One of my goals this year is to cook at least one Filipino dish a month. I'm not a bad cook, just a lazy one (a lot of eggs and sandwiches in this household) and I never bothered with savory Filipino food since that was my dad's domain. His food was always 🔥 Now that he's gone, taking his knowledge and recipes with him, I need to build up my repertoire bit by bit. I've armed myself with cookbooks, like The New Filipino Kitchen, The Filipino Instant Pot Cookbook, and I Am A Filipino for stories and recipes.
What I haven't done is stock my kitchen with appropriate ingredients. I wanted to start with sopas (creamy chicken and macaroni soup) since its bitter cold out, but realized I'd already used the chicken thighs for a different dish and somehow am out of evaporated milk. Looks like a trip to Seafood City is imminent.
Decided to ease into this challenge by preparing one of my favorite simple dishes: longanisa with fried egg and rice. My plating is messy af, but ain't nobody got time for that. Still super tasty and satisfying.
I'd usually prepare siningag (garlic fried rice) to go with it, but I was feeling the delicious simplicity of fluffy white rice. Besides, I had some sawsawan (spicy garlic vinegar) on the side providing plenty of tang and garlicky goodness.
This dish is one of my ultimate comfort foods and a great way to kick off the year.
How about you, Dear Readers? Do you have a favorite Filipino dish? Are you taking on any challenges this year? Let me know in the comments!
-- Mia