Siopao (Filipino steamed pork buns)

So I think these are known in Vietnamese cooking as Hum Bao(?).  I think people around this area might be more familiar with them by that name, but if you're Filipino you'll know them as siopao (pronounced See-Oh-Pow)

I've been having these things for as long as I can remember.  I don't really remember my mom making them from scratch, maybe once?  I think I might have already been away at college at that point.  Whenever we bought them we would drive down to China town (usually after picking my mom up from work down town) and pick up a box of these and probably an egg tart for me.  We would always go to New Town Bakery.  Sometimes we would stay and eat and dad would have a bowl of soup along with his siopao, but most of the time we just came for the ever beloved steamed buns.  These are not actually my favorite type of steamed buns, I always loved the chinese sausage filled buns, but I can't seem to find chinese sausage that doesn't have either msg or food dyes in it, so these will have to do until some healthy food company works on a natural chinese sausage.

When I moved down south to the states I only ever got siopao when my parents would bring some, or if I was courageous enough to try some frozen variety from the asian section of the grocery store (ick!).  I'm quite picky with my chinese restaurants and I've only found one that meets Vancouver (BC) standards around here so far. 

At some point, after reading a few recipes on the internet and in the Filipino cookbooks my mom got me, I started trying to make my own.  I think I've got it down.  I've made them a few times now and once you get the hang of things you really get a sense of the time it takes and how to do things most efficiently. 

I don't think Jon had ever tried siopao until my mom got some from New Town Bakery while we were dating.  He was hooked instantly.  He said something about them being fun to eat and I think he felt like an anime character chomping into those big fluffy white steamed buns.  Ha ha!  He asks me to make these a lot.  He doesn't usually eat dinner faster than me (or eat more than me) but tonight he was finished with a big satisfied look on his face much faster than I was.  Michael even attacked his.  I think it's safe to say that these are a family favorite for
a) the fluffy white bun part
b) the flavorful pork inside
c) because they're fun to eat.

So try it out.  If you have a bread maker or are at ease with dough you won't have any trouble with this recipe.  If you don't have a bread maker or are freaked out by dough, trust me, these are worth facing your fears.

Siopao (pork filled steamed buns)

(adapted from Let's Cook with Nora by Nora V. Daza)

So I'm going to give the instructions in 2 parts, but you'll want to start making the dough as soon as you get the pork simmering on the stove.

A.  Pork Asado (filling)

Ingredients

1lb pork country ribs cut into cubes

3/4c (you might need some extra) chicken stock

1/3c soy sauce

1/3c brown sugar

1/2c onion diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

Method

1.  In a saucepan combine all the ingredients except the pork and heat on low for a few minutes until everything combines nicely.



I have no idea why blogger made this picture portrait (it's landscape on my computer) but I can't fix it!



2.  Put the pork into the pan and raise the temp up to med-high.  Bring it to a boil, then lower the temp and let it simmer until the meat is tender.  I let mine go for almost two hours.  Watch out!  If your liquid gets low before your pork is tender add more liquid.  I probably added another 3/4 cup of chicken stock.  When the pork separates like pulled pork then it's done.  When it's done the pork should be tender and the liquid should be almost completely evaporated.  The sauce should be thick and dark.  If you want to prepare this ahead of time I've had it work well in the slow cooker before, just make sure you have it in there for a long time (like 5 or 6 hours at least). 



Same problem with this shot.



3.  Take the pork off the heat, shred all the pork and let it cool.  Mine was so tender after 2 hours I just had to stir it hard with a wooden spoon to get it all shredded nicely.  Set it aside.

B.  Siopao Dough
*scroll to the bottom for instructions without a bread maker

Ingredients

1 1/2c warm water
4tbsp sugar
1/4c coconut oil (the original recipe says lard) + about another 1/4c for kneading
4 1/2c all purpose flour
3 tsp yeast

Method

1.  Put all ingredients in the order listed into the pan of your bread maker and set on dough setting.

2.  When the dough finishes punch it down and knead it for a minute or two on an oiled surface (use more coconut oil).  Separate the dough into 8-12 balls depending on the size you you want.  I should probably make mine smaller because they get so puffy that they stick together in my steamer.  If you don't want that to happen try making 12 smaller siopao instead of my 8 gigantic ones.


C.  Filling and cooking
Materials
parchment paper cut into 3x3 inch squares
steamer

1.  Flatten each ball of dough in your (well oiled) hands and put about 2 rounded tablespoons of pork asado filling in the center.  Gently pull the dough around the meat and pinch the dough together at the top.  Lay the ball on a piece of parchment paper seam side down.  Repeat with the rest of the dough and meat filling.

2.  Steam the buns for 15 minutes.  I don't have a huge steamer (probably like most of you) and I had to steam them in 3 batches.

Serve hot! 



I wish I had gotten a shot of it after I bit into it.  Or better yet of Jon sinking his teeth in.



So again, don't be daunted, it's really easy once you get the hang of it.  Just get the pork simmering, start the dough, then by the time the dough is done the pork should be cool and ready to go.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear God,
  Thank you for my husband and my children.  They help me become better every day.  Thank you for the love and laughter in our family, we are truly blessed.  Amen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

*Non bread maker dough instructions from "Let's cook with Nora".

1.  Dissolve yeast in water.  then add sugar and 2 1/2c flour to make a soft sponge, beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

2.  Let dough rise in a warm place covered for 30-40 minutes.

3.  After rising add remaining flour and 1/4c oil and mix well.  Turn onto a greased board and knead until smooth.

4.  Divide dough into 8-12 balls.  Flatten each ball and fill with asado.  Pinch the edges together and seal, lay seam side down on parchment paper.

5.  Let dough rise for 20 minutes before steaming.

Beef Pastel




So I thought tonight would be another night I'd get to talk about some Filipino dish that has Spanish origins.  But try as I may, I couldn't find a single thing on Beef Pastel while searching the net.

Beef Pastel is like a Beef and Mushroom Pot Pie.  I did find a heck of a lot of articles on Filipino Pastel de Lengua while searching the net.  So naturally, I emailed mom to ask if there was some connection.  Low and behold, I discovered something that was glaringly obvious.... ha ha ha!  This is still so funny.

I guess my family just substituted regular stew meat for Ox tongue in the recipe for Pastel de Lengua.  So really what is supposed to be ox tongue meat pie, for us growing up was just a beef stew.  My mom never made the pie crust.  The funny thing is that I've had Pastel de Lengua quite a few times, but never noticed how....similar the taste was to Beef Pastel.  When I told Jon about this, he blamed the consistency of the lengua.  I guess that could throw you off.  Hah.  Well that gave me a little chuckle. 

Did any of that make sense to you guys? 

Well I don't think there's anything really Spanish about this dish or Pastel de Lengua except that the name of the dish is in Spanish.  That doesn't really mean too much since a while ago Spanish was one of the common languages spoken all over the Philippines.

Tonight's recipe is a bit of an anomaly in my repertoire because the recipe uses condensed soup!  I've definitely made it from scratch before, but that is a bit more time consuming and this tends to be a weeknight dish so I usually opt out of that.  Thank goodness someone finally made organic condensed cream of mushroom soup! 

Here's the recipe for the Beef Pastel.  If you want to get really authentic you can make it with boiled ox tongue and add green olives and chorizo de bilbao.  Yum.  I've got to ask my mom to make that sometime soon.  Oh yes, and put a pie crust on top of it!  I think Pastel means pie in Spanish or something, that's why the dish has that name.

Beef Pastel - Filipino Beef Stew (Pie)

(I think this is Lola's recipe too.)
Ingredients1lb        stew meat (Mom uses sirloin since she doesn't usually use the slow cooker)
1tbsp    butter or oil (grandma says use butter)
1/2 c    onions
1 can   condensed mushroom soup (if you're using organic it'll be a box of soup!)
2          potatoes
2         carrots
1c        peas
           mushrooms (as much as you like)

salt and pepper to taste



I doubled the recipe tonight with the hope that we would have enough leftovers for another night!



Method          
1.  Brown the beef lightly.  Drain meat and set aside. 

2.  Heat butter in pan, add onions and beef and saute until the beef is completely brown.  Add the can of mushroom soup (no water).  Simmer on low-medium heat until beef is almost
tender. 

3.  Add potatoes and carrots, cook until almost done. Add mushrooms and peas, cook until the peas are heated through and the potatoes and carrots are tender. 



4.  Season with  salt and pepper. 



I used the slow cooker tonight.  Not the best idea when you don't have much time.....



If you want, you can do it in the slow cooker to make the beef really, really tender.  Just add the vegetables (besides the onions) into the slow cooker an hour or two before you want it to finish. 

I was all wonky today and started late, yet for some reason I still decided to use the slow cooker.  Apparently I got mixed up and thought my slow cooker would act like a pressure cooker?  I don't know.  But after 2 hours in the slow cooker my meat was not as tender as I would have liked. 

Since Jon had a long day I decided to turn it on for another hour so it could cook more for when he got home.  I guess 1 more hour did the trick because he said that his beef was tender. 

So if you're going to use the slow cooker for this recipe, make sure that you have at least 3 hours for it to cook.

Ah yes, and if you cook it for a bit longer your sauce will reduce and be thicker too.  It's not supposed to look that thin.  Yikes, today was a kitchen disaster!



Give it a try!  My roomies in college seemed to like it well enough!

Oh yes, and today was the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel!!  Mikey's namesake day!  We unfortunately weren't able to make it to Mass because of Jon's long day and my inability to handle 2 loud toddlers at Mass solo.  I also tried to make a traditional French treat for the feast day, and while it tasted pretty good, it looked horrible and fell apart all over the place.  I'll spare you the ugly pictures.   If you have a pizzelle or gaufrette iron, you should try it.  If you have a regular waffle iron like me, steer clear!!  Next year I'll just make a goose like the English do.  Ha ha!


In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.
St. Michael the Archangel defend us in the day of battle
be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil
may God rebuke him we humbly pray
and do thou O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Chicken Adobo (Filipino Adobo, not Mexican)

I think this is the easiest thing in my repertoire.  It's pretty much foolproof and Jon loves it which makes it a pretty common dish around here. 

Adobo always reminds me of being at home because we had it growing up a lot too.  Even now that I am all grown up and married to a white guy, I still have to eat it with a spoon and fork (the Filipino way!).  It feels weird to eat it with just a fork. 

In case you aren't familiar with the spoon and fork method, let me instruct you.  Your fork goes in your left hand (this is for right handed people, reverse if you're a south paw) and spoon goes in your right hand.  Gather up some adobo and rice into a nice little pile with your spoon on your plate, then push the little pile into your spoon with your fork and eat it out of the spoon!  See?  Now isn't that efficient?  Jon still refuses to try, even though I'm convinced he realises the sheer convenience and efficiency of the method. 

I think there's also some rule that you have to have equal portions of meat to rice on your spoon.  My parents would always look at me like I was adopted if I was just eating meat without rice on there.  My dad would just keep saying, "Don't you want more rice?  Here!  You don't have any more rice!"  It was like a dinner tragedy if one's plate was void of rice yet still had meat on it.  Ha ha!  Oh eating at home.  It's still like that.  Yeah, those of you who have eaten with my parents (esp. my dad) know what I"m talking about.

If you ever want to witness the quirkiness of my family's eating habits, I'll invite you to the next family bbq.  Just shoot me a comment! 

Back to the recipe. 

There are 2 schools of thought that I know of when it comes to adobo.  One being my mom's and the other being my sister's.  (As you can tell, I'm not so well read on the traditional adobo history or whatever).  Mom says no water, sister says as much water as soy sauce and vinegar.  Being the experimenter that I am, when I broke off on my own I used the in between rule:  half as much water as soy sauce and vinegar.  It seemed to work well for me.  Tonight I tried it my sister's way and Jon told me he prefers it stronger the way I usually make it.  I think I like it fine either way.  You can experiment on your own.  Here's the recipe the way I usually make it.


Adobo
(adapted from mom and sister...probably Lola's recipe)

Ingredients
2lbs chicken thighs or legs (this also works really well with pork ribs!!)
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons of water
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf

Method

1.  Place all ingredients into a pot and do not stir!!  Lola(grandma) says if you stir it then your adobo will be sour!  Make sure your pot isn't too big.  The liquid around your chicken should rise to at least halfway up the chicken.

2.  Heat up to boiling.  Once it has boiled Lola allows you to stir it.

3.  Cover and reduce heat to simmering.  Let it simmer at least 30 minutes or up to an hour.  The longer you let it simmer, the more flavor it has.  Just watch out, if you let it go too long it'll look like pulled pork.

4.  Serve over hot rice!  Don't forget the sauce!  That goes all over the rice!

Yes friends, it's that easy.  Not too many pictures tonight because, as you can see, the method is not all that complicated.  I think there are lots of variations on adobo in the Philippines, but this is how my family does it.  In some places they use coconut vinegar, in others they don't use soy sauce, in yet others chiles are added.  As far as I know, the adobo that we make is pretty standard.  I think it's the national dish of the Philippines or something right?  Super common.  Try it out!  I hope you like it!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear God,

  thank you for little comforts that remind me of my childhood and home.  Whenever I start to get that nostalgia for home, help me to remember that my ultimate home is in heaven and help me strive to get to you always.  Amen.

Bicol Express (I think it's like the Filipino version of Green Curry)

So you may or may not have noticed that I didn't blog yesterday.  That's pretty much because we had BBQ chicken sandwiches.  Kinda like pulled pork, except pulled chicken.  Not the most exciting thing in the world to me.  But if the idea of BBQ chicken in a bun makes your mouth water, let me know in the comments and I"ll give you a recipe for BBQ sauce so you can make your own! 

Tonight's recipe is a bit more exciting!  Bicol Express! 

Doesn't that look good?

I think it's the Filipino version of a Thai green curry.  At least that's what I tell friends who are like "Bico what?" 

Two years ago, my mom started to make this dish all of a sudden.  It was a bit strange, because while I was growing up my mom made so many different filipino dishes I just figured that she'd used up her whole filipino repertoire on us already.  Then all of a sudden here comes some curry like dish that I'd never seen before that is AMAZING!  What the heck?  It's like she was holding out on us or something.  Where did that come from anyways ma?

Well anywhoo, apparently this dish is from an area called Bicol and it's one of their signature dishes.  Maybe my friend Jo can comment and tell you more about it because she's from there.  I unfortunately do not have a plethora of knowledge about the Philippines.  I'm what they call....a coconut.  Brown on the outside and white on the inside.  Sort of.....maybe I'm a light tan color on the inside.  In any case, this dish is amazing and it's really easy to make.  It will make your whole house smell exotic and delicious!!

Here's what you need to get started.

Bicol Express

(one of those nebulous recipes that comes out of my mom's head.)

4-5 cloves of garlic minced

half a large onion diced

thumb sized chunk of ginger minced

1tbsp oil

1lb pork cut into chunks (I used pork shoulder again)

2-3 tbsp of shrimp paste/ bagoong /sauteed shrimp paste (I'll show you a picture)

1 can of coconut milk

1tsp turmeric

1 jalapeno diced

2 serrano chiles diced

2 anaheim chiles/peppers cut into chunks

(completely optional and not traditional, 2 handfuls of green beans)



Just so you know, I didn't use all that garlic.  After I peeled it off, I realized that I had double what I needed. 



1.  Saute your garlic, onion and ginger in the oil until soft.

2.  Add your pork and saute until just browned on the outside.

3.  Put in 2tbsp shrimp paste (add more to taste, sometimes this can get really salty) and stir until it coats everything.

So for all you filipinos wondering......  Yes it's supposed to be bagoong, but I can't find any bagoong here that isn't loaded with MSG.  So I had to wander off to the Thai section of the grocery and luckily I found this stuff that is just bagoong paste.  The color is a bit lighter, but the taste is right on.  Good thing too, or no Bicol Express for me!

4.  Add the coconut milk and turmeric and bring to a boil.

5.  Once it boils add all your chiles and turn the temp down to low and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Preferably an hour so that the pork is fork tender (that means you can mash it with a fork). 

That's it!  Yum.  If you want to give your veggies for the night some flavor I highly suggest throwing in a few handfuls of green beans so that they're coated in the curry sauce.  The consistency of the green beans is great with the chiles.  Serve it over hot rice! 

  

Oh and for those of your worried about spice, it's not crazy spicy.  If you want it spicier add more chiles, and if you like it less just use the anaheim peppers with a tiny bit of jalapeno.  I'd say that mine is probably 2 out of 5 stars.  It's got just a bit of heat in the finish.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for our joyful day and our satisfying dinner.  When we eat spicy and salty dishes like this help us to remember that "We are the salt of the earth."  Amen.

Inihaw na Baboy with Sinangag or Filipino BBQ pork with garlic fried rice depending on your ethnic sensibilities

It finally feels like summer around here, and while for the average American/Canadian summer means hot dogs and hamburgers on the BBQ, for filipinos a hot BBQ usually means Inihaw na baboy!
Ini what?  BBQ pork for all my non filipino friends. 

If you've been to one of our family barbeque's you've most likely had Inihaw.  It's the awesome tasting pork stuff my dad was tenderly caring for on the grill. 

Tonight I feel like I finally aced the Inihaw.  My dad is the king of Steak and Inihaw.  I think this is pretty close to his recipe, but I'd be hard pressed to get any real measurements out of him.  He'd probably just say, "enough liquid to go halfway up the meat in whatever container you're using," or something like that.

The last time I had Inihaw was a few months ago on our camping trip.  Truth be told it's best over a charcoal grill or campfire, but tonight (since we live in an apartment and don't have a real BBQ) we had to make due with our Cuisinart electric grill. 

I think traditionally Inihaw na baboy is made with pork belly, but today I used pork shoulder because that's what was available at my local butcher shop.  The shoulder seemed to work very well!

If you're craving some good ol' filipino BBQ to slap on your grill, then by all means, keep reading.

Inihaw na Baboy (Filipino BBQ Pork)

Pronounced "ee-knee-how nah bah boy"

Dad's recipe........I think.

1lb of pork shoulder

4-5 large cloves of garlic minced

1/3 c white vinegar

1tbsp lemon juice

1/4c soy sauce

1.  I sliced my pork into four strips and put them into a glass container with the minced garlic, lemon juice, and white vinegar. I think the size of the pork is your preference.  Set aside the pork for 4 hours or up to a day.  I marinated mine for about 5 hours.

2.  About an hour before you intend to cook your meat bring it out of the fridge, mix in the soy sauce and allow it to come up to room temp.  Some of you may be freaking out, but this will ensure even cooking and the reduction of heat shock to your meat which makes it tough.  You're going to cook it properly right?  Don't worry.

3.  Heat up your grill/bbq!  I set the electric grill on high.

4.  Lay your meat on the hot grill and grill for 5-7 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of your pork.  Don't move it around, just let it sit so that it gets nice grill marks!  Just cook it until it's done.  If you have a grill press that would probably help cook the larger chunks more evenly, so feel free to make use of that.

The Inihaw goes perfectly with sinangag.  They're best buds.

My dad used to make Sinangag all the time when I was a kid.  He usually made it in the wok, and yes I have a wok, but honestly I was just too lazy to get another pan out of the labyrinth that is the pot and pan cupboard, so I used the cast iron skillet which is a fixture atop our stove. 

Some people really like letting a crust of rice form on the bottom of the pan that they can peel off later and eat like a chip.  My lolo (grandpa) used to love that and I do too, but the rice chip thing works better in a wok, so no rice chips for me tonight.

This rice is really versatile and is eaten with just about anything in the Philippines, so don't hesitate to make it whenever you feel a need for delicious, peppery, garlicky, rice. 

Sinangag (Filipino garlic fried rice)

pronounced as written.  "Sin-ang-ag"! 

4 or 5 cloves of garlic minced ( I tend to overload on garlic, so if you like less, you can scale it down)

2 tbsp sunflower oil (or other oil that can stand higher heat)

2 cups cooked rice (we use brown, preferably cooked the day before)

1/2 tsp dill

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Saute your garlic in oil on medium until tender.

2.  Add all the rice and mix well so you don't burn the garlic.

3.  Turn up the heat to medium high and season with salt and pepper and dill.

4.  Cook for another 5 minutes until all the rice is warm and the dill, salt, and pepper are well incorporated into the rice.

Serve hot with Inihaw!  Or anything else meaty and Filipino.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Thank you God for good memories of eating with family and friends and this food which nourished us tonight.  Please help Mikey learn to eat meat.  Amen.

UIOGD.

****Oh and for those of you wondering, yes we do eat vegetables.  Last night we had green beans and today we had salads.  I suppose I just don't find those interesting enough to blog about.  I'll have to find some more exciting veggie recipes.