Puto Pao

If there's one Filipino snack that I didn't get to enjoy when I was little, it's Puto Pao. I was already in college when I first got to try it. They're so good and that made me wonder why my Nanay (mother) never made nor bought Puto Pao. 

So what is Puto Pao?  Well, it's a steamed rice cake like Puto with pork filling which makes it similar to Siopao. It is usually topped with slices of salted duck eggs and cheese. The hubs is a big fan of this yummy snack and so, making Puto Pao at home is a must. I've tried making it several times using the Puto recipe for the batter and the Asado Siopao filling recipe that I've posted before but the outcome was always not as spongy as the Puto Pao I remember eating back in the Philippines. 

There's this recipe that I found at Pinoy Business Ideas which requires the use of egg whites in the batter. I tried that and the result was better. Though still not as spongy as I think it should be, it's better than the previous ones I made without egg whites and I believe is worth sharing. My daughters don't like salted duck eggs so I just used cheese for topping, and added slices of hard boiled eggs in the filling.

Check out and try the recipe and let me know what you think!

Filipino Style Chicken Macaroni Salad

I've been receiving requests for Filipino Style Macaroni Salad...so here it is! 

Unlike the usual macaroni salad which is served as a side dish, Macaroni Salad in the Philippines is mildly sweet and is served as dessert especially during parties and special gatherings. Just like any other Filipino food, it varies from region to region...but there are three characteristics that remain consistent: it's creamy, a little sweet and a little sour and it has three basic ingredients: macaroni, mayonnaise and chicken.

This Filipino Style Macaroni Salad that I am sharing with you is my mom's version. I grew up with this very simple but really delicious macaroni salad which for me has a well-balanced creaminess, sweetness and sourness. For me, this is the perfect one! The combination of ingredients is just right and doesn't overpower the supposedly main star of the dish which is the macaroni! 

Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart

For this month's Baking Partners Challenge, I made this simple but really good Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart...

This is Chef Martin Picard's recipe and was suggested by Samanta of Samanthamenzies. Though we were given 4 recipes to choose from, I didn't have a hard time choosing. Aside from the fact that I soooo love sun-dried tomatoes, this savory tart is so easy to make. I actually planned of making puff pastry from scratch, but I got sick and didn't get the chance to, so I ended up using a ready made puff pastry. For easy serving, I pre-cut each puff pastry sheet into 6 pieces. Chef Picard's recipe calls for two sheets of 9x9 puff pastry. I wasn't sure if my daughters will like the Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart, so I decided to cut the ingredients in half and just use one sheet. For the other sheet, I used a different topping. I sauteed 1 cup chopped ham, ½ cup onions, 1 cup chopped mushrooms, 1 cup chopped spinach and season it with salt and pepper.  My daughters loved the ham-mushroom-spinach and Gruyère topping! But I must say, the hubs and I enjoyed the Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart. The layers of caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes and Gruyère cheese on top of that flaky crust was perfect for our taste buds! 

My sincerest thanks to Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen for another wonderful challenge...and of course, Samantha of Samanthamenzies for choosing this recipe!

Mocha Cake for PiTCC's 2nd Anniversary

Wow...2 years??! I still remember the day I decided to start this blog...I was full of hesitations...but I was stubborn enough to give in to my dream of having my own recipe site...and I am so glad I did! Not only did I meet great people and made new friends, I've also learned a ton, and I got the chance to share with the whole world something that I love to do --- COOKING, that is!  I am truly amazed when I think about it and how far Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner has gone in the past two years. And even though I haven't been active last year as I was during the first year, our readership increased 5X...and to date, PiTCC has already been visited by people from 189 countries! That, for me, is a big accomplishment!  

I want to dedicate this post to all of you, without whom Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner would simply not be what it is today. A big thanks to each and every one of you for giving me all the support and encouragement that kept me inspired in the past two years. Your comments and e-mails have always made me happy and smile, and for that I am thankful! Knowing that I am able to help in my own little way through recipe sharing gives me so much joy! It has truly been a fruitful two years for PiTCC, and I owe it to all of you!

Come celebrate PiTCC's second birthday with me as we all enjoy this delicious Mocha Cake...

Adapted from Goldilocks Bakebook, this Mocha Cake will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. The mocha flavor for both the cake and the frosting is just awesome! I topped  the cake with Chocolate Truffles for a more fabulous finish and for an added bittersweet taste. I tell you it made the cake even more irresistible! But you can of course decorate it as you please! :)

Paksiw na Lechon

How's the new year treating y'all so far? After two weeks of vacation, my daughters went back to school today...and so, I finally got the chance to make my first blog post for 2013! I know I've totally been slacking on blogging during the holidays...and I want to say thanks to everyone who sent emails to check how I was doing. All is well around here...the busy holiday season just took a toll on my blogging schedule. But I am back...and today, I am happy to bring you a favorite Filipino dish called Paksiw na Lechon.

In the Philippines, Paksiw refers to any stew cooked with vinegar and garlic. One Paksiw dish that I've already featured here on PiTCC is Paksiw na Bangus which is vinegar stewed bangus (milkfish) cooked with eggplant and bitter gourd. On the other hand, this dish that I have for you today is made from roast pork which we Filipinos call lechon. Serving lechon during the holidays and on special occasions has become a tradition in many Filipino homes. The whole roast pig is usually served with a liver-based sauce and is always placed in the center of the party table making it the center piece of the feast. Its crispy skin never fail to get the guests excited! Everyone wants get their share...but when there's no more crispy rinds left, the lechon doesn't get too much attention anymore. So what do Filipinos usually do with the leftovers??? Cooking it into pinaksiw like this is one of the most common ways of transforming the greasy leftover lechon into an appetizing dish...

Though you can also make sisig, adobo, siopao, lumpia and a lot more from leftover lechon, making paksiw from it is (for me) the best way to enjoy it. It doesn't require much ingredients and you don't have to put much time and effort. You literally just put everything into a pot and voilà!...you have a hearty dish that is even yummier as the roast pork itself.