Filipino Pork Barbeque

Weather is nice outside so we decided to cook barbeque in the backyard. One of my all-time favourites and Philippines' most popular food! Nothing beats smelling the aroma of inasal (barbeque) in the middle of the street that's why I use to eat them every day especially my favourite isaw or chicken intestine. I know it sounds gross to some but I totally love  weird foods. So I decided to make my very own pinoy pork barbeque, good thing we have filo stores to buy the ingredients from.

Ingredients:

1 slab of pork belly (1 1/2 kilos) (skin removed so you can easily skewer the meat on the stick )

1 cup of soy sauce

1 whole garlic peeled & smashed

1 small onion minced

1 lemon

½ cup of 7UP/Sprite

1 tsp. ground black pepper

5 tbsp.dark brown sugar

1 cup of banana sauce (ketchup)

1 tsp. MSG

2 tbsp. of oil (for basting)

Directions:

Soak bamboo skewers in water overnight to avoid splitting and burning before using. Cut pork into ½ thick x 1” inch wide x 1 ½ ” inch pieces. Slide pork onto skewers and set aside.

 In a large bowl combine soy sauce, garlic, onion, juice of 2 lemons, 7-UP, ground black pepper, dark brown sugar, banana ketchup, and msg. Using a whisk mix and dissolve ingredients really well and pour marinade mixture onto the pork. Cover and set in the fridge at least overnight or up to 2 days. Don't let it marinate for more than two days as the marinade will overwhelm the taste of the meat. Barbecue over hot coals or gas grill until pork is done.

For dipping sauce, I used soy sauce, chopped onions, minced garlic, chilli and vinegar. Baste the pork with the remaining marinade and oil to further enhance the flavor while barbecuing. Basting the meat will also help to keep it moist through the entire cooking process. Make sure you allow the marinade to cook when using it for basting, remember this is a left over marinade.

Enjoy your barbeque!☺

Sticky Date Pudding w/ Caramel Sauce

Since this is my first post, I'll share the first ever dessert recipe that I baked and one of my hubby's favorite as well. It's very easy to make, just make sure you follow the right measurement of ingredients, tips and step-by-step instructions and you'll have the yummiest and moistest sticky date pudding ever!

For the ingredients, make sure you have:

250g pitted dates, chopped roughly or into chunks, whatever you like
(With mine, I chop half into tiny pieces and the other half into chunks so you can still chew on some of the chunks.)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 cups boiling water
125g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs (preferably not from the fridge for smoother mixing)
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted

For the caramel sauce, we need:

1 cup brown sugar
300ml thickened cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
60g butter

Everything ready? Let's begin!

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of a 7cm deep, 22cm (base) cake pan.

Place dates and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Pour over boiling water and stand for 20-30 minutes to soften the dates.

Now, using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, using a spatula, fold through date mixture and flour until everything is well combined.

Spoon mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn onto a plate.

Now, for the caramel sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens a little bit.

If you want to serve the pudding immediately, pierce pudding all over with a skewer. Pour 1/2 cup of warm sauce over warm pudding and stand for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and pour the remaining sauce into each slice. You can serve it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to make it more enjoyable.

Here's a tip:
I always keep caramel sauce in the fridge 'cause it always comes in handy on any desserts. As long as you store the sauce in an airtight jar, it can last up to 2-3 months and just re-heat it whenever you need some.

Cook with ♥,
Tami

Recipe from taste. Tried different sticky date recipes but this one is by far the best.