Featured Food: Banana Cue

An average Filipino would enjoyed the typical street food in his home country. One of the most popular street foods in the Philippines is the banana cue. It is similar to the barbecue, pork in a stick, but in this case instead of a pork, bananas are put on the sticks. The one thing that I like about this tasty snack is that it is very simple and yet very tasty. It is a symbolism that Filipinos are contented with simple things. The banana cue can be found almost anywhere in the streets of manila. It is a typical merienda for the Filipinos during the afternoon. A banana is covered with sugar and dip in hot oil to caramelized the sugar. Enjoy eating this tasty snack along the streets of the metro. =)

Ingredients:
about 15 pieces of banana saba type
bamboo bbq sticks
half a kilo of brown sugar
half a liter of cooking oil

Procedure:
Peel your bananas.  Heat your deep frying pan with half a liter of oil.  Once the oil becomes very very hot, put gently all your bananas (it depends on the size of your frying pan). Cook your bananas by mixing them constantly, after about three to five minutes add your brown sugar.  It will melt and caramelize.  Continue mixing gently the caramel and the bananas.  If you wish a caramel well melted on your bananas, you can continue cooking this for about five more minutes. Or should you prefer a crunchy sugar coating on your bananas, you should immediately cut the fire.  Take them off one by one and let the oil drip.  Skew them on your bamboo sticks, approximately 3 bananas per stick.

Source: Banana-cue Recipe

Featured Food: Ensaymada

The ensaymada originally came from Spanish origin. The Spaniards were the one who introduces the snack to the Filipinos during the 17th century. It originally was made with lard, and the name ensaymada came from the Arabic word "saim" which means pork lard. The origin of the ensaymada can be traced in spain and in there exploration of the Arab world. But soon the ensaymada evolved to the taste of the Filipinos. Instead of using pork lard the new ensaymada are made with butter. Also butter, sugar, and cheese has been added to fit the Filipino taste. At the present the ensaymada is one of the tastiest and famous Filipino snacks. There are wide varieties of ensaymada now in the Philippines. There are different recipes and styles f cooking it but one of my favorite ensaymada are made in Hizon's bake shop. Hizon's bakeshop can be found in jorge bocobo near robinson's place ermita. Although it is impossible for me to give you the recipe of Hizon's ensaymada I would suggest a recipe that would be easy to do at home. Happy eating! =)






Ingredients:
Dough
• 1/3 cup refined sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/3 cup butter

Sponge
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon refined sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast

Topping
• grated cheese
• melted butter
• sugar 

METHOD
1. Mix sponge ingredients in a mixing bowl. Combine until blended and knead until dough is smooth. Shape into ball, cover wit damp cloth and let rise for 2 hours.
2. Put the dough ingredients except butter in a mixing bowl. Blend until well blended. Add the sponge and the butter. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into ball. Put in a bowl, cover with damp cloth and let rise again until double in bulk.
3. Punch dough and divide equally into 8 pieces. Shape into balls, cover with damp cloth and let rise for 30 minute Roll out each piece thinly into 8 x 5 inch rectangles. Brush surfaces with butter. Roll into long rods and twirl into shape, locking the ends to seal. Place on greased ensaymada molds. Let it rise for 2 hours until doubles in size.
4. Bake at 325 F for about 10 minute or until light golden brown.Cool slightly and brush with melted butter. Top with grated cheese and sprinkle with sugar.

Amber's Golden Chain of restaurants

Amber's restarant are famous for their pancit malabon pichi-pichi, and pork barbeque. The main branch is located at Filmore and Emilia Streets in Barangay Palanan in Makati City. The restaurant was established by December 14, 1988. Amber's is already 21 years in operations and soon to be 22 years. I have personally tasted the specialties in amber's and I can testify that they have great food. Some of my friends go out of their way to take home a box of pichi-pichi and a bilao of pancit malabon to their homes. Amber's restaurant is also popular to host parties with their food. They are already in the list of popular party foods. So whenever there is a party Amber's would be part of the choices that people go too. One of the advantages of Amber's is that they have good food but they have one of the cheapest price there is. In a way people get good food without spending so much. So if you want good food, Good Price, and good service try Amber's golden chain of restaurants.

Menu:

Contact Numbers:

AMBER GOLDEN PLATE RESTAURANT CORPORATION Telephone Numbers: 884-8888 / 884-2222 / 845-0964 / 843-8722 / 886-1313

Turon

Turon is a healthy and delicious filipino favorites. I think every filipino has at least tried to eat it once in their lives. It was my childhood favorite snack and up until now I find the craving for turon every now and then. It has a sweet coating of brown sugar along with a fried spring roll wrapper and in the wrapper is a tasty banana. It is a sweet, simple, and satisfying filipino snack. 


Ingredients:

6 pcs Cavendish banana (saba), cut in half (lenghtwise)

1 cup ripe Jackfruit

1 ½ cup brown sugar

12 pcs spring roll wrapper

2 cups cooking oil

Cooking procedure:

1. Roll the banana on the brown sugar plate and ensure that the banana is coated with enough sugar

2. Place the banana with sugar coating in the spring roll wrapper and add some ripe jackfruit

3. Fold and lock the spring roll wrapper, use water to seal the edge

4. In a pan, heat the oil and put-in some brown sugar.Wait until the brown sugar floats

5. Put-in the wrapped banana and fry until the wrapper turns golden brown and the extra sugar sticks on wrapper

6. Serve hot during dessert or meryenda. Share and Enjoy!

Pancit Palabok

One of my favorite filipino snack is the pancit palabok. It is the filipino counterpart of the italian spaghetti. With its unique sauce and toppings it has an authentic filipino taste in it. The toppings itself are very pinoy, chicharon, hipon, tinapa, adobong pusit, and some palabok are made special according to the filipino taste. For me there is one topping or ingredient that cannot be removed in a pacit palabok and that ingredient is, the ever famous, crispy pork chicharon. The chicharon adds a crispy texture in every bite of the pancit palabok which will leave you craving for more. That is the one thing that I look for whenever I order palabok. Here is one of my favorite Palabok Recipes:

Palabok Noodles / Sauce

• 1/2 kilo miki noodles
• 1/2 kilo small crabs
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of atchuete seeds or oil
• 2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)
• 4 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in water
• 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• 1 1/2 cups of water

Palabok Toppings

• Tinapa flakes (smoked fish)
• Cooked shrimps, shelled
• Squid adobo, sliced into rings
• Pork chicharon, grounded
• Spring onions, chopped
• Hard boiled eggs, shelled, sliced
• Fried garlic, minced
• Fresh calamansi (lemon), sliced

 Directions:

• Extract fat and meat from clean crabs, set aside.
• Pound crab and extract juice on 1 1/2 cups of water
• On a pan, sauté garlic and onions until golden brown then add crab fat, crab meat, 1 1/2 cups of crab wash, patis and MSG. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add corn starch and continue to simmer while constantly stirring until thick.
• Put miki noodles in a strainer and dip in boiling water for 5 minutes or until cooked.
• Lay drained noodles on a platter and pour the palabok sauce. Garnish with toppings and serve.