Pepper's Trail

Growing up in Asia, tamarind is a local fruit. If you wonder what it looks like, it is an indehiscent legume, sometimes called a pod, 12 to 15 cm (4 1⁄2 to 6 in) in length, with a hard, brown shell. The fruit has a fleshy, juicy, acidic pulp.

I can provide a brief history of this dish, but it has been altered into many variants and you could replace the meat with fish or chicken. I'd like to describe it as chopped crispy pork seasoned with fresh onion, chili and other spices, usually served in cast iron sizzler

Ginataang munggo is a Filipino recipe made of toasted mung beans cooked with sticky rice on a sweet coconut milk and is often a snack or dessert best paired with pipping hot coffee. On some regions in the Philippines, this recipe is called "totong" or "sinugno". The smell while making

Steamed custard or something very similar to crema catalan of Spain! This is a popular dessert in the Philippines and you can easily find one on special celebrations or occasions such as birthdays, weddings, fiesta/thanksgiving and also on some authentic Filipino restaurant. Ingredients: 10 eggs yolks 1 can condensed

Tinola is a Filipino chicken soup flavored with leaves of siling labuyo (similar to Thai chili pepper), ginger, onions and fish sauce. Pear squash or green papaya is usually added along with chickens cut in serving size. It is served either as an appetizer or main and it is best

I'm going to share the secret to ginisang ampalaya (i.e., Sautéed bitter melon) such that it won't taste too bitter. First, do not overcook the melon. It's meant to be still a little crunchy even after cooking it. Second and most important, marinate it for 15 good minutes in

This is the easiest indoor/home-cooked version of rellenong pusit (Filipino charcoal grilled stuff-squid). Simple, easy and very tasty. Ingredients: squid (or pusit) 2 large salad tomato - finely chopped 1 large onion - finely chopped salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/8 cup vinegar

Yes, this one is made out of the bought packet from the store - saves a lot of time and taste equally great! However, if you're craving for dark chocolate theme brownies, this might not be the one for you. I will upload a dark chocolate brownies recipe separately in

Bagoong pertains to shrimp paste, a very popular condiment in southeast Asia. Shrimp paste is made from very small baby shrimp with salt and then fermented for several weeks. I used to live close to the shore, I remember my mother's binagoongan to be made of fresh baby shrimp from

This is a traditional Filipino cake made out of cassava. You may recall my first post involving grated cassava is 'Ube halaya' recipe. You will not believe how many dish you can make out of grated cassava. When I find some more time to write, I will upload another recipe

The best puto I tasted was made of rice flour. Not the ready-to-use rice flour from the store but actual rice grains made to powder by grinding. I'm not sure if this is still a thing but that is really the best 'puto' I had. Ordinary bread flour can be

The power of sauté /ˈsəʊteɪ/! Did you know that most Filipino dish starts by sauteing? This dish literally means sauteed minced pork - and yes that's a dish ^^ I like this dish because it is very simple and easy to make. I prefer my version to be on a very

This recipe is dear to me because it reminds me a lot of my University days. One of my favorite dish and a little tweak from the popular Adobo (for which I realised I haven't written about yet!) Bistek dish is like a slang Filipino word for "steak" and it

Whenever I'm feeling stressed, I used to visit a cafe back home to get a taste of fresh brewed coffee with my ever favorite blueberry cheesecake. Now that the cafe is more than 6,000 miles away, I need to be creative and bake my own as I don't quite

Bilo-bilo is made of glutenous rice balls. Ginataang bilo-bilo is a Filipino dessert made in sweet coconut milk, with glutenous rice balls, fresh jack fruit, banana, tapioca pearls, sweet potato and sometimes purple yam. Ingredients: Glutenous rice powder Water Ripe jackfruit - I used those in tin made from Thailand

Caldereta is a Filipino tomato-based stew. It's very tasty and normally served on special occasions such as birthdays or fiesta. Traditionally, it is made of goat meat or the most popular option beef. My mother used to make them using chicken because she finds it easier to digest and she's

Filipino spring rolls or lumpiang shanghai is a Filipino deep-fried spring roll filled with a mixture of ground pork, shrimp and chosen vegetables and herbs. I personally like it because it's a great make-ahead meal. When I have some free time over the weekend, I make a few dozens to

This is an experimental recipe which turns out really great. The thing that I like most about it is its cotton softness that looks as if the cake is giggling when taken out of the baking tin plus the lightness of the cake - not too sweet and not too

Purple yam is a popular Filipino dessert which can be served on its own, or as a component ingredient to another iced dessert called Halo-Halo. There are many variations to this dish and the most authentic one uses real purple yam, dioscorea alata, the plant’s scientific name. The tubers