Pipian

Pipian is a Chabacano chicken dish with Spanish inspiration similar to kare-kare except it is way lot simplier to cook and has very few ingredients.



Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces

1 head of garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon annatto (achuete), fried in lard or oil to extract the color

2 cups water 

1 chicken bouillon (for extra flavor)

¼ cup rice flour

⅓ cup peanut butter (or more, to taste)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

cooking oil

fish sauce (patis) or salt

pepper to taste

chopped green onions 

pechay and sitaw (optional)

Procedures:

Toast the rice flour in a pan (carajay) over low heat until lightly browned. Remove and set aside in a bowl.

In another pan, fry the chicken pieces in hot lard or oil until golden brown. Remove and set aside on a plate.

Using the same pan, sauté the garlic and onion. 

Add chicken pieces and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for at least 10 minutes.

Add toasted rice flour slowly while stirring to prevent lumps then the peanut butter and annatto extract. Stir well to combine.

Bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce thickens.

Note: Add more broth if the sauce becomes too thick.

Bacalao

Bacalao is a popular salted cod fish dish present in every Caviteñean house every Lenten season most especially on Good Friday. This is one the many dish we inherited from the Portuguese galleon traders that pre-dates Spanish occupation.

This is our version at home of the popular Spanish dish made of dried fish.

Ingredients:

2 big pieces bacalao (dried salted cod) or, as substitutes, dried salted lapu-lapu or barracuda (about 5 cups or more of shredded fish)

1 cup olive oil
4 large potatoes, cut to small cubes
1 head garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups garbanzos (chick peas), cooked
4 red bell peppers, diced
atchuete oil
laurel leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
Soak the bacalao overnight. Drain. Flake fish, discarding bones.

Fry fish flakes in olive oil. Fry the potatoes to golden brown. Set aside. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Pour in atchuete oil and one cup water, and bring to a boil. Add the fish, garbanzos, peppers and laurel leaves, stirring. Then put in the fried potatoes. Add more olive oil, if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with hot rice.

Note: Some Caviteños add chopped cabbage as extenders. Others use tomato sauce for color rather than achuete oil.

Best paired with : Green Mango

Bacalao is also eaten as palaman for hot pandesal.

Pansit Puso

Since it's Hearts Day today let me share to you one of my fave authentic Caviteñean snack/merienda.



Pancit puso is a Caviteñean style pansit made of combination of bihon and miki bihon cooked in achuete with small slices of pork and thinly sliced green beans, carrots and cabbage.



Rather than calamansi as paasim, pansit puso is served with thinly sliced puso ng saging (banana blossom) cooked in generous amount of vinegar.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. oil
1/4 lb. pork, sliced into small cubes
1 small onion, diced
1 bundle green beans, thinly sliced
1/4 med. cabbage, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
2-3 cups chicken stock or broth
salt and pepper or patis to taste
achuete oil
1/4 kilo miki (egg noodles)
1/2 kilo bihon(rice noodles)
crushed chicharon (optional)

For paasim:
1 puso ng saging(banana heart, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups vinegar
3/4 cup water
dash of sugar
salt

Procedure:
Put miki noodles in a strainer and dip in boiling water for 5 minutes or until cooked.

Saute onion in oil. Cook pork until lightly brown. Add the vegetables and cook for 3 minutes. Add the stock and season to taste. Add enough achuete oil to color. Add bihon and when it has absorbed most of the liquid, add the egg noodles. Stir. Top with cooked banana blossoms (depending on how sour and saucy you want it) and chicharon before serving.

For paasim:
Boil the banana blossoms in vinegar, water, sugar and salt until cooked.

I like mine with equal servings of bihon and banana blossom swimming in lots of paasim vinegar ^_^