Recipe: Manong Fishball's Sauce

Serve the sauce in glass jars for that rustic feel.

From time to time, I get this squid balls craving whenever I pass by a street vendor selling fish balls or squid balls. Hot off the frying pan and dipped in their homemade sauce. Hmmm, yummy! But I get hygiene issues when it comes to their sauce.  No double dip rule applies to all of the vendors I've known but what about storing it at the cart over several hours under the sweltering heat of the sun? Salmonella alert! I have nothing against the vendors and I don't think they deliberately spoil the sauce. They might may carry a cooler perhaps as a precaution. But I've eaten more than a dozen times and I'm still okay.

Yet, it's more practical if you make one yourself at the comfort of your own home. You get it anytime you want it without looking for manong fishball out there. This recipe is from the one I got from the Internet ( yeah, you can almost get anything from the Internet including fish balls) tweaked and scaled down the measurements to a minimum so I can use only a small amount for my family's consumption. The sauce can only keep for about a week. Discard the rest afterwards. This is good for a cup or so of the sauce. 

Dip away!

This is the squid ball brand I buy. Akai Foods brand. Texture is just right when fried... Crunchy on the outside and soft, chewy and firm on the inside. About P190/ kilo. 

I like to put them in slim and tall jars, that way it gets the sauce all over the balls. 

Manong Fishball's Sauce

by Jenny Sibi

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 15

6082783

Ingredients (1 cup)

• 1 cup water
• 11/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Mama Sita's Barbeque Marinade ( gives it a barbeque flavor)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp chili sauce ( I used the takeout one from Dimsum Break :) or
• 1 pc siling labuyo chopped (optional)
• 1/2 tsp onion minced
• 1/2 tsp garlic minced
• Slurry: This is the thickener. If you can find the Camote Starch, Camote Flour or Camote Powder, the better. It stabilizes the sauce better than cornstarch. Camote Powder is used in making Maki or Maki Mi.
• 1 tsp. camote Flour
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

Procedure:

Combine the first 8 ingredients. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 2-3 mins.

Mix the camote flour and water.

Pour this slowly in the simmering sauce. Little by little until you get the right consistency you want.

Pour the sauce inside a sterilized glass jar with lid.

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Recipe: Basil Garlic Pesto

Nothing beats a fresh pesto specially when its homemade. Not only it is cheaper, but you get to use the finest ingredients that you can afford. I usually get my sweet basil at the farmer's market because its freshly picked and more flavourful than the ones packed inside the grocery.

This is your usual basic pesto using garlic, fresh sweet basil, olive oil and salt. You may add pine nuts and use other recipe variations that you like. I roast my garlic beforehand to remove the bitter taste and make the flavour more intense. Perfect on toast, pasta and the recipes that calls for homemade pesto.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 whole bulb garlic
• A drizzle of olive oil
• A small piece of aluminum foil just big enough to cover the whole garlic
• Handful of pine nuts or almond nuts, ground. 
• 250 grams sweet basil, washed and spin-dried well
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Slice the top of the whole garlic just enough to expose the flesh inside. 
2. Place on top of the aluminium foil and drizzle olive oil over it. Cover tightly.
3. Broil under a stove-top flame for about two minutes, just enough to heat it. Careful not to char the garlic.
4. Let it cool and open the foil. Squeeze the garlic to remove the flesh. It will be easy like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube. Set aside.
5. Place the basil, roasted garlic and a quarter of a cup of extrra virgin olive oil in a food processor.
6. Process on pulse while adding more olive oil and a pinch of salt until it reaches to your desired consistency.
7. The pesto should be fine and spreadable with a small amount of olive oil floating on top.

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Recipe:: Ripe Mango Salsa

This salsa is a perfect alternative to the usual gravies and sauces on meat, fish and poultry. It is also yummy as a dip and a dressing. In this recipe, instead of adding the usual raw onions which other people don't really like, I cooked them lightly with olive oil just to sweat them. I added roasted pimientos instead of red bell peppers so as not to overpower the salsa. The smoky flavor of the roasted pimientos goes well with the rest of the ingredients.

Preparation time: 30 - 45 minutes
Yields about a cup

Ingredients:

• 1 piece medium onion, diced
• 1 piece pimiento, roasted and diced
• 1 piece jalapeño, seeded and sliced thinly
• 1 piece ripe yellow mango, diced
• A handful of cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• A pinch of ground turmeric
• Pinch of salt (optional)

Procedure:

1. Sweat the onions in a tablespoon of olive oil just to release its sugars and remove the bitter taste, Set aside.
2. Broil the whole pimiento under the flame until the skin is charred.
   
3. Peel and remove the seeds and then dice them.
   
4. Add all the ingredients together in a glass bowl, drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
5. Store in an airtight container. This should last about a week or so in the fridge.

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Recipe: Eggplant Dip with Malunggay

I know. Majority never really likes eggplants, aubergine, whatsoever. My kids never liked this dip when I initially made this either. It was supposed to be a rustic dish that I simply mashed it with a fork. My son specifically said, "Eww, I hate eggplant. It's so mashed up that I can still see bits of everything in it. It's like actually seeing of what it looks like in my digestive system." Okay, I get it.

To refine what I made, I simply turned to my trusty food processor. I pureed the dip, added a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.  The creamy texture was a hit!  I added a handful of malunggay leaves towards the end of the cooking for extra nutrition and a surprising earthy flavour that blends well with the curry and the jalapeño. It goes well with naan, crackers, toasted bread etc.

Preparation time: 30-45 minutes
Yields about 2 cups

• 1 large eggplant (about 9- 10 inches)
• ! tablespoon Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 piece medium tomato, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds or
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 piece jalapeño, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 cup malunggay leaves, trimmed and washed
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• Olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon

You may or may not grill the eggplant. If you don't like to grill, simply slice the eggplant into cubes. If you do grill, place the eggplant on top of the grill or an open fire and roast the skin until it chars a bit. Grilling adds a nice smokey flavour to the dip. Don't worry about the blackened skin since you will be peeling this off when it cools. Place the grilled eggplant in a covered dish until it cools. At this point, you should be able to peel off the skin easily. You may wash the excess skin off with water but I can manage to peel of all the charred skin easily so I won't need to run it under running water. It only removes some of the smokey flavour that I like. Slice into cubes.

Saute the curry powder in olive oil until fragrant. Add onions, garlic, tomato, bell pepper (you may also roast the pepper beforehand if you like), sesame seeds, jalapeño (optional) and the eggplant.  Cook until everything is soft and cooked through for about three to five minutes. You may add a small amout of water to soften the veggies if the mixture is too dry.

Add the Malunggay leaves just before you turn the stove off. Let the remaining heat cook the leaves further. Season with salt and pepper. If you use tahini, add the tahini after you turn off the fire. Add the cilantro leaves last.

Transfer the mixture in a bowl and let it cool, covered. When cooled, you may mash it if you like it that way or puree it in a food processor. Drizzle with olive oil until it reaches your desired consistency. I don't like my dip runny. Finally, add a squeeze of lemon juice in the end.

Store in a covered ramekin or glass bowls and jars with sealed lid. Keeps in the fridge for about a week as long as you don't double dip.

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