BAGNET RECIPEServes: 6

Ingredients

2 to 2 1/2 lbs. whole pork belly

1 medium red onion

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorn

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

6 cloves crushed garlic

4 to 6 cups water

3 cups cooking oil

Instructions

1. Arrange the pork belly in a wide and deep cooking pot. Pour-in the water. Make sure that the pork belly is fully submerged in water. Let boil.

2. Once the water starts to boil, add the garlic, onion, 1 tablespoon salt, and whole black peppercorn. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

3. Remove the boiled pork belly from the cooking pot and place in a plate. Let it cool to room temperature.

4. Rub the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of salt all over the boiled pork belly. Let is stay for 10 to 20 minutes.

5. Heat the cooking oil in a deep cooking pot. When the oil gets hot, gently put-in the pork belly and deep-fry in medium heat until the pork belly turns golden brown and the texture gets crispy. The oil will splatter during this process, so be careful. Make sure that you do not cover the cooking pot completely while deep frying. You can put a splatter guard on top of the cooking pot to control the oil.

6. Once the pork belly is golden brown and crispy, remove it from the cooking pot and arrange in a plate lined with paper towel. Turn the stove off and let the pork belly cool down to room temperature.

7. When the pork belly cools down, heat-up the oil on more time. Deep fry the same pork belly for the second time in medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until it gets extra crispy.

8. Remove from the cooking pot and place in a plate lined with paper towel. Let the towel absorb the excess oil.

9. Slice the pork bagnet into serving pieces and serve with bagoong monamon (also known as bugguong munamon) or even guinamos or bagoong Balayan. Note: you can squeeze lemon or calamansi on the bagoong to make it taste better.

10.Share and enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 6

Crispy tilapia sticks recipe

Ingredients

1 lb. thick tilapia fillet. each piece sliced lengthwise into 3 to 4 pieces

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs

2 cups cooking oil

Instructions

1. Combine the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground black pepper in a bowl mix well.

2. Rub the mixture all over the sliced tilapia fillets.3. Meanwhile, pour the oil in a deep cooking pot. Turn-on the heat and start to

heat-up the oil.4. Dip the tilapia fillet in the bowl with beaten egg then dredge the tilapia in

Panko breadcrumbs. make sure that the tilapia is well coated. To save more breadcrumbs and for better coating, you can place the breadcrumbs in a container with cover. Simply put 2 to 3 pieces if tilapia fillet in the container with breadcrumbs, cover it, and then shake the container back and forth. You will see that the tilapia will be coated properly.

5. Put the breaded tilapia into the hot oil and start to deep fry the fish until the color turns golden brown. Use medium heat in this step

6. Remove the deep fried crispy tilapia sticks from the cooking pot and place in a plate lined with paper towel. This will absorb the excess oil.

7. Transfer the crispy tilapia sticks in a serving plate and serve with a bowl of fresh ranch dressing. You can also serve this with tartar sauce.

Share and enjoy!

Stuffed eggplantIngredients

2 pieces Chinese eggplants

4 pieces assorted red and yellow sweet peppers (or bell peppers)

1/2 cup chopped scallions

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup cooking oil

Instructions

1. Grill the eggplants until the insides are soft and the skin gets burnt. Peel the skin. Arrange the eggplants in a flat surface and press with a fork. Set aside.

2. Combine the beaten eggs, salt, and ground black pepper. Whisk to mix well.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan.

4. Dip the eggplant in the egg mixture then lay flat on the pan. Fry for 1 minute.

5. While frying one side, arrange the chopped sweet peppers and scallions on top of the eggplant. Scoop a tablespoon or two of the egg mixture and pour over the eggplant.

6. Turn the eggplant over using a wide spatula. Fry the opposite side for 3 to 5 minutes in low to medium heat.

7. Top the other half with sweet peppers and scallions, then pour some beaten egg mixture over.

8. Flip the eggplant so that the opposite side gets cooked. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

9. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve.

10. Share and enjoy!

Brownies Ingredients

1 cup butter, preferably unsalted

2 cups sugar, white

1 tsp. vanilla essence or extract

½ cup cocoa powder

4 whole eggs, beaten

1 ½ cups of flour, all-purpose

½ tsp. baking powder

Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Soften butter by leaving it at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Do not melt. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Combine soft butter with sugar and mix well. Add cocoa powder little by little, mixing thoroughly. Add vanilla and eggs.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the flour into the butter-sugar mixture. Combine and transfer the mixture into a baking pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes until a light crust forms at the top of brownies. Brownies are incredibly easy to make. Create more flavors by adding caramel sauce, cream cheese, chocolate chips, nuts and fruit. Watch your portions and enjoy.

Project in HELE

BY: Chantelle Mae A. Tapar