Bistek Tagalog is one of my all-time favorite Filipino dishes. Bistek is a local version of the very western beef steak, hence the name. What makes it distinct from the western version  is its mild, citrus-y flavor, which is produced by combining the essence of calamansi and the tang of soy sauce. Also, our Bistek is usually thin in slices, compared to the thick chunk of meat and large serving of beef steak.

Beef is the typical meat ingredient, that ‘s why it’s called Bistek. However, you can also use slices of pork, such as pork chops and liempo. I choose pork over beef anytime because I like the taste better, and I try to avoid red meat as much as possible. My favorite cut is liempo, because it’s easier to cook and the meat is more tender and tastier.

When you prepare Bistek, make sure not to overcook the onions to keep them crunchy. The potatoes are optional, but please, include them to your list of ingredients. Who doesn’t like potatoes, anyway? If beef steaks are great with mashed potato, consider this as our alternative.

Continue reading below to get the recipe:

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For our first recipe this year, I decided to share one of my favorite dishes — Adobo Flakes — which is another variation of the popular adobo. This recipe and our version of Adobong Tuyo has a few similarities in flavor. Both dishes exude the distinct aroma and savory of garlic. The big difference is in the texture because Adobo Flakes is shredded.

Another interesting reason why I love this recipe is that you can turn most leftover pork and chicken meat into Adobo Flakes. Your leftover Chicken Tinola or Pork Sinigang can be instantly transformed into this adobo version without the conflicting taste in your mouth. Garlic and vinegar are strong enough to overpower other flavors. Why throw and waste your food if you have ways to save time and money with leftover recipes like this? All you need is a little bit of kitchen prowess and, well,  this recipe.

Adobo Flakes can be served as toppings on rice (or fried rice) or as filling in bread. Add fried egg or salted egg and fresh sliced tomatoes on the side. Prepare it using your weekend leftover food and bring it to your school or office for lunch on Monday. You may now stop wondering how those yummy Adobo Flakes in fancy restaurants are being made. Read on to learn how.

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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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This recipe is probably an exemption to the not-so-strict rules of this blog. I once mentioned in my introduction that I won’t be using canned sauces on my recipes. Everything would be traditional as much as possible, which means no shortcuts. But for obvious reasons, I cannot apply that rule here. And besides, it’s my food blog — I can always break the rules. Hah!

Seriously, the reason is Filipino Style Spaghetti is always prepared with canned tomato sauces. If I use fresh tomatoes (which I do sometimes with olive oil –> yum!) alone, it won’t be Filipino style anymore. Tomatoes are not naturally sweet, at least that’s not how we acquired the taste; It may be too sour for our palate. Hence, we add some sugar and banana catsup to balance the sweet, sour, and savory flavor. Why? Because that’s how we like it! It’s like Spaghetti Bolognese, but sweeter.

So my brother cooked Filipino Style Spaghetti yesterday, Sunday. I took some pictures, but it’s pretty much my own recipe inspired by my Tita‘s. My Lola was not a huge fan of spaghetti. She would rather eat Chinese noodles. Some credits also go to Joe, a college friend, who told me to add milk to the sauce to make it creamier. And, yes, it’s just so much better! If you have kids, I’m sure they will love this one.

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I was home alone most of the day today. I decided to prepare Pork Giniling because the only food I found in the fridge were a kilo of ground pork and a bag of potatoes. I thawed the meat, chopped the potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. I turned the stove on and placed my favorite skillet on top. I then added some oil and started frying the potatoes. I went back to my laptop to check my e-mail and the rest of the Internet.

Then it started to rain.

I love rain. It’s an oasis in the Manila heat. It bathes the entire city while cooling down the air it breathes. I looked outside the window and noticed that there were clothes hanging on the clothesline. I hurriedly ran outside to bring them inside the house. After saving the last piece of clothing from the rain, I smelled a pungent odor coming from the kitchen. My potatoes were burning!

To make the story short, I was able to salvage at least half of the potatoes. The rest were pure charcoal. Good thing I did not chop all the potatoes. But this time, I decided not to leave the kitchen anymore while frying them.

So that’s the most exciting part of my day so far. Anyway, going back to the recipe, Pork Giniling is very important to learn. This is because it is part of the procedure of some other recipes, such as Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelette), Empanada (stuffed bread), and as a palaman (filling) for your sandwiches. Giniling in English translates to “ground,” as in ground pork.

The directions to prepare Pork Giniling is similar to our Pork Menudo recipe. But this one is much simpler and easier to make. Check out the recipe below.

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