Pansit Palabok Ingredients:

Palabok Noodles / Sauce

• 1/2 kilo miki noodles
• 1/2 kilo small crabs
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of atchuete seeds or oil
• 2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)
• 4 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in water
• 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• 1 1/2 cups of water

Palabok Toppings

• Tinapa flakes (smoked fish)
• Cooked shrimps, shelled
• Squid adobo, sliced into rings
• Pork chicharon, grounded
• Spring onions, chopped
• Hard boiled eggs, shelled, sliced
• Fried garlic, minced
• Fresh calamansi (lemon), sliced

• Extract fat and meat from clean crabs, set aside.
• Pound crab and extract juice on 1 1/2 cups of water
• On a pan, sauté garlic and onions until golden brown then add crab fat, crab meat, 1 1/2 cups of crab wash, patis and MSG. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add corn starch and continue to simmer while constantly stirring until thick.
• Put miki noodles in a strainer and dip in boiling water for 5 minutes or until cooked.
• Lay drained noodles on a platter and pour the palabok sauce. Garnish with toppings and serve.

Spaghetti Ingredients:

• 1 kg. spaghetti noodles
• 1/2 kg. ground beef
• 1/2 kg. ground pork
• 1/4 kg. hotdogs, diagonally sliced
• 1 kg. tomato sauce (or 3/4 kg. tomato sauce and 1/4 kg. banana catsup)
• 3 pieces laurel leaves (bay leaves)
• 1/4 cup brown or white sugar (reduce to 1/8 cup if using banana catsup)
• 2 green bell peppers, diced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 1 cup of water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup grated cheese

• Cook spaghetti noodles according to package instructions.
• In a sauce pan or wok, sauté garlic and onions in cooking oil.
• Add ground beef, ground pork, laurel leaves, bell pepper and a cup of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add tomato sauce or combination of banana catsup and tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste then let simmer for another 10 minutes
• Add brown sugar and hotdogs. Continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
• Optional: add hot sauce e.g. Tabasco for more spice if desired.
• Serve with the cooked spaghetti noodles and grated cheese on top.

How to cook biko:

• Cook glutinous rice in water just like you do with plain steamed rice.
• In sauceoan, pour brown sugar, coconut milk, condensed milk and vanilla extract.
• Mix, stir and let boil. Add cooked glutinous rice to coconut milk mixture and cook until thick.
• Spread evenly on platter (or bilao) lined with banana leaves.
• Slice and serve.
  

PUTO BUNGBONG INGREDIENTS:
1 cup glutinous rice
2 tsp purple food color (ube)
2 cups water
panutsa

UTENSILS:
knife
muslin cloth
sifter or strainer
2 pcs bamboo tube (bumbong)
steamer for making puto

PUTO BUNGBONG PROCEDURES:
1. Soak glutinous rice in water overnight.
2. Grind the soaked rice. (see bibingka how)
3. Mix food color while the glutinous rice is being ground.
4. Wrap the ground glutinous rice on a piece of muslin cloth and place it in a strainer to drain excess liquid. Another technique in draining excess liquid is by pressing a heavy object that has been placed over the muslin cloth.
5. Once the ground rice has slightly dried, rub it against the screen of a strainer to produce coarse grained rice flour.
6. The rice flour for making puto bumbong is now ready to cook. Fill each bamboo tube (bumbong) with just enough glutinous rice and put them into the steamer. See to it that the steamer contains boiling water.
7. Steam rice flour in the bamboo tubes for 10 minutes.
8. Once cooked, shake out the contents of each bamboo tube or remove the cooked glutinous rice from the bumbong with the help of a knife.
9. Spread butter on the puto bumbong and place a small piece of panutsa (sugar cane sweets).
10. Add a small amount of grated coconut before serving.
11. This recipe is good for 6-8 pieces of puto bumbong.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe large banana
• 2 ripe mangoes or 1 cup canned ripe mango
• 1 cup firm gelatin set into gel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup canned ripe jackfruit
• 1/2 cup sweet corn or chick peas (garbanzos)
• 1 cup young shredded coconut, fresh or canned
• 1 cup cooked sweet yams or (ube halaya) glutinous purple yam,  cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cup shaved ice

• 2 cup milk
• 4 scoops of favorite ice cream
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts or rice krispies

Preparation Instruc

• Peel mangoes and slice the meat into 1/2-inch cubes. Discard the seeds.
• Prepare 4 tall glasses. Divide each ingredient into 4 equal parts.
• In each glass place 1/4 of each ingredient, adding layer by layer starting with corn or chick peas, cooked sweet yams, jackfruit, bananas, coconut, and gelatin.
  
• Top with 1/2 cup shaved ice.
• Pour 1/4 cup milk over shaved ice and top with a scoop of ice cream.
• Sprinkle nuts or rice krispies over it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 piece egg, beaten
Cheddar cheese, cut into strips for topping
Salted egg, cut into strips for topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup water

PROCEDURE

* In a big bowl, shift all purpose flour, baking powder and sugar. Slowly whisk and blend in water, milk, egg and margarine until fully blended.

* Fill the cupcake moulds with batter to nearly full. Top with strips of cheese and/or salted egg.

* Repeat the process for the rest of the cupcake moulds. Arrange filled moulds in a steamer, place cheesecloth in between each tray to avoid water drips.

* Put enough water and 1 tbsp of vinegar on the steamer and steam for 20-25 minutes. Remove from tray and mould.

Kutsinta

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups rice flour (substitute with all-purpose flour)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 cups water

1 teaspoon white lihia or lye (or potassium carbonate solution)

1/4 teaspoon yellow coloring

2 tablespoons white sugar

Topping: freshly grated coconut or cheese

Directions

1. Caramelize the white sugar with one cup water in a saucepan. Cool.

2. Once the mixture in number 1 is cooled, add the rest of the ingredients except toppings. Mix well and strain the ingredients using a strainer.

3. Prepare muffin pans by brushing with butter.

4. Steam for 20 to 30 minutes or or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

5. Add more water to the steamer if needed.

6. Just before the kutsinta is cooked, add grated cheese on the top (optional)

7. Remove from the muffin pans and serve with freshly grated coconut.

Here’s how to prepare “Gourmet Tuna Sandwich”

Ingredients:

* 2 Large Cans of Tuna in Water
* 2 Braeburn apples or Gala Apples
* 3 Stalks of Celery
* 1 Small Red Onion
* 1 Cup Golden Seedless Raisins
* 1/2 Cup Mayo
* 1/2 Cup Sweet Pickle Relish
* 1/2 Cup Crackers (I used Ritz Chips)

Directions:

* Wash and chop the apples and celery coarsely, and mince the onion. If your apples start turning brown, you cut too slow.
* Add the raisins to the bowl and mix.
* Open a can of tuna and strain.
* Strained tuna.
* Stir the tuna loosely with the other ingredients in bowl.
* Add mayo and relish to taste.
* Take the crackers and crumble them into the tuna. You can crumble them by putting them into a zip loc bag and smashing them or use a food processor like I did.
* Mixing the cracker crumbs into the tuna:Serve tuna mixture on pita bread, crackers or my favorite: dark rye. Add sunflower seeds or sprouts if you are brave. Enjoy!

Now that you have learned how to make gourmet tuna sandwich, please be sure to view the other sandwich recipes and the seafood recipes.