3 chefs make simple, delicious lockdown meals from relief goods

If there’s one good thing that came out of this lockdown, it’s that it teaches us to be more appreciative and creative, not only with what we have in our pantry, but also with the relief items we receive from our hardworking mayors and barangay officials.

I don’t know about you, but in our part of QC, residents get a steady supply of “pantawid gutom” food items — rice, canned goods and instant noodles — that would hopefully get us through until May 15. The senior citizens even have their separate food packs, which include fresh fruits. Shout-out to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and our barangay chair  Elizabeth “Che-Che” de Jesus of Apolonio Samson, QC.

One of the challenges work-from-home moms like me face — now that we’re doing more cooking at home than ever — is how to make simple, healthy and delicious meals out of these available food items.

Thank goodness, a handful of celebrity chefs — Myke “Tatung” Sarthou, Natalia Moran and Sau del Rosario — have taken to Facebook and Instagram to share easy-to-follow recipes to ensure that we still eat well, while practicing social distancing.

Make it ‘simpol’

The extended lockdown made us discover the hidden chefs/bakers in all of us. Suddenly, Facebook and IG have been flooded with posts of home-cooked food, as well as breads that have been hand-kneaded and baked in long-unused home ovens. 

My son, Gian, baked focaccia using a turbo broiler. And it tasted just as good.

And with this lockdown food trend comes the surge of food-related YouTube channels such as chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou’s “Simpol,” an online cooking series available on Facebook and YouTube (@simpol).

The show is based on recipes made from easy-to-find ingredients cooked in a regular kitchen.

“It’s for the average home cook,” said chef Tatung in an online interview. “People who decide to cook or need to cook.”

“Simpol” provides ideas and practical tips for quick, easy and affordable dishes. And, just like me, more and more people have discovered “Simpol” because of the ECQ.

“I feel that ‘Simpol’ was really created for a time like this,” added the amiable chef. “We did not have to alter our content or transition to ECQ recipes because cooking simply is part of our DNA.”

Chef Tatung shares this delicious and “simpol” recipe using canned meatloaf (found in your relief packs) as the main ingredient.

Lockdown Menudo

Ingredients: 

4 pcs. sliced hotdog 

1 can chopped meatloaf 

1 tbsp. chopped onion 

2 cloves minced garlic 

1 pc. diced small carrot 

1 pc. diced potato

1 pc. diced small chayote

1 200g pouch menudo sauce 

2 tbsps. soy sauce 

1/4 cup water 

1 can green peas 

1 tbsp. sugar 

Black pepper 

Procedure:

1. Heat up oil in a pan and sauté onion and garlic.

2. Add sliced hotdogs and meatloaf and sauté for a minute or two.

3. Put in diced potatoes and chayote.

4. Pour in the menudo sauce, add water and soy sauce. Let it simmer until the vegetables are cooked.

5. Add in the canned green peas and let it cook for one minute.

6. Season with a pinch of cracked black pepper. Serve.

Healthy food that tastes Sau good

There’s no stopping celebrity chef Sau del Rosario from whipping up delicious and nutritious food, not only for his staff in his temporarily closed restaurant 25 Seeds in Pampanga — where he got “locked down” — but also for the country’s frontliners.

“I’m currently staying in our ancestral home in Angeles City,” shared chef Sau. “Our house was surrounded with fruit-bearing trees. I was introduced to the farm-to-table movement early on by my late mom. My dad was diagnosed with cancer and as a chef; I took it as my responsibility to feed him something healthy.”

Since then, chef Sau has become an advocate of organic produce and a supporter of small farmers.

“My dream then was to have a restaurant with a small farm and it came true — with 25 Seeds,” he enthused.

During the ECQ, chef Sau turned to social media to share recipes of the dishes he whipped up and personally delivered to frontliners and those who have less in life, not only to inspire others to share their blessings with the needy, but to also help home cooks get through the day.

Rice is the most nourishing meal you can serve your family, and one of chef Sau’s favorite rice meals is Bringhe Arroz Caldo.

“Bringhe is a rice dish with coconut cream and turmeric, which are important nutrients to improve one’s immune system. It has ginger, garlic and chicken. It’s a meal in itself and can be eaten any time of the day.”

Bringhe arroz caldo

Ingredients:

3 tbsp canola oil?1 onion, diced?2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tbsp turmeric powder?1 pc fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced?1 kg chicken breast 

1/2 cup coconut milk?2 tbsp fish sauce?5 ¼ cups chicken broth

Procedure:

1. Boil chicken breast in a pot with sliced onions and peppercorns until cooked. Shred chicken, save the broth. 

2. Heat the oil in a separate pot over medium heat.

3. Saute onion, garlic, turmeric and ginger for five minutes. 

4. Add rice (cleaned and washed) and stir. Add chicken stock and coconut milk. Bring to a boil.

5. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to assure the rice is not sticking on the bottom of the pot. 

6. Add the shredded chicken and add fish sauce. 

7. Season with pepper. 

8. Garnish with the green onions and serve with calamansi slices, fish sauce and hard boiled eggs.

Take it from the ‘pasta queen’

Island girl and The Sunny Side Cafe (Boracay) chef Natalia Moran is known for making delectable fresh ravioli pasta. So what’s the pasta queen got to do during ECQ? Make a delicious pasta dish using instant mi goreng or pancit canton noodles found in your relief packs.

The executive chef of PizzaExpress and Your Local of the Tasteless Group of Restaurants in Manila shares this easy-to-prepare noodle dish you can enjoy with the rest of the brood.

Mi goreng shrimp curry

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1 pack mi goreng (or instant pancit canton)

1 tbsp. oil

1/2 small red onion

15 g carrot strips

1 clove minced garlic

2 tsps. soy sauce

1/3 cup Japanese curry sauce (follow instructions on the pack of S&B Golden Curry Paste)

Garlic shrimps:

1 tbsp butter

1 clove minced garlic

Peeled shrimps, a few pieces

To finish:

Fried egg

Fresh cucumber slices

Lime wedge

Procedure:

1. In boiling water, cook instant noodles for a few minutes, until noodles are soft.?2. Strain and set aside.

3. In a frying pan, sauté shrimps in butter and garlic.  Set aside.

4. In the same frying pan, add a little oil.

5. Sauté the red onions and carrots.

6. Add minced garlic.

7. Add soy sauce, mi goreng/ instant pancit canton spice pack, Japanese curry sauce and mix well together.

8. Add the shrimps back to the frying pan, together with the cooked noodles.

9. Toss and coat the noodles with the sauce.

10. Transfer noodles to a plate, top with fried egg, cucumber slices and a piece of lime.