Suam (Filipino Corn Soup)

Ingredients:

1 sm onion (thinly sliced)
2 tbs cooking oil
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 lbs raw shrimps (shelled/deveined and diced)
2 c shrimp shells juice (or clam juice)
salt and pepper to taste
1.5 c chopped corn
1/2 c pepper leaves (spinach or watercress will do)

1. Shell and devein and dice the shrimps. Take the shrimp shells and pound to get the juice out. Set aside.

2. In a pot, heat oil and saute garlic and onions until the onion is translucent. Add the shrimp and saute for another minute or so. Stir in shrimp shell juice or clam juice, water, pepper and corn. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the corn is done. Add the chili pepper leaves and cook for another minute.

Balatung (Munggong Guisado)

Ingredients:

3 c munggo (mung beans)
4 c stock (or water)
1 sm head of garlic (minced)
1 sm onion (diced)
2 large tomatoes (diced)
3-4 c water
1 c diced pork (with fat)
1 c ampalaya leaves (you can use ampalaya)
salt and pepper to taste
fish sauce to taste

1. Wash the munggo (like you would rice) and take out all the beans that floats to the top. In a sauce pan, combine water and munggo and boil until tender (about 1 hour). Strain and set aside.

2. In a pot, brown pork pieces until oil start to come out. Add garlic, onion and tomatoes and cook until onion is translucent and tomatoes are wilted. Add fish sauce and cook for another minute. Add munggo and stock or water and season with salt and pepper. Add the ampalaya leaves or sliced ampalaya. Serve hot with steam rice and fried fish or Tinapa.

Variations: I've seen this dish cooked with shrimps and spinach instead of pork and ampalaya leaves.
The Kapampangan way to prepare this dish is by straining the mung beans and discarding the bean shells or skins.

Lagat (Ampalaya con Carne

Ingredients:

1 c pork (cut into small strips)
2 medium-size ampalaya (cut julliene style thinly)
2 large tomatoes (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 tbs oil
1 egg (scrambled)
salt and pepper to taste

In a pan, heat oil and brown pork. Add onion and garlic and tomatoes and cook until onion is translucent. Add ampalaya and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until ampalaya is done. Add scrambled egg and stir to coat vegetables.

Papaya Ukoy

Ingredients:

2 c all purpose-flour
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 c water
2 c green papaya (grated)
1 sm onion (chopped)
200 g small fresh shrimps, (cleaned and drained)
1 c oil

Mix flour, salt, pepper and water together to make a smooth batter. Add grated papaya and onion. Place 2-3 tbs of mixture in a saucer to form patties and press 2-3 shrimps on top. In a large skillet, heat cooking oil. Fry the patties until golden brown and crispy. Serve with vinegar and garlic sauce.

Lumpiang Sariwa

Ingredients

Filling

1/4 c cooking oil
3/4 c sweet potato, diced
1 tbs garlic (crushed)
1 sm onion (sliced thinly)
1/4 tsp achuete powder
1 c green beans (blanched and diced)
2 1/2 bean sprouts
1 tbs oyster sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Wrapper

1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cornstarch
2 eggs
1 1/2 c water
3 tbs cooking oil

Sauce

1/2 c sugar
6 tbs cornstarch
2 c water
5 tbs soy sauce

In a pan, fry sweet potatoes until tender. Set aside. In the same pan, saute garlic and onion until done. Add achuete and stir fry. Add the green beans, sweet potato, bean sprouts and oyster sauce. Stir fry until cooked.

Wrapper: In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and make a well in the center, gradually mix in egg, water, and oil. Stir until it forms a smooth batter. Pour onto a heated 6-inch teflon pan, approximately 1/4 c at a time.

Sauce: In a small pan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water and soy sauce. Stir over medium heat until thick.

Line the wrapper with 1 leaf lettuce and place 2 heaping tbs of filling on it. Roll and seal. Serve with brown sauce, chopped garlic and toasted peanuts.