10 Traditional Filipino "Noche Buena" Recipes

In the Philippines, when you speak of family traditions, 'noche buena' is the night before Christmas or Christmas Eve (Dec 24, 11:59pm). These are times when families from all walks of life share the love, food, gifts and happiness of the yuletide season. And during this moment a traditional food were serve in the table on the night before Christmas or "Noche Buena".

Chinese Ham with Apple Cinnamon Glaze

Ingredients:

1 2 to 3 kilos Chinese Cooked Ham

2 cups Apple Juice

1/4 cup cherry brandy

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 medium apple , chopped

2 pieces bay leaf

1 tsp cinnamon powder

slices of green and red cherries

toasted cashew nuts

celery leaves

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Place chinese ham in oven proof dish. Set aside

3. Combine apple juice, chopped apple, brown sugar, brandy, cinnamon powder and bay leaf.

4. Stir until brown sugar dissolves.

5. Pour on ham and bake for 20 minutes basting with marinade once in a while.

6. Arrange baked Chinese Ham in a serving platter.

7. Boil Extra sauce until thick.

8. Pour apple glaze on top.

9. Garnish with slices of apples, celery leaves, cashew nuts and red cherries

Paella Valenciana

 Ingredients:

1/4 cup pure olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1/2 cup sliced onions

2 sliced chorizo de bilbao (a spicy semi-cured sausage)

150 grams cubed chicken fillet

150 grams cubed porkloin

1/2 cup sliced red bell peppers

2 cups jasmine rice

2 cups tomato sauce

5 cups chicken broth

1 cup white wine

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup green peas

10 pieces cooked prawns

1/2 cup pitted green olives

20 pieces cooked half-shell mussels

1/4 cup chopped parsley

a pinch of saffron threads

lemon wedges

blanched asparagus spears

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan or paellera. Sautee garlic, onions and chorizo de bilbao until aromatic.

2. Add chicken and porkloin. Cook until meat turns brown. Add bell peppers and rice. Cook for another 2 minutes.

3. Pour tomato sauce, chicken broth and white wine. Stir and bring to a boil. Add saffron and salt. Stir well. Spread rice over the base of the pan and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed by rice.

4. Stir in green peas, prawns, olives and mussels. Cover and allow rice to cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat and sprinkle with parsley. Garnish with lemon wedges and asparagus spears.

 Steamed Lapu-Lapu with Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kilograms whole lapu-lapu, cleaned and scaled

1 liter water

2 8-gram seasoning granules

1 cup sliced leeks

1/4 cup sliced ginger

1 teaspoon salt

For Garnish:

2 cups mayonnaise

1/2 cup minced red bell pepper

1/2 cup minced green bell pepper

1/2 cup minced carrots

1/4 cup pickle relish

3 boiled and chopped eggs

1/2 cup crushed pineapple

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Boil lapu-lapu in water with seasoning granules, leeks, ginger, and salt. Cook for approximately 10 minutes on each side. Do not overcook. Remove cooked fish from stock.

2. Set aside cooked fish at room temperature until cold then keep in the chiller for at least 1 hour.

3. Remove skin off fish. Spread with mayonnaise on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Arrange choices of garnish in rainbow stripes on top of one side of the fish. Serve immediately.

Crispy Chicken

Procedure:

1. Rub whole small chicken (inside the skin also) with a mixture of:

2 Tablespoons rock salt

1 tsp pepper

2. Steam right away for 30 minutes (How to Steam)

3. Drain off all the liquid. Pat dry the Chicken with paper towel so frying it later won’t cause so much splatter.

4. Prepare a cover to protect yourself from sputters.

5. Make sure kawali (or deep frying pan) is extremely hot before you put in the oil.

(tip: the oil should cover 1/2 of the chicken pieces)

6. Deep fat fry. Fry both sides till light brown.

7. Cool.

8. Re-fry for extra crispiness.

Pineapple Sauce recipe:

1. Mix together

1 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup banana ketchup

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 Cook over fire until it boils.

3. Heat sizzling platter. Arrange chicken pieces.

4. Pour Sauce.

Embutido Recipe

Ingredients:

2 pieces red pepper, minced finely

3 kilos ground lean pork

2 pieces carrot, grated finely

1 cup Chorizo de Bilbao, chopped finely (this is the one that gives the flavor)

6 eggs, beaten

200 grams raisins

300 grams pickle relish

3 onions, minced

1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

3 1/2 Tablespoons fine salt

7 1/2 Tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 Tablespoon worcestershire saice

3/4 cup cornstarch

Garnishing:

3 eggs hardboiled

5 pieces hotdog

4 pieces Vienna sausage

Procedure:

1. Combine all the ingredients except the garnishings.

2. Blend thoroughly together. Before rolling , take a small meat portion and fry to make sure the flavors suit your taste.

3. Measure a 1 cup pork mixture. Spread pork mixture into 8″ x 10″ aluminum foil.

4. Make a rectangular well in the center.

5. Arrange slices of hard cooked eggs, Vienna sausage and hotdog. Roll until the ends of the pork mixture covers the eggs and sausages. Continue rolling the pork mixture back and forth until it covers the slices of eggs and sausages in the center.

6. The rolled mixture in the aluminum foil should reach around 1″ to 2″ in diameter.

7. Seal both ends. Repeat with the remaining pork mixture.

8. Steam bake in moderate oven over 350 F for 1 hour or steam for 30 minutes.

Makes 18 rolls

Pork Barbecue 

Ingredients:

1 kg. pork

20 bamboo skewers

1 cup soy sauce

1 head garlic, minced

1 onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup of calamansi juice or lemon juice

1/2 cup of 7up, sprite or beer (optional)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 tablespoons of brown or white sugar

1/2 cup of banana or tomato catsup

Instructions:

Cut pork meat into thin and long slices - 1/4 inches thick and less than 2 inches wide.

In a mixing bowl, marinate the cut pork with the soy sauce, minced garlic, chopped onions, calamansi juice, ground pepper, sugar, banana catsup and the soda or beer (this tenderizes and adds flavour to the pork barbeque)

Mix well and keep in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (turning occasionally).

Prepare the bamboo skewers by removing splinters and soaking in water to reduce burning during barbeque.

String the pork on the skewers.

Over live charcoals, barbeque the pork on skewers until each barbeque is cooked - turning every few minutes on each side and basting the leftover marinate on the barbeque.

Mushroom-Chicken Loaf with Gravy 

Ingredients:

For meat loaf:

1 can (400 grams) drained and coarsely chopped mushrooms (pieces and stems)

1/2 kilograms ground chicken

1 chopped large onion

1 piece crumbled chicken bouillon cube

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 50-gram diced medium red bell pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1 teaspoon iodized fine salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

For mushroom gravy:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 piece chopped medium-sized onion

1 can (198 grams) drained mushrooms

1 can (170 grams) cream of mushroom soup

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients for meat loaf. Press into a medium-sized loaf pan.

2. Bake at 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool before slicing and set aside.

3. For the mushroom gravy, heat oil. Saute onion and mushrooms. Add cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 can of water. Season with pepper then simmer for 1 minute. Serve with meatloaf. This recipe makes 8 to 10 servings.

Lechon Paksiw

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kg cooked lechon

4 cups lechon sauce

2 tablespoons crushed garlic

1/2 cup sliced onions

2 cups water

1/2 cup vinegar

2 pieces pork broth cubes

8 pieces peppercorns

3/4 cup sugar

2 pieces bay leaves

1/4 cup liquid seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Chop up "lechon" or roast pork into serving pieces and transfer to a pot.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil without stirring.

3. Continue simmering over low heat for another 20 minutes until sauce lightly thickens.

4. Serve piping hot in a casserole or bowl.

Buko Pandan Salad

Ingredients:

8 leaves of Pandan – cleaned well

5 Buko (Coconut)not too hard, not too soft- Grated to strips

Water from 5 Buko (approx. 10 cups)

3 small cans of Nestle Cream

1 medium can of Condensed Milk

2 bars of Green Gulaman

1 3/4 Cups Sugar (more if you want it sweeter)

1 cup Kaong (optional)

Preparation:

1. Boil buko water from 5 coconuts together with 8 pandan leaves that are individually twisted to break the fibers and expose the juice. Simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Before adding 2 bars of gulaman, make sure you remove the pandan leaves and check if the remaining coconut water is equal to 8 cups – 1 bar of gulaman is good for 4 cups of liquid. If it is not 8 cups, less will mean hard gulaman and more than 8 cups will result in mushy soft gulaman. Ensuring gulaman is well-dissolved stir well. Add sugar while mixing. Do this for 5 minutes.

3. Pour through a strainer into cooling trays. Wait till it cools and hardens, then put in fridge.

4. Meanwhile, mix the grated buko with the 3 cans of cream and 1 can of condensed milk.

5. Add kaong if you prefer.

6. Get gulaman from ref and cut into 1 cm cubes. Mix with buko mixture.

Beef Pochero

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs stew beef, cut into cubes

1 small head of a cabbage quartered

1/4 kilo Chinese cabbage krinkley edged

2 medium sized potatoes quartered

5 plantains peeled and sliced in the middle

1 big can of pork and beans

1/2 cup tomato paste

2 cups water

1 small onion sliced

3 cloves garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

i like to add a selection of hot peppers.

Procedures:

Start by frying the plantains.

fry until slightly golden brown.\

Drain off the oil and set aside.

Saute the garlic and onions.

add in the beef.

Saute until it changes color.

Season with some salt and pepper.

Next add in the tomato paste and water.

Mix and let it boil.

Cover and simmer over low medium heat until beef is tender.

Once the beef is tender, add in the potatoes.

Let it simmer some more until the potatoes are cooked.

At this point you can add in the rest of the ingredients.

The veggies, pork and beans and plantains.

I usually just pile them in and cover for a few minutes allowing the veggies to wilt a bit.

Afterwards I gently mix them until their well incorporated into the sauce.

Serve with crunchy rolls or bread.