Pinoy Food Lab

Since the New Year kicked off I have been experimenting on my favorite Filipino dishes guided by a cookbook I inherited from my sister Odie who is blessed with loads of talent in the kitchen, who in turn inherited this talent from an old maid aunt who passed away long before the "birthing" of my so-called interest in cooking.

The recipes are simple and idiot-proof, thank God, that even kitchen ignoramuses like me have no recourse but to do everything right. The only drawback here is that everything is written in Filipino—Tagalog, actually—and I have, on several occasions, encountered unfamiliar words that I just try to decipher through the context that they are used. Of course, it doesn't help to have an Ilonggo for a husband. 

My first attempt was the picadillo. It's a dish of Latin American origin that has been Filipinized by Maya (meaning, the olives, capers and chili have been omitted) and family-ized by Odie who added malunggay for nutiritional value.  

The almondigas was not entirely new to me. I tried cooking it as a college kid but it never turned out great. I'm proud to say things have changed for the better...

My nilagang baka was good enough except that we had quite a hard time chewing the beef. My fault. I should have used the pressure cooker but I had no idea how it worked!

My pork sinigang was better than all my other experiments. Yum!  

But my twice-cooked adobo was the best of them all! The toasted garlic were so delicious I couldn't believe I ate them!

Now I think I'm beginning to fall in love with my lab. And the conclusion? I'm slowly losing my fear of the kitchen but surely gaining weight in the process!