What Recipes Are You Searching For This Holiday Season???

I am out of town this weekend with limited email access. While this blog has been active for four years and I have posted at least 500 recipes or more, many readers have a tendency to have only forward vision, meaning they tend to find the blog, then if they like it, read it from then on. Very few go back and check the archives in detail and often ask questions like how to make leche flan, bistek tagalog, blonde adobo, tapa, etc. without seeing if the recipe has already been covered before. So as the holidays approach at warp speed, I am curious what recipes you might be searching for and if I haven’t covered them before, I may attempt to try and learn how to make at least a few of those recipes on your holiday wish list. I know one year folks seemed to really want a chicken galantina recipe and after much effort, I made one but decided I would probably never do it again… I also featured lots of desserts and sweets for the holidays, kakanins, etc. Last year I did chef Chris’ Morcon to great success. I have featured roast turkeys, roast beef, ham (but not from scratch), etc. So leave me a comment with a dish or two that you want to see featured in the weeks ahead. Nothing too obscure please, or regionally specific, as I will have more difficulty doing those right. I can’t promise I will manage to do everything… but at least I am willing to give something new a try…

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Marketman

Marketman is a well-traveled management consultant who loves buying, cooking and eating good food. Read more »

281 Responses

  2. Marketman, give yourself a break napud.

    One day in between the rich food holiday binges, grab a bottle of burong mangga, add some buwad flakes (the katambak type) and pile on a few heaping spoonfuls of your signature paksiw lechon on steaming hot rice and feast to your heart’s content/dismay!

    Seedless grapes will do as dessert.

    Have great holiday binges ahead!

  3. i would love to see your version of black princess roll. i’ve heard so much about it from the generations before me and i’ve seen a few recipes floating around, but i’d like to see your take on this classic. happy holidays!

  6. Wahini, my mother concocted the Black Princess roll. Our family used to own the Black Prncess. She’s in Miami and can still do it to this day.

  7. Maybe I can help you, Cristy…the key is use freshest fish you can find…like rock cod, sole, black cod (my family’s favorite!), bass…for fillet such as black cod, just put it on a heat resistant plate…lay 4 chopsticks in a tic tac toe pattern just aove the water in the wok and lay the plate on it….for whole fish such as rock cod, bass…this is what i do…In a wok, put water enough to cover fish. just PLAIN WATER! Heat it to boiling, then gently slide the whole cleaned fish in the wok. Cover. When you see steam coming out from sides of the lid, it is almost done also depending on the thickness of the fish…SOLE takes less time to steam. Using two slotted spoons, lift the fish and place on your platter. Julienne some ginger , and green onion. Lay that on top of the fish. Put also some cilantro sprigs. This is what gives it the “CHINESE taste”. ….the smoking hot oil! Now, in a skillet, put maybe 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup oil. Let that oil heat to SMOKING POINT! DO NOT DO THIS THEN TURN YOUR BACK and do something else…no, no, no! Put a few dashes of toyo light soy preferably and a few splashes of sesame oil. Transfer the fish plate in the sink (for the splatters). Carefully pour some of the SMOKING HOT OIL over the fish!…See how simple it is?…Simple BUT GOOD!!!!

  9. Hi, Betty Q.

    Thanks for your recipe, I want to try it, too. But, do you mean we have to place the fish in the water? Doesn’t that mean the fish is boiled instead of steamed? Thanks!

    Lety

  11. LETY:…There are so many schools of thought on that one….the way I see it, …you know how there is this slimy thing esp. when the rock cod is really fresh..I cannot stand to see that when you put the fish on a plate and steam it that way. When you dunk the whole fish into the BOILING WATER

  12. thanks betty q! i really need a healthier way of cooking… Steamed Fish is perfect alternative for a porkaphile like me.

  13. OK…got cut off again! …it takes no more than 12 minutes for a small rock cod. Besides, it get rid of that slimy thing too.

    I cannot imagine a Chinese restaurant having plates and plates of fish for steaming on a busy night unless they have a convection steamer. To top it all, Lety, I DARE NOT QUESTION THE CHINESE MASTER COOK , Mr. Chung , who taught me how to do this 26 years ago!

  14. I have always wanted an archive of Betty Q’s posts. I do enjoy back tracking through Market man’s entries (which is relatively easy to access through the search functions). I occasionally cut and paste some of Betty Q’s recipes but have not gotten them all. If you could compile her recipes and insights I would be very grateful.

  15. Hi, Betty Q.

    ahhh…so that’s how they don’t have that slimy, kinda dark water with the fish.I will try this recipe tomorrow! Thanks!

    Lety

    PS

    What is a Black Princess roll?

  16. Lety, am quite curious as well about the Black Princess Roll. PanchoA, give us a backgrounder on the Black Princess and the roll that was maned after it. Is it a dessert? Or a savory roll?

  17. Thanks Betty q. Steamed fish is among my husband’s favorite and i have yet to try your recipe. I’ve read in your past comment that next to your boys, your chocolate cake is your pride. I am so into chocolate cake and one of my life’s dreams is to be able to bake one i can really be proud of. If it wont be too much of a bother, can you share it here so we can try it over during the holidays… thanks…

  18. betty q., I also steam the fish with some aromatics. First time I heard about boiling. Nice! Will try it. I usually use lapu-lapu for its tender meat.

    MM, I would like a recipe of baklava. I usually ask a friend to buy a tin can of it in Dubai. I don’t like too sweet one. Thanks!

  19. I have been planning to try siomai and have actually googled some recipes. I checked your past posts but you have not featured siomai MM. I would greatly appreciate it if you feature one.

  20. Hi MM!

    Staying with the trend, I’d like to ask for the recipe of a healthier main dish this year.

    And I may just push my luck and request for a festive sugar-free dessert. My daughter has just been diagnosed borderline diabetic yet I want us all to enjoy the same dessert. I’m averse to using articificial sweeteners (I’d rather omit them). I remember seeing a recipe of fresh fruit salad with some sort of balsamic vinaigrette in the past. I’m sure you can do better:)

    Thanks!

  21. I second the siomai recipe. There’s tons of recipe online but I never get successful with them. Thanks MM!

  22. Your mention of galantina reminded me that I took my first-ever cooking class (and so far, the last — the school closed) almost a year ago, where one of the dishes taught was chicken galantina. As I’m sure you’re thinking right now, WHAT ON EARTH was a clueless, never-gone-beyond-sauteeing, non-cook like me doing, trying to debone a chicken??? The answer is, the cooking school told me it was a great class to learn the basics, as they would cover all the different cooking methods. I had a laughably difficult time, and it didn’t make me look any less incompetent to have, as a seatmate, a Home Ec. graduate mother who had no trouble at all and finished first!

    Surprisingly, the school’s galantina recipe was actually good (though we ate it heated, as I dislike it cold). I don’t like galantina much, but Felipe loves relleno-type dishes and after tasting this version, was thrilled that I might start cooking it for him! Unfortunately for him, I’ve never attempted it since; it’s been nearly a year. Even if I buy the chicken already deboned, it still seems like a lot of trouble. But, let’s see…maybe next year…

  24. growing up my mom always made siomai, and it became one of my favorite after school, in the fridge, leftover snacks. her mix included ground pork, shrimp, minced shitake mushrooms, minced water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, pepper, egg and cornstarch. i wish i could give proportions, but she never really measured anything. the only reason i remember what went in it was because i was always the one called on to mix the whole thing. she then would shape them and top them with a thin slice of chinese sausage then steam for about 30 minutes. it’s a fool proof mix of ingredients.

  25. Cecile and Lety, a Black Princess roll is what I often refer to as a cross between a Chocolate Cake, the way my mom used to make it and a Brazo de Mercedes.

    We used to sell it when we had the Black Princess. When my folks parted ways and our family migrated to Manila (the rest of them to the US) we gave it up.

    The other bakeries that absorbed our people requested that they make our recipes, but scrimped on ingredient quality, which is why it never was quite the same.

    But then again, if you did follow the original formulation here in Cebu, the item wouldn’t move too fast. I can’t imagine my fellow native Cebuanos paying THAT much for the quality.

    We’re working on fixing up my mom’s cookbook – Philippine Cookery and Household Hints. The recipe should be there. Last time I looked, it was in the edition with the green cover, if you’re lucky enough to have a copy. My grandfather committed many mistakes in editing the subsequent copies when he was older and prone to many mistakes.

  26. cristy: my dad makes a mean steamed fish. he taught me once before i left manila but i cannot find lapu lapu where i’m at. and i dont want to be disappointed. hahahahaha :D

    he told me that he uses a special soy sauce which i didn’t ask what because i probably wont find it here. i asked my classmate from hongkong and he said it might be something sweeter(?) not too sure.

  27. In the Chinese groceries in Toronto one can find naturally fermented soy sauce brand Kimlan – specifically made for Steam Fish, as the label says. The taste resembles that used for sushi dipping, this paired with the oil and green onions will give the steamed fish its characteristic taste, as the soy sauce is not too dark nor too salty.

  28. Hi MM or BettyQ.

    I am nostalgic for my dad’s (long passed) Chinese ham which he glazed with brown sugar with a hot sianse. Yeah, we did not have an oven then. So ggod with hot pan de sal, mayo and sweet crunchy pickles…..or nowadays, honey mustard.

    How do you fix your Chinese ham that would have a translucent fatty portion (not white) when done ? that melted in your mouth and made you think it had no cholesterol in it, and with firm moist meaty portion. How long do you soak to remove extra salt? what to boil it in, beer? water? pineapple/orange juice? what oven temperature per pound or kilo of ham? Any special brand that is better? Here in my neck of the woods, Virginia ham closely resembles it. I suppose sometime they learned from the Chinese.

    Back to home cooking these lean times, and the ham,……. my last dying wish, hee, hee.

  29. someone gave us a kilo of really black rice. i don’t know what to do with it. any suggestions?

  31. I just bought my first kitchen aid! I’ve been wanting one for years but I couldn’t get myself to pay $300!So I’m one of the loonies who shopped on black friday , I only paid 179.00!
    So what should I make first? Any recipe for a good homebaked bread maybe?

  34. Ley and RobKSA: Last year as Chinese New Year was rolling around the corner, my Ate was asked to make a “knock your socks off” siomai by her friend who wanted to sell it too at her sstall in one of the malls there. My Ate turned to me for she was absolutely clueless…there was a looooot of vendors already selling it there. So after a night of experimenting…I think I was able to oblige her request. She phoned me after a wekk and told me she was able to “dethrone ” the other vendors ….she couldn’t believve it for she was the “newbie”on the block! In afew dys of selling it, people actually started to line up at her friends’s stall. They waited patiently for my sister to arrive with her Shau Mai….MUCH TO THE DISMAY NOW of the other vendors. What made mine different is mine had texture. I told her to ask her suki to CHop or DICE the pork (lean with just a bit of fat)….and NOT GROUND!…If the pork is ground and after the rest of the ingredients are added in and thrown against the sides of the bowl to mmix them properly, it will turn to PASTE…not good!….I don’t know if this is what you are looking for but try it anyway, and let me know!

    Yield…about 5 dozens (cut the recipe in half if it’s too much yield for you)

    1 1/2 pounds pork with a bit of fat (I used pork loin…including the fat), diced to small pieces or chopped BUT NOT GROUND!
    8 Chinese dried mushrooms (soaked in hot water until softened
    1 small can bamboo shoots, drained and chopped

    2 egg whites about
    2 tsp. salt
    about 2 tsp. sugar
    black pepper
    1 to 2 tsp. sesame oil
    1 tsp. rice wine or sherry (didn’t have rice wine so I used sherry instead)
    3 TBSP. cornstarch
    1 tsp. 5 spice powder ( this is my SECRET INGREDIENT! and I think gave it the taste that differs from the other vendors..)

    shredded carrot and cilatro for garnish

    Just put all the ingredients in a bowl and throw everything against the sides (INSIDE!!!!) of the bowl for a good 3 to 4 minutes to thoroughly combine all the ingredients. Now LEAVE this mixture covered and refrigerate overnight. …to allow the flavours to get acquainted!!!! Next day, fill the wonton skins with this mixture and press down gently with a back of spoon to make the filling compact. Then grease botttom of steamer and put your filled shau mai in there and steam on HIGH HEAT. Do not crowd them in the steamer. it will take about 8 minutes to steam them. Granish tops with shredded carrot and cilantro.

    I like to eat mine with totyo and calamansi….I told my sister to regrd the recipe as a base and shr can custo mize it to make it her own by adding other stuff. She didn’t and shr told me she was glad for it was good enough for her taste testers back home…all the people lining up to buy the Shau Mai!

  36. ECC…disadvantage of being up here in North America…I am absolutely clueless of all the goodies back home now…I REALLY SHOULD HEAD BACK HOME and stay there for a month or two and SAMPLE all these goodies!…

    Anyay, can you describe it to me?…is it a layered cake (because that is what a torte is!)…if it isn’t, then can you describe the components?

    Maria…please check the archives…I think MM already has a post on Sans Rival!

    Kellyn” I am guilty sometimes of what your dad does…hahaha… when I cook and the boys give it to their friends like pork/chicken barbecue or lumpia…their friends would ask what I put in it….and they would say….”it’s a special this or that that my mom made up!!!!” Kasi I once told my youngest son (who loves to follow me around the kitchen).exactly the same thing your dad told you…so that is what he remembered!

    Where you are, Kellyn….do they have ROCK COD? That is like lapu lapu!

  37. Tracy…she is getting old now and started having health issues…I doubt if she would want to do this again for her friend.

    But why buy from the malls, when I already gave the recipe out. Alt least, try making it first. As I have said, you don’t need to make the whole 5 dozens. But if I were you, make the 5 dozens and freeze the rest. Now, others, shape them and freeze. But when I make it at home…I steam them first, cool it down, and then freeze. Para isa na lang HIRAP! When the boys want it for snacks, they just reheat or re-steam …put it in my little steamer that you just plug in.

    This recipe is not like Marc’s ensaymada…I don’t blame people for wanting it to buy instead of making it.

  38. PanchoA: I have your mom’s cookbook but the recipe isn’t in there. The cookbook is a bit worn from too much moving …the cover i think was sort of lilac in color….could it be an older edition?…my guess is Black Princess Roll is a flourless chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling?

  39. hi betty q! i am in viva italia right now. i’ll research what rock cod is in italian and ask my classmate from hong kong to loan me some of his soy sauce. (i have to stop relying on him for good chinese food!)

  40. I experimented,2 weeks ago, on the christmas ham recipe posted here by MM in 2005? Connie C, I also used Virginia smoked ham. I’ve been told by an officemante that there is a Greek specialty shop that might have another type of ham for my next experiment. Also, ingredients for my Sans Rival are ready for another experiment, the recipe was posted here 1 or 2 years ago? Christmas ham, san rival and beef lasagna are my contributions to the Family lunch on the 25 December.

  41. Out of topic. Corrine,you were asking if there was Valhrona chocolate at Chocolate Lovers (Tuason,Cubao). I was there yesterday and there was none. It was packed with people (around 330pm). Chef Annie LIm (owner) was there and “directing traffic” so the sales staff(in Christmas antlers) were really attentive. For those buying packaging and don’t want to go to RM Boxes or Divisoria (or need just a bit-20-50 or so),Chocolate Lovers is a bit lower than Sweetcraft but the nuts at Sweetcraft (pecan,walnuts are a bit lower)and they have a lot of chocolate cooking bars. Corrine,Sweetcraft is easy to find. They’re open on Sundays too. It’s along Boni just front of Jose Rizal Univ. Tel. 532 62 89. 373 Boni Ave.Happy cooking/baking. I bought so many things and my oven will be busy today and tomorrow!! Exciting!
    BTW,am not related to either owner..hehehe…

  42. Btw,bettyq,my yaya makes a mean siomai ( i taught her but she now makes it better than I do). I will try your version of that one of this days. Hey guys,siomai is one of the easiest recipes to make. And as bettyq says,we always freeze it and it is so easy to reheat (steam or even microwave-but you have to consume micrawaved siomai immediately).Homemade siomai is so much better than siomai bought outside….mmmmmmmm….with toyo calamansi or chili…

  43. Hello BettyQ!

    Just to give you an idea, think of a chocolate cake taking the place of the meriengue layer in the Brazo de Mercedes, topped with mocha icing.

    That’s the closest description that I can get to a Black Princess roll. I do remember that in one of the editions between the first and the latest, it was included.

    That was one of the many pastry goodies we used to enjoy selling as well as eating ourselves. Sadly, the cost of ingredients of those goodies will not jive with local buying habits.

  44. BettyQ: re:Sans Rival..I found the old post of MM but I need the measurements. If you have a good recipe for Sans Rival would appreciate you posting it pls.Thanks, Betty!

  45. Hi betty_q! I also live in North America (specifically, Houston TX) – which is why I am looking for a recipe that I can recreate here (although getting the right kind of mangoes will be a problem for sure). During my last trip to the Philippines, a cousin brought Dulcelin’s Mango Torte for my Dad’s birthday and we all enjoyed it so much. I Googled a bit today and their website’s description is: “crispy-chewy nougatine, golden mango and cream”. Another site described it as: “set on a cashew-based nougatine, there are two alternating layers of cream then an overlay of golden mango balls”. I hope you can help. Thanks in advance.

  46. Hi

    My favorite cake is a Chocolate Ganache cake. Its a moist chocolate sponge cake with chocolate ganache icing. would anyone have a recipe that approximates this kind of cake?

  47. PanchoA: I had your Mom’s cookbook (the one with the green cover)! It was probably misplaced during one of our many relocations. I am sure that I would never have lent it:)

    It was one of my first cookbooks as a new bride. I learned a lot from it and still use many of the tips up to this day…25 years later. When I lost that copy, I got the edition with the yellow cover. My favorite recipe? “Pepper Steak,” hands down!

  48. thank you, betty q! it *is* time-intensive, haha. but, since you say your sister’s unlikely to do it again (hope she is better), and you were so generous as to give the recipe, then i will try it!

    MM, how about a recipe for rum balls? i’ve tried the ones that tell you to use crushed wafers, but the rum balls always end up with the texture of sandpaper..

  49. Hi everyone, just a quick check-in from the sea shore. I did do a steamed fish recipe before, the one I featured was with bangus, but I am sure I did one with lapu-lapu as well, so there is a reference in the archives. Bettyq, thanks for holding down the fort! And there is CLAMOR for your recipes! Keep those requests coming! Have a great weekend. And holiday Monday in the Philippines…

  51. OMG, TRACY…I am always a firm believer that if I am to do something that my boys will like, I might as well do a whoooole kaboodle..PARA ISA NA LANG HIRAP!!!!..that is why the yield of the shau mai is quite a bit. Of course if you have the DOUBLE DECKER steamer, it will hold quite a bit of dumplings!

    RUM BALLs?!? I will let you in on a secret…NEVER EVER BUY RUM BALLS from a bakery…it is what I call EVERYTHING IN THE KITCHEN SINK treat! I should know since I apprenticed in one of those European wholesalers and a reputable one at that!!! We have this great huge bucket and everything goes in there…like cake trimmings, sprinkles, chocolate chip, raisins, frostings and drizzled with melted chocolate and of course, RUM!!! one of the reasons too why it doesn’t taste like sandpaper…because of the cake trimmings which is drenched in sugar syrup…no wafers! So if you have any cake sponges in your freezer or iced cakes in your freezer and would like to recycle them….RUM BALLS is the answer!!!

    MM, what I miss from back home is PATA JAMON…the one that looks like a Chinese headcheese stuffed inside a pata and then sliced thinly…can you pcture it? I think they have it in Chinese banquets served with the jellyfish and other cold stuff. They don’t have that here in Chinese banquets! What they have here is just stewed pork hocks and then sliced thinly.

  52. ECC…from what I remember even where I apprenticed, nougatine is something like a brittle and made in a similar manner…now since you have tasted it, was it something like a chewy wafer similar to sans rival or was it more like a brittle? If you are in Houston like EbbaMyra, you are so close to Mexico where they have mangoes! I was able to buy this variety they call Manila mangoes …and no, they are not the same as Ataulfo which they also refer as Manila mangoes…this one was more plump and LONGER than Ataulfo and shaped EXACTLY like our mangoes back home!!!!. I bought a case last year in an Indian grocery store. I immediately knew what they were when I saw it though it was really grren at that time. It took forever to ripen and I was getting impatient….then they ripened…whoa …tastes just like Manila mangoes!!! Try to find it there. I am sure they have it!

    Grace…are you talking about starting from getting a pigue and curing it?..If not, try Nigella Lawson’s HAM cooked in COKE…regular, classic COke and not DIET COKE, MM!!! Masaaaaaarap…so simple and really, really , really good!….

    Ms. Walangkaparis…try Ms. Lawson’s Ham in Coke!!! I highly recommend it!

  53. BTW, MM…you’re welcome!!! I am enjoying this but I never realized that this is a full time job…..what you are doing!!!!!…That is why I leave the blogging to the experts….my chores are piling up!!!!!…kawawa naman ang aking mga mahal sa buhay!!!!!!!

  54. betty_q, that was back in July when I tasted the Mango Torte but, from what I recall, the wafers were closer to Sans Rival than a brittle. I have tried the Ataulfo mangoes. I will look for the Manila mangoes that you mentioned. Thank you so much.

  55. Hey Marketman,

    How about a recipe for “egadu”? It will be greatly appreciated if anyone good somehow email me with the recipe. Thank you and have a Happy Holidays to everyone.

  56. Yes Ecc that Dulcedin mango torte is divine and they have one in a big size like a big pizza but it disappears when you serve it!! We get it from the Tea Republic coffee shop at the Pacific Star building Buendia cor Paseo. I think they “nougatized” the cashew nuts that they incoporated into the pie crust (looks like a combi of butter-graham-nougatized (or caramelized) cashew nuts. To-die -for.

    Yes bettyq,it is like sans rival but basically graham-butter-cashew nuts.

  57. Ps. bettyq—the dulcedin mango torte is essentially mango refrigerator cake but what sets it apart is its size—like a big pizza—and the base–it has cashew nuts incorporated into its graham-butter-confectioners base. Hope its easier to visualize. Delish.
    Ecc, you can experiment with your graham crust.Add cashew nuts kaya? Once,since I had no mangoes used canned peaches. Good too, but of course- my father -in -law said nothing beats our mangoes.

  58. BettyQ thank you so much for the siomai recipe, now if I can only get hold of some pork (non here in Saudi Arabia.) And the siomai wrapper here are not that good, anybody knows how to make a really good siomai wrapper from scratch?

  59. Maraming Salamat, Ms. Like None Other (Walangkaparis…is it right translation, Marc?)…so sorry, Marisse! Thank you for the description. Like MM, I shall start experimenting too!…luckily I didn’t give all the fresh ripe Ataulfo mangoes to my 5 year old nephew who is a “mango monster”.

  62. thank you so much ms. betty q.! the thing is, there’s just so few of us to eat the shau mai at home, plus limited fridge space, so i asked… :)

    i’ve never had store-bought rum balls. the ones i tasted were a gift one Christmas and i’ve haven’t really seen them around here.. they are a way pala of saving cake from going to waste! now i think about it, my tita must have used stale sponge cake or something…at any rate it was very good.

  64. Connie C, In North America the Smithfield hams are good, Luter is a widely distributed brand and available by mail or in Chinatown, usually weighs about 13-16 lbs, about $4. per lb. Soak in a cooler with ice cubes and water for 2-3 days to rehydrate, change the water and ice everyday. Place in a deep stockpot and cover with water only (hock may stick out). Bring to a boil and on lowest heat simmer for 4-5 hrs. (about 15 min per lb after it boils). Or place in a deep roaster, cover with water and bake for 4 1/2-5 hrs. at 275 F. Turn off heat and leave in the oven to cool. Remove ham from water after it cools and strip off the skin, (fat will be translucent yellow) score the fat and cover with a paste of 1 lb. brown sugar and 1/2 c. mustard. Bake at 350 F until dark brown, about 15-20 min.
    Some cooks advise adding sweet liquids like pineapple juice or 7-up to boiling water but I’ve never liked the overly sweet local Filipino hams. Ham can be soaked and boiled several days before needed, refrigerated, and glazed the day of service.

  65. P>S. Connie C, If you want a more tender ham simmer for 20-25 min. per lb. and let cool in the pan water.

  66. P.S. Connie C, If you want a more tender ham simmer for 20-25 min. per lb. and let cool in the pan water.

  67. P.S. Connie C, If you want a more tender ham simmer for 20-25 min. per lb. and let cool in the pan water.

  68. Hi Sister,

    Thank you so very much for granting my dying wish, tee hee hee.

    See, there must be a reason for all this madness, soaking with ice water ( to discourage molding or making time for slow osmosis?) lower temperature as opposed to warmer temperature (to keep meat texture and allow deeper parts of ham to cook?) and cooling down gradually so that white fatty tissue comes to that glistening, golden translucence making you think it isn’t fat? I am dreaming already.

    Whatever, I am on an ambitious schedule to cook Smithfield ham ( I might even log it with me to Manila ), cook purple suman, steam siu mai, simmer morcon ala Chef Chris (couldn’t find the exact recipe but I get an idea more or less , bake apple pie ala MM (a venture in my crust making skills), along with other goodies culled from MM’s archives. I am afraid I won’t have time to pack. Any time manager out there?

    Thanks again, sister. I love you already.

  69. RobKSA, have you ever thought of substituting chopped up beef or even lamb/mutton for your siu mai if you can’t get pork? I am not sure if sesame oil would go with the lamb though but it would be okay with the beef.

    Give it a try and let us know.

  70. The Dulcelin Mango Torte is like a simple sans rival. Layered meringue with nuts, custard, and mango balls. That’s it.

    I just came from the Excellente store at Quiapo and wow! Nothing like a warm hamdesal-which.

  71. wow! it’s amazing how busy your blog is, MM! i just started my own (not food related) recently and i see how it can easily take more time and effort than a regular job, if you let it. thanks again for all the trouble you’ve gone through to give us these treasures!

    as for a recipe request (kinda feel like i’m calling up the dj at nu circa 95), i’d like one for fruitcake, please, if it’s not too much trouble. i know it’s kinda late in the day for it but i thought i’d get the jump on next year. =) thanks! ingat!

  73. My sister-in-law, Ying, loved your blog. She passed away in September, but every time I drop by, I think of her.

    Thank you for providing the internet community with such a wealth of information on Filipino cooking . . .

  77. thanks for the siomai (as what is popularly called here) recipe bettyq, as i am a siomai addict! i will definitely cook this tomorrow. marisse, share naman your recipe, i would like to try it as well. i’m still not giving up on that ube puto by the way, hehehe, i hope you were succesful if you had the opportunity to make them again.

  78. HI MM. I’d like to request a Putok bread recipe if possible.

    Oh, I have a question … I heard that the Kulinarya book (Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine) was launched last month in the Philippines. Just wondering if you have been able to check it out. I really really want to get my hands on that book but I don’t think it’s being sold online.

  79. Maki …are you talking about the gyoza or pot stickers?

    Hay, Sister and Connie C! Laast time I ate the Majestic ham was when I was a little girl! You guys are sooooo lucky there in the US to have access to Virginia Ham. Nakakainggit! We have here in Chinatown that heavens knows how long it has been nakasabit! AND costs an arm and a leg! I think may “ginto” na kasama!!!But if I win the lottery, I will buy one and try it before I die!!!…”one of the must have” before I croak!!!

    Thanks Zena for deconstructing the cake. I was soaking in the tub late last night which is where I get my AHA!!! moments or lightbulb moments….I told myself …wafer plus CUSTARD!!! …that’s it…and here you are when I opened my lap top telling me what it is!…talk about synchronicity too!!! Mga Mrs…if you want to customize this Dulcelin’s Mango Torte…here is my suggestion: make a sans rival wafer…now Ms. Marisse said probably nougatized the cashews. My guess is they gave this wafer a name …nougatine though nougatine refers to something else technically…anyway…then smear a thin layer of buttercream. Now add a thin layer of sponge over the buttercream and top the cake sponge with custard…THIS STEP is to absorb the moisture from the cream or custard so the wafer will last longer than 24 hours Then arrange an assortments of fruits, cut in chunks , in a mosaic pattern (meaning no definite pattern!)…just like a fruit tart. You can either glaze this with apricot jam or a fruit flan glaze (which is just fruit juice , sugar, and gelatine) Or if you are in the LAND OF MANGOES, masuerte kayo!

    RobKSA…if you cannot get pork, how about shrimp or prawns? You know in dimsum…the shrimp dumpling…har gow? Substitute the shrimp…omit the 5-spice and the chopped Chinese mushrooms…you can also omit the pork fat and use Crisco instead….smush it though between your fingers before yoou add it to the shrimp or prawns….BTW…here’s an old Chinese secret…soak first your peeled and deveined shrimp or prawns in COLD SALTED water for about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly and repeat the brining thing 1 more time for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Squeeze the water out of the prawns, cut them in pieces. OMIT THE SALT IN THE SIO MAI RECIPE if you are using shrimp because it is already seasoned. This brining method ensures your shrimp or prawns to remain crunchy and not makiunat when it is cooked. Steaming it …less time too! TRY THIS SEAFOOD SIO MAI.,MARYJOAN and TRACY!!!! it is also really , really good!

    OH….if yoou want to make this prawn sio mai, just use whatever is on sale…it need not be the 26/30…even the smallest ones will do like 51/60…cost effective too!

  81. Hay, another Aha! moment while washing the dishes! How about , Marisse and Zena, a HALO-HALO Torte…instead of mangoes, have langka, macapuno strings, red and white bean and my favorite…UBE HALEYA…what do you think?…is there already one there just like that?…use the same base….wafer, buttercream, THIN LAYER of cake sponge and vanilla custard…a DIABETIC’s NIGHTMARE !!!!….maybe decrease the sugar in the toppings and the custard though!

  82. Greasemonkey:…Sister posted her awesome, delicious recipe for fruitcake…check archives!…Masaaaaaaarap! It is truly too late in the season…if you are really craving for it though…next best thing to Sister’s fruitcake is Alton Brown’s fruitcake too. It is just like a spice cake that you could eat in a few weeks….the dried fruits are rehydrated after soaking it in booze and then heated…fruits, apple juiceand booze together until fruits are brought back to life!!!!

  83. Sorry to be makulit Betty Q but do you have a good recipe for a chocolate cake? If you look back in the archives Marketman tried using a reader’s recipe with unsatisfying results. Thanks in advance betty q

  84. Hi MM, Maybe you can try traditional Ham made from scratch without the preservative sodium nitrite. I did this two years ago using a mixture of kosher salt, sugar and fresh herbs. Then I keep it 3 weeks in my ref curing (1 month is recommended). It is really good comparable to what you can get from hotel ham during the holidays. I’m still looking for a traditional way like how it is done on parma ham without the preservatives.

  85. My apologies, APM…I didn’t forget you. I knew MM posted a chocolate recpe before…Then I had to sort out my tupperware full of pieces of paper for the recipe I was looking for…I knew I had in there somewhere. Anyway, found it…becaue ithas both melted semi-sweet choc preferably Callebaut or if you can’t get it, Lindt dark choc..or bittersweet 70 percent c.b. will do….and it has cocoa powder too, it will produce just the right color…a bit dark and really chocolaTEY

    Yield: 2-10 inch round cakes …If you want to bake it in another pan…fill the 2 -10 inchrounds with water and transfer the water to your pan you want to bake it in, you should get the same volume.

    3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
    1 1/2 cups HOT brewed coffee

    Whisk until melted and smooth.

    Sift together:
    2 1/2 cups all purpose flour …sift it first before measuring
    1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
    2 1/2 cups to 3 cups sugar
    2 tsp. baking soda
    3/4 tsp. baking powder
    1 1/4 tsp. salt3 large eggs, room temp.
    3/4 cup oil
    1 1/2 cups buttermilk…shake the container first…if you don’t have buttermilk, just add maybe 1 tsp. of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk…not low fat!
    1 tsp. vanilla

    Whip the eggs on high for about 3 minutes until pale and lemon colored. Then add the rest of the ingredients until combined. Lastly add the hot liquid. The batter will be thin. This isa very forgiving batter. To make really chocolatey, I used chocolate milk. I didn’t want to go out and buy buttermilk so I subbed soya chocolate milk. it turned out even better…more chocolatey! Pour into greased, lined with wax paper and greased again pan. Bake 300 degrees for1 hour and 10 minutes. Check it after 1 hour. You might not need theother 10minutes. If you insert a tootpick and MOIST CRUMBS cling to it, remove it from oven. Brush with sugar syrup with coffee booze added…not too much. …for kids…omit booze!

    Ganache frosting: Boil 1 cup cream,2 TBSP. sugar and 2 TBSP. corn syrup. Do not leave unattended or it will overflow! In a bowl, put 1 pound chopped semi-sweet chocolate.Add the hot liquid. and stir gently until chocolate is melted. …Lastly, add 2 tbsp. softened unsalted butter. Stir to combine.

    I hope this is what you are looking for!..

  86. Hi BettyQ,

    I like your chocolate recipe. Thanks. Gawd, it feels like you live in this website!
    A suggestion, if you don’t mind. I know you don’t like to type but that culinary zest in you keeps you going and responding to requests. Now you got me addicted by peeking into what your next entry might be. Parang bumubuntot sa Nanay.

    You know what ? I already have a folder marked MM/ BettyQ Recipes in my Desktop (and categorized ) by simply copying and pasting them on Word document and saved into the folder. If you do the same, maybe you do not have to look at your tupperware collection, at least for those that you have posted already.

  87. Hi Betty q! Thanks a lot for the shau mai (i didn’t even know it is spelled that way)and chocolate cake recipe. You never fail to amaze me. Every time I read your comments on your aha moments I get an adrenalin rush. I can really feel your excitement and passion on what you do and it gives me the urge to leave the office and go straight to the kitchen. How I wish I can be full time in the house and be online friends with you so I can refer to you every time there is something I dont understand. You see, I am a newbie grappling to understand cooking terminologies. But I am learning fast through this blog. Salamat!!!

  88. No, Ley….that is not the one that is my pride and joy next to my boys and hubby! That cake recipe up above is more like Mrs. Polly’s ?…but the icing of Mrs. Polly’s is not ganache…won’t be cost effective! Judging from the picture posted by MM a while back, I think the icing is the one made with condensed milk and evaporated milk and cocoa powder and butter. I hope that is what APM is looking for.

    And as for you, Ley…send me an e-mail and I will e-mail it to you…para hindi sayang ang aking pagod for typing…let me get this straight…wwhat you want is the one that garnered me a medalya?…Connie C.I will send you that one too…I think you will like that one! Ley, you have to tell me where you are first…so I know if I have to give you substitutions for ingredients.

  90. betty_q … can you also share your award-winning Chocolate Cake recipe with me? My e-mail address is bebettcruz@yahoo.com. Thanks! I will also try to recreate the Mango Torte one of these days — hopefully, I can find the right kind of mangoes. Like Connie C., I also copy/paste recipes on Word — makes it easy to find them later on.

  91. yes I agree with PanchoA. have a break MM.
    ALso, most of the recipes requested are in your archives.
    Would be good for everyone to have a look again.

    Betty Q, I also have a betty Q file now. Thanks you for your generous tips and recipes!

  92. bettyq, that sounds like a really good chocolate cake! i think that i will bake it and surprise my husband who’s coming from brazil this weekend. my family always like a sinfully rich chocolate cake anytime! I will also shrimp siomai using your recipe. if i make extra, can i put them in the freezer?

  93. Thanks BettyQ and Connie C for the shoimai suggestions, I will surely give them a try. I agree Connie C, BettyQ sure likes she already owns this site, hahaha, no offense MM :)

  94. K, Betty Q. You know where I am and will be waiting for the medalion chocolate recipe.
    Meanwhile, looks like everybody is having fun while MM is away, hee, hee. He’s got everybody leavened into action, esp Ms. Adjutant BettyQ.

  95. Estella…I have never frozen the shrimp ones kasi it always gets”ubos” there’s nothing to freeze. But I think it can be since I’ve seen it in Asian stores…ready to cook shau mai. What I do for that one is to make them into wontons…with soup like ho to tai…sooooooooooo good! If you make alot and would like to freeze the wontons, lay them on a cookie sheet lines with wax paper…single layer only wontons not touching each other and freeze. Once frozen, pack them in zip plocs.

    MM…..OK, COME BACK NOW!!!!!!! …kakapagod mag type!!!!!!!!!! And daaaaaaami ko ng laundry to do!!!!!!!!!!!

  96. Hey, Betty Q! Count me in on the chocolate cake recipe :)

    Also, I am craving a mango tart (?) from the now defunct Sunny Bakeshop in Makati. I remember my Mom stopping by there at least twice a month (on Fridays) to purchase this for her kiddos to enjoy. It never lasted into Saturday. . .I’d REALLY appreciate a recipe for this! (I think the last time I had this treat was 25 years ago)

    As an aside. . .my hubby and I will be spending a day in Vancouver. Any suggestions on where to go for a romantic (but very tasty) dinner? What are your store recommendations in Chinatown? I love to walk around there during the day to check out the produce (lanzones, especially) while I’m eating a steaming hot siopao from New Town bakery :) Thanks in advance, Betty Q!

    In case you don’t have my email address, here it is: masmoral@hotmail.com

  98. BTW, BettyQ I have two very close friends with their families in Vancouver. They are Luis Reyes and Ed Luarca, just in case you might bump them on the street :)

  99. The Cuerva Mango Torte is the one that has a sans rival base. The Dulcelin one does have what seems like a nougatine crust. Betty Q, from your description of a nougatine – that it looks somewhat like a brittle – then I agree that the Dulcelin crust does look a bit like that.

  100. I agree with Betty Q – Pata Hamon. I have tried making that but it was nowhere near the kind found in the cold cuts platter.

  101. hi m’betty Q. my father in law loves SATE/SATAY STOVE. do you have recipe for this? would like to make one for him this christmas. many thanks!

  102. i’ve already printed your siomai recipe. like all commenters, i have recipes ala bettyQ as well ;)

  103. Hi MM, I thought of making pork hardenera (the meat loaf from Lucban), as a substitute to the usual embotido or chicken galantina. If you have tried making it, can you share your recipe? Thank you as always.

  105. Betty Q, please email me the chocolate recipe too(fairy.cupcakes@gmail.com). Thanks in advance! =)

  108. Hahaha…bettyq,too many fans!! Can I have the CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE too?
    Also Mr MM…My request is for the HARDINERA recipe of Quezon. It’s so good. I’ve tried it but have not gotten the taste that I want. Would like to change my embotido fare to a hardinera.

    Maryjoan,I have ube sitting in my freezer but have been so busy lately.We started our first Christmas Party today Dec 1.
    I have a very simple siomai recipe. It’s nothing compared to bettyq’s but it’s good.Try it and tell me kamusta.
    I use only the Lean of pork (ground). No fat whatsoever. Hindi nakakaumay. For a kilo I use half a medium turnip (small dice),salt,pepper,super-finely diced onion -Large,spring onions(chopped)-,bit sesame oil, optional–shiitake mushrooms(2-3 med) hydrated to really soft. Remove stem and dice. Two eggs.
    Put this together and mash (hahaha with your hands–it gives best result!). Use small siomai wrapper. My yaya makes them into round balls before she shapes them into the wrapper.Steam for about 35-45 minutes at medium boil. Serve with toyo mansi or chili sauce. Cold or hot,it’s good. I used to close edges with eggwash but I see my yaya just closing the top with water. Grease the bottom of your steamer so it does not stick to the bottom.Serve with toyo mansi or hot chili.
    If you need to freeze,do so NEATLY in covered tupperware so it retains its shape even when frozen.Leave enough space so it does not look “lukot”
    When cold,we sometimes deep fry in oil and voila! Pinsek frito. Serve with sweet chili sauce. Cool and freeze if you have more than you need.

  110. APM, ask/seek and you shall receive the recipe you desire…heehee. Thanks Bettyq. marissewalangkaparis, sorry, never tried hardinera, I don’t even know if if it sweet or savory…that one is a bit obscure for me. cai, there are SEVERAL paella recipes in the archives. At least three I can recall off the top of my head. Please search there, or google “Paella Marketman”… nancy, as with marisse, I haven’t tried or even seen a hardinera. Maricel and BettyQ, will have to look up pata hamon… Jun, it may be a bit late for a home made ham, but coming up in the days ahead is a SUPERB home made bacon that was a huge success! Connie C, I have a couple of posts on hams, including the ones in the U.S. Sonia, sorry, I don’t like embutido… :( ichabod, I have a recipe for artichoke dip in the archives, just google “artichoke dip marketmanila”… jdawgg, I tried egado in Ilocos and wasn’t thrilled, if I recall, mostly innards and it didn’t leave a good impression… I hope someone else out there has a recipe of it to share… Sans rival I have several posts on but never posted a recipe as I never found one I could do well. But the tips from readers on the posts on sans rival, meringue and silvanas were all very helpful. There is a silvanas recipe in the archives. On one of my posts for fruitcake, sister posted her recipe which is a BRILLIANT recipe, but uses a LOT of candied fruit. Don’t change it or alter it or she will find you and whack you silly. Mangaranon, I don’t have Mrs Unchuan’s recipe, but I did do a tocino del cielo and its in the archives. It was a pretty darned good one if I recall correctly. Our siomai recipe isn’t great, so I am glad to try Bettyq’s instead! Egads, I don’t think I have ever eaten a black princess roll!

  113. betty q., if there was such a category for the Nobel, I’d nominate you for the Culinary Prize. You sound like you can either create any dish or deconstruct any one you’ve tasted! Bow ako sa yo. Wish you were my neighbour. Want to move to QC? :-)

  114. Bett q., I have tried making sans rival 2x in my life and never again. I have the devil of a time removing my greased aluminum foil lining! Grrrr. The Halo-Halo idea sounds like a diabetic’s nightmare, hahaha! I can imagine the ube halaya custard with strips of langka and macapuno, yum. But not beans please, not a fan, hehe. =)

    I remembered that Food Mag featured Ilocos cuisine and I dug it up to check for Igado. So here is their version:

    1 kilo pork innards (combined liver, heart, lungs, kidney)
    pork lard (maybe fat as one has to render it in water)
    1 T minced garlic
    3 pcs. red bell pepper, cut into strips
    1 cup sliced onions
    1 cup green peas
    1/4 cup vinegar

    Clean the pork innards and slice thinly. Meanwhile, render the pork lard/fat in a little water. Add garlic till golden brown. Add meat & cook for 15 mins. Add enough water to cover meat. Cook for 5 mins then add veggies and vinegar. Cook until liquid evaporates and oil from cooked meat rises to surface. Season with salt and pepper.

  115. Oh wow, MM, this is a popular post! And bravo to bettyq too! You’re such a dynamo. I can just picture you whizzin through the kitchen if your response for recipe requests is any indication…

  116. Hi MM,
    Hope you had a nice rest but as you can tell your site kept us all typing and enjoying the exchange. BettyQ took care of many details.

    I searched under ham, baked ham but did not find the other ham recipes…unless it is buried in the posts somewhere under a different topic…..a fall back if I don’t find a smaller Smithfield ham for sister’s recipe. If too much trouble, forget it.thanks.

  119. HI! Boon Tong Kee’s Hainese Chicken in Singapore is one of the reasons why Ilove Singapore. I hope you can post its receipe. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

  122. MM, just in case you’re curious, hardinera is a pork dish from Lucban, Quezon (where my paternal grandmother is from) similar to embotido. But instead of rolled into a log, it’s molded in a llanera, like the one often used for leche flan. And it’s not ground pork, but chopped, and then mixed with egg and the other things often found in embotido. Most people eat it straight out of the llanera, but I prefer it sauteed, sort of like hash. I grew up eating this, along with other Lucban specialties, and it’s pretty good.

  123. MARAMING SALAMAT, MM…YOU”RE BACK!!!!!!!! Hope you had a wonderful, much deserved rest!

    To me, embutido has to have chorizo de bilbao, Sonia. I tried to call several Filipno stores here asking if they carry Chorizo. One of them PUSHED Chinese sausage to my face saying that is a good sub for Chorizo to use in embutido… I was MORTIFIED!!!! Hay, que horror!!!! So I went back to the archives and Thanks, to Apicio said Csabai (Hungarian farmer’s sausage is a good sub). I use the tancha method when I sometimes make a meatloaf. So, I shall buy the ingredients today and measure it for you….but if you’re like me …tancha na lang as you go along….all it is is ground pork, chopped ROASTED RED PEPPERS, chopped vienna sausage (NO HOT DOGS PLEASE!), chopped chorizo de bilbao, sweet relish, chopped carrots, chopped ONIONS, salt and pepper to taste, a bit of sugar, eggs , soaked bread in milk BUT SQUEEZE the milk out of the bread later, RAISINS (if you like them…I like raisins in mine). Here some people put chopped or cubed apples. The recipe is what I grew up making with my cousin and my aunt in Batangas when we go there after Chrismas for the Fiesta. Oh, it is best to leave the mixture overnight in the cooler….for the flavours to mellow before you shape them into logs, wrap them in sensal and my aunt wraps them in banana leaves after that before steaming. I just use foil here.

    Maria and MM….I just need to bring the boys to school and I don’t know how to save this draft. I don’t want to lose what I have just written. I will be back to type the SANS RIVAL recipe. If you follow it to the letter, it will be a breeze. I can guarantee you that much for I have been making this since I was 12 YEARS OLD!!!! and that is something like more than __ + years ago…hahaha…

  126. Have you ever featured siopao before, MM? I’d like to know how to make siopao, especially mongo-filled siopao. I tried out the crinkles recipe you posted a few months before, and it was so good! I just modified it a bit because I didn’t have baking chocolate nor powdered sugar.

  128. To me Igado is just like Menudo or what my SIL calls Pinatisan. I don’t like liver in mine so I just use straight pork cubed or sliced into strips.

    Saute garlic, chopped onions in olive oil…againthis is tancha..maybe poundedin almires 5 to 6 garlic cloves and 1 large onion. When the onions are caramelized, add about 3/4 cup tp 1 cup white wine (use wine that you would drink and not the so..so…kind), Let that reduce until almost evaporated then add 1 can stewed tomatoes or 4 peele, skinned plum or roma tomatoes. Now as Marc would say…SANGKOTCHA ninyo lahat iyan until the mixture is nice and pasty….SOFRITO in other words! Add your pork strips and season with salt, pepper and a bit of sugar and abit of toyo for color BUT you don’t want a brown tinge….little water or chicken stock and cover the skillet with lid until pork is tender. DON’T LET THE INGREDIENTS SWIM in the STOCK!!!! Remember the PORK will still EXUDE A BIT OF LIQUID….BAKA malunod iyon g mga sangkap!!!Adjust your seasoning and stock. Add green peas and pepper strips. Cover and let it cook for just a few minutes. Serve with lots of rice with the igado spooned on top!

  130. Re the Mango Torte, I’ve only had it once at a party and I’m not sure if it was Dulcelin or Cuerva, but I did have more than my polite share of it trying to figure out what that base was! My best guess was a dacquoise made with cashews…. really should experiment one of these days, but as with ensaymada, I suspect this is another indulgence that is best purchased from someone else who has the expertise and above all, the patience. Hello! Just to make those perfect mango balls and arrange them so prettily must take…… well, more time than I’d care to spend!:)

  131. Maricel…thanks for the link! Now if I were to make this, and put a nougatine in the middle as she described it, I would think that this is one of those desserts that is best eaten a few hours after it’s made…because the nougatine itself will not last long. ..picture croquembouche(profiteroles dipped in caramel) will not last in this weather now…even those sugar flowers made out of pulled sugar has to have a sealer. IF ONLY I CAN TASTE

  132. Looking forward to the homemade bacon recipe, MM!!! Thank you in advance. Betty Q sure did a great job manning the fort and it’s amazing how many recipes she has described in this single post to everyone’s delight. Now am wondering which one to try first?!! Hehe, You are heaven sent, Betty Q! I stumbled upon this site only this year and how I wish I can have anyone’s copy of the MSWord file compilations of MM’s and Betty Q’s recipes from way back. Very good suggestion to start a cut and paste version of my own (please email at jpy_8@yahoo.com) Thanks very much!!! On the steamed fish, I also do a bangus version similar to MM’s, but what I also add is a little bit of Chinese cooking wine sauted in sesame oil with garlic, soy sauce, wansoy, spring onions, and sliced shitake mushrooms. Instead of serving it sliced wide open, I fold back the fish making a sandwich filling out of all the other ingredients.

  133. Hay, naku!…hinayupak na…..got cut off again!!!!!

    Anyway, as I was saying….If only I can taste this, it would make it a lot simpler! So, I would experiment and make this thing I used to make back in my pastry chef days…pecan lace cookie which resembles a nougatine when baked…I can shape it into anything I wanted much like a tuile but tastes waaaay better than a tuile. Best part is it remains crunchy even the day after. Customers ate this pecan thingy first and requested for seconds. Lori laso mentioned a base. Components as she described it was base, cream, nougatine, cream topped with mango balls.

    So, MM, how about it….if I send you the recipe of the components…maybe we can come up with something that we be similar to it….I think you can be the best judge of what we will make if you`re up to it since you have tasted it as well.

    Now, I have to go look in my pile of pieces of paper in my tupperware! …My hubby once asked me what would be the first thing I would grab if there is a fire….I looked at thim and he said…never mind! He knew it would be my TUPPERWARE! Kasi Connie, I cannot lift the computer…so I think I would just keep my tupperware!!!

  134. bettyq, it seems like almost everyone wants a copy of your award winning chocolate cake recipe. instead of emailing to each one,
    how about just sharing it with all of us through mm’s blog? i, for one, will surely appreciate a copy, too. thanks, bettyq!!!

  135. Makes good sense BettyQ. Tupperware first ,before /instead of the computer. But you can also store your most prized recipes in a CD. BUt then, the paper is easier to display if you have not committed your recipes to memory and need to follow your directions.

    One of these days, I’ll call you and give you a tutorial on how to store your recipes on a CD… if you are interested. Just holler before 10 AM- 9 PM Pacific time. Least I could do for your great ideas.

  137. bettyq: i know what lapu lapu is in italian already. merluzzo! and… embarassingly… i have been eating this for a year already but i just buy the ones from the grocery which is already cubed and frozen :p not fishsticks a! hahaha

  138. Thanks bettyq for your meatloaf. Looks like that might be the hardinera version. Let me do that instead of the embotido. I noticed that the hardinera is sweeter than the embotido. Also,one big difference must be the “chopped” pork. Mr. MM if you want to taste a commercial hardinera–there’s Buddy’s in makati and one near tektite ortigas center which sells pancit”habhab” and hardinera (of quezon). They also have budin which is also good–made from kamoteng kahoy. The hardinera is commercial so will try bettyq’s recipe. They cook this in a llanera. It’s a cross between embotido (know you’re not an embotido fan) and meatloaf.But it’s a regional specialty. When you attend the Lucban Fiesta(Pahiyas)–they serve this in most households.
    Salamat muli MM and bettyq!!

  140. Calasiao Puto.
    I can’t figure out how to get the fluffy texture just from slightly bubbly solution. Additionally, the pure whiteness of the puto, I can’t imagine how it’s achieved.

    Ubi Cake

    Linatikan/Nilatikan

  141. BettyQ, I am super aliw with your posts. MM, may kanang kamay ka na! hahahah! Thank you both for those wonderful recipes; keep them coming! I will try your siomai, BettQ!

  142. You know Marisse, I just gave a ride to a this lady I was telling you about. I think she must be from Quezon or she was taught how to make this hardinera from someone from Quezon….I asked her if she knows how to make hardinera and what’s in it…she told me it has eggs, and this and that and I replied to all the ingredients she mentioned as …”just like in am embutido” …so I told her basically an embutido in a lllanera!!!…make a lot of those,Marisse…masarap as filling in pan de sal!…hey Marisse, you know when you roast the peppers, it has a bit of pepper liquor on the plate before you chop them, right? Add some of that roasted pepper liquor….only if your peppers are not totally charred beyond recognition!!!

    There you are Maria Clara…you went AWOL for a while there, didn’t you?

    Marisse and Maricel and Michelle….how about combining the best of both worlds for that Mango Torte…use a sans rival wafer as the base (dacquoise), lightly smear it with buttercream, very THIN LAYER of cake sponge almost translucent, then cream or custard, top it with pecan lace nougatine or cashew lace nougatine or cookie I was talking in comment up above, then custard or cream and mango balls!
    If this is the Dulcelin one, keep in mind I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE NOR TASTED ONE…I don’t know what they use as their base YET!!!!

  143. Betty Q the Dulcelin Mango Torte is sold frozen maybe that is why the nougatine does not melt. I googled last night for nougatine and nut tuiles and found a recipe for nougatine cones maybe that will come close to the base of the torte. Basically it was a nougatine with some added all purpose flour that you shape into a cone after baking. The Torte base does look kinda lacy. Here is the link to the nougatine cone recipe
    https://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/2000/miniatures/cones.html

    Ha! Ha! I am beginning to feel like a recipe sleuth ala Nancy Drew!

  145. It is good to have a digital copy of all your recipes but it is still better to have a hard copy of the digitized one. It took me months of typing to have a digital copy of my recipe compilation but I am glad I did it. One time I lost the entire folder of pork recipes despite multiple backups. Good thing I had a hard copy of it because I would not go through re-typing them again. I just used a program called Scan To Office. It directly opened the scanned copies of the recipes into Word so it was fairly easy to rebuild the digital file. I have also learned through this episode to rename succeeding backups to it does not overwrite the old file.

  146. hi betty q– thanks lots for the embutido recipe. the roasted red pepper is what has been missing in what i have done so far! i tried your shaw mai recipe and the result was really very good! will try the shrimp version a s well.
    re: the mango torte — i think your recipe for pecan lace cookies/tuile is it! just substitute cashew for pecans. the dulcelin mango torte are sold off a big ref — in effect stored — yet the base remains crisp enough.
    you are unfailingly generous — we are all blesses having you and MM.

  148. Hello bettyq: as usual, you comes as an angel to me. I wanted to order (for Christmas dinner) embutido from a filipino cafeteria (where I bought Cebu lechon),and my sister said try ko raw muna kasi medio dry yung lunch meal na binili namin. Also bibili rin ako ng siomai for a church potlock, but its kindda “chinese’sy ang taste, baka hindi magustuhan nung congregation. And … so here you come to the rescue… with a great recipe, and since you are already a tried true great cook.. I will cook these dish instead and tiyak siguradong masarap ang labas. Thank you, thank you.

  150. hello ms betty q,
    paki post naman your sans rival recipe. and maybe some tips on the wafer para hindi dumikit sa pan. thanks a lot,

  151. marygrace, you have 3 options:

    1. Grease and flour your pan before spreading the meringue.
    2. Use parchment paper to line your pan.
    3. Use a nonstick surface such as Silpat to line your pan.

  152. Kelynn, I think Merluzzo is the same as Merluza in spanish. It is cod fish in English, while lapulapu is grouper. If merluzzo is indeed the Spanish Merluza, it is different from lapulapu…Merluza is very malansa..or probably I just don’t know how to prepare it well.

  154. HAAYYYY…THIS IS major hinayupak NA….I have just finished typing the respone to marygraceand maria’s request…just finished the last sentence and got sidetracked ,,,BIG MISTAKE!!! lost everything….ohhhhh!

    OK… I will put my ear phones on first so I don’t hear anything…no. MOM!!!!

    For sans rival a few pointers first…if your kitchen is air conditioned, turn it OFF…that is you, MM!..if it is raining, close the windows.

    NOw , prepare your pans first. Since Sans Rival is not exactly low fat, I make it into 4 by 6 inch cakes…trying to fool myself…smaller cake means less calories!..not working! Use the 4 by 6 inch aluminum disp[osable pans available in any grocery store. It is just like a smaller cookie sheet with 1/2 inch sides….the ones that fit exactly in your toaster oven. Very lightly, grease the bottom ..might even need to wipe lightly with paper towel. Then cut wax paper to fit the pan with just a 1 inch overhang on all sides….might need to trim it. Then lightly grease again th wax paper ..bottom only. Wipe with paper towel again. Set that aside. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Now if your oven has 5 slots like mine, divide your oven into thirds and place one rack on the upper third. If you only have 4 slots, then place it in the middle rack.

    Meringue: for 5 layers
    6 room temp. large egg whites
    1/2 cup or a tad less sugar
    1/4 cup chopped roasted cahews (buy raw cashews and roast them in the oven)
    1/2 tsp. cream of tartar or lemon juice
    1/2 tsp. vanilla
    pinch of salt
    5 tsp. cornstarch

    In a clean metal or glass bowl (NEVER USE PLASTIC!), whip the whites with the cream of tartar and pinch of salt until it is really foamy and turning to fluffy shaving cream. Add the sugar gradually and continue whipping it until it looks like soft shaving cream now. Turn the speed down and add the cornsatrch. Turn it back up to 8 maybe and whip it for a few minutes. Turn mixer off and lift the beaters or the whip…if the whites looks like marshmallows..nice pillowy soft and hols its shape..it is done. DO NOT OVERWHIP. Because the machine does the work for you, DO NOT LEAVE it or even for just a few seconds, you will end up having overwhipped meringue…NOT GOOD! Divide the meringue 5 scoops. ..with offset spatula spread them evenly about 1.5 cm. thick . Place on the rack in the oven. If you have hot spots, rearrange the pans after maybe 30 minutes. Once it turn an even golen brown throughout, quickly remove the pan and lift teh sides of the waxpaper and lay it on a flat surface. On ce cold enough to handle, just peel the wax paper gently. If it breaks, it’s OK, Use the brokenones on the middle layers but make sure you have unbroken one for bottom and top.

    Meanwile wile the layers are baking…make buttercream:
    In a small pot, add 1 cup suhar and 1/2 ciup water. Let it come to aboil and boila away for about 5 minutes. Whip 12 eggyolks in mixer until pale lemon color.and getting thick. Then ever so slowly in thinstream add the syrup while the machine is whipping the yoks. Continue whipping until really thick and no longer warm. I put a dab on my upper lip. …no longer warm to touch….right temp. Then add room temp. butter in chunks. At first once you’ve added all, it will look curdled. Continue whipping and it will come together. Add vanilla.

    On a cake board, place one wafer.BOTTOM SIDE DOWN. you might need to trim the ends or side to make them flat…set the trimmings in a bowl….thin layer of buttercream…another wafer again BOTTOM SIDE DOWN…and continue layering. Frost topand sides with buttercream and coat with cashews. Put in freezer. When frozen , wrap in plastic wrap and away from smelly stuff in your freezer! By now, a few of you know I like anything with langka in it. So puree 1 can langka minus the liquid and add it to the buittercream. Taste just like the Cashew-Langka ice cream! For the trimmimgs in the bowl. break it up to crumbs, add a bit of buttercream and finely choppped cashews. Make them into small balls and freeze or refrigerate. When firm, coat them with chocolate…DOUBLE DEADLY!!!!

    Now, if you want to make this as base for the Mango Torte, make a template using a corrugated cardboard …diameter?…up to you guys, cut out the circle with an exacto knife and wrap it in foil….NOT THE CIRCLE YOU JUST CUT OUT but the corrugated cardboard with the hole in the middle. I think the board is about 1 cm. thick? Then place it in your cookie sheet…large one prepped the same way above. Fill ithe center with the merengue…lift the template and discard…bake. If you don’t want to use a template. Draw a circle on the underside of wax paper. Dab some whites on the corners so it will stick to cookie sheet. Now if you have a piping bag use that. If not, do the best you can and fill that circle with the meringue about 1 cm. thick. Bake …

  156. MM, do you mind if I just e-mail the recipe to you? It is quite long with detailed instructions. Kasi I will really just CRY if I lose any part of it again…. I am tired typing!!!!

  158. bettyq, sure, just email me. Here is a tip. If writing a really long comment, do it in word first, then copy it and paste it into the comment form… that should ease the process… :)

  159. MM, do give the detailed instructions of bettyq–it is the details that make the recipe special–a mini food-novella in itself.

  161. MM,

    After trying the usual roast beef, ham, and chicken roulade, we will be trying a simple cioppino with a normandy apple or pear tart (frangipane filling). This can easily be replicated in Manila.

  162. Hi betty q,

    Like you I was on a quest for chorizo de bilbao, until I discovered wine chorizos sold in Costco. It is not dry like the Bilbao kind but it makes a very good substitute, and is so much better than Hungarian sausage. This is what I use for my embutido, paella and callos and they have always turned out very good. This wine chorizo is spicy and oozes with paprika when cooked.

    You will also find this in the deli section of some groceries but the Costco ones are gigantic, always available and cheaper. I think SuperGrocer in Steveston also carries wine chorizo sausages.

  163. Bravo Betty Q! Job well done.You made this post so interesting despite MM’s absence.I will surely try your shau mai recipe( both pork and shrimp version) for our annual family reunion.And I agree with you that hardinera seems to be like embotido in a llanera.I will try your recipe this weekend.Looks delish!I like making embotido( I follow Lydia castillo’s garlicky embotido recipe) and freezing it for emergencies or when I’m lazy to cook.Regarding your award winning chocolate cake recipe……Estella, I second the motion!Just post it here for everyone!Thank you very much BettyQ for your unselfishness in sharing your cooking secrets.We’re hoping for more!!!(applause!)
    WELCOME BACK MM!I’m sure you had a great weekend.Aren’t you glad that now you can take more and longer vacations with Mrs MM and the teen—- with BettyQ here to hold the fort for you? :) You and BettyQ make good partners in this blog.Waiting here for your bacon recipe and how about a pic of your fully decorated Xmas tree?And what’s your Noche Buena menu this year?
    Everyone, let’s give MM and BettyQ a standing ovation!Thank you to both of you!

  164. THANKS BETTY Q FOR SHARING TO US THE RECIPE ON STEAMED FISH. PROBLEM IS I DON’T KNOW ALL THE FISHES YOU’VE MENTIONED. I ONLY RECOGNIZE LAPU-LAPU. I’LL TRY YOUR RECIPE ONE OF THESE DAYS.

  166. what an interesting offer! actually, i simply want to ask what the “crust” of the mango torte is called. is that nougatine? i’ve found some recipes but i haven’t thought of what to do with “the experiment” yet.

  167. MM and BettyQ, I take my hat off to you both!

    Keep up the good work of giving and sharing. A million thanks to you both!

  168. At Trader Joe’s, they have a spicy chicken chorizo at the fresh meat section, not frozen. I’ve used it to great results whenever I’m in the US and craving some chorizo rice with vinegar or creamy chorizo pasta.

  169. Since my lipid profile went up recently, I’ve been eating more fish and heaven sent–I’ve discovered Cream Dory fish fillets at the supermarkets.Have you tried them MM? Walang lansa!I just steamed them with a little salt and pepper and a few slices of ginger and a squeeze of lemon or calamansi–no oil.Sarap!with steamed veggies!How about posting some healthy delicious recipes to counteract the rich and sinful holiday foods we will be indulging in this season?Thanks MM!

  170. Maricel…yes, that’s the one I was talking about…the pecan lace cookie…it’s a nightmare to use it right after you mix the dough….so here’s what i did that made my life and willmake yours a whole loooot easier….no hair pulling, i promise!…refrigerate the dough overnight, and then use an ice cream scooper so it’s all uniformsize. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper ….no need to grease the pan as it said in the link! Oh, another thing…the butter…use salted butter to cut down on the sweetness…also, melt the butter first to a nice golden hue much like browned butter…it gives it a nice nutty taste…this is also what I do when I make pecan pie…USE BROWNED BUTTER…oh, and add vanilla too…there you go, you’re all set.

  171. Hi betty q. I find your tip re turning off the aircon interesting. I always thought an airconditioned room would be better for sans rival since the air would be drier(?)

  172. Teppanyaki recipe?? Just like other recipes, there are tons on the internet, but this discussion brought something that we can actually share “secret” recipes.

  174. ChrisB…you’re absolutely right! I have migraine problems during summer here. I cannot tolerate temp. above 27 degrees. …so my wonderful hubby had installed centralized air conditioning. However, there are also those kind of air conditioners that are called something like evaporative air coolers…noducts or compressors and releases the water vapour into the cooled area…according to Mr. Wiki…if there is too much moisture in the air as you well know, the dacquoise will be makunat so fast….this is usually the portable kind that you can bring from room to room. That is why I said turn it off, If it was the centralized one, my hubby will kill me if I mess with his timer!!!

  175. happy to help! soup dumplings rock!

    bettyQ, thankQ! = ) made the siomai last night! yum! my labuyo plant had a good yield so i was able to make *a lot* of chili garlic…

  176. Haha! Thanks for the clarification betty q. Dito kasi sa Manila it’s so humid kaya better pa din with aircon (but as you said, not the evaporative kind- which btw, doesn’t really work here kasi with the humidity, the mist does not evaporate quickly enough kaya nakakainis sa malls you get sprayed with water!). I was thinking baka you experience the reverse there in north america.

  177. betty Q! Thank you so much for the shau mai recipe! I just tried it here to great acclaim from the natives (haha). I couldn’t find five-spice powder, and all we had at home was an OLD bottle of Penzey’s five-spice, so I improvised: star anise (2 flowers), half a teaspoon of paprika, a dash of cinnamon, and 1 clove bud all cowered under the pestle (as in mortar and pestle). Okay so that wasn’t five spices but.. Success! I understand now what you meant about the taba..mine was a teeny bit dry because it was more lean meat than fat. I’ll be making this again soon!

  179. Hi Mangaranon, am happy that you liked the Tocino del Cielo during the EB. Here’s the recipe
    Boil together until carmelized and golden brown in color. This is what you use to line your mold, [like in leche flan]
    1/2 c sugar
    1/4 c water
    In another saucepan boil together, to softball stage
    1 1/4 c sugar
    1 c water
    In the meantime beat [using fork only]
    6 yolks with 1 whole egg
    When done with syrup, pour over beaten egg yolks very slowly so as not to cook your eggs. Strain mixture then, spoon in mold. Cook Tocinos in bain marie for 20 min.
    Hope you can get the Tocino mold, otherwise you use the ice candy mold, the conelike shape but dont fill it up.

  181. Hi Marketman!

    I know this isn’t a Christmas dish, but would you have the recipe for General tso’s chicken? I only have this when visiting the US. Never seen it on menus in Manila.

    Am going to HongKong next week, any suggestions where to have really good dimsum?

    Thanks so much :)

  182. MY MOST SINCERE APOLOGIES EVERYONE! I haven’t forgotten to send the recipe to MM. Each time I tried to continue the draft I started two days ago, I can never seem to finish it…domestic duties beckon or kawawa naman my hubbyand boys…baka mangayayat! So I will surely finish it by tom. morning Vancouver time since my hubby will be out of town for a few days on business. …have to get everything done by next week! WALANG ISTORBO tom…

    MRs. U…a gazillion thanks for your Tocino del Cielo’s recipe. I would like to meet you if ever I get the chance to go back home. I saw those moulds at the Dollar Store (the big one) in Coq. Also they have it in Chinatown…dry goods store with the kitchen equipment…if anyone is intersted where to get them.

  183. anna: i think it is the same, i just looked up “codfish” in the dictionary hahahaha. anyway i shall take a picture in the market and ask someone if it is indeed a relative of lapu lapu

  184. I forgot to mention..RobKSA ..and anyone wanting to try the shrimp sio mai….the weight of the prawns or shrimp is 1 1/2 pounds AFTER you have peeled them or removed the head if what you bought is not headless..so if you bought 2 pounds headless, after peeling them , you wil end up about just the right weight. ..since this is more “basa ” than the pork, cornstarch is heaping tablespoon. I do not like chopped pork fat so I use smushed crisco or tenderflake …only maybe about 4 oz. that;s good enough…and do the same thing…throw it against the sides of the bowl. But do make it into wontons..if you have leftovers… add some sliced bbq pork, sliced chicken, sui choy, carrots, and shitaki mushrooms in your chicken stock…tastes just like HO TO TAI

  186. thanks a million, mm for this blog, may God bless you in a very special way this Christmas season.

    ms betty q,
    thank you so much for the sans rival recipe and the baking tips. it is very much appreciated (meron pang side recipe, i love langka). Sigurado ba kayong hindi kayo angel?

    Beth, thanks a lot for the baking tips re-sans rival wafers.

  188. Cai…are you talking about LO BAK cake served in dim sum? …MMM. you get this first. If you’re stumped… I’ll be more than happy to oblige!!!

  191. Yes, it’s on its way Jamie. I think I developed carpal tunnel sydrome kakatype! I will not make a good secretary, Maria Clara! Kaya, I just sent it to MM para isa na lang typing!

    Sabi ng ninuno ko…Good things come to those who wAIT!…TOTOO IYON!

  192. Hi Betty Q! Please, please. May I also ask a copy of your award winning chocolate cake recipe? My email address is ireneuy@netzero.net

    I tried your puto recipe last weekend and my husband loved it. Now he’s asking for more! Ngi!

    May I also ask where to find your Ma Chang recipe. I’ve been combing MM’s website for 2 days now and still have not found it. From here on, I’m taking Connie C’s advise and cutting & pasting recipes to word.

    Thanks for being soooooooooo generous and sharing!

  193. Regarding the soy sauce for the steamed fish…it is definitely Kimlan special soy for seafood…oriental groceries in the US have them, too.
    betty q…I might have the recipe for the pata hamon…did it with my aunt decades ago but may still have her recipe at home (at work now)….will dig and let you know. All I remember is that….deboning the pork trotters (it was difficult) and then packing marinated meat inside then tying it very tightly.

  194. does anyone still make Pamplina for Christmas? this used to be a staple for our noche buenas when I still had all my lolas around. there are some recipes online but it would be nice to try out a family tested recipe. though i’ve been able to replicate my lolas’ version a couple of years back, it would be interesting to try other recipes.

  195. Thank you very much BettyQ, I agree you are an angel. Once my wife agrees to visit Vancouver, I want to treat you for lunch or dinner, thanks again!

  196. hi mm,
    i searched your site for recipes on how to make grilled steak or lamb to no avail. any tips on how to marinade the steaks and “grilling” it via a cast iron pan or pan fried? i live in a studio abroad and i dont have the luxury of having a real grill..heck, i dont even have a backyard. hehehe.

  197. bluegirl…the chinese suman is in the PUSO post…deirdregirl also has some issues with the shaping….so here is what I would suggest…get hold of a sno-cone container…the large one preferably…just make a cone out of bambooleaves and fit it int the sno-cone holder….way easier. once you stuff it. fold push the top about 1/2 inch towards the center and carefully remove the cone from the paper cone. Fold tthe loose leaves over the top sort of twist the ends and just go aound the sides. Tie with string…

  198. I love silvanas. I am searching for the recipe but I only got 1 recipe for no-baked silvanas. I like the baked silvanas. Thanks!

  199. Thanks BettyQ. Looking forward to try it in time for my lola’s birthday this weekend. thanks.

  200. Betty Q, I’m not sure but my mom’s friend calls it Chay Tao Ke..not sure about the spelling either.

    Yes, it is being served as a dimsum in Chinese restos but I don’t like their version, parang breaded na ewan. I would love your recipe.. thanks Betty Q you’re heaven sent!!!

    Again my email is fairy.cupcakes@gmail.com. Mwah!

  201. Jamie…if you are somewhere in Vancouver, then give me a shout and I will just give you one in time for your lola’s birthday…didn’t realize you needed it ASAP. …so sorry! My e-mail is somewhere up above!

    MM…have you gotten it yet? Connie C. was kind enough to format it for me in Word pdf so I forwarded it to you and also some add ons. I hope it didn’t go into your spam folder!

  203. I’m just really so so excited to show off everyone in my family some award winning recipe! I’m excited to taste it too! Will just wait for MM’s press release :). M sure with the huge fanmail you are getting now, typing will really be your next big occupation next to your Family business. M a certified Betty Q and Marketman fan.

  204. hi BettyQ. yes, the idea of using a sno-cone in forming the bambooleaves makes a lot of sense. thanks.

    any sate/satay stove recipe??

  205. Any recipe for ham from scratch? I don’t like to buy because they usually have sodium nitrite. I will really appreciate any recipe. Thanks!

  208. Hi BettyQ! Yipppeee! I found the Ma Chang recipe and I’ve noted down the snow-cone technique for creating the triangle shape.

    One question. Do the bamboo leaves contribute to the flavor? I don’t think bamboo leaves are available where I live. So I’m thinking of making the ma chang and then wrapping it in parchment paper nalang. Or how about banana leaves – will those work?

  209. Bluegirl, I’m not sure if BettyQ made a mistake about wrapping it on bamboo leaves. I would find it difficult to wrap something in bamboo leaves so I guess a better replacement is surely banana leaves.

  211. my grandma mentioned me this homemade ham from scratch ( Spanish Serrano style ) they use to order for holidays. She would tell me how it’s better tasting than what you buy out on the market. she described it like how the sugar was “plantsado sa balat” and how crispy the skin was. i seriously dont what she is talking about and i tried searching it online to do an experiment, but no luck at all. im guessing no one would know this recipe, first of all it was 2o years, they lived in Sta. Mesa Manila and the guy who makes it for them is probably gone. Im hoping you could do a little research on this one. thank you!

    PS: Im an avid reader of your blog, I cannot wait to see the episode of No Reservation, you as a guest. =)

  213. NO, bluegirl…not parchment! The bamboo leaves gives it a certain flavour but has this aroma or smell when it is being cooked. My hubby can smell what I am cooking as soon as he opens the door…we have an open floor plan sa bahay kaya anything I cook ..the whole house smells!…Kaya I am banned from making binaggoongan…or tuyo or daing!

    A good substitute is banana leaves…but don’t know if it will hold up…it might get butas!!! Maybe if you make it into a square much like tamales…that would work! …Here’s a suggestion…find a small square TUPPERWARE (yes, Connie C…I know what you will say…me and my tupperware!)…get banan a leaves that is wide not the baby ones so you will have enough to line the small square tupperware. line it with as many pieces as you can fit after you have put the goodies, you can fold it into a neat square package…Can you picture it?…But when you boil it….just agentle boil para hindi pumutok!…DON’T FORGET TO SINGE THE LEAVES FIRST so it becomes pliable!…Also..remember …the malagkit will still expand so DO NOT MAKE SIKSIK when you fold it into a package!

  214. For the Vargas buttercake, try baking it in a bain marie. The consistency of the cake seems to point to this kind of method.

  216. Pancit molo … My absolute favorite on the christmas table, but like all things, I haven’t eaten one as good as my moms (I really need to get that recipe out of her!)

  217. I’m on a perpetual hunt for the perfect brownie recipe, and I try to test all the ones I can get my hands on… unfortunately, with great disappointment. I love the Becky’s Kitchen brownies… anyone have a recipe that comes close?

    betty q, I will try your shau mai recipe soon!

  219. bettyQ, i’ve tried your siomai recipe and it’s so super duper yummy! my mapiling father-in-law loves it. in fact, he ate A LOT considering he’s such a picky eater. many many many thanks!!!

    i am so loving this blog, MM!!! thanks.

  220. Betty Q, You might also have a good recipe for brownies. I want mine CHEWY, moist and fudgy but not too wet, with crackly top. mmm..yum.

  221. Betty Q, I will sweet-talk my Japanese neighbor for some of his banana leaves then.

    On another topic. I received these dried Chinese dates (about 1 lb worth). They are dried & hard… really hard. I tried soaking them in warm water for an hour but they are still hard. So I’m thinking maybe these are meant for cooking rather than baking or snacking. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do with these?

  222. Is it the red ones, Bluegirl or are they the preserved ones like champoy? My MIL uses the red ones for making soup. She also includes it when she makes this Chinese dish…with chicken and shitaki mushrooms and chinese sausage chunks and then steamed over rice….much like the dimsum ones. Maybe ragamuffin can shed some light on it. I think she is in HK!

  223. Hi betty q! Jamie’s description is almost like the one I have in mind – chewy, moist – but cakey. The Becky’s Kitchen brownie is all of that – like a moist chocolate cake that fell. (I’m guessing they use oil instead of butter in the recipe.) They have a version with walnuts lang, or with cherries and walnuts.

  225. Betty Q, the dates are brown in color, dried like champoy. They are kind of boxy in shape with lines on the outside.

  226. Sarah, here is a shortcut version

    MAJA BLANCA MAIS ROYALE

    7 1/2 c coconut milk 2 c cornstarch
    3 c sugar 1 tall can evaporated milk
    1 can whole kernel corn* egg yellow food color
    BUDBUD:
    2 c coconut sapal** 1/2 c sugar

    Mix together cocomilk and sugar. Cook over high heat until it boils. Add whole kernel corn together with its liquid. Disperse starch in milk. Add enough food color to make final product a very light yellow color. Gradually stir into boiling mixture. Cook while stirring constantly until thick and starch flavor disappears. Pour into banana leaf lined bilao. Cool until set. Serve with budbud.
    Toast coconut sapal in a frying pan. Stir constant¬ly until golden. Add sugar. Stir constantly until sugar caramelizes. Spread cooked budbud on a tray. Stir con¬stantly until cool to prevent it from sticking together.
    *a can of cream style corn may also be added for a more pronounced corn taste
    **use the coconut from which the milk was expressed

  227. Hi Ria,

    if this helps, but you will still have some smoke so have scented or lighted candles around and if you have a window to ventilate….

    Marinate lamb chops in crushed or powdered garlic, crushed dried rosemary, salt and pepper for at least half hour. In a COOL CAST IRON skillet, place your chops and cover. now heat your stove to hi to med hi.
    Your chops will steam and even have some liquid at some point at w/c time uncover and continue cooking till liquid evaporates. You may have to lower the heat to brown gradually. It will fry in its own fat , Brown meat to desired doneness, If you like your lamb med done, up the temp. The lamb comes out moist and tender this way. Play with your heat to accelerate or decelerate cooking.
    At some point while frying, if you have fat in the steak, cut it ( I use kitchen shears) from rest of meat in little pieces to accelerate frying the fat and also so the meat does not curl.

    for beef steak , I usually use thin cuts, but skillet must be HOT but not smoking hot, a little olive oil on it , sear the meat,then lower your temp and continue to cook to desired doneness turning your steak every now so often….not too long or your meat gets tough and dry. Choose your seasoning or marinade, I sometimes use Italian salad dressing.

    for lamb or pork start with a cool skillet, for beef ,your skillet needs to be HOT!

  228. Cecile J…going back to Black Princess Roll…PanchoA said that his best description would be chocolate cake rolled up with mocha buttercream, PanchoA…is it right? I have his mom’s book but I think it is the ist edition for the recipe is not in there. So if I were to make this, I would just start with making cocoa chiffon (use cocoa powder that is 22/24 and not 10/12). Bake it in a non’teflon coated jelly roll pan or baking pan and just cut it into third of half. Then make mocha buttercream…the one they use for mocha cakes. I think those are the components.

  229. Elleoriel, please post if you have any development on your research for homemade ham. betty q ! baka naman meron kang home-made ham recipe without sodium nitrite.

  230. BettyQ, hope you did not forget your award winning chocolate cake recipe and kung pwede as a bonus the chewy, moist, crackly topped brownies….:)

  231. I didn’t Jamie!…go out shopping for a few days and when you return, it probably would be posted by then…MM has priorities that he has to fulfill first…(feeding program!!!)

    …just a thought…not that I am trying to cut everyone’s cholesterol level…(in my dreams!!!) but would you be intersted in …same moist, chewy, fudgy, crackly topped but good for you brownies….wow, that is a long name for a brownie!…secret ingredient: guess what?

  232. Corrine…I was trying to remember who it was that wanted a ham from scratch….I got tamad scrolling earlier…you must be psychic!

    It’s in the Pinoy cookbook called Harvest Cookbook …it is so used that I cannot see the author’s name..nabura na! The reipe says CHINESE STYLE HAM!!! …but I don’t think aabot for Christmas for the curing process takes 30 DAYS in your refrigerator …I am just imagining a WHOLE PIGUE? in your cooler! Then you have to let it hang to dry and then SMOKE..usoing guava leaves, coconut husks…In other words, maduduling ka na sa kahihintay!!!!

    Where are you Corrine? I am telling you…Nigella Lawson’s Ham in COKE is excellent…picture this…the whole ham that we have here is sort of salty to begin with …and then it has that smoky overtones. Then you braise it in COKE CLASSIC with an onion studde with VERY FEW CLOVES!…that’s it ..so simple…you braise it till it’s tender. Then remove the rind and score it and rub it with the reduced COKE GLAZE and broil…Trust me on this one…you will never do ham any other way afer you try this!

    But if you still insist of this Ham from Scratch , I will be more than happy to oblige…my fingers are getting numb again (carpal tunnel syndrome)…I shall give them a rest and I WILL BE BACK!!!!

  233. Oh why not BettyQ. But i always have this impression about food that is good for you… that they are not usually as good as the ones that are bad for you..Yours might change that…

  234. Bettyq: what is the difference between 22/24 and 10/12 cocoa powder? Can you educate me on this cocoa powder subject matter please. Thank you again.

  235. Betty Q, my guess is molasses or corn syrup.
    BTW, do you have a recipe for moist butter cake? Thanks!

  236. Cai..YUp for the butter cake and nope for the corn syrup or molasses!….give up? olive oil instead of butter…before you say “ewwww” I can finish a whole tray of this brownies…somehow you knowthe feeling when something just sits in your stomach, it doesn’t happpen with brownies made with olive oil….now don’t go overboard and buy the most expensive olivee oil out there….the ordinary ones produce a much better tasting , scrumptuous, good for you brownies!…if ever there is such a thing….brownies being good for you!!!!

    MC…those numbers refer to the percentage of cocoa butter found in cocoa powders. 22/24 is more reddish in color…the 10/12 is paler in color compared to the 22/24 also it lends itself better when used with goodies high in sugar or fat for it intensifies the flvour. Try the cake, MC and you will see what I mean….Semi sweet chocolate can contain anywhere from 46 to 70 percent cocoa butter. Added bonus of higher cocoa butter….also lends to the smoothness of the goodie!

  237. Cai..YUp for the butter cake and nope for the corn syrup or molasses!….give up? olive oil instead of butter…before you say “ewwww” I can finish a whole tray of this brownies…somehow you knowthe feeling when something just sits in your stomach, it doesn’t happpen with brownies made with olive oil….now don’t go overboard and buy the most expensive olivee oil out there….the ordinary ones produce a much better tasting , scrumptuous, good for you brownies!…if ever there is such a thing….brownies being good for you!!!!

    MC…those numbers refer to the percentage of cocoa butter found in cocoa powders. 22/24 is more reddish in color…the 10/12 is paler in color compared to the 22/24 also it lends itself better when used with goodies high in sugar or fat for it intensifies the flvour. Try the cake, MC and you will see what I mean….Semi sweet chocolate can contain anywhere from 46 to 70 percent cocoa butter. Added bonus of higher cocoa butter….also lends to the smoothness of the goodie!

  238. Ohh..yay!
    Hmmm..Brownies with olive oil could be healthier then *wishful thinking*! I have a recipe for Olive Oil Cake and Lemon Cake using olive oil too..you want?

    Anyway, May I please have the recipe of both the butter cake and the brownies? Naku dami ko ng hinihingi…hope its ok! =p

    Thanks in advance!

  239. i’d like to see an easy-to-follow, not very time-consuming version of lengua in mushroom sauce.i haven’t attempted cooking this dish and i’d want to try it this christmas season. i also want to try cooking tom yom goong, but i dont know what galagal is and where to get it.

  240. when we were kids, we’d visit my dad’s relatives in cavite, where they usually served us arroz valenciana (among other typical viands in a barrio ‘handaan’, wc usually consisted of pork and beef dishes that were from the pig or cow especially butchered for that occasion). we found the arroz very yummy and when we grew up and learned to cook, we tried so hard to get the right taste, to no avail .my eldest sis, who tried cookbook recipes of this dish, somehow never got to cook a batch that was at par with our tiyas’ and lolas’ version.if anyone out there knows of a delicious recipe of arroz valenciana, have a heart and post it.if i get to serve it in this year’s noche buena, it would surely bring back fond memories of our dad who passed on 5 yrs ago.many thanks!

  243. Naku, betty q., an easier ham recipe is okay. I don’t want your carpal tunnel to get worse. But Nigella’s recipe as I understand starts with a cured ham already. Am I right? My sister lives in Vancouver. I’ve been there twice…I should have known you at that time. :)

  244. Allow me to share my Smoked Ham recipe. I just made 3 last week :-)

    SMOKED HAM

    2 1/2 kilogram ham (with or without bone), tied with string to hold shape (i like one with a nice fat layer on top)

    Marinade:

    225 grams rock salt (do NOT use iodized salt)
    300 grams brown sugar
    3 cups pineapple juice
    3 cups water
    3/4 cup wild honey
    1 1/2 tsp white pepper
    3/4 tsp ground cloves

    Marinate ham for 4-5 days, turning every 12 hours.
    Place in smoker for 10-12 hours. Temp in smoker must not exceed 150 degrees. The slow cooking will produce a very tender ham.

    May serve immediately or brown surface further in the oven (just a few minutes at 450 degrees will produce a caramelized top).

    If you don’t have a smoker, may slow cook the ham in oven except you wont get the smoky flavor and taste.

    This ham is not overly salty or sweet.

    To read more, click on:

    https://flakydoc.multiply.com/journal/item/14/Im_Smoking_My_Brains_Out

  245. curing ham for a longer period makes it more salty.

    by the way, since the recipe does not call for salitre or nitrates, the meat will be a pale pink (not like the commercial hams at all!!!)

    if you smoke it though, you will get a darker, pinkish ring at the border of the ham, but the color gets paler at the middle.

  246. First-time poster long-time lurker (give or take 3 years I think). That without question makes me a fan of this blog. Reading this thread has been fascinating – made me come out of my lurking mode. Compliments to MM for a very informative and yummy blog. And bettyq, your responses to readers requests make it feel like I am reading a bettyq cooking tips and hotline. Nice job!

  247. MC…I forgot, again! …the 22/24 cocoa powder …not good for hot cocoa since it tends to be acidic and a bit bitter, that is has to be neutralized (sounds like you have to get rid of it, doesn’t it?..can you tell just watched James Bond?) by adding baking soda…10/12 is a much better choice for hot cocoa. For baked goods that has a higher fat and sugar content, 22/24 generally the choice cocoa , intensifies the chocolate flavour.

  248. Thanks so much ging berdon! May I know where I can buy a smoker in Manila? If cooked in oven, you think I can add liquid smoke? I haven’t used liquid smoke but I’ve heard about it. :)

  249. Betty Q, I think you somehow confused natural from alkalized( Dutch Processed)cocoa. Natural cocoa powder tends to be acidic while the alkalized version changes the ph level to mellow out the harsher notes and make it more soluble in liquids. Alkalization also brings out the chocolate flavor by drowning out the acidic notes. Higher cocoa fat content normally indicates a better quality cocoa, as you get a smoother texture due to the additional fat, but this is very subjective. Cook’s Illustrated rated Callebaut 22/24 as the best, but ranked Hershey’s European Style Dutch Processed 10/12 as its second best – beating out several 22/24 powders, including Valrhona, in the rankings. I used the Callebaut powder before and it was very good, but it was phased out in the Philippines.

  250. You’re right, Gerry…I may have confused it , ! But if you put 22/24 and 10/12 side by side…you will notice a remarkedly differnce in color. 22/24 is more reddish in color, I think indicating that it is more of the natural cocoa powder. That is the reason why I use it inchoclate cakes with baking soda added as the neutralizing agent.and 10/12 has the more pronounced tradtional brown colour indicating that it is Dutch processed, already alkalinized. I use both. The natural cocoa powder has that reddish tinge. Anyway, I use the 22/24 for my chocolate cake and brownies and the much lighter one for hot cocoa mix. Anyway, MC…as I have said…those numbers indicate the percentage of cocoa butter content in the cocoa solids. I have also learned from my hubby ..that just like drugs…generic and brand name…it is a matter of marketing. They still contain the same ingredients but a brand name would cost more.

  251. You are sooo right Gerry…my apologies, everybody. 22/24 or 10/12 they are both dutch proceesed….lee….doesn’t mean they are processed in Holland!!!!…just kidding, lee! I just have to laugh off this pain…owwww!

    Gerry, ….could it be it is discontinued? for even here it is only available in Cocoa Barry and Bensdorf…I looked at the product list of the wholesaler here and \i was going to include that in my order for Christmas baking…I was planning to get you that Callebaut cocoa and include it to the BB box I was going to send to my sister para mapuno na iyong box!

  252. hi corrine!
    You can actually make a smoker out of your grill. Heat up the charcoal and when they get glowing hot, add a LOT of fragrant wood chips on top. I use chopped bagasso or pressed sugar cane stems, they make a really fragrant smoke, a sort of caramelized sugar smell. My mom uses guava leaves. If you can’t get either, you may buy hickory chips in the grocery.

    Once you have the chips on the charcoal, sprinkle with a little water to get a good smoke going. Cover the top of your grill to get the temperature up inside the grill itself. This step is important because tts heat will slowly cook the ham and the smoke will flavor it.

    Once you have the right temp (around 120 degrees) place your ham on the grill and then cover. Keep the heat and smoke going for the next 10 to 12 hours. Baste the ham once in a while with the marinade/ glaze.

    Don’t get the temp too high or you will be barbecuing the ham. If the temp is below 100 degrees, you are already cold smoking and your ham will take DAYS to cook completely.

    Traditionally ham is hanged while smoking but I think it’s just to accomodate more pig thighs in the smokehouse. Hanging also results in an even caramelization of the glaze. If you let the ham lie on the grill, you will have to turn it over after a few hours to get all sides evenly browned. Watch out for flare ups when the fat starts dripping into the coals.

  253. I’ve heard of liquid smoke but have not used it myself. But I’ve seen it in many recipes (especially American in origin) so I guess it’s okay.

  254. Hi, Ms. Betty Q. I just tried your siomai recipe and it was so yummy. Tweaked it a bit by adding shrimp to the pork. Many thanks! I’m gonna do your chocolate cake and ube puto next.

  255. ging berdon

    liquid smokers taste like the southwestern barbecue.. i dont think you would like to your ham. it will give an odd taste( in my opinion) … u can try it though.

  259. First time poster. Can anyone share the Pancit Malabon recipe? I need to bring something different for our upcoming Xmas potluck. Also, the recipe forUbe Puto, please.
    Many thanks.

  261. Thanks so much, Ging for the tips! I am excited to use your recipe. I just have to do a lot of psyching up about the 10 to 12 hours of smoking. I am sure your hubby and kids love you too much! :-)

  262. My apologies, Bebbette, Maryjoan, Maria….butter for sans rival…I use 1 pound regular salted butter…add 1 tsp. vanilla too. Also, this buttercream is enough to fill and frost about 3 sans rival…so for the wafers or dacquiose, do the whites whipping one more time…

  264. Connie C, ECC, Betty Q, Generous foodies,

    I tried Betty Q’s shau mai and they were good! I’ve heard a lot of great comments about the puto, famous chocolate cake, indian candy, XO sauce and other recipes. Can any of you generous foodies be kind enough to share your Word files of these BettyQ’s recipes with me too? My email is r.recipes@gmail.com. Thank you very much!!!

    P.S. Try visiting momgateway.blogspot.com for recipes of dessert tortilla, fried chicken in caramel marinade, etc…

  265. Thanks bettyq for the shumai recipe . . . my daughters are excited to prepare this for New Year’s eve! Have a healthy, happy and safe New Year everybody!

  266. betty q… i know it’s already ages since this post… but can i also have the recipe? haven’t seen the post from MM yet, and couldn’t find your email address above. can you send it to me at “delosreyes.vs at hp.com” ? would really appreciate it! =)

  267. for MM & Bettyq – Is the sans rival recipe complete? I was reading it and it seems from the message trail, that bettyq’s message was too long and couldn’t publish the last part of the recipe? can you also email me her award winning chocolate cake recipe? many thanks!! keep up the great blog MM… maybe bettyq should have her own blog too :)

  270. Hello Ms. Betty Q. I would really appreciate it if you would also send me the recipe of your award-winning chocolate cake. I’ve read so much about it from these posts and I was hoping I could make it as a birthday gift-cake for my mom. She’s a big chocolate fan. My email is: b3achbum@yahoo.com Thank you and more power to you. =)

  271. August 27, 2009

    Hello! Ms Betty Q may I have a copy of your much requested Chocolate cake recipe?

    I would like to bake a cake for my nephew whose birthday is this coming month. Also, please include a glossy type of icing. Thanks.

    Thanks to you too, MM.

    Marides

  276. MS. betty q kung di po kayo masyadong busy maaring po bang makahingi ng copy ng recipe para sa paggawa (Step by Step) ng Ham from Scratch, at ma-chiang (kinakain po namin ito every new year).
    Ito po ang email address – tessiepama@yahoo.com.ph
    salamat

  278. got into your blog accidentally…or fate…no such thing as coincidences…checking out le crueset and found your comment about staub and started there…2.5 days now and i havent stopped reading…duling duling na ako…its just that it is soooo fun…sharing wholeheartedly your recipes and bettyq as well as others leaves me totally in amazement…ang saya saya ko kahit i dont really cook…i love to eat pero cooking a litle mailap…i really have to follow step by step…unlike others, put put lang ingredients, tastes good na. where am i going with this…ewan…basta im saya saya talaga na nabasa ko blog na to…parang super powers na christmas gift. happy holidays

  280. Is there anyone here who can email me ms. Bettyq’s award winning chocolate cake recipe? I am trying to come up with a cake for my baby’s upcoming christening. Thank you in advance.

    wel_101@yahoo.com

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