KULINARYA COOKING CLUB JANUARY 2011 CHALLENGE

Our hosts for this month's KCC challenge, Jen , Maribel and Tressa wanted us to cook food that answers the question, "What Filipino dish (savoury or sweet) would you like to have on your birthday?" To be honest, I had a hundred dishes running through my mind, but due to time and budget constraints (haha!) I had to choose this dish that I tasted about 10 years ago but haven't had the chance to eat again...Bringhe.

So what exactly is Bringhe...my friend described it as the Kapampangan version of Paella, it also resembles another dish, Arroz ala Valenciana that my grandmother used to cook. Being a rice girl, it's no wonder that I've been on some sort of a quest to find a recipe for it, not just any recipe mind you, but I wanted a recipe that I'm fairly sure will be delicious. I was browsing through the internet and some Filipino cookbooks that I had when I remembered that I had a cookbook by Chef Gene Gonzales whose family is Kapampangan, his Cocina Sulipena, Culinary Gems from Old Pampanga is a treasure trove of history, illustrations, and photographs that opened my eyes to life in the finer families during those times. I knew I had a winner bringhe recipe so I decided to use it as a guide...I didn't follow all of it exactly but made it my springboard for this recipe:

BRINGHE

Chicken Thighs 1/4 kilo

Pork Belly 1/4 kilo

*Vinegar 1/4 cup

Patis (Fish Sauce) 2 tablespoons

Garlic, roughly chopped 2 cloves

Black pepper, cracked

* I used my favorite Pinakurat vinegar

Wash chicken and pork. Preheat pan with oil brown chicken and pork pieces. Add vinegar, patis, garlic, cracked black pepper and just enough water to cover. Cook over low fire until pork is tender( add more water as necessary to tenderize meat) and the liquid has almost dried up. Set aside. This step can be done the day before and the meat refrigerated for use the next day.

Glutinous Rice (Malagkit) 1/4 kilo

White RIce 1/4 kilo

Red Onion, small dice 1 piece

Lemongrass 1 stalk

Bay Leaf 1 piece

Coconut Milk 1 cup

Chicken Stock 2 cups

Ground Turmeric 2 teaspoons

Chinese Sausage, sliced 2 pieces

Raisins 1/4 cup

Patis

Black pepper, cracked

Soak Glutinous Rice and White rice in water. Pound the white part of the lemongrass and slice thinly. Dissolve ground turmeric in coconut milk. Preheat pan with oil, saute onions until translucent and fragrant. Add cracked bay leaf, lemongrass and rice. Add coconut milk and chicken stock. Stir once in a while to prevent rice from sticking on pan. Season with patis and black pepper. When rice is done, Line another pan with banana leaves, transfer cooked rice and stir in the cooked meats, sliced sausages and raisins. Season to taste. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

The texture of the rice reminds me of risotto, only richer because of the coconut milk. Delicious!

I'm so happy with this recipe, I like that the meats were cooked separately instead of with the rice so that it was delicious even on it's own. Oh and this is the first recipe that I've tried from that cookbook, and this certainly isn't the last!

Kulinarya Cooking Club was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about th Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish with their family recipes. We hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.

If you are interested in joining our Kulinarya Cooking Club, please feel free to drop by our foodblogs and leave a comment--we would love to hear from you!