Pork Sinigang Recipe

It's been awhile since I last cooked pork sinigang. It's one of the easiest Filipino dishes to make as long as you have the sinigang mix which can be bought in any Filipino store (also available at some supermarkets out of the country).

Here are the ingredients:

1/2 kilogram pork (yummier if it has some fat, but I usually get lean pork), cut into cubes
4-6 cups of water
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 packet Knorr sinigang mix
2-3 tomatoes, cut wedge style
1-2 red onion, cut wedge style
kangkong (one bunch, just the leaves)
1 long green sili
2 gabi (optional)


How to cook:

1. Boil the pork in 4 to 6 cups of water. Add 1/2 tbsp salt.
2. When pork is a bit soft add the pork sinigang mix (usually after 15 minutes of boiling). Mix.
3. Add the gabi (optional, my boys don't like it that much).
4. Then add the cut tomatoes and onion.
5. In the last 2 minutes add the sili and kangkong.

*You can also use salmon or shrimps instead of pork.

The Convertible of Oven Toasters

We've been married almost 6 years now and some of the appliances we got have started to conk out. The first one was our refrigerator which died on us on Christmas Eve last year. Last week our microwave oven (a gift from Jay's cousin Iza) just kept beeping and refused to heat anything. So we shopped around for a new microwave, but ended up buying a new over toaster (our Imarflex oven toaster still works though). We got curious so we bought one (I know, I know it isn't a need, but the oven toaster was too cute to pass up).

Presenting, the "convertible" of oven toasters (because it looks like it has a sun roof!).

The 3D oven toaster has an added feature. You can heat something from the top of the toaster as well. Brilliant idea since the toaster is hot all over anyway, so why not heat stuff from the top too? The inside toasting area is also pretty spacious, you can actually heat up to 4 slices of pizza. No more piling them on top of each other! You can also adjust the heat area (top, sides, bottom etc.). And it's pretty easy to clean since you can open the bottom part easily. One thing we'll do differently though is use aluminum foil for heating oily food since it's hard to wash oil from the pan.

Bistek Tagalog (Beef Steak) Recipe

One of the easiest Filipino dishes to cook is  bistek tagalog. I'm sharing this family recipe for my friend Celine who asked for it after I posted this week's rendition.

Ingredients:

1/2 kg. beef sirloin, cut into strips
6-8 calamansi
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp rock salt
1/2 cup soy sauce
2-4 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 medium red onion, sliced into rings
2 Tbsp olive oil (for cooking)

Put the beef in a bowl, squeeze calamansi juice on it (best to use a strainer), add freshly ground pepper, minced garlic, rock salt and brown sugar. Mix it before adding the soy sauce. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat olive oil on pan and fry the onions until they become white (make sure they don't become soggy). Remove the onions and set aside. Immediately add the marinated beef onto the pan (do not include the sauce yet) and let it cook. Add some of the water to make the meat tender. Leave for about 10 minutes (make sure it doesn't dry up). When the beef shrinks a bit add the rest of the sauce (if the beef is still tough add a bit more water and let it soften a bit first before adding the rest of the sauce). Let the sauce boil before removing the yummy bistek tagalog from the pan. Garnish with the cooked onion rings.