Monday, April 06, 2009

Philippine Pork "BBQ"



[js]
The last four months have just been unseasonably cold in Vancouver.

It started snowing the last weekend of November and it seems like this cold weather system has never left us. The whole month of December felt like a wash: all I remember was trucking in and out of snow in very wet clothes.

January and February: very, very cold, sometimes going into negative temperatures overnight. We even had a couple of snow flurries in March!

And now April. On April Fool's Day, we had icy rain or rainy snow -- whatever it's called it just seems like an unfunny prank. I had hoped that the weather would have improved by the time we returned from Taiwan and the lion (a.k.a. winter) would have been long gone.

To console ourselves, we look back and we look forward. Summer is where it's at. I can't wait to start grilling again.

[ts]
Although we have made "pork barbeque skewers" indoors, using the broiler, nothing beats grilling them outside over charcoals.

What is this "pork barbeque", you ask?

Well, we have waxed poetical about this most favorite of a Philippine dish before.

Read about how we think our Yaya's recipe is the BEST IN THE WORLD.

Or, about how we find skewering the meat onto the sticks to be ultra-difficult, given we usually do this 15 pounds at a time.

Or, about how we complain if there are only 2 or 3 skewers per person.

Or, take a look at the recipe and see how Yaya addresses me personally in her recipe.

It's all here: Philippine-style Chicken "BBQ"

[js]
I find myself looking at these pictures of warmer times to tide me over this long stretch of cold weather.

I am also trying desperately to catch up on my blog reading (I'm about a couple of months behind). I have so many of fellow bloggers' posts marked as "keep new," for me to re-read and comment on one of these days. I'll get to them.

(I remember in the early days of blogging when I would desperately try to remember which blogs I've visited and visiting blogs to check if they have updated that day. There was simply no way I could keep up, doing my blog-reading in that old, haphazard way.)

(A feed reader is a heavensend. Google provides a feed reader and I use Bloglines myself. I've no special reason why I use Bloglines: it was just what I picked up during those confusing times and I am too lazy to switch.)

These pictures were from our last pork barbecue session outside. We present Summer 2008: Philippine Pork "BBQ"!

Skewering

Boy, were we ever glad when the gongs (our cousins) offered to help us skewer the meat! Thanks, gongs!


The pork pieces were first marinated for at least 24 hours before being skewered.

The Sauce: Grilling and Basting

The sauce is based on the marinade, with a few additional ingredients.


Must baste! Must baste!

The Reward

drooooooooooool

And here's how one should eat Philippine Pork BBQ to show you enjoy them (on the skewer!).

Boss #2


Aw, this brings back childhood memories...

Oh my, I want some now!

Find the recipe here: Philippine Chicken "BBQ"

Yaya's Greatest Hits
Philippine-style Hamburger
Philippine Pork "BBQ"
Philippine Chicken "BBQ"
Golden Egg Torta

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34 comments:

  1. Yum...this is M'sarap factorX ten!

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  2. I can't wait for grilling weather too! This is the longest winter

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    Replies
    1. anytime is grilling time ..lol

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  3. Lead us not into temptation... :)

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  4. I'm ready for some bar-b-que!

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  5. The City of Bedford TX is having a Labor Day BBQ cook-off with $10,000 in prize money. Enter at www.bedfordbluesbbq.com

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  6. Peter M:
    Thanks! Super-sarap talaga! =)

    kat:
    Yeah, the weather here has been extremely strange.

    Cynthia:
    Haha. But hey, as far as I'm concerned, Philippine Pork "BBQ" is good for you!

    Pam:
    Me too!

    Bob:
    Thanks for visiting! I don't think this "bbq" qualifies as real barbeque for that event. But that event sounds like a great place to go to!

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  7. Oooh, this takes me back... Oh, wait, I AM back! Heh heh heh :) I think I'll go hunting for a few skewers now, I'm so hungry! (Okay, maybe not on Good Friday...)

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  8. Manggy:
    You're lucky... you can have this whenever you want. For us, it takes commitment! ;D

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  9. My brother just set-up his new BBQ. I'm going to show him this for some inspiration. Thanks!

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  10. This could win a prize! Wow, stickylicious!!

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  11. This looks seriously beyond good. I am drooling and can't wait to try it!

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  12. Ooh, wow. I found this through foodgawker and I'm so glad I did. I seem to be seeing more and more Filipino food on fg and tastespotting these days... maybe because I'm Filipina-American I notice more or something. Anyway, I know exactly how this tastes and even though it is 1AM, I kind of want to eat it. Anyway, I know pretty much zero Tagalog, but I do know "sarap" :)

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  13. OMG that looks astonishingly good. I foresee this recipe (or something remarkably like it!) making an appearance on our BBQ menue this summer...

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  14. Angela:
    We do hope you guys try it! =)

    Proud Italian Cook:
    Emily:
    Thanks! =D

    Ashley:
    Haha, sarap is right. =) Thanks for the visit! We have other Filipino recipes on the site. Hope you check them out.

    Jeanne:
    I want to see your take on it! =)

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  15. Years and years ago I worked with a bunch of Filipino guys who made this fantastic barbecue for company potlucks. I tried to get the recipe but all I managed to learn (their English was only a little better than my Tagalog) was that the marinade contained 7up. Well, I tried your recipe this weekend, and I think this is it. DANG, this is good stuff! Thanks!!

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  16. marymc:
    Oooh, a success story. We're so happy you like it and it worked for you! =D

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  17. Hey great site! I am marinating the pork as I type this but I have a question. I'm using double the amount of pork listed in your recipe, so naturally I doubled the marinade ingredients, including double the 7up. The marinate came our to a light color but in your pictures. It's dark! Am I doing something wrong? I followed your recipe exactly but double and instead of regular sugar, I used brown sugar. Help please!

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  18. Hi Rich,

    I think you mean the picture in our other post, the PORK BBQ, correct?

    Here: http://www.eatingclubvancouver.com/2008/08/philippine-style-chicken-bbq.html

    I wouldn't worry about it... it could be the lighting in the photograph making it seem really dark, or the maassive amount of black pepper we put in there. As long as you taste the marinade and it's OK to you, then it should be fine. Also, sometimes different kinds of soy sauce have different consistencies and color.

    So, in short, nope, you're not doing anything wrong!

    =)

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  19. Thanks for the reply, I tried it out and it came out ok - I think I have to work on HOW to cook it, i.e. how long, temp, etc.

    Notice how anal I am about these things yet?

    But definitely great flavors going on there!

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  20. Rich:
    Yeah, the actual cooking of it depends on a lot of factors like the heat source, the size of the meat skewers, etc etc etc.

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  21. Okay, I am going to try and make these tonight. I will see how they turn out! Only problem is some of the translations/measurements are not clear. I hope they come out right!

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  22. I tried your recipe on my son's 3rd b-day party and it was such a BIG hit. Many people asked what kind of sauce I used. It was my first time and oh boy sooo yummy. I was asked to make it again. Thanks a lot for sharing your recipe to us.

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  23. Anon 1:
    Yeah, sorry about the non-exactness of the measurements. I usually just add stuff and adjust amounts as I go along, tasting as I go (tasting before adding the raw meat, of course!).

    Anon 2:
    Soooo happy it turned out great! =D

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  24. I've tried your recipe a couple of times and I can't seem to get the sauce right. Do you have any suggestions? Do you use all the marinade, or part? Is it a lot of ketchup or a little? I end up boiling all of the marinade and then adding in the extras. My husband keeps telling me that the sauce is good but doesn't seem quite right. Any tips?

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  25. It depends how much marinade you have left over. Sometimes we don't use a lot of glaze so I don't use a lot of the marinade to make the glazing sauce. As for the final taste, it's really hard to say because every person does have their own formulation. If you husband has a sauce in mind, then it's hard to know what version he is thinking of. Does he want the sauce sweeter? Tangier? Saltier? It may just call for tons of experimentation on your part. Sorry we can't be of more help!

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  26. I want to try your recipe, but I dont know what is calamansi. Can anyone tell me what is it?

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    1. It's a type of citrus fruit (see link below). It comes either with an orange skin or a dark green skin. If you can't find it, either lemon or lime would work in a pinch.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamondin

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  27. It would be nice if you had included the recipe for us to make our own mouth-watering BBQ!

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    Replies
    1. Hello -- there's a link to the recipe in the post. (Found in the middle and at the end of the post.)

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  28. Sure make it inconvenient to find the recipe

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  29. The recipe calls for 10pcs calamansi. Id I use lemon instead, how many lemons did you use? Do you use the juice of calamansi (or lemons) or you cut them in pieces?

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  30. The first time I made this BBQ was many many years ago when my youngest was in elementary. He is turning 18 this week and I plan to BBQ at his party. I forgot where I savwd the recipe and searched online for more than 2 hrs! I was getting disappointed then I remember to check my Pinterest and there it was! I can already imagine how good it is and people loving it and saying the it is the best tasting BBQ! Thanks for sharing your Yaya’s recipe.

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  31. ts of eatingclubvancouverSeptember 29, 2022 6:29 PM

    Thanks so much for the comment! It's nice to hear that people are still finding the site/recipe useful. =)

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