The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans

This is my second entry for the month’s Is My Blog Burning? with the theme I Can’t Believe I Ate Vegan! hosted by Sam at Becks and Posh.

What I’m presenting is a twist on an old family favourite, my grandfather’s original spicy chicken recipe which he called Lutong Bombay (Hi Nupur!). In a way, it is also a continuation of my Lolo’s tinkering in the kitchen to come up with original recipes. His grandchild has now improvised on it to come up with something new yet old, different yet similar. It is actually the garlic and ginger base which lends a very distinct flavour to the dish that made me decide to cook it with tokwa (also tau kwa, firm soy bean cake – tofu will do too).

This entry is also meant to prove that with a little ingenuity, meat dishes can be transformed into vegetarian/vegan recipes.

Grandchild’s Spicy Tokwa

3 cakes tokwa (each cake is approx. 3×3×1 inches)
2 medium potatoes, sliced into large cubes
10 small or 5 large tomatoes, diced
1 small pechay pusu (Chinese cabbage)
2 heads garlic, finely crushed (approx. 1/3 cup)
same amount of finely crushed ginger
10 small or 5 large tomatoes, diced
2 chillies (larang nanis or labuyo or bird’s eye)
salt to taste
black pepper, rough freshly ground
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup of water (approximation)

In a pan, heat oil till thin wisps of smoke emerge. Add the garlic and fry over low fire till light brown (double the hue of golden brown). Add the ginger, which prevents the garlic from burning, then brown till the mixture becomes mala-canela or cinnamon-coloured.

Place the tokwa over the garlic and ginger, cover the pan for around five minutes to steam the cakes. After five minutes, invert the cakes, then sear the sides too. Total steaming time would be around 20 minutes after which the cakes should be taken out and set aside. The ginger and garlic mixture should also be stirred gently now and then.

Over high heat, add the onions to the garlic and ginger, stir gently then lower heat until the onions have caramelised.

After caramelising the onions, add the diced tomatoes, sweat for five minutes over high heat while sprinkling approximately half a teaspoon of salt, then break up with a spoon. Pour a bit of water just enough to simmer on low heat. Add the potatoes and whole chillies (later, if you don’t like it too spicy). Keep on adding water if it’s too dry.

In the meantime, slice the tokwa cakes into cubes or large strips and the pechay pusu into three or four sections, separating the stalks from the predominantly leafy parts. As soon as the potatoes are tender but still a bit on the raw side, add the tokwa then the pechay pusu stalks. Simmer for around three minutes or until the potatoes are done, then add the leafy parts. Season with black pepper and salt, if desired. Simmer for another three minutes. Turn off heat, then cover and let stand for around ten minutes to let the flavours meld.

Best served with rice.

Again, thanks for hosting Sam! I had fun coming up with this entry.

P.S. For this month’s Lasang Pinoy, the Filipino version of IMBB, head on over to Celia Kusinera’s English Patis for the guidelines of Cooking Up a Storm! We hope you join us!

Update: Sam’s three-part round-up is already online – Starters, Soups, Snacks & Sandwiches; The Main Course; and Desserts, Baked Goodies and Sweet Somethings.