Kinilaw na Tanigue: Raw Fish in Vinegar

Each place around this globe has something unique to offer for the people who are visiting their country for a vacation and/or for a different getaway. Here in the Philippines, we have our rich culture, we also offer numerous foods that's kind of rare, which made us more famous when it comes to preparing food of different varieties.

One dish that caught my attention is the so-called 'Kinilaw' or the raw fish marinade in vinegar. 'kinilaw' literally means to cook in vinegar. This Filipino food can be found in almost every Filipino restaurant located in Mindanao, especially in General Santos City in southern Mindanao also known as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines.

Say Cheese!

How do you much do you know about cheese? A filling for your sandwich? Toppings for your pizza or pasta? The favorite food of Jerry the mouse? Or anything else. Yes, that might be the most common definition of it. Our sandwiches are incomplete with the absence of cheese, nor our pizza and pasta. Cheese is also a key ingredient to many Filipino restaurants to serve us real nice and tasty dishes. But, being a filling or a topping is not the only advantage we can get to our dearest cheese.

Cheese is actually a milk-based food and has different flavors, textures, and forms. However, it doesn't matter what type of cheese you are eating, excluding those canned-cheese and cheese whiz spread, all kinds of it will surely do good in our body. I have here a list of some benefits we can get from a block of cheese.

First of all, you can found a high concentration of essential nutrients in it. It has a high quality of proteins and calcium. It is also a good source of phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin B12.

Holy Cow Pizza Review

Are you a pizza lover? "Holy cow!" That would be your expression of surprise after you munch on some slices of Holy Cow pizza. This must be the reason why this terrific pizza was named after the famous expression. You will be astounded by its fantastic aroma and distinct taste. So don't hesitate to order this fantastic treat from your favorite Filipino restaurant, you don't want to miss the opportunity to eat a pizza extraordinaire.


The pizza is topped with white cheese, mozzarella, arugula and glazed with extra virgin olive oil. If you will just take a look at the pizza, you might say it's pretty plain, because it is simpler than other varieties of pizza with garnishing and all. Try to set aside the appearance, just taste it, then things may change for you a bit, you'll realize that it's not your typical pizza, it holds a unique taste that no other variety of pizza could give you.

Egg and Salmon Sandwich: A quick recipe

Here we are again, preparing a fast and easy to prepare budget meal. Egg and Salmon sandwich is the suited breakfast for on-the-go type of persons like you who needs the energy of a full meal but has only a little time to prepare. 



For about 15 minutes of your busy time, you can actually make a complete snack you can eat while driving or commuting on the way to your workplace or school. Also an ideal recipe for working moms that needs to prepare their children's snack for school before leaving for work.

A power packed meal but lighter than your usual breakfast, no expert skills needed just prepare the right ingredients and your ready to cook a home-made-gourmet-style-meal in your own cooking station.

Top 10 Best Filipino Dishes

Filipinos are well known in different aspects; sports, our tourist spots, and even our rich culture, and most of all, we are known for our unique and appetizing cuisines. Who doesn't want to eat? We, Filipinos can't deny the fact that we really have a passion for food and eating. We cannot celebrate different events such as birthdays, Christmas, fiesta and other memorable moments without preparing a something special for such occasions.

Many of us admit that they consider eating as one of their hobbies, and one way to have a good bonding with our family and friends is to eat together in our favorite Filipino restaurant. So, it is not surprising that our forefathers created a lot of delicious and original cuisines that can't be found in any other side of this world.

I have listed the top 10 most favorite and tastiest Filipino cuisines. Of course, the reigning champion on the number one spot is no other than, 'Adobo'. It is the most popular Filipino dish that is being loved by people from all walks of life. It is considered a national dish. Many foreigners, said that it was really the most unforgettable and enjoyable meal they had within their whole stay in the Philippines. It is a stew of pork, chicken or both cooked in soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, whole peppercorns, and bay leaf. The meat is simmered in the liquid until it is reduced and the meat is tender. Shellfish and some vegetables can also be cooked this way. 

Squash Leche Flan

Leche flan is a favorite Filipino dessert. It's very popular around the country, thus in every occasion, it's always present along with other desserts offered at the tables. The usual process is to steam it over an open flame, although it's a rare process to bake it, somebody likes to do so, but whatever procedure you choose the outcome will still be a delicious and creamy custard dessert. 

Leche flan has a layer of soft caramel on top, and the very common version is made out of egg, milk and sugar. To put a bit of twist and make new variety of this popular dessert, we'll add an unusual ingredient to it. Ladies and gentlemen presenting, the squash!

Squash is one of the most abundant and cheapest vegetable in the Philippines, that's why it is perfect to be the main ingredient of this dessert. It is an excellent source of calcium which is good for our bones and teeth, vitamin A that's good for eyesight and vitamin B that boosts energy. 

Adobong Kamaru, a Filipino Exotic Food Recipe

There are plenty of dishes whose ingredients are unexpected, or even downright bizarre. One way to hype up your next trip's adventure factor is to try things that are unfamiliar to you, including new foods or should I say exotic foods. 

 

Mostly, the main ingredients in Filipino exotic dishes, are insects or bugs. One of it is the Adobong Kamaru. It's probably one of the best culinary traditions in Pampanga. It is just like a normal adobo but the main ingredient is substituted by Kamaru, and sometimes serve with tomatoes. Kamaru is a mole cricket, from the family Gryllotalpidae, in the order Orthoptera. 

Size and appearance plays a part with mole crickets, but most of them are just the  usual insect-size , typically 3-5 cm long. This insects are muscular, you can justify this by holding one in the hand; this insects are inoffensive, but the constrained insect will try to dig its way out with ample amount of force. The abdomen is the softest of its body parts, but the head, forelimbs, and prothorax are heavily sclerotize. 

Chocolate: Surprisingly Healthy!

Who doesn't want to enjoy the sweetness of chocolates? I believe that everybody loves chocolates, except for those who are very much afraid of fats that this terrific and tasty dessert may contain. But, what if, one day you heard some facts about chocolates and realized that after all these years of avoidance, getting paranoid and having fears of eating them because of the fats that can cause any harm to our bodies, you will find out that chocolate is indeed one of those foods that you always seek due to health concern. Some might doubt about this, but that is the naked truth behind these tempting sweets.

Chocolate is one of the most popular and tastiest types of foods that will likely stay at the top of most people's favorite food lists, even Filipino restaurants serves chocolates for dessert, and many of those variants are top sellers. Many people find it very enjoyable to eat, but there are a lot more that treats them as one of those dangerous foods you can ever have and apparently, only few knows about the real facts about it. There are actually numerous facts that are associated with chocolates. It is proven that some how, chocolates do have nutritious content.

Chocolate-covered Bacon

Chocolate is considered as one of the favorite treats, Admit it, everybody loves chocolate especially those with sweet tooth and dessert fanatics. Same goes with bacon, it's sinfully delicious, but you might want to moderate eating these tasty strips. But, the combination of this two, is dynamic and the taste is quite exceptional. It has a sweet-salty mix that is unexpectedly delicious, the sweet and rich taste of chocolates compliments the saltiness of greasy bacon strips.

A popular North American dish, Chocolate-covered bacon consist of only two ingredients, cooked bacon glazed with a choice of milk chocolate or dark chocolate, the sweetness totally depends on the cook's taste. Toppings like pistachios, almond bits or even sea salt can be added to extend the range of flavors. State fairs usually serve a variant of this dish, which the bacon is served with a dip made of chocolate sauce. It was even evolved into a gourmet bar food.  A very simple and fast cooking dish, perfect for any occasion even on regular days whenever you fill like eating chocolate or bacon or much better the both of them.

Ordinary Food with Extraordinary Attributes

Several foods that usually appears to be simple to our sights are just sitting in our dining area which can make more amazing things aside from filling in our hungry tummies. Sometimes, we choose not to eat a lot, just to maintain our slim figure, not knowing that these foods are the ones that can keep you more fit and slender. Just like wild salmon, quinoa, lentils, sweet potatoes, olive oil, eggs, yogurt, edamame, that are proven to have slimming superpowers.

Wild salmons are often served in a Filipino restaurant, it has the fatty acids also known as omega-3 that could help you burn excess fats more effectively. They alter the activity of certain genes, converting your body to burn fat than storing it. In a study analyzing the diets of 35,000 women, published in Public Health Nutrition, those subjects who ate oily fish such as salmon two to four times per week had the lowest basal metabolic indexes. Also, a complete protein substance, quinoa has all the essential amino acids needed to build metabolism-revving muscle.

Goat Caldereta Recipe

Caldereta is a favorite Filipino meal and one of the most served food during parties, festivities and other special occasions in the Philippines. It is classified as one of the Cocidos or Spanish Stew together with Menudo, Afritada and Mechado. It is a mixture of vegetables with a main ingredient of meat, either beef, pork, or chicken but a lot of people are saying that the best variation of it is the Goat Caldereta. You can always find it in the menus of an authentic Filipino restaurant or even in “turo-turo” types of restaurant.

The history behind this stew is quite uncertain, but what is apparent is that, this course is a Spanish-influenced food, since the Philippines were under the Spanish colony for more than 300 years. The word “caldereta” is actually a Spanish word, which means “cauldron” or “cooking pot.”  Although red lobster is the original primary ingredient used in this recipe, Filipinos which are very resourceful people replaced it with meat that is affordable and abundant in the Philippines when the dish is introduced to our country.

How to Cook Chicken Adobo

We are all familiar with Chicken Adobo, and it is known as an authentic Filipino dish and is one of the mostly recognized Filipino food. It is uniquely prepared by stewing the chicken meat in vinegar and soy sauce. It is also the most famous cuisine in the Philippines and also popular among the foreigners who happened to taste this wonderful Filipino dish.

When the Spaniards came to the Philippines in the 17th century, they introduced to the Filipinos the method of cooking by marinading the meat in vinegar. The Spanish term ‘adobo’ means ‘seasoning’ or ‘marinade’. The Spaniards and Filipinos shares a similar general characteristic, they both involve marinading the meat, while the Filipino version is quite distinct with the flavors and ingredients used. According to them, cooking with vinegar preserves the meat and this method is also considered as one of the earliest food preservation practice. I will teach you how to cook Chicken Adobo, Filipino restaurant style, but first here's a few interesting facts this authentic dish.

Spaghetti ala Carbonara Review

One of the most famous Italian pasta dishes is Spaghetti ala Carbonara or “The White Spaghetti”. It's a lighter dish that's still filling and satisfying, and made out of a thick white sauce rather than the red sauce we see on a regular spaghetti. Though the recipe will vary with each person or Filipino restaurant who makes it, the basic concept of eggs, garlic, bacon and cheese are always present. With the dietary fiber from the pasta and the protein from the eggs and bacon, this dish, if prepared carefully, it's fairly low in calories and fat.
 
Cream is not common in Italian recipes, though it is often used elsewhere. Originally, the Italian version of Carbonara do not have cream, but apparently most people in the states used to have a bit of cream on their pasta, and it's a really good choice to have it, so, it's now the standard variation of this dish.

Oyster Rockefeller Review

'Rockefeller really rocks!', that was the first statement that came out from my mouth after having a taste of this recipe. Most of us can't get away with the temptation of eating seafood. Why? Because it's a whole lot different experience from poultry and other meat and the terrific taste of ocean that it brings to our mouth. Especially nowadays, there's a plenty of variety of delightful seafood dishes available at your Filipino restaurant, and one that's listed on my menu of seafood dishes is made from Oyster.

If we take a closer look into the appearance of a raw oyster, we could say that it not edible because it looks like a piece of rock and is basically not the type of food that's attractive to our sight, rather “icky” than yummy. But few such dishes can defy the unappetizing appearance of a raw oyster. One known dish is the Oyster Rockefeller.

Vegetarian Pizza Review

Not just yummy,but healthy! Just like many health buffs, the desire to maintain my fit and healthy body is my main concern. Most of us are very conscious about their strict diet, but still want to enjoy and satisfy their cravings with a delicious and mouth watering food just like one of the favorites, pizza and the good news is it's available at your favorite Filipino restaurant. Vegetarian pizza is just perfect for us health conscious people. Even we're on a strict and healthy diet, we still deserve to have a fantastic experience and fill our tummies with a bunch of delightful pizza. It is really awesome to have a range of vegetarian choices on the menu.
 

About Filipino Food Recipes Review

We Live to Eat

"We eat to live.", this is the usual saying for a normal person with a normal life, but for food lovers and enthusiasts who often eat at a Filipino restaurant, this is defined the other way around, and this blog is for all my fellow food lovers out there who seeks exciting dishes, stories and food experiences that will not only tickle your taste buds but will also quench your thirsty minds and give you a whole new perspective about food and dining. Filipino Food Recipes Review is not limited to Filipino food only, I will also include all kinds of cuisine as long as it would satisfy your cravings for new ideas. For a food lover like me it is not a gluttony to say, "We live to eat.". Please treat yourself for a full meal course I've prepared for everyone! ^_^