Simply Pinoy Enjoy Pinoy comfort cuisine at Recipes restaurant

Simply Pinoy Enjoy Pinoy comfort cuisine at Recipes restaurant

Enjoy Pinoy comfort cuisine at Recipes restaurant

By MAAN D’ASIS PAMARAN

Lechon Kawali (Photo by NOEL B. PABALATE)

MANILA, Philippines -- It is always a thrill to discover new restaurants and enjoy cuisine from all over the world. And a lot of local food experts agree that Vietnamese and Thai culinary creations are now becoming popular choices for restaurant regulars, along with the other, more familiar food options such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. And of course, there is something thrilling about the way that other establishments are trying to outdo each other in serving the biggest pizzas, largest steaks, or the crispiest fried chicken.

But at the end of the day, the ordinary urbanite will start to hanker for the meals that mom used to make.  There is nothing that beats the classic pairing of rice and ulam like Kare Kare, Bistek Tagalog, Dinuguan, and of course, Adobo. The problem is, there seems to a be a lot more things to do today (overtime at the office, children’s after school activities, updating Facebook and Twitter accounts, following the latest episodes of "Glee," so slow cooking at home has been replaced by instant food meals or fast food delivery.

There are several good cooking shortcuts that are available such as instant sauces and mixes, but somehow, childhood kitchen memories of peanuts being pounded to make the Kare-kare sauce or mouthwatering pink alamang being sautéed seem more magical than ripping open a plastic tetra pack.

One of the few occasions where metro dwellers can savor a salu-salo of authentic slow cooked food is at the good old hometown fiesta, where many families still keep the slow cooking tradition alive as they follow the recipes that have been handed down for many generations.

Mickee de Guzman and his wife Ria were lucky recipients of such recipes from Mickee’s side of the family in Balayan, Batangas, and through their chain of restaurants called Recipes, they have made it possible for ordinary urbanites to have a salu-salo of authentic Pinoy food whenever they feel like it.

Recipes is a place where diners can just kick back and enjoy comfort food that they are very familiar with, such as Kare-Kare, Pork Binagoongan, Bistek,  Gambas, Lechon Kawali with Kangkong Strips, and a very flavor-lavish dish of Prawns with Aligue. Those who favor fish will enjoy the Crispy Tilapia, served with either a sweet-sour sampalok sauce, or cooked Escabeche-style; and the Bangus Belly served with a thick mango relish.

For those looking for a hot time on their tongue, the Gising-gising, a coconut milk-based recipe with ground meat, Baguio beans and loads of sili makes a perfect choice.   Another best seller here is the General’s Chicken, crunchy chicken with eggplant slices served with a sweet spicy sauce. This is a good dish for kids, especially because the spiciness of the food can be adjusted upon ordering.

Recipes, being a Pinoy restaurant, after all, also serves the ubiquitous Pinoy convenience combo called the rice meal, where at P170 to P175, customers can choose from ulam-kanin combinations such as Adobo Flakes with Egg, Bangus Steak, BBQ Chicken, Beef Tapa with Egg, and Garlic Chicken with Rice, and it comes with a free glass of iced tea.  Dessert can either be sweet and crunchy banana turon or the really creamy buko pandan, where the chewy buko strips have been replaced by softer macapuno bits. The restaurant also serves strong brewed barako coffee for those who need their caffeine fix.

Visit the Recipes by Café Metro outlets at Greenbelt 3, Alabang Town Center, Trinoma, Robinsons Place Manila, Shangri-La Mall, and soon at the Resorts World Complex
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For this chicken adobo, the secret is in marinade and liver sauce

By: Vangie Baga-Reyes
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The secret is in the marinade.

“Marinating is necessary,” says Robert Castañeda about the best-tasting adobo. “When you marinate the meat with the prepared sauce overnight, you allow the flavor to seep into the flesh generously, providing such balanced and juicy bite and taste.”

Another secret Castañeda shares for a mouthwatering adobo is the addition of liver into the sauce.

“The liver, especially when mashed thoroughly, makes the sauce richer and thicker and more distinct in terms of taste and look. For me, the more liver the better,” says Castañeda, director for Swiss-made watches of TechnoMarine and head servant of God Loves Catholic Charismatic Community.

Castañeda’s gift for cooking stems from his being a Kapampangan. He loves to cook for family, friends and fellow religious community members. His version of chicken adobo is simply a result of his constant experiments with food in the kitchen.

Shortchanged

Castañeda says he started to make his own adobo after feeling shortchanged by the adobo he had been taking, “Parang may kulang,” he says. “Either it was too oily or too plain.”

So he has concocted his own adobo recipe by marinating the chicken (minimum of four kilos) with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, onions and pepper overnight. He adds the chicken liver and allows the mixture to boil the following day. To further enrich the dish, he mashes the liver and puts laurel leaves. After cooking, he stores the adobo in the fridge and lets it sit there until he craves for it or when friends come over for lunch or dinner.

However, what makes this adobo more interesting is the reheating process. Castañeda only gets a portion from the adobo (depending on how many people are eating) and reheats it in the pan with a small amount of water.

He then adds all-purpose cream right before serving. The cream, he says, makes the adobo taste richer and look creamier with the light brown color. He garnishes it with hard-boiled eggs and places the adobo on a bed of blanched kangkong.

“I still want my adobo healthy so I only use chicken and add veggies,” he says. “So far, I’ve been getting compliments for my adobo. My friends ask for take-outs every time.”

Yes, the meat, almost falling off the bone, is soft and succulent and subtly seasoned and spiced. The salty-sour blend is not at all overpowering.

Passion

Castañeda’s passion for good food started when he was in grade school at the Jose Abad Santos Memorial School (Jasms), where he had cooking classes.

“I would make Brazo de Mercedez, thinly layered Sans Rival, etc.,” he recalls. With the help of his mom Lilia, he later ventured into Refrigerator Cake using crunchy broas and Baked Macaroni.

Castañeda, who was also a fashion designer during the ’70s and ’80s before going into the jewelry business, also became popular for his mango crepe, which he sold to his friends.

Some of his specialties now include Lumpiang Hubad,Chicken Curry with saging na saba, eggplant, raisins, carrots, potato and ripe mangoes, and Clams with tausi.

Castañeda, with some of his partner-friends, will soon open a tea salon on Tomas Morato, Quezon City, offering gourmet sandwiches, pasta and refreshing teas.

Chicken Adobo with Kangkong

1 k chicken, adobo-cut
¼ c chicken liver
1 head onions, chopped
1 head garlic, chopped
¼ c Silver Swan soy sauce
1 c Silver Swan vinegar
1 tbsp whole peppercorns
2 pieces laurel leaves
Hard-boiled egg
Optional: all purpose-cream

Rinse chicken thoroughly. In a casserole, place chicken with garlic, onions and pepper. Mix well. Add soy sauce and vinegar. Marinate overnight. Then, add chicken liver into the mixture and boil for 20 to 30 minutes. Turn off heat. Remove the chicken and liver from the liquid. In another pan in medium heat, add a little sauce from the adobo and mash the liver. Add the chicken and the remaining sauce into the mashed liver. Add laurel leaves. Boil for another 20 minutes. Let it simmer for a few more minutes. Add cream.

To serve: place blanched kangkong on a platter, pour the chicken adobo and garnish with hard-boiled egg. Serve warm.