Wednesday, August 1, 2012

HOW TO COOK CRISPY PATA


HOW TO COOK CRISPY PATA

How to cook Crispy Pata? Well, it is very easy but requires much time on soaking it up. Crispy Pata is very popular and authentic dish in the Philippines. We can always find it whenever there is an occasion like fiesta, wedding, or even baptismal in the family. I have tried many ways to cook it before because I was not satisfied with the traditional taste of Crispy Pata. After numerous attempts I finally found the right ingredients for my Crispy Pata that would turn me on loving this dish. One thing must be considered when looking for the right pata to cook. The pork must be young and tender so that it could be more crispy and tender when frying it. Here is my tutorial on how to cook Crispy Pata. I hope you will like this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 small size pork’s leg (pata)
12 oz of lemon soda (mountain dew or the like)
2 cups of water
½ tsp baking soda
Fish sauce (patis) to taste
1 tsp groud pepper
5 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 medium size onion (minced)
1 tbsp salt
Vegetable oil

PROCEDURE
  1. Wash the pork’s leg or pata in running water.
  2. Make several slits on the skin.
  3. In a pot, combine all the ingredients except oil and fish sauce
  4. Boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Put in a fridge for 8 to 12 hours.
  6. Drizzle fish sauce all over the pata.
  7. Deep fry until the pata is golden brown and crispy.
  8. Serve with your favorite lechon sarsa or gravy.




HOW TO COOK BICOL EXPRESS


HOW TO COOK BICOL EXPRESS

This is my way how to cook Bicol Express. Many of us always hear about this Bicol Express dish but many of us don’t know how to cook it and even many of us haven’t had this dish. We always here about Bicol Express in a bar served as pulutan. This delicious but very hot dish was originated in Bicolandia, a region in the Philippines where spicy dishes are cooked and almost part of their every meal. I have a bartender friend who works in a bar somewhere in Libis. I asked him for the recipe of Bicol Express because the bar he works for serves Bicol Express. I got the recipe and I made some changes to it to make my own version of this dish. Here it is but be careful on how much chilis you want to use.

INGREDIENTS
2lbs of boneless pork (cut into about ¼ inch x ¼ inch cubes)
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup garlic (minced)
½ cup onions (chopped)
¼ cup ginger (chopped)
1 tsp red chili (siling labuyo or taiwan)
1 cup of red bell pepper (cut into strips)
½ cup of juvenile shrimp paste (alamang)
5 cups of coconut milk (instant or powder will do)
Salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE
  1. In a pan, saute garlic, onions and ginger until garlic is brown.
  2. Add the pork. Stir fry until the pork is brown.
  3. Add shrimp paste and red chili and stir.
  4. Pour in the coconut milk. Let it boil until thickened.
  5. Add the red bell pepper, groud pepper and salt. Simmer until the bell pepper is cooked.
  6. And serve with your favorite beverage or beer.