filipino cuisine

These Vegan Lucky Me!-Style Chilimansi Instant Pancit Canton Noodles are simply instant ramen noodles cooked down and then coated in a savoury, spicy, slightly sweet sauce with that nice kick of acidity and tang from the calamansi juice (can also be subbed with lemon). This recipe is my take and a healthier version of the Filipino favourite: Lucky Me! Pancit Canton, that’s the #1 brand of instant noodles in the Philippines.I served mine with some fried extra firm tofu or tokwa and a generous amount of homemade chili garlic sauce or chili garlic crisp, reminiscent of my high school and college days.Being a big fan or anything calamansi (Philippine lime) or lemon-flavoured in general growing up, I was of course a BIG, BIG fan of the calamansi and chilimansi flavoured ones. Lucky Me! Pancit Canton and other instant noodle variants were always a part of our grocery cart even if it wasn’t the healthiest because it’s become a comfort food here at home.

Lucky Me! Chilimansi Pancit Canton Noodles (Vegan)

tbsp Calamansi juice

2-3 tbsp kecap manis

sriracha

black pepper

tsp soy sauce

neutral oil (, I used vegetable oil)

bricks instant ramen noodles (, around 70 g each)

scallions onions

Chili garlic sauce (or chili garlic

Fried tofu in spicy sauce

labuyo

More calamansi juice

Mix the sauce together in a bowl or deep plate. You can use a plate/bowl big enough for the cooked noodles so you can immediately just add in the noodles into the sauce.

Meanwhile, heat a small pot of water. Once boiling, add the instant ramen bricks/noodles and then cook until still very chewy and have a good bite. Drain the noodles from the water and immediately transfer to the bowl/plate of sauce.

Mix the noodles and sauce well. Feel free to season with more sweet soy sauce or chili sauce. Enjoy immediately as is or with some fried tofu, chilli garlic sauce or crisp, chopped chili and chopped scallions. You can also squeeze some more calamnsi juice!

Kare kare is a rich, peanut-buttery braised oxtail and beef stew that has a beautiful marigold colouring and is filled to the brim with tender, fall-apart meat and vegetables like eggplant and snake beans. Just like with pork or chicken adobo, the best thing about this slow-cooked Filipino dish is that it just gets better the day after, since the flavours really melt into each other.

Slow-cooker Filipino Beef &amp; Peanut Stew (Kare Kare)

1kg (2 lb 3 oz) beef osso bucco (beef shanks)

sea salt and ground black pepper, to season

vegetable oil

1½ tbsp annatto seeds*

1.5 litres (1.6 qt) beef stock

rice

peanuts

eggplant

peanut butter

(9 oz) snake

apple cider vinegar

tbsp fish sauce

brown sugar

rice,

1.Season pieces of osso bucco all over with salt and pepper. Place vegetable oil into a large saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the seasoned osso bucco. Cook for 3 minutes until brown on the one side, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes until the other side has coloured too. Transfer beef to the pot of a slow cooker.

2.Reduce heat to medium and saute annatto seeds for 1-2 minutes until the excess oil becomes red. Now remove and discard the annatto seeds, leaving the remaining oil behind. Add in the onion and garlic, plus a good pinch of salt, and saute for a further 2 minutes until tender and translucent. Add 1 cup of beef stock to deglaze the pan and, using a wooden spatula, gently scrape off any bits from the bottom of the pan – they’re full of flavour! Transfer liquid and softened onions to the slow cooker.

3.Place a small frying pan over high heat and add the sticky rice. Keeping a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn, gently toast the rice until it’s a deep golden colour. Transfer to a mortar and use a pestle to grind to a fine powder.

4.Turn the slow cooker on high heat. Add the ground rice to the slow cooker followed by the peanuts, eggplant, peanut butter and the remaining beef stock. Give everything a gentle mix to incorporate the peanut butter into the liquid. Then cover the stew with a lid and leave to do its thing for 3 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone. (If your slow cooker doesn’t have a high setting, you can put it on low for 6 hours.)

5.After the first cook is complete, open the lid of the slow cooker and add in the beans. Season the stew with the vinegar, fish sauce and brown sugar. Give everything a good mix around to make sure all of the ingredients are well incorporated, then place the lid back on and cook for a further 20 minutes until the beans are tender. Serve with steamed rice.

NOTES - Annatto seeds come from the anchiote tree and are used to impart a bright red/orange colour to foods. Search them out at an Asian grocery store or online.

This Vegan Tokwa’t Baboy is a pork-free take on one of my favourite Filipino dishes. It’s packed with really bold flavours with pieces of tofu and soy chunks (for this vegan version) soaked in a savoury, soy, slightly sweet, and spicy sauce

Vegan Tokwa’t Baboy (Filipino Fried Tofu and Pork)

400 g extra firm tofu

g dry soy chunks ((see notes))

Neutral oil (for frying)

onion

garlic (minced)

soy sauce (or more to taste)

vinegar

to 1 tbsp coconut sugar

ground pepper

bird’s eye chili

Press your tofu: Drain excess liquid from the tofu. I do this by wrapping the tofu with paper towels and placing a flat weighted surface on top to squeeze out excess liquid. Slice tofu into 3/4 - 1 inch thick cubes.

Soak your soy chunks: place the dry soy chunks in a large bowl. Pour boiling hot water and then cover the bowl. Leave to rehydrate for at least 10 minutes.Remove from the water and then squeeze out the excess liquid. You can also opt to slice the soy chunks into half so these can be the same size as the tofu cubes.

Prepare the sauce: Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl until the sugar is diluted. Feel free to adjust to your taste.

Cook the tofu &amp; soy chunks: Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add in enough oil to submerge the tofu cubes. The tofu should immediately sizzle when placed in the hot oil. Once hot, add in the tofu cubes (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of the pan) and fry until golden brown and crisp on all sides.Fry the soy chunks until golden brown and crisp as well.

Serve and enjoy the tokwa’t baboy: Once golden brown and crisp, drain the tofu &amp; soy chunks from any excess oil. Transfer these into the bowl of sauce. Mix well until well incorporated. Leave for a few minutes so the tofu can absorb the flavours. This is actually best enjoyed once the tofu has soaked up all the flavours. Enjoy with some rice or as is!  

Pan-frying or baking option: You can opt to pan-fry the tofu in less oil until golden brown and crisp. If baking, heat an oven to 350F. Brush the tofu with some oil and leave to bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and crisp, flipping halfway through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vPypCIrPTQ

This Vegan Tokwa’t Baboy is a pork-free take on one of my favourite Filipino dishes. Fried tofu (or tokwa) is a staple you’ll find in Filipino cuisine—whether it be in small street-side kiosks and vendors or restaurants because tokwa or tofu is easily accessible and very inexpensive in the Philippines. One of the most common ways tokwa or tofu is enjoyed here is deep fried and then dipped in a sauce, that’s usually a mix of soy sauce, vinegar, chiles, and onions. ✨

Full recipe here 👉🏼 https://thefoodietakesflight.com/vegan-filipino-tokwat-baboy

More Vegan Filipino 🇵🇭 recipes here 👉🏼 https://thefoodietakesflight.com/category/filipino-food/

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MORE TOFU RECIPES:
3 Saucy Tofu: https://youtu.be/AjecKJVGSrY
Tofu Katsu: https://youtu.be/Bzhl1mmeEx4
Stuffed Tofu: https://youtu.be/q1d8OwscC_0
Tofu Wrapped in Nori: https://youtu.be/7DVNJsDoL6o
Braised Tofu: https://youtu.be/_FsN4FwLyvg

🍜MORE NOODLE RECIPES:
TANTANMEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5su5bRpCfnM&t=54s
3 NOODLE RECIPES: https://youtu.be/F5_nqvYuMc4
GINGER SCALLION NOODLES: https://youtu.be/8UoZ2KqoBqg
EASY CHILI GARLIC OIL NOODLES: https://youtu.be/DTok5yN_gzg
SPICY MISO NOODLES: https://youtu.be/0tpoDD7IY_4
JJAJANGMYEON: https://youtu.be/ETdImlm7MpI

#tokwatbaboy #tofu #filipinofood

👉🏼If you’re looking for more recipes and inspiration:

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VEGAN FILIPINO TOKWA'T "BABOY" | Fried Tofu and "Pork" in a delicious sauce with onions & chiles 🌶

If Japanese Style Crispy Tofu or Agedashi Tofu and Filipino Bistek Tagalog had a vegan baby — this Filipino Style Tofu Steak is it!

These Filipino Style Tofu Steaks or Tokwa Bistek are fried slabs of tofu with a thick savoury and tangy sauce drizzled over and topped with sautéed white onions for that extra texture and sweetness. This is delicious with a bowl of steamed rice or Filipino garlic rice (singangag!)

Filipino Style Tofu Steak (Tokwa Bistek)

17.5 oz extra firm tofu (or tokwa)

soy sauce

tbsp calamansi juice

garlic powder

all purpose flour

Neutral oil

corn starch

1.5 tbsp room temperature water

Remaining oil

red onion (, diced)

garlic (, minced)

Leftover marinade

water or vegetable stock (see notes)

vegetable cube or bouillon (optional (see notes))

tbsp sugar (adjust

tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce

soy sauce (adjust to taste)

water

spring onions or chives for topping

rice Garlic Rice (Sinangag)

Press your tofu to drain excess water. I do so by wrapping it in a kitchen towel and place a few heavy chopping boards over it.

Slice the tofu into 3/4-inch (2-cm) thick pieces.

In a large container, mix together the soy sauce, calamansi/lime/lemon juice, garlic, and pepper.

Add the tofu in and coat into the marinade. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes. You can also prepare this in advance and leave to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare the Tofu

Place the flour (if using) on a plate.

Coat each piece of tofu into the flour mix.

Coating the Tofu

Check the notes below if you’re cooking the tofu without any coating.

Heat a large pan or wok over medium high heat.

Add some oil for pan-frying. Once hot (you’ll see some small bubbles), add the tofu.

Cook until lightly golden and crisp. You may need to cook this in batches depending on the size of your pot or pan.

Remove the tofu from the oil and place on a strainer or a plate with some paper towels.

Cook the Tofu

Mix together the corn starch and water until the starch is dissolved. Set aside.

Cornstarch Slurry

Lessen the oil from your pan/wok.

Stir-fry the white onion rings until tender. You can opt to stir-fry for a shorter term if you want these crunchier. Set aside.

In the same pan/wok over medium heat, stir-fry the onion and garlic.

Add in the leftover marinade, water/stock, and vegetable cube/bouillon (if using).

Season with sugar, vegetarian oyster sauce, and soy sauce.

Leave to simmer until it comes to a boil.

Lower the heat. Give the cornstarch slurry another mix (since the starch can settled at the bottom).

Pour the slurry into the sauce. Mix well and allow it to thicken.

Add in the calamansi/lemon/lime juice and mix well. Taste the sauce and feel free to season more, if needed.

To thin out the sauce, you can add 1-2 tbsp more water and mix well.

Stir-frying

Place the fried tofu on a plate. When ready to enjoy, pour the hot sauce over the tofu. Add in the sautéed onion rings on top and garnish with chives/green onions.

Serve immediately. This is best enjoyed with rice or Fried Garlic Rice (Sinangag).

Can I keep the sauce and tofu separate?Yes! I actually recommend the keep the sauce and tofu separate especially if you intend to have leftovers or if making this in big batches. This way the tofu won’t soak in the sauce since the flour coating can easily be stripped off the tofu when left for too long.

To Serve

Absolutely delicious! 
I served with noodles and stir fried veg in some of the thinned down sauce. I'm excited to try the fried garlic rice next time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkq2rRCcxjs

Inspired by Filipino Bistek Tagalog and Japanese Agedashi Tofu  ◡̈ 

Get the full recipe 👉🏼 www.thefoodietakesflight.com/filipino-tofu-steak

Tofu
500g / 17.5 oz extra firm tofu or tofu
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp calamansi juice or lemon/lime juice
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of ground black pepper

For Coating
1/4 cup all purpose flour

For Frying
Neutral oil

For Topping
1 large white onion, cut into rings

Cornstarch Slurry
1.5 tbsp corn starch
1.5 tbsp room temperature water

For Stir-frying & Sauce
Remaining oil
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Leftover marinade
3/4 cup water or vegetable stock (see notes)
1 vegetable cube bouillon, optional (see notes)

1 tbsp sugar, adjust to taste
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
1/2 to 1 tbsp soy sauce, adjust to taste
1-2 tbsp water, to thin out sauce (optional)

Filipino Style Tofu Steak (Tokwa Recipe)

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