THE HANGOVER and BULALO with RED CORN

"Study hard, party harder" was a cliche I used to live by in my college years.

I had, after alcohol binging at a bonfire with friends at the UP Sunken Garden, gone home with just one shoe, the other having been swallowed by a muddy creek. How and why that happened, I have no idea. At all. Once, after a party where I downed about 10 vodka cocktails, I had gone to a restaurant to meet up with a friend. He found me dozing in a corner holding on to a cold cup of coffee. 

But, hey, don't judge me. I'm not particularly proud of those moments but they did happen and now seem comical to me.

In those days, one of the best ways to get the booze out of my system was to have some hot and filling bulalo before heading home. Doing so steered me clear of a hangover the next day.  It turns out, alcohol dehydrates your body and re-hydrating it before going to sleep makes your brain less anxious when you wake up after a night of drowning yourself in alcohol. So, hooray for bulalo!

It's not just a great soup to avoid hangovers but also a great dish to share with the family on cold, windy nights.

Below is a recipe I developed using red corn.

Red corn  is a type of sweet corn that has a sweet and nutty flavor. The ruby brick red kernels are colored by anthocyanin, an antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory properties. These are not widely produced so you have to get some to try if you do come across them. I found these at the Salcedo Weekend Market.

Anthocyanin, the pigment that creates the red color in this corn, are antioxidant flavonoids that protect many body systems - See more at: http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Red_Corn_2852.php#sthash.vh3v3HxK.dpuf

Anthocyanin, the pigment that creates the red color in this corn, are antioxidant flavonoids that protect many body systems - See more at: http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Red_Corn_2852.php#sthash.vh3v3HxK.dpuf

BULALO WITH RED CORN

Ingredients:

• Half a kilo of beef chunks (I usually get the pochero cut)
• One kilo of bone marrow
• 1 cabbage, quartered
• 1/2 kilo of squash, cut into 2 1/2 inch squares (or trapezoids)
• 2 red onions
• 1 onion leek, cut into 3-inch pieces
• 3 pieces red corn, cut into 3 pieces
• 3 liters of water
• rock salt
• peppercorn

Use a big pot so the broth won't spill and all the meat is submerged in the water. Put all the meat in the pot. Add the salt, pepper corn and onions before pouring in the water. Let the water boil in high heat. Then turn the fire down to medium and boil for 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender. Taste the broth and adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Once the meat is tender, lower the heat and add in the squash and the leeks. The squash should give your soup some sweetness.

Serve hot with a dipping sauce of patis (fish sauce) and calamansi (citrofortunella).

Post-party Rice Noodle Seafood Soup

December is a time for parties and more parties.

If you're planning a party with lots of beer and cocktails at your home, and your guests want to get home in a less inebriated state, here's a great pick-me up you can prepare ahead of time.

AFTER PARTY SEAFOOD PHO
It's a simplified version of the Vietnamese pho.

INGREDIENTS:
- Assorted seafood balls
- 1 Won Bok (Chinese cabbage/ Napa Cabbage)
- 500 g. Togue (bean sprouts)
- Vietnamese basil
- 3 cups Shrimp stock- 3 cups Chicken stock
- salt to taste

SHRIMP STOCK
- 300 grams shrimp
- Water, 3 cups

Boil ginger and onion in the water. When the water starts to boil, put the shrimps in until it changes color. When the shrimps are cooked, remove them.

Separate the shrimp heads and put it back into the boiling water. Continue to boil for 1-2 minutes.
Take the pan out of the stove. Strain the broth.

You can choose to shell the shrimps and add them to your salads or other dishes.

CHICKEN STOCK
- Half a chicken breast, skin and bone-in
- Water, 3 cups
-  A stalk of lemon grass
- A pinch of salt

Place the chicken and lemongrass in the pot and boil.  When the broth begins to  boil, lower the heat, remove the scum and let it simmer until the chicken is cooked. Once cooked, remove the chicken and strain the broth.

You can choose to use the chicken for other dishes or make into a sandwich filling.


PREPARATION
Freeze the shrimp and chicken stock and pull it out of the freezer at before your guests arrive. Thaw.

Prepare the soup bowls.
Chop the Chinese cabbage into 2-inch pieces.
Clean the bean sprouts and drain the water.
Remove the Vietnamese basil leaves from the stalk then wash, drain and dry.

Get a portion of the thawed chicken stock. Bring to a boil and add the rice noodles. Cook according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain and let it cool.

Prepare the vegetables in individual bowls. Place the noodles and top with cabbage, bean sprouts and a couple of basil leaves. Cover with saran wrap and place in the ref with the rest of the thawed soup stock.

Enjoy your party.

If your guests are getting sloshed beyond their alcohol limit, you know it's time to bring out the  soup.

Mix the shrimp and remaining chicken stock in a pan and bring to a boil. When the  broth is boiling,   add the assorted seafood balls (I like the cute, decorative ones), turn down the heat  and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the sea food balls are tender and cooked through.

Bring out the individually wrapped bowls and pour the hot soup and add some seafood balls.

The steam from the cold bowls and soup will be such a refreshing sight sure to bring back your inebriated friends to at least one step closer to sobriety.

ALPHABET SOUP

Rare are the Sundays when I am home and have enough time to cook a meal. Today was one of those rare moments and the light drizzle outside the window made it a perfect time to make alphabet soup.

ALPHABET SOUP:

6 cups water
1 cup Alphabet soup pasta ( I used Mocagatta Italian pasta)
1 onion, chopped
4 pieces chicken legs
4 pieces, chicken soup cuts (neck, wings, etc.)
salt & pepper to taste
crispy onion bits

Boil the chicken and onions in 6 cups of water. When the chicken has softened, take it out. Shred the chicken. Add the alphabet pasta to the boiling water and cook as instructed in the packet. Add hot water if needed. You can put back the bigger chicken bone parts just take them out when the noodles are cooked. Add salt & pepper to taste. As soon as the noodles are cooked, remove any chicken bones and add the shredded chicken meat. Sprinkle with the crispy onion bits before serving.

Here's something extra I found online... Enjoy!

ANG LASWA NI LOLA PACING- ON VIDEO

Was recently invited by the American Hospitality Academy in Makati to share heirloom recipes for the webisode series, "Whats Cooking With AHA?", produced by inquirer.net.

I had a fun afternoon taping the webisode with Chef Sarah and the rest of the AHA family who got to sample this simple, refreshing dish. And to my relief, ang Laswa ni Lola Pacing, passed their discriminating palates.

I hope with this instructional video, you get the chance to  make Lola Pacing's laswa in your kitchen.

Just click on the photos to watch the video.

ANG LASWA NI LOLA PACING AT NI LOLO GREG

The rainy season always brings back memories of my years growing up in my grandparents' house in Bignay St., Project 2, Quezon City.

Having been born in Davao and raised as a toddler in Iloilo,  I never had a taste of typhoons until the time I moved in with my Lola Pacing and Lolo Greg when I was in grade one.

Lolo Greg and Lola Pacing

(photo courtesy of my cousin, Lora Capule)

Lolo Greg is a WWII veteran, who for a time was countryless and now lives in the very same country that once denied him citizenship. He has always been quiet, dignified and  gentle.  My first memory  of him was when I was six, watching him cut the backyard grass with shears and a bolo.  My Cousin Jenny and I would play and stop only to listen to him tell stories about the Bataan Death March. Afterwards, he would share with us a packet of Growers peanuts and Pop Cola. If we pestered him for more stories, he would get rid of us by bribing us with a shiny Twenty-Five centavo coin to buy Chocnut or chocolate eggs wrapped in foil. My cousin and I would refuse his bribe and demand for a Ten Centavo coin for each of us, which he would oblige us with. We thought were outsmarting him because two coins were always worth more than one. 

Almost every weekend, he would take me and my cousins to Balara to swim.  Lolo Greg could do ten laps in the pool without much effort and almost always ended his swim with two laps of his signature butterfly stroke. After his swim, he would then herd around 8 of us to ride the JD bus home.  He is never one for corporal punishment. He never even needed  to raise his voice. He could scare us out of misbehaving with simple stories. Whenever one of us grandkids would spill rice from our plates or have leftovers, he would calmly reminisce  how he used to receive one belt whipping for every grain of rice that fell off his plate or did not finish. His veiled threat  never got put into action as we would always finish up everything on the plate. Lolo Greg, my only surviving grandparent, was the cool persona that was opposite to Lola Pacing's fiery one.

Lola Pacing passed away several years ago. Her wake was a big to-do, after all she was the matriarch of a family with 13 children and more than 50 grandchildren. She was also popular in the community having served as a Baranggay Quirino 2-C councilor for many years. Each night at her wake was a fiesta. Mayors sat beside tricycle drivers. Artists mingled with bankers.  People she had helped out once shared stories with relatives from Iloilo. The number of people who showed up at her wake was a testament to how truly beloved she was by those whose lives she touched.

She lived up to her name, Pacencia. Although she would call us out for misbehaving or getting the house dirty, she would rarely lose her temper. The only time she lost her patience with me was when I played in the rain even if I had a cold coming.  After hours of racing paper boats in the street canals, I went to the backyard fishpond and caught fish which I "cooked" using the clothes iron.  Lola Pacing was not very happy with my experimental cooking method. Drenched, shivering and high with fever, she gave me  the  only  corporal punishment in my entire life-- an ass whacking with walis tingting (a broom made with the spine of coconut leaves).

Lola Pacing did make it up to me at dinnertime, making Laswa, a hearty  Ilonggo  soup made of vegetables. Since then, the soup has been one of my favorite rainy day comfort food. I recently served it to friends when we had a post-Ondoy powwow. It is also one of the few vegetable dishes that I can get A.  to eat without any violent reactions.  

 Ang Laswa ni Lola Pacing using saluyot (jute) leaves

Laswa  is similar to the Ilocano Dinengdeng but is more soupy and less salty. The simplicity of the flavor never fails to bring me back to the time when life was so uncomplicated.

Ang Laswa ni Lolo Greg using alugbati (Malabar spinach) leaves

❦

ANG LASWA NI LOLA PACING
Her ingredients are what one can usually find in the wet market. Because of the onion, this version has a homier taste to it.

Ingredients:

4 cups water

1 piece small onion, quartered

3 pieces medium-sized tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup fresh shrimps, shelled and deveined (keep the head for the stock)

200 grams kilo squash (calabasa), cut into 2" squares

200 grams string beans (sitaw), cut into 2 1/2" lengths

200 grams okra, cut into 1" lengths

1 big piece eggplant (talong), cut into 1/2' inch thickness 

2 cups saluyot (jute) leaves

salt to taste

Boil  shrimp heads in water. When the shrimp heads turn pink, take them out of the water . using a strainer, squeeze excess juice from the heads with a spoon.  Add tomatoes and onion in the boiling water. Once the water boils again, add in the vegetables, starting with the squash. Once the squash turns slightly tender, add in the string beans, okra and eggplant. When the vegetables are cooked, add in the jute leaves and salt to taste. Mix and remove from fire when the saluyot turns a shade darker.

Serve hot with crispy danggit (dried Rabbit fish) on the side.

❦

ANG LASWA NI LOLO GREG

He grew alugbati in the vegetable garden behind the house. The use of alugbati and winged beans make the dish more hard-core Ilonggo for me. I don't know why. it just does. I find his process simpler, too.

Ingredients:

4 cups water

3 pieces medium-sized tomatoes, quartered

500 grams dried shrimp (hibi)

200 grams kilo squash (calabasa), cut into 2" squares

200 grams winged beans (sigarilyas), cut into 1 1/2" lengths

200 grams okra, cut into 1" lengths

1 big piece eggplant (talong), cut into 1/2' inch thickness 
2 cups alugbati  (Malabar spinach) leaves

salt to taste

Boil  tomatoes and dried shrimp in the water. Once the dried shrimp becomes tender, add in the vegetables, starting with the squash. Once the squash turns slightly tender, add in the winged beans, okra and eggplant. When the vegetables are cooked, add in the Malabar spinach leaves and salt to taste. Mix and remove from fire when the saluyot turns a shade darker.

Serve hot with crispy baby galunggong (Mackarel scad) or tawilis (fresh water sardinella) on top.

❦

This blog is dedicated to Lolo Greg and the love of his life,
Lola Pacing.

Thank you for taking care of me.

Chicken Redux Cream Soup

It's raining hard and long where I am. This kind of bed weather brings in a lot of memories-- naughty, nice and nasty.

I made my first chicken redux soup on my first year of living together with A. It was the first time I got a bad case of colds with my fever running as high as a dog's IQ.

A. went to work that day, leaving me with my cold meds and a light peck on the forehead. Before the meds could kick in, I was feeling really down and was leaking water from my eyes like a storm cloud because I realized that I missed my moms- my biological mom, my stepmom and A.'s mom. No one was getting mad at me for getting myself wet in the rain. No one was trying to make me put on three tons of clothing to bring the sweat out. I didn't have anyone to lay their palm on my forehead to check if I was still hot. For the first time in my adult life, I wanted my mommy! 

Any one of them. All three of them.

I fell asleep after  my dramatics had subsided and the meds began kicking in. When I woke up hungry, there was nothing in the ref but left over fried chicken. I was too parched to eat anything dry. When I saw the packet of cream of mushroom soup, I got the idea for Chicken Redux Cream Soup. ☂

Ingredients:

At least 2 pieces of left over chicken (any part), minced; skin and bony bits included

2 cups of water

1 small onion, diced

1 can button mushrooms (approx 200 g.), diced

1 can of cream soup (mushroom, chicken, asparagus)

Pour all ingredients on the pan, including bony chicken parts, let boil in medium heat or until the soup consistency is to our liking. Take out chicken bones and ladle yourself a bowl. Should be good for 2-3 helpings. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  

Variations:

☞ Use grilled, steamed, broiled or baked chicken if you don't have any fried chicken left overs. Using left over chicken from dishes with too much sauce doesn't work well.

☞ Use fresh vegetables: potatoes, carrots. peas, corn  

☞ Using powdered cream soup:

Pour 1 cup of water into the pan together with the onions, mushrooms, minced chicken and bony chicken parts. Boil in medium heat. Add 1 packet of powdered cream soup diluted in 1 cup of water. Simmer in low heat until consistency is to your liking.

☞ Instant Congee version:

If you have left over white rice, add the rice to your hot soup. I do this when I am too lazy but know that I need a little bit more than soup to fill me up.

☞ Noodle soup version:

Follow the instructions on the noodle soup packet  but add the chicken with the water. This way, the chicken water absorbs the flavor of the chicken.

Chicken soup, the ones with real chicken in it has supposedly been scientifically proven to help cure colds according to this CNN article http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/diet.fitness/10/17/chicken.soup.reut/