Cooking in the US?

[GuardianOne 0]

My fiance seems to have a hard time cooking in the US. She says the ingredients she needs aren't sold in the grocery stores, which honestly I find a bunch of BS. She hasn't told me what she needs to make what she wants, but I told her most Filipino food is spices, meat and rice. Which we have. She has found Magic Sarap at the local Filipino market, but it's $3 a package. She also found spice mixes for Adobo, Pancit, Tocino, and a few more.

My question, what substitutes have you found for local ingredients do you use for cooking? I'll have her post exact dishes for you to give advice on.

[GuardianAngel 1]

I have found several sites that talk about Filipino recipes and so far, some of the ingredients are feasible. The thing is I'm just used to cooking food with magic sarap, it makes the food smell good and yummy. Oh well, I am just trying to be creative by trying to look for alternatives...

I would appreciate your ideas.

@Guardianone: Thanks baby.. duh! as if you didn't like my adobo love u

[GuardianOne 0]

Magic Sarap has MSG in it and can be made with other ingredients.

[skidivawannabe 2]

I've had no problems finding ingredients for common Filipino dishes. Then again, there are 2 Asian groceries close to our home.

Sinigang: I have not seen KANGKONG or Water Spinach so we tried a hotpot fave, TONG HO (Chrysanthemum leaves). It was awesome! Broccoli is actually very interesting in sinigang, if you're just looking for fillers. I'm guessing fresh Jalapanos would also be great in SINIGANG (substitute to the chili we use back home). Oh, you can also use LEMON for sinigang to make the soup more sour (if you don't want to use more of that MSG packed sinigang mix)

Adobo: I've tried using balsamic vinegar instead of the regular coconut vinegar...Turned out pretty good

[Andrelle 1]

The only recipe I know before I moved here was carbonara but now I can cook some of the Filipino dishes using this website and also asking my parents whenever we chat

I recommend this website http://panlasangpinoy.com/about-2/ 'coz it has video and I think he is also in the US 'coz we use the same ingredients . Just search the recipe you want or go to category like beef, chicken, pork, etc. Some of the ingredients in the pre-packaged spices are high in sodium and we want to limit that as much as possible so we buy soy sauce like Kikkoman with less sodium in it or use a little bit of iodized salt. For pork cubes or chicken cubes, I use low sodium chicken broth. For seasoning, I just use garlic, pepper and pinch of salt. You can also buy salt substitute (got that in Winco). If you have Winco, they have lots of Asian items also like coconut milk if you want to make some chicken curry, togue (mung bean sprouts) for pritong lumpia or just ginisang togue, tofu and a lot more. We also go to Country Asian Market to get some spring roll wrapper, banana catsup (UFC and Jufran). Those are my hubby's favorite catsup . They also have ready made lumpiang shanghai. We bought some for $11 and we still have those in the freezer for a month now I guess. We also buy ground turkey/chicken instead of ground pork. Last time I cooked giniling with tomato sauce, soy sauce instead of fish sauce, potatoes, green peas (just like in some carinderia) and came out just like my mom's giniling. I think for tinola, munggo and other dishes which require Kangkong, dahon ng ampalaya or malunggay, you can use spinach. For tilapia fish (with head and tail), I use fillet or cod fish coz my hubby doesn't like to eat fish with head and tail . They are good for sweet and sour fish and sarsiadong isda (hubby's favorite) but here I put egg substitute instead of raw eggs. I've been planning to make siomai using whole wheat wrapper and ground turkey. I really enjoy cooking now especially when I see my hubby enjoys the food that I cook. You're right, you just have to be creative and resourceful. Happy Cooking!!!

Edited March 2, 2010 by Andrelle

[Markieboy 104]

My fiance seems to have a hard time cooking in the US. She says the ingredients she needs aren't sold in the grocery stores, which honestly I find a bunch of BS. I have to agree with you. My wife was born and raised in Philippines, and she cooks just fine here.

She hasn't told me what she needs to make what she wants, but I told her most Filipino food is spices, meat and rice. Which we have. She has found Magic Sarap at the local Filipino market, but it's $3 a package. She also found spice mixes for Adobo, Pancit, Tocino, and a few more. There are quite a few Filipino dishes that have mostly vegetables...pinakbet, diningding. But yeah, mostly meat and rice. Hehehe. Have you guys been to Uwajimaya and Hmart? Personally, I like Hmart better. They are mainly a Korean store, but they have all the Filipino spices, vegetables, fruits that I like. But, if your fiance is looking for the many diverse seafood and produce the Philippines has, it may be more challenging.

My question, what substitutes have you found for local ingredients do you use for cooking? I'll have her post exact dishes for you to give advice on. Adobo: boneless pork country style ribs from Costco, Datu puti soy and vinegar from Hmart, Niko calrose rice from Hmart. Pinakbet: all vegetables found at Hmart, Barrio Fiesta bagoong from Hmart, meat from Costco. Dinuguan: pork from Costco, internal organs and fresh blood from local butcher.

[DouglasFiel 53]

You need to think of the PI like the USA.. I grew up in Iowa and you can't find grits and collared greens and stuff like that common in the South... So,, even thought there are basic Filipino foods that are common to all Filipinos.. Some are local. My wife is from Zamboanga by the ocean. She has been here 6 months,,, and we can get several fish and leafy vegetables that she likes here,,, but, even though we have large Asian food stores here with maybe a dozen different fish, a full butcher section and large section of vegetables, fruits, etc,,, Still can't get Manila Mangos, New Coconut, etc... But, she does not complain,,, just knows what she is missing,,

Bottom Line Your Mileage Will Vary, no matter where you go in this world,,, something will be missing. I suspect.. She would give up Filipino food, if she could have her mother here.

Regards,

[RVIANE♛ 5]

Americans dont like any foods with MSG.

I've been here for 10 months now and i still dont like to eat american food, we have asian store that only sells pancit canton/bihon, lumpia wrapper, datu puti suka and toyo and some veggies thats it and when i found this website that sells alot of pinoy foods i always order from them every month i dont mind if its triple or quadruple the price just to please myself i even bought the bay leaf online that i use in my adobo the only problem i have in my adobo is the chicken (sobrang taba) the only fish that i can eat here is tilapia with head and tail they have it at walmart, i miss bangus, galunggong, dalagang bukid etc..etc...theres still a lot of pinoy food that you cant find in any asian store even on the internet but what can you do?

[John&Juvy 36]

Easiest recipe to find is for the Adobo... We have lots of Asian Market here too but only found one Filipino Market... and their 30 mins drive away. They have all filipino ingridients but most of the time I'm too lazy to drive down there lol. Husband had one rule that I still didnt break is "The dont use any MSG in our food ever" so.... FINE ! . So for almost 2 years now... Haven't been cooking or eating any food with msg on it... well atleast as I know of lol.

[Psoas10 17]

My wife has no problem cooking here in Hawaii. Of course 100 years of Filipinos living here and now being half the population helps. Also since the climate is similar, the same foods can be grown here as well.

[dan.and.audrey 2]

Hi! I've been wanting to cook Tinola for a while now but couldn't find a raw papaya in the grocery. I even asked the owner of the Filipino store that's near our place and he said to look for it in an Asian market. But I seem to be having a hard time finding it there either. Can you tell where to look for it or what to substitute for it? Thanks in advance!

Edited March 2, 2010 by dan.and.audrey

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Magic Sarap has MSG in it and can be made with other ingredients.

I think the whole controversy over MSG is a bit overdone. Tomatoes, for example, contain MSG naturally. Same with Parmesan cheese...naturally high in MSG. That said, I do agree there are other ways to boost the taste of what you are cooking that are better for you (garlic, onion are great). I think the product, Magic Sarap, just makes it easier to boost the flavor without doing much. Get yourself a garlic press.

[~happyndinlove~ 540]

Easiest recipe to find is for the Adobo... We have lots of Asian Market here too but only found one Filipino Market... and their 30 mins drive away. They have all filipino ingridients but most of the time I'm too lazy to drive down there lol. Husband had one rule that I still didnt break is "The dont use any MSG in our food ever" so.... FINE ! . So for almost 2 years now... Haven't been cooking or eating any food with msg on it... well atleast as I know of lol.

Asawa ko love lumpia (we jazzed it up by adding peppers, tofu and cabbage) and one time I put MSG on it and asawa was like "whaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt?" LOL! So, we don't use MSG. And we rarely use salt.

Edited March 2, 2010 by ~happyndinlove~

[ella and mark 0]

Hi! I've been wanting to cook Tinola for a while now but couldn't find a raw papaya in the grocery. I even asked the owner of the Filipino store that's near our place and he said to look for it in an Asian market. But I seem to be having a hard time finding it there either. Can you tell where to look for it or what to substitute for it? Thanks in advance!

---hi, you can use sayote as substitute. and add some malunggay leaves---

[Markieboy 104]

Hi! I've been wanting to cook Tinola for a while now but couldn't find a raw papaya in the grocery. I even asked the owner of the Filipino store that's near our place and he said to look for it in an Asian market. But I seem to be having a hard time finding it there either. Can you tell where to look for it or what to substitute for it? Thanks in advance!

My best advice to find green (unripe) papaya would be asian supermarkets. But if you cannot find it, there is a good substitute. Sayote, or Chayote, can be used in chicken tinola. My wife is from Baguio and she uses sayote/chayote in her tinola. It tastes pretty much the same. I found sayote near the organic section in both Safeway and Albertson's. So, I'm pretty sure you can find it in your area. Hope that helps!