Christmas is coming!
Filipinos are fond of celebrations and eating together with family and friends is considered as bonding norm. Now that Christmas is near, have you prepared a list of dishes you will prepare for your family Noche Buena? If not, lucky you! We have listed a couple of Pinoy favorites that you can consider including in your Noche Buena feast:
- Filipino Style Spaghetti
A staple on every occasion. What makes Filipino spaghetti distinct from other countries’ recipes is its characteristic sweet and meaty flavor that every Filipino kid loves. Cooking spaghetti is simple: its sauce is made from tomato sauce, banana ketchup, ground meat and hotdog and served with bountiful cheese on top!
- Pancit Guisado
A dish that is present in every Filipino gathering. Pancit guisado – may it be bihon, canton or miki, is always served in festivities and is believed to influence longevity and good life. Common ingredients include carrots, cabbage, Baguio beans and pork cutlets.
- Paella
A Filipino adaptation of one-pot Spanish dish. Differs with the use of native glutinous rice (malagkit), which gives it a soft and sticky texture. It is topped and mixed with chicken, chorizo and seafoods such as shrimps and mussels.
- Lumpiang Shanghai
There’s a reason why they are gone immediately once served. This deep-fried appetizer made from ground pork, minced carrots, onion, parsley and other seasonings rolled in thin dough wrappers is crunchy and tasty at the same time. You can also choose to serve this with ketchup or sweet and sour sauce.
- Beef Morcon
It’s not a feast when there is no beef morcon! This Pinoy-style braised beef roulade is made from rolled flank steak stuffed with boiled egg, carrot, hotdog or sausage, pickled cucumber and cheese. The roulade is pan-seared first before simmering in the mixture of beef broth, tomato sauce and other seasonings to achieve a fork-tender meat texture. YUMMM!
- Embutido
Another feast staple, this Filipino-style meatloaf is prepared using ground pork, onions, carrots, bell pepper, relish, and raisins. The flattened meat mixture is place on aluminum foil, then rolled into cylindrical shape and steamed.
- Leche Flan
When you say Filipino dessert, leche flan is well-known. This sweet, rich and creamy dessert is prepared by steaming mixture of egg yolks, condensed milk and evaporated milk placed in a container called llanera with thin layer of caramelized sugar then steamed.
- Buko Pandan
A traditional cold treat, this Filipino chilled dessert is made from pandan-flavored gelatin, shredded buko meat, cream, and condensed milk. Usually added with tapioca pearls and nata de coco.
- Fruit Salad
A quick and easy to prepare dessert. Filipino version of fruit salad contains fruit cocktail, buko meat, nata de coco, all-purpose cream and condensed milk that are mixed together and chilled before serving.
- Puto Bumbong
Christmas is often associated with this Filipino rice cake prepared using glutinous rice. The rice mixture placed in bamboo tubes are cooked in special steamer called lansungan. It is served with margarine, shredded coconut meat and muscovado sugar on top.
The menu list for Noche Buena goes on. We are sure you have your own family specialties and favorites as well. As we enjoy these foods, we should keep in mind to eat healthily. Use the Pinggang Pinoy as guide for serving a delicious and nutritious feast.
Know more about the nutritional value of these foods in our FACTkain Holiday edition here: https://tinyurl.com/NNCMiMaRoPaFACTkain
Happy holidays!
(BLVMEstrella)
