Lechon

Lechon is one of the great legacy of Spain here in the Philippines. Normally we see Lechon in occasions like wedding, fiesta, graduation, etc.. In the Philippines, lechon is a staple food for celebrations.

Lechon is traditionally cooked in a open roast setting, the whole pig is skewered  in a bamboo and manually rotates the bamboo as the pig cooks/roasted. Cebu has the best Lechon in the whole country and as per Anthony Bourdain says "best pig in the world...". Cebuanos takes great pride on their lechon as they have many variants and one example is the boneless lechon.

Ok guys, in all honesty I have not tried to cook a lechon but I have an idea, I do not want to share it with you because you might end up beating me up. lol We'll leave it to the experts.

Step by step guide on preparing and cooking a Lechon.

#lechon #bestpigintheworld #pilipinoexpress #lechoncebu

Bicol Express

Bicol Express is a Popular Filipino Dish, before its only Pork Belly and Green Chilli now we have a lot of variants of this dish. But today we will stick with the original. :)

A little trivia before we start. Did you know that Bicol Express is not originally from Bicol? It was popularize in Malate, Manila but cooked as a traditional Bicolano Style. It is named after the Train Trasport "Bicol Express" that travels from Manila to Bicol.

Ingredients

• 1 Kg. Liempo/Pork Belly
• 3 - 5 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)
• 1 Small Ginger (Minced)
• 1 Medium Onion Minced)
• 3 Cups of Coconut Milk
• 1/4 Kg of Long Green Chilli/Siling Mahaba (Chopped)
• Red Chilli (Chopped, optional if you want extra heat)
• 1/2 Cup of Shrimp Paste
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure

• Saute Garlic, Onion and Ginger
• Add the Shrimp Paste, Cook for 3-5 Mins
• Add the Meat, cook for about 3-5mins
• Add the Chilli, cook for another 5mins
• Add the Coconut Milk, bring to a boil
• Taste the heat if you are satisfied if not then add the Red Chillis
• Add Salt and Pepper to taste (I don't really add salt because the Shrimp paste is already salty)
• Simmer for another 10mins and you are ready to go.

Well I want a little fish sauce with chili as a sauce on the side, just a drop for each bite. YUM!

#bicolexpress #wantsomeheat #pilipinoexpress

Sinigang na Baboy (Pork)

Sinigang na Baboy (Pork) is the most common way of cooking Sinigang, because #1 reason is that Pork isn't that hard to find plus it is a lot cheaper compared with other produce, and most of the time it doesn't require pro long cooking like beef.

Ingredients

• 1 Kg of Liempo (Pork Belly) - You can use any other part of the pork, I just prefer pork belly because it is a lot softer than other parts, plus you have the combination of lean meat and a little bit of fat and it makes the dish a lot better.
• 1 Medium Radish (Labanos) - Chopped
• 1 Onion - Sliced
• 1 Tomato - Sliced
• 1 Stack of String Beans (Sitaw) - Cut (2" length)
• 5pcs of Okra - Cut in half
• 1 - 2 Stack of Water Spinach (Kangkong) - Cut (2" length, remove the bottom part which is hard just take the soft part of the Water Spinach)
• 3 - 4 pcs of Long Green Chili/Finger Chili (Siling Mahaba)
• 500g of Tamarind (You can use ready made tamarind powder or Sinigang Mixes but nothing beats the original. :D)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 750ml of Water

Procedure

• Tamarind Procedure
• Wash and clean the Tamarinds
• Boil Tamarind in a Separately, cook until tamarind is soft
• Remove the Tamarind from boiled water (do not throw away the water)
• Get a bowl and mash the tamarinds add a cup of the boiled water
• Strain the mixture when all is mashed to remove the seeds and skin of the Tamarind
• Set aside the strained mixture of Tamarind
• In a large pot add the 750ml of water, bring to a boil
• Add the pork belly, let it cook for 5 - 10mins in a medium heat
• Remove or skim the floating scum that is on top of the pot, this is a must for me
• Add onions, tomatoes, long green chili/finger chili and radish
• Add salt and pepper, Cook for another 10mins, medium heat
• Now this is the delicate part, add the strained mixture of tamarind, you need to taste it while adding the mixture, it can be too sour or less sour depending on your taste, I suggest add a little portion at a time. Bring to a boil.
• Add the string beans, cook for another 10mins.
• Add Okra, cook for 5mins (low heat)
• Finally add the water spinach, cook for another 10mins (low heat)
• Now the dish is ready to serve and best eaten with fish sauce as a condiment, get the long green chili's and mash it with a 2 tbsp of fish sauce. Enjoy :) 

#sinigangnababoy #porksinigang #pilipinoexpress

Pork Adobo

Pork adobo, I can describe it as simply the best.

The process of cooking is the same on all Adobo's, but a lot of people like to add some twists on their dishes, this time we will stick to what is traditional.

Let's start with the ingredients.

• 1/2 kg Pork Belly (Again you can use whatever part you want)
• 1/2 cup White Vinegar
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of Soy Sauce (The measurement varies depends on how dark you want your Adobo to turn out)
• 4 Cloves of Garlic (crushed)
• 1 Whole Medium Size Onion
• 2 Tbsp of Black Pepper

Process

• Saute garlic and onion, add pork when the garlic is brown, now let the pork have some color before adding the vinegar. 
• After the vinegar is added let it cook for about 5mins and then follow it up with the soy sauce & pepper.
• Let it simmer for about 15-20 mins until the pork is tender and sauce is thick.

There you have it a classic Pork Adobo. Enjoy.

#porkadobo #adobongbaboy #pilipinoexpress