(posted by ets)
Intro to series: C started her series on ‘cooking for one’ last week and since, as the name of this series suggests, I am declaring myself a bonafide copycat, I start mine right now. This series will have me highlighting my favorite dish in a restaurant and then sharing with you my version of that dish. Okay, now to my entry.
Intro to series: C started her series on ‘cooking for one’ last week and since, as the name of this series suggests, I am declaring myself a bonafide copycat, I start mine right now. This series will have me highlighting my favorite dish in a restaurant and then sharing with you my version of that dish. Okay, now to my entry.
PETRA AND PILAR'S TAMARIND-RUBBED ROAST CHICKEN
I like eating in restaurants that have women names. Right off the bat, before I even taste their food or meet any of their staff, I feel a connection already. Behind a name is a real person and behind that person is someone who cares enough to make sure that I am fed and that I am fed well and plenty. Now, imagine the love I feel when I eat at a place with TWO women names. Ting-ting-ting-ting double lurve!
Of course I know that Petra & Pilar’s kitchen is actually run by a hefty man with a big smile who walks around the place making sure everybody is happy, very much like santa claus. However, being a staunch Piscean, I don’t let the truth get in the way of the fiction I have imagined as my personal reality. So when at Petra & Pilar, I am quite certain that fussing about in the kitchen are two elderly sisters, one thin and pale and quite stern, the other chubby and bubbly and rather sweaty, both making sure that everything they send out for me to eat is exactly to my liking.
And most of the time, it actually is.
Petra & Pilar is a high-brow turo-turo that serves Spanish / Filipino comfort food that I grew up with. Ranging from everyday dishes like afritada and mongo to party staples like callos and paella, Petra & Pilar’s everyday spread will always have something that will fill you up and make you feel a little closer to home. And even after they raised their prices, what you pay (anywhere from P110 to 300 per dish) is still fair for what you get.
Of all the meals I’ve had in Petra, these are my two absolute favorites.
First, the garlicky cagayan longanisa with a perfectly-cooked fried egg and a generous cup of garlic rice I order for breakfast which they serve with a delicious cup of freshly brewed coffee. All these for the bargain price of P105.00. Yay!
Second, a dish that I only ordered off the turo-turo line because it was the only thing left, the Sampaloc (tamarind) rubbed chicken, that has now, despite having tried it only once actually, become my favorite. I have returned to Petra several times since hoping they would have it but, unfortunately, either I never catch it or they just don’t do it anymore.
I finally got tired of waiting last Sunday so I decided to try to copy the dish and serve it to my family for lunch. It was soooooooooo goooooooood. Maybe even better actually. Heehee.
Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken (I use only thighs, Petra does not discriminate and uses the whole chicken)
400 grams tamarind, washed please and broken into pieces (I think Petra actually peels their tamarind although I can't be sure because its been too long, Petra, too long since I had it in your place!)
1 1/2 heaping tablespoons of tamarind powder (Sinigang mix)
1/2 tablespoon rock salt (or please adjust to your taste)
½ teaspoon pepper
1 whole head of garlic, peeled and pounded rather fiercely
Procedure
1. Put everything in an oven-proof pan and make sure that it’s all married together with no one feeling less loved than the rest.
2. Cover the pan with foil and put inside a 275 degree oven.
3. Watch television or read a book or do something productive while waiting for the chicken to cook because believe me it can take awhile.
4. Check an hour later and see if the juices of the chicken run clear. An hour should do it but if its still a little pinkish, cover it again and roast some more. Chicken is NEVER served rare.
5. Once cooked, remove the cover and roast for an additional 20 minutes to brown the chicken.
6. Serve with hot rice. We used brown rice here because, well, we're "healthy" that way.
2. Cover the pan with foil and put inside a 275 degree oven.
3. Watch television or read a book or do something productive while waiting for the chicken to cook because believe me it can take awhile.
4. Check an hour later and see if the juices of the chicken run clear. An hour should do it but if its still a little pinkish, cover it again and roast some more. Chicken is NEVER served rare.
5. Once cooked, remove the cover and roast for an additional 20 minutes to brown the chicken.
6. Serve with hot rice. We used brown rice here because, well, we're "healthy" that way.
Enjoy.
* Petra and Pilar info: JAKA Center, 2311 Exportbank Drive cor. Chino Roces Av. Makati City, Metro Manila * (02) 893-5531 loc. 480
2 comments:
can i actually eat the tamarind? with the skin on?
I pretty much eat everything except the seeds. But then again, I pretty much eat everything. I like the crunch of the skin. Try it. If it doesn't work for you, you can peel it off first the next time =)
Thank you pinoymonster.
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