Tamales

“This recipe was selected to be part of the Noche Buena Recipes as part of the Christmas celebration of the educational publisher Twinkl, with the aim of helping Filipinos feel the Christmas spirit wherever they are around the world.”

Tamales is a popular bread filling usually served during festive season like Noche Buena and Media Noche in Caviteñean houses. When I was young I remember tamales can be bought on sari-sari stores just like peanut butter or cheese on ordinary days but gone are the oldies who has the patience of cooking and selling this so most of the time one can have authentic Caviteñean tamales by orders only during festive season.

(Photo of ordinary tamales during ordinary days)

Ingredients:
1 cup powdered rice flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cooked pork, cut into strips
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced chorizo
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Annatto seed or achuete for color (optional)
Sliced cooked ham
2 red eggs or boiled eggs, sliced

Procedure:

Toast rice flour in moderate heat until golden brown. Remove from the heat and add coconut milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in peanut butter, salt, sugar and pepper. Return mixture in stove and cook on medium heat adding chicken broth, stirring until it turns into a thick paste. Lower heat, stirring for 10 minutes more and taste seasoning. Transfer into a banana leaf and shape into a rectangular form.

Combine ham, pork and chorizo and place on top. Add sliced egg on top. Fold the banana leaf to form a rectangular bundle. Get another banana leaf and fold all over to form another rectangular bundle. Do this two more times so the tamale is wrapped four times in banana leaf. Tie the bundle up so water does not seep inside the tamales. Place in a steamer, and steam for one hour.

NOTE: To make the tops of the tamales colored use annatto seeds or achuete.

Embutido

Embutido is a traditional Filipino style meatloaf, wrapped in an aluminum foil and steamed.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo ground pork
1/2 kilo ground chicken
12 pcs vienna sausage
3 pieces hard boiled egg
1/2 cup ham, finely chopped
1 chorizo de bilbao, finely chopped (optional)
1/3 cup pickle relish
1 small white onion, minced
1 medium carrot, minced
1/2 cup green peas
1 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup raisins
1 red bellpepper, chopped
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
aluminum foil

Procedure:
Combine all ingredients except vienna sausage and hard boiled egg.

Divide mixture into five. Place mixture in aluminum foil and place egg and sausage in the middle.

Wrap aluminum foil.
Steam for about 30-40 minutes. Cool.

Brown in oil and slice.

Serve with catsup.

Carioca

Carioca as how Caviteños call it or more commonly called as "Giniling" by Filipinos is made of ground pork, potatoes, green peas and bell pepper. It is not only a viand but it is also a favorite bread filling among Caviteños.



Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
4 medium potatoes, 1/4 inch cubes
1 small can green peas, drained
1 small red bell pepper, finely-sliced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, finely-sliced
1 tbsp oil
fresh ground pepper
salt and pepper
soy sauce
achuete oil (optional)

Procedure:

Saute onion & garlic in oil. Add pork & brown, making sure to separate ground pork thoroughly. Add enough soy sauce, cover & let simmer over med-heat/flame for 10 mins. Add potatoes & red bell pepper. Mix & cook for another 10 mins. Add canned green peas and enough achuete oil to color. Salt and pepper to taste.

Latik

Aside from quesillo and tamales one of the popular Caviteñean palaman or bread filling is the latik/coco jam. It's hard to find coco jam now a days that has the same consistency and taste like those cook by the Caviteñean elders before so I was happy when came acrossed Pan De Manila and saw this bottled coco jam. Although it is nto Cavitenean made but its yummy. Mirinda Ya Niso !

Quesillo

Kesong puti or quesillo as how we call it here in Cavite is a proudly Philippine cheese made of carabao's milk. Traditionally it is sold wrapped in banana leaves.



My lolo use to buy this for merienda whenever he wins in sabong together with salakot or bonete bread in Dizon's bakery. This is best paired with pandesal but me I love it with the salakot bread but only pandesal and bonete are now available in Dizon's bakery.



Quesillo is also placed on top of traditional Cavitenean bibingka along with white sugar and itlog na pula.