PINAUPONG MANOK (Chicken Steamed “By” A Bed of Salt). No water…nothing…just salt.

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PINAUPONG MANOK
( Chicken Steamed “By” a Bed of Salt)
Fad of the year is geared unto “Hainanese Type” chicken dish.
For such, I particularly love the offering of
Wee Nam Kee-Raffles Ave., Singapore ONLY
(click for resto’s details)
No “hocus pocus”, plainly served-just
concoct your own dip with or without their “oiled ginger”.
With such as my inspiration…this dish is hereby re-activated.
I always take into consideration hectic sked of the workforce.
Learned from my parents, innovated fully to suit
today’s busy bodies, here’s another chicken recipe (Filipino that is)
that anybody can prepare.
Tastier than Hainanese-type, quicker to prepare
and the simplest ingredients ever.
INGREDIENTS:
MAIN:
1 kilo fully cleaned chicken, neck, feet & innards removed
and, if possible, skin still intact
2-3 kilos rough sea salt (steaming pan dependent)
2 packets of Knorr or Maggi “Sinigang Mix” (tamarind soup base)
GARNISH:
1 small sliced carrot
1 small sliced cucumber
1 small bunch onion leaves or celery stalks (optional)
DIPPING SAUCE:
1 small cut of ginger, de-skinned, grated
20 ml. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
40 ml. soy sauce
10 ml. calamansi juice
10 grams “chili-garlic sauce” (optional)
(for chili-garlic recipe click here)
PROCEDURES:
1.   Covering all parts inside and outside,
rub chicken with “Sinigang Mix”. Set aside.
2.   In suitable pan, pour in salt
and make at least 2 inches thick layer at the bottom.

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3.Sit in chicken making sure not a part of it touches
the sides of pan. (failing which, burning occurs)
Use its neck or feet as “kalso”  (wedge thing)
under it to ensure chicken sits upwards.
SEE FIRST PIC ABOVE.
4. Heat pan at medium temp and “steam” chicken
for no more than 20 minutes (for very juicy inside) or
up to 25 minutes (for just right medium well state).
Steaming longer will render dryness to poultry.

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5. While waiting heat EVOO, pour in grated ginger and heat for 1 minute. Set aside.
6. And now… oh WOW,  your chicken “steamed via bed of salt” is done.
7. Mix in “calamansi juice”, soy sauce and “chili-garlic sauce” for dip
or grated ginger with soy sauce or whatever…
it’s your rule…your wild…
8. Slice, garnish and serve
your very own style of better than Hainanese poultry.

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NOTE:
Don’t worry about your pan. Just pour in half pan tap water.
Let sit overnight.  Post cleaning, it will again be
“spick and span”.
A lot of variations can be applied to this recipe.
You wanna know?
Ask me. Click here.

Pork Shu-Mai (The Health-Centered Formulation).

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PORK SHU-MAI
(The Health-Centered Formulation)
The process deviates from the usual, which incorporates cubes of fat (pork and/or beef),
mainly to soften bite-effect of all-lean meat
and also to render juiciness to overall profile of the end product.
In lieu of said fat, grated healthy veggies are utilized to simulate “moist” outcome
plus the careful addition of just right & proper ingredients
technologically resulting to rounded-tasteful dim sum.
Behold the shu-mai packed with health-centered ingredients.
Ingredients:
(1 kilo outcome making 50 pieces of 20 grams per piece)500 grams ground all lean pork (zero fat-from ham part)
50 grams grated carrots
50 grams grated turnip (“singkamas”)
50 grams grated “sayote”
3 grams fine salt
10 grams cane sugar
2 grams ground black pepper
45 grams Shiitake or button mushroom, soaked in mushroom water for an hour,
drained and cut to small pieces
30 grams tapioca starch
15 ml. low-sodium soy sauce
15 ml. oyster sauce
230 ml. water (for soaking mushroom)
50 pieces shu-mai wrapper
Note on wrapper:
Major supermarkets sell shu-mai or siomai wrappers
which are thinner than those for dumpling.
Round ones are better. Squares can be cut on edges to make them circular.
Chili Garlic Dipping Sauce:
100 grams crushed-chopped fresh garlic
100 grams crushed chopped “labuyo” (bird’s eye chili pepper)
20 ml. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
low-sodium soy sauce
calamansi or lemon
black beans – optional
Cooking Media:
Steamer
Water
Brush
EVOO
Suitable small pan
Tongs
Procedures:
1.    Combine ground pork, carrots, turnip, “sayote”, mushroom and water.
This is the “meat blend”. Tumble and mix well by hand. Set aside.
2.    Combine low-sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar and black pepper in a bowl
and whisk thoroughly to dissolve solid ingredients until smooth.
3.    Scatter mixture in all parts of “meat blend”
for uniform flavor dissemination when tumbled and tossed by hands.
Tumble thoroughly.
4.    Place a wrapper at palm of one hand, scoop 20 or so grams and wrap to your desired form.
5.    When done refrigerate formed shu-mai for an hour to attain firmness.
6.    Heat EVOO, fry garlic until brown, add in “labuyo”
and continue frying for 3 minutes to attain a “toasted” profile.
Pour in soy sauce. Bring to boil then set aside.
7.    IF STEAMING: Boil enough tap water in a steamer.
Line refrigerated shu-mai in steamer’s slotted top container.
Steam for 6 minutes. Remove by using rubber spatula.
Note on steaming process:
Should you wish, you may use brush to apply little oil
unto slotted container for easier removal.
8.    IF DEEP FRYING: Heat EVOO in pan and deep fry a batch of shu-mai (4-6 pieces)
for 3-4 minutes depending on desired done-ness.
Use tongs to turn dim sum.
9.    In a dipping container mix soy sauce with desired amount of fried chili-garlic,
squeeze in 1 or 2 pieces calamansi. Mix.
10.Savour the luxury of home-made shu-mai.

Complete your technological cooking adventure
by using “chopsticks” in partaking each and every piece of shu-mai.
Doing so adds excitement to your meal.

HOTOTAY SOUP (the more technological cooking approach).

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HOTOTAY SOUP
(The More Technological Cooking Approach)
HOTOTAY Soup is typically of Chinese kitchen origin fully accepted by Pinoys to be part of their own.
Modifications are introduced into it converting the “new version” as that of modifying-region’s native recipe.
I grew up knowing and hearing my old folks talked about HOTOTAY as an
“energy boosting meal”.
Being full of healthy ingredients, it was (or still is) served to women who had newly given birth,
or to people who just came from sick-bed and wished to recuperate faster
or to any one wishing to partake healthy meal.
I believe (IMHO) it was the inspiration behind the concoction of “Iloilo’s Batchoy”,
the “Lomi” of Batangas and the now very popular…
”TANTANMEN Noodle”.
Allow me to deal on these at the end.
The recipe herein detailed spells the different stages of its prep
creating a dish full of extracted flavor and taste rounded-ness
without the “bara-bara” dousing of millions of ingredients.
(wanton and blindfolded addition of un-needed materials)
I did not add fresh egg at the last-for I have a different idea how to offer it.
Other raw mats like: mushrooms, garlic, green onion leaves, oyster sauce etc.
are optional and dependent unto your call.
Let’s start this real health-focused complete dish.
Good for 2 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
Pork:
¼ kilo all-lean. Boil to tenderness in 500 ml. tap water added with
2 grams fine salt &
2 grams ground black pepper
Once done, remove from broth cut to cubes.
Broth will be used as the main soup later.
Chicken:
1 small breast, de-boned and cubed.
Shrimp:
6 pieces,  head & tail cut, de-shelled, de-veined.
Pork Liver:
100 grams, sliced.

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Egg:
1 piece, scrambled, fried, sliced thinly.
Veggies:
100 grams sliced cabbage
50 grams cubed “sayote”
50 grams sliced carrots
1 medium white onion sliced roundedly
2 bunches cleaned “baby bok choy” or Chinese Pechay, end joint-stalk cut

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Other Ingredients:
10 ml. “patis” (fish sauce)
15 ml. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2 grams fine salt
2 grams ground black pepper
3 ml. sesame oil
PROCEDURES:
(for truer flavor rounded-ness, please follow the sequence closely)
1. In suitable pan, fry chicken cubes in heated EVOO. Toss & tumble until brown-about 5-8 minutes or to desired done-ness. (this process fries & cooks the chicken to palatability).
2. Add in boiled lean pork, carrots, “sayote”, sprinkle salt & pepper on top. Continue tossing for 5 minutes. (this cooks the otherwise tough carrots & “sayote” while disseminating to the whole batch the flavor of seasoned-boiled taste of pork while, also, all tossed ingredients absorb salt & pepper)
3. Add in white onion, shrimp and liver. Tumble for 2 minutes. (almost last stage of sautéing as onion, shrimp & liver are softer & cook easily)
4. Add ½ of “patis”. Continue mixing well. (salt renders saltiness in full while “patis” shares off little saltiness & full seafood-or fish- flavor).
5. Set aside.

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6. Summon the pork broth and bring to boil.
7. Once boiling, pour in cabbage and “baby bok choy”.
8. Add in remaining ½ of “patis” and cook veggies in boiling broth for 15 seconds. (over boiling green veggies will render “un-palatable sight” to dishes.
9. Pour unto desired serving bowl, arrange veggies and meat to be “desirably sumptuous to the eyes”.
10. Scatter sliced scrambled egg…pour in sesame oil.
11. Enjoy the bliss of healthy offering.
NOTES:
1. I did not add mushroom pieces. It’s your choice.
Should you wish, you can add such together with the batch of onion, shrimp etc.
2. I did not add garlic and green onion leaves as doing so
will make the HOTOTAY tastes like “MAMI”. But again, your choice.
3. Oyster sauce (IMHO) will render the dish a “stew” like profile and NOT  “soup”.
VARIATIONS POSSIBLE:
1. Add in boiled noodles, “chicharon crumbs”, fried garlic & sliced green onion leaves on top will make it…like…
LA PAZ BATCHOY.
2. Change pork into fried ground beef (with little of its oil), add noodles of your choice
and top with green onion leaves’ slices for…the now very famous…
TANTANMEN NOODLE SOUP.

Resto review: the newest most publicized dimsum & seafood house is NOTHING. My #1 is still Gloria Maris (Unimart-Greenhills Branch)…as of yet.

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Ash wednesday, served as non-salaried driver to Pangs & daughter Cha for her upcoming wedding’s  “kutsi-kutsi”
(small-tiny-little motif things) shopping at Divisoria (bargain hunters’ paradise in mid-Manila City),
thus, opportunity to test the most touted “newest” dimsum & seafood house in one of the complexes.
My usual routine of: let them roam around while I sit by the coffee house tickling my tablet, in fact,
geared my tummy to rumble-beg for simple snack.
Really wonder why?
Instead of adhering to my craving, decided to wait for them and head on to this new site.
Okidok, they got down tired and hungry.
Ordered the “set” of dimsum which will spell whether theirs are at par-better-or best as of yet.
This “set”, in all of my trials, is the simplest to produce.
Being so, makes it easier for the cook (or the owners themselves) to “extend” the raw materials being used
to either: jack-up gross profit or cope up with increased raw mat prices.
These are my parameters.
Verdict: (left to right-clockwise)
1. Pork spareribs:
A bit bland, though tender, due to abundant broth & just little of sesame oil. Economy dictates the cook to do so.
The presence of sliced red & green bell peppers added to “looks” but never to overall feature.
Gloria Maris’ & Le Ching’s (Greenhills), still, are fine with me.
2. Beancurd roll:
Similar to eating fried vegetable “lumpia” (Filipinos’ vegetable roll). Difference, they are in beancurd sheets & sauced
with corn starch thickened broth-soy sauce-sugar blend. Veggies galore. Again, economy dictated.
Sauce had no taste at all.
Still, Gloria Maris for me. Second is: Luk Foo-Puregold Commonwealth which uses a chunk of seasoned-boiled chicken,
mushroom, julliened carrots & radish (or is it turnip?) then with similar above sauce blend but with added “pineapple
juice”.
3. My favorite SIOMAI:
We’ve been in varieties of high-end siomai making since 1998 and I know this product by heart. This is the culprit, not by
itself but by crews producing them, for the “anemic” presence of hair in my head now. Whew!
WOW, really bland. The whitish appearance of (supposedly) pork meat (were they in fact pork?) makes me conclude: this
is NOT pork meat or if it so…could be 20-40% only in that formulation served to us. Chicken MDM (Mechanically De-
boned Meat)? “Sayote”? Boiled radish? What? No pork taste in its entirety. Got to crack my brain with this.
No taste at all. A tinge of sesame oil & saltiness head up to your palate, but tapioca starch dominates the texture.
That is the very reason for that “calamansi” (Phil. lemon), soy sauce & chili garlic dip in front. Dip it babe! Get some
taste. Don’t leave it un-consumed. Many are dying of hunger. Finish it. No matter how devilishly against your will.
YES Sir will do!
Gloria Maris…still, with Le Ching (Greenhills) on second.
Compared to ours? Get down here…you decide.
4. Chicken feet:
Feet not so engorged. Very thin which is why they covered the pieces with abundant tomato sauce concoction.
Taste is normal. Bamboo per serve carrier is DIRTY. Check the pic.
Le Ching’s is better with its simple sesame oil, garlic sauce.
Economy may be the main parameter for those servings.
More so you get % discount if you engage with them in certain hours.
NOT THE POINT. YOU ARE NEW. YOU’RE INTRODUCING YOURSELF TO THE MARKET.
IT’S BUSINESS ETHICS & INSTINCT THAT YOU OFFER THE BEST
AT FIRST FEW CALCULATED ENCOUNTERS.
After the desired following, then work yourself down thereabouts
Never again. Sorry. Not worth my time & money.
BTW, for noodles, my still #1 is Luk Foo (Puregold Commonwealth).
Be it seafood or all meat, I always leave  a bit for our (me & my wife’s) take home for other day’s consumption.

Fresh technologically innovated regional sausages ready for action.

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When you’re a plain copycat you hit for the moon with no-brainer approaches
in trying to duplicate (or at least approximate) a recipe or a concoction that had established loyal following.
You wish to ride-on to the “popularity” of what you’re copying.
Less expenses (this is with burning hope and fervent prayer that you hit it right IMMEDIATELY),
less effort, instant ride-on to popularity & less usage of brain.
Almost always, copiers (or we call them xerox-ers) are just passing scenes.
They do not stay long as their explicit & implicit knowledge are limited.
In contrast, “innovators” or “modifiers” are those with affluent stock of facts,
trial results & years of experience back-ups in their heads.
Their knowledge in food, its ingredients and production flow implemented thereby
capacitates them to pinpoint the “absence”, “lack” or “over/under ingredient-ized”
of “whatever” in the product they are working on.
Instantly knowing a certain, “lack”, for instance, in a food product,
enables the “innovator” to know what to:
substitute therein,
increase or decrease usage level thereof,
modify the production procedure(s) to give way to desired taste or presentation result(s)
and the MOST important…render the needed “TOTALITY” & ROUNDNESS” of flavor aspired for.
This is the case of real and authentic less expenses, less effort and direct to the point,
MAKING IT AN ART...”innovation” that is.
Though “innovation” has a tinge of copying, the objective that inspired the 2 types differs:
in plain copying
…the main objective is instant sales-instant profit.
in innovation
…the main objective is to improve-self satisfaction-achievement rolled into one.
Further explanation of both and a lot more “ins” & “outs” in food innovation & creation
are happening this year…with the launch of:
MANILA Q’s
Ingredients Specialization Institute
where right & proper usages of ingredients are primary,
technological cooking procedures, secondary
“plating”, thirdly
and
“product consistency”, last but the most important.(Currently sounding off prospective first batch so we would know
lecture, on hand product manufacturing and cooking facilities needed).
Write up your intent and/or inquiry:
jdamor@joaxingredients.net    or   productdevelopment@manilaq.net)
…and again…
MASTERY of INGREDIENTS…the key.
There are 4 types of regional sausage recipes in this shot.
Pardon the almost similarity in color as
WE DO NOT UTILIZE ARTIFICIAL COLOR AGENTS in our products.
1. Post-like standing 3: our LooQ Ban Longaniza
(the pure pork spice-rich collagen-cased version inspired by Lucban sausage in southern Luzon)
2. 6 pieces in front: our BEEF Tu Tey Longaniza
(the 100% pure US cattle beef sweet-beginning-to-piquant-ending modification of Batutay of Nueva Ecija)
3. the recognizable 2 pieces in the middle (which are actually 3): the crowds’ favorite Vigan Longaniza
(also, 100% pure pork infused abundantly with Ilocos garlic, red & black peppers widely popular
in Vigan a city in north Luzon)
4. the not so visible 6 pieces at the back: our Yabis Longaniza
(inspired by the sweet-garlicky-piquant pork sausage of Cebu a city in mid-Philippines, our take…
with full of twists)
Hmmm take a bite.