My BFFs

Getting older, I find it hard to make new friends. We all have BFFs that we can call to ask silly things like would it be cool to wear black shoes with brown pants, or what should one do if the recipe calls for buttermilk and you're fresh out and too lazy to go to the store. I also have this one dear friend that no matter how long time has lapsed since the last time I saw her, we start back into conversation like we just spoke yesterday.

So, when I recently met a new friend, it's hard to believe that she falls under the category of BFF in such a short time. Another thing I love about my new friend is she is just as adventurous about cooking as I am. Take for instance, this recipe for pancit palabok. It's a filipino dish, which I thought, was in the same category as marshmallows. You know, you don't make it, you just buy it at the store! It has a bunch of components, and I've had it at restaurants and the red color of the sauce always mystified me. Come to find out, it's just a little annatto or achuete seeds and primarily used, surprise, to color dishes.

We enjoyed the pancit palabok tonight, and I've packed a few 'baon'-sized dishes for my new filipino friends. Guess what you're having for dinner, Penny? Oh, and yes, indeed you can stay home as long as you have milk and a small splash of white vinegar. Enjoy!

Pancit Palabok

My friend, Tess, serves this dish deconstructed, which allows to put on as much or as little toppings as one wishes.

1 pkg rice sticks or bihon

Sauce

2 tsp annatto or achuete seeds

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb lean pork, grounded

1/2 pkg firm tofu, lightly fried and diced in small pieces

1 lb shrimp, head and peel on

3 tbsp cornstarch

fish sauce to taste

Toppings

3 eggs, hard-boiled, sliced

3 stalks of green onions, sliced thinly

1 small pkg pork rinds, grounded

1 lemon, sliced

Prep

Soak annatto seeds in 3 tbsp warm water. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 3 tbsp water, set aside. Peel and devein shrimp and reserve peel, including shrimp heads. Reserve peeled raw shrimp. Place shrimp heads and peel, and pound on a mortar and pestle. Once pounded, place in a bowl, add 3 cups of water, and strain. Discard shrimp peel. Reserve shrimp broth. Ok, I know that seems daunting, so if you want a shortcut, you can buy Knorr shrimp bouillon cubes, and it will probably do the same trick.

Sauce

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add ground pork, and cook until brown, about 7 minutes. Drain oil, if needed. Add cubed tofu. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Strain annatto seeds, add red liquid to shrimp broth, discard seeds. Add the shrimp broth, or if using shrimp bouillon, add 3 cups water (with annatto liquid) and 3 bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil. Add fish sauce to taste. Once boiled, simmer for 5 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture a little at a time to thicken the sauce. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes and let rest.

Toppings

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Place peeled shrimp in boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until cooked. Drain immediately and run under cold water to stop cooking process. Cut the shrimp in half vertically and place in a serving bowl. Arrange the eggs, green onions, pork rinds, and lemon in the same fashion.

Noodles

Soak noodles for 15 minutes to soften, drain. Add noodles to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes, drain well.

Finish

Place a portion of noodles on a plate and ladle the sauce on top of the noodles. Place a few pieces of the topping over the sauce and give the dish a lemon squeeze to complete. Delicious!

Roots

I'm a girl with a few regrets, but one that I wished I had done when younger is to watch my mother cook filipino food. My sisters and I frequent filipino restaurants, some fancy, some not so much. But after every meal, one of my sisters will inevitably comment, "mom makes it better!"

My mom still cooks, but not as often. These days, I wait patiently for a trip to Los Angeles or the Bay area to experience good filipino cooking.

I can cook most anything, why not try making my own filipino food? I think the problem is I am not sure how to re-create the flavors of the savory dishes. Here's my first attempt of making ginisang munggo. This is a lentil soup dish, with many versions. Some add tinapa, a dried, smoked fish popular on the island, and sometimes pieces of deliciously salty chicharon. A girlfriend mentioned that she tops off the dish with some olive oil and red vinegar. I made mine with pieces of pork belly and shrimp, and topped with spinach.

I often think of my mother's cooking, her meticulous way of preparing her mis en place, how she intuitively knows what comes next, what spice is missing from the pot, and I'm hoping someday, my food will taste just as good as hers.

Ginisang Munggo

1 pkg lentils
1/2 b pork belly, skin removed, diced
1/2 lb shrimp, with head, peeled, deveined, and cut in bite-sized pieces
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tomato, diced
1 bunch spinach, washed and cleaned

Soak lentils overnight. Drain and discard green outer skin. Place lentils in heavy pot with enough water to cover lentil. Cook until lentils are soft, about 25 minutes. Do not drain.

In a medium pan, place pork belly with a cup of water. Bring to a boil, and simmer until cooked. Once all the water evaporates, and if there is not much pork fat rendered, add a teaspoon or two of cooking oil to brown the meat. Remove the cooked pork and set aside.

In the same pan, drain all oil except for 2 tablespoons. In medium heat, saute the garlic, followed by the onions. Once the onion is wilted, add the tomatoes, for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 2-3 minutes. Add the lentils including liquid. Let it come to a boil. Simmer for another 5 minutes, add the spinach, then cover. Take off the heat and season with fish sauce. Enjoy!