Pinipig are flattened and toasted glutinous rice grains, the Southeast Asian equivalent of Kellogg’s corn flakes. Its name probably derives from the root word piga, which is Tagalog for squeeze.

The rice grains for pinipig are harvested while still young and green. Admittedly, I have never seen fresh green pinipig, not even in the Philippines, because it quickly loses color once pounded.

To capture that fresh look, some exporters add a weird hue of neon green coloring. Go for the au naturale variety, even if it is a tad less eye-catching. Wouldn’t you rather keep the food equivalent of silicone implants out of anything you eat?

Toasting reawakens its raw rice fragrance, if only for a short time, so add the pinipig to the cookie dough as soon as they cool down. The shards of sweet rice retain crispness well.

recipe adapted from Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan’s Memories of Philippine Kitchens
Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Cook Almost Anything

Pinipig (Young Glutinous Rice Flake) Cookies

makes about 2 dozen cookies

Notes:

• Pinipig is also sold as cốm, its Vietnamese name. Try your luck at groceries that focus on Southeast Asian products.

Directions:

Toast the pinipig. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add the pinipig and toast while stirring often for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Spread out the pinipig over a plate and allow to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF / 175ºC with racks on the upper third and lower third of the oven. Prepare 2 parchment-lined or lightly greased half-sheet pans or cookie sheets.

Mix the dry ingredients. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a container with a tight lid. Cover and shake until thoroughly mixed.

Mix (Creaming Method). Beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue beating to incorporation. Beat in the lemon zest.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and continue mixing just until smooth and thoroughly incorporated. Gently fold in the cooled pinipig.

Drop. The cookie dough will be very sticky, so use two teaspoons or a small disher. Drop 12 evenly spaced portions for each sheet pan or cookie sheet. Each cookie dough portion is roughly equivalent to 1 heaping teaspoon, about the size of a cherry.

Bake the cookies at 350ºF / 175ºC for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Let the baked cookies rest on the sheets for a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The scent of rice paddy fields in cookies.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Pinipig Cookies

Similar Posts:

1. Pasencia – Filipino Meringue Cookies
2. Indonesian Nutmeg Tea Cookies – Kue Kering
3. Gingersnap Cookies
4. Lenguas de Gato – “Cat’s Tongue” Cookies
5. Chocolate Brownie Cookies
6. Sables à la Poche Cookies

Any mention of oxtails in Filipino food probably involves kare-kare, a rich peanut-based vegetable stew. Beef shanks, tripe, pork hocks, and other tough parts tenderized through long simmering may also be added, but it has to have the oxtails. Leaving the bony segments out is unacceptable. Hindi maaari (no frickin’ way).

I didn’t have the other dozen ingredients for kare-kare so I made adobo for dinner instead. Adobo is an indigenous Filipino method of simmering in vinegar, akin to pickling. Food spoils rather quickly in oppressive tropical heat so this is our way of dealing with that little dilemma. We take the vinegared stuff seriously regardless of the weather forecast, though.

The sourness also supposedly stimulates your appetite during hot and humid weather, not that I’ve had any such craving-related problems lately.

The following recipe makes a light broth meant to be served like a soup, in contrast to versions enriched with coconut milk. Before serving, grill or broil the oxtails to crisp up the fatty bits. Silky and tender is great, but that additional hint of smoke can only make it better.

Oxtail Adobo Recipe
Adobong Buntot ng Baka

makes 4 servings

Meet datu, my spear-wielding ancestor. He likes loincloths and long walks on the beach.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 pounds oxtail, segmented
1/2 cup vinegar, preferably cane or cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
2 to 3 bay leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pot, place the oxtails, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Pour in enough water to cover the oxtails.
2. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for about 2 hours, replenishing the water as necessary to keep the oxtails fully immersed.
3. Tilt the pot and skim the rendered fat, if desired.
4. Prepare a grill or preheat a broiler. Remove the oxtails from the broth. Grill or broil the oxtails until well-browned and slightly crisped. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with warm rice and a small bowl of the adobo broth.

Oxtail adobo, pre-incineration. You go eww, I go ooh.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Oxtail Adobo

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2. Chicken Adobo in Coconut Milk
3. Baby-Back Pork Ribs Adobo
4. Coda alla Vaccinara – Eat Like a Roman Butcher
5. Ginataang Kalabasa – Kabocha Squash in Coconut Milk
6. Chicken in Red Sesame Seed Sauce

Let’s say you’re browsing a cookbook that represents the recipes of your childhood (in my case, it would probably be this one). You find that one forgotten recipe that gives you pause and makes you wonder why you haven’t made it all these years. Reading through the recipe causes sudden cravings and you know, almost by instinct, exactly how it’s supposed to taste.

Ginataang monggo is one such recipe for me. Enriched with coconut milk, an ingredient used in many Filipino desserts, its distinctive flavor comes from toasted mung beans. It’s a sweet rice-based porridge usually enjoyed around late afternoon to tide you over as dinner is prepared.

This dish reminds me of a Filipino phrase, “nalipasan ng gutom,” meaning, “the hunger has passed.” It describes someone who has gotten used to the pangs of hunger because of going without food for so long, much like getting accustomed to the body odor of an airplane seatmate with questionable hygiene.

Any Filipino mom will tell you that having hunger pass you by is an undesirable state to be in. It leads to crankiness and irrational behavior. Ginataang monggo is one of many treats that keep you sane during that long wait between lunch and dinner.

recipe adapted from Gerry G. Gelle’s Filipino Cuisine: Recipes from the Islands
Monthly Mingle: Ravishing Rice Recipes hosted by Nags

Ginataang Monggo
Toasted Mung Beans and Sticky Rice in Coconut Milk

makes about 4 servings

Mung beans, (not yet) sticky rice, and coconut milk.

1/4 cup mung beans (monggo)
one 14 oz can of coconut milk (gata), about 1 3/4 cups
1 cup water
1/2 cup sticky rice (malagkit na kanin), thoroughly washed and drained
1/3 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Notes:

• Sticky rice is also sold as glutinous or sweet rice at your local Asian grocer.

Untoasted and toasted mung beans.

Directions:

1. In a dry skillet over high heat, toast the mung beans until dark brown. Stir or toss continuously to evenly brown the beans.
2. Using a mortar and pestle or rolling pin, gently crush the mung beans with just enough pressure to split in half and dehull. Separate and discard the hulls if desired (I prefer to keep the hulls intact for added texture and nutritional value).
3. Reserve and refrigerate about 1/4 cup of the coconut milk.
4. Pour the remaining coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups) and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Add the toasted mung beans and washed rice and bring to a boil. Simmer while uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until the rice and beans are thoroughly cooked but still firm. The porridge should have the consistency of loose risotto.
5. Stir in the sugar and salt to incorporation.
6. Serve ginataang monggo hot or cold and top with the reserved coconut milk.

Ginataang monggo – just like how mom used to make.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Mung Beans and Sticky Rice in Coconut Milk

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2. Ginataang Kalabasa – Kabocha Squash in Coconut Milk
3. Nasi Uduk – Lemongrass-Scented Coconut Rice
4. Chicken Adobo in Coconut Milk
5. Gyung Dan – Korean Sweet Rice Balls
6. Sautéed Morel Mushrooms and Fava Beans

If there is one cookie I’ve had the most of in sheer volume alone, pasencia cookies would easily top the list. This is one of those things you mindlessly snack on while reading a book or waiting for dinner to get done.

This recipe is an easy way to use up those pesky small amounts of leftover egg whites. For larger amounts of about a dozen whites, angel food cake comes to mind. I have yet to see a killer egg white omelet recipe, not that I’ve been actively looking for such a thing.

These fat-free meringue cookies are light and crisp with a hint of vanilla. It’s a lot like making French macarons but instead of almond flour, we use plain old wheat flour.

Pasencia Recipe – Filipino Meringue Cookies

makes about 36 bite-sized cookies

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
all-purpose flour               1/4 cup           1.1           30
confectioner's sugar            1/2 cup           2.1           60

whites from large eggs            2               2.1           60
lemon juice                     1/2 tsp
vanilla extract              splash
granulated sugar                  2 tbsp          1.1           30

Special Equipment:

• A pastry bag
• A plain round pastry tip (about 1/4- to 1/2-inch opening)

Notes:

• Have all of the ingredients at room temperature before continuing.
• You can also replace the lemon juice with 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar.

Directions:

Preheat Oven    275ºF / 135ºC

Prepare a half-sheet pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment
paper or silicone.

Mix (Sponge Process - Meringue Method)
                Sift together 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar and
                flour. Set aside until needed.

                In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites until frothy.
                Add the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and granulated
                sugar. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.

                Using a wide rubber spatula, fold in the sifted flour
                and confectioner's sugar.

                Continue folding until the flour and sugar are
                thoroughly absorbed and the meringue is smooth and
                glossy. When tilting the bowl, the meringue should
                move sluggishly.

Pipe            Deposit the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a
                round pastry tip (about 1/4- to 1/2-inch opening).

                With the pastry tip perpendicular to the sheet pan,
                pipe 3/4-inch rounds spaced about 1 inch apart.

Bake            275ºF / 135ºC for 22 to 26 minutes, or until the edges
                of the cookies turn light brown.

Cool            Let the cookies cool for at least 15 minutes before
                removing from the sheet pan. The cookies will be
                fragile while warm but will crisp as they cool.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Pasencia – Filipino Meringue Cookies

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2. Lenguas de Gato – “Cat’s Tongue” Cookies
3. Chocolate Brownie Cookies
4. Sables à la Poche Cookies
5. Indonesian Nutmeg Tea Cookies – Kue Kering
6. Pinipig Cookies

Edam cheese is essential for making ensaimada. Filipinos know it best as queso de bola, bowling balls of cheesiness covered in a protective shell of red wax. These big-as-your-head cheese balls always made our dinner table during christmastime. We have this tradition of rounding up thirteen different types of spherical fruits to symbolize prosperity for the new year, so queso de bola fits in quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

No one ever told me that the waxy coating on queso de bola was, in fact, actual wax. Other kids voluntarily ate glue; I unknowingly ate paraffin. Copious amounts of it. Needless to say, I hated queso de bola with a passion, but continued to eat it anyway because everyone else seemed to enjoy it.

Now that I know better, I always keep a wedge on hand. I find Edam plain and inoffensive as far as cheese goes, but finely grated and baked with sweet brioche dough, we end up with a well-loved Filipino bread along the ranks of pan de sal and pan de leche. There are many other ways to enjoy queso de bola, of course.

Storebought versions are more like sponge cakes heavily topped with sugar, cheese, and butter. This breadier version has a fluffy interior, deeply browned flaky crust, and a nice buttery finish. I prefer to keep ensaimada plain because there’s enough cheese, butter, and sweetness in the bread itself, but there’s nothing wrong with a light dusting after baking. I listed a number of optional glazes and toppings.

This recipe for ensaimada benefits from an overnight rest in the fridge mainly to maximize flavor development. It really makes a huge difference in taste and texture. The dough is filled with cheese and coiled into snail-shaped rounds, so chilling also makes shaping easier, fun even.

Bread Baking Day #16: Bread with Cheese hosted by High on the Hog

Ensaimada (Snail-Shaped Brioche)
Filipino-Style with Edam Cheese

makes 4 ensaimadas (about 6 inches in diameter)

Dutch Edam cheese. Red wax is not good eats.

Ensaimada Dough Ingredients:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
bread flour                   2 2/3 cups         12            340
whole milk                        2 tbsp          1             28
large eggs                        5               8.8          250
instant yeast                 1 1/4 tsp
salt                            1/3 tsp
granulated sugar                1/4 cup           2             56
unsalted butter, softened       1/2 cup           4            113
grated Edam cheese          about 1 cup

Optional Glaze (before baking):

egg wash (1 egg + 1 teaspoon water)

Optional Toppings (after cooling and baking):

softened butter
granulated sugar
grated Edam cheese

Directions:

Mix             Stir the flour, milk, eggs, yeast, salt, and sugar.
                Mix until evenly hydrated and a shaggy ball of dough
                is formed.

Rest            15 minutes

Knead           Add the butter about a tablespoon at a time, kneading
                to incorporation with each addition. Continue kneading
                until all of the butter is incorporated and a smooth
                ball of dough is formed.

Refrigerate     12 to 24 hours

Prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment or silicone.

Divide          Remove from the refrigerator and immediately divide
                into 4 pieces. The dough will be stiff and may have
                risen slightly.

Rest            15 to 30 minutes. The dough should be slightly softer
                but still cool to the touch.

Shape           Pat the balls of dough into a rectangular shape, about
                4 inches by 12 inches. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of grated
                Edam cheese over the dough. Roll tightly into logs and
                pinch the seams to seal.

                Coil the rolled dough into a tight spiral and tuck the
                outer end underneath the dough. Proofing the shaped
                dough in appropriately sized brioche or tart pans is
                nice but not necessary.

                Place the shaped ensaimada on the lined sheet pan.

Final Proof     About 2 hours at room temperature

Preheat Oven    350ºF / 175ºC

Glaze           Glaze with egg wash (optional)

Bake            Bake for 20 to 24 minutes at 350ºF / 175ºC, rotating
                the pan halfway through baking. The center of the loaf
                will register 185ºF / 85ºC to 190ºF / 88ºC when done. 

Cool            At least 30 minutes

Toppings        Top with any combination of softened butter, granulated
                sugar, or grated Edam cheese (optional)

The fourth one didn’t make it for the shoot.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Ensaimada – Filipino Cheese Brioche

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5. Blueberry Mint Brioche Pudding
6. Croque Madame – Grilled Cheese, Ham, and Egg Sandwich

It wasn’t easy growing up the youngest of five siblings. My three older man-brothers took it upon themselves to toughen up my prepubescent self when I got too good at Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. Sore thumbs abruptly turned into sore everything when boxing gloves and elbows in the solar plexus during intense games of pickup basketball followed. All I ever wanted to do was mash buttons and beat the Hi Score.

When things got extra harsh, my sister always had my back. Whereas one word from her and the brothers listen, any time I made so much as a peep, I end up in a headlock. Not even having my own armpit hair at the time, the prickly-moist sensation against the back of my neck was extra disgusting.

My sister and I have a little bond, you see. Since I’m the youngest and she’s the only daughter, we’re automatically the darling family favorites, and we knew how to take advantage of that. Obsessed with Hello Kitty and all things feline, my sister often asked for lenguas de gato, or “cat’s tongue” cookies, as pasalubong from our parents. Sometimes we would lock ourselves in my sister’s room, far away from brotherly physical abuse, with a boxful of the crisp and buttery treats.

The burnt edges and pale center instantly melt in your mouth, giving the cookie an unexpected complex taste considering the simplicity of the recipe. Of course, my sister and I didn’t really know or care about the wonders of caramelization back then. We just thought lenguas de gato were good and addictive.

recipe adapted from Penelope Casas’ The Foods and Wines of Spain
Eat Christmas Cookies hosted by Food Blogga

Lenguas de Gato
“Cat’s Tongue” Vanilla-Butter Cookies

makes about 70 small cookies

Ingredients:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
unsalted butter                   8 tbsp          4            113
confectioner's sugar            3/4 cup           3.2           90
salt                          pinch
vanilla extract                 1/4 tsp
lemon zest                      1/8 tsp

all-purpose flour               3/4 cup           3.4           96
whites from large eggs            2               2.1           60

Notes:

• Have all of the ingredients at room temperature before continuing.
• The use of confectioner’s sugar maximizes the cookie spread and minimizes the amount of aeration in the cookie dough when mixing. It also gives the cookie a finer texture.

Special Equipment:

• A pastry bag
• A #11 or #12 round pastry tip (about 1/4-inch opening)

To Prepare Lenguas de Gato – “Cat’s Tongue” Cookies:

Preheat Oven   400ºF / 205ºC

Prepare two half-sheet pans or cookie sheets lined with parchment or
silicone mats.

Mix             Using a rubber spatula, mix together the butter,
                sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until
                smooth.

                Gently fold in half of the flour. Slowly mix in the
                egg whites followed by the rest of the flour.
                Continue mixing only until thoroughly incorporated.

Pipe            Put the cookie dough in a pastry bag fitted with a
                round pastry tip (about 1/4-inch opening). Pipe the
                dough onto the prepared pans in 2 1/2-inch lengths.

                Space the piped dough at least 1 1/2 inches apart
                to allow for spread.



Bake            Bake at 400ºF / 205ºC for 6 to 8 minutes, until the
                edges are lightly browned and the middle is still
                pale.

Cool            Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack to
                cool. The cookies will be pliable straight from the
                oven but will crisp within minutes.

Chocolate Lenguas de Gato Variation:

• Omit the lemon zest and replace one-fifth of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Links related to Lenguas de Gato – “Cat’s Tongue” Cookies:

• Langues de Chat with an Asian twist at Chocolate and Zucchini
• An alternate recipe at Cook Mobile
• Must use egg whites at Market Manila

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Lenguas de Gato – “Cat’s Tongue” Cookies

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2. Pinipig Cookies
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4. Indonesian Nutmeg Tea Cookies – Kue Kering
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Creamy coconut milk is tinged a shade of yellow in this easy Filipino recipe for squash and shrimp simmered in coconut milk. This is my “macaroni and cheese,” with rice and tender kabocha squash assuming the roles of pasta and cheddar.

As with most comfort foods, ginataang kalabasa has countless variations. Other ginataan recipes call for fermented shrimp paste (bagoong) and fish sauce (patis), but for squash and shrimp, my preference lies with milder seasonings.

recipe adapted from Gerry G. Gelle’s Filipino Cuisine: Recipes from the Islands
Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Kalyn’s Kitchen

Ginataang Kalabasa at Hipon
Kabocha Squash and Shrimp Simmered in Coconut Milk

makes 3 to 4 servings

The butt end of kabocha squash.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
1 small onion, diced

1 cup chicken broth or water
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1 small kabocha squash or any winter squash varietal, about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 1/2 cups coconut milk (12 to 14 ounce can)

Instructions:

1. Peel and seed the squash. Slice into 1 to 1 1/2-inch chunks.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Saute the garlic and onions until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the chicken broth or water, salt, pepper, and squash pieces. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the squash is fork-tender but still firm.
4. Add the shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes.
5. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes while stirring. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Ginataang kalabasa at hipon (squash and shrimp simmered in coconut milk)

To Serve:

Serve immediately with rice.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Ginataang Kalabasa – Kabocha Squash in Coconut Milk

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Pan de leche is a Filipino sweet bread that has many regional variations. As far as I know, any yeasted bread baked with milk and sugar can be labeled pan de leche, but I have a very specific idea of what it is supposed to be like. It will be dense and feel heavy for its size. The crumb will be dry but fluffy. The glazed soft crust will have the slightest hint of chewiness. Throwing it against a wall or forehead will cause a resounding thump.

With those attributes in mind, I tried several divergent recipes before coming up with my own. I found that making pan de leche requires the most basic bread baking techniques — pre-ferments, wild yeast starters, and soakers are unnecessary and the dough should be firm and easy to handle. It should take only a few hours of fermentation, some pantry staples, a sheet pan, and a hot oven.

The simplicity of my pan de leche recipe means that it is average bread at best. To put it bluntly, most of the other breads I’ve baked, where slow fermentation spread over a few days fully develops the flavor of the resulting loaf, will taste better.

But this is exactly how I remember it, a close approximation of a childhood favorite. After several attempts, I think I finally nailed it.

World Bread Day hosted by Zorra of 1x Umruhren Bite

Pan de Leche
Filipino Sweet Milk Bread Rolls

makes 9 pan de leche rolls

Final Dough Formula:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
all-purpose flour                 3 cups         13.5          383
whole milk                      1/2 cup           4            113
butter, melted                  1/2 cup           4            113
granulated sugar                1/4 cup           1.75          50
kosher salt                       2 tsp
instant yeast                     1 tbsp
large eggs                        2

For the Egg Wash:

1 egg
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar

Equipment:

1 half-sheet pan lined with parchment paper

Final Dough Instructions:

Mix             Mix all of the ingredients until evenly incorporated.

Knead           10 to 12 minutes

Bulk Ferment    2 hours at room temperature in a lightly oiled bowl

Divide          9 pieces, about 85 grams / 3 ounces each

Rest            15 minutes

Shape           oval dinner rolls

Final Proof     60 to 90 minutes at room temperature while uncovered,
                until almost doubled in size. Let a skin form on the
                rolls.

Proofed Filipino pan de leche rolls.

Preheat Oven    375ºF/190ºC

Glaze           glaze with the egg wash

Score           2 slashes (optional) 

Glazed and scored Filipino pan de leche rolls.

Bake            Bake at 375ºF/190ºC for about 18 to 22 minutes, rotating
                the pan halfway through baking if necessary

Cool            At least 15 minutes

Say cheese.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Pan de Leche – Filipino Sweet Bread Rolls

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5. Pasencia – Filipino Meringue Cookies
6. Cranberry-Walnut Bread

The pork adobo of choice in our quaint little household in Quezon City was made with liempo, the cut also known as pork belly, source of wonderful things such as bacon and high blood pressure. Unabashedly lardy from slowly simmering pork in soy sauce and vinegar, pork adobo requires ungodly amounts of steamed rice, lest my menacing older brothers pilfer my share and make me wait for the next batch.

Adobo is always served with rice and it’s unimaginable to have it any other way. We get nervous when our rice supply dwindles so we always kept several 50-kilogram sacks in the kitchen. Having all of those rice sacks on hand seemed to serve a dual purpose — sustenance, first and foremost, and breakwater for typhoons, in case of emergency.

Countless meals of thick-cut pork belly with a meat-to-fat ratio of 1:1 defined my childhood but it doesn’t sound as good an idea now as it was back then. Baby-back ribs adobo is not diet food by any means, but this recipe improves the ratio to, oh I don’t know, 3:1. Braising collagen-rich ribs produces a lip-smacking sauce like no other cut and it goes great with, you guessed it, steamed white rice.

World Food Day hosted by More than Burnt Toast

recipe adapted from Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan’s Memories of Philippine Kitchens

Pork Baby-Back Ribs Adobo
Adobong Tadyang ng Baboy

makes 4 to 6 servings

For the Marinade:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons rock or kosher salt
3 bay leaves
12 whole garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
whole fresh chiles, to taste (optional)

1 side baby-back ribs, about 2 pounds

Notes:

• Keep the baby-back ribs whole and let it cool completely in the braising liquid, preferably refrigerated overnight, before grilling or broiling to serve. It may seem unnecessary but it does make a big difference in improving the taste and texture of this adobo.

Instructions:

Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Add the baby-back ribs and turn in the marinade to coat. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 250ºF / 121ºC. Pour enough boiling water in the baking dish such that the ribs are halfway immersed in liquid. Cover the baking dish tightly with the aluminum foil. Braise the baby-back ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone.

If serving the next day, let cool to room temperature in the braising liquid while uncovered before storing in the refrigerator.

Braised baby-back ribs adobo.

To Serve:

Prepare a grill or preheat a broiler. Slice the baby-back ribs into 1 or 2-rib portions. Grill or broil until browned on both sides and thoroughly heated through, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Strain the braising liquid to remove the whole peppercorns and bay leaves. Heat the sauce over high heat and reduce until slightly thickened. Pour over the grilled or broiled baby-back ribs and serve with rice.

Tagalog 101: Nasaan ang kanin? (Where is the rice?)

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Baby-Back Pork Ribs Adobo

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Ginataan is a Filipino cooking technique where ingredients such as vegetables, seafood, or fruits are simmered in coconut milk. It can be sweet or savory depending on the ingredients — the term ginataan by itself refers to a warm dessert soup traditionally served in the Philippines as merienda, mid-afternoon snacks that help make the long wait between lunch and dinner more tolerable.

Eggplants and green beans make up the gulay or vegetable portion of this recipe. It can also include squash (kalabasa), bitter melon (ampalaya), and okra, but this recipe calls for the vegetables that cook quickest. This version is done in about 15 minutes after all the prepping is done.

This green and purple ginataan dish is exactly how I remember it prepared in our household. Incidentally, that same juxtapose of colors is the reason I wouldn’t eat it as a child. It reminded me of none other than Batman’s arch-nemesis, The Joker. I found his wide maniacal grin disturbing, but even worse, he also reminded me of clowns.

Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Küchenlatein

recipe adapted from Gerry G. Gelle’s Filipino Cuisine: Recipes from the Islands

Ginataang Talong at Sitaw
Eggplants and Green Beans Simmered in Coconut Milk

makes 4 servings

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, julienned
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 Japanese eggplants (or any varietal, about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 pound green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
2 tablespoons fermented shrimp paste (bagoong alamang)
12 ounces canned or freshly squeezed coconut milk
hot chiles, to taste (optional)

Notes:

• Afraid of using stinky fermented shrimp paste? Once heated, it gets mellower and combines with the coconut milk to create a classic Filipino flavor profile. I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it, but substitute minced anchovies or plain salt to replace bagoong alamang.

Instructions:

In a heavy saucepan, saute the garlic, ginger, and onions in the vegetable oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and green beans and cook for 2 minutes while stirring frequently.

Stir in the shrimp paste, coconut milk, and hot chiles (if using). Cover the saucepan and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with either more shrimp paste or salt if necessary.

To Serve:

Serve as a side dish or main course with a bowl of steaming hot rice.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
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