Cheesy Pinoy Lasagna

Cheesy Pinoy Lasagna. This is my version of a cheesy Pinoy lasagna which is made up a meat sauce similar to the Pinoy spaghetti. The white sauce is made up of generous amount of cheddar cheese that most of us love. The lasagna thickness defends with the dishpan to be used. You may use a couple of smaller dish and adjust accordingly on the amount of layer ingredient. Here is the recipe of my Pinoy version of lasagna.



Ingredients:

1/2 kilo lasagna pasta, cooked as per package instructions
butter

Meat Sauce:
1 kilo ground lean beef
6 to 8 pieces hotdog, finely diced
1 large size bell pepper, finely diced
1 big can mushroom, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 small size carrot, finely diced
1 medium size onion, finely diced
1/2 head garlic, finely chopped
4 250g/packet tomato sauce
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper

White Sauce:
1 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups evaporated milk
3 180g/blocks cheddar cheese, grated

Cheese Topping:
1 180g/block cheddar cheese, grated






Cooking Procedure:

To cook the meat sauce, in a big saucepan sauté garlic and onion until fragrant, add in the ground meat and stir cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Add in the tomato sauce and hotdog, continue to stir cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add all the vegetables and sugar, stir cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When done remove from heat and keep aside.

To cook the white sauce, in a medium size sauce pan heat and melt the butter in low to moderate heat. Stir in the cornstarch until fully blended. Stir in the milk and continue to cook stirring occasionally until almost boiling. Now stir in the cheese and cook stirring occasionally until melted and fully blended. When done keep warm, keep aside.

To bake the pasta, coat a rectangular pyrex dish with butter. Arrange the pasta sheets at the bottom. Add in a layer of meat sauce over the pasta sheets. Then pour in a layer of the white sauce. Now arrange the second layer of pasta, meat sauce and white sauce until a total of 4 layers is formed. Top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 350°F to 375°F for 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool down for about 5 minutes before serving.

Soup No. 5, Lanciao

Soup No. 5, Lanciao is the infamous soup dish made up of bull male organs believed to have aphrodisiac properties. This claims of course come from those who are regularly eating the soup dish. Pardon to our Chinese readers as lanciao is a dirty word in Hoikien but that’s how they call the dish in Cebu and some parts of the Visayas. I will not discuss whether the dish possess aphrodisiac properties or not for the reasons that I do not have personal knowledge or information to back my opinion, you may post your reactions and comments though.

To prepare the dish you will need buy a pack of Soup #5 set, I bought it from South Supermarket. You will need also a couple of sliced oxtail with skin on, this will add some flavours to the dish. And lastly in addition to the other usual Pinoy aromatic ingredients you will need sibot, a mix of Chinese herbs use in cooking beef or chicken soup. The bull organ set has to be pre-boiled for 5 to 10 minute drain and wash off the scum. The slow cooked for several hours this could take at least 6 hours. Here is the recipe of my version of Soup No. 5, Lanciao, Happy Valentine’s to everyone.

Ingredient:



1 kilo soup no. 5 set
2 slices oxtail, skin on
1 small packet sabot mix herb
1 whole garlic
1/2 head garlic, chopped
1 thumb size ginger, cut into slivers
1 thumb size ginger, cut into thin strips
2 large size onion, quartered
1 medium size onion, chopped
1 tbsp. peppercorns
1 small bundle spring onion chopped
1/4 cup fish sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking procedure:



Clean and wash the bull organ and oxtail, place in a large pot. Pour enough water to cover meat bring to a boil and let boil for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and discard water, wash off all scum from the meat and return to the pot. Pour fresh water to cover meat at about 2 inches. Add in the whole garlic, sliced ginger, quartered onion peppercorns and sabot mix herb. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 to 6 hours at low to moderate heat. Add more water as necessary. When done remove pot from heat separate the broth from the meat. Using a sieve strain off all solid residue from the broth. Discard residue and keep aside broth. Slice the bull organ and oxtail into thin slices. Discard oxtail bones. In sauce pan sauté chopped garlic, ginger and onion. Add in the sliced meats and continue to stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the fish sauce and stir cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add in the reserved broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the chopped spring onion and cook for another minute. Serve piping hot.

Kinilaw na Blue Marlin with Green Tomatoes

Kinilaw na Blue Marlin with Green Tomatoes, I have first tasted this during my work assignments in Davao ages ago. I have then tasted countless version of kinilaw with tomatoes, tomatoes in kinilaw na isda is common in the Visayas and Mindanao, in fact I already made a post of Kinilaw na Tanguigi na may Kamatis (I used ripe red tomatoes on that version). On today’s post of kinilaw I used green to red tomatoes and of course inspired by the Visayan version. I added semi riped tomatoes for color appeal for my version instead of the all green tomatoes. The ginger and onion where chopped coarsely which is how the Visayan version is prepared. Similar to my other kinilaw versions I do not usually squeeze out the juices from the fish, a vinegar soak and rinse is all that is needed. Here how I made my Kinilaw na Blue Marlin with Green Tomatoes.



Ingredients:

1/2 kilo blue marlin, cut into large cubes, skin removed
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
2 thumb size ginger, sliced then chopped
3 medium size onion, chopped
3 green tomatoes, chopped into large chunks
2 unripe orange/red tomatoes, chopped into large chunks
2-4 red hot chili, chopped
2-3 green long chili, sliced
6-8 kalamansi
salt and pepper

Method:



In a big bowl place the vinegar and toss in the fish, let stand for 5 to 10 minutes while preparing the other ingredients. Using a sieve drain the vinegar from the fish (do not squeeze) and return fish to the bowl add in all the chopped ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze over the juices of the kalamansi over and toss until fully mixed. Chill in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes or before serving.

See other kinilaw recipe:
Kinilaw na Pusit
Kinilaw na Malasugi
Kinilaw na Talaba
Kinilaw na Dilis
Kinilaw na Tanguige
Kinilaw na Tanguige na may Kamatis
Kinilaw na Lato
Kinilaw na Pusit (Cuttlefish)

Guinataang Alimasag at Malungay

Guinataang Alimasag at Malungay. Malungay leaves are one of the most nutritious vegetables that is enjoyed by most Pinoys. A lot of cooking innovations about the use of malungay in Pinoy cooking have been carried out. The lowly malungay have been used from bread products to drinks. Today this might not be new, I used malungay leaves instead of the usual vegetables used in my previous version of Guinataang Alimasag and instead of using green jackfruit on my Guinataang Langka na may Alimasag. The combination was sure hit and I have no hesitation to recommend to everyone who has access to fresh malungay leaves, I am sure frozen malungay leaves will do if fresh leaves is not available. Here is the recipe of my Guinataang Alimasag at Malungay.



Ingredients:

1 kilo crabs (blue or green crabs)
3-4 cups malungay leaves
1/2 head garlic chopped
1 medium size onion chopped
2 thumb size ginger, cut into strips
3 cups pure coconut milk
2-3 hot red chili, chopped
3-4 green long chili
2 tbsp. fish sauce
salt to taste
cooking oil



Cooking procedure:

Remove belly flap and trim legs of each crab wash and drain. Cut each crabs at mid-section in half set aside. In a large pot sauté garlic, ginger and onion until fragrant. Add 1 cup of the pure coconut milk and 1 1/2 cup of water bring it to a boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the crabs, red chili, green chili and fish sauce, continue to cook at moderate to low heat and continuously stirring for 5 to 8 minutes or until the crabs are cooked. Remove the crabs from the pot and keep aside. Add in the remaining coconut milk let boil and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the coconut milk is reduce to about half. Add in the malungay leaves and continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Correct saltiness if required. Now add in the crabs and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with a lot of rice.




See other related crab in coconut milk recipes:
Guinataang Langka na may Alimasag
Crab con Kalabasa
Guinataang Alimasag

Kinilaw na Pusit

Kinilaw na Pusit. My version of kinilaw na pusit is basically the same with kinilaw na isda with regards to ingredients. The only difference was I blanched the squid with boiling water for about half a minute to reduce the fishiness. I still remember during the times when I was working Offshore on Oil Rig Construction Work Barges in India. The waters where the Natural Gas Fields of India is where literally full of squid at night time when the squids are in season, they were attracted by the Work Barge lights. We were fishing the by the buckets in quantity. Our Chinese (Malaysian and Singaporean) colleagues would just dip the squid in boiling water (after cleaning) to enjoy them, the squids are deliciously fresh crunchy and sweet. I based my version of kinilaw na pusit with that experience. To make the dish I removed the skin of each squid, discarded the innards and keep aside the head and tentacles for other use. For presentation purposes I also scribes diagonal cut at the inner surface of the squid meat hoping it will beautifully curls during the boiling water blanch. Blanched the squid meat then drained and immediately transferred to a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process. Tossed with the kinilaw ingredients and I have a wonderful kinilaw dish. Here is the recipe of mu version of Kinilaw na Pusit, bring out the beers and enjoy.



Ingredients:

1 kilo large squid
2 medium size onion, finely diced
1 thumb size ginger, finely diced/minced
2-3 hot red chili, chopped
1/4 cup white vinegar
4-6 kalamansi
salt and pepper to taste
ice cubes

Method:

Remove skin, innards, head and the plastic like backbone/membrane of each squid. Cut open the squid along its body length and thoroughly rinse and drain. Using a small sharp knife make diagonal cuts at the inner surface on the meat, keep aside. Half fill a sauce pan with water let it boil, in the meantime place the ice cubes in a big bowl and half fill with cold water. When the water is boiling vigorously turn off the stove, drop the squid on to the boiling water stir a few times and let blanch for about half a minute. Using a sieve drain the water, immediately transfer the squid in the iced water to halt the cooking, let cool down for 3 to 5 minutes then drain. Cut the squid in thick strips or in squares. Transfer the squid in a big bowl with the white vinegar toss and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes then drain the vinegar. Now toss in the chopped onion, ginger and chili. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with kalamansi juice and continue to toss. Let chill in the refrigerator for about 5 to 10 minutes or until ready to serve.


See other kinilaw recipe:
Kinilaw na Malasugi
Kinilaw na Talaba
Kinilaw na Dilis
Kinilaw na Tanguige
Kinilaw na Tanguige na may Kamatis
Kinilaw na Lato
Kinilaw na Pusit (Cuttlefish)