Watercress Pork Soup

After a long week's work, my friends and I would hit the local market tucked in the middle of the city. Local produce and products plus stalls of edible foods that one can eat on the spot or take home. We cam across a stall that sold watercress. VT animated how she and her siblings love the soup her mother cooks using this peppery vegetable with pork. So I excitedly buy a bundle which actually was priced to high, for my taste.

So I followed the recipe and it was a big hit with everyone at home. I tried looking over the net other recipes and discovered different ways of preparing the dish. Having learned of it's medicinal properties (contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid; good source of Vit. C, iodine), this one is a keeper.

******

Winter in Seattle calls for something warm and comforting and this soup is the best remedy that brings back the comforts of friends and family from home.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of pork spare ribs (1 lb of pork neck and 1 lb pork shoulder)
1 - 2 bunch of watercress, cleaned and tough stems removed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsps. ginger, sliced
1-2 liters of water
salt or fish sauce
1 tbsp. oil

In a soup pot, place 1 tbsp. oil and sear the pork pieces in all sides until there is no sign of pinkish color. Pour water covering the pork and let it simmer. Do not let it boil and once the scrum forms on top, remove it with a spoon until you have a clear broth. Season the broth with salt or fish sauce according to your taste. Add the ginger and garlic and let the soup simmer until it becomes fork tender. If the pork is not yet tender, add more water and adjust seasoning.
Add the watercress and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. (I prefer the watercress wilted and the soup has a light greenish coloring. The soup would be slightly peppery to the taste.)
Serves 4-5.

Note: Other vegetables could be added such as carrots, potatoes, yams or mushrooms. Pork can be substituted with fish fillet, chicken, fish balls, clams or mussels.

Fish Stew

The Lenten season is here and I want to think of ways to serve meatless dishes. When I say meatless, I was referring to chicken, pork, beef, duck, veal and everything else that does not belong to the seafood, fruits and vegetable group. I had left over eggplant, a can of diced basil-oregano flavored tomatoes, 1/4 of a red bell pepper, flat leaf parley, fish fillets, a few carrots and potatoes. So I combined the ingredients and made a hearty stew that I think would go well with a sliced toasted bread or croutons.

3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced (about 1/3 cup)
1 tbsp. each of olive oil and butter
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cup eggplant, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 cup potatoes, diced
1 can of diced tomatoes, basil - oregano flavored
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. all-purpose seasoning or italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. sugar
250 grams firm white fish fillet, cut into 1x1/2x1/2 inches
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Saute the garlic and onions in oil and butter until the onions are tender. Add the bell pepper and eggplant. Stir until the eggplants are tender. Add the carrots and potatoes and diced tomatoes. Add 1 1/2 can (of the diced tomatoes) of water or no-sodium chicken stock. Season with soy sauce, seasonings, salt and pepper to taste. Add the sugar. Let the broth simmer in a covered pot until the potatoes are cooked. Add the fish and turn off the heat. Cover the pot and let the fish cook in the remaining heat.
Sprinkle the parsley when ready to serve warm.

Seafood Gumbo

My friends and I went to one of the Saturday markets to have breakfast. I wanted to actually check what ingredient that I use for a new recipe or dish. When a friend of mine noted that there was abundance of okra, I thought of Gumbo. Honestly, a few people in my family does not like this vegetable because of the slimy juice. As I recall, lola (grandmom) mentioned that the juices are used to thicken the sauce of a dish. If you do not want this, place the sliced okra in a bowl of water to let the juices 'bleed' into it. I have tried this and true enough, dishes are not as sticky or thick.
So Sunday morning, I went to the market to get a few more ingredients, mainly the seafood, for the Seafood Gumbo. I wasn't sure what to expect with this dish since I have never had the chance to try this else where. So far it went well for me. I would make it again... For myself, that is; since not everyone was too excited with the main ingredient - okra.

2 tbsps. butter

2 tbsps. flour

1/2 cup bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large can whole tomatoes or 1/2 killo tomatoes, blanched and chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1/8 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 half kilo of fresh shrimps, shelled and deveined, reserve shells and head
1/4 kilo fish fillet, cubed
1/2 kilo squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 kilo okra, washed & sliced
1 c. water
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup crab meat

Pound the shrimp shells and heads with a mortar and pestle. Add the 1 cup of water and mix well. Strain the juices and set it aside. Discard the shells.
Heat butter in a large skillet with flour and make a roux. Stir until the roux turns light brown. Add the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook all vegetables until onions and vegetables are tender. Add okra, tomatoes and tomato sauce, shrimp juice, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, chilli powder, thyme, chopped parsley and bay leaf. Let the sauce simmer until the okra is done. Taste sauce. Add the seafood and cook until the seafoods are cook. Try not to over cook the seafood else the squid and shrimp might become tough. Serve with hot rice.

Chicken Tinola - stew great for rainy days

Whenever I feel sick or the rainy days would set in, this soup helps calm the nerves and sooth the throat because of the presence of ginger in this dish. The young chilli pepper gives a light pepper taste to the dish too. The gizzard and liver may be omitted in this dish if desired. If young or green papaya is not available, this can be replaced with chayote.

1 kilo chicken, cut into serving pieces
chicken gizzard, cooked and cut into strips
chicken liver, whole
1 tsp. garlic, chopped
1/4 cup white onions, cut into 1/2" strips
1 small ginger, julienne
10 cups chicken stock
1 kilo green papaya, peeled and sliced
5 pcs. young chili pepper leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil and saute garlic, onions and ginger. Add the chicken liver and stir until cooked. Set aside liver. In the same pan, stir the giblet and chicken pieces. Add the stock and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Put in to green papaya and boil until done. Add the chili pepper leaves and cooked liver. Remove from heat and serve with fish sauce and dayap juice.

Much Creamier Corn Soup with a Twist

When we head home to the province, we would find stalls scattered by the road selling all sorts of vegetables and fruits. We would buy to bring back home because some of the items would be cheaper and definitely fresher from the ones sold in the grocery.
One of the things we would buy is Japanese corn which is harvested from Los Banos.
We would either boil it or mix it with our meals as soup, main dish, condiment or dessert.

I posted an entry before for corn soup. That is one of regular dishes we would prepare. My sister-in-law's family does their version differently. They mentioned that to make the soup more creamier, the corn is finely grated. The grated corn is then pounded or fed to a food processor to make it finer.

I did try their advice, and true enough the soup was thicker that just scraping the kernels from the cob with a knife. To have more texture to it, I added 1/4 cup whole kernels.

To experiment further, I saw a bunch of left over basil leaves that my brother used for his pasta dish. I didn't have any your pepper leaves or spinach, so I chopped a few leaves (about 2 tablespoons) and added to the soup. I didn't want to add the rest because of its strong herb taste and I thought that I would be best to just have only a hint of basil to it. And I have to admit that it was a good judgment call. Instead of overpowering, it complimented the corn.

I really suggest that you try using a few chopped leaves of basil for a different twist.

Pancit Molo Soup

My grandmother would make this dish on special occasions. My dad would brag that Lola Paz was the best cook ever. I remember as a child, she would constantly be in the kitchen whipping up something for lunch or dinner. Mom said that she was blessed to have learned her technique in making Pancit Molo Soup.

Pancit Molo Soup

The Ingredients:
1/2 kilo ground pork
1/3 cup onions, minced
1/3 cup waterchestnuts (or singkamas), minced
1/3 cup shrimps, shelled, deveined, minced
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons spring onions, minced
1-1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 egg
1 package molo wrapper (around 40 pcs.)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onions, chopped
1/4 kilo chicken breast, boiled, deboned, and shredded
4 cups chicken stock
salt
white pepper
water
cooking oil
extra garlic, chopped or minced,
toasted

Cooking Procedure:

Boil the chicken in 5 cups of water with a little salt. Cook the meat until it is tender. Reserve the chicken broth and remove the chicken meat. Once cool, shred the meat into strips. Set aside.

Mix the following ingredients together in a bowl: ground pork, minced onions, waterchestnuts, shrimps, 1/3 cup spring onions,soy sauce and an egg. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together. Take a teaspoonful and place on the center of a wanton wrapper. Take the four corners and pinch together, forming a pouch. Repeat this until all of the meat mixture have been wrapped in the wanton wrapper. If there are excess wrappers, tear into strips and set aside.

With a 3/4 tablespoon of cooking oil, saute the chopped garlic and chopped onions until the onion is translucent. Add the chicken strips and saute for a minute or two. Pour in the soup stock and season the liquid with salt and a little pepper. bring the liquid to a boil, then drop the molo dumplings one by one. Make sure that the water is roll-boiling. This will prevent the dumplings from sticking together. Add the remaining stipped molo wrapper. Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 5-8 minutes. If the liquid is not enough, add more chicken stock or warm water. Season to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes or until the molo dumplings are done. Turn off the heat. Transfer into a soup bowl or individual serving bowls. Top with minced green onions and toasted garlic.

Corn Soup

Japanese sweet corn is served boiled, buttered and lightly salted at home. It is sometimes added to dishes like Bulalo or Nilagang Baka (boiled beef stew) that gives a sweetness to the dish. At home, when ever we would get fresh corn ears, we would either just boil them or make corn soup. It is one of the comfort foods that is enjoyed with fried or grilled foods.

The Ingredients;
3-4 ears of fresh sweet corn, cleaned
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium white onion, minced
1/2 - 1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced into thin disks
1 teaspoon corn oil
3-4 cups of water or broth
a handful (approximately 2/3 cup) of chile pepper or cayenne leaves (dahon ng siling labuyo)
salt and white pepper to taste.

Cooking Procedure:
Remove the corn kernels from the cob by running a sharp knife through it. If you want a chunky style corn soup, run the knife as close as you can get through the cob. If you wish a more finer and creamier version, run the knife through the kernels, scraping the top slightly. Repeat for 4-5 times until you get all of the kernels and pulp. You may notice a white kind of liquid coming out, this is the "milk" that makes the soup creamier. Set this aside.

Saute ginger slices, onions and garlic in 1 teaspoon of corn oil. Heat through until the onions and garlic are tender but not burnt. Add in the shredded corn and saute thoroughly for 3-4 minutes. Pour in liquid and season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture simmer until the corn is cooked. Add in the chile pepper or cayenne leaves and adjust the seasonings.

Serve hot with croutons or as is.

My Notes:
- You may add 1/2 cup of shrimps, bacon, ham or pancetta for a more flavorful soup. You may add these after you saute the ginger, onions and garlic or add this in the end. For the raw shrimps, add them after sauting the aromatics until they slightly turn pink. As for the ham, bacon or pancetta, cook them until they caramelize with the aromatics. Then add in the corn and continue with the rest of the procedure.

- Use a blender or food processor if you wish to have a more smoother consistency.

- A 250ml all-purpose cream or full cream milk may be added to make a creamier corn soup. Add this towards the end of the cooking process. Let it simmer until it reaches to the preferred consistency.

- If chile pepper or cayenne leaves are not available, you may substitute with onion leeks, parsley or cilantro. But the taste would not be the same since it may lack the "slight peppery" flavor.