This soy and anise pork has been worth the wait, though – here, belly pork is braised in a deeply fragrant and savoury sauce until it’s so tender that it positively melts in the mouth.

Star anise is a beautiful, flower-shaped spice from a Chinese evergreen; it’s an entirely different species of plant from European anise, although it has a similar flavour. It’s one of the aromatics used in five-spice powder, and has a warm, intensely fragrant taste. There’s been something of a shortage of the spice in recent years because an acid found in star anise is used in making Tamiflu, the anti-influenza drug. Happily for the cooks among you (and those with flu), drugs companies have since started to synthesise shikimic acid, so star anise is back on the shelves again. The Chinese use it as an indigestion remedy – you can try it yourself by releasing a seed from the woody star and chewing it after a meal if you feel you’ve overindulged.

This recipe capitalises on the affinity star anise has for rich meats like pork. Belly pork is one of my favourite cuts of meat (you can find some more recipes for belly pork here) – it’s flavourful, has brilliant texture, and the fat gives it a wonderful unctuous quality as it bastes itself from within. To serve four with rice and a stir-fried vegetable, you’ll need:

1 kg pork belly
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 tablespoons lard or flavourless oil
5 cloves garlic
6 shallots
4 flowers of star anise
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
250 ml pork or chicken stock

Using a very sharp knife or a Chinese cleaver, chop the pork into strips about 1.5 cm thick. (Do not remove the skin, which will become deliciously melting when cooked.) Mix one tablespoon of the soy sauce with the honey and five-spice powder in a bowl, and marinade the sliced pork in the mixture for an hour.

Chop the garlic and shallots very finely. Heat the lard to a high temperature in a thick-bottomed pan with a close-fitting lid, and fry the garlic, shallots, star anise and brown sugar together until they begin to turn gold. Turn the heat down to medium, add the pork to the pan with its marinade, and fry until the meat is coloured on all sides.

Pour over the chicken stock, and add the salt and the rest of the soy sauce. Bring the mixture to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and continue to simmer for two hours, turning the meat every now and then. If the sauce seems to be reducing and thickening, add a little water.

This is one of those recipes which is even better left to cool, refrigerated, and then reheated the next day.

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This is an Asian style of cooking the turkey

Serving size: Serves 4
Cooking time: More than 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

Brine
250g sea salt
200g sugar
6 bay leaves
1 tbsp whole peppercorns
1 litre hot water
7 litres cold water
Turkey
4kg turkey
125g softened butter
Salt and white pepper
2 cups white wine
1 cup chicken stock
Stuffing
125g softened butter
1 onion, diced finely
½ cup parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme (or lemon thyme)leaves
1 tbsp lime zest
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
250g fresh breadcrumbs
2 eggs
150g macadamia nuts, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, chopped finely

METHOD

Step 1 Make brine Place salt, sugar, bay leaves and peppercorns in jug with 1 litre hot water. Stir to dissolve. Refrigerate until cool. Add cooled liquid to 7 litres cold water in saucepan. Place turkey in brine, cover with tea towel or lid and refrigerate for 24 hours. Two hours before roasting, remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towel. Return to fridge until ready to stuff.

Step 2 Make stuffing Melt butter in frying pan and add onions, parsley and thyme. Gently fry until onion is softened, then tip into bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate to cool. Spoon stuffing into turkey cavity.

Step 3 Prepare turkey Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Place turkey on wire rack in baking dish and rub all over with softened butter. Season well with salt and white pepper. Pour wine and stock into dish and cover turkey breast with foil. Roast for 1 hour, basting frequently. Remove foil and continue cooking for another 30 minutes until golden brown. Continue
to baste – add more stock if required. Test turkey for doneness by piercing the thigh with metal skewer. If juices run clear,
turkey is cooked.

Step 4 Remove from oven, cover for 10 minutes to rest, then carve.

To make a simple gravy…

Drain off any excess pan juices. Place baking dish over medium heat and scrape bottom of pan to loosen any baked-on bits. Add about 2 cups of stock (or vegetable water) and a dash of wine if you like. Dissolve 2 tbsp of cornflour in a little cold water, then slowly add to gravy, whisking to prevent any lumps. Stir over low heat until sauce thickens to your liking. Add salt and pepper if needed.

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Ingredients

* 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

* 1 cup kosher salt
* 1/2 cup light brown sugar
* 1 gallon vegetable stock
* 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
* 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
* 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
* 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

* 1 red apple, sliced
* 1/2 onion, sliced
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 1 cup water
* 4 sprigs rosemary
* 6 leaves sage
* Canola oil

Directions

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you’d like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

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According to tradition, there should be at least five different kinds of fish in a proper bouillabaisse. In Marseille, considered the mecca of bouillabaisse, they use at least seven, not counting the shellfish. The fish should be extremely fresh – caught and cooked the same day. If you cannot get extremely fresh fish, then the next best alternative is quick frozen – fish frozen the same day it was caught. Use as many different types of fish as you can, such as fillets of flounder, haddock, cod, perch, white fish, whiting, porgies, bluefish, bass – almost any combination. Count on at least three kinds to serve six.

Method

1 Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large (6-qt) saucepan. When it is hot, add onions and shallots (or leeks). Sauté for a minute, then add crushed garlic (more or less to taste), and sweet red pepper. Add tomato, celery, and fennel. Stir the vegetables into the oil with a wooden sppon until well coated. Then add another 1/4 cup of olive oil, thyme, bay leaf, cloves and the orange zest. Cook until the onion is soft and golden but not brown.

2 Cut fish fillets into 2-inch pieces. Add the pieces of fish and 2 cups of water to the vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Add oysters, clams or mussels (though these may be omitted if desired) and shrimp, crabmeat or lobster tails, cut into pieces or left whole.

3 Add saffron, salt, pepper. Add clam juice, lemon juice, and white wine. Bring to a simmer again and cook about 5 minutes longer.

4 At serving time taste and correct the seasoning of the broth, adding a little more salt or pepper if need be, and maybe a touch of lemon juice. Into each soup bowl place a thick slice of crusty French bread, plain or slighlty toasted. Sppon the bouillabaisse over the bread. If desired, serve with Sauce Rouille. Serves 6.

Directions for Sauce Rouille:

1 Tbsp hot fish stock or clam broth.
2 cloves peeled garlic
1 small red hot pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup soft white bread, pulled into bits
1/2 cup olive oil

Put hot fish stock or clam broth into the bottom of a blender. Add garlic and red hot pepper, salt and bread. Blend until very smooth. With the blender still running, add olive oil slowly and stop the blending as soon as the oil disappears.

At serving time pass Rouille in a little bowl along with the bouillabaisse. Each serving is about 1/2 a teaspoon that you stir into your soup. Use gingerly like Tabasco.

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Laswa is a dish of mixed vegetables like okra, squash, string beans, malunggay, and others.  Shrimps are usually added to it to make the taste more savory.   What’s  different about it from other vegetable dishes is its slimy and sticky sabaw.  Some have it with eggplants, saluyot and some bagoong.  Anything goes, whatever is available.  That’s Ilonggo creativity for you.

Below is a recipe courtesy of Mrs. Mila Luna Mata. Auntie Mila is the mother of our dear classmate and friend Ruthchel. A native of Villa Arevalo, she really cooks so well. Anyway, nothing beats a mother’s cooking!

LASWA

Ingredients:

¼ kilo squash, diced
¼ kilo tugabang
¼ kilo okra cut into 3
¼ kilo malunggay, leaves
¼ kilo takway
¼ kilo shrimp, skinless
3 pieces tomatoes, sliced
1 pinch salt
1 onion sliced
2 cloves garlic, pound
1 shrimp knorr cubes

Procedure:

1. Boil water.
2. Put squash and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Put other ingredients.
4. Mix and let it simmer for 2-4 minutes.
5. Taste. Serve.

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If you intend to serve the sinigang as a soup (meaning you have another dish for the main course), then, the important thing is to have the best quality broth you can make. That means bones — lots of bones. If, however, you intend to serve the sinigang as the main dish, you need meatier cuts of pork. Otherwise, you’ll be practically serving rice with broth and vegetables and very little meat. But there is an alternative to all that confusion, the sinigang na pata. Pork hocks delivers tasty soup, so let us make a soup great pair as a main course and a regular soup.

2 pounds Pork Hocks, fresh

about 10 cups water

1 onion, sliced

1/2 lb. green beans

1 lb. bok choy, sliced

Tamarind soup mix (sigang mix)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Place pork hocks in a large pan and add 10 cups or enough water to cover, and boil until tender. Skim off the scum from the top as it rises (or if you forget to check like I did, pour off the scummy water and start anew). When the pork is tender, add the onions and sigang mix and let it cook a few minutes. Adjust the seasoning. Add green beans and cook until almost tender; then add the bok choy, cook for one minute and turn off the heat so as not to overcook the vegetables.

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Sinigang na baka is one of my favorites. It is a sour but tasty dish. The tamarind taste is very delicious and I am sure you’re going to love it.

* Estimated Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

* 1 kilo beef, cubes (for stewing)
* 12 pieces tamarind (sampaloc)
* 1 big onion, diced
* 6 big tomatoes, quartered
* 2 pieces radish, sliced
* 4 pieces gabi, peeled & cubed
* 1 bundle sitaw (stringbeans) (cut into 2? long)
* 1 bundle kangkong (cut into 2? long)
* salt and patis (fish sauce) to taste
* water

Procedure:

* Place the tamarind in a small pot then bring to a boil or until the tamarind is soften. Pound and strain the juices then set aside.
* In a casserole, bring beef to a boil, place in a lower heat then simmer for an hour or until the beef is tender.Take out all scum that rises to the surface.
* Add onions, tomatoes and tamarind juice.
* Add gabi then simmer for a few minutes.
* Add string beans (sitaw) and kangkong stalks.
* Add kangkong leaves then serve.
* Season with salt and patis to taste then serve.

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Sinigang is a Filipino dish famous for the variety of ingredients one can use as well as for its taste. Though considered a soup, it is not eaten as is, but rather combined as a viand with rice. Sinigang is typically sour and is most often likened to Thailand’s tom yam. Sinigang’s characteristic taste is attributed to the ingredient that gives its sour taste, not to the meat’s flavor.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb Pork riblets or pork ribs,

-country style,cut to pieces

5 c  Water

4 md Tomatoes, sliced

1 md Onion, sliced

1 1/2 ts Salt

1 md Icicle radish, cut into

-1? pieces

-(or 10 red radishes, pared)

1/4 lb Green beans

1/2 lb Spinach  (or cabbage,

-mustard greens or

-watercress)

5 md Sampaloc (tamarind)

-[available as powdered pkg]

1.  In a large pot, bring water and pork to a boil.  Add tomatoes, onion,

salt and tamarind.  Simmer 1 hour or until pork is tender.

2.  Optional:  Remove tamarind and mash with some broth.  Strain juice back

into pot.

3.  Taste for seasoning.  Bring to a boil.  Add green beans and radish. for

10 minutes.

4.  Add spinach, cover and remove from heat.  Let stand 5 minute to finish

cooking spinach.

Variations:  Beef (stewing, brisket, shank or plate) may be used in place

of pork. Adjust cooking time for each.

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Well, fall season is here and winter is just around the corner. Having said that for most of us Filipinos in abroad our bodies are starting to look for something warm to eat to compensate for the cold weather outside. So, of course, what is better to have than a hot bowl of Arroz Caldo.

ARROZ CALDO INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups rice

1 chicken, small, cut into serving pieces

2 tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, bruised

1 small onion, chopped

a fraction of ginger, sliced thinly

6 cups water

3 tbsp soy sauce or patis

2 stalks spring onions, chopped

3 boiled eggs, halved (optional)

oil for sautèing

ARROZ CALDO

1. In a large saucepan, saute garlic onion and ginger. Add chicken. Season with soy sauce or patis. Cover for 2 minutes.

2. Add rice and water. Stir thoroughly, making sure that the ingredients do not stick to the sides of the pan.

3. Continue cooking over low heat for 20 minutes.

4. Sprinkle chopped spring onions on top before serving. Add boiled eggs, if desired.

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Kansi can be stated in English as a stew. It’s the leisure of beef or pork with a touch of fruity sour flavor of tamarind served in plentiful hot soup. Pata is more like that of the well-known beef stew or the famous Filipino “kansi” and “pork sinigang”. But for a more extra ordinary flavor to warm and fill one’s tummy, this recipe uses Beef leg or Beef Pata instead of the usual meat.

This is my version of the “Pata Kansi” I added some beef pata(leg) to the usual shank.

Panakot (Ingredients)
- 2 lbs Beef Shank with bone marrow
- 2 lbs Beef Pata (Knee) or Maskara (face)
- Kamias or Batuan (This is the traditional souring agent for classic Ilonggo cuisine, but it is hard to find so I used Kamias)
- Green Jackfruit (Langka)
- Tanglad (lemon grass)
- 1 small head of Garlic minced
- Tomato
- Sea Salt and Pepper
- Sili
- 1 tbsp of Atsuete (Annato seeds)

Paagi (Procedure)

- In a pressure cooker, brown half of the minced garlic and set aside for garnish later
- Add the rest of the garlic until slightly brown and saute with the tomatoes.
- Add the beef shank and beef pata.
- Add water to cover the meat, close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for maybe 30 minutes
- After 30 minutes open your pressure cooker and check the beef shank if its tender as it will cook first before the pata. If it’s tender take it out and put aside.
- Take out the scum that’s floating on the top
- Add the lemongrass and Kamias
- Prepare the Annato seeds by adding some of the hot broth to the seeds let it sit for awhile till the colors come out.
- Close the pressure cooker again and continue cooking until the pata is fall off the bone tender maybe another 30-40 minutes
- Add the Langka and continue cooking till it’s fork tender
- Add the extract from the Annato seeds
- Bring back the shank and season with salt and pepper to taste
- Garnish with the crunchy garlic you had set aside

Serve hot.

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