Minatamis na Saba (Philippine Boiled Saba Banana)

TS:
Some of you may remember the tragic failure of our previous boiled saba banana attempt.

What? Boiled saba banana? "What is that?", you ask.

Saba is a type of banana or plantain in the Philippines that is commonly eaten as a snack or dessert. Sometimes it's fried with sugar, or wrapped up in a wrapper and fried (see Turon (Philippine Banana Spring Roll)), or, simply boiled.

Boiling is something that tugs at our lazy heartstrings, so that's the way to go for us.

Market Manila: Saba or Cooking Bananas
Wikipedia: Banana-cue, Turon and Arroz a la Cubana



TS:
Ah yes, the tragic failure.

The previous time we attempted this, we bought burro bananas from the store, thinking that they could be saba. But, I think perhaps not.


FAIL! weird boiled burro bananas

TS:
As you can see, they turned a funky red color! That was too weird. Also, the banana itself wasn't sweet at all! Very disappointing.


real saba

TS:
This time, success was sure as someone had brought these saba all the way from the Philippines. What's more, someone else much more knowledgeable was also responsible for boiling them.



TS:
Oh! You keep them in their skins while boiling! That's useful to know. They were simmered over low heat for several hours. I'm thinking that one can't really overcook them.

Afterwards, they turn brown like so.



TS:
One can serve them in a light syrup (brown sugar melted in water). In fact, that is what Minatamis na Saba is.

But, making syrup means doing some work. So, I simply popped open a can of condensed milk. I love condensed milk anyway.



TS:
Although, even to my condensed milk-loving self, the boiled saba were very good eaten as is without adornment.

I guess this is actually just plain ol' nilagang saba (boiled saba), not minatamis.



TS:
Now, all we need is another good Samaritan from the Philippines to bring us more saba!

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eatingclub banana
Boiled Saba (Burro Banana) with Condensed Milk
Caribbean "Fish n' (Banana) Chips"
Turon (Philippine Banana Spring Roll)
Minatamis na Saba (Philippine Boiled Saba Banana)

Sweet and Sour Pork

TS:
Ah, sweet and sour pork, that Cantonese delight!

The problem is that good sweet and sour pork is extremely hard to find. When one does though... dreamy look

We'd like to get it on the outside, but often, there would be problems with the pork (too lean, too fatty), problems with the batter (too thick), problems with the sauce (too thick, too gloopy, too sweet, not sour enough, too sour)... sigh

In our house, CSC is the resident sweet and sour pork expert. The reason? She actually follows the recipe and the way the dish is supposed to be made, instead of taking shortcuts. This dish is way too labor-intensive for me! =)


JS' "rogue" version of sweet and sour pork

TS:
Don't believe me? Here's how one does it. And yes, it was CSC who did the work below. These procedural pictures were taken two years ago, by the way. This is procrastination at its best.



TS:
First, the prep. If you look at the recipe below, there are mixtures #1, #2, and #3. One needs to mix these mixtures beforehand and have them ready before proceeding. Of course, CSC also cut up all the vegetables at this time.



TS:
There are multiple steps to prepare the pork component.

First, slicing the pork.
Second, tendering the pork with the blunt end of a cleaver.
Third, marinating the meat (with egg yolk!).
Fourth, dredging the marinated pork in cornstarch.
Fifth, frying the pork at medium heat to cook.
Sixth, frying the pork a second time over high heat to brown.

I don't know about you, but that seems like a lot of work to me. ;)



TS:
But, the results are worth it! Of course, this assumes that someone else is doing all this work.



TS:
Next, the garlic, onion and bell peppers are stir-fried and cooked. CSC didn't put pineapples in this version, but Mama, CSC and I all love the pineapple in sweet and sour pork, so subsequent versions have always had them.

The sauce is added and thickened, then the amazingly crispy and delicious deep-fried pork pieces are added. Everything is mixed together, and you have deliciousness for dinner!



TS:
Ah yes, JS made the rogue version of the dish just so we can photograph the dish in better lighting. Her dish is "rogue" because she didn't follow all the steps for making the dish... of course. ;)



eatingclub Hong Kong/Cantonese
Chicken Chow Mein
Cantonese Braised Beef Brisket, Two Ways
Lobster Congee from a Lobster Feast
Chinese Roast Pork Belly
Gailan (Chinese Broccoli) with Oyster Sauce, Two Ways
Chinese Pork Bone Soup with Carrots and Water Chestnuts
Hong Kong-style Curry Cuttlefish
Dimsum Seafood Trio: Black Pearl Prawn Toast, Scallop in Nest, Jewelled Rice Cup
Hong Kong-style Singapore Noodles (星洲炒米)
Hong Kong-style Stir-fried Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste (蝦醬通菜)
Hong Kong-style Stir-fried Rice Noodle with Beef (乾炒牛河)
Sweet and Sour Pork
Hong Kong-style Curry Beef Brisket (咖喱牛腩), 1st Attempt

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Recipe
Sweet and Sour Pork
adapted from Pei Mei's recipe

Note:
Pei Mei's recipe calls for using a "pickled vegetable salad". We simply used bell peppers and onions as is, without pickling them first. We have also added pineapple chunks.

2/3 lb pork loin

#1
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cornstarch

6 tablespoon cornstarch
6 cups oil (for frying)

1 small green bell pepper (or half pepper)
1 small red bell pepper (or half pepper)
1 small onion (or half onion)
pineapple chunks
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

#2
3 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/3 teaspoon salt

#3
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon water

Cut pork into slices 2/3-inch thick. Using blunt edge of cleaver, lightly pound slices to tenderize; cut meat into bite-size pieces; mix with mixture #1 and let sit for 20 minutes.

Before deep-frying meat, mix with the 6 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Heat oil for deep-frying. Deep-fry pork pieces over medium heat for 3 minutes. Remove pork pieces and set aside.

Reheat oil until very hot. Re-fry pork pieces for another 30 seconds. Remove and drain.

Prepare vegetables: remove seeds from bell peppers and cut into bite-size pieces. Chop onion into bite-size pieces. If using canned pineapple chunks, drain well.

Reheat pan and 3 tablespoons oil. Add chopped garlic briefly (a few seconds), then add onions and bell peppers. Stir-fry briefly to cook. Add pineapple chunks.

Add mixture #2 to the pan. When boiling, add mixture #3 to thicken. Add fried pork pieces and toss lightly to mix everything together.

Remove to serving platter and serve immediately with white rice.

Mama's Philippine-style Fruit Salad

JS:
We usually end our Filipino-inspired gatherings with Mama's Philippine-style Fruit Salad. This is an extremely popular item among our guests.

"Hinahanap-hanap itong fruit salad."

My mother is always in charge of this dessert and I always know that she has finished making her fruit salad by the number of colanders out and near the sink. For a seemingly-simple recipe, my mother uses quite a lot of implements. Or actually, she just really likes using colanders. LOL.


canned condensed milk and canned thick cream

TS:
This really is super-simple to make; it's a matter of assembly. One needs only 3 items.

One, canned thick cream. Yes, canned cream.

Then, condensed milk. I heart condensed milk!

The third component, the fruit portion of this dish, is canned fruit cocktail. We prefer using canned "Fruit Cocktail", as opposed to "Fruit Salad", or "Tropical Fruit", or "Fruit Mix", or any other such things. Yes, there is a difference!

The USDA actually regulates "fruit cocktail", listing the correct percentages of which fruits go into canned "fruit cocktail".

Wikipedia: Fruit Cocktail

My mother also likes to supplement fruit cocktail with toddy palm. These also come canned. If they are whole, she slices them. If they come sliced, then she saves herself some work!

Image of Canned Toddy Palm Seed

I also like extra macapuno (meat from "mutant" coconuts) in fruit salad, but Mama doesn't like them for some reason, and thus, never adds them to her fruit salad.

Learn more about macapuno (mutant coconut) in our Lime Macapuno Bar post.

I supposed one can go wild and add other tropical fruits: jackfruit, rambutan, lychee, longan, mangoes...

But, fruit cocktail with toddy palm is my mother's classic combination.



TS:
To make Mama's Philippine-style Fruit Salad, simply open your cans of fruit cocktail and toddy palm and drain.

Hence, the colanders!

Although, I don't know why Mama has to dedicate one colander for the fruit cocktail and one for the toddy palm. Why not put both things in one colander?

If your toddy palm is whole, you may want to slice them first. If using other canned fruits, drain them as well.

Then, open your canned cream and your condensed milk, and mix everything together. This goes into the refrigerator until the end of dinner.


party-sized

JS:
Mama always makes this recipe enough for one platter for the party and a take-home box for one of our guests, much to everyone else's resentment.

"How come he always gets his own personal stash of fruit salad!?!"

TS:
Teehee.

There you go. That's the power of Mama's Philippine-style Fruit Salad: it causes building resentment among party guests. =)



Mama Dishes
Mama's Silkie Chicken ("Dyong Kwe")
Mama's Philippine-style Fruit Salad
Mama's Cilantro Beef Shin
Mama's Black Peppercorn Shortribs
Mama's Fish Head Soup
Mama's Giniling
Mama's Giniling, v4 and v5
Mama's Ampalaya (Bitter Melon)
Ma-Kut (Pork Bone) Soup

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Recipe
Mama's Philippine-style Fruit Salad

1 big can fruit cocktail (1 can = 2.84L/100 fl. oz)
2 cans toddy palm/toddy palm seed (1 can = 560mL; net weight: 20oz/565g)
1/2 can condensed milk (1 can = 300mL)
1 can thick cream/sterilized cream (1 can = 170mL)

Note:
This is Mama's preferred combination of fruits and cream/milk. Feel free to adjust fruit levels, creaminess levels and sweetness levels according to your tastes.

Note:
This is half the amount Mama would prepare for a party.

Drain canned fruit cocktail and canned toddy palm well. If whole, slice toddy palm. If using other fruits, prep them: cut into pieces; drained canned fruits, etc.

Mix together drained fruits with condensed milk and cream. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours (make sure the dish is well-chilled). Mix/stir right before serving.

Balsamic Strawberry Tart with Olive Oil Crust

TS:
It is too %#!@$@$ hot here to think straight right now.

I know, I know, you guys living in really hot places will laugh at me. But really, it is S.O. H.O.T.

It's a whopping 25 C to 30 C! (That's probably 75 F to 85 F.) Fine, you can laugh a little.

Hence, I don't seem to be physically able to write much. This will be a short one... well, "short" by eatingclub standards. ;)



Bimbo Strawberries


TS:
We had these bimbo-esque strawberries in the house, so they weren't very good for eating out of hand. Look at it! They were huge! They looked "pretty" enough, but they were tasteless.

So, I knew we had to do something with them. This is what I came up with.



TS:
I cooked together some butter, brown sugar, strawberries and balsamic vinegar.



TS:
I used this classical pairing of strawberries and balsamic vinegar as a tart filling. Since I had balsamic vinegar, I thought, why not make an olive oil tart crust!



TS:
I tried to do the easy way by having a press-in crust. Hmm, I don't know if I made it wrong, but it turned out that I didn't have enough dough to properly cover my tart pan. Oh well. The crust was just thin and patchy, but still edible.



TS:
I blind-baked the crust and simply filled it with the balsamic strawberry filling. The color wasn't that attractive because the balsamic vinegar turned everything brown. So, I decided to cover it up with whipped cream.



TS:
And there you go! I had the hardest time photographing this as well.

In any case, strawberries + caramel + balsamic = yummy. The olive oil crust was decidedly olive oil-y and worked quite well, I thought. The whipped cream didn't hold up well, though. It just drooped. But, that didn't affect the taste, so all was well.

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Recipe
Balsamic Strawberry Tart with Olive Oil Crust
Makes 1 8 to 9-inch tart

Balsamic Strawberry Filling
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 to 1 pound strawberries, halved, sliced, or diced
lemon zest (optional)
cornstarch slurry (optional)

In a pan/skillet, heat butter and add the sugar and balsamic vinegar. Cook for a few minutes until slightly thickened and reduced. Add the strawberries and lemon zest (if using) and cook until strawberries are cooked through.

If you wish, add cornstarch slurry to thicken the filling and help it set. (Cornstarch slurry = cornstarch dissolved in cold water.)

While the filling is hot, add the cornstarch slurry, stirring, until mixture has thickened.

Olive Oil Press-In Tart Dough
tart dough recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar (white or brown)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons ice water

Process the flour, sugar and salt together in a food processor until combined. Drizzle the oil over the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand, about 12 pulses.

Add 2 tablespoons of the ice water and continue to process until large clumps of dough form and no powdery bits remain, about 5 seconds. If the dough doesn't clump, add the remaining tablespoon water and pulse to incorporate, about 4 pulses. Press the dough into a 9=inch tart pan.

Making the tart
Preheat oven to 350 F.

If dough is soft from working into the tart pan, place in refrigerator or freezer to firm up. Cover tart shell with parchment paper and add baking weights. Bake until crust is lightly golden. Let cool.

Pour in the balsamic strawberry filling into the tart shell and refrigerate to set. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Turon (Philippine Banana Spring Roll)

TS:
Turon, how I love you...

Lucky for us, JS' godmother, Auntie B, would make turon for us seemingly upon a moment's notice from Mama. Mama tells us that Auntie B's own children have remarked that they themselves are not usually privileged enough for their mother to make them turon! ;)

Auntie B is the same person who would also make Bola-bola (Philippine meatballs) for us, seeing as we're a little frying-averse.



TS:
On one such fortunate occasion, a year or so ago, I took the opportunity of photographing Auntie B's always perfect-looking turon.

In the Philippines, one would make turon with a different type of banana (or plantain, actually) altogether,called saba, and perhaps add in some langka (jackfruit) as well. But, we have now more or less resigned ourselves to the regular ol' banana.

Market Manila: Saba or Cooking Bananas
Wikipedia: Langka (Jackfruit)
Wikipedia: Banana-cue, Turon and Arroz a la Cubana



TS:
To make them -- not that I've had occasion to with our frying-laziness and Auntie B's generosity -- one simply wraps bananas in egg roll wrappers and fries them up! If you so wish, dredge the banana pieces in brown sugar before wrapping in the wrapper.

See, it's easy!

These turon will be the death of me. If placed before me, I have no choice but to keep eating them until every single one is gone.

2 pieces? Too few. 5 pieces? Um, is there more? 10 pieces? Well, that's quite a lot for a "snack", but they're just too good, bursting stomach be damned.

More eatingclub Philippine/Filipino food

eatingclub banana
Boiled Saba (Burro Banana) with Condensed Milk
Caribbean "Fish n' (Banana) Chips"
Turon (Philippine Banana Spring Roll)
Minatamis na Saba (Philippine Boiled Saba Banana)

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Recipe
Turon (Philippine Banana Spring Roll)

The quantities are completely up to you.

Slice bananas lengthwise, if desired.

If you wish, dredge banana pieces in brown sugar first.

Then, place banana piece on a large egg roll wrapper and wrap. Fold up the bottom to cover the banana, fold in the right and left sides, and roll up until the wrapper is closed. Moisten the top flap of the wrapper to seal.

In a pan, heat oil over medium/medium-low heat. Shallow-fry or deep-fry turon until golden brown.


For showcasing BANANAS, we're submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging, a world-wide food blogging event (created by Kalyn's Kitchen, now maintained by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once) with the goal of helping each other learn about cooking with herbs and plant ingredients.

If you'd like to participate, see who's hosting next week. WHB is hosted this week by Janet of the taste space.

Bangus Belly à la Bistek (Milkfish Belly with Onions, Calamansi and Soy Sauce)

[js]
Our Auntie V was kind enough to gift us with several packs of boneless bangus (milkfish) belly from her recent trip to the Philippines.



[js]
These Sarangani Bay Bangus Belly packs are ultra-convenient -- no mess, no fuss -- and lookee here! They've even included a recipe at the back of the package: fish belly bistek.

Bistek is the classic Filipino dish of beef and caramelized onions flavored with calamansi and soy sauce.

Here is our version: Bistek

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamansi



[js]
This "fish belly bistek" seemed like an easier and no-less-tasty alternative to frying up the bangus belly (for daing na bangus, or "maasim na bangus", as we call it), so we decided to go with it.



[js]
I proceeded to slice some onions for the dish.

[ts]
After all, this is another entry into this month's edition of Weekend Wokking! We have to make up for the months we missed.

[js]
I was doing auto-pilot and forgot that I was supposed to slice the onions into rings. What we have instead are half-rings here.

I also thawed out some kalamansi purée from the freezer for use in the dish.



[ts]
As you may have gathered from reading the recipe on the packet, this dish was really easy to make.

We cooked some garlic and half of the sliced onions in oil, until the onions were wilted. We didn't caramelize them like we usually do with our classic beef bistek.

Then, the tomatoes went in next. After a minute of cooking, we added soy sauce, calamansi juice, and just the tiniest amount of water.

(JS and I spell kalamansi/calamansi differently! Teehee.)

The bangus bellies went in, we boiled the liquid and let the dish simmer. We also added the rest of the onions at this point. Now, it was just waiting for the bellies to cook through.



[ts]
Now, don't be alarmed, but the black portion of the bangus bellies is their fat. Well, actually, it's just a thin membrane covering their fat, which is a white color. Some people love that fish fat part.

I chopped one more tomato for garnish and to add a fresher tomato dimension to the dish.



[js]
The bangus belly à la bistek was a hit!

We all loved the sweet onion half-rings, the tender fish, and that unmistakeable scent and flavour of kalamansi.

[ts]
In fact, I think I may prefer bistek made with bangus now, rather than with beef. That intoxicating aroma of calamansi shines through much truer and cleaner here. Also, I found that I didn't need to add any sugar whatsoever to this dish (an ingredient I use when making beef bistek).



[ts]
Actually, I think I just love the combination of onions and calamansi (with a hint of soy sauce). I actually dispensed with eating the bangus most of the time, just loading up my plate with the onions!

[js]
Thank you, Auntie V, for the bangus bellies filling up our bellies!

[ts]
We still have one more onion dish in mind; hopefully we'll have time to make that one.

Other dishes with bangus (milkfish)
Bulalo and Bangus: an even Simpler Filipino Meal
Sardinas na Bangus (Milkfish in the style of Sardines)

Recipe
Bangus Belly à la Bistek (Milkfish Belly with Onions, Calamansi and Soy Sauce)
adapted from the "Fish Belly Bistek" recipe on the back of Sarangani Bay Boneless Milkfish Belly package

1 kg boneless milkfish bellies
6-12 cloves garlic, sliced/chopped
2 large onions, sliced
1 medium tomato, large dice
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons calamansi juice
1/4 cup water
salt & black pepper

Divide sliced onions into two parts: some onions will be very wilted, while others will retain more "crunch".

In a pan or pot, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté garlic until golden brown. Add one part of the sliced onions and cook until just wilted or until caramelized, your choice. Add the tomato and cook for about a minute.

Add soy sauce, calamansi juice and water. Add the bangus bellies and the remaining onions. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat. Cover the pot and simmer until the fish is cooked through. Adjust seasoning (salt and pepper).

Serve with white rice.

**Feel free to substitute the bangus with another type of fish, preferably a fatty fish like mackerel or sardines.

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eatingclub vancouver Weekend Wokking posts:
Ravioli "Caprese": Tomato, Basil, Bocconcini
Eggplant "Clafouti"
Bibingka
Pumpkin Congee w/ Pumpkin "Beignets" & Sesame-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese w/ Pipián Verde
Adobo Mushroom Tart
Duck and Orange Crêpes with Orange-White Wine Sauce
Almond Eggplant "Bisteeya" (Bastilla)
"Mashed Potato Beef Burger" (Red-skinned Potato Salad in Taiwanese Sacha Cheeseburger)
Korean Soybean Sprouts Pancake (Kongnamul Jeon)
Lemon Chamomile Tiramisu
Cilantro Horchata
Strawberry Cilantro Salsa, on Grilled Flank Steak
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Clear Oxtail Soup with Corn, Cabbage and Potatoes
Beijing Pickled Cabbage
Salsa Romesco ("Queen of the Catalan Sauces!")
Aguadito de Pollo (Peruvian Chicken Soup)
Bangus Belly à la Bistek (Milkfish Belly with Onions, Calamansi and Soy Sauce)
White Pork with Garlic Sauce, Two Ways (蒜泥白肉)
Mr. Zheng's Soupy Tomatoes and Eggs with Tofu (蕃茄雞蛋跟豆腐)
Steamed Fish and Tofu with Chinese Black Beans
Spinach and Cheese with Puff Pastry, Three Ways

We're submitting this recipe to Weekend Wokking, a world-wide food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks celebrating the multiple ways we can cook one ingredient.

The host this month is Christine of Kits Chow.

If you would like to participate or to see the secret ingredient, check who's hosting next month.

Check out all Weekend Wokking Roundups.