Nucha's Filipino Food Recipes

Sinagang (Tamarind Soup)

Ingredients:

1/2 kg.     Pork Ribs, or Pork (with fat)
1 package (200 gm) Mama Sita's Tamarind Mix 
               (Knorr or Maggi brand can do)
2             White Chinese Radish, sliced
2-3          Taro, sliced (optional)
100 gm     Winged Bean and/or Long Bean, cut to 3 inches 
               length 

100 gm     Okra, cut into halves
200 gm     Kangkong (Ipomoea or morning glory), cut at half
3             Onions, cut into quarters
2-3          Tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters
2             Eggplants (long), sliced

2-3          Large Green Paprika
1.5 litre    Water


Instructions:

Put water in a big soup pot. Add pork, half of onions, 
radish and taro. Bring to boil. Pick out the ugly foamy 
things that float (is there a name for this thing?). 

Lower heat. Add 2/3 package of the tamarind mix. 

Wait until pork turns white. Add the okra, beans and 
eggplants. Continue cooking in medium heat for an hour.

Add the kangkong and rest of onions. Cook for another half 
hour. Put tomatoes and paprika. Turn off stove. Cover to 
continue cooking.

Add the rest of the tamarind package (to taste). Add salt,
sugar or pepper if needed. Ready to serve.


Serve 6. Eat with rice.


Note: 

The vegetable and tamarind mix can be found in any Asian 
grocery near you.

If you cannot find the mix, you can 
- look for a package of fresh tamarind sauce, or
- prepare the tamarind sauce yourself... using fresh green
tamarind. Boil it and smash it and filter it to get the 
juice.

The sauce you bought or made could be very sour. You will
need to add salt and sugar to the soup. the taste should be
sour:salty:sweet = 4:1:1 .




Bicol Express 

Ingredients:

200 gm.         Pork Ribs or Pork with fat (3-layered)
200 gm.         Large Green Paprika, julienne
2 tablespoons Filipino Fresh Shrimp Paste
1 tablespoon  Garlic, crashed and chopped
2 tablespoons Onion, crashed and chopped
To taste        Salt and Sugar
1 tablespoon  Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 cups     Coconut Milk


Instructions:

In a frying pan, fry garlic and onion in oil until smelling
like garlic and onion.

Add pork. Continue frying until cooked. 

Add paprika, stir. Then add shrimp paste and coconut milk. 
Stir. 

Lower the heat to medium. When coconut milk is boiled, add 
salt and sugar to taste. Continue to cook for a few minutes.
If sauce too thick, add water and bring to boil again.


Serve 6. Eat with rice.


They call it "Bicol Express" because this food is originally
from Bicol province, and it is so hot that you have to rush 
it in.

If you asked me (a Thai), it's not so hot... compared to 
my Thai food.

 

 

 

FRESH LUMPIA (Springrolls)


Ingredients:

1/2 lb shrimps, de-veined and cut into small pieces 
1 chicken breast, boiled and flaked 
2 cups bean sprouts, washed and drained 
1 cup sweet potatoes, cut in thin strips 
10 lettuce leaves 
2 cloves garlic, crushed 
1 small onion, diced 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon ground pepper 
Fresh lumpia wrappers 

Directions:
 
In a medium size pot or wok, saute garlic, diced onion, 
shrimps and flaked chicken for about 10 minutes. 

Add bean sprouts and sweet potatoes, salt and pepper to 
taste, and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain well. 

On a big plate, lay wrapper flat and place a lettuce leaf on 
wrapper with about a third part of the leaf showing. 
Put two tablespoons of filling on top of lettuce leaf. 

Fold and roll wrapper. 
Seal with a little water (or egg) and place edge down. 

Pour lumpia sauce on the roll. Top with crushed garlic. 



Fresh Lumpia Wrapper

You can buy it in any Asian Grocer. That's easier. Don't
try to substitute with Roti, kebab wrap or taco wrap. 
That's bad!  However, here's the recipe...

Ingredients:
 
1 cup flour 
1 egg 
1 cup water 


Directions: 

Combine all 3 ingredients and stir until smooth.
 
Lightly grease a non-stick skillet and heat. 

Pour in a thin coating of the mixture. 

When the sides start to come away from the pan, lift wrapper 
out carefully. Makes 10 wrappers. 



Fresh Lumpia Sauce

Ingredients: 

4 tablespoon cornstarch 
1/3 cup brown sugar 
1/3 cup soy sauce 
1 cup water 
5 cloves garlic, crushed 


Directions: 

Mix cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce and water. 

Cook until thick over low heat, stirring constantly. 

Transfer to a sauce container with the crushed garlic. 




FRIED LUMPIA  (Or Lumpiang Shanghai)


Ingredients:

1/2 lb Pork, ground
1/2 lb Shrimp, finely chopped
1/2 cup Water chestnuts, chopped
1/2 cup Green Onions, finely chopped
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground pepper
1 package Egg roll wrappers
1 cup Cooking oil


Directions:

Combine pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, green onion, egg 
and soy sauce. Then season with salt and pepper.

Place a level tablespoon of filling on the center of each 
egg roll wrapper.

Brush edged of wrapper with a few drops of water.

Fold one flap of wrapper over filling. Fold inside flaps and 
roll up toward top point.

Deep fry wrapped fillings in hot oil until golden brown. 
Drain on paper towel.

Serve with sweet and sour sauce.



Sweet and Sour Sauce:

You can buy this sauce in any Asian Grocer. Alternatives can 
be Thai's Chicken sauce, Thai's Squid sauce (plum sauce), or
Lee Kim Kee's Spring Roll Sauce.


Ingredients: 

2 cups Water
1/2 cup Catsup
1/3 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Red-hot sauce
3 tablespoons Cornstarch dissolved in
4 tablespoons water


Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a pan.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minute or until sauce 
thickens. 



Practically, for Fried Lumpia, the stuff can be anything...
Shitake, noodle, fish, bean sprouts, etc. Just add the 
shrimps always. It helps mix the taste.



MINI SHANGHAI (Nucha's special)

Get wanton wrappers from any Asian Grocer. Cut cheese into
strips. Wrap each strip with the wanton wrapper. Seal with 
wet corn starch, egg or water. Deep fry in hot oil until 
golden brown. Eat as appetizer. You can dip it with cranberry 
sauce, sweet and sour sauce, Thai sweet chili sauce, 
or even Ketchup.