MANILA, Philippines — Chef Jam Melchor, president of the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement (PCHM), hails from Pampanga, which is said to be the Food Capital of the Philippines, and so he naturally cooks a lot of Kapampángan dishes.
One of his favorite Kapampangan dishes to cook is Bringhe, the yellow rice dish of the province often referred to as the local version of the Spanish paella. He cooks it for special occasions, such as Aldo ning Kapampangan or Pampanga Day (December 11), since the dish is usually served by Kapampangans during special occasions like town fiestas to show their hospitality to guests.
Chef Jam also cooks it for no occasion at all and also looks forward to preparing the dish whenever he gets the chance to conduct a cooking demo when Filipino food is showcased abroad.
Chef Jam shares his personal recipe of Bringhe.
Bringhe
INGREDIENTS:
450 grams (about 2 heaping cups) sticky rice (malagkit)
3 tbsps. cooking oil
1 pc. medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-inch segment fresh turmeric (luyang dilaw), peeled, grated and soaked in 2 tsps. water
1 tbsp. fish sauce
150 grams chicken, cut into large cubes
80 grams chicken liver, cut into large cubes
500 ml. coconut milk
1 pc. banana leaf
1/3 cup carrot, sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced
Raisins, as much as you like
Quail eggs, boiled and deshelled
PROCEDURE:
1. Wash the rice well, drain off water and set aside.
2. In a medium pan or paellera if available, heat the cooking oil and add onions then cook until transparent. Add garlic and cook until the aroma is released. Do not brown the garlic.
2. Squeeze the grated turmeric to extract the juice and add it to the pan. Season with fish sauce.
3. Add the chicken pieces and allow them to brown for about 3 minutes.
4. Add liver and sauté for about 2 minutes.
5. Add rice and sauté for about a minute or just until it turns transparent.
6. Pour in the coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil then allow to simmer for about 15 minutes or just until the rice is cooked. Traditionally, banana leaves are inserted at the bottom of the pan and the Bringhe is allowed to cook until almost all liquid has been absorbed. For a simpler method, transfer the rice mixture to another bowl and line the same pan with banana leaves.
7. Place the mixture back in the pan and top it with raisins, carrots and bell pepper. Allow to cook until all liquid is gone.
*Serves 8 persons.
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