HOW TO COOK GINATAANG TILAPIA

HOW TO COOK GINATAANG TILAPIA -Tilapia is one of the most famous fish in the Philippines. it is very easy to find in the country and in fact you can find it in almost every wet market in the Philippines. Ginataan is one of the usual dish cooked with tilapia because coconut is very abundant in the country and as abundant as tilapia. Ginataan is a Tagalog term for any dish cooked with coconut milk. Coconut and tilapia are not expensive so it is not very expensive to cook. There are many versions of this dish, one of these is the one very similar to bicol express which is super hot because it has tons of chili in it. Here is a simple but delicious Ginataang Tilapia recipe:

HOW TO COOK GINATAANG TILAPIA

INGREDIENTS
1 kilo tilapia
1 cup pure coconut
1/2 cup pure coconut milk combined with 1 cup water
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 red onion (thinly sliced)
2 finger-size ginger (minced)
6 pieces green chili (siling panigang)
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 bundle bokchoy
cooking oil

STEP BY STEP COOKING PROCEDURE AND DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare the tilapia by removing its gills, innards and scales. You can ask the store keeper to clean it for you. Wash thoroughly to remove slimy odor and substance.
2. In a pot, heat oil. Fry the tilapia half cooked. Set aside.
3. In the same pot, saute garlic until light brown. Add the onion and saute until transparent.
4. Add the salt, pepper and ginger then pour coconut milk and water mixture. bring to a boil.
5. Add the tilapia, green chili and bokchoy, simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Add the pure coconut milk and simmer for additional 5 minutes or until the bokchoy is cooked.
7. serve with hot rice and enjoy!

HOW TO COOK GINATAANG TILAPIA

HOW TO MAKE BOEREWORS

HOW TO MAKE BOEREWORS -this dish is a very famous meat dish in South Africa. but this is not commonly available in supermarkets outside the country. Boerewors is made of prime beef and coriander. This is very similar to bratwurst of Germany and sausages in the United States. Basically, this dish is often barbecued but there are many versions of it that do not require to barbecue the meat. Boerewors is two African words combined that means farmer's sausage. By its name, we could say that this dish was first created by the farmers of South Africa though I am not sure about that. Here is the recipe:

HOW TO MAKE BOEREWORS

INGREDIENTS
1 kilo prime beef
1/2 kilo pork
250 g pork bacon
5 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
50 ml vinegar
pork casing

STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE AND COOKING DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare the coriander by placing it in the dry pan, heat and stir until it turns into light brown.
2. Grind and sieve so that the husk will be remove. Grind until becomes powder. You can use a rolling pin or a nut grinder or you can even use coffee grinder for better result.
3. Chop the beef and pork into 1" x 1" cubes.
4. Slice the bacon into small parts.
5. In a mixing bowl, combine beef, pork, bacon and all the seasoning and spices.
6. Add the vinegar and mix perfectly.
7. Refrigerate the mixture for 2-3 hours.
8. Mince the meat but do not mince it too fine.
9. Fill the casing with meat stuffing and seal both ends with clean kitchen string.

HOW TO MAKE BOEREWORS

HOW TO COOK GINISANG AMPALAYA WITH EGG

HOW TO COOK GINISANG AMPALAYA WITH EGG -Ampalaya or bitter gourd is a very abundant vegetable in the Philippines. There are many dishes cooked with ampalaya and most of those dishes are sauteed. Pinakbet is one example of dish with ampalaya which is very popular in the country most especially in the Ilocos region in the Northern part of the country. Ginisang ampalaya also has many variations like sauteed with pork, or chicken -these dishes are very common but what we are going to cook this time is sauteed bitter gourd with egg or ginisang ampalaya with itlog. In this recipe, we are going to need not so many ingredients and those ingredients are very easy to find in the market. If you are in a country where bitter gourd is not so easy to find, you can replace the bitter gourd with chayote or papaya because these vegetables are also good to cook using our recipe here. I would like to advice you that if you are going to use a bit mature ampalaya, you should cut it lengthwise then remove the seeds or you can do the same even you are using the young ones. Here is the recipe:

HOW TO COOK GINISANG AMPALAYA WITH EGG

INGREDIENTS
1/2 kilo long bitter gourd (thinly sliced)
2 tablespoon rock salt (for preparing the ampalaya)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 red onion (thinly sliced)
4 eggs (whisked)
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
MSG or vetsin (optional)
cooking oil

STEP BY STEP COOKING PROCEDURE AND DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, combine ampalaya with salt. Mix thoroughly for 10 minutes, this process will remove the bitter taste of ampalaya.
2. Rinse with water three times.
3. In a skillet, heat oil. Saute garlic until color turned light brown.
4. Add the onion and saute until turned transparent.
5. Add the ampalaya and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
6. Add the salt and water, simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add the tomatoes and simmer until the ampalaya is cooked. Add water if necessary. This time you can add the MSG if you want to use some.
8. Add the eggs and stir. Cooking is done when the eggs become solid.
9. And serve.

HOW TO COOK GINISANG AMPALAYA WITH EGG

HOW TO COOK GINISANG UPO (RECIPE)

HOW TO COOK GINISANG UPO (RECIPE) -Upo or bottle gourd is a very abundant vegetable in the Philippines. Many dishes are cooked with upo in the country like pesang isda with upo, sinibak na upo, etc. But Ginisa is the very famous and it has many ways to cook. In english, this dish is called sauteed bottle gourd which is literally means sauteed in onions and garlic with additional ingredients to boost the texture and flavor like pork or fish. Shrimp and sardines are also used. Bottle gourd may not be available in your country but if you want to try this recipe, you can replace upo with chayote or young papaya. In this recipe I am going to share with you, we are going to use Tinapa flakes or you can use any fried fish flakes as replacement. If you are into eating tuna flakes, it is also good to use canned tuna just use the plain flakes and oil. Very popular version of this dish is the one with tomatoes but some people do not like the idea of combining the taste of Upo and tomatoes so in this recipe, we are going to use pepper corn instead of tomatoes to make it a bit unique but delicious. Here is the Ginisang Upo Recipe:

HOW TO COOK GINISANG UPO (RECIPE)

INGREDIENTS
1 upo (about 1 kilo)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 medium size red onion (thinly sliced)
1/2 teaspoon peppercorn (ground)
2 cups deboned tinapa flakes (smoked fish)
cooking oil
1 teaspoon salt (or more depending on your taste)
1/2 cup water
MSG (optional)

STEP BY STEP COOKING PROCEDURE AND DIRECTIONS
1. Wash the upo well before peeling. Peel and thinly slice.
2. In a skillet, heat oil, saute garlic and onion until light brown.
3. Add the sliced upo and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add water, pepper and salt, cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the tinapa flakes and MSG, mix a little and continue simmering for 3 minutes.
6. And serve with rice.

HOW TO COOK GINISANG UPO (RECIPE)

HOW TO MAKE TORTANG HIPON

HOW TO MAKE TORTANG HIPON -hipon or shrimp is one of the very abundant aquaculture products in the Philippines. There are many kinds of dishes cooked with hipon and  i am going to share with you one of these dishes. Torta is a very common way of cooking in the Philippines and shrimp is one of the ingredients that can be used in making torta. Torta is actually made of eggs and sometimes flour. In this recipe, we are going to use the combination of eggs, flour and shrimp. Ground pepper can also be added to the ingredients to give it more appealing taste. condiment is another key to its great taste. You can either use vinegar or sauce and even catsup can also be used especially when you have kids in your home. Here is the simple recipe:

HOW TO MAKE TORTANG HIPON

INGREDIENTS
1/2 kilo raw shrimp (the smallest kind would be the best)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
cooking oil

for vinegar dip
1 red onions (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pieces red chili (cut into halves)
1/2 cup vinegar

STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE AND DIRECTIONS
1. In a mixing bowl, combine together shrimp, pepper, salt and egg. Mix well.
2. Add the flour and mix. You can add water if the mixture is too dry.
3. In a pan, heat oil. Scoop the mixture and pour in the pan. The amount depends on your preference.
4. Flip the torta when the other side turns light brown and cook until the other side turns light brown. Repeat the process for the remaining mixture.
5. Let cool down a bit.
6. In a small bowl, combine together all the vinegar dip ingredients. Stir until the salt is dissolved.
7. Transfer the torta in a serving plate and serve with vinegar dip.

HOW TO MAKE TORTANG HIPON