How to make Pork Tocino

Tocino or tosino is a cured meat product popular in former Spanish colonial possessions, including Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The Spanish word tocino de panceta roughly translates to "pork belly."

In Caribbean countries such as Puerto Rico and Cuba, tocino is made from pork fatback (not pork belly) and neither cured nor smoked, but just fried until very crunchy and added to recipes, much like lardons in French cuisine.

Ingredients:
2 lbs pork ham
¼ tsp Prague powder
1 tsp phosphate
2 tbsp coarse salt
7-10 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp Anisado wine (or ground star anise and/or anisette)
½ tablet ascorbic acid (250 mg)

Procedure:
1. Slice the pork ham to about ¼ inch thickness
2. Except for the meat, combine all ingredients in a container and mix well
3. Apply the combined mixture to the meat by rubbing. Make sure that the mixture is evenly distributed across the meat
4. Place the mixed ingredients in a covered container
5. Store the covered container (with meat and mixture) in room temperature for 14 hours. It may also be refrigerated but would take at least 3.5 days to complete.
You can make Tocino for home consumption or even start a new meat processing business. Its all up to you, just remember that you cannot determine any outcome if you don’t try. Enjoy making tocino!
If you have any ideas or requests, please don’t hesitate to inform me. You may reach me by posting a comment. You can also email me at marknoscal@yahoo.com

Chicken Inasal

Who among you in the Philippines haven’t heard of this dish? I will be surprised if a huge number of people will say that they haven’t. Chicken Inasal is all over the place. In fact, several restaurant chains that specialize in this dish are in full swing branching-out to dominate its presence in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces. Chicken Inasal and all you can eat rice, doesn’t this sound familiar?

I’ve been to several restaurants and grills serving this special grilled chicken dish and they were all good. The main question is: Who serves the best Chicken Inasal in the Philippines? In Metro Manila, there is a good place somewhere in New Manila, Quezon City that is owned by a famous actor. The Chicken Inasal served by the newly emerging brand is not bad too. There should also be many good restaurants and grills in Iloilo and Bacolod where this dish originated.

Try this Chicken Inasal reciper from Panlasang Pinoy.


Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken cut into serving pieces
Marinade:
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
3/4 cup lemongrass, chopped
1 cup coconut vinegar
1/2 cup lemon or calamansi juice
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup lemon soda (softdrink)
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

Basting Sauce:
3 tablespoons annatto oil (atsuete oil)
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon or calamansi juice

Cooking procedure:
1. In a freezer bag or large bowl, combine chicken, lemongrass, salt, ground black pepper, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, vinegar, lemon-lime soda, and lemon juice.
2. Stir or shake the mixture until every ingredient is well incorporated. Marinade for 1 to 3 hours.
3. In a bowl, combine margarine, annatto oil, salt, and lemon juice then stir. Set aside.
4. Grill the chicken while basting generous amount of the margarine mixture.
5. Transfer the grilled chicken to a serving plate.
6. Serve with sinamak. Share and enjoy!

Pork Barbeque

This grilled dish can be considered as a street food because it is sold in barbeque stands on street corners along with isaw ng baboy (grilled pig’s intestine), betamax (grilled chicken blood), isaw ng manok (grilled chicken intestine) and other similar street foods.

The thing that I like most about Pork Barbeque is its rich flavor: the marinade does its job by ingesting all the flavors in the pork while the grilling process provides additional smokiness making this grilled Filipino Food stand out.

As far as I am concerned, Pinoy Pork Barbeque won’t be complete without the spicy vinegar. Do you remember the tall coffee jars in barbeque stands that contain the spicy vinegar dip? I like soaking my barbeque in that vinegar dip and I intentionally scoop the floating chopped onions as I pull the stick out. “Mas sasarap ito kapag sinamahan mo pa ng malamig na softdrink” (this will taste even better with cold soda by your side) “ayy, Sarap!” (Delicious!)

Try this Pinoy Pork Barbeque recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.


Ingredients:
2 lbs pork, sliced
1/2 cup soy sauce
Lemon juice from 1 piece lemon
1/2 cup banana ketchup
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar
8 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

Cooking procedure:
1. Combine pork, soy sauce, lemon juice, ketchup, salt, ground black pepper, brown sugar, and chopped garlic in a mixing bowl then mix the ingredients well. Make sure that all ingredients are properly distributed; using your hands in mixing the ingredients is recommended.
2. Marinate the pork in the mixture overnight. Make sure to refrigerate the marinade to avoid contamination. If in case you are so eager to grill right away, allow at least 3 hours for the meat to absorb the flavors.
3. Skewer the sliced pork using a bamboo skewer (this is also the same as the barbeque stick that we know).
4. Grill the pork until both sides are done. Use the leftover marinade as basting sauce. Try adding a few tablespoons of soy sauce, ketchup, and a tablespoon of cooking oil to create the perfect basting sauce.
5. Serve with spicy vinegar. Share and enjoy!

Embutido

An embutido (Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese) or enchido (European Portuguese) is a type of sausage found in Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, and Central and South America.

It generally contains hashed meat, generally pork, seasoned with aromatic herbs or spices (black pepper, red pepper, paprika, garlic, rosemary, thyme, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, or others) that is served wrapped in the skin of the pig's intestines.^{[citation needed]}

Mass-produced sausages of these types are often wrapped in a type of artificial, sometimes edible, skin. Although the Filipino longaniza is roughly equivalent to the traditional embutido, there is another Filipino dish that shares the same name, but is better described as a kind of steamed meatloaf and lacks a casing.

Try this delicious Embutido recipe from Panlasang  Pinoy
.
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground pork
12 pcs vienna sausage or 6 pcs hotdogs, cut in half lengthwise
3 pcs hard boiled eggs, sliced
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 pcs raw eggs
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup red bell pepper, minced
1 cup green bell pepper, minced
1 1/2 cup raisins
1 cup carrots, minced
1 cup onion, minced
salt and pepper

2 cups bread crumbs (made by placing 4 slices of tasty bread in a food processor. If not using any food processor, just tear the bread.)

Cooking Procedures:
1. Place the ground pork in a large container
2. Add the bread crumbs then break the raw eggs and add it in. Mix well
3. Put-in the carrots, bell pepper (red and green), onion, pickle relish, and cheddar cheese. Mix thouroughly
4. Add the raisins, tomato sauce, salt, and pepper then mix well.
5. Place the meat mixture in an aluminum foil and flatten it. (see video for guidance)
6. Put in the sliced vienna sausage and sliced boiled eggs alternately on the middle of the flat meat mixture.
7. Roll the foil to form a cylinderlocking the sausage and egg in the middle if the meat mixture. Once done, lock the edges of the foil.
8. Place in a steamer and let cook for 1 hour.
9. Place inside the refrigerator until temperature turns cold
10. Slice and serve. Share and Enjoy!

Kare - Kare

Kare-kare is a Philippine stew. It is made from peanut sauce with a variety of vegetables, stewed oxtail, beef, and occasionally offal or tripe. Meat variants may include goat meat or (rarely) chicken. It is often eaten with bagoong (shrimp paste), sometimes spiced with chili, and sprinkled with calamansi juice. Traditionally, any Filipino fiesta (particularly in Pampanga region) is not complete without kare-kare. In some Filipino-American versions of the dish, oxtail is exclusively used as the meat.

Try this Kare-Kare recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.

Ingredients:
3 lbs oxtail (cut in 2 inch slices)
1 small banana flower bud (sliced)
1 bundle of pechay or bok choy
1 bundle of string beans (cut into 2 inch slices)
4 pcs eggplants (sliced)
1 cup ground peanuts
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup shrimp paste
34 Ounces water (about 1 Liter)
1/2 cup annatto seeds (soaked in a cup of water)
1/2 cup toasted ground rice
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper

Cooking Procedure:
1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil
2. Put in the oxtail followed by the onions and simmer for 2.5 to 3 hrs or until tender (35 minutes if using a pressure cooker)
3. Once the meat is tender, add the ground peanuts, peanut butter, and coloring (water from the annatto seed mixture) and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes
4. Add the toasted ground rice and simmer for 5 minutes
5. On a separate pan, saute the garlic then add the banana flower, eggplant, and string beans and cook for 5 minutes
6. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the large pot (where the rest of the ingredients are)
7. Add salt and pepper to taste
8. Serve hot with shrimp paste. Enjoy!

Pork Estofado

I like the idea of having plantains in pork and beef dishes. Plantains or “saging na saba” help improve the flavor of a dish and adds a little sweetness to it. Take the beef pochero as an example: the sweetness of the plantains blends well with the other ingredients producing a great tasting dish. Sometimes, I also use plantains in Beef Nilaga to add more life to it.

Do you like the idea of using plantains (saba) in some of the dishes that you cook?

Try this Pork Estofado recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.

Ingredients:
3 lbs pork, cubed
3 pieces dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon whole peppercorn
1 1/2 cup carrot, sliced
4 plantain bananas, sliced diagonally (1 inch thick)
1/2 cup vinegar
3/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup water
5 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup cooking oil

Cooking procedure:
1. Heat a frying pan and pour 3/4 cups of cooking oil.
2. When the oil is hot enough, fry the sliced plantains until the color of each side turns medium to dark brown. Set aside.
3. Pour 1/4 cup of cooking oil in a separate cooking pot then apply heat.
4. When the oil is hot enough, put-in the garlic and sauté until the color turns light brown.
5. Add the cubed pork and cook for 7 to 10 minutes.
6. Put-in the soy sauce, water, whole peppercorns, and dried bay leaves then bring to a boil. Simmer until pork is tender.
7. Add vinegar and wait for the liquid to re-boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Add brown sugar and carrots. Stir then simmer for 10 minutes more.
9. Turn off the heat and transfer the contents of the cooking pot to a serving plate.
10. Garnish with fried bananas then serve.

Pork Afritada

Pork Afritada is simply “Stewed pork in tomato sauce“. This dish is similar to Menudo and Kaldereta (or Caldereta) and is usually cooked with wedges of carrots and potatoes. Bay leaves are also added for extra flavor and aroma.
Because of the similarity of Afritada to other tomato based dishes, identifying this dish is quite confusing to some. I was asked by some people (who are still puzzled on this topic) to differentiate one from the other. I felt like standing in their shoes for a while. After some time pondering, I figured out that the visual difference can obviously be seen on the cut of the meat and the additional ingredients used. As for the taste, each dish is unique even if the base ingredients are similar. I guess changing the cut of the meat and adding a few more ingredients to it gives me the right to call it “Pork Vanjito” (just kidding).
Some Pinoy Foods might look the same but inside them lays a truly unique taste capable of spelling their own name.

Try this appetizing Pork Afritada from Panlasang Pinoy.

Ingredients:
2 lbs pork, chopped
1 big potato, cut into wedges
1 big carrot, cut into wedges
3 pieces dried bay leaves
2 cups tomato sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 ½ cups beef or pork broth
1 cup bell pepper, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 cup onion, chopped
2 tbsp cooking oil
salt to taste

Cooking Procedure:
1. Heat the cooking oil in a pan and sauté the garlic and onions
2. Add the pork and sauté until the outer parts are cooked (approximately 5 minutes)
3. Add the bay leaves and tomato sauce then simmer for 5 minutes
4. Add the ground black pepper then pour-in the broth and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes (or until the meat is tender)
5. Put-in the potato and carrots then simmer for 5 to 7 minutes
6. Add the bell pepper and simmer for 3 another minutes
7. Add salt to taste
8. Serve hot. Share and enjoy!
 

Sinigang na Hipon

Sinigang is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour flavor most often associated with tamarind (sampalok).

Try this comforting Sinigang na Hipon recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb shrimp (with head)
1 bunch water spinach (kangkong), cut in 3 inch length
1 cup string beans (sitaw), cut in 2 inch length
2 pieces medium-sized tomatoes, quartered
1 large white onion, quartered
8 cups water
1 pack sinigang mix (tamarind soup base mix), about 1.4 ounce
2 pieces banana pepper (or long green pepper)
3 tbsp fish sauce (patis)

Cooking procedure:
1. Pour the water in a large cooking pot and bring to a boil
2. Add onions and tomatoes and cook until texture becomes soft
3. Put-in the sinigang mix and simmer for 2 minutes
4. Add the banana pepper and string beans and simmer for 3 minutes
5. Add the shrimps and fish sauce then simmer for 5 minutes
6. Add the water spinach, turn the heat off, and cover the pot. Let stand for 5 minutes.
7. Serve hot. Share and Enjoy!

Beef Kaldereta

Caldereta is a dish popular in the Philippines, especially in Luzon island. Its common ingredients are cuts of pork, beef or goat with tomato paste or tomato sauce with liver spread added to it. In Metro Manila it is more commonly added with potatoes but in other regions such as Southern Tagalog provinces, it is simply the sauce and the cuts of meat that are used. There are other meats that can also be used such as chicken but pork, beef and goat are the three more popular cuts of meat used.

Try this this Kaldereta recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef, cubed
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cups water
1 cup red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup liver spread or liver paste (processed using blender)
1 tsp. crushed chili
3 large bay leaves
2 cups potatoes, sliced
2 cups carrots, sliced
1 cup cooking oil
2/3 cup green olives
salt and pepper

Directions:

Step 1: Heat the cooking oil in the pan and fry the carrots and potatoes until color turns light brown
Step 2: Remove the fried carrots and potatoes from the pan and set aside
Step 3: In the same pan where the vegetables were fried, sauté the garlic and onions
Step 4: Add the beef and simmer for 5 minutes
Step 5: Add water and let the beef boil until tender (about 30 mins if using pressure cooker or 1 to 2 hours if using an ordinary pot)
Step 6: Add the tomato sauce and liver spread and simmer for 10 minutes
Step 7: Add green olives, carrots, bay leaves, bell pepper,crushed chili,and potatoes and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes
Step 8: Add salt and pepper to taste
Step 9: Serve Hot. Enjoy!

Bulalo

A beef soup comprised of shank with bone marrow still inside the bone, Bulalo is considered to be one of the most favorite main dishes in the Philippines. Minimal effort is needed to prepare this dish but time and patience is necessary to make the beef shank tender.

Because of the popularity of this Filipino food, restaurants and eateries specializing in cooking Bulalo were put-up.
Some of the famous “Bulalohan” can be found in Tagaytay City (Cavite) and Sto. Tomas (Batangas). Commercial restaurants also include Bulalo in their menu.

Try this Bulalo recipe from Panlasang Pinoy:

Ingredients:
2 lbs beef shank
½ pc small cabbage, whole leaf individually detached
1 small bundle Pechay
3 pcs Corn, each cut into 3 parts
2 tbsp Whole pepper corn
1/2 cup Green onions
1 medium sized onion
34 ounces water
2 tbsp fish sauce (optional)

Cooking Procedure:
1. In a big cooking pot, pour in water and bring to a boil
2. Put-in the beef shank followed by the onion and whole pepper corn then simmer for 1.5 hours (30 mins if using a pressure cooker) or until meat is tender.
3. Add the corn and simmer for another 10 minutes
4. Add the fish sauce,cabbage, pechay, and green onion (onion leeks)
5. Serve hot. Share and Enjoy!

Pinakbet

Pinakbet or pakbet is a popular Ilocano dish, from the northern regions of the Philippines, although it has become popular throughout the archipelago. The word is the contracted form of the Ilocano word pinakebbet, meaning "shrunk" or "shriveled". The original Ilocano pinakbet uses bagoong ("bugguong" in Ilokano), of fermented monamon or other fish, while further south, bagoong alamang is used. The basic vegetables used in this dish include native bitter melon, eggplant, tomato, okra, string beans, chili peppers , parda, winged beans, and others. Root crops and some beans like camote, patani, kadios are also optionally added. The young pod of marunggay is also added. It is usually spiced with ginger, onions, or garlic. A Tagalog version usually includes calabaza. 

 Most of these vegetables are easily accessible, and are grown in backyards and gardens of most Ilocano households. As its name suggests, it is usually cooked until almost dry and shriveled and the flavors of the vegetables are emphasized and accentuated by bagoong (shrimp paste). In some cases, lechon, chicharon, or other meats (most commonly pork) are added. It is considered a very healthy dish, and convenient in relation to the harsh and rugged, yet fruitful Northern and Ilocos regions of the Philippines. The history of this dish is derived from such.

The vegetable dish pinakbet is more than a regional cuisine. It is an enduring symbol of the Ilocano palate and a lucid display of the Ilocanos’ history of contestations and struggles with the physical and social environment. The recipe weaves intimations of the cultural productions of the Ilokanos’ transaction to their arid and less productive land. 

Try this Pakbet Tagalog from Panlasang Pinoy.

Ingredients:
1/4 lb pork, thinly sliced
1 large egg plant, chopped
1 medium-sized bitter melon, chopped
1/4 lb squash, chopped into 2x1 inch cubes
3 pieces large tomato, sliced
1 piece onion, sliced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 to 8 pieces okra
1 bunch string beans, cut in 3 inches length
4 tbsp shrimp paste
1 cup water
3 tbsp cooking oil
salt and pepper

Cooking Procedure:
1. Heat the pan and put the cooking oil.
2. When oil is hot enough, saute the garlic, ginger, onion, and tomato
3. Add the pork and cook until color turns light brown (about 5 to 8 minutes)
4. Put-in the shrimp paste and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until pork is tender
6. Put-in the squash and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until texture becomes soft
7. Add the remaining vegetables and mix with the other ingredients.Simmer for 5 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked. (Do not overcook the vegetables)
8. Serve hot with steamed white rice. Share and Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Fish

Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It has long been popular in North America and Europe, where it is stereotypically considered a component of standard Chinese cuisine. It does in fact originate from China, and is now also used in some American (including American Chinese cuisine) and European cuisines.

Try this Sweet and Sour Tilapia recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.

Ingredients
1 pc whole Tilapia
1 tbsp garlic
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup bell pepper (red and green)
1 cup cooking oil
1 medium sized onion,chopped
1 thumbs ginger, cut into strips
2 cups water
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 small carrot, cut into strips

Cooking Procedure:
1.Fry the Tilapia
1.1 Place the cooking oil in the pan and apply heat.
1.2 When the oil is hot enough, put the fish in the pan.
1.3 When the immersed side of the fish is brown and crispy, flip the fish to let the other side cook.
1.4 Once the fish is fully cooked, remove from pan and set aside
2. Prepare the sauce
2.1 In a clean pan, saute the garlic, onion, carrots, ginger, and bell pepper (red and green)
2.2 Add 2 cups of water and simmer for 5 mins
2.3 Put-in the tomato paste, sugar, and vinegar then mix thoroughly
2.4 Add-in the cornstarch to thicken the sauce (make sure to dilute the cornstarch in 1/2 cup water before adding it in)
3. Pour the sauce on top of the Tilapia.
4. Serve hot. Share and Enjoy!

Chicken Adobo

Adobo is the name of a popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine that involves meat or seafood marinated in a sauce of vinegar and garlic, browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade.

Although it has a name taken from the Spanish, the cooking method is indigenous to the Philippines. When the Spanish conquered the Philippines in the late 16th century and early 17th century, they encountered an indigenous cooking process which involved stewing with vinegar, which they then referred to as adobo, which is the Spanish word for seasoning or marinade. Dishes prepared in this manner eventually came to be known by this name, with the original term for the dish now lost to history.

While the adobo dish and cooking process in Filipino cuisine and the general description adobo in Spanish cuisine share similar characteristics, they refer to different things with different cultural roots. While the Philippine adobo dish can be considered adobo in the Spanish sense a marinated dish the Philippine usage is much more specific. Typically, pork or chicken, or a combination of both, is slowly cooked in vinegar, crushed garlic, bay leaf, black peppercorns, and soy sauce then often browned in the oven or pan-fried afterward to get the desirable crisped edges.

Adobo has been called the quintessential Philippine stew, served with rice both at daily meals and at feasts.

It is commonly packed for Filipino mountaineers and travelers because it keeps well without refrigeration. Its relatively long shelf-life is due to one of its primary ingredients, vinegar, which inhibits the growth of bacteria.

Outside of the home-cooked dish, the essence of adobo has been developed commercially and adapted to other foods. A number of successful local Philippine snack products usually mark their items "adobo flavored." This assortment includes, but is not limited to nuts, chips, noodle soups, and corn crackers.

Try this Chicken Adobo recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken, cut into serving pieces
3 pcs dried bay leaves
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1/4 cup cooking oil
salt and pepper

Cooking procedure:
1. In a large container, combine the soy sauce and garlic then marinade the chicken overnight
2. Place the cooking oil in a pan and apply heat
3. When the oil is hot enough, put-in the marinated chicken
4. Add water and bring to a boil
5. Add the dried bay leaves and simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender
6. Add vinegar, salt, and pepper and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes
7. Serve hot. Share and Enjoy!