To always remember, utilize and propagate native ingredients and to continuously cook Filipino dishes are some of the most important messages of Chef Michael Giovan Sarthou III in his recent demo for The Maya Kitchen Culinary Elite Series.
Known as a culinary heritage advocate, Chef Tatung showed his audience how to cook Pinoy classics like Ukoy, Pancit Pusit, Pancit Molo, Stuffed Rolled Lechon Belly and Cassava Cake Special.
Chef Tatung most generously shared his recipes below so you can try and prepare them in your own kitchen.
The Maya Kitchen Culinary Elite Series features the country’s top chefs and their culinary creations in cooking demonstrations open to housewives, culinary enthusiasts and the general public. For more information, log on to www.themayakitchen.com or e-mail contactus@themayakitchen.com.
Ukoy
A Malabon favorite- Shredded vegetables and shrimp coated in light annatto infused batter, deep fried to a golden crisp fritter.
Serves 6
Batter:
1 cup MAYA All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons MAYA Cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash of pepper
¼ cup ice cold water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons annatto oil
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the water and fish sauce.
3. Mix the annatto oil well into the batter.
Vegetable Ingredients:
½ cup squash, cut into thin strips
½ cup camote, cut into thin strips
1 cup bean sprouts
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1 bunch spring onions, cut into inch-long pieces
1 cup small fresh shrimp, whiskers trimmed, washed and drained
1. Heat 1-inch deep oil for frying in a deep heavy-bottomed frying pan.
2. Mix in all vegetables into the batter.
3. Drop batter by spoonful in hot oil allowing 1 or 2 shrimps and fine onion slices per ukoy.
4. Fry until golden brown.
5. Serve hot with vinegar and garlic dip.
Pancit Pusit
A classic Caviteño dish, also known as Pansit Choco En Su Tinta or Pansit Pusit is rice noodles bathed in rich squid ink sauce, topped with vegetables, crushed chicharon, squid rings and slices of kamias.
Serves 3-4
3 pieces pusit or squid
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
2 pieces chili finger, remove the seeds and thinly slice
2 pieces laurel leaves
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 cup water
pepper to taste
400 grams sotanghon (bean thread noodles), slightly soaked in cold water
salt and pepper for seasoning
small bunch kinchay, thinly sliced
chicharon, crushed
8 pieces kamias (bilimbi fruit), sliced
1. Prepare the squid by cleaning and removing the long plastic and the small sack of liquid ink inside. Set aside the squid ink for later use. Slice the squid into rounds including the tentacles. Include the tentacles, Wash thoroughly and drain. Set aside.
2. Sauté the garlic, onion, chili finger and the laurel leaves. The fire should be set on high. Immediately add the squid and continue to sauté for two minutes.
3. Put the vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce and the squid ink. Let it boil. Add 1 cup of water. Let it boil for two minutes.
4. On medium fire, add the sotanghon or the bean thread noodles. Mix thoroughly until the noodles absorb the soup or the stock. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add the sliced kinchay.
5. Garnish it with crushed chicharon. Toasted garlic can also be added as garnish to add more flavor but is optional.
6. Serve hot.
Pancit Molo
A Filipino favorite from the Ilonggo kitchen, Pancit Molo is meat dumplings wrapped in thin wanton wrappers, swimming in a rich chicken broth with shredded chicken and shrimp garnished with fried garlic and scallions.
Serves 10-12
1 pack molo (or siomai/wonton) wrappers
Filling:
300 grams course ground pork (20% fat)
200 grams shrimps, peeled, chopped
½ teaspoon ground pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons MAYA All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Mix all ingredients for the filling. Get one molo wrapper and put a little filling in the center. Fold the wrapper, to make the two ends meet to seal. Repeat procedure to wrap all the fillings. Set aside.
Broth:
1 whole chicken
12 cups water
1 cup shrimp heads
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
fish sauce and white pepper, to taste
1. Boil chicken with other ingredients to over low fire for 1.5 hour.
2. Remove chicken skin and shred meat, set aside.
3. Strain out the rest of the ingredients and discard.
4. Season with fish sauce and white pepper.
5. Bring to a simmer and drop dumplings and shrimps and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Transfer into a bowl and garnish.
Garnish:
Poached shrimp, chopped spring onions, fried garlic, sesame oil
Stuffed Rolled Lechon Belly
No one makes lechon like the Cebuanos do. Here is a recipe you can do from home, rolled pork belly lechon stuffed with the flavors of Cebu.
Serves 12
3 kilos whole pork belly, deboned, preferably a wide slab that can be rolled. annatto oil, for brushing
Marinade:
2 cups pineapple juice
3 tablespoons sea salt
6 cloves garlic, crushed
Stuffing:
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 cups onion leeks, white and green parts, sliced
1. Marinate pork belly in pineapple, salt and garlic for at least 3 hours or overnight. You may want to poke holes in the inside of the pork belly to allow marinade to seep into the meat.
2. To roll pork belly, first discard marinating liquid. Lay the pork on a board, skin-side down. Rub with salt and pepper. Then arrange garlic and leeks on top of the pork. Neatly roll the meat along the grain of the pork until the ends meet. Tie the joint tightly with butcher’s string at regular intervals to hold the roll together.
3. Preheat the oven to 250°C/475°F, or as high as it will go.
4. Place rolled belly on an oiled roasting tray. Roast for 30 minutes to brown and crisp the skin. Then bring down oven temperature to 177°C/350°F and roast for another 2 hours. Brush with annatto oil every now and then.
5. When pork is cooked, carve into slices. Serve with vinegar on the side.
Cassava Cake Special
A perfect dessert and merienda recipe that will surely win the hearts of everyone. This special cassava bibingka is made more special with the addition of nata de coco, kaong and shredded young coconut into the cassava mixture. This is topped with a sweet yema-like glaze.
3 cups cassava (grated and sap squeezed out)
1 cup tender coconut shreds
2 cups brown sugar
4 pieces eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup melted butter
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup nata de coco (optional)
For topping:
1 can condensed milk
¼ cup butter frozen
quick melt cheese
1. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 12” x 12” greased pan with banana leaves and set aside.
2. Mix all ingredients except topping ingredients and pour into pan and spread evenly.
3. Bake for 20 minutes until cake is partially set then drizzle condensed milk evenly over the top and finish by topping with grated frozen butter.
4. Bake for 45 minutes at 200°C/400°F or until top begins to brown. Remove from oven and immediately grate quick melt cheese over cassava cake and cool.
