What Pinoy Recipes Do You Want Me to Feature or Obsess About??

I’ve done hundreds of recipes on this blog, and probably most of the “Top100” Pinoy dishes you can think of. But there are still many more that I either have never done well, have never even eaten, or heard about. So here’s your chance to put in a request, and while I definitely can’t promise I will get to all of them, or even a fraction of them, I will try my best. Think recipes that would appeal to most pinoys, rather than obscure, ingredient specific, or regional dishes that I would have difficulty replicating in Manila or Cebu. White puto, an old-fashioned pan de sal, and a few other items are OFF LIMITS… :) I have tried and tried again and still can’t find a decent home version… :) But send in a comment, it can’t hurt, and I would appreciate your help to build a list of recipe challenges for the months to come… Thanks!

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190 Responses

  1. 1. vigan empanada. I’ve tried several times but have always ended up making a mess from the dough onwards. 2. The okoy/ukoy from laguna that stays crunchy for a long time. 3. Cebu’s maja real/masareal. How come i’ve never heard of anyone making it at home? Thanks, ang happy hunting, MM!

  2. How about the quesong puti from Cebu? These are saltier than the ones from Luzon, and are best when fried and crunchy, and served with banana. I think they call it queseo, but I could be mistaken. :)

  3. Your definitive dinuguan please MM. This one is really hard to define. The best versions I’ve tasted are done by my auntie’s ‘girls’, who come from various points south ( of Manila, that is) but even they can’t agree on what really goes in it and certainly can’t come up with an actual recipe. I guess I could just observe, but when I’m in the Philippines I’m usually at work, or asleep with jetlag, when they do all the secret shopping/ stirring/ mixing etc. This is just a fantasy anyway, I know I won’t be doing it anytime soon as the ingredients would be hard to get where I live (though a delicious blood sausage, a kind of cousin, always available) but one day, in my dotage, I imagine myself stirring that vat with dark and mysterious ingredients…

  4. How aboat Kikiam, It is all over Binondo and a Chinese/Filipino specialty, NgoHiong (battered Cebuano/Chinese Lumpia.

  5. Pata Hamon. In one of your surveys Betty Q and I were the only ones who mentioned this. Maybe Betty Q has experimented on this. I found a recipe in the fairly recent Reynoso Matriarch cookbook (can’t remember the title) – simple ingredients only. As you always say those with the simplest ingredients are the hardest to cook.

  6. Aside from their famous hopia, Kim Cheong Tin in what used to be called Calle Echague also sold a pasalubong treat variously called lohua, ampaw and taimpusa. They are pillow shaped, around 3 x 1.5 inches, crisp, hollow and looked like the shell of Ferrero Rochers, they are coated with a sticky syrup and rolled in sesame seeds, popped rice or milled peanuts. If you can locate somebody who can share clues as to how they are made, you would have restored a large portion of somebody else’s happy childhood.

    @ Maricel, that’s a favorite too but sweet treats and desserts come first for me.

  7. Bibingka- the kind that tastes authentic but easy enough to make w/ readily available ingredients in the states!

  8. Footloose, i recently had some of those ampaws (with peanuts ) from Laguna and i devoured most of it, YUM! I would love to know how they’re made,MM. Thanks!

  9. Footloose, yes, those too. I don’t even know what they were called, but my Papa would bring them home sometimes ( his office was in Binondo ) and I was an inarticulate toddler anyway, but those whatever they weres would bring back memories of happy childhoods.

  10. agreeing with @Paul Dough (#4) on the kikiam – we used to source this from a family friend back at home, but apparently, he was not able to share his recipe to his kin… an embutido would be nice too… if you have an “ultimate siomai” recipe, that would be the best… :)

  11. I’m with Josephine… My ultimate stumbling block is dinuguan and it might diminish the fear if you lessen the learning curve :)

  12. I am coming to Pinas in 4 weeks, heading to Quezon Province, will ask my cousin how to cook ampaw, I hoped he’s learned it from my Tia who used to cook it a lot. By that time though, I bet some of MM’s bloggers would have come up with the recipe.

    They also cook this thing that looks like a pianono, but made out of kamoteng kahoy, with shredded young coconut; wrapped and steamed like a suman. I don’t know what it is called, but when I find out, I will share it with you guys.

  13. I am not sure whether Millet is referring to the OKOY/UKOY found near the public market of CALAMBA, LAGUNA but their version remains to be one of the best I have eaten. A mixture of many veggies including shredded kalabasa, cabbage, mung beans etc and a tiny spoonful of bagoong alamang (nope not shrimp) enveloped in a tempura like batter.

    It was very light and the coating very thin. The batter only coating the “outside” of the bunch of veggies like an envelop. Every time I attempt okoy on my own, I end up with a somewhat heavy mixture-. They were also fried in ladles giving them their perfect shape.
    Back in the 70s, they were not to careful exposing how they made this. Nowadays, the preparation part is hidden from public view and fried okoy are taken out of their kitchen into the selling area all ready cooked. How I wish that I was more observant then.

    I have enjoyed this OKOY since the early 1970s every time I would spend my summer vacations in Calamba and up to four years ago, I would still drop by their small hole in the wall stall every time I would have the chance to go to Calamba to visit relatives or on my way to Los Banos. Unfortunately, with the price of gasoline and the toll out of control, I do not know when I would be able to go back to Calamba. :)

    I would just love to learn how they make this!

  14. Agree with gensanite (#11): ultimate siomai recipe please! It’s frustrating how it’s so hard to replicate the siomai I’ve tasted in Chinese restos. Online recipes don’t really cut it for me.

  15. Hi,MM. How about the bar cookies ” Pallileos de Milan” from way back when, I think from “Dulcinea” or somewhere like that. It had 3 layers, the first was a long thin puff pastry I think, second layer, a brown sweet caramely sauce?, and the top layer was a crisp meringue. It was 1/2 inch by six inches long and rectangular in shape. They come around 10, side by side in a package. I had been searching for that for a long time now. Thank you.

  16. I checked the archives and I’m surprised that you’ve only featured this a couple of times: Pork barbeque. How about a trial of all the different variations of pork bbq? Ours at home has ketchup, soy sauce, kalamansi, pepper, garlic and sprite.

  17. OKOY i also am curious how to make this one…
    This is my comfort food from my hometown of balanga
    i assume the batter is made from galapong atsuete and shrimp juice
    fillings are puso ng saging sibuyas toge kintsay
    special OKOY are with potatoes and whole shrimp on top…

    I tried replicating but failed miserably with the the batter (taste and texture)

  18. alimango sa gata.
    tahong al horno.
    salsa monja.
    Xmas cake.
    Pata tim.
    Galantina.
    Tapinlo ( Macao version of cocido).

  19. Footloose: the hollow one…isn’t it what they call…linga? And isn’t ampao the one made with something like rice puffs. Here there is something called SA-JI-MA that tastes and looks like what I know as ampao. It is made out of a dough, cut into thin strips and puffs, then coated with a syrup made out of sugar, honey or maltose (available at Chinese grocery stores), water and lemon juice to prevent crystallization. I have a cloned recipe of the Chinese ampao. If that is the one, I can even show you how to make it when I get there!

  20. Liloan, Cebu’s MASI pls. Have searched all over the internet for a recipe without any luck.

  21. Bettyq, I think linga refers to the sesame seed which they sprinkle on native delicacies such as palitaw and others.

  22. Marketfan…yeah, linga is sesame seeds but maybe that is what my cousin just called it. I remember back then having that hollow thingy. i just called my nephew who came back from Pinas asking him what it was called. He couldn’t remember either but said that was they gave out in Binondo this year for Chinese New Year?

    Panache…Kapampangan Maja Blanco made with carabao’s milk, I have shared the recipe a long time ago. You must be absent back then!…sorry, just kidding! Is that the one you are looking for? My secret ingredient is incorporating the coconut oil that is extracted after you make latik adding it at the very last once it has thickened making your maja extraordinarily silky smooth and katakam-takam!

  23. Hi MM!
    Pancit Malabon, please. (it’s one of my ultimate favorites.)
    No worries, Seafood City Supermarket has most of the ingredients required for Pancit Malabon.
    I’ve tried to find it in your Recipes and Menus, Dishes – No luck.
    Thanks!

  24. Masa Podrida. We used to know someone from Vigan who makes really really good masa podrida. Unfortunately, she has since passed away before I could ask for the recipe.

  25. Alilay…do you have the dried Chinese rice noodles for Pancit Malabon over there…the one wrapped in clear cellophane and called LAI FUN…Somehow, it is no longer available here and I am so disappointed!

    Marketfan…I know now why I grew up calling it “linga”. I called my brother’s MIL asking her what that hollow thingey is…she said, there were 2 kinds … the one coated in linga and the other one coated in puffy rice. My cousin always bought the “linga” variety so she said that is why we called it linga when we were small!

  26. Here are my suggestions, MM:
    home-made
    1) yoghurt
    2) butter
    3) cheese
    4) tofu/taho
    5) dried veggie snacks/baked veggie snacks (sooo healthy!)
    6) embutido
    7) turkey bacon
    8) ice cream
    9) salad dressings (with distinctly Filipino taste)
    10) more bottled preserves (especially for fruits that aren’t commonly used for jams)
    11) Bicol pinangat – Naga and Albay versions
    12) ube halaya
    13) Bicol coco jam with/without pili
    14) a variety of local bread and sweets (the kind that’s inexpensive and sold at sari-sari stories when we were young. brings back wonderful memories :)
    15) lengua

  27. Footloose and BettyQ, any which version is called ampao. At the Chinese bakery, you have to specify if you want the linga, rice puff or the peanut coated one. I love the linga one for its chewy texture from the sugar/syrup and sesame seeds. Sometimes the rice puff is colored red for engagement ceremonies and the girl’s family give them out to friends to announce the engagement.
    Chicken empanada. I have tried to make the filling in different ways but cannot come up with the chicken empanada I used to buy at a coffee shop in Escolta way back when. It was right across the Lyric movie theater. It has potatoes, chicken and carrots and a creamy sauce that makes the empanada so juicy and steraming good.
    Pata jamon, mamonluk sauce. and the list goes on……

  28. I’ll default to some classics, which unfortunately I can never seem to get right:

    Pork adobo (the kind with soy sauce)
    Chicken adobo (the kind with soy sauce)
    Pork sinigang
    Bistek tagalog
    Callos a la Madrileña

  29. Additional ..

    home-made pasta/noodles? (made with vegetable purees would be a nice twist. healthy :)

  30. Chicken or Pork empanada
    Okoy..preferably ,the green papaya,strips of sweet potato,and shrimp.
    Pork & chicken BBQ,the street vendor kind (Yakiniku)
    Pancit Bihon..i can’t cook a decent version:)

  31. speaking of okoy, i’m just wondering what is that gadget and where to buy that shredder that they use to shred the pumpkin they use for okoy. usually you see this at trade fairs (SM megamall, etc) from a vendor selling okoy…. and i was about to say pan de sal from my previous request again, hahahaha.

  32. @BettyQ Unfortunately, it is not sa-ji-ma. What I have been hankering for look like tiny inflated pillows. They have them in Korean shops here but they are not fresh and crunchy.

    @Bakerwannabe Yep those are the ones. The Chinese sellers referred to them as lohua but we jokingly called them taimpusa.

  33. footloose, yes, we call them lohoa, too, and yes, i’ve been looking for a recipe, too! lohoa is available in most groceries, especially the ones in chinatown and the greenhills/virra mall area. cebu has its own version, sold in that old bakery right outside the basilica del sto. nino. their peanut-coated version however, is different, since the base is not the puffy type, but more like a solid cookie.

  34. Pancit Palabok-homemade of course. I’ve read posts about you wanting to try it out one day but I don’t think I’ve come across the recipe yet. : )

  35. @Millet, those are called chicken peanuts. Those cookies were really flaky and were also sold at that Kim Cheong Tin shop. Needless to say, I’m a big fan of those too.

  36. OT..”Can’t cook a decent pancit bihon” to Betty Q..i found in the archives on how you cook noodles,under MM’s efuven.I will try your way of putting dry noodles on the sauteed meat & veggies and adding more water as needed.Will try cooking Bihon and even malabon .MM,BQ your cooking tips and recipes are treasures…you guys are one of the most generous and unselfish person around,who don’t make any penny out of this.My nightmare is one day this blog will disappear.Please MM,Betty Q a cookbook in the distant future or even just a compilations of stuff and ingredients.

  37. Long been a reader of your posts and one of these days will try to go to Cebu to try all the food places you had been writing about. Can you please obsess on KARE KARE. What is authentic and the different variations you had encountered. By the way everytime I try a recipe from your site, I always make sure my friends that taste it knows it is your recipe.

  38. can you cook Bam-i MM cebu style? love those! but with a twist ;) like using different meat or just plain seafood, also seaweed salad if any :)

  39. Can you do a definitive ramen post?

    Or, maybe you can just do a “Marketman 101” series of cooking videos for really simple and quick stuff that you may have already featured here before…

  40. 1) pancit malabon/luglug/white pancit 2) ilocano food: vigan empanada, puqui-puqui (tried making at home but got the egg: eggplant ratio wrong), bagnet, 3) pinoy longganizas: alominos, calumpit, vigan, baguio, CDO, cebu etc 4)dinuguan 5)kilawin 6)sapin-sapin 7) maja blanca

  41. Hi MM! Can you try balisungsong rice? It’s a triangle-shaped rice wrapped in banana leaves.

  42. those all sound so good! we’ll have a treasure-trove of recipes soon..i do still go to the archives for many recipes, esp bettyQs…

    had ampao when i was in Iloilo few weeks ago..i can say the quality has been so consistent (still sooo good) inspite of inflation..can’t say the same for some of the old favorites..too bad some restaurants and pastry shops had to cut back on quality. some siopao places have cut back in size and filling—so sad.

  43. I second the request for pianono — the one with the eggy filling. Also, Mamon. I am leaving next week to visit my Mom for 3 weeks. This time, I will try to write down all her (and her sisters’) Kapampangan food recipes. Ebba Blue — will we be in the Philippines at the same time?

  44. the topics i have in mind are:

    – How to Cook Pinoy Junior Masterchef Dishes (your personal Top 10 probably)
    – Disassembled Dishes (I’m very much interested with this kind of food presentation)
    – Fast Food Favorites (how we can bring that distinct taste straight into our kitchens)
    – Bright Ideas (package food into something different; like pizza-stuffed siopao or empanada)

    that’s all i can think of…. :)

  45. I wouldn’t mind learning about all kinds of fresh lumpia in the Philippines. I grew up as a chinese filipino in Manila when my idea of fresh lumpia was “popiah”- cooked veggies, ground peanuts, seaweed… and only later did i eat the traditional lumpia with ubod. And while we are we are on the subject of chinese filipino treats – it would be fun to tell us your own porky version of a siopao (adobo vs bola bola …)

  46. Chinese ham, hopia and galantina please ;-) Hopefully including how to debone the whole chicken. Thank you!!!

  47. For good ukoy you need the ‘tagunton’ shrimps, also use rice flour (non-glutinous), the colouring to make them orange is some atsuete water.

    MM: I would love to know how to make the pinoy miso which we use for sinigang na kanduli with mustasa and pesang dalag. The Japanese miso is not it. Pinoy miso is not salty and is very crumbly. I would like to make it if I knew how. Thanks!

  48. Mimi: maybe you are thinking of tahure? …My husband’s family introduced me to eating this pungent, spicy fermented tokwa cubes of what seems to be the equivalent of our tahure. It comes in a bottle, spicy or non-spicy, salty and a little goes a long way. I am positive you have it over there.

    MM…oh…ramen…you have to have patience, should be in a zen like mood when you do that. If you are stressed out that day, postpone it for another day, I have come to the conclusion that my mood plays a huge part when I am cooking especially when I am developing recipes and trying to perfect it!

  49. @betty q, footloose and millet, I miss lohoa. :) I like the ones covered with rice puff and ground peanuts. I remember when my mother used to bring me to quiapo to deliver our products to some clients, she would always buy me lohoa. :)

    MM, I hope you can try to replicate Bulacan’s inipit (custard cake) made by Eurobake of Guiguinto, Bulacan. The original was from Panaderia La Concepcion in Malolos, Bulacan, but they’ve closed down many years ago. I like inipit but their price is too much!

    Eurobake also make round buns like small monay. They call it bolios according to my mother (I’m not so sure if I spelled it correctly). This is also my favorite, I can eat them without any palaman. :)

    Another popular pasalubong from Bulacan is Francia’s Puto (rice cake) of Meycauayan, Bulacan. With choices of cheese, salted egg and ground pork on top.

    I want to give/send you samples of both inipit and puto if you have time to meet up whenever you are in Manila, or if you can provide an address for me to send or bring them personally. Will send you personal message about this.

    Thank you and more power!

  50. ECC -I am leaving Hou on April 25 and will depart Mla May 31, email me, maybe we can meet for a food trip? I plan to go Liliw to buy shoes and taste some authentic Laguna sweets. BettyQ, we do have Laifun here, want some?

  51. Morcon
    Bangus Relleno
    Pork Barbeque on stick
    Tahong (mussels) Lumpiang Shanghai
    Binagoongan
    Goto
    Bopis
    Fish or Squid Balls
    Adobong Tilapia or Isdang Dapa

  52. @robKSA- you are referring to the salad master manual food processor. I saw it being used in a booth selling okoy and lumpiang shanghai in one of the trade fairs at SM Mega Trade Hall. I have tasted their okoy and it was so good. It’s made of shredded squash with skin on, some shredded onions, chopped shrimps, some flour to serve as binder and salt.

    Incidentally, I am planning to buy the same model of salad master. Here is the link, the title is Salad Master Machine: https://www.saladmaster.info/saladmaster3.html

  53. Ebba …muchas gracias, mi amiga! Is it the dried one wrapped in clear cellophane with a green label? Kaya lang, baka madurog in transit. I went to Toronto and brought those beer sticks for my pamangkins wrapped in bubble wrap and towels and what not and had the airline personnel mark my luggage as FRAGILE!!! Wala rin…one bottle contents…some sticks were broken. I know I should have placed them in my carry-on luggage but it was a choice between the SIO PAO BOLA BOLA (which they always ask for) and the beer sticks.

    MM…inipit…base cake is just jaconde batter…in my opinion is talagang nakaka hirin so I prefer to use sponge cake base spread thinly on parchment lined cookie sheet and baked rather quickly. Then layered with yema filling just like brazos filling but I add macapuno. But the one which just easily gets ubos first anywhere I bring them is the date inipit with caramel pecan filling .

    Someone wanted to know how to do it (date inipit with caramel pecan filling)…I cannot remember who it was. If you are following this thread, please let me know

    Maricel…I think Pata Jamon as I remember it was reddish..so there is curing salt, has this distinctive Chinese taste, so there is a hint of 5 spice added to the pork. I think the tocino recipe will be a good recipe to start with…less a few tbsp. of the sugar. MM..add some BOILED PORK SKIN to the pork slices.It has to be cold before slicing them preferably in a meat slicer. The pork skin, I will cook in soy based broth with 5 spices, seasoning, a dash of dry sherry (don’t have rice wine at the moment) with pig’s feet added to the broth to make it more gelatinous, then reducing it and cooling it. Next day, I would cut the now aspic in little cubes and add them to the pork slices together with the pork skin and then start stuffing.Braise it but not too long so the pork leg skin will remain intact. Besides, you eat them sliced thinly anyway so there is no need to simmer the whole pata to death! I cannot remember if you eat the pata jamon with a sauce. But if there is, just thin the braising liquid with a bit more water just so you can nap it over the slices.

  54. Grateful if you can give pineapple pie a try. We used to get them from Los Banos, Laguna. Thank you.

  55. @BettyQ, thinly sliced pata jamon is usually served over a bed of green papaya ribbons with, as you said, a bit of the braising liquid. Traditional achara on the side would do nicely I think. Come to think of it, cabeza de jabali although definitely Spanish comes pretty close.

  56. Hello from San Francisco!

    How about regional varieties or styles of adobo? Most people would be surprised (shocked?) that we have adobong pula (with paprika), adobong dilaw (with turmeric, as they do in Lipa, Batangas), adobong puti (without soy sauce, the way my Lola made it), adobo using coconut water, ad infinitum. This is a fascinating subject and one that would enlighten those who think anything other than vinegar-garlic-soy sauce-black pepper in adobo is heresy. Good research project for you, MM!

  57. I am with Footloose with the ampao or rather the lohoa. I know there is a different kind of ampao somewhere in Pangasinan and they are squares or rectangles. As soon as Footloose mentioned this, it brought back memories to my childhood too. This is my father’s favorite snack while watching TV.

    MM, there is one dish tho that we have tried replicating it but cannot get the right consistency and taste… it’s the pancit lomi that we buy at a nearby restaurant in Caloocan and I haven’t had it for ages! My sisters and I can’t seem to get the right taste….

  58. What I’d really love is a step by step walkthrough on making the sauce for pancit luglog/pancit palabok. No cheats, no pre-made mixes, no bouillon. I vaguely remember my grandmother mashing shrimp heads for the sauce, but beyond that, I’ve got nothing.

  59. OMG, OMG, that is a long list of “requests”!!! Thank you for the suggestions… But I have to say, while there are many on that list that I haven’t even heard of or tried, there are maybe 20-30% that are already in the archives… so some googling/searching is in order for those items… and now I have some ideas for other dishes to do…

    A couple of notes…

    Lor, I have done luglug or malabon from scratch, to good results, but was thinking of saving the recipe for a cookbook…

    Voltaire, I have done a couple of styles of adobo including puti and a western inspired one from the time I lived in the U.S…. for the different styles of adobo, there is a good compendium of regional varieties in a small nancy lumen reyes cookbook on adobo… you should try it…

    I am intrigued by the ampao or lohoa, that I am not familiar with except in passing… and it sounds tricky but a challenge nonetheless…

    Lucy, sorry, but pineapple is the one thing I am pretty darned allergic to… so that one isn’t going to happen… :)

    A few more comments a little later… nursing some SERIOUS sunburn… :)

  60. MM..batchoy, the one with miswa, pork tenderloin and blood….tochong boneless bangus…pinapaitan!! thank you….

  61. Not sure if sapin-sapin is off limits, but yes, sapin-sapin. Also, egg pie. I used to buy this from the school canteen in grade school and high school. I didn’t like it that much then, but find myself craving it now.

  62. MM, try recreating what I know to be sinampalukang manok! :) See the comment I left on your sinampalukang manok blog entry. I think you’ll love it.

  63. Hi MM! How about kare-kare (beef, seafood, vegetable) and sisig (pork, bangus, squid etc)?

    Hi Mrs Froggie! If you live in Metro Manila, there is a place in the Scout-Timog-Morato area called Pastelleria Mallorca/Mega Mexicana that sells traditional Spanish pastries and nachos, tortilla chips etc. It’s supposedly owned by the mom of Chef Gene Gonzalez.
    I always buy pasalubong stuff from them to give to friends and relatives when I travel abroad. I think what you want is called argellanas. They have Pallilos de Milan but it’s not like what you described (with caramel) but just as yummy and addictive. Once you open the canister, you won’t stop till it’s all gone!

    MM did a post on argellanas:
    https://www.marketmanila.com/archives/argellanas-from-pasteleria-mallorca

    They also have old-fashioned ensaymada, lengua de gato, croquembouche and other yummy stuff. I always end up buying more than I should when I’m in that place! You can also order pastry shells for chicken ala King.

    The address is 18 Scout Fuentebella, Brgy Laging Handa, Diliman, QC
    Tel Nr. 3732789 or 3732790. They’re open Mon-Fri 8am-5pm and Sat 8am-3pm. Closed on Holidays.

  64. Ha ha ha! MM you have a deluge of suggestions….I think some are in the archives–we’ve done some. Ha ha ha—let me just lurk–but what fun this is–all the food suggestions already make me fat just salivating—-I eagerly look forward to MM’s research. Hope I can cook alongside as you experiment. Love this!!!!

  65. 1. Balisungsung (made with galapong and young coconut meat)
    2. Laing (the one with dried fish, pork fat and bagoong)
    3. Pinangat using the laing “tops”

  66. MM, I wonder if you have tried vegetarian food using vegemeat and gluten meat? I used to eat some vegetarian dishes at Manila Sanitarium and Hospital (now Manila Adventist Medical Center, and I like most of the dishes. Also good for the health. They also sell the packaged vegemeat, gluten meat and many others.

    It’s a challenge to make dishes using these meat substitutes because the taste need to be good since most people are used to eating meat.

    Another good recipes to try are chilled taho and soy milk. I used to make them before but I’ve misplaced my recipes. :( I now buy the soy milk from a shop near the hospital in Pasay but the price is too much!

  67. MM, its unfortunate that Zubuchon was close yesterday, on the only time I was in Cebu. Anyway, please try Pata Hamon, thanks

  68. Hope you could feature how to make french macarons…some thai and korean dishes would also be great :-) sorry pinoy dishes pala dapat…i wish you could feature callos empanadas and sylvanas..

  69. BettyQ: my lola used to make tochong bangus with tahure and salted black beans. Also from soybeans though, I am wanting the palengke-bought pinoy miso. To make ginisang miso for pesang dalag( although nowadays I use grouper) and sinigang na kanduli sa miso, like the one at a Los Baños resto sa bayan.

    I second the inipit recipe please.

    I am currently reading a book by Jennifer Reese ‘Make the Bread, Buy the Butter’ and am thinking this post is turning into somewhat like it on foods we remember in our childhood and would like to replicate, BUT sometimes it is better to buy than make.

  70. BettyQ: I would definitely read your blog! If you have one please let me know. I can see the inipit, but a step-by-step recipe would be great. I’ve been using your brown/burnt butter suggestion in coconut macaroons and brownies and they’ve upped the flavour. Thank you!

  71. Original puto binan pls. Plain, without any adornments, unlike the soggy mess studded with quickmelt cheese, salted eggs, and other contemporary stuff, that you find nowadays. Also plain, fluffy, lardy, ensaimadas, perhaps with just sugar on top!!

  72. A definitive recipe for LAING please…

    On the side, MM…have you ever tasted locally made mulberry jam? there’s a couple who make them here in Dumaguete and it is absolutely delicious (just like eating blueberry jam)! if you want some i’d be happy to send you a bottle :)

  73. Sorry i just realized, after searching your archives, that you have posted 2 laing recipes in the past.

    How about KIMCHI? :)

  74. @akeeno, the link does not say how much this gadget is and it looks like different from the one i saw sa SM. However, there is a similar gadget on “sale” at amazon, the Mazam Vegetable Chopper for $ 101.73. i wish i can find something available in the Philippines tho.

  75. MM make the best beef pares where the taxi drivers eat the most. i think its in a cariton in blumetritt and makati. you can find those in the early wee hours.

  76. the famous tikoy sa kawayan of sinipian, laguna which they only sell during friday. and sinantulan and tinumok of bicol. all are sooooo yummy.

  77. pinapaitan

    known in the north, pampanga, manila, and parts of the visayas…

    try pinapaitan, others use bile others use an herb in ilokano called “papait”

    others use kamias to have a sour taste others add more chili,

    some are malansa thus not so edible, some are just perfect….

    kinda challenging coz for me i cant really make the nice pinapaitan…

  78. STREET FOOD!

    kwekwek
    isaw
    okoy
    tokwa
    barbeque
    banana-que
    camote-que
    fish/squid balls
    etc..

  79. One thing I’ve tried and gave up on – Good Sheperd Ube Jam :) I still don’t know how they get it soooo good.

    I’ll include also in my list of failed attempts is the brown puto from Lucban, Quezon. Puto seems to be an elusive item. Filipino corned beef (does that pass as a local dish?) :) I’ve always wanted to make that from scratch! :D

  80. Menudo. One of my least liked Pinoy dishes, but maybe your ‘perfected’ version will make me change my mind :-)

  81. No worries about the pineapple pie, MM. How about a mean beef caldereta with an idiot-proof (for me) recipe? Never had any luck turning out a decent caldereta dish. Cheers!! :-)

  82. Hi Betty Q, would also love to have your date inipit with caramel pecan filling recipe. Please and thank you!

    Hi MM! In addition, what about that small white puto from Dagupan? Thanks!

  83. Do you remember the ‘BURO’ that didn’t quite grow on you? I laugh at this thought now…

  84. Very tasty boneless rellenong manok and how to debone. Also, dinuguan ulo ng baboy and laman loob.

  85. MM hahaha……. you got a lot of cooking and research to do. when can we expect you to do it ? very soon of 2013. some of the request are already featured but honestly it need to be improve.

    bye bye mm

  86. How about some real southern (Pinoy south) dishes e.g. satay with labuyo, tamale, kulma, etc.

  87. We all have busy lives and schedules/deadlines to meet. What I can say is it takes TIME, PATIENCE and for most of us…the financial resources to come up with a suitable dish time and time again that can be fit for human consumption!!. I can just imagine the ASTRONOMICAL EXPENSE YOU WENT THROUGH, MM, to perfect the LECHON worthy of BEING THE BEST PIG EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

    As such, I am eternally indebted to you MM and SISTER, for taking the guesswork out in making the dishes we long for and can only dream of having esp. for those of us across the globe!

  88. Mother always gave us kids credit for having been there as eager cavies to her experiments. Behind every successful cook it is often said (mostly by me), is a panel of willing tasters to sample (and evaluate) the results and I notice, Lee has been campaigning for a place in this panel for some time now. I don’t blame him.

  89. +1 dinuguan — how about burung asan/paro or I guess in Tagalog it’s binurong isda/hipon and burung mustasa — man would i love to have a whole pantry full of this stuff — i can now purchase crab roe paste locally at Asian stores — this will really test my sainted wife’s tolerance of Pinoy foods — she’s a native North Dallasite ;)

  90. I’m with yummy trails–Tamales please! It’s a true Pinoy favorite–attempting this is not for the faint of heart. Other than Tagalog style which i haven’t had in years (unbelievably hard to come by in So. California), i’ve had Nicaraguan version which is also made with rice but they put raisins, olives wrapped in corn husks like the Mexican version which is entirely different. I’m sure regional varieties in the Phil will be quite fascinating.

  91. Sorry, I can’t help but wag my finger at some of you for not checking the archives, as several of these or similar dishes are already on the blog… but thanks for the dozens of other ideas to play with! I do have recipes for dinuguan, kare-kare, chicken binakol, crispy pata, banana que, laing, sisig, etc… so a lot of you are just being lazy… :)

  92. How about dishes from Mindanao. I suppose most of your readers (me included) are already familiar with recipes from Luzon and Visayas, so why not feature dishes from Mindanao? It would also be interesting and educational if you could write about other cooking methods that they employ (if there are any).

  93. Or feature produce (fruits and veggies) locally grown in Mindanao. Most Filipinos think only of suha and durian as fruits from Mindanao. But I believe or wish to believe there are other produce worth writing about.

  94. Awwww, MM…. aloe vera gel may help relieve the pain of your sunburn. :) I hope it is tolerable. get well!!!

  95. @Footloose – I knew that taimpusa was the correct term :) (tho we call it the Tagalog way Ta* ng Pusa hihihi )

    When I tell this to my friends, they do not seem to know this.

    MM- please do old school leche flan using duck eggs and dayap

  96. Echoing on Ngohiong from Cebu —

    Banana flower sisig (tastes just like meat)
    Fried squash flowers
    +1 on homemade taho

  97. @Erleen, the odd term might be of limited in Bataan but believe me there are worse food names such as what they call balaw-balaw in some parts of Bulacan and Pampanga.

    Btw, Marketman did do duck egg and dayap leche flan, refer to the archives through the search function.

  98. @footloose- Thanks! It seems I did not search thoroughly. Geez how did I miss that? :)

  99. Binaki (or Pintos in Cebu), please!

    My 82 yr old father loves this and we make do with the stuff for sale at Metro Marketmarket.

  100. Hi BettyQ, yes we still have the noodles here, i can send you some , don’t worry about the noodles getting broken di ba gugupitin din naman anyway, pls email me your address at flizbee@yahoo.com

  101. I can’t perfect my camote-que. I know you had this in your archive (banana-que) but my sugar will not stick to my camote. Is it because camote in the US is different from the Philippines?

    A video for the following would be fabulous if it is not asking too much :)

    Masareal
    Piayaya
    Barquillos
    Vigan Longanisa
    Manapla Puto

    Thanks in advance.

  102. my vote for dinuguan again is for you to deconstruct it and vary it — using other than the traditional meats / i have used your recipe, and i thank you so much for that

  103. Just back from a trip to Hanoi where we enjoyed delightful healthy eating. For all the grazing Northern Vietnamese do all day ( clumps of people on sidewalks and everywhere snacking and eating something all day long and street food everywhere!) I did not see one obese person ( except for some tourists) in the one week we were there.

    Reading Bobby Chinn’s cookbook “Vietnamese Food” it is interesting to note that some of the best yet uncomplicated tasting food is quite a process to prepare. As I read all the 147 comments in this blog so far, many are asking MM to come up with some recipes that I am sure needs quite a production to prepare, many better bought than prepared at home. Well, good for the reading and to appreciate what it takes to cook something we all love to eat, but seriously folks, are you really going to prepare it at home?

    I don’t mean to be a sourpuss, but let’s get real and ask ourselves how many really prepared/cooked the more “elaborate dishes/recipes” featured here, ex. sister’s to die for cinnamon rolls or country ham recipe? ……Just wondering what MM might include in his cookbook when he gets around to it from the many “esoteric” requests here.

  104. Marketman solicited and we complied. I have trust that readers are sincere in their requests and not just asking for recipes as a hollow way of complimenting the cook. I grew up in a place well known in the vicinity for its food specialists and although mother was a great cook, she always deferred to the specialists and just bought or ordered kakanins, putumputi, buro, bagoong, patis alamang, etc., we therefore did not learn the process and technique of preparing them. One can see clearly that even if you were based back home, there is still a valid and laudable reason to learn how certain food specialties are prepared.

    Btw, I know it’s going to be difficult (if not well nigh impossible) to get hold of a recipe for lohua that’s why all I am asking for are clues.

    @Connie C, does not sound like you and emerging from a holiday? Was it cut short? Were pieces of your luggage mishandled? They were too hibe I bet.

  105. MM,

    Please, please feature the recipe for Salvaro cookies. I love those crisp, thin, Coconut cookies. I think they make it in Butuan, but I heard it’s also made in Cebu. I always look for them in CDO, though. The VJANDEP Store in CDO sometimes has stocks but I’ve only been able to chance upon it once!

    It would be super!!

  106. Oh Footloose, no bad energy here, and not being a sourpuss and ha, ha, no hibe luggage ( hubby can’t have shrimps tho I was almost tempted to bring the shrimp halabos on the boat they cooked to perfection, but we wiped them out). Just sincerely wondering in general how realistic some of the requests are considering that some are quite a production to prepare and to come up with lengthy how to’s. And I didn’t mean to refer to lohua specifically.

    And yes, even if I am not preparing them , I too am curious even if the instructions do not make it to my “test kitchen”. As I said, after I read Bobby Chinn’s book and found out what it takes to prepare what we just ate I am wowed by the effort and ingenuity it took to perfect a dish.

    And so , kudos to MM who never passes up a challenge, will wow us, as always with his effort to honor……. which requests? In joyful anticipation………of the cookbook.

  107. Puto Cake please…

    Someone gave me a puto cake as a gift. And it was delicious he told me that he got it from las pinas… I tried to duplicate it but failed… Hope that you can show me how to make a puto cake. Thanks…

  108. Connie’s post got me wondering. Reading Marketmanila always gets me thinking about things I want to try and cook. (Maybe that’s why the travel posts and flower posts don’t intrigue me as much.)

    There is a natural inhibitor against very elaborate or time consuming ones due to my inner tamaduchi. (Or sometimes I don’t have the equipment – like the no knead bread in a dutch oven – the dutch oven is still in dream mode.) But if a recipe intrigues me, I will do it.

    MM did a poll before about how many recipes readers have tried from the site. I said 6-7, but here are the ones I remember from the recipes. (MM — The recipes seem to be less than what I thought it would be — could it be the tags?)

    1. the pork belly bacon slab – caraway was a witch to get for this one
    2. sister’s cinnamon rolls – agree that it has to be bread flour
    3. puto maya – easy peasy, omit the salt, bring on the mangoes for Thai sticky rice with mango
    4. lechon sinigang – did not blow me away, but good to consider since I’m not a lover of paksiw na lechon, or if you don’t have enough liver sauce
    5. 5 spice duck – made one Christmas
    6. brined turkey – rubbed with 5 spice recipe for duck (My mom was wondering why I lugged a balde home for this). I left my roasting pan at my mom’s place so inangkin na niya.
    7. mangosteen jam – like MM said, keep the pits in the jam — parang mani
    8. Dinuguan – I would rather request from my mom to do this. My dinugan pales in comparison. (Insert mental image of a pale dinuguan here.) She uses sampaloc as a souring agent, rather than vinegar so it tastes “fruity”.
    9. Chocolate tart from Francois Payard – easy peasy too. And rich!
    10. Lemon squares by Maida Heatter
    11. Paella – from a recent post. I found I had to factor in the sofrito as liquid volume for the rice. MM, the ratio 1 cup rice to 2 cups broth was too soupy for me. It could also be my pan is two inches deep so it doesn’t get a lot of evaporation. Right on not omitting the sofrito. I used fresh ripe tomatoes without the seeds and boiled shrimp heads, shells and squid legs for the broth. Winner.
    12. Betty Q’s siomai – agree that the pork is better chopped than ground
    13. Betty’s XO sauce – O.M.G the rice I ate with this sauce could feed a small country. Chopped dried Thai chillies without seeds gave a nice heat
    14. pound cake with cherry jam (disaster! ) – Like MM the jam pooled in the bottom. The magazine picture still frustrates me.

    So I actually tried more than I recall. Thanks MM — may the odds ever be in your favor!

  109. Hi MM. I’ve been an avid reader of your blog. Moved here Downunder a few months back, and I truly miss our Pinoy food. How about a homemade corned beef? . . please.

  110. Ms. Connie C….been wondering where you were…missed your comments!

    Yes, there are times when I am put off by the lots of prep work involved when making some things. But that is where having worked in an industrial kitchen comes into play. Say for instance …when I make PHO at home…It takes quite a bit of prep work to make an OMG type of PHO broth…there is the cleaning of the bones (I use chicken backs, pork bones and beef bones), blanching, roasting of the ginger and the onions, the gentle simmering of the broth, etc. that it would be the next day before we all can enjoy our bowl of PHO. My kids never tire of it! And since the boys consume it by the gallons, as I have said before,PARA ISA NA LANG HIRAP, I MAKE THE BROTH BY THE BALDE AND FREEZE THEM!!!

    Another dish that generally puts me off making is Pancit Palabok/Malabon….lots of prep work as well but then again, since I am making it…might as well make a lot of the CALDO and freeze!

    And then there is CHICHARON …which takes me at least 3 days (if I am tinatamad) and 2 days (if I am masipag and really craving for chicharon)

    But why do I do it?… because we are NANAYS who love to death our family and who will stop at nothing to provide home cooked meals…even when coming home from work dead tired!

    Secondly, to save money! 1 bowl of Pho here costs no less than $8 plus tax (for a large bowl depending on how many toppings!). My boys can eat 3 bowls of PHO spaced out during the entire day! If they eat PHO 3 to 4 times a week (and believe me, that would be a slow week!)…$96 a week x 4…$384 PHO bill if they eat it in a resto. in a month! NOw, I have 2 boys…so x2 the Pho bill!!!! The ingredients would only cost me a fraction of that price when I make it at home!!!!!

    Thirdly, I can control what goes in a dish…I have 2 nephews in the East who have major health issues…one undergoes kidney dialysis, the other one has diabetes. I went there to teach them making food that they love to eat…like the Kowloon HOuse sio mai and sio pao, Korean beef stew, etc. much to their delight. I even lugged with me equipment and ingredients! Yes, they can buy those in dim sum places but since they have health issues, I made for them the stuff that they can eat using substitutions and omitting the stuff that they cannot have!

    Akeeno wants a taho/soy milk recipe. It is much easier to buy the jug of soy milk at the store here…less then $3 for a 2 litre jug. But back home, it is probably cheaper to buy the soy beans, soak them, boil them and squeeze in a cacha to get the milk. That is a lot of prep work, too! To make taho, much easier to buy from the guy who sells them. But it is also easy to do…just add food grade gypsum powder and cornstarch (dissolved in a bit of hot water) plus the unsweetened or sweetened soy milk (heated to boiling) and letting it sit.

    But over all..in a way you also do have a point! I have TONS of cookbooks and I am positive that I am not alone on this! But have I cooked most of the stuff in those cookbooks…not! I have made some…and those have become a staple in our house! What the others have requested on this post, have become a staple when they were growing up that for some reason or another, the way of prepping or making it, have been lost. My mom makes a mean MENUDO and my aunt (my mom’s sister) makes the BESTEST TAMALES ever but I wasn’t interested when I was 10 years old in making them. I just wanted to play and eat!

    So, my kids won’t have regrets when I pass away….saying they should have watched me make this and that, I have decided to write down my recipes and have my nephew in the East ( he is the computer geek-IBM specialist!) compile them for me, put it in whatever format he wants and give them to my boys when the time comes!

  111. @BettyQ Viewed from the same angle here. I’m almost on auto-pilot with workday dishes but with specialties and treats (that I crave) I want all the elements to be right and so I round up all the correct ingredients and I bring to bear all the skills I can muster for the project or undertaking.

  112. Hi BettyQ and Risa: Thanks for your comments. I too have greatly modified my cooking to have better control of what goes into my dishes for hubby especially who has so many diet restrictions, one reason we hardly go out to eat. And you are right about the savings, even for a small family of good eaters!

    I suppose all of us will have one reason or other to prepare something we really really love to eat. Ideas come when presented to us and if anything feels so enticing, why not? Bottom line is determination, the craving as Footloose says and the desire to cook something to perfection if not near it.

    But I am really wondering, what MM would finally include in his cookbook? Featuring recipes in this blog is one thing but to include in a cookbook will be quite a challenge I must say.

    But BettyQ, you too might come up with your own cookbook to hand down your creative shortcuts and helpful tips for the busy cook, many of which you have shared in this blog over the years. Imagine what it would take to comb this blog for your cooking pearls!

  113. @Miss Betty Q: hi Ms. Betty.. I’m a long time lurker and I really enjoy reading your comments and I admire your generosity as well. I am glad that you worked on your receipes and have a pamangkin compiled it. It will not only benefit your sons but I am sure more generations to come. I just hope it could also be shared to us. :) I already have a compilation of your receipes here in MarkerManila. Including MM’s own. I am hoping one day I can have the time to do them one at a time. :) Bless you Miss Betty for your kindness and MM as well. :)

  114. Since summer is near..hopefully you can feature also summer refreshments like fruit salad . Gulaman and sago, ice candies ,,,these are well loved here but i still cant get them as good as the vendors,, ice cream cake too, although not too popular,

  115. Pinaypay is a fan shaped battered deeply fried and dearly loved dessert cause its cheap and filling to the stomach , make sure its sprinkled with mascuvado while still hot, most mature pinoy prefer this over the banana cue , and easy easy to do , just making sure that the batter is not watery, but coats the banana when you lift it and onto a full covered hot cooking oil, make sure theres bubbles when bananas are frying,,happy merienda to all,

  116. It would be great if your site had a 1 page catalog of all the recipes posted. Because the paginated approach to browsing your posted recipes is an inconvenience.

  117. 7, if the paginated approach doesn’t work for you, simply google “recipe you are looking for and marketmanila” or for example “pinakbet marketmanila” and you will be led to the more specific recipe. I don’t do single posts with all recipes listed as they are much more likely to be plagiarized and copied by automated systems…

  118. biy and others, please check archives as many of the items you ask for are already featured and posted… sometimes they are by other names, as regions have their own names for the same dish… Thanks.

  119. @BettyQ–If you were ever to sell your compilation of recipes, I’m sure many MM readers would love to buy a copy–me especially! I’d even pre-order and pre-pay in order to guarantee my copies (yes, that’s plural!). Might be a great fundraiser for your favourite charity.

    Just an idea. . . no pressure. . . (but I hope I hope I hope!!)

  120. MM please make MASI,the one that’s from Liloan Cebu. I tried to duplicate it but it ends up either being too hard or too soft. i would looove you even more if you could post a recipe for this! hehe

  121. And MM, you still have to perfect your recipe for sylvanas (silvanas)! I’m waiting for that one!

  122. bettyq, sign me up for the compiled recipes! ditto for MM’s future cookbook!!

  123. please include Machang and Kiampung rice. though they are not really pinoy dishes. :) thanks.

  124. Lean; I have already shared my MIL’s recipe for Machang which we call jungtz (not sure about the spelling)…just not sure which post it was in. It is one of those that involves a lot of prep work but worth the effort. When I make this for my family, I make it by the hundreds and make them small triangles rather than the big packages my MIL makes which is difficult to finish (for me anyway, that is why I make them smaller!). Fillings I include…got to have chestnuts! , chinese sausages, pork belly marinated in a touch of 5 spice, salt/pepper, sesame oil, touch of cornstarch, touch of baking soda, mung beans, chinese mushrooms, salted duck eggyok, marinated in a touch of sesame oil, dried scallops (XO SAUCE!)…I have eaten at lot of jungtz in my nearly 24 years of marriage to hubby and I can say, my MIL MAKES THE BEST MACHANG (not just because she is my MIL but I have tasted a lot of store and restaurant bought ones) but because we do not skimp on the filling and makes them really tasty. I do not like too much mung beans (which is generally used as filler).

    What takes skill is the wrapping part. It took me awhile ( back in mid 90’s) before I can pass my MIL’s test! BUt I am adept at making them now…she no longer makes it and I have the task of making them for the entire clan. Unfortunately, it is a skill which will stop at me for my boys and hubby are not interested in learning jungtz making!

    So, Cwid, La Emp, Ros,…I can show you how to make it if interested in our next kape-kape!

  125. @BettyQ Your Zhongzi recipe shows up under the post Puso Boiled Rice in Palm Fronds II, October 2008.

  126. hi betty q. thanks for the information regarding machang aka jungtz. do you think i can do it with out the struggle of doing the leaf covering? :)

  127. Mr. MM how about Baked Virginia Ham similar to The Plaza, taro puff, pastel in camiguin

  128. Could it be that your Visayan nilusak is identical to our Tagalok nilupak which Enriqueta David Perez called lupok. Boiled saba, kamoteng kahoy, grated coconut and white sugar vigorously pounded together to a smooth paste? Ignored it for the longest time mainly because I did not like the sound of its name. Turned out to be a really great delicious treat since it can be made not too sweet which brings out the pleasant flavors of the rest of the ingredients.

  129. Kim, funny you should ask, for just now, my first attempt at homemade bagoong is in the fridge curing away… no idea how it will turn out… :)

  130. Looking forward to hear about that then :) It should be easy just to buy it, but I lost my old suki for bagoong and homemade peanut butter and haven’t found a worthy substitute.

  131. also, aside from ngohiong which you have already tried, how about tagaktak?
    tagaktak,is a yummy snack..
    usually, its sweet, however i read a different recipe from this site:
    https://www.mysmartschools.ph/web/dumiykinakain/lukot2.html
    and it goes this way:
    1. Tagaktak
    Dried Lukot
    ½ k Oil
    spices

    Dry lukot under the heat of the sun for 3 hours. Then cook the dried lukot in a 1/2 k Oil. Deep fry the dried lukot.Add spices to have a delightful taste.

    Deep fry the dired lukot.

    .. i havent seen or tasted a spicy tagaktak.. i wonder how..this recipe turned out

    they also included The Site in the bibliography,
    https://www.marketmanila.com/archives/lukot-sea-hare-secretions

  132. I’m having some memory of a puto on a banana leaves but it is brown,I can’t remember what they called it when I was growing up in Salvador Labangon,CebuCity…Please help..

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