Rice Cake with Caramel Toppings

You'll Need:
  • 2 cups  sticky rice (malagkit)
  • 3/4 cup  sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups  diluted coconut milk
  • 1/8 cup  butter
  • 1 pc  egg beaten
  • 1 can  condensed milk
  • 3/4 cup rich coconut milk
  • 3 Tbsp flour

What to Do:
  1. Grate and squeeze out milk from coconuts. Save 3/4 cup of the first milk squeezed out (rich milk) for toppings. Dilute the rest of the coconut milk to make 3 1/2 cups.
  2. Boil rice and coconut milk in a pot stirring constantly to prevent burning. When the rice is ready and almost dry, lower the heat and add the sugar and butter. Mix well and set aside. When the mixture is cool, add the egg.
  3. Spread the rice mixture in a buttered pan and baked in a preheated 300° F oven for 20 minutes.
  4. Mix together the condensed milk, rich coconut milk, and flour in a saucepan. Cook over low heat. Stir  constantly until its thick. Pour the toppings over rice mixture in a dish. Increase oven heat to 350° F, bake until top is brown. Serve.

Caramelized Sugar

You'll Need:

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water


What to Do:
  1. Dissolve sugar, add water over medium heat. Do not stir, just swirl the pan gently. 
  2. Caramelize in low heat if you don't want it burnt. Pale brown means sweeter and too dark means bitter. 
  3. When you have achieved the desired color, pour the syrup into a mold and make sure to coat all the parts of the pan.


Garlic Mayonnaise Dip

You'll Need:
  • 125 ml mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cloves garlic, finely crushed
  • 1 Tsp white sugar
  • 1 Tsp liquid seasoning such as Knorr or Maggi
  • Salt and pepper to taste

What to Do:
  1. Mix all ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Serve as a dip with Calamares.


Adobong Pusit

You'll Need:
  • 1 kg small squid
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 1/2 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 Tbsp salt

What to Do:
  1. Press on the heads of the squids to remove all the black ink (and reserve all the ink). Remove the membranes, heads and tentacles from squid. Discard membranes and heads but retain the tentacles.
  2. Heat oil and brown the garlic. Remove garlic and set aside.
  3. Combine squid, tentacles, vinegar, water and reserved ink. Simmer over medium heat until squid are cooked. Do not overcook or the squid will become tough. Season with salt.
  4. Remove from heat. Sprinkle fried garlic on top and serve immediately with rice.

Leche Flan

You'll Need:
  • 8 pcs egg yolks
  • 300 ml condensed milk
  • 300 ml evaporated milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla

What to Do:

  1. Beat egg yolks, add sugar and mix well.  Add condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla. Continue beating until well blended.
  2. Prepare caramelized sugar and pour into a mold, allowing it to spread to the sides.  Cool and set aside.
  3. Pour egg-milk mixture into prepared molds half full. Cover it with an aluminum foil to prevent evaporated moisture mix with the flan as it will become watery.
  4. Steam for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the flan comes out clean.
  5. Remove the container. Use a knife to run around the edge and carefully invert it into a platter. 
  6. Let it cool. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.


Lechon Kawali

 You'll Need:
  • 1 kg pork belly with skin, whole
  • 2 liters water for boiling
  • Oil
  • Water for sprinkling

What to Do:
  1. Boil pork belly and onion in a stockpot then lower heat to medium and simmer for until pork is just tender. (Not  too soft; it won’t be crisp when fried). Drain pork. Pat with paper towels until very dry.
  2. Heat oil in a large frying pan until very hot. Carefully put pork belly in the hot oil, skin side down. The oil will spatter so be sure to have a cover handy. Reduce heat to medium. Cook pork until skin is almost brown.
  3. Turn pork over, so skin is up. Brown other side of pork. Sprinkle some water on the skin of the pork to make blisters form on the pork skin and make it crispy. Turn pork over so skin is down again. Continue cooking until skin is golden brown. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Slice and serve.

Beef Bulalo

You'll Need:
  • 2 kg beef bone marrow
  • ¾ kg boneless beef shank or stewing beef
  • 3 pcs potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 3 saba bananas, cut in halves
  • 1 whole medium pechay
  • 3 liters of water
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 4 Tbsp patis 
  • Salt and pepper to taste

What to Do:
  1. Boil bone marrow and onion in stockpot. Lower heat and simmer for about 40 minutes. Add the boneless beef shank or stewing beef. Continue boiling until beef is tender.
  2. Add the potatoes and bananas. Simmer until potatoes and bananas are tender. Add the pechay. Season with patis, salt and pepper. 
  3. Serve with rice and patis.


Calamares

You'll Need:
  • 1 kg medium squid, cleaned (head ink sacs and tentacles discarded), outer purple skin peeled off (do not cut squid open)
  • 125 g  plain all-purpose flour
  • 2 egg whites 
  • 250 ml oil
  • 2 Tbsp calamansi juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

What to Do:
  1. Slice squid into 1 cm rings. Marinate in calamansi juice for about 30 minutes.
  2. Dip squid rings in egg whites, then dredge in flour.
  3. Fry squid rings in hot oil a few pieces at a time until they turn golden yellow. Do not overcook as this will make the squid tough. Remove squid rings from the work and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Serve with Garlic mayonnaise dip as an appetizer.