Your Recipes for the Week:

In honor of the au-pair I recently hired, (while my loving bride is out of town) food from those wonderful people of the Philippine Islands.

CHICKEN-CABBAGE CURRY
1 cup chicken meat (cooked, shredded)
2 tbsp butter or margarine
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3/4 cup evaporated milk (or thick coconut milk)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp vetsin
1/2 cup water
1/2 kilo cabbage shredded

Drop shredded cabbage in boiling water with a little salt. Put off heat. After 3 minutes, drain. Set aside.
Combine flour, salt, pepper, and curry powder. Melt butter in low heat, add flour mixture. Stir. When well blended, gradually add water and continue stirring until mixture is smooth.

Add onion and chicken meat. Cook for 5 minutes. Add milk. Stir until smooth and thickened. Add vetsin.

Spread drained cabbage on plate. Make a hollow in the middle and pour the cooked chicken mixture. Serve hot.



GRILLED BANGUS
1 large bangus
2 onions, chopped finely
5 tomatoes, chopped finely
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp vetsin
banana leaves


Clean bangus but do not scrape scales. With a sharp slit back to make an opening up to the stomach. Wash and sprinkle salt.

Mix onions and tomatoes together. Season with salt and vetsin. Stuff in bangus.

Wrap bangus in wilted banana leaves. Grill on hot charcoal for 1/2 hour.



15 DAY HAM
1 kilo pork (thigh or pigi)
1 cup salt
1 tsp salitre
1/2 cup gin
1 cup white sugar

Mix salt, salitre, sugar, and gin altogether. Prick pork all over with ice pick or fork and soak in mixture. Soak for 15 days. Keep in refrigerator, covered with cheese cloth or foil.

Each day, prick and turn meat in its solution.

On the 15th day, wash thoroughly, add a can of pineapple juice (medium-sized can) and boil until meat is tender.

Remove the skin. Sprinkle brown sugar and bake in a preheated oven (350 F) for 10 minutes or until brown.

Instead of baking in oven, you may press a heated kitchen turner (siyanse) on the meat, repeating several times until meat browns.

Enjoy...

JQP