Two non-chicken dishes
The bird flu virus found in several towns in Luzon is very alarming. As of this writing, the situation seems to be abating,with a report that the ban on chicken and duck eggs has been partially lifted. Keeping faith with the goodness of the Filipino, we hope none of the culled chickens have landed on some unscrupulous suppliers/vendors in small and big markets for re-selling. The poor homemaker is now faced with a problem – what to serve to the family, considering chicken has always been cheaper than other meats.
We suggest two alternative dishes, one meat and one fish. Here are the recipes.
Cocido Español
Ingredients: 1 kilo beef (kamto or boneless kenchi), sliced into big chunks 4 big onions – two sliced, two quartered Half a head of native garlic, crushed 1 stalk each leeks and celery, cut into 3-inch lengths 10 medium-sized tomatoes, cubed and divided into 2 portions 1/4 cup olive oil 1 Spanish chorizo, sliced diagonally 1 can tomato sauce 2 tsp Spanish paprika 1/4 kilo bacon – cooked but not crisped, then crumbled into small pieces Salt, peppercorns and ground pepper One half head cabbage 1/4 kilo Baguio beans One carrot – thinly sliced lengthwise Procedure:
Tenderize meat in water, leeks, celery, the quartered onions, salt and pepper. When done, take the meat out of the broth. Set aside and save the broth.
In a deep casserole, heat olive oil and sauté the garlic, tomatoes and sliced onions. Add chorizo and bacon. Then add meat, paprika and tomato sauce. Cover and let simmer for a while. In another sauce pan cook the other half of the tomatoes and the veggies in the broth. Drain and set aside.
To assemble, in a serving platter, put the meat on one side and add the veggies on the other side, alternating their colors. Pour the remaining sauce and serve. Good for 8 to 10 persons.
Steamed fish
Ingredients: One large fish (1.5 kgs), either lapu-lapu or apahap (seabass) 2 stalks each, celery and leeks, cut into 3-in lengths One thumb-size piece of ginger, cut into strips 2 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp water 1 tsp celery salt Procedure: Clean fish, drain, season with celery salt. Put in a steamer, cover with half the leeks, celery and ginger. Steam. When fish is nearly done, prepare sauce by boiling soy sauce, water and sesame oil. Pour sauce over fish when done, decorate with the rest of the greens. Serves 6 to 8.
These recipes can be found in the In My Basket cookbook. Enjoy these “other” dishes. E-mail me at lydiadolores34@gmail.com