Warning: the story of the origin of this dish is a tad nasty, but it has to be told. In case you cannot stomach such morbidity, please skip the proceeding paragraphs and go straight to the recipe below.

Okay, you’re still reading this, so I presume you have a huge appetite for adventure or probably you just don’t really care. Either way, I congratulate you for having great tolerance and unwavering courage in discovering the truth behind the everyday food that we greedily devour. Give yourself…er…a pat on the back!

Seriously, Chicken Talunan, as the name suggests, are “supposedly” fighting cocks who have lost their battles during cockfights. Talunan is a Filipino word that literally translates to defeated or in a more demeaning term — loser. In short, the chicken meat used in preparing this dish traditionally comes from cocks who are defeated or who died because of the fight. I don’t really know how cockfights are being played, (and, personally, I’m not a supporter of the game), but I presume the losing cock would go to the winner. That is when the dish Chicken Talunan was born.

That wasn’t much of an icky introduction, was it? Actually, if I’m not mistaken, the same term is also used for defeated horses. But that’s another story altogether.

Anyway, the meat in our Chicken Talunan recipe did not come from the battle ring, thank God. We bought them straight from the supermarket. The way it is prepared is so easy probably because it is meant to be a quick meal to be served immediately during victory celebration after winning the cockfight. In other words, as a pulutan.

The way Chicken Talunan is prepared is like a combination of Adobo and Paksiw, except that it has ginger and the meat is not fried in oil. Right, some Paksiw recipes have ginger, but your argument is still irrelevant. Fast and easy, it is almost a one-step recipe because the ingredients are dumped in all at once.

Try it out yourself at home without learning how to cockfight. I just hope you haven’t lost your appetite yet. Here’s the recipe for Chicken Talunan:

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In keeping with its commitment to promoting student leadership, the University of the Philippines Junior Marketing Association and DZUP would like to invite all food concessionaires and food lovers to join its Entrepreneurial Project for the semester entitled COCINA: The best food experience in the metro — an outdoor food bazaar for a cause which will happen on 18 August 2011, 9am to 10pm, at the UP Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman Campus. The much-awaited food event will feature 30-50 stalls of culinary diversity.

Profits from the event will go to K.I.D.S. (Kids Integrated Development through Schooling) which will provide educational assistance for 25 less fortunate but deserving children. » Read the rest of this entry «

Filipinos love soups. We enjoy them as it is, or we mix them with our rice to add moist and texture. When I was a kid, I remember eating a bowl of rice overflowing in warm soup of Nilaga or Sinigang – types of pork, beef, or seafood stews. One of my favorite soup dishes is called Misua Bola-bola or Meat ball soup with Misua Noodles, and you can easily prepare this dish at home using today’s recipe.

Misua noodles originated from China which we inherited through its culinary influence in the country.  Unlike rice vermicelli (bihon), which is made from rice, misua is made from wheat flour. These are very thin, white noodles that are very delicate and easily break when raw. You can buy them from your nearest sari-sari store (variety store), public market, or supermarket.

Misua Bola-bola is also known in some parts of the country as Almondigas. Because some recipes of Almondigas use rice vermicelli instead of misua, we will call it Misua Bola-bola to make a distinction. Besides, that how we call it back home in Malabon.

Perfect for rainy days, enjoy a warm bowl of Misua Bola-bola as a main dish, an appetizer, or as an afternoon snack. I still prefer the childish way by mixing it with my rice. It reminds me of the good old days.

I divided the recipe into two parts: the first one is how to prepare the meatballs; the last one is for the soup. Check the recipe below:

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Before we begin cooking, let me tell you briefly what happened last Sunday.

I had the chance to portray one of my dream jobs — to be a cook show host, hah! Well, I didn’t exactly host a show. But I got the chance to prepare a sumptuous meal in front of a live audience during Clara Ole‘s Share Eat! event in celebration of Joy of Eating at the Mercato Centrale in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

I wasn’t alone during my short cooking stint though. Renowned chef and food stylist Chef Eugene Raymundo was there with me who performed cooking demos using Clara Ole products, together with Appetite Magazine‘s Editor-in-Chief Nina Daza-Puyat who introduced Clara Ole to us.

Chef Eugene Raymundo

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Aah, rainy days. It’s Saturday morning. No work. Too lazy to get up. You just nonchalantly decide to spend your entire day under the warmth of your blanket. Or perhaps, you just sit carelessly on your couch, watch your favorite old movie on DVD or maybe read that book you haven’t touched since you bought it from the thrift shop last year. What else could be more pleasant than these?

A cup of coffee?

A hefty serving of sopas?

What about a nice warm bowl of tasty and gratifying Chicken Arroz Caldo, no? Now we’re talking.

Arroz Caldo is a Spanish phrase which literally translates to “rice broth.” It has many names: rice porridge, congee, lugaw…the list goes on. It’s a common merienda/minandal (snack) in the Philippines which can be served both in the morning or mid-afternoon. I’m almost sure there’s always a gotohan (a casual restaurant; an eatery that serves a variety of meals especially rice congee) within your neighborhood that serves this. Okay, maybe not. However, since this meal includes chicken and rice, a staple food in many Asian countries, it is a complete meal by itself which can actually be served any time of the day.

The recipe below is a plain Chicken Arroz Caldo dish. There are a number of side dishes that you can serve this with. You can enjoy Chicken Arroz Caldo with hard-boiled egg, lumpia (or sumpia as we call it in Malabon which is commonly known as Spring Roll), tokwa’t baboy (fried tofu and pork), etc., and your common condiments would be patis (fish sauce), pepper, calamansi, soy sauce with vinegar, garlic, and onion.

Hey, you want it, right? Then get up and start cooking! Here’s the recipe for Chicken Arroz Caldo:

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