PANCIT PALABOK

When one speaks with flowery words, beating around the bush rather than zeroing in on the point of conversation, one is said to speak with too much "palabok". This Filipino term is also the name of a dish with so many accoutrements: the pancit palabok. The dish, unlike the saying, is outright delicious at the first mouthful.

LECHON KAWALI

The love of pork lies deep in a Filipino's heart. Words like lechon (roast pig or pork joint) and pritong baboy (fried pork) would tug at heartstrings. Lechon kawali would bring a double dose of happiness as it is basically a deep fried version of lechon.

CRISPY CHILLI BEEF

The question is simple. What do you want to eat? The answer not so much. While one can come up with a one word answer such as Mexican, Thai or pizza, someone might go indecisive and complicated. 

CHICKEN ADOBO (ADOBONG MANOK)

Say Filipino food and the word adobo comes to mind. It is the most known Filipino dish and to some, the only one they know.

KIKIAM (FIVE SPICE PORK ROLLS)

Five spice powder is a mixture of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel seeds. The aroma and flavour is quite heady and can taste medicinal if too much is used. In tempered amounts, though, it gives an interesting exotic edge to any dish that it is added to.

ORANGE CHICKEN WITH BACON

Orange and bacon may scream American breakfast but having it on top of rice with fried chicken pieces makes it Chinese food. American Chinese food that is. While my two children were excited to have a go at Shake Shack's burgers at JFK Airport on a recent trip, I chose to have Panda Express' orange chicken with bacon. I don't normally eat anything oily, if at all, before a flight, but I couldn't help myself. Yes, delicious. But as expected, oily too.

STUFFED TOFU

It is no surprise that tofu is now appreciated by more people outside Asia. This humble food, although a staple in the eastern countries, remains in the sidelines in the west. While others have grown to appreciate its subtle creamy taste, a lot still query why it should be eaten at all. 

SWEET AND SOUR PORK

To most of us, sweet and sour pork is synonymous to Chinese food. I remember how it was always a part of family dinners at our favourite Chinese restaurant. The crispy pork pieces were topped with a perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce mixed with crisp vegetables. It always comes as we expect it and never fails to satisfy. 

KATSU CURRY

My two kids always order Katsu Curry in Wagamama. The plate comes with a rather large (American) football shaped mound of rice, two crumbed chicken pieces flanking the rice and salad leaves. The brown curry sauce drapes the meat and the rice in a rather unappetising fashion. Nevertheless, the taste speaks for itself and it never fails to satisfy.

KOREAN STYLE HONEY CITRUS WINGS

It was love at first bite when I first had Bon Chon fried chicken. The thin crisp crust intrigued me so much. The glaze was delicious but I found that the hot and spicy flavourered wings burn and the soy garlic lacks excitement. The new honey citrus (this is not available in all Bon Chon outlets) is the one for me. The tangy and sweet glaze works perfectly with the crusty fried chicken.

HONEY GARLIC PORK MEATBALLS

The love of pork makes me translate a lot of dishes into pork dishes. While meatballs would almost always equate to beef balls, I chose pork this time. The reason for this is that I want to flavour the meatballs with Asian seasonings and there is no better base for that than pork. The flavour of beef would not let the seasonings stand out as much. Having said that, any meat could be used for this dish and it would also work.

GAI LAN WITH OYSTER SAUCE

I was lucky to have a good health visitor when I was bringing up my babies. A health visitor, for those not in the UK, is a health professional who guides Mums on how to take care of their babies.

GOK WAN'S TWICE COOKED MELTING PORK

Roasts bring a sense of occasion comes once it's brought to the table. The mood changes at the mere sight of it. The anticipation of the first mouthful brings excitement. 

THAI STICKY RICE AND MANGO DESSERT

Sticky rice is enjoyed in the east as in the west. Although treated differently, they are usually made into comforting desserts. 

HOMECURED PORK TOCINO

Filipinos take breakfast seriously. While a lot skip this all important meal, we take the saying "eat like a king to start the day" to heart. It has been a long tradition to have a full spread at breakfast. In the olden days, this was made possible by the dutiful wife and her staff. It was deemed necessary then to eat a heavy meal early in the morning before setting off to work.

Nowadays, the venue for breakfast is the silogan. Silogan is a new slang word coined to refer to eateries serving silog: sinangag (garlic fried rice) and itlog (egg, served fried) with a choice of tapa, longganisa or tocino. The name of the dish changes accordingly: tapsilog, longsilog or tocilog.

BEEF RENDANG

You'd think that warm climes would equate to cooling food but it is quite the opposite. When in Asia, we eat hot food even in the sweltering heat.

PORK BULGOGI

Bulgogi has been listed as the 23rd among World's 50 most delicious foods readers poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011. It is usually made with beef but pork or chicken is equally good made with the same recipe.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

General Tso's chicken is a Chinese dish that is probably more popular in Western countries than in China. It has been speculated that it is probably a Western invention as it is unknown in its supposed country of origin.

It was in fact introduced in New York City as an example of Hunan cuisine. The difference from the original dish is the addition of sugar to make it more appealing to the Western palate.

General Tso's chicken is very similar to a lot of Chinese dishes; it has the characteristic sweet and tangy taste that is so desired in Chinese cuisine. A slight twist, the addition of hoisin sauce, gives it a slightly different flavour. 

The most distinct feature of General Tso's chicken is the amount of heat in both spice and temperature. This gives it an exciting edge that makes one want more of it. Aside from chilli paste or oil, dried chillies are added to the glaze. The former gives a uniform heat to the dish while the dried chillies gives spurts of extra heat and spice. General Tso's chicken is very appetizing and only needs steamed rice to make a satisfying meal.

Adapted from Apetite for China's recipe for General Tso's Chicken.

Ingredients for the chicken and marinade:

1 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tbsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 egg white
1 tsp. corn flour (corn starch)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 c. corn flour (corn starch)
cooking oil for frying

Instructions:

Mix the soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, egg white and 1 tsp. of corn flour in a mixing bowl. Add in the chicken pieces and mix well.


Leave aside for 10 minutes. Prepare the rest of the ingredients in the meantime.

Dredge the chicken pieces in the corn flour.

Heat up a frying pan and add oil for shallow frying (about 1 1/2inch deep). Fry the chicken pieces, a few at a time until crisp and golden, about 4-5 minutes. 

Ingredients for the sauce:

1/4 c. chicken stock or water
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. of hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp. of chilli paste (or chilli oil)
1 tsp. sesame oil
3 tbsps. of honey
1 tsp. of corn flour (corn starch)

Instructions:

Mix all of the ingredients together and set aside.

Stir fry ingredients:

1 tbsp. chopped garlic
2-4 dried chillies, halved
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsps. sliced spring onions (green parts only)

Instructions:

Heat up a clean wok and add in 1 tbsp. of oil (you may use the oil previously used for frying the chicken). When hot, add in the garlic, chillies and fry for a few seconds.

Add in the sauce mixture. Bring to a boil while stirring until thickened.

Add the fried chicken pieces and toss until all the pieces are coated with the sauce.

Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.

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OVEN FRIED CHICHARON

Who doesn't like chicharon (pork scratchings)? I know that east and west unite in their want to eat these babies. 

These munchables are a cross between chicharon (pork scratchings) and lechon (roast pork) crackling.

FILIPINO BARBECUE CHICKEN

Filipinos love barbecue and are lucky enough that the weather allows them to barbecue all year round. The two most popular have very generic names: barbecue chicken and barbecue pork. Everywhere, they are seasoned similarly unless otherwise stated.