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.

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.

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.

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.