FROM celebrity chef’s favorite ingredients, to a funky way of using a canned favorite, to special summer drinks, here are a variety of recipes to try out while stuck at home.
Chef Sau Del Rosario, Juana Yupangco’s best recipes
Le Petit Café Fleur owner and chef Sau Del Rosario and Mesa ni Misis founder Juana Yupangco reveal the recipes and special ingredients behind some of their most sought-after dishes on Solane Kitchen Moments, the LPG brand’s cooking/talk show on its Youtube page.
Aside from recipes, the two foodies also share their journey toward finding their calling, experiencing culture, and making memories through food.
Mr. Del Rosario’s legacy dishes lie in Le Petit Café Fleur in Poblacion, Makati. Café Fleur is not new — the restaurant first stood in Pampanga where people would go all the way to try the chef’s dishes. While the Makati branch makes it easier for Manileños and Southies to get their fill, Solane Kitchen Moments shares the actual recipes of the bestsellers: Crispy Pork Belly Kare-Kare, Boneless Pollo a la Plancha, and the famous Vuco Fye.
The Crispy Pork Belly Kare-Kare was one of the attractions that drew people to the Pampanga restaurant. And on Solane Kitchen Moments, Mr. Del Rosario reveals that gata (coconut milk) is the secret ingredient that makes it so rich.
Café Fleur’s Mexican dish Boneless Pollo a la Plancha is known for being flavorful. In Mr. Del Rosario’s version, he adds a Pinoy twist, which he spills in the show. He also shares the recipe for his most recent chart-topper: the buttery Vuco Fye. The pastry is a Kapampangan wordplay on buko pie and the result of him trying his hand at baking to cope with his pandemic-induced depression.
Meanwhile, Ms. Yupangco has a couple of healthy, plant-based tricks up her sleeve: her famous Upo Lasagna and her favorite travel find, Chiang Mai Salad.
Ms. Yupangco began her plant-based journey as an attempt to be healthier when her husband had high cholesterol. Now, with a non-profit organization that advocates for plant-based nutrition and a cookbook published last year, Ms. Yupangco is doing her best to promote healthy eating through her recipes — which is very much appreciated in the middle of a persistent pandemic.
One of her first original plant-based dishes is Upo Lasagna, and she shares the full recipe for it on Solane Kitchen Moments. Aside from going vegan, Ms. Yupangco also only sources ingredients that are available in the country, and in the show, she uses sitaw, sigarilyas, and okra to make Thai appetizer Chiang Mai Salad.
SPAM rice balls
Here is a recipe using SPAM Classic that can be prepared by anyone in just 10 minutes. The three-step, five-ingredient SPAM Rice Balls recipes does need one to order some items from a Japanese grocer.
Ingredients
⅓ can SPAM Classic
1 tsp oil
½ cup cooked Japanese rice
1 tbsp of Furikake
1 tsp Mirin
Procedure
1. Dice the SPAM and saute in oil until lightly brown.
2. In a bowl, mix the cooked SPAM bits with Japanese rice and mirin.
3. Lastly, form into balls (about the size of a ping pong ball) and then coat with furikake.
Using uruchimai Japanese rice, which typically has more starch and moisture, would ensure that the rice balls don’t fall apart. Mirin is a staple in Japanese kitchens — it is a cooking rice wine responsible for giving the balls a boost of umami. Furikake literally means “sprinkled over” and is something like an all-around rice seasoning that the Japanese use.
Those feeling experimental can customize their SPAM Rice Balls and share them using #SPAMRiceBallChallenge.
Summertime drinks from Monkey Shoulder
Monkey Shoulder, a blended malt whisky brand owned by William Grant & Sons, has launched its latest campaign, Summertime Drinks but #makeitmonkey, as its antidote to a pandemic-restricted summer by indulging in a spot of summertime escapism. To do so it is releasing two new limited edition Monkey Shoulder Summertime Packs (available via Monkey Shoulders retail partners) and the Monkey Shoulder: digital party guide.
The digital party guide contains all the ingredients for a cheeky summertime soiree, including recipes for nine #MadeforMixing cocktails, tips and tricks on hosting a games night, card games aplenty, and Monkey Shoulder Mixcloud playlists.
Monkey Colada
40 ml Monkey Shoulder
20 ml Koko Kanu (Coconut Rum)
60 ml Coconut Water
10 ml Fresh Lime Juice
2 fresh cut pineapple rings
a dash of sugar syrup.
To mix, simply add all ingredients to a blender, blend till smooth and add a dash of sugar syrup to taste. Pour into a glass and garnish with a pineapple leaf and pineapple chunk.
Ginger Monkey
50 ml Monkey Shoulder
120 ml Ginger Ale
1 Orange wedge
Fill a long glass with ice and add Monkey Shoulder and Ginger Ale. Then garnish with the orange wedge.
The two limited edition Monkey Shoulder Summertime Packs are available until the end of June. The Monkey Shoulder Dry Bag Pack contains one 70cl bottle of Monkey Shoulder and free dry bag, and is available at Boozy, Drinkies, Liquor, and Shotify. The Monkey Shoulder Beach Towel Pack contains two 70cl bottles of Monkey Shoulder and a free beach towel. It is available at Boozeshop, Drinkies, Liquor, and Shotify. Both are available at S&R stores except those within liquor ban areas.
