour over the cooked Arroz Caldo there. Then top the bowl with fried garlic and green onions. Some Filipino food recipes of Arroz Caldo indicates that you can add eggs or quail eggs. Well, you just have to cook them hard boiled, take out their shell, and add them to the soup when you are already serving them. Since this Filipino food is a soup, do not forget that this is served hot. You will surely enjoy this rice soup, especially when the weather is cold. This is how to make this famous Filipino food. Go ahead and try to cook it on your own. Much like other Filipino food recipes, the ingredients are not hard to find, it takes less than an hour to cook, and the best part is that this Filipino food is very rich in vitamins and nutrients. Who wouldn’t want to have this for breakfast (or any other time of the day, as a matter of fact)?

Filipino Food Recipes: Polvoron

Polvoron is a dessert loved by the Filipino people. It is a confection that is made out of flour, sugar, and powdered milk. Indeed, the simplicity of this Filipino food makes it so special. The Filipinos use this Filipino food a lot in parlor games. Given the powdery nature of this Filipino food recipe, the Filipinos use this in whistling contests and games wherein the participant will have to eat one or a couple of the polvoron and be able to whistle the loudest. So anyway, enough introductions for this awesome Filipino food, read on and get to know how to make this Filipino food – polvoron.

The Ingredients. As I mentioned above, the ingredients of the polvoron are very easy o find. In fact, you may already have them in your pantry. The ingredients of this Filipino food recipe include 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of powdered milk, ¾ cup of sugar and ¾ cup of melted butter. As promised, these ingredients are easy to acquire – if you have not acquired them yet! So go head and prepare your ingredients so that we can move on to the cooking part of this Filipino food recipe.

10 minutes later… you’re ready to cook!

The Ccooking Procedure. The polvoron is a Filipino food that is commonly described as toasted flour. Hence, the first and most important cooking procedure for this Filipino food recipe would be to toast the flour. Make sure that you stir continuously. Do this for about 8 to 10 minute or until the flour turns medium brown in color. That’s pretty much all the cooking that you need to do! Now, the hard part of this Filipino food is preparing it. So, without further ado, here it is!

The Preparation. As the flour is already toasted, you can now move to preparing the polvoron to serve them. Get a big bowl. Then, mix the sugar as well as the powdered milk. Mix it well then add the flour. Again, mix well. Now you can add the last ingredient, the butter. Once more, mix it thoroughly. That’s it. Now all that’s left to do is serve this Filipino food confection.

The Serving Method. The polvoron, as you may see now, is in powder form. This being said, you will need to use a cutter or a mold to shape them. But if you don’t have a cutter or a mold, you can still serve the polvoron by wrapping it. This Filipino food recipe will require you to use Japanese paper or cellophane. How do you mold it anyway? Well, if you have a mold or a cutter, just fill them with your polvoron mixture and make sure that they are stuffed tightly. Then, release the cutter or take out the mold so the shaped polvoron will be, well, shaped. Now get your Japanese paper and wrap them depending on the shape. If you don’t have a mold, then place the polvoron mixture directly on the wrapper. Now just wrap the polvoron like you are wrapping a candy. That’s all! Finally, you can now serve your Filipino food – polvoron. Some people choose to add rice flakes in their polvoron. Well, you can as this will add a crunch to this Filipino food recipe. Just add the rice flakes in the mixture. In some of these Filipino food recipes, they add the rice flakes on the surface of the polvoron. It’s your choice, really. Just add the rice flakes as you please and you will have a crunchier Filipino food delicacy.  Don’t be shy – you probably have these ingredient already and all that’s left is for you to mix them – so go ahead and enjoy this Filipino food recipe.