FETA CHEESE DRESSING

We all need a fresh spark on our usual menu from time to time. Sometimes a little change in the details is all it takes. Before you grab the jar of mayo yet again to slather on something, imagine how much more flavour a simple dressing like this would give to your food.

AVOCADO MAYO

Summer swings our moods to a high level, thanks to the good weather and plenty of sunshine. It is the perfect and perhaps the only time we can do our barbies and picnics. Although some summer food such as fruits, salads and grills are healthy, there are also those that aren't but we can't help but eat.

HOMEMADE SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE

The mere mention of sweet and sour sauce would bring to mind Chinese food. Although a combination of sweetness and tang features in Chinese cuisine, it is not as we know it. Traditional dishes uses vinegar as the usual souring agent and brown sugar bricks that are similar to palm sugar in taste. 

INSTANT CHILLI AND GARLIC OIL

Dipping sauces are an integral part of Asian food. A simple, basic dish can be made spectacular by the sauce it is served with. 

Although some sauces go with specific dishes, there are sauces that are universal. They go with anything. One of the popular all around food perkers is chilli oil. When you get used to having chilli oil with your food, you can't go without it, no matter what you eat.

SPICY BACON KETCHUP

We've all heard about bacon jam by now and I thought I'll never catch on with the trend. My son is an avid fan of bacon and he is relentless with the hints so I had to give it a go.

Bacon jam is new fangled condiment usually made with bacon, onions, sugar and vinegar. It is of spreadable consistency and is slathered on bread as a base for other fillings. I like that but I had an idea of adding in tomatoes for a more rounded taste. I also wanted it to be a sauce rather than a spread because sauces are more versatile. They can be used as dips and condiments as well as spreads.

LECHON MANOK (FILIPINO ROAST CHICKEN)

It is once again time to cook with my Filipino fellow foodies at the Kulinarya Cooking Club. Our hosts for this month, Abigail of My Nappy Tales and Marni of Kensington Kitchen chose a lovely theme for the month of February. The task is to cook a dish that reminds one of one's first love.

I seem to be too old to remember the first real love. So I just had to think long and hard but can only think of one, just the one. It just has to be my husband. I'm not saying this because he reads the blog but because it is the feeling that I remember well. 

My husband is not a Filipino but a pure Chinese from Malaysia. When he first visited the Philippines, he immediately fell in love with the cuisine. Among his favourites were crispy pata (crisp fried pork shank), bulalo (bone marrow soup), kari-kari (a stew with peanut gravy), grilled pork, clam soup, everything with ube (purple yam), mangoes, the list goes on and on. One dish, though, stands out. It is lechon manok. This is the poultry counterpart of roast pig. Lechon manok is Filipino rotisserie chicken cooked in an outdoor pit. As with all of our food, it is well seasoned and very tasty. Every time we visit home, there is a lechon manok on the dining table to welcome him.

Although cooked on a spit, lechon manok is so unlike rotisserie chicken. It has an aroma and taste that it quintessentially Filipino. I haven't yet come across a recipe that gives out the secret of the famous Andok's (a famous chain) lechon manok but this is my way of cooking it. What I'm going for is a very fragrant and extremely tasty chicken that is evocative of warm climes and rural settings. 


My method of cooking lechon manok is nothing like the usual way it is cooked. After seasoning the chicken, I wrap it in banana leaves and kitchen foil before roasting. The cavity is also stuffed with garlic, ginger and pandan leaves. This results to a highly scented, flavourful and succulent chicken. Instead of the usual liver sauce that it is usually served with I opted for a fresher, zestier sauce using his favourite fruit: mango. I hope people get to like this recipe because my husband wishes to open up a lechon manok chain in the future.

Ingredients for the roast chicken:


1 whole chicken
2 tbsps. light soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
a few slices of ginger
3 pandan leaves, knotted
banana leaves
aluminum foil

Mix the soy sauce, salt, garlic powder, turmeric and lime juice. Rub the mixture all over the chicken, including the cavity. Stuff the cavity with the garlic, ginger slices and pandan leaves. Leave to marinade for 30 minutes. 


Preheat the oven to 400° F / 200° C. 

Lay the banana leaves on top of a big sheet of aluminum foil. Lay the chicken on top of the banana leaves, rub with the 1 tbsp. of oil and wrap with the leaves then wrap tightly with the sheet of aluminum foil. 

Lay the wrapped chicken on a baking rack in a roasting tin. Add water to the tin so that the drippings don't burn.

Bake for 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350° F/ 180° C. 

Open the chicken parcel. Cook for a further 50-60 minutes, turning at half time to brown the other side of the chicken. Brush with the drippings occasionally.

The chicken can also be cooked in a lidded barbecue instead of the oven for the last hour. Use a grilling tray so the chicken doesn't stick to the grilles.


Let rest before chopping into serving pieces.

Ingredients for the mango-lime chilli sauce:


1 1/4 c. pure mango juice
juice and grated rind of 1 lime
5 tsps. white sugar

2 tsps. corn flour

1 tbsp. water
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 red fingr chilli, chopped
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
4 tsps. fish sauce


Put the mango and lime juice and the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar melts. Disperse the corn flour in the water and add to the mixture in the saucepan to thicken. Leave to simmer for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir and bring back to a boil. Take off the heat and transfer to a jug or gravy boat to stop it cooking further. Serve with the chicken.

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HOMEMADE BANANA KETCHUP

Banana ketchup is a staple Filipino dipping sauce. It is probably more popular and more consumed than tomato ketchup. A lot of Filipino dishes are best eaten with this sweet condiment.