Documenting a Food Documentary, "Piging Para Kay Pepe" -Part 2

The recipes shared in this blog were cooked during the filming of "Piging Para Kay Pepe", a food documentary produced by GMA Network, hosted by Cesar Montano and directed by Rico Gutierrez.

Since the documentary did not provide the actual recipes, I have taken it upon myself to share them with the foodies interested in traditional Filipino recipes. Here are three more recipes that use only fresh ingredients.

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GUINISANG MUNGGO

This very common dish was a favorite of Dr, Jose Rizal. In fact, he liked to cook the dish for the boys he "adopted" during his exile in Dapitan and often served it to relatives who visited him there. Being a doctor, he espoused the completeness of the dish and its health benefits. A similar recipe is mentioned in a rare cookbook written by Milagros Enriquez, a promoter of Traditional Tagalog cuisine. She writes that Rizal made his Guinisang Munggo  with ampalaya leaves, mushrooms and a little panutsa (a hardened clam-shaped disc of unrefined cane sugar).

The recipe featured in the documentary is a simpler version passed on to Linda Roque of Laguna by her grandmother.

 

Ingredients:

4 cups of water

1 cup of munggo (mung beans)

1/4 kilo of pork (choose fatty parts), cubed

2 pcs. sibuyas (red onions), peeled and sliced
3 pcs. kamatis (native tomatoes), quartered
6 cloves bawang (garlic)

1 cup hibi (dried baby shrimps)

1 bunch dahon ng sili (chili leaves), separate the leaves from the stalk, use only the leaves

Boil and soften the munggo in 2 cups of water. Set aside.

Saute the pork cubes by boiling it in a little water and letting the fat of pork brown the meat. When the meat has browned, add the bawang, sibuyas and kamatis. When the onion has turned translucent and the tomatoes become tender, add in the munggo. cover the pot and let the thick broth boil. Upon boiling, add the dahon ng sili. Cover for about one minute and serve.

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PANCIT MIKI/ PANCIT  LANGLANG

Much confusion comes with the name of this pancit. The southern Tagalog references refer to it as Pancit Langlang, while in Rizal's novel, "El Filibusterismo", he refers to it as Pancit Miki. Apparently, Pancit Langlang is the name accorded to a type of pancit that uses Miki noodles but is cooked with a wider variety of ingredients and has a little bit more sauce.

In most biographies,  the Pancit Miki was mentioned in two occasions: during his stay in Europe as a stident and also during his exile in Dapitan.

When Pepe was in Europe, he often asked his brother Paciano to mail him the noodles and he would cook and share the noodles with his roommate. Like any Filipino abroad, the taste of pancit brought Rizal memories of home. 

 

In Dapitan, his Irish girlfriend, Josephine Bracken, would make Miki noodles from scratch when supplies from his family would run out. 

Josephine Bracken

 INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsps. lard

2 pcs. sibuyas (onions) peeled and sliced

1 head bawang (garlic), peeled and finely chopped

4 pcs, Chinese sausage, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

250 g. giniling na baboy (ground pork), mix in 1 egg, right before cooking

250 g. tenga ng daga (cloud ear fungus), soaked in water and chopped

250 g. hibi (dried baby shrimp)1/4 cup carrots, julienned

1 cup chicken, boiled, debonedand shredded, set aside the chicken broth

250 g. Sitsaro (snow pea), de-veined

1 bunch Kinchay (coriander)

2 tbsps. sibuyas tagalog (green onion stalks), finely chopped

asin (salt) and/or patis (fish paste) to taste

durog na paminta (ground black pepper) to taste

 

Saute the bawang, sibuyas and chinese sausage in melted lard. When the sausage has changed color and become tender, add the ground pork. When the pork has browned, add in the hibi, tenga ng daga, and chicken. Add a little patis and pepper to taste. When the last three ingredients become tender, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil and let it the sauce thicken a little. 

 

When the sauce has thickened, add the noodles. the starchiness of the noodles will help thicken the sauce further. Add the snow peas and the let the noodles cook until al dente (right to the bite). Mix in the kinchay and sibuyas last, just right before serving.

For Filipinos, the pancit also symbolizes long life, which is why it is always served during birthday parties. Ironically,  the hero who liked pancit, Jose Rizal died at an early age of 35.

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HUEVO MORCONITO (EGG'S NEST)

In accounts from the biography "Lolo Jose", written by Asuncion Lopez Bantug, a descendant of Rizal, it is stated that his last meal conssisted of three hard boiled eggs. the first two, he ate in silence and the third, he left in his prison cell so the rats have something to feast on.

Appropriately, the last dish featured in the documentary had egg as its main ingredient and is an heirloom recipe of the Rizal-Mercados.

The recipe, shared by Cecil Consunji-Navarro, one of Rizal's great granddaughters, is usually served during occasions commemorating the hero. The clan cannot remember, however, who started the tradition.

 

Ingredients:

3/4 kilo Pork fillet (each fillet should be wide enough to wrap and egg)

1/4 cup toyo (soy sauce)

3 pieces calamansi (local lemon)

 

6 pieces eggs, hard boiled and peeled

6 pieces cooked ham

4 cups water

1/2 cup Cooking oil

Potatoes, shredded thinly

Salt to taste

Marinate the  pork fillet in soy sauce and calamansi for about an hour. Boil the eggs and peel. 

Wrap the boiled egg in cooked ham and the marinated pork fillet. Secure the wrapping with a cotton twine. Boil the wrapped egg for about 45 minutes, or until the meat becomes tender. 

 Pan fry the wrapped egg in hot oil until it turns golden brown. Remove the twine and cut in half.

 

Shred the potatoes and fry until crispy. Sprinkle with a little salt before forming into a nest big enough to hold an egg.

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ANG PIGING

While the cooking was done in Pasig, the actual piging (feast) was held at Ilustrado Restaurant in Intramuros, the Walled City that bore witness to most of Rizal's adult life and his heroic death.

 

 

That meant that a second batch of food was cooked, for the 13 guests invited to the celebration.In addition, the restaurant assisted the host in preparing the dessert, Halayang Bayabas at Kesong Puti (Sweetened mashed guava served with Carabao Cheese).

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