Achara or Atsara Recipe (Filipino pickled green papaya) Achara or Atsara is the Philippine contribution to the world of Asian

n pickles. There are many versions, and virtually any vegetable can be used for making achara. Any mention of achara, though, will most likely evoke thoughts of this type of achara, which uses green papaya.

Achara or Atsara Ingredients:

4 cups grated fresh green papaya 1/4 cup salt 1 carrot, peeled and sliced 1 red bell pepper, sliced into long strips 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced 2 green chile peppers, sliced into thin rings 1 (1.5 ounce) box raisins 1 cup white vinegar 1 cup water 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon salt

Achara or Atsara Cooking Instructions:

Toss the grated papaya with 1/4 cup salt together in a large bowl; allow to sit for 1 hour. Drain the liquid from the papaya and rinse thoroughly. Place the papaya in the middle of a large piece of cheesecloth and squeeze to drain as much liquid from the papaya as possible. Combine the papaya, carrot, red bell pepper, ginger, green chile peppers, and raisins together in a clean large bowl; mix. Transfer the mixture to clean, dry jars with lids. Stir the vinegar, water, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt together in a small saucepan; bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Pour the vinegar mixture into the jars, making sure the vegetables are completely submerged in liquid. Allow the vegetables to marinate in the liquid at least 1 day before using. Store in refrigerator between uses.

How to Make Bagoong (Fish or Shrimp Paste)

Ingredients: 1 cup rock salt 3 cups anchovies/dilis (for fish paste) or shrimp fry (for shrimp paste) Directions: For fish paste

Place anchovies in strainer and rinse under running tap water. Drain well. In a bowl, place anchovies and add rock salt. Mix well (hint: the best way to mix it is with your hands, wear plastic gloves if you hate the clinging smell) Transfer mixture into a tightly sealed plastic or glass container. Don&#4547.22 degrees Celsius">8217;t fill the container to the brim. Leave some air space to allow it to properly ferment. Keep in a cool and dry place, away from direct sunlight for 1-2 months. You can even store it for a longer period of time. Serve as is with a dash of lemon, dayap or kalamansi, or you can also cook it (see directions below). For shrimp paste

Clean shrimp fry by removing any debris (read as small fishes or clams that may have inadvertently been included). In a bowl, place shrimp fries and rock salt. Follow the mixing and storing directions as that of the fish paste. If you desire to serve it cooked, here are the ingredients: 1 cup fish or shrimp paste 2-3 tablespoons canola oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium-sized onion, minced about 5.08 centimetres">2 inches ginger, minced 1 tablespoon vinegar (for shrimp paste) 2 tablespoons or more (if you prefer it to be sweet) brown sugar (for shrimp paste) Directions:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Saut garlic, ginger and onion. Add fish or shrimp paste. Cook at low heat for 5 minutes. *If you are cooking fish paste then you are already done. Serve and enjoy. Add sugar and mix well. Add vinegar and leave untouched for 5 minutes. Stir a little and remove from heat. You can keep the cooked fish or shrimp paste in a tightly sealed glass bottle. For those who prefer a spicy taste, you can add some chilli flakes or small red hot pepper.

Salted Eggs (Itlog Na Maalat)

Ingredients: 10 eggs 1 cup salt 3 tablespoons rice wine 1 tablespoon peppercorn 6 cups water Directions: 1 Wash eggs. 2 Place the rest of the ingredients in a large container with a lid. 3 Mix until salt is completely dissolved; let cool. 4 Add eggs (Make sure the eggs are completely submerged. The eggs will have a tendency to float to the top. Use something to put on top of the eggs to ensure the eggs remain submerged once the lid is closed.) Leave in room temperature for 30 days. 5 After 30 days, boil eggs. 6 When cool, refrigerate. 7 Enjoy!

Pork Tocino
Tocino simply means bacon in Spanish. It is typically made from pork
belly. In the Philippines this dish usually served in breakfast. In cooking this food, all you have to do is frying it until the edges caramelize. Filipinos usually accompany tocino with rice and egg and called it To-Si-Log. To-Si-Log means Tosino, Sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg).

Its a delicious sweet coated meat usually prepared by Asians. Many people here in the Philippines make tocino as their source of income. So if you want to start a business or just want to learn how to process it, here is recipe on how to make tocino;

Cooking Ingredients:
1kg Pork pigue (sliced) 1tbsp refined salt tsp curing salt 1 cup refined sugar 2 tsp garlic powder 2 tbspanisado wine or any white wine 1 cup of sprite or 7up tsp meat enhancer Red food coloring

Cooking Direction:
Step 1: Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl for 20-30 minutes. Cure it 8-10 hours at room temperature. Step 2: Refrigerate it 1-2 days. Step 3: Remix and store it in freezer. Step 4: Get a few slices (or an amount that you desire) of pork tocino in freezer Step 5: Add a little water in the pan. Over medium heat, let the liquid boil off and then fry the tocino for a couple more minutes. Theres a lot of sugar in the marinade so make sure you dont burn the meat. Step 6: Serve and enjoy.

Dried Fish Or Tuyo

Drying fish is sometimes considered to be a lost practice, which means that there aren't really any modern methods that can be used. However, it is possible for you to adapt and use some of the processes that were originally used by Native Americans and taught to European immigrants. Drying fish was an easy was of preserving food which contained a high level of protein. Drying out fish removes most of the water but not all of it. It removes just enough so that the microbes and bacteria that could cause the fish to go off are deactivated. Remember though, drying is not the same as dehydratingas all but three per cent of the water is removed.

Step one. The first step is about choosing the best location for your fish to dry out. The best place would be somewhere with low humidity and somewhere that is sheltered from direct sunlight, dust and out of the reach of hungry animals. Step two. When drying out fish that have been caught, the best day to do it is the same day it has been caught. You should cut off the head and remove the gills, back, ribs and guts but the skin should be left intact. Step three. Wash the fish thoroughly in cold water to wash off any debris or dirt. Then, soak the fish in a solution made of one gallon of cold water and one cup of salt. After 30 minutes, drain the fish and wash it in cold water again. Step four. Using coarse pickling salt, give the fish a generous coat. Make sure you press the salt into the fish's skin to encourage it to firm up. Step five. Once the preparation is finished, place the fish on wooden drying racks outside. Do not use metal racks as this can rust and corrode and make your fish taste horrible. Step six. Check the fish daily. Try pressing gently on the skin to push more water out which will encourage it to dry quicker. If you are worried about animals at night, move your wooden rack inside. Your fish should be ready after about five days. You can check it by pressing the skin. If it gives way to your touch but doesn't spring back then it is ready.

Jam Recipe
2 cup finely chopped pears (peeled & core; d) 1 cup finely chopped apples (peeled & cor; ed) 6 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/3 cup bottled lemon juice 6 oz liquid pectin Yield: About 7 to 8 half-pints Procedure: Crush apples and pears in a large saucepan and stir in cinnamon. Thoroughly mix sugar and lemon juice with fruits and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Immediately stir in pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, quickly skim off foam, and fill sterile jars leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust lids and process as recommended in Table 1. Table 1. Recommended process time for Pear-Apple Jam in a boiling water canner. Style of Pack: Hot. Jar Size: Half-Pints. Process Time at Altitudes of 0 - 1,000 ft: 5 min. 1,001 - 6,000 ft: 10 min. Above 6,000 ft: 15 min.