SM Hypermarket Master Chefs program in Iloilo City

Today I was at SM Hypermarket in Jaro to be part the marathon cooking demos happening simultaneously around the country in celebration of the supermarket’s 10th year anniversary. It was the inaugural event for the Iloilo branch and excitement was all around the place.

The program started with the introduction of the master chef - Mr. Jose Ricky Paborada. He’s currently the house chef and instructor at Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus but prior to this, he has served quite a few notable places and had some share of accomplishments.

He has worked at the former Hotel Nikko Manila Garden (now Dusit Hotel Manila) for ten years (2 years in the main kitchen, 2 years in the international coffee shop and 6 years cold kitchen). During these years he joined the Chefs on Parade and got silver medals in the Seafood Cocktail category for two straight years (1995-96).

He then transferred to Riviera Golf and Country Club in Silang, Cavite owned by former pres. Fidel V Ramos. Then in 2000, he accepted the offer at CSCJ and has been part of the school since then.

It was a meaty (and rainy) afternoon as Chef Jose prepared three basic recipes with a new taste dimension using selected Knorr products.

Adobo without vinegar?

For starters Chef Jose prepared Beef Adobo using the following recipe.1kg beef sirloin sukiyaki cut

250ml Knorr liquid seasoning
5 gms Knorr tamarind soup base
60 gms chopped garlic
10 gms ground peppercorn
3 pcs bay leaf
200 ml canola oil

Mix all the seasonings (except canola oil), add the beef and marinate for 24 hours. To cook the adobo, sauté the beef (in small batches to maximize browning) for 3 minutes on each side then set aside. When done, place the remaining marinade in the pan, add the browned beef and bring to a boil. Serves 10 people.

While others were surprised that Chef Jose concocted an adobo recipe without vinegar – he used Knorr tamarind soup base, it was no surprise for me since I’ve been doing that for years now. He explains using tamarind soup base gives more than sourness, it gives a deeper flavour to his recipes –whatever they maybe, adobo that time.

And yes, the beef adobo he made was apt for my taste, just the right tinge of sourness from the “sinigang mix” and flavor from Knorr Liquid seasoning.

After every has tasted the yummy beef adobo, an intermission was provided by the Hyper Dancers to break the gastronomic monotony then Chef Jose up his sleeves for his next recipe

Menudo ala Tapas

It was as well another basic recipe for Menudo using the following ingredients and cooking method.

1 kg pork tenderloin salpicao cut
250ml Knorr liquid seasoning
8 gms Knorr tamarind soup base
5 gms Knorr Rostip
40 gms chopped garlic
300 gms chorizo bilbao
150 gms dices and blanched carrots
150 gms green peas
600 ml tomato sauce
3 gms kasubha
40 gms liver spread

Mix the first four ingredients and let it stay for 24 hours. To prepare, sauté the pork and brown each side. Then add all the other ingredients and simmer for until the pork becomes tender. Finally, adjust the flavour using Knorr Rostip. Serves 10.

Despite the time constraints, the pork and carrots turned out to be tender to each bite. The sauce was just ordinary tasting yet good enough to make us yearn for a cup of rice to go with this menudo recipe.

Beef Steak with a twist

I still have to get the recipe but it is safe to say that it is almost the same as the beef adobo take/add few ingredients. Instead of the concocting from scratch Chef Jose, made a short cut and used Knorr Demi Glace sauce mix.

It’s a ready mix powder that creates the flavour and consistency of a sauce usually used for roast beef, steaks and others. No need to concoct it from scratch, just add warm water and mix to desired consistency. On top of this Chef Jose added Clara Ole’s Cheesy Pesto sauce giving it more aroma and a kick to the already savoury mix.

It was an afternoon full of gastronomic discoveries at the same time fun watching the curious audience getting the hang of what Chef Jose was preparing. Of course there was the thrill of imagining how the finished product would taste like plus the excitement of the raffle draw to the crowd.

You too can be part of this activity as three more cooking demos (for Iloilo City) are scheduled within the next two months. Watch out the next Master Chef cooking demo series soon only from SM Hypermarket and its co -presenters.

Check the schedules for this event in your area at NomNom Club.

More photos in Flavours of Iloilo on Facebook

Acknowledgment: Many thanks to Mr. Jonel Uy (www.letsgosago.net and www.nomnomclub.com) for inviting members of the Iloilo Bloggers to cover the event and Ms. Aren Patron of SM Hypermarket Iloilo for the gracious accommodation today.

Mama's Kitchen and Sinamay House in Arevalo

A stones throw away from the plaza of La Villa de Arevalo is an ancestral house where one can find not only good pasalubong items but also a look into the past of the district. Known as the Sinamay House , this well preserved ancestral house is an attraction not only in the outside but also what it houses inside. A collection of what the past like is housed in the two storey edifice which also acts like a museum of sorts. Sinamay is simply known as abaca by most and, here, a variety of products made from this fiber can be found. I remember watching a feature on tv wherein the owner proudly showed a framed letter signed by the late Princess of Wales, Diana, showing her appreciation of the handkerchief she was given as a gift coming from this very shop. But the attraction I am most familiar with are the chewies and crunchies made by Mama's Kitchen. Attractively packed in boxes showing their current flavours and variety, this is among the better...

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece por...

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare. ...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Search This Blog