MERIENDA (SNACKS) RECIPE

This covers a peculiarly Philippine meal — the snack or merienda which, while roughly corresponding to the American coffee break or English tea, is really rather different.

At merienda time, usually four in the afternoon and sometimes also around ten in the morning, the average Filipino takes his traditional snack. Foods served at merienda can be almost anything.

Usually, they include noodles, salads, some types of soup like arroz caldo, bachoy and pancit molo, some meat dishes, like rhenudo, served with pan de sal and dinuguan served with puto, and almost all kinds of desserts. And of course, tea, coffee or soft drinks.The typical merienda fares, however, are native delicacies made from glutinous rice and coconut. Included in this section are some of the more popular rice cakes (bibingka).

Bibingka Cassava

Ingredients

* 1 kilo cassava roots or kamoteng kahoy (grated)* 4 cups coconut cream* 2 cups white sugar* ¼ cup melted butter or margarine* 2 whole eggs* dash of eggs yellow food coloring(optional)* topping

METHOD
Beat eggs slightly. Add to all ingredients. Mix well until well blended.Pour into a grease pan, lined with banana leaves (greased). Bake a preheated oven at 340 for 20 minutes. Pour topping on top, continue baking for 15 minutes or until topping golden brown.
Toppings.

* 1 can (big) condensed milk* 1 cup thin coconut cream* 2 tbsp. Flour
Dissolve flour in ¼ cup of the coconut cream before blending with condensed milk and the rest of the coconut milk. Cook in medium heat stirring constantly until it thickens.

Cuchinta

Ingredients

* 1 cup all-purpose flour* 2 cups water* 1 tsp. lija* 1 cup brown sugar (packed)* red food coloring

METHOD

Add water to flour gradually while beating. Then mix in the remaining ingredients, plus a dash of red food coloring. Continue beating until well blended. Pour on ungreased molders (3/4 full). Cover with cheese cloth and steam for 30 minutes or until done. Serve with fresh grated coconut.Note: Boil water in steamer before placing molds.

Pinoy Cooking Methods

The Tagalog words for popular cooking methods are listed below:

"Inadobo" - cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic
"Guisado" - sauteed with garlic, onions and tomatoes
"Prito" - fried or deep fried
"Inihaw" - grilled over charcoals
"Nilaga" - boiled, sometimes with onions and black peppers
"Kinilaw" or "Kilawin" - cubes of raw fish pickled in a marinade of vinegar and/or kalamansi juice, usually along with garlic, onions, ginger, tomato, and/or hot/sweet peppers
"Sinigang" - boiled with a tamarind base
"Pinaksiw" - cooked in vinegar and ginger or just add "all-purpose" sauce
"Ginataan" - cooked with coconut milk

Ang Longsilog

Pinoy Breakfast

Traditional breakfast usually includes the following:

Pan de sal - is derived from Spanish words for "bread of salt". Contrary to its name, it contains relatively little salt is a sweet bread roll which can be spread with butter, jam, marmalade, peanut butter or kesong puti.
Kesong puti - is a soft fresh cheese made from carabao's milk.
Champorado - is a type of rice porridge flavored with chocolate. It is not to be confused with Mexican champurrado which is a hot chocolate drink.
Sinangag - is fried garlic rice, served with a choice or two from other meat dishes.
Tapa - is local beef jerky, served with fried eggs and sinangag.
Longganisa - is a local chorizo or sausage, served with fried eggs and sinangag.
Tocino - is sweetened meat, served with fried eggs and sinangag.
Daing na Bangus - means salted and dried milkfish. It is often served with sinangag and fried eggs as well as sliced tomatoes, vinegar or achara.
Itlog na Pula - are salted duck eggs usually served with tomatoes, onions, and sinangag.
Kape barako - is strong brewed coffee from the mountains of Batangas.
Silogs - are meat as a main ingredient to be served with sinangág (fried rice) and itlog (egg).
The three most commonly seen silogs are
tapsilog having tapa as the meat ingredient;
tocilog having tocino as the meat ingredient;
longsilog having longganisa as a meat ingredient.
Other silogs are sometimes seen, including
hotsilog, with a hot dog;
bangsilog, with bangus (milkfish);
dangsilog, with danggit (rabbitfish);
spamsilog, with spam;
adosilog, with adobo;
chosilog, with chorizo;
chiksilog, with chicken;
cornsilog, with canned corned beef;
litsilog, with lechon.

History of Pinoy Cooking and Influences

Malays during the pre-Hispanic era in the Philippines prepared food by boiling, steaming, or roasting. This ranged from the usual livestock such as carabao (water buffaloes), cows(?), chickens and pigs to seafood from different kinds of fish, shrimps, prawns, crustaceans and shellfish. There are a few places in the country where the broad range in their diet extended to monitor lizards, dogs and locusts. Malays have been cultivating rice, an Asian staple since 3200 B.C.[1]. Pre-Hispanic trade with China, India, the Middle-East and the rest of Southeast Asia introduced a number of staples into Filipino cuisine most notably toyo (soy sauce) and patis (fish sauce), as well as the method of stir-frying and making savory soup bases.

The arrival of Spanish settlers brought with them chili peppers, tomato sauces, corn and method of sauteeing with garlic and onions called guisado finding their way into Philippine cuisine. They also braised food with vinegar and spices to preserve the food due to no refrigeration. They had a variety of sources in their diet. Local adaptations of Spanish dishes then became common such as paella into its Pilipino version of arroz valenciana, Chorizo into its local version of Longganisa, escabeche and adobo [this is connected to the Spanish dish adobado] remain popular to this day.

During the nineteenth century, Chinese food became a staple of the panciterias or noodle shops around the country, although they were marketed with Spanish names. "Comida China" (Chinese food) includes arroz caldo (rice and chicken gruel) and morisqueta tostada (an obsolete term for sinangag or fried rice).

Since 1900 when American colonial rule began, Philippine cuisine has been influenced by American, French, Italian, and Japanese cuisines and culinary procedures.[2] Today, Philippine cuisine continues to evolve as new techniques and styles of cooking finds their way into one of the most active melting pots of Asia.