Mytaste.ph

Sabado, Abril 7, 2012

PAN de SAL (Pinoy Bread rolls)



These Pinoy rolls are traditionally served as a breakfast treat, usually enjoyed with or dipped in some hot coffee. But, Pan de Sal has gone a looooong way since then. With the birth of 24-hr Pan de Sal shops in the metro, it has gone from breakfast to a versatile all-day treat.

In Marikina City alone, the city where I came from, several Pan de Sal bakeries have opened simultaneously late last year; and aside from those, there are also numerous Pan de Sal vendors who pedal their bike to go around the subdivision to offer this bread. But right now, we are almost at top of the mountains, and with no Pan de Sal bakeries or vendors in sight, I have decided, to make our own Pan de Sal. 

I have numerous recipes of Pan de Sal from old recipe files from my mother’s collection and I have played around with one of them tonight; the one that doesn’t require any milk. Why that one?  - Simply because I ran out of milk! =)

Here’s how exactly you can do this recipe too. (Makes 20 pieces Pan de Sal)

1) In a bowl, put 1 cup of warm water and dissolve 1 tsp of active dry yeast. Stir in 1 tsp of sugar and let this rest for 10 minutes.


tip: Use warm water, not HOT, as to not "kill" the yeast.

2) In a large mixing bowl, mix 1/3 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp of vegetable oil (or 2 tbsp vegetable shortening). Add in 2 egg yolks, and mix until smooth.


3) At this time, check your yeast mixture. If the yeast is still active, it should have tiny bubbles at this time.


4) Now, go back to the yolk mixture, and prepare your electric mixer with dough hooks attachment. Add 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 cup flour and the yeast mixture to the yolk mixture. Mix until evenly combined.





5) Add 2 1/2 cups flour to the mixture, 1/2 cup flour at a time.




6) Prepare a flat working surface, and flour it generously.


7) Transfer the dough to the floured surface and knead it until elastic and smooth; smooth as a baby's bum. (lol); about 10 minutes.



8) Lightly oil a large bowl with some vegetable oil and also coat some in the dough.



9) Transfer the dough in the bowl and cover it with a cling wrap or damp towel. Do not disturb this and let the dough rise for an hour or until its size doubles.





10) Once doubled, return the dough to the floured surface and divide into two.



11) Roll into logs, then cut each log into 10 equal parts. 

( mine's not that "equal" haha)

12) Put the sliced pieces, flat side down on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover it again with a cling wrap or damp towel and let it rise for 30 minutes to an hour or until doubled.


13) Preheat your oven to 375 F.

14) Once doubled, remove cling wraps and for the rolls to be a crispy on the outside, lightly brush the tops with some vegetable oil.



15) Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.






So what do you guys think? Hmmmm, I think my FIRST homemade Pan de Sal was a success! CRISPY on the outside and SOFT and chewy on the inside. Just how I like my Pan de Sal to be. =) Although, honestly, I think this can still be improve upon. Maybe I'll try experimenting with the other Pan de Sal recipes, the one which has milk, and maybe I can also improve on the uniformity and shape of it.

Now, the only thing that’s left for you to do is to enjoy these as you please. Fill them with your favorite “palaman” (filling), dip them into coffee, hot choco or enjoy them plain. I love it filled with liver spread or cheese. =)


Try making some of these for your next breakfast or merienda buffet then serve loads of choices for its filling. =) Choices are endless: sardines, coco jam, “kesong puti”, left-over adobo, tuna spread, corned beef, etc.!

Tomorrow is Easter and I will be making some Pinoy Easter egg treats for you.

Until tomorrow, good night and Happy Eating! =)



Biyernes, Abril 6, 2012

Pinoy Classic: SINIGANG na HIPON (Shrimps in Soured Broth)


A Classic Filipino dish you can serve this Good Friday: Sinigang na Hipon (Shrimps in soured broth).

Ingredients you'll need: (Good for 4-6 persons)


Your choice of favorite vegetables but these are the usual ones used:

- a bunch of KangKong (water spinach)
- 5 okras
- 2 tomatoes; quartered
- 1 onion; quartered
- 1 eggplant; sliced
- 1 radish, sliced
- 1/2 kg of shrimps
- fish sauce to taste
- 2 shrimp bouillon cubes (to taste)
- 2 green finger chilies (or more depending on your taste)
Other vegetables you can also use in Sinigang are:
- Sitaw (long beans)
- Talbos ng kamote (sweet potato tops)

You'll be needing a powdered tamarind soup base mix such as these: 
(For this dish that I cooked, I used McCormick Classic Sinigang Mix)


Note: But if you can't find something similar, you can use the juice extract from unripe tamarind fruit. Boil about 1/2 cup of water and add in about 100 grams of unripe tamarind. Remove from heat and when tamarinds are soft, mash it and strain to a fine sieve. Throw away the solids. For 6-7 cups of water and 1/2 kg of meat, you'll be needing about 4 tbsp of this tamarind extract or less; depending on how sour you want your broth to be. You can also use tamarind paste, or extract of green mangoes as souring agent.

Directions:

1) In a stockpot, pour about 6-7 cups of water (or rice washing) together with the quartered tomatoes and onion. Bring this to a boil over medium heat.


2) Prepare your choice of vegetables and cut into desired pieces.





3) When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat and add in the radish and eggplant. Let it cook for about a minute or two before adding in the shrimp.



4) As soon as the shrimps starts to turn orange, add in the powdered tamarind soup base.



5) Season according to your taste. (I added about a tbsp of fish sauce and 2 shrimp bouillon cubes)


6) Simmer for another minute at low heat then add in at the last minute the okras and the Kangkong. Do not overcook the vegetables, make sure they are still green and the leaves still crispy.



5) Remove from heat. Serve with steaming hot rice. The Pinoy way of eating this is pouring some of the broth in the rice and eat it with a little bit of everything: the shrimp and veggies.




It's a time to ponder on this life that God has given us and a time to appreciate simple everyday foods like this.

Grace before meals. Have a blessed Good Friday to all! 

Happy Eating! =)

Huwebes, Abril 5, 2012

Maundy Thursday: BAKED TAHONG (Baked Mussels)


My sisters-in-law are both here for the holy week holiday and they came for a visit a while ago; and these humble delights were what I served them: BAKED TAHONG (Baked Mussels).

Making these is super easy. In my experience, the only hard part was mincing the garlic. I still don't have that fancy "garlic mincer/ garlic press" that I usually see Jamie Oliver use in his show "30 minute meals", that is why my hand felt burned after peeling and mincing all those cloves. Anyway, when you get over that, everything is just a breeze.

Ingredients you'll need: (good for 4-5 servings)


- 1 kg tahong/mussels
- 1/4 cup minced garlic
- 1/2 stick of butter/margarine
- 1 cup grated quick melt cheese (e.g. Kraft Eden MeltSarap; Quikmelt)

Directions:

1) Place the mussels in a pan or stockpot and cook over medium heat, lid closed. Do not put any water. Remove from heat once shells opened up and let it cool.


2) Meanwhile, melt the half stick of butter in a hot pan and add in 1/4 cup of minced garlic. Just let the garlic infuse the butter, about a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.




3) When the mussels are cool enough to handle, open it totally and remove top shell. Arrange them in a baking tray/dish. 

tip: If the mussels are wobbly, put some rock salt or uncooked beans in the baking tray before assembling the mussels.



4) Spoon a little bit of the garlic-butter mixture to each mussel meats.


5) Top it with a generous amount of grated cheese.



tip: If you want your mussels with a little extra crunch, you can top them an additional layer of bread crumbs; or even sprinkle some cayenne or chili pepper for extra heat.

6) Bake them in the oven at low heat (250 F) for 10-15 minutes or just until grated cheese beautifully melts.





These were wonderful, BUT I am not so sure if they are "red tide" free! So, if you don't hear from me for a long time, I am probably in hospital recuperating from food poisoning. Haha, just kidding! =)

These easy goodies is the perfect appetizer to any get-together. Try serving them on your next party or potluck.

Happy Eating! =)