Certified Foodies - A food blog by siblings Mhel and Ken

Pork Dishes / Recipes

Lugaw with Tokwa’t Baboy : A Breakfast Favorite

Since last year, Ken and I usually go out three to six times a month to check out a new restaurant or food place. We haven’t blogged about most of them yet. We do have fun dining in different restaurants every time. I also enjoy researching for the next resto we’ll visit before we head out. However, every once in a while, we miss the usual food we eat at home. So, one early morning, Ken craved for lugaw, and he headed out to buy the whole family breakfast.

Lugaw with tokwa't baboy is an ideal breakfastPardon the photos on this post. Everyone’s hungry so I had to take photos quickly. :D

Lugaw is porridge or congee, soft-boiled rice usually cooked with broth (chicken, fish or pork). But, there are some who sell lugaw cooked in plain water and they just add seasoning to it. You can top it with pepper, scallions, and crispy fried garlic (yum!). I sometimes put several drops of patis or fish sauce when it’s slightly bland to my taste.

Here in the Philippines, lugaw is usually served with side dishes like tokwa’t baboy (tofu and pork). The pork part is normally the pig’s tongue, which I love. They come with a sauce made with calamansi, soy sauce and slices of onion. I sometimes add some chili pepper with it to give it a little kick.

Tokwa or tofu side dish for lugaw

Some of you might be familiar with Arroz Caldo, also a congee / lugaw, but it’s much thicker and ginger is used to flavor it. There are large chicken parts in Arroz Caldo, which is usually the distinguishing addition between them and Goto, congee that is flavored with beef.

Anyway, Ken loves lugaw with sumpia, which is what we call a beansprout spring roll here. I prefer hard-boiled eggs in my congee, along with the tokwa’t baboy side dish. But, sumpia and the egg weren’t available when he went out to buy lugaw for the whole family. The photo below was taken a long time ago on my old digital camera.

Sumpia with baboy side dish for lugaw



Strawberry Pork Sinigang Recipe

Recipe by Nanay Ghie

Ever since I wrote about Strawberry Sinigang after hearing about it from fellow bloggers, I’ve wanted to try it myself. So, it was actually part of our itinerary when we went on vacation to 5 destinations, including Baguio, last December. However, due to our very "tight" schedule, we scrapped visiting the restaurant that serves it. Thus, my mother swore to try to make her own version of it at home.

New addition to the Certified Foodies contributors - CertifiedFoodies.com

Before I go ahead with the Strawberry Pork Sinigang recipe, let me share with you how active my mother has been lately with this blog. Ever since the last quarter of 2010, my mother has been fully supportive of our food blog. In fact, she’s been really eager to share her recipes and have tried making her own homemade versions of dishes we tried from our trip and dining out. She now prefers to eat at a new restaurant when we go out. Also, she’s into designing or setting up the plates of food she prepares so they’ll look good on a photo. She would even make sure I get photos of food we order before eating. She’s now more patient. Amazing, huh? A stage mom, eh? :D

Strawbery Sinigang - plate setup by my mother LOL - CertifiedFoodies.com

So, it’s just fitting that I include her in the official contributors of this food blog. She’s got a ton of recipes to share. She’s an AWESOME cook. And I’m not saying that ’cause she’s my mother, but because she really is. That’s why it’s really hard to lose weight over here. My friends and everyone who have tried her dishes would agree with me 1,000%!

Strawberries my mother and I picked at Strawberr Farm in Baguio - CertifiedFoodies.com

Okay, enough intro. When we went to the Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Baguio, we decided to pick strawberries ’cause my mother was determined to cook Strawberry Sinigang at home. So, most of the strawberries she picked were a li’l green.

Now, on to the recipe.



Monterey Meatshop Anniversary Steak Blow Out – Ends 01/31

Nothing beats using the best cuts of beef or pork to make any dish amazing. The right thickness and tenderness of your steak can make a difference. That’s why most people who are not used to purchasing meat go to meat shops instead of the wet market.

I honestly haven’t bought meat yet from Monterey Meatshops. But, a friend of mine who loves cooking, too, has given me rave reviews about Monterey. You always can be sure the meats are new. They also have very knowledgeable butchers so you can be sure to get the best cuts every time. Also, I’m very aware that I can be assured that the meats were cut and prepared neatly. Have you seen those Monterey shops? They probably have glass tiles or all white walls and they always maintain their whole butchery area. Now, why haven’t I purchased meat from Monterey yet? All I can say is I guess I choose to buy from other meat shops because of the price difference.

But, guess what?! Monterey Meatshop is having an Anniversary Steak Blow Out that you shouldn’t miss! You can buy a steak and get 50% off on your second steak!

This promo runs until January 31st only and applies on their T-Bone and Porterhouse steaks only. So, hurry!

Visit any Monterey Meatshops in GMA, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Cavite, Laguna and Batangas.

By the way, Monterey delivers. Just call 633-MEAT – that’s 633-6328.



Emohruo Beach Restobar in Saud Beach, Pagudpud

One of our main destinations during our 5-day North Luzon getaway last week was the beautiful and relaxing beaches of Pagudpud in Ilocos Sur. I’ve been wanting to go there for years now, especially after I saw photos of my brother Kien with his friends during their Pagudpud trip.

We stayed at the Saud Beach Resort hotel because there weren’t too many people staying there so we can enjoy the beach mostly all on our own. They’re one of the more expensive hotels in Pagudpud. Since we were only staying for a day, I thought screw my budget and let’s stay at the lovely Saud Beach Resort. We only paid Php 4,356 for a room good for 5, and I thought that’s already a good deal considering how lovely their resort is. No, they didn’t have peacock alley bedding or any expensive linens, but their resort seemed more relaxing than the other ones next to them.

Anyway, when we finally checked in, it was almost lunch time (they allowed us to check in earlier since there weren’t too many people staying at the resort). Kien said we should check out the other restaurants in the area. So, we immediately headed out to the other restos on the other side of Saud beach. It was a long walk so imagine how hungry we were when we finally arrived at the area where the restaurants in Saud beach were lined up.

Among all the menus we saw, my brother and I liked Emohruo Beach Restobar‘s of Evangeline Resort the best. And, the prices were also very affordable. All I can tell you now is the long walk was so worth it!

Evangeline Beach Resort's Emohruo Beach Restobar at Saud Beach in Pagudpud, Ilocos Sur - CertifiedFoodies.com

Emohruo is actually “Our Home” spelled backwards. Cool, eh? I love the whole vibe at their restobar. People dine al fresco and the rustic design of their area just complements the whole feel of dining near the beach.

Photo opp while walking towards the restaurants in Saud Beach - CertifiedFoodies.com

Though the sun was really up and shining brightly, we didn’t feel uncomfortable because the wind was cool and fresh. Ahhhh… I so miss it! That’s why I so love this photo of me at Emohruo. It reminds me of how relaxing the resort was.

Emohruo Beach Restobar has a wide range of dishes on their menu, mostly Asian dishes with their own twists. They all sounded really good that I wanted to order one of everything! :D

Everyone with me – my mother, my bro, our aunt Zeny and Beth (my mom’s best friend) – were all supportive of our food blog so we all agreed to order different beverages. Cool, eh? :D

First up, my Banana Mocha Shake (Php 98.00), marked as one of the favorites on their menu. I love, love, love Mocha flavored anything, but I didn’t completely enjoy this one. I guess it’s because of the banana. But, it was still really good and Kien enjoyed it. I guess I was expecting the mocha flavor to be stronger than the banana.

My Banana Mocha Shake from Emohruo Beach Restobar - CertifiedFoodies.com




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