Filipino Night

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was treated to delicious Filipino food by my friend and co-worker Thessally on Holy Saturday. Will and I LOVED the food we ate that night, and I was desperate to re-create the Chicken Adobo and Lumpia. I was very intimidated by the lumpia, mainly because I never fry anything and I was convinced the lumpia wrappers would fall apart in the skillet. Luckily, Carlota (another co-worker of mine) gave me a few extra tips before I went home that night to make the lumpia, and everything turned out just fine. They weren't as pretty as the ones she brings in to the work potlucks, but hey I'll take what I can get!

Chicken Adobo

Ingredients:

mixture of chicken thighs and legs
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

1. Rinse the chicken well, and place it in a large pot. Mix all the other ingredients together in a small bowl, then pour over the chicken. Cover and marinate for 1-3 hours.

2. Remove the cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, put the cover on the pot and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove the cover once more, and simmer for about another 20 minutes, until the sauce becomes thick. Serve the chicken over steamed white rice.

Filipino Lumpia

Ingredients:

Package of frozen lumpia wrappers (I used Orientex)
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, shredded
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped*
salt and black pepper to taste
vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Remove the lumpia wrappers from the freezer, and let them defrost for one hour. They will be very easy to peel afterwards.

2. Combine the pork, beef, garlic, carrots, onion, celery, salt and pepper in a large bowl, and mix well.

3. Place one lumpia wrapper flat on a board. Spread a generous amount of the meat mixture on the wrapper, then begin wrapping (start with the bottom corner, then the left side, then the right, then roll up completely). Seal the top end with a little bit of water, set aside. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.

4. In a large skillet, pour in a generous amount of vegetable oil and turn the heat up to high.

5. Place lumpia in the skillet, and fry until golden brown on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon, and let them dry on a plate with paper towels.

6. Serve on a platter with sweet and sour sauce on the side.

*Sadly, my food processor is still in the States, but if you actually have one in your kitchen, you could place the garlic, carrots, onion, and celery in the food processor to make it a little easier and quicker.