By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, August 4, 1999

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Carrot curls and parsley adorn a bowl of veggie-rich Shrimp Sari Sari.

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Filipino food a hot item

uite a few requests have come in lately for traditional Filipino dishes. So many that the responses will have to be presented in two parts.

This week: Sari Sari, for Laura Aweau, and an "old-time, original" recipe for Bibingka for Jody Sandobal.

First, the Sari Sari, a recipe developed in 1995 by Keith Endow, at the time a member of the Hawaiian Knights 4-H club. Endow, now a senior majoring in geography at Southern Oregon University, entered the recipe in the 4-H Foodshow, an annual cooking competition.

The Hawaiian Knights was actually an archery club, Endow recalls, but members dabbled in cooking. Sari Sari is a favorite dish of his parents. "My mom kind of pushed me to make that." He started with a traditional recipe and adapted it to make it his own.

The annual Foodshow draws 80-90 4-Hers each year, the point being to have them develop recipes, perfect them within their clubs, then present them in a competitive environment. All entries are published in a cookbook, which is always a great composite of local recipe ideas.

The 1995 "O'ahu County 4-H Foodshow Cookbook" focused on Filipino foods. Some copies are still available. To order, send $7 plus $3 postage to the Urban Garden Center/Attention: Steve/962 Second St./Pearl City, 96782. The 1999 cookbook is called "Ring of Fire" and focuses on chocolate desserts. It may be ordered through the same address for $5, plus $3 postage. For more information call 453-6054.

On to Bibingka, a classic mochi-like dessert. Sandobal, a former Ewa Beach resident transplanted to Everett, Wash., doesn't care for modern Bibingkas made with mochiko. She wants to make hers from scratch with rice.

This recipe comes from a veteran Filipina cook, who is too shy to be named, but says her Bibingka is easy and always turns out great.

Sandobal is willing to grind her rice and grate fresh coconut, but our cook says all that is not necessary, unless you want to make your own coconut milk (pour 1 to 1-1/2 cups boiling water over 3 cups grated coconut; let stand 15 minutes, knead and strain through cheesecloth). She uses whole mochi rice prepped in a rice cooker and says it turns out better than rice that is ground or pounded.

Next week: Lumpiang Sariwa (Fresh Lumpia).

SHRIMP SARI SARI

"Oahu County 4-H Foodshow Cookbook," 1995

1-1/2 cups water
Salt to taste
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium tomatoes, in eighths
1/2 small onion, sliced
3 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
1 small hyotan squash, sliced diagonally
1-2 hechima squash, sliced diagonally
1 long eggplant, sliced diagonally
6 string beans, sliced diagonally

Heat water in a large pot, adding salt. Just before water comes to a boil, add shrimp. Remove after 1 minute, before water boils. Add garlic, tomatoes and onions to the water in the pot. Cook over medium heat 4 minutes. Add patis and remaining vegetables. Cook until vegetables are tender, but not overcooked. Add shrimp and serve.

Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 175 calories, 2 g total fat, 0.5 saturated fat, 140 mg cholesterol, greater than 900 mg sodium.*

BIBINGKA

4 cups sweet mochi rice
4 cups water
1 13-1/2 can coconut milk
2 cups brown sugar

Soak rice in water 30 minutes, then cook in rice cooker. Mix cooked rice with 1/2 can of coconut milk and spread in a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining coconut milk with brown sugar and cook over medium heat until sticky. Spread over baked rice and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes, uncovered.

Makes 25-30 pieces.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per piece: 215 calories, 4 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 15 mg sodium.*

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Mochi mix-up One of last week's recipes for Chocolate Mochi contained an error in the amount of mochiko to be used. Here is the corrected recipe: CHOCOLATE MOCHI 2 cups mochiko 2 cups sugar 1 tablespoon baking soda 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 2 12-ounce cans evaporated milk 2 eggs, beaten 2 teaspoons vanilla Sift together mochiko, sugar and baking soda. Melt butter with the chocolate chips. Combine milk, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add chocolate to the milk mixture and stir. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes Cool before slicing.

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.