A Typical Filipino Breakfast

Filipinos love to eat. An average Filipino eats around six times a day. We eat breakfast usually around 6-7 am, we have some snacks usually around 10am, lunch, more snacks at 3pm and finally dinner.

A typical Filipino breakfast is usually eggs, sunny side up; fried rice and any or all of the favorite Filipino breakfast staples: tocino or sweetened pork strips; tapa, a kind of beef jerky or tuyo, dried salted fish.

These dishes are fairly easy to cook. They require only minimal cooking skills. Fried rice is usually recycled rice from the night before. It is just rice that has cooled, then fried in a little oil with lots of garlic. Tocino and tapa, require a little boiling, when they are soft, the water is usually drained and a little cooking oil is added to fry the meat. Once it has started to caramelize, it is removed from the heat and served hot. Tuyo is usually washed to remove the excess salt and then fried in hot oil.

Filipinos are talkative in nature and even early in the morning the mood in the breakfast table is usually festive. Breakfast is usually a time for mom to remind her family to be good in school, to come home on time and for dad to take it easy at work. Although most Filipino mothers work, they still find time to cook these simple fares for breakfast with the family.

Breakfast is a good time for the children to touch base with their parents too. Since both parents usually work and come home late when the children are about to go to bed, kids usually remind their parents of upcoming projects for school or ball games and parent teacher conferences during breakfast.

Other favorite Filipino breakfast dishes are: hotdogs, pork and beans, sardines usually in tomato sauce and corned beef. Since children's classes start early in the Philippines, usually around 7-7:30 in the morning, breakfast food is usually easy to prepare. And rice is usually eaten with whatever viand there is.

Though it is not uncommon to find Filipinos eating cereals, oatmeal, toast or pancakes for breakfast, the tuyo, tapa and tocino will always be all time Filipino breakfast favorites. In some tables, a combination of a cooked and cold breakfast is even common. Mom may prefer oatmeal and fruit to her kids milk and cereal, and dad might opt for the cooked breakfast. It is also a frequent practice in most Filipino homes to eat pan de sal or bread while waiting for a cooked breakfast.

Filipinos definitely believe to eat like kings during breakfast because this gives us more time to chat with each other and enjoy each other's company. It is a time to relax before starting a long day.

Lance Thorington, a professional writer and online publisher, has written and published numerous articles in many different niches, especially about healthy eating [http://healthremedyreview.org]. Read more at [http://healthremedyreview.org]

My Links : le creuset 9 piece cookware set circulon infinite 10 piece cookware set all clad stainless 12 quart stock pot

Pinoy Food - How to Cook Afritada - Filipino Recipes

One of the specialties that Filipinos have inherited from their Spanish colonizers is the Afritada. It is a delectably rich stew mostly made up of potatoes and pork soaked in thick tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

750 grams of pork belly or liempo (sliced into 2 x 2 cubes)
250 grams of potatoes
3 to 4 pieces of tomatoes (coarsely chopped)
¾ cup of frozen sweet peas (thawed)
2 red or green bell peppers
1 whole garlic (finely minced)
2 large onions
2 carrots
2 bay leaves
¾ cup of tomato paste
½ teaspoon of dried oregano
½ teaspoon of dried rosemary
½ teaspoon of dried basil
6 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of meat broth

Cooking Instructions:

In a thick pan, heat the olive oil. Add the pork cubes when the oil is hot. Go on cooking until the edges of the meat start to turn brown. Place under high heat until fat starts to ooze out.
When the pork is already browned, take out the excess oil from the meat.
Add the bay leaves, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well. Add salt and pepper for seasoning.
Pour meat broth into the pan and stir well. Let simmer with the pan covered for about 15 minutes.
Add all the vegetables to the cooking stew and mix well. Then add the basil, rosemary and oregano. Cover the pan again and allow to simmer for about 25 minutes or until the meat and vegetables are thoroughly cooked. More broth can be added but take note that a richer and thicker sauce makes a better Afritada.
Add the sweet peas and cook for an addition 2 to 3 minutes.
Best served while hot.

Jasmine is a native Filipino with a passion for cooking and gardening. Her love of Pinoy food has lead her to create a website to share her favorite Filipino recipes with the world. Come and explore and enjoy a true taste of the Philippines with these authentic Pinoy recipes and stories of the Philippine culture.

My Links : all clad stainless 12 quart stock pot all clad cop r chef 8 inch fry pan lodge logic pre seasoned 10 1 2 inch round griddle

Filipino Bread

I don't have a favorite because I just love them all! There's ensaymada with all it's rich buttery goodness topped with more butter (margarine) queso de bolla shavings and sugar. Best eaten with some coffee or hot chocolate the kind made with tablea, the real kind of chocolate beaten with milk.

Then there's pan de sal which is the go to bread for any meal, whether it be breakfast to go with my coffee and tocino, lunch for my sandwich, merienda with my butter and cheese or dinner as a roll.

Bread Pan

Pan de coco is just as it sounds. It's bread with some coconut in it and sometimes, on it. It's a delicious soft sweat bread with coconut and sugar in the middle. It's really quite good on it's own. Like the ube bread, it makes a great dessert or coffee partner for breakfast.

Filipino bread is sweet kinda like Hawaiian bread. Monay is probably the family favorite. It's sweet like the Hawaiian bread but more dense and not flakey. It's even great after a few days as it gets stale (don't cringe, it's good). It gets more dense and hard as it gets older (few days) but still tastes wonderful. Some bakers put anise in their monay and I'm not as fond of that version as I am with the plain old monay.

The Filipino bakery that I go to always has a line. They're open at 6am and they don't close until late in the evening. The cashiers tell me they are always busy and you can tell how busy they get by the shelves of bread. I go at various times of the day and it seems as though the bread on the shelves are always warm. To have warm bread on the shelves, you've got to be constantly turning inventory. The people file in and out all day long. Just like me, they know what they're looking for and leave with a few other bags of things they really weren't planning on buying, but it looked too good and yummy to pass up.

Filipino Bread

Filipino parols are so symbolic of the Filipino Christmas season. A Filipino parol shines in every ones house to celebrate the season of sharing, giving, peace and love. Filipino Christmas parols are so unique and for us Filipinos, easily recognizable as the symbol of our faith and our culture.

Visit : cuisinart multiclad pro stainless steel 12 piece