UBE HALAYA

UBE HALAYA -- is a traditional Filipino dessert made from sweetened purple yam. The name 'ube' comes from an ancient Indonesian word 'ubi' and the name 'halaya' comes from the Spanish word 'jalea' meaning jam or jelly.

It is believed that ube comes from the enchanting paradise islands of Indonesia such as Bali, Bangka-Belitung, Java, Kelimantan and Derawan islands. When our sea-faring Indonesian ancestors came some 5,000 years ago, they brought ubi tubers with them. They planted them in our islands.

They were tall (5'9" to 6'2"), fair skinned high nose and thin lips. They were muscular in built. The women were such exotic beauties. They were the first immigrants from across the seas. The second wave of Indonesians (2,000 years ago) were short, dark-skinned, flat nose, thick lips.

The ancient Indonesians believed 'ubi' was reverred by the gods. It was their staple food together with rice. They ate boiled ubi with coconut,sweetened with sugar cane juice. For the royal blood, it was a pride to be named after ubi, a symbol of strength and power , such as the name 'Abdul Allah-Ubi', (servant of Allah and ubi).

Here is my recipe of ube halaya:

1 kilo ube

1 1/2 cans condensed milk

1 big can evap milk

1/4 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 block butter

1. Boil and grate ube.

2. In a cast-iron pot or pan, put all ingredients. Cook over low fire stirring constantly until thick.Remove from heat.Serve.
(the ube halaya in this photo is the natural color of purple yam, no coloring)

PLEASE SHARE:

BANANA QUE

BANANA QUE --is a favorite home made merienda or breakfast food in our family, made from fried saba bananas, then cooked in brown sugar or panocha. Banana que is one of the ways to cook saba aside from turon, minatamis na saging, inihaw or nilaga.

Saba, also known as 'cardaba' was brought to the Philippine shore by our Malay ancestors some five thousand years ago. The word 'pisang' is a Malay word that refers to this variety of bananas that was one of the Malay staple food along with rice and other fruits and vegetable. It was a traditional Malay energy food.

Saba is rich in potassium that helps the circulatory system deliver oxygen to the brain. If you are trying to quit smoking, just eat plenty of saba. The B vitamins and other minerals reduce the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

PLEASE SHARE:

ESTOFADO

This is my non-meat simplified version, the more fancy one is featured in my Gulay Book. Estofado is a traditional Filipino stewed pork or beef dish served with fried saba bananas and fried potatoes.

Estofado originated in Catalonia, Spain, which is part of the western Mediterranean cuisine that dates back to the 8th century. Catalan cuisine is not the same as Spanish food but it is deeply related to the other regions of Spain especially Valencia. And so that's why Spaniards from Valencia and Barcelona who came to our islands also brought the estofado with them. Catalans have their own identity- - they have their own language, history, culture and system of cooking. Catalans mix meat and seafood in the same recipe. It's called 'mar i muntanya', which means 'sea and mountain' together.

Traditional Catalan cuisine is pork-intensive because Catalonia is one of the main producers of swine products in Spain. The original estofado is a mix of sweet and savory pork stew with sauce based on 'botifarra' (pork sausage). The tradition of adding fried saba bananas and potatoes to estofado was adopted from the Latin American countries such as Peru, when estofado was introduced to them also by the Spaniards.

Here is my recipe for simplified vegetarian estofado, Filipino style.

Ingredients:

4 pcs tokwa or 1 block tofu (cubed, fried)

2 c potatoes (cubed, fried)

4-5 pcs saba bananas (sliced, fried)

2 Tbsp leeks or spring onions

1/2 c soy sauce

1/2 c vinegar

1/2 c water

2 Tbsp Adobo mix powder

pepper, seasoning

slivered leeks or young onion rings for garnishing

Procedure:

1. In a pan, saute leeks or spring onions. Add soy sauce, vinegar, water, pepper, seasoning and adobo mix powder. Simmer for a while.

2. Add tokwa, potatoes and saba. Mix well and cook, Remove from heat. garnish with slivered leeks or young onion rings. Serve.

PLEASE SHARE:

PANSIT SCHECHUAN

PANSIT SCHECHUAN — is my easy way of cooking hot and spicy stir-fried noodles. It is based on a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Schechuan province in South Western China. It has a bold flavor, characteristically hot, pungent, sour and spicy.

Schechuan cuisine was already famous in the 10th century during the Song dynasty. During that time, the kingdom of Tondo, located in the Manila Bay area north of Pasig River was ruled by a king. The king started a diplomatic and commercial ties with China. Thus, Schechuan food was introduced to us. The food made use of a basic Schechuan sauce cooked with stir-fried noodles, vegetables, tofu, meat, chicken and fish.

For pansit schechuan, a ready-made sauce mix can be used or you can prepare your own. Here is my recipe of home-made schechuan sauce.

Schechuan Sauce: 

1/2 c red chilis (labuyo) 

2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic 

1 tsp finely chopped ginger 

1 tsp soy sauce 

1 tsp vinegar 

1/4 tsp black pepper 

2-3 Tbsp tomato paste 

3 Tbsp soya or any cooking oil 

salt 

Pansit: 

1/4 k pansit canton or fried wheat noodles 

1/2 c carrots (strips) 

1 c veggie ham or vegemeat (cubed, stir fried) 

2 Tbsp leeks or spring onions 

Procedure:
1. Prepare sauce: Soak chilis in hot water. crush finely or blend. Saute garlic and ginger, add chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, pepper, salt and oil. Cook over low heat. Remove from heat and set aside. 

2. In a separate pan, saute leeks or spring onions. Add carrots, cook for a few minutes. Add noodles and enough water. Stir fry noodles until tender. 

3. Add schechuan sauce and veggie ham. Stir fry until flavors blend. Remove from heat. Serve with calamansi.

PLEASE SHARE: