I was taught by my Mom how to cook simple home meals when I was in the Elementary Grades. We were lucky within my siblings that we were taught by our Mom how to cook simple home meals in our early age. Our Dad also taught us how to cook but more importantly, how to butcher live animals and dress them properly into cooking pieces. My brother and two sisters are fine cooks with Pinoy Recipes up to this date! The efforts of our parents to teach us on how to cook were not in vain!

When the Covid-19 Lockdown started in March 16 of this year, I was prepared for the food requirements for the days and weeks ahead. My freezer was full of meat/poultry and my pantry was with a considerable number of canned goods, cooking ingredients, noodles, and RICE! As the days and weeks had passed, we were allowed to buy our fresh food and groceries on a scheduled days of the week in Public Markets and Grocery Stores. However, we were fortunate enough to have a Fresh Option Meat Store located a few minutes walk from our house.

Yes! I have to cook simple food meals from the Recipes taught to me by my Mom and Dad during the Lockdown. And here are my Top 5 Favorite Pinoy Meal Recipes During The Covid-19 Lockdown:

1. Pork or Chicken Adobo: One can cook Adobo Recipe separately as Only Pork or Only Chicken or a Combination of Pork and Chicken. Pork and Chicken are cut into bite pieces cooked with the combination of Soy Sauce, little of Vinegar, Garlic, Black Pepper (Ground or Full Kernel), and little of Sugar. Combine all the ingredients in the pot and let it simmer until the meat or chicken cuts are tender. It is better for the fat from the meat to be the only liquid to be left at the bottom of the pot before it is being served as a meal. The oily fat is the best part of an Adobo dish!

2. Pork or Fish Sinigang (Sour-Soup Based Pork or Fish): Pork and Fish should be cooked separately in this kind of Pinoy Recipe. Pork has a longer time to be cooked than the fish. Cut the Pork or Fish in sizes. Prepare the following ingredients: Onions, Ginger, Salt, Tomatoes, and Mama Sita’s Tamarind or Guava Sinigang Mix Pack. Boil the ingredients in a considerable amount of water in the pot until they bring out their aroma to the soup. Put the Pork or Fish until they are tender and then add some leaves of Kangkong or Pechay leaves before being served! The sour taste of the hot soup should jolt you from your seat!

3. Pork Leg Humba: The Fresh Option Store near my place has a lot of Pork Legs in their stock and I was always tempted to buy 3-4 pieces each time I visit the store. I have each piece of the leg cut into cooking pieces and have each leg in a separate bag. This would make me easier to thaw one leg every time I cook this recipe. The ingredients are the same with Pork Adobo but I add some pineapple juice and more brown sugar to the meat. I tend to cook the meat without adding any amount of water as I use my Slow Cooker, put all the ingredients at the same time and have it cooked for overnight with the adjustment on High. Once I wake up in the morning and have my morning running workout done, the meal is ready to be served with rice.

4. Two-Pieces of Soft-Boiled Eggs With Avocado: I have been eating two-pieces of soft-boiled eggs with a cup of rice for breakfast for the past 30 years! Sometimes, I have to add one more piece of egg if the size is small. During the Lockdown period, I have tried eating three pieces of eggs since the available eggs in the market are too small from the regular size that I’ve been buying from the grocery store. In a pot of tap water and the eggs, they are placed on the stove for two minutes and then removed from the boiling water to a container with tap water. This sudden shift from hot to cold water for the eggs would result to a better way to scoop the contents of the eggs from their shells with a spoon. Such eggs are now ready to be mixed from one piece of Avocado, cut into bite pieces. I add a sprinkle of Pink Himalayan Salt and the food is served!

5. Crispy Fried Bagnet & Fried Longaniza: I have a lot of stock of Bagnet (Fried Pork) and Longaniza (Local Sausage) from Ilocos Norte in my freezer which I ordered and given by my Nephew Duckie whenever he visits me in Manila. Bagnet is a Fried Slab of Pork from the Belly and I have to cut it into bite pieces and have to fry them in a hot frying oil until everything is crispy. The longaniza is cooked with a small amount of water in a frying pan until its fat serves as the frying oil as the water dries up from the cooking pan. It is cooked and ready to be served when the skin of the longaniza turns to dark brown. Fried Bagnet is served with Bagoong (Salted Anchovy Paste) Sauce with sliced tomatoes and the Fried Longaniza is best served with Vinegar.  

Side Dish: Sautéed Kangkong or Pechay. This is a “quick” Adobo dish for the said vegetables, cut into 1-2 inches long, cooked in oil, garlic, onions, and soy sauce. This dish should be served with the crispiness of the stalks and leaves of the vegetables in order to maintain its freshness.

Having practiced Intermittent Fasting with the ratio, 16:8 hours, I only eat two meals a day. With a regular brunch of Soft-Boiled Eggs, with or without Avocado, I can choose any of these Top Recipes for my Dinner Meal. In between these meals, I would have simple sandwich of Liver Spread and/or Butter or Boiled Sweet Potatoes or Banana or Corn In Cob as my snacks. But most of the time, I don’t really eat snacks in between meals.

So, there you have my Top 5 Favorite Pinoy Recipes which I really cooked and prepared during the Covid-19 Lockdown. How about you? Did you have other food recipes to suggest?

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Stay safe always!