finally im back to the province after a year of living in the highly stressful metropolis of manila. and what better way of spending the summer months in negros than in attending a fiesta. the calendar of negros, specifically negros occidental's cultural schedule is filled year round with festivals and fiestas, most of which are conveniently happening during the months of april and may. and fortunately for me, pasalamat festival of la carlota city happened two days right after i landed in my hometown.
so off i went to my aunt's place in la carlota, my mind filled with all the activities that i would surely join in. ice cold beer with friends at the beer alley which encloses the plaza every night, bonding with cousins that never fail to be in attendance every year, watch the beauty pageant, watch the street dance parade, etc etc etc and the food. yummy...
now i totally love food and the only thing that will excite me better is cooking the food. i may not be a professional chef but then my love for cooking has given me years and years of practice that i consider myself a very good cook. so far, those that has tried my concoctions have given me the thumbs up sign. and this year, during the fiesta, i outdid myself.
i asked my aunt if i can do the cooking, she was pleased and these are some of my fiesta creations:
SNAKEY'S CHICKEN PORK ADOBO
adobo is staple in any fiesta table. this distinctly filipino dish is fairly easy to do and here is how i do it.
you will need:
pork chunks
chicken cut into serving size
pineapple chunks
pineapple juice
vinegar
crushed garlic
sliced onions
soy sauce
pepper corn
laurel leaf
salt/magic sarap granules
here's how you do it:
marinate chicken and pork separately with a dash of salt or magic sarap granules, soy sauce and pineapple juice for about 20-30 minutes. heat oil in a sauce pan and saute crushed garlic, when brown add in sliced onions until translucent. put in pork and simmer for a little bit until the juices from the pork comes out. add in a little water and let boil until pork is halfway tender. add the chicken and allow to boil. when both are very tender add vinegar and a little more soy sauce. put in laurel leaf and pepper corns. when the sauce in the mixture thickens season with salt and/or magic sarap granules according to taste, add a dash of sugar and add in pineapple chunks. simmer of 2-3 more minutes. remove from fire and serve.
SNAKEY'S WHITE KIDNEY BEANS AND PORK
i totally love pork and beans whether straight from the can or home cooked. i like it better when i cook it. here is my pork and beans version as my grandmother taught me.
i used:
white kidney beans
pork sliced about an inch thick and 2 inches long - use 1 kilo of pork to 1 kilo of beans
potato cut in 1 - cm cubes
red bell pepper sliced lenghwise
laurel leaf
crushed garlic
sliced onions
salt/magic sarap
brown sugar
here's how you do it:
soak the white kidney beans overnight to make sure they are tender. prepare all ingredients for cooking. in a pot heat oil and saute garlic and onions. saute in pork and allow to simmer in its juices. add in water and boil pork until tender. drain kidney beans and add to boiling pork mixture. allow to boil until kidney beans are very tender - you will known this when you can crush the beans on the sides of the pot with your mixing material. put in laurel leaf and potatoes and continue to simmer for 15-25 minutes until dish thickens - no need to add thickening material since the tender kidney beans will thicken the sauce. add bell pepper and season with salt/magic sarap granules and brown sugar. while some want to add tomato sauce i personally want it naturally white without the slightly sour taste of the tomato sauce. remove from heat and serve.
SNAKEY'S STUFFED BELLPEPPERS
i was not a fan of bell peppers as a kid until my grandma took home gigantic bellpeppers and taught me to great this dish way back in highschool. i believe this is a spanish dish but ive only seen it when we cook it at home.
ingredients:
big and fresh red and green bell peppers with the stem on top intact
ground beef
chopped garlic
chopped onions
sweet peas
carrots cubed finely
seedless raisins
canned mushrooms sliced thinly
snowpeas sliced thinly
salt/magic sarap
oyster sauce
butter
oil
lightly beaten eggs
to cook:
wash the bellpeppers whole and intact. prepare all ingredients. grill bellpeppers on charcoal until slightly blackened and carefully peel the thin skin while under running water. make a small lengthwise incision on the side and with your finger and the running water reach inside and take out the seeds. put aside. on a skillet, saute garlic, onions and ground beef in butter. allow to simmer until all the juice have been absorbed. put in cubed carrots and sweet peas. after a while add in raisins and snow peas. moisten a little with oyster sauce and season according to taste with salt/magic sarap. take out of fire and allow to slightly cool. take the bellpeppers and carefully stuff it with ground beef mixture. soak in beaten eggs and deep fry in very hot oil. serve on top of remaining stuffing.
these are but 3 of the seven dishes i was able to prepare for the fiesta guest. with the appreciation i got from them, and for the empty dishes after everyone has gone i believe my cooking was a success. hope you can try these dishes that i am sure you will like. now my uncle's birthday is coming up this 13th...hehehe...im now preparing my menu so i can again be the master of the kitchen - if only our own. yummy...anybody needing a cook out there? hehehe
