The Filipino-American Kitchen: Traditional Recipes, Contemporary Flavors

Containing over 100 traditional and modern adaptations of Filipino recipes, this cookbook is perfect for Americans with little to no experience with Filipino cuisine, and for Filipino-Americans interested in learning new adaptations of traditional dishes. A comprehensive guide, The Filipino-American Kitchen includes a brief culinary history of the Philippines, a list of Filipino ingredients used in the recipes, and a guide to navigating Asian grocery stores. There is also a resource section for ordering ingredients online or directly from stores, followed by 10 chapters of recipes organized by course, with main courses organized by food type. Anyone interested in Filipino cooking will find this book an invaluable resource.

Price: $24.95

Click here to buy from Amazon

Filipino Recipes - Traditional Food, Worldwide Influences

The roots of Filipino food are not your typical Asian fare, for instead of heavily spiced and aromatic food, instead we have traditional east Asian cuisine but combined with contemporary influences from the west, including America and Hispanic countries. Often with Filipino food the recipes feature bold combinations which accentuate each other.

Here's a recipe that emphasises the worldwide influences on the traditional cuisine of the Filipino regions. Originally from Spain, these "Mallorca Pastries" are a common foodstuff eaten across many of the islands across the country, and a delicious treat to feed your family.

Ingredients

2 pounds of flour
8 ounces of butter
5 eggs
200ml milk
1.5 ounces of bakers' yeast
Pinch of salt
Icing sugar

Start off by shredding the bakers' yeast in a bowl or pan of milk, then crack open the eggs and whisk them, adding them to the yeast with a little salt.

Take another bowl and beat the butter until it's nice and spongy. Spread the softened butter over the dough. Now, form the flour so that it resembles a shallow cone with a hole at the top, then pour the mix into the centre. You can choose which size to make them, from smaller individual bites to larger concoctions. I find that around 60grams (2 ounces) is fine for each one.

Now, use your hands to knead the combination and form a ball, covering them up for around 24 hours in the fridge. After this, let the yeast rise for up to four hours at room temperature, until they roughly double in size and bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees centigrade until they take on a lovely golden colouring. Let them cool and sprinkle with your icing sugar. Done! Now you just have to be quick and eat them before everyone else does...

 

Traditional Filipino Food Art and Delicacies

The artistry that goes with how you package and present food affects how others will receive it. What is pleasant to the eye tends to see the palate. In one small town in the Philippines, where people are known for their sweets and fruit jam, care is taken in wrapping their sweet delicacies.

Raymond Castelo and Luz Ocampo, in Bulacan shared their traditional art. Luz has been known as the "Master in Fruit Carving and Candy Wrapper Making."

According to Raymond and Luz, "Deliciously sweet!" adequately describes the town's jam specialties made of pomelo, lime, wax gourd, breadfruit, pineapple, jackfruit, native oranges, and soursop, among others. They are preserved in light transparent syrup, and then stored in glass jars.

The artistry that goes with preparing and packaging them is breathtaking. First, the fruits are made or carved with flowers, leaves, rosettes and varied patterns. They are bottled with the design facing outwards. Imagine a store-shelf, full of jam delicacies. They look to be inviting you in a most fetching manner to crave for such delicacies.

Below, their instruction on how to prepare your own jam and candy.

1. Lime or pineapple jam

Prepare the materials and ingredients. (Lime, pomelo, sugar, fruit caver, jar, kettle, and a medium basin)

Embroider or carve the fruit with your desired design.

Wash the fruit with warm water.

Peel the fruit carefully, and slowly remove the seeds.

Soak in water for one day and one night.

Pour in syrup made from sugar to preserve the fruit.

Store in sterilized jars.

2. Milk candies made from milk and sugar. The candies are not only famous for their taste, but for their colourful, cherry wrappers, as well.

They are wrapped with Japanese paper, which are cut into stars, leaves, flowers or holiday greetings pattern producing a veritable showcase of design and color. The milk candies, which are usually just a little more than an inch long, can be shaped as desired (but commonly the familiar rectangle shape will do). Then they are wrapped in the plain portion of the paper. The long, specially designed, cut patterns are used as the outer covering. The candies can be later displayed on "fiesta" or party tables.

Candy Wrapping Tips from Ramon and Luz:

Prepare the materials needed: Japanese paper, scissors, cutter, pencil

Cut 1/4 and 1/8 sizes of Japanese paper (the 1/4 size the outer wrapper and the 1/8 size the inside wrapper).

Fold the 1/4 size wrapper into four parts, putting aside the 1/8 size.

Draw sketch of your unique design.

Cut the created design carefully.

Arrange and store the stripped designed pieces, that are now ready for use in wrapping the candies/sweets.

Indeed, fruit carving and candy wrapper making are traditionally precious Filipino food art. This old craft has successfully been passed down from one generation to the next, the next, and the next.