Recipe: Menudo

Someone handed me a bag of raisins and that gave me the idea of making Menudo. Menudo is a staple in almost every Philippine gatherings and almost a comfort food. Everyone has different interpretation when it comes to this dish. I used Chicken and Pork with this recipe as well as Cayenne Powder instead of Paprika to give it a kick. Also, since I cannot find pork liver, I used chicken liver instead.

Ingredients:
2 lbs pork, cubed
1/2 lb chicken liver
1 chicken leg quarter, cubed
4 hotdogs, sliced
4 small potatoes, cubed
4 medium carrots, cubed
4 large plum tomatoes, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
3 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp cayenne powder
1 can (10 oz) chicken stock
1 cup raisins
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
3 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp fish sauce (patis)

Cooking Procedure:

1. Combine soy sauce and fish sauce in a boil. Add in pork and chicken and marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pot. Add in onion and garlic powder, saute for a minute.
3. Add in pork and chicken and cook until brown. About 5 to 7 minutes
4. Pour in chicken stock. Add in cayenne powder, hotdogs and chicken liver. 
5. Stir in tomato paste. Add in raisins, potatoes, carrots and yellow pepper.
6. Once its boiling. Lower heat to simmer. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. 
7. Serve with rice. 

Enjoy!

Variation:

• You can cut down on the cayenne powder if you don't want it to have too much of a kick. Or use paprika instead.  
• Use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste. 
• Pork liver instead of chicken liver. If you are using pork liver, make sure you saute it first in garlic to remove the gamey smell. 
• Instead of fish sauce, use calamansi or lemon.

Recipe of the Day: Pancit Bihon

My first recipe post of the year. Its one of the best dish in Asia and its called 'Pancit Bihon.' Its usually make during special occasions. Chinese people make this when someone is celebrating their birthdays while Filipinos serve it during fiestas. I made the recipe as light as possible and here it is.
Preparation time is about an hour.

Pancit Bihon

Ingredients:
5 bundles of vermicilli noodles (1 package has 8 bundles)
half of savory cabbage, shredded
4 medium sized carrots, shredded
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, shred into small pieces.
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 cup light chicken broth

Preparation:
1. Soak vermicilli (rice) noodles in cold water for 7-8 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large wok.
3. Saute garlic and onion for 3 minutes.
4. Add shredded chicken and soy sauce and stir fry for 5 minutes.
5. Add cabbage, carrot and 1 cup of chicken broth.
6. Stir fry for additional 2 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to low and add rice noodles, bundle after bundle, tossing gently until cooked through and well blended.
8. Serve while warm.

If the mixture is too dry, add some more broth. Serve with soy sauce or lime juice

Hope you can try this recipe eventhough it takes time to prepare everything. Of course, love to hear if you try the recipe.