At Home with Hippocrene

We're introducing a new feature at Hippocrene Cooks called At Home with Hippocrene. Colette Laroya, our editorial assistant, will periodically try a recipe from our cookbook collection at home and share the results. We hope you enjoy this first edition!

A few months ago I married into a large, loving Filipino family. I had never tasted Filipino food before my husband and I started dating, and I quickly learned to love the staples of family parties: crispy lumpia, pancit, chicken adobo, pork menudo, kare-kare, and leche flan. I astounded them with my love of rice, and the fact that I grew up with the same imported jasmine brand they used. So when it came to deciding which cookbook to try first, I knew it would have to be Fine Filipino Food.

I have spent many hours as an observer over the years, but I had never tried to make the dishes myself. My mother-in-law doesn't cook, so my husband wasn't able to offer any advice. I chose Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk because adobo, as Bartell notes, "could very well be called the national dish of the Philippines" and for its simplicity. I knew the dish was a success when I kept catching my husband taking pieces from the pot!

Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk

(as featured in Fine Filipino Food, page 57)

Serves 4

1 (2-pound) chicken, cut into serving-size pieces

1 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

2 bay leaves

1/2 Tbsp black peppercorns

1 Tbsp raw or brown sugar

1 tsp patis (fish sauce) or 1 tsp salt, or to taste

1 (12-oz) can coconut milk

Directions:

1. Mince the garlic. First remove the brown end of the clove, then crush it under the flat of your knife (I used about 12 medium-sized cloves to make 1/4 cup).

2. Combine the garlic with the vinegar, soy sauce, ground pepper, bay leaves, peppercorns and brown sugar in a non-aluminum 4-quart pot. Aluminum interacts chemically with vinegar and affects the flavor. I used a stainless steel stock pot, but you can also use ceramic, glass, or wrought iron cookingware.

3. Mix well and add in the chicken. I used a chicken breast of the same weight to avoid cutting up a whole chicken. (However, you might have complaints about the lack of drumsticks.) Marinade for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.

4. Place the pot on high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. (This is a good time to start your rice cooker.) You can remove the chicken and broil them 1 to 2 minutes on each side, but I skipped this step in the interest of simplicity. One-pot meals are easy to clean up!

5. Add the patis (or salt) and coconut milk and boil until it has been reduced by half. You'll see it take on lighter, creamier color. Remove the bay leaves. Serve over a bed of rice with the sauce.

The moist, tender chicken stands on its own, but you can round out your meal with steamed broccoli or Jicama Salad (page 41). The crisp jicama is perfect for a light summer salad.

Noche Buena (Christmas Eve Midnight Feast)

Enjoy a few sample recipes from Karen's Filipino Christmas Eve menu for a flavorful evening!

Arroz Caldo Con Pollo Chicken Rice Soup with Ginger
Caldereta Hearty Beef Stew
Paksiw na Lechón Pork Pot Roast in Lechón Sauce
Hamon Chinese Ham
Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Buko Coconut Salad
Yema Egg Balls
Polvoron Powdered Milk Candy
Christmas Cookies
Tsokolate Rich Chocolate Drink
Tangerines
Roasted Chestnuts

Arroz Caldo Con Pollo

Make this comfort food a day ahead to allow the flavors to marry. Besides being traditional Christmas Eve fare, the soup is also a cold remedy.

1/2 cup minced garlic
1 (2-inch) piece ginger, coarsely chopped or squeezed through a garlic press
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1 (2-pound) chicken, cut into serving-size pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or patis (fish sauce)
1/2 cup finely sliced green onions
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

Using a 3-quart pot, sauté 2 tablespoons garlic, the ginger, and onion in 2 tablespoons oil for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the garlic is golden, and the onion is translucent. Add the rice and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add 10 cups water to the rice mixture. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat, add the chicken, and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Add the salt during the final 5 minutes of cooking.

Meanwhile, sauté the remaining garlic in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil until the garlic is a golden brown.

Serve the soup in a preheated tureen. Garnish with the sautéed garlic, green onion rings, and black pepper.
Yields 4 servings.
Note: Patis is a fish sauce used for seasoning nearly every Filipino dish: chicken, beef, pork, fish, shrimp, crabs, and other seafood. However, patis is an acquired taste. A good substitute is rock or iodized salt. Other substitutes for patis are a mixture of soy sauce and freshly squeezed lemon juice or soy sauce and kumquats. Patis is available in Asian supermarkets.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Chicken Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms and Carrots

Serves 4.

½ cup finely sliced chicken
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon rice wine (available at Asian markets)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 cups chicken broth
½ cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
½ cup thinly sliced carrots

Dredge the sliced chicken in the salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Stir-fry in a wok with the rice wine and sesame oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, mushrooms, and carrots, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. This post is a member of the Chinese Father's Day menu series.

Piquant Lime Chicken in Swallow’s Nest

Part two of Karen Hulene Bartell's Chinese Valentine's Day menu for two:

Serves 2.

2 chicken breasts, boned and skinned
3½ tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons water
2 egg yolks, beaten
¼ cup sesame oil
2 green onions, sliced diagonally
1 cup chicken broth
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons raw or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

Pound the chicken breasts with a mallet to flatten and tenderize. Combine 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch, salt, water, and egg yolks in a shallow bowl. Heat the oil in a wok. Dip chicken into the cornstarch mixture, then stir-fry over high heat for 6 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown. Remove, drain on absorbent towels, and arrange each chicken breast in a Swallow’s Nest (see next post). Garnish with the green onions. Combine 1½ tablespoons cornstarch and the remaining ingredients in the wok. Stirring constantly over low heat, cook the sauce for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it thickens. Spoon the sauce over the chicken breasts.

Chinese cut-out image courtesy of Karen Hulene Bartell. This post is a member of the Chinese Valentine's Day menu series.

Low in Fat, High in Flavor - Creamy Light Chimichurri (Herb Sauce)

Our last guest posting from Patricia looks into new, unique ways to use chimichurri--a South American herb sauce commonly served with carne asada.

Here's a tip: next time you make chimichurri (there's a recipe for it in my book, Secrets of Colombian Cooking), change the oil for plain, non-far yogurt to create a creamy light chimichurri.

Surprised? You will love this recipe. Use it to dip carrot and celery sticks, add it to salad dressings and season meats with it.

Take a boned turkey breast or a whole chicken and place ½ cup of this mixture into the cavities and between the skin. Refrigerate overnight. Salt and pepper the outer skin of the bird and bake in a preheated oven at 325ºF (for turkey) or 425ºF (for chicken) for 1½ hours. Serve the rest of the sauce at room temperature on the side with the cooked turkey/chicken.

Enjoy! Please write to tell me about your experiences with this recipe!

You can also find a place on my website, www.creativeculinary.net, where you can find a new recipe from the book posted every month. Click on the picture of the book and find a selection of recipes from Secrets of Colombian Cooking, laid out in step-by-step format.

Turkey Chimichurri, Before and After