For Pili Lovers Only

The pili tree (Canarium ovatum Engl.) is indigenous to the Philippine archipelago and grows primarily in the bicol region. It is an extremely hardy tree and its fruit is somewhat jurassic in appearance. The fruit (often called a nut but is technically a drupe, according to Doreen Fernandez in Fruits of the Philippines) is about 5-6 centimeters long and has a think black skin when ripe. Under the skin is a fibrous (hairy!)greenish pulp. The very hard pointed shell houses the oily and yummy nut within. It is the nut within that most Filipinos think of when you say Pili Nut.

According to Alan Davidson, pili nuts possess the highest fat content of all nuts in the world (even more fat than the macadamia!), Pili has the flavor of pumpkin seed when raw but is even more delicious when roasted. Some think the nut has a texture and flavor that surpasses the more common almond. Pili trees generally grow wild rather than in organized plantations so the supply of nuts is limited and erratic. Fruits are at their peak around July through September, assuming some huge typhoon hasn’t blown them all off the trees. The fruits spoil relatively quickly due to the high-fat content, so that explains why they are rapidly preserved with salt or tons of sugar.

Finding fresh pili fruit in Manila is truly a needle in a haystack proposition unless you have a tree growing in your neighborhood. Yesterday at the market I was thrilled to find a small basket of fresh pili and I eagerly picked some out so I could write about them here. The fresh nuts were just P1 each though they were not the finest quality… If you find fresh and ripe nuts, Bicolanos like to boil the fruit briefly, carefully peel the thin black skin, then dip the hairy pulp in fish sauce (guinamos) or patis and eat this straight away. It is an acquired taste, I kid you not, but delicious if you have acquired the taste. And few foods would be more native than pili prepared this way.

At the Bicol fair at Mega Mall in mid-October, I picked up fresh kernels and nuts within for just P35 for a 1/2 kilo (middle photo above) and I also purchased three types of pili snacks - sugar coated, caramel coated and salted. All were very fresh and delicious. Little packets of the snacks were P20, a tad on the pricey side but if you ever had to crack open a nut, extract a whole kernel inside, then preserve and sell it before it spoils, you would charge that much too. (From Market Manila Blogsite)

Pili Nut Pesto

• 2 cups basil leaves
• 1 – 2 cloves garlic (depends on your taste, start with one clove…you can always add more later)
• 2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup whole pili nuts (you may blanch and peel them first)
• 1/3 – 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

- Place all ingredients, except for the oil, in a food processor. Process while slowly adding the oil in…start with 1/3 cup, then keep adding if you want it thinner.
- Place pesto in a clean jar and top with a layer of olive oil. Store in the fridge. Makes about 1 cup of pesto.

From 80breakfasts blogsite

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Felino's Kare-Kare

Remember last Jan 24 when Ed posted the recipes of many pili nut delicacies, and I asked if he also had kare-kare recipe? It was Fely Jacobs who shared with us his recipe. I'm posting it here to become part of our Cooking Section. While looking for pictures of kare-kare in internet, I came across another recipe and decided to grab it. The pictures and recipe came from www.marketmanila.com (visit the website for a lot of other recipes). What was it that Danny cooked that I read somewhere in this blog? paki post na lang danny!

Jan 24

Bilib na ako sa variety of consulting services offered by Ed! Pati mga recipes! Meron bang recipe ng kare-kare? I love kare-kare but until now, I don't know how to cook it. Baka meron ka rin, pa share.

he he he... - toti

Para Sa Gabos Na:

Supposed to be addressed to Toti who sounded like he likes Pili roll so much but with the reply from others also the reason for the change. Pili roll is easy to prepare, I used to gorge it and buy for pasalubong every time i'm in town. I used to buy the flat pianono from Times bakery but of late i began to dislike the texture. I inquired for it from another bakery at the front of what used to be Vimar theatre, they have it but i didn't try. The filling is very easy to prepare, the secret to good quality is to load it with tons of crushed pili. Happy eating courtesy of Alot? Hello there. Next topic is the recipe of kare kare Toti asked from EdC, will beat him here. Familiar with the movie Pay It Forward? It took effect on me with EdC's huge pili recipe favor.,

KARE KARENG BUNTOT NG BAKA

1 buntot ng baka 3 talong katamtaman ang laki

1 puso ng saging 1 sibuyas

2 puno ng petsay 2 butil ng bawang

1 taling sitaw 1 litrong (maliit) mani

1 pusuwelong bigas atsuete, asin

Palambutin ang buntot ng baka sa tubig. Puwedeng samahan ng bituka, gilagid at pata ng baka kung gusto. Habang pinalalambot ang buntot ibusa ang bigas at dikdikin. Dikdikin din ang mani. Puwedeng ipalit ang peanut butter sa mani. Kapag malambot na ang buntot igisa ang bawang at sibuyas. Isabaw ang kaunting tubig na pinaglagaan ng buntot at kapag kumukulo na ay ihulog ang sitaw(4 na pulgada ang haba ng bawat putol) at puso ng saging (hiwang 2 pulgada ang haba). Kapag malasado na ang sitaw at puso ay ihalo na ang petsay(hindi na kailangang hiwain ihiwalay lamang ang tangkay) at talong (2 o 3 pulgada ang haba). Papulahin ang sabaw sa pamamagitan ng katas ng atsuete. Dagdagan pa ang sabaw at kung malapit na maluto ang lahat ng gulay isama ang buntot. Palaputin ang sabaw sa pamamagitan ng dinkdik na mani. Halu haluin hanggang ilalim pagkat baka manikit sa ilalim ang dinikdik na bigas at masunog ito. Ang sawsawan ay ginisang bagoong na alamang.

Toti, when you try this can you invite some of us to your place so we can judge the quality? Served best with some 'botels' of beer after dinner. It appears men of class 67 are one by one beginning to gravitate into the kitchen, Danny d first, Toti here now, am into it too, who else?

-----

from www.marketmanila.com

I read somewhere (perhaps in the Inquirer a few months back) that some folks attribute kare-kare to an Indian curry either by early migrants from India or elsewhere in Southeast Asia where Indians had moved. It is believed that the curry was adapted to locally available ingredients. There is also a view that this dish is somewhat similar to the Indonesian gado-gado and influence may have come from there as well. Whatever its provenance, we now know it’s a pinoy favorite. So I wanted to attempt to cook it. I referred to several recipes before I decided to attempt to make kare-kare. I cut and paste ingredients, methods, proportions from several of the recipes and added a dose of my views on what it should taste like to result in this recipe that can feed up to 12 hungry folks. First, make a nice flavorful broth from scratch. Put 2.5 kilos of good oxtails and about ¾ kilo beef shank on the bone in a wide bottomed pot and cover with cold water (about 2-2.5 liters). Add one chopped onion, one small rib of celery and about 15 peppercorns. Bring to a boil and let this simmer for about 2-2.5 hours or until the oxtails are quite tender. Remove the oxtails, strain out the other ingredients and reduce this broth further to say 8-9 cups of fragrant and tasty (albeit no salt) liquid. Set this aside.

Soak your achuete seeds in about 1-1.5 cups of room temperature water for 30 minutes and mash them a bit with a spoon. Strain this and discard achuete seeds, set the colored water aside. In a good food processor, blitz about a cup of white rice (uncooked) until it looks like a coarse flour. Toast this powdered rice in a dry pan over medium heat until it turns a light brown but do not burn it. Set this aside as well. Assemble your cleaned vegetables and blanch the banana blossom if you want. Cut the beans, bok choy and eggplants into nice serving sized pieces. Heat up a large pan and sauté 2 chopped white onions until soft. Add about half a tablespoon on chopped garlic and stir. Add the achuete colored water and the cooked meats and stir.

Add about 6-8 cups of the beef broth you made earlier and have it reach a boil. Add about 2/3 of your toasted rice powder, about 6-8 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter, and about ½ cup of ground freshly roasted peanuts. Add more rice powder or peanuts to taste and to your desired level of viscosity of the sauce. I found I had to add a bit more rice flour because the pot I was using was just huge… After about 10 minutes boiling and mixing together, add all the vegetables except the bok choy and simmer for another 5-7 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add the bok choy last and the juice of about 8 kalamansi and about 2 minutes later you are ready to serve it with some nice steamed rice. A condiment of cooked bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) is an absolute necessity for this dish. Without it you might as well eat something else. How did it turn out? Pretty good, if I may say so myself. It had terrific soft and flavorful meat, a less than mud-like consistency for the liquid, and a pleasant peanut taste. However, I must say this is not one of my favorites…I find it isn’t too distinctive at all. Give me a nice Indian or Thai curry any day instead. Kare-kare is always at risk of being overly sweet, lacking in flavor (other than peanut butter out of a bottle) or possessing a bizarre mouth feel. It can come across as tasting paste-y and I think it is the bagoong that makes the dish more than anything else. As always, I gravitated more to the vegetables and had just one large oxtail. Don’t misunderstand my negative streak, it was good. But I don’t think this dish will ever be great, in my opinion…

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FOR PILI NUT LOVERS

Maiba naman tayo. Let's talk about cooking. Remember Fely Jacob's request for recipe for pandecillos and pili tart? .... and Ed Canela's post of the recipe provided by his friend from ADB, not just for the two but for numerous other pili delicacies?

I'm heeding the advice of Ed to post the memorable, worthwhile emails into our blog for easier retrieval. So, I'm creating a new label for our archives entitled "Cooking". Cooking ng ina mo! (That's the name of a restaurant. And what's the name of a competitor who opened a resto a few meters away - "Cooking ng ina mo rin!"

Here are the recipes. At the end of this, I'm re-posting Fely Jacob's kilometric but entertaining email for everyone to relish.

I grabbed the pili nut pictures from http://lafang-mikemina.com. Thanks!

PILI RECIPES

PILI CHOCOLATE CRUNCH Ingredients: ½ kilo pili nut 1 kg. chocolate premium Procedure: 1. Toast the pili nut in an oven at low temperature. 2. Cool and set aside. 3. Melt the chocolate bar in a double boiler. 4. Distribute the nuts in moulders. 5. Pour the melted chocolate while hot to coat the nuts. 6. Place the mixture inside the freezer for a few minutes or until the moulder becomes cloudy. 7. Unmold 8. Wrap using chocolate wrapper. 9. Pack and store.

POLVORON Ingredients: 1 kilo flour 2 bar fresh butter 1 cup toasted pili nut (pounded) 2 ½ cup refined sugar ½ kilo skimmed milk Procedure: 1. Toast the until golden brown 2. Melt butter and set aside. 3. Combine sugar and skimmed milk into flour and mix until well blended. 4. Add the melted butter and pili and mix well. 5. Mould the mixture and wrap in colored cellophane. 6. Pack and store.

PILI BUTTER SPREAD Ingredients: 1 kilo pilinut - toasted 2 cups sugar 2 cups toasted flour ¾ cups corn oil Procedure: 1. Toast the pili until golden brown. 2. Mix the first three ingredients. 3. Grind and add the corn oil gradually. 4. Pack in sterilized bottles. 5. Seal

PILI TART Ingredients: Crust Filling 1 kilo ordinary flour ½ kilo ground pili 2 bars fresh butter 1 can condensed milk 1 cup sugar 1 cup sugar 1 cup cold water Packaging Material: Colored cellophane P.E. Plastic Procedure: 1. Measure ingredients needed for crust and filling. 2. In a bowl combine sugar and flour, with a pastry blender or two knives, cut in fresh butter until it is the size of small peas. 3. Add cold water a little at a time, moving to the side the pieces of dough as they hold together. 4. Form into balls. Roll each ball into 1/8 inch thick. 5. Press dough to shape of tart. Prick sides and bottom. 6. Bake for 20 minutes. 7. In another bowl, combine condensed milk and sugar. Mix well. 8. Fill up baked crust tart top with sliced pili. 9. Bake until golden brown. 10. Let cool before wrapping, pack.

CRISPY PILI Ingredients: 1 cup pilinut ¼ cup sugar 4 tbsp. karo syrup ¼ cup water oil for frying Procedure: 1. Blanch the pilinut and remove seed coats. 2. Combine sugar, syrup and water. Stir until dissolved. 3. Soak pilinut syrup for 10 minutes. 4. Drain. Fly until golden brown. 5. Let it cool down on a piece of cheese cloth. 6. Pack in P.E. plastic or jars of desired size and seal. 7. Store in a cool dry place.

SPICE GREASELESS PILINUT Ingredients: 2 cups pilinut 1 cup water salt powdered pepper garlic powder Procedure: 1. Boil pilinut in water until soft. 2. Add salt, garlic and pepper when most of the water has evaporated. 3. Cook over medium heat until nearly dry. 4. Dry further in a mechanical dryer or in oven at 50 degrees Fahrenheit until pili become crispy. 5. Cool and pack.

PILI EMPANADITAS Ingredients: Crust Filling 3 cups flour ¼ kilo pilinut 1 cup margarine or butter 1 small can condensed milk 4 tbsp. sugar ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup cold water ? Combine and cook until thick. Procedure: 1. Prepare and measure all the needed ingredients. 2. Sift together the flour and sugar. 3. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or blending fork until pieces are size of small pass. 4. Sprinkle water, one tbsp. at a time over part of mixture. Gently mix with fork, push to one side of bowl. 5. Sprinkle next tbsp. water over dry part, mix lightly, push to moistened part at one side. Repeat until all are moistened. 6. Gather up with fingers, form into balls. 7. Flatten slightly and add the filling. 8. Seal edges. 9. Bake in an oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-40 minutes until golden brown.

PILI KISSES Ingredients: 1 cup pilinut-roasted 2 pcs. egg white ½ cup refined sugar or confectioner sugar ¼ tsp. cream of tartar Procedure: 1. Grind the pilinut. 2. Separate the eggwhite from the yolk. 3. Beat eggwhite till fluffy. 4. Mix cream of tartar. 5. Continue beating until mixture form bubbles or foam. 6. Add sugar gradually while beating the mixture. Beat until stiff foam is formed. 7. Add the ground pilinut and fold the mixture. 8. Place small cones in baking sheet. 9. Bake for 40 minutes at 135 degree Fahrenheit. 10. Cool and pack.

PANDECILLOS Ingredients: Filling ½ kilo ground pili 1 can condensed milk ¼ cup sugar 1 pc. egg yolk ¼ box Dough 8 cups all purpose flour 1 bar fresh butter 6 pcs. egg yolk 1 can evaporated milk 1 ½ cup refined sugar 8 tsp. baking powder Procedure: 1. Combine the needed ingredients for the filling except the cheese. 2. Sift together the flour and baking powder. 3. Blend the melted butter with egg yolk and sugar. Mix well. 4. Add the evaporated milk alternately with the flour mixture. 5. Gather with fingers and form into roll. 6. Spread the filling on top and sprinkle grated cheese. 7. Roll and cut into desired length. 8. Place in a greased pan and bake in oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes.

PASTILLAS DE PILI Ingredients: 1 cup pilinut -roasted 1 cup skimmilk 1/3 cup suagr 1 tbsp. vanilla 1/3 cup water pinch of salt Procedure: 1. Grind the roasted pilinut finely. 2. Mix sugar and skimmilk thoroughly. 3. Add water and mix well. 4. Stir in pilinut and vanilla. 5. Continue mixing until homogenous. 6. Cook on medium heat with constant stirring until such time that the mixture stick as one ball. 7. Spread on greased trays and cut into desired sizes. 8. Roll over sugar and wrap.

SUGAR COATED PILI Ingredients: 1 cup pilinut (roasted) 1 cup sugar (refined) ½ cup water ¼ tsp. flour 2 tsp. margarine Procedure: 1. Mix all ingredients in a cooking pan. 2. Cook over moderate heat and continue mixing until syrup is almost dry. 3. Remove from heat when pilinut are coated with syrup.] 4. Spread on tray. 5. Let cool and pack.

PILINUT CANDY Ingredients: 1 cup pilinut ½ cup sugar 2 tbsp. karo syrup ½ tsp. margarine ½ tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. water Procedure: 1. Remove outer skin of pili. Grind coarsely. 2. Combine sugar, water and syrup in a pan. 3. Cook on medium heat until the sugar us dissolved. 4. Add the ground pilinut. Mix thoroughly. 5. Cook until sticky. 6. Add margarine and mix well. 7. Pour on greased tray. Add baking soda and stir thoroughly. 8. Spread immediately and cut into desired sizes while hot. 9. Cool and wrap.

PILI BAR Ingredients: 1 cup pilinut ½ cup sugar ¼ tsp. vanilla Procedure: 1. Blanch pilinut and remove seed coats. 2. Boil pilinut into soft, then drain. 3. Grind the boiled pili finely. 4. Mix pilinut and sugar thoroughly. 5. Cook over moderate heat until boiling. 6. Remove from fire spread on a wooden board. Continue mixing until the mixture stick as one ball. 7. Knead the mixture while hot by using a rolling pin. 8. Cut desired sizes.

MAZAPAN DE PILI Ingredients: 1 cup pilinut - roasted ¼ cup water 1 tbsp. cheese 1 tsp vanilla 1.4 cup skimmilk 1/3 cup suagr 1 pc egg Procedure: 1. Grind pilinut coarsely or chop using mortar and pestle. 2. Mix sugar and skimmilk very well. 3. Add water equal to the weight of skimmilk and stir thoroughly to a smooth consistency. 4. Stir in pilinut and ¾ parts of total amount of beaten egg. 5. Add cheese and vanilla. 6. Cook on medium heat until sticky. 7. Distribute the mixture on greased paper cups place in muffin pans. 8. Brush beaten eggs on top of each mixture in the cup. 9. Bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

PILI BRITTLE Ingredients: 1 cup pilinut 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. margarine 8 tbsp. sugar 4 tspb. Water 4 tbsp. corn syrup Procedure: 1. Dry pilinut under the sun or in a mechanical dryer. Cool and remove seed coats. 2. Combine pilinut, sugar, water and corn syrup in a pan. 3. Cook over medium heat until syrup turns golden brown or when threading occurs. Remove from heat. 4. Add margarine and mix well. 5. Add baking soda and stir thoroughly. 6. Spread on grease wooden board and cut while hot into desired sizes. 7. Wrap in cellophane when cooled..

PILI CAKE Ingredients: 1 kilo pili (chopped) 2 can condensed milk 2 cups refined sugar 4 pcs. egg yolk Procedure: 1. Mix ingredients all together. 2. Cook over moderate heat until thick. 3. Mold. 4. Bake until golden brown. 5. Cool. 6. Wrap in colored cellophane.

"Feast your senses on unique and exquisite delightful treats! Pies, cookies, cinnabuns, tarts, carrot cakes and scones. Freshly baked with Bicol's pride: the PILI NUTS. Everything's coming up Pili! Guaranteed to satisfy your cravings for one-of-a-kind gastronomic experience!"

Mocha pili nut pies - Ps. 350/box Pili Carrot Cakes - Ps. 400/box Pili Cinnabuns - Ps. 150/box Pili Drop Cookies - Ps. 80/box Pili Sultana Scones - Ps. 20/pc Pili Swedish Pilla - Ps. 20/pc Pili Boat Tarts - Ps. 15/pc Pili Coco Jam - Ps. 90/jar Pili Brittle - Ps. 140/jar

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Fely Jacob's Request

Holed up here at the outback of Tralala(not necessarily Australia) I chanced upon your message complaining about the skyhigh price of pili nut nowadays. Am coming out from lurking in the dark (hello EdC) for this. Maybe I can offer you a good deal by supplying your pili needs hopefully regularly as a raw material for delicacies you process. But before i go any further I may need a short reintroduction, i'm sure am not familiar to you. Am a bonafide member of Class 67 from the 'bundok' of San Vicente, the quite type in class, a member of the bunch like Bert best described by him as the guys who can't completely turn our heads 180 degrees (forgot the symbol) to our right in the direction of lady classmates. Back to my offer my price for you per kilo will be 350, low enough? That's the lowest I can afford and your minimum order should be 5 kls. to save from transport and delivery cost. Lesser order means higher cost. Will make a small profit from this but this is also to encourage you to continue with your generosity giving away pili candies per Bert’s mention. Another purpose is to help lower your cost of production so you in turn can offer lower price for our classmates who might be interested to buy. If I knew how to make the candies myself I’ll gladly do it. For selling you low priced pili I’ll request for a trade off, please provide me with the formula for making pandecillos and pili tart. I know they are baked nothing more. If you are interested please post your reply here soon so you’ll have all the time to prepare the delicacies some of our classmates particularly those coming from abroad might want to order for them to bring back home. Of course samples must flow freely during the grand reunion. For now I have about 5 to 6 kilos I can send you in 2 days time.

Looks like adrenaline is rising when the grand reunion nears. Per Marybeth’s latest post no more welcome party for Fechie’s early morning arrival? Just asking, who knows my flying ‘walis’ might obey my command and touch down at the doorstep of the coffe shop not at the airport you guys will go to after Fechie’s arrival if the original plan is still go.

Here’s another service I can offer mainly for classmates coming from abroad. If you have jewelries genuine or otherwise needing repairs or plating(tubog) bring them with you and I’ll take care of the job. Will charge you absolutely AT COST, a cup of coffee is good enough compensation for me. Am offering this only for dear classmates who’ve been away for so long para naman may souvenir sa akin. I’ve been doing this for years for some relatives from the US and Canada that’s why I know how expensive it is to get them done in those places.

If Boboy is really good and will find Roberto Manly in two weeks time before the reunion then he really deserves to be given a reward and am sure Fechie will be more than willing to shoulder the cost.

Mayo na, sarong kilometro lang.

FAJ

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