One of the special delicacies I love to eat when I visit Ilocos is empanada.  It is a popular bread dish in most Latin countries like Spain and Portugal but the Filipino version is something very close to our taste.  You can do it in pork, chicken and even in beef.  It is a good way to make use of your leftover meat.

Ingredients:

for the Empanada dough

3 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

half a cup of water

1 egg

1 egg white

1 teaspon of vinegar

3 tablespoons of shortening

Preparation:

Start by preparing your empanada dough.  In a bowl beat water, egg, egg white and vinegar together.  Set this aside.  In another bowl,  mix together the flour and the salt.  Put the shortening into the flour mix using a pastry blender to be sure they are evenly mix. Put a well in the middle and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center. Mix them altogether until it becomes stiff and they don’t stick to your fingers anymore. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.  Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.

Empanada Filling

half a medium size onion chopped

1 garlic clove minced

half a teaspoon of cumin powder

half a teaspoon of dried oregano

half a kilo of ground beef (you can also eat cooked chicken meat shredded or cooked pork meat chopped)

one small can of tomato sauce

one tablespoon of dried raisins

1 tablespoon of pimiento chopped

some cooking oil

salt and pepper

Cooking the Empanada filling:

In a casserole warm up your oil.  Sauté the garlic and onion.  Add your meat, put the spices, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano.  Add your tomato sauce , riasins and pimiento.  Let it simmer.

Making the Empanada:

Once the empanada dough is ready, flatten them and make circles using any rounded tool you have at home.  Put your desired filling in the middle.  Close it and crimp the sides using a fork.  Fry them on deep casserole with hot oil for three to four minutes or until they are golden brown.

Related posts:

1. Siopao
2. Adobo Flakes Pandesal
3. Sweet and Sour Pork

“Ang dami mo namang palabok” in other words you have so much blah, blah. Try this favorite dish of my dad that he wouldn’t mind eating them every single morning for his breakfast

Pancit Palabok or Pancit Malabon
450 gms fat bihon (rice noodles)
some water
1 T achiote seeds (or red food coloring)
¼ C cooking oil
½ C ground chicharron
¼ C fish sauce (patis)
½ tsp ground black pepper
2½ T calamansi juice
2 T cornstarch mixed with 1 T water
2 C shredded  pechay baguio or any cabbage will do, blanched
1 pound medium shrimps, peeled and fried (reserve heads and peels for broth)
1 C crumbled chicharron
2 C chopped boiled pork
1 pound cooked squid , sliced
3 hard cooked eggs, sliced
2 T crumbled fried garlic slices
2 T sliced green onions
calamansi juice and fish extract

Cook the noodles in water. When softened, cook in a pot of boiling water until tender but still firm. Drain and set aside. In a small skillet heat the cooking oil and achiote seeds in low heat for 1 minute. Strain and discard seeds. Set oil aside. In a large pan, boil 4 cups water and reserved shrimp heads and shells and a dash of salt. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove shells and discard. Add cornstarch mixture and simmer for a few minutes until sauce has thickened. Add the ground chicharron, the achiote oil, black pepper, fish sauce (patis) , and calamansi juice. Mix well.

Add the cooked noodles and toss until noodles are well coated. Transfer into a large serving platter. Top with shredded cabbage, shrimps, pork adobo, chopped chicharron, squid, garlic, spring onions, and sliced eggs. Serve it with a slice of calamansi.

Related posts:

1. Pancit Canton
2. Bam-i
3. Prawn & Bean Sprouts Salad

Problems of left over rice. No more worry, here is a simple fried rice that you will surely love.

Ingredients:

3 cups of cooked rice (left-over)

2 cloves of garlic

1 onion sliced

half a cup of green peas

2 eggs beaten for omelette

1 carrot cut in small cubes

about half a cup of ham cut in cubes

salt and pepper

Procedure:

In a pan or a wok, heat the oil.  Place the garlic, onion and ham.  Stir them until they change color.  Add the green peas, the carrots and continue stirring for about five minutes.  Add the rice and continue mixing well.  Add salt and pepper.  Pour the beaten eggs and mix.  You can serve it with chopped parsley on the top.

* You can also make a Vegetarian Fried rice (using only vegetables)

* You can also make some Sausage Fried rice (using different kinds of sausages)

Related posts:

1. Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag)
2. Bagoong Rice
3. Pork Afritada