Pork Medley

Simple and economical way of cooking your pork, tomato sauce and creams are not needed but still, this recipe will surely capture your taste buds. "Lami!" :-) Yummy!

Ingredients for 6-8 servings:
1/2 kilo pork (sliced into bite size)
1/4 kilo green beans ( sliced into bite size)
2 medium size carrots ( sliced into bite size)
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
salt to taste


Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onion then add the ground pepper and pork, continue to saute until the pinkish color of the meat is gone.
2. Add the water and simmer until the meat is fully cooked, increase the heat to high then add the carrots and green beans, give a good stir until fully mixed, add salt to taste.
3. Simmer until done then serve it hot with rice.

You can add more vegetables for this recipe like broccoli and cauliflower.

Nilat-ang Baboy

Nilat-an is a cooking process in Mindanao and Visayas regions of Philippines, I think this is related to Luzon's "nilaga". My mother loves to cook nilat-an specially if the meat is tough, using this process, it makes the meat tender by simmering the meat over low heat, that brings out the delicious flavor of the meat. Try this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 kilo pork buto-buto
1 piece banana heart ( slice into wedges)
thumb size ginger
1 onion
4 chili fingers ( siling haba)
6 cups water ( add if needed)
salt and pepper to taste


Procedure:
1. In a pot put the water, onion, ginger and pork buto-buto, bring to a boil, when boiling reduce the heat then simmer until the meat is tender.
2. Add the banana heart and simmer until tender then add chili fingers, salt and pepper to taste then simmer until done.
3. Garnish with spring onion then serve it hot and do not forget to smile.

Pochero

Pork dish that I always want to cook if I have few quests, loaded with yumminess!

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork belly
1 piece chorizo ( sliced to your desired thickness)
2 banana ( saba) ( cut and fried)
2 cloves garlic
2 small Carrots
1 onion
2 potatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 kilo green beans
1/2 kilo Pechay Baguio/Chinese Cabbage
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups water


Procedure
1. Saute the garlic and onion, add the pork and saute until the pinkish color is gone.
2. Add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper then simmer for few minutes.
3.Add the water  and bring to a boil, simmer and stir occasionally.
5. Once the pork is tender add the potatoes and carrots and simmer until tender, then add the fried banana, chorizo and green beans, simmer for a minute then add with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Add the Chinese cabbage then simmer for a minute and turn off the heat then serve.

Inantala

If you will continue cooking inantala it will become chicharon

Inantala is an Ilokano dish, popular as pasalubong from Nueva Ecija. It is called "inantala" because you delayed the process of chicharon. Inantala can be kept in a refrigerator for few months and you can fry it anytime to make into chicharon. Fresh Chicharon all the time :-).

Ingredients:
1/2 Kilo Pork Skin ( slice to your desired size)
2 litres oil
salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Sprinkle the pork skin with salt then heat the oil, when it's hot put the pork skin and stir then remove quickly.
2. Wait until the oil is hot again then put the pork skin and stir, when it floats, lower the heat ( the lowest that you can) then wait until the pork skin will settle at the bottom of the pan or pot.

3. When the pork skin already settled, increase the heat to medium then stir and wait until the pork skin floats again, once floated, lower the heat and wait until it settles at the bottom, do this process around 4 times.

4. After few times of repeating you will notice that the texture changed into something like "chicharon" when we reached that stage that's it! Remove from oil and let cool, you can keep it and fry  it anytime you want to eat chicharon this is really delicious.

Inantala

Inantala with fats and meat

Bopis

Today we cooked lechon ( whole roasted pig) and I asked the butcher to give me the innards that I can use for "bopis".  One of the ingredients for bopis is lungs but since most of my siblings will not eat it, I decided not to include it. Here is my simple way of cooking bopis.

Ingredients:
1 piece pork's heart ( boiled and chopped)
1/2 kilo pork's intestine ( fully cleaned, boiled and chopped)
1/4 kilo pork's liver ( chopped)
1 big tomato (diced)
1 small carrot ( minced)
1/2 cup minced radish
3 cloves garlic (minced)
thumb size ginger (minced)
1 onion (minced)
3 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 laurel/bay leaves
chopped chili according to your taste
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
1. Sauté garlic, ginger, tomato and onion then add the pork's heart, liver and intestines, increase the heat, then give it a good stir.
2. Add all the ingredients then simmer until fully cooked stirring every now and then.
3. Serve hot and do not forget to smile :-)

How to cook Chicharong Bulaklak

Chicharong bulaklak is made from a part of pork's intestine that looked like a flower that's why it is called bulaklak a Filipino term for flower. It's just a small portion of the intestines that is why chicharong bulaklak is  valued high at the market. This dish goes well to dip in vinegar with lots of garlic and hot chili.

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork's chitterlings or intestines (bitukang bulaklak)
2 cups water
1 cup oil
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Procedure:
1. In a pot put all the ingredients except the oil and allow to boil until the water evaporates.
2. Pour in the oil and fry the intestines until golden brown.
3. Slice and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.