I have a confession to make. This was actually the first Purefoods Ready to Eat Viand I experimented with but it didn’t turn out well so I decided to redo it. Since I only eat rice once a week now, I could only wait until my cheat day to make pork binagoongan rice properly. 🙂
The first time I made it I made the rookie mistake of cooking this dish in a pot over direct flame instead of the way I would normally cook rice. It was a mistake because I was so worried about burning the rice at the bottom that I kept stirring it. The end result was the pork slices crumbled. It still tasted good but it wasn’t presentable. Usually, we steam our rice in a steamer but since it was being used I decided to bring out the rice cooker.
For this recipe, we will use the Purefoods Ready to Eat Viand: Pork Binagoongan. I loved making this dish because it really stretched out and fed our entire family with rice to spare!
1packPurefoods Ready to Eat Viand: Pork Binagoonganchopped while frozen
3cupswashed rice
3cupswater
2tbspsbutter
Instructions
In a wok, saute the garlic, onion, and mushrooms.
Add the pork binagoongan mix and simmer until it is melted.
Add the washed rice and mix properly. Be careful not to overmix or the meat will be shredded. You just want to make sure that all the rice is covered in the sauce.
Turn off the stove and transfer the content of the wok into the rice cooker and add the water. Cook.
Once the rice is cooked add the butter and fluff the rice.
Your pork binagoongan is ready to be served and eaten.
Notes
Pork binagoongan is usually served with eggplant. In this recipe, I did not include it as I happen to be allergic to eggplant but feel free to add it to your own. You can also add green onions at the end as a finishing touch.
It was delicious! There was so much that each of us had about 1 to 1.5 cups each. Since there was some leftover, my sister decided to jazz it up more by refrying it and adding light soy sauce and scrambled egg. The only thing missing was the sliced mangoes. 😀
I love eating spicy food. So do my daughter and sister. When I showed them the Purefoods Ready to Eat Bicol Express they were excited to try it.
Purefoods Ready to Eat Bicol Express
But that is just half the household. The other half has a low tolerance for spice but were still willing to try it. This gave me a challenge – how do I prepare this so that it is not so spicy but it will still be delicious?
Home Foodie PH suggestion
Home Foodie PH suggested Bicol Express Pizza so I looked over the recipe
Ingredients:
2 pieces store-bought pizza crust
1 (450g pack) Purefoods Ready to Eat Bicol Express thawed out in the chiller
2 cups mozzarella
1 (165 gms) Magnolia Quickmelt cheese
1 (100 g) red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 (100 g) green bell pepper, cut into strips
For chili honey
1 tbsp. chili flakes
1/4 cup honey
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 450o
Assemble pizza by spreading Bicol express sauce on each pizza crust surface.
Add mozzarella and Quickmelt cheese to each crust. Top with Bicol express meat and bell peppers.
Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese has melted.
Makes 16 slices
(Yield: 2 pc 12-inch pizza/1-2 slices per serving)
Sounds simple enough, right? And pizza is a great idea because that much cheese would partially neutralize the spiciness so that the rest of the family can enjoy the pizza, too. Unfortunately, not all the ingredients are readily available in my kitchen. One small piece of bell pepper costs ₱48. Mozzarella cheese is not only expensive but is not readily available in nearby groceries.
What I ended up doing
Substitution is key! 🙂
I did away with the mozzarella and used cheddar cheese all the way instead.
Goodbye, bell peppers, I can’t afford you.
chili honey – I didn’t need to make it or use it as the pizza was flavorful in itself.
pizza crust – seeing as how I used to work in Shakey’s many years ago, I actually do know how to make a pizza from scratch so I decided to make my own pizza crust.
This is a very simple, easy-to-follow recipe for making a pizza at home from scratch. The crust will turn out soft and pillowy and a pleasure to chew.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: pizza
Servings: 16slices
Calories: 153kcal
Author: Penny Angeles-Tan
Equipment
measuring cups
measuring spoons
mixing bowl
rolling mat
baking tray
chopping board
knife
pot or pan of your choice
cheese grater
stove
oven
Ingredients
1cupwater
1tbspsugar
1tbspinstant yeast
1tbspmelted butter
1tspsalt
2cupsall-purpose flourplus a little extra for dusting later
1packPurefoods Ready to Eat Viands Bicol Expressfrozen
1tbspoilfor oiling the pan
165gramscheeseor enough to cover the pizza twice
Instructions
Mix the sugar and the warm water in a mixing bowl until the sugar is melted. Make sure that the water is not too hot then add the yeast. If your water is too hot the yeast will die. Tip: The water should be warm to the touch but won't burn you. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to ferment and form bubbles. If this does not happen that means that your water is too hot and your yeast died so you will have to start again.
Add the melted butter (make sure it isn't hot!) and mix.
Sift the flour and salt into the bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients and mix. Keep mixing, this will form into a sticky/tacky dough ball.
Take the dough out of the bowl and put it on the rolling mat and knead for a few minutes. Don't worry about your muscles getting sore because this recipe does not need a lot of kneading. You just need to look at the dough and knead until you see that all the ingredients are well incorporated. From my personal experience, it just takes 10 to 15 times to fold and knead and you are good. It is just like playing with Playdoh.
If you are making a round pizza crust then roll it into a circle with a rolling pin. Take note, though, this recipe makes either two standard size crusts or 1 big crust.
Oil your baking pan/tray on all sides and transfer the dough onto the pan/tray and let it rest. This will still expand. In the meantime, turn on the heat in the oven and wait until it hits around 400F.
While waiting, open your frozen package of Purefoods Ready to Eat Viands Bicol Express and cut it up into several strips. and put the strips in the pot (or pan) with 1 to 2 tbsps of water for thawing and simmering. I like to put it on low to medium heat and simmer it for 8 minutes. Turn off the stove after.
If you want to make a rectangular or square pizza you can use your roller to stretch it down and out more. Don't worry that it is too thin, like I said, it is still expanding. if you decide to make your crust into a rectangle then there is no need to make 2 small pieces as you already have one big one.
Once the oven has hit the desired temperature, place the baking tray on the lowest rack of your oven and bake for 5 minutes.
Take it out of the tray and use a fork to pop and bubbles that formed. Scoop the sauce of the Bicol express onto the crust and spread it. Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese on top of the sauce.
Put the Bicol express meat over the cheese and any other topping you want to put on the pizza such as mushrooms, bell pepper, onions, etc.(3)
Top everything with cheese(4) again then put the pizza back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Turn the tray and bake for another 10 minutes.(5)
Your pizza is done and ready to eat.
Notes
See the notes after this recipe
Pizza Crust nutrition facts
One slice of the pizza crust is 68 calories.
Purefoods Ready to Eat Bicol Express nutrition facts
As per the packaging, the calories in one serving is 296 calories, but that is assuming 4 servings. Since this is a 16 slice pizza, each slice has 74 calories.165 grams of cheese divided by 16 = 11.25 calories.This means that each slice of Bicol Express Pizza = 153.25 calories
Notes:
This recipe makes a pizza that is FILLED with ingredients. You can make another crust and split the filling to make 2 pizzas.
Most cookbooks will tell you to preheat the oven before doing anything else. Personally, I find that a waste of gas so I would recommend not turning on the oven until you actually need it. After all, it doesn’t take too long to heat up.
Some prefer to thaw first and then cut up but personally, I’ve found that it is easier to cut up meat, especially those with sauces like these ready-to-eat meals when they are frozen. It helps, of course, that I use a cleaver. Since there are so many of us here at home this is my way of making cut-up meat stretch out so that everyone gets to eat.
Only 3 things are limiting you – budget, available ingredients, and imagination
I didn’t have any mozzarella so I used cheddar all the way
If you are using a gas oven this is one way of ensuring that the pizza is cooked evenly. We used to do this, too, at Shakey’s.
The amount of cheese to put is really up to you. I can’t recall the exact weight anymore after all these years but a handful of grated cheese is usually enough to cover a large pizza so for this recipe, you will need 2 handfuls. I think that it would approximately be 165 grams or a small block of cheese.
You can also use cheese squares if you like, but you will likely end up using more cheese if you do. But, as I said, the amount of cheese is completely up to you. 🙂
How did it turn out?
The crust is soft and chewy and delicious and the Bicol express made me very happy. The spice level was just right and the meat was soft and juicy and oh so delicious! My sister even tells me that I could reduce the Bicol express toppings when I add veggies so I could make two rectangular pizzas. Next time I do this I will cut the pieces smaller so that it will be easier to split into more pizzas. 🙂
Try this recipe or make your own. Or, just eat it the Bicol express as is! It is your choice. When I decide to eat this with rice you can be sure it will be over a bowlful of steaming hot rice and probably an egg on top. Breakfast rice toppings, yes! Now I’m hungry again, lol!
Purefoods Ready-to-Eat is available at all leading groceries and supermarkets nationwide. Follow Purefoods on Facebook and Instagram.
Welcome back to my kitchen. 🙂 For dinner today I took a look at my stash of Purefoods Ready to Eat Viands and after a lot of thought, I decided to do something different with the Purefoods Beef Pares.
Beef pares brings back a lot of memories for me. It is one of those dishes that late-night denizens are wont to enjoy – it is served quickly and every bite is flavorful and filling. For many years my husband and I would drop by the pares restaurant not too far from our house after a gig just to grab a bite before heading home. But while it is quick and easy for us, the patrons, preparing it takes a lot of time. This is one reason I am quite thankful that Purefoods decided to produce this line – for doing the slow cooking for me.
Quick and Easy
On its own, this ready to eat viand is simple itself to prepare. Whether you heat it up on the stovetop or the microwave, just put it in a container and heat up for 8 minutes and you’re done! All that is left is to serve it then scoop a serving over hot rice. This package is good enough for four people.
Extending the dish to feed more people
There are seven people in my household and if I served this dish as is then Not everyone will really get to eat (especially since half the family eats twice as much!) so, it was time to once again get creative in the kitchen. Aside from the beef pares I had garlic, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and dangmyeon (Korean glass noodles). I decided to make japchae. With the addition of the noodles, this dish can now feed twice as many people.
Some notes:
When slicing the Purefoods Ready to Eat Beef Pares I would recommend doing this frozen so that the meat is easier to slice into strips and none of the sauce is wasted.
I used onion, carrot, and mushrooms, but really you could add any vegetable you want. Some commonly used ingredients for japchae are leeks and broccoli, and some like using bell peppers.
Technically, I could have used any kind of noodles like canton, bihon, or sotanghon, but I like dangmyeon the best. Sotanghon and dangmyeon are both vermicelli noodles but sotanghon is made from mung bean flour while dangmyeon is made from sweet potato flour. Dangmyeon turns into glass noodles that are thick and kinda sticky, which is what I like about japchae.
The package I bought was 500 grams and for this recipe, I only used 300 grams but I cooked all of it anyway. From personal experience I’ve noticed that usually when there is just a little bit of the dish left there is usually a lot more meat than noodles so I just add the remaining 200 grams to the leftovers, heat them together, and I just add japchae sauce.
This is the japchae sauce I used. I think I bought this and the noodles from Landers but they might also be available at other grocery stores, I just never really looked. You could also add this sauce to the beef pares japchae to make it more flavorful, but I would recommend trying it without first.
As a finishing touch, you can sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on your noodles.
Purefoods beef pares is a savory-sweet dish which made it perfect for making japchae. It takes the guesswork out of having to make a japchae sauce and sourcing exotic ingredients … or buying a bottle of japchae sauce. 😀
Even though I am calling this a “level up” dish it is actually effortless to make! In less than 20 minutes I was able to feed my family! And, as my sister likes to say, it is a complete dish in itself. 🙂
Yum, yum! Prepare this yourself and enjoy! We did. 🙂
300gramsvermicelli noodlesI used Korean glass noodles aka dangmyeon
oil
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preparation
Boil water in a pot. Once it is boiling place the noodles in and boil it for 5 minutes.
Rinse the noodles in cold water and set them aside.
While still frozen cut up the beef pares into strip-size and set aside. I would recommend putting it back in its original container so that none of the sauce is wasted.
Peel and chop the garlic, onion, and carrot. If you bought whole mushrooms just slice them thinly.
Cooking
On medium heat saute the garlic for about 30 seconds, add the onions. After a minute add the carrots and mushrooms and simmer.
Add the beef pares, mix, and simmer for another 8 minutes.
Add the noodles and mix until all the noodles are covered in the sauce of the pares. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Turn off the heat and serve. Your beef pares japchae is ready to eat!
Purefoods Ready to Eat Viands is available at all leading groceries and supermarkets. The price varies depending on the variant that you get.
Purefoods Ready to Eat Viands has 9 different variants and I decided to start with something easy … Pork Humba. For those who are unfamiliar with Pork Humba, it is a sweet and savory dish. This (in my opinion) makes it a perfect filling for siopao, as it will be reminiscent of Pork Asado.
Siopao (sometimes called steamed dumplings) is best known as a Chinese snack, often served with noodle soup.
It’s as easy as 1-2-3
Purefoods Ready to Eat Viands: Pork Humba
Purefoods Ready to Eat Viands are truly easy to serve. it only takes less than 10 minutes to feed our family.
Take your selected Purefoods Ready to Eat viand from the freezer.
Thaw it out in the chiller or drainboard.
Open the package and pour its contents into a pan and heat for 8 to 10 minutes.
It’s that easy! Usually served with hot rice. 🙂
This was the recipe provided by HomefoodiePH and Purefoods for Humba Pao:
Ingredients:
1 pack Purefoods Ready to Eat
6 pieces store-bought cua pao, reheated to package instructions
6 tbsp. chopped peanuts
3 tbsp. coriander (wansoy) leaves
Instructions:
Slice humba into 1/4 inch thick slices. Reheat in a pan with the sauce.
Assemble by placing a few slices of humba in the pao and drizzling with humba sauce. Serve with peanuts and coriander.
That recipe makes 6 servings.
What I ended up doing
I didn’t have any cua pao and I didn’t want to have to go to the grocery just to buy some. But I did have the ingredients to make siopao buns, so that is what I did. This is the recipe that I used.
This is the recipe for making just the buns without the filling. You can fill the buns with any kind of food really. It could be savory, or sweet, or both!
Prep Time1 hourhr32 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: bread, bun, siopao
Servings: 12
Author: Penny Angeles-Tan
Equipment
mixing bowl
measuring spoons and cup
Rolling Pin
rolling mat or board
steamer
Ingredients
1cupwarm water
2tspdry instant yeast
2tbspsugar
1/2tspsalt
4cupsall-purpose flour
2tspbaking powder
1/2cupssugar
2tbspoiluse a neutral oil
1kalamansi (juice only)
a little more flour for dusting when kneading
Instructions
Prepping
Combine the water, yeast, 2 tbsp. sugar, and salt and mix. Make sure that the milk is not too hot or the yeast will die. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. You will know the yeast is alive and ready if it bubbles up.
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, remaining sugar, oil, and kalamansi.
Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix until fully blended. Knead until it turns into a dough that is smooth and not sticky.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and set it aside for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
Assembling the pao
After an hour, take the dough out of the bowl and put it on your rolling mat or board and knead it a little more then roll it into a log and divide it into 12 equal (or as equal as you can make them) parts, and set them aside on a tray or mat without touching each other. You can roll them into balls for easier handling later. Cover with a cloth until you need them and let them rest for 30 minutes. The dough will rise even more.
Take one part and knead it and make a ball. Dust it with flour and flatten it with your palm then roll it into a flat disk (circle) making sure the center is thicker than the sides as the middle will hold the filling.
Place 1 to 2 spoons of the filling in the middle of the disk and then gently lift the edges to the middle in folds and then pinch and twist.
Take a small piece of baking paper (or waxed paper) and put the bun on it. This will prevent the filling from leaking out. Place the assembled bun on a plate or tray until you will cook it.
Repeat from step 2 of "assembling the pao" for the remaining dough balls.
It's time to steam
Place your steamer on the stove. Make sure there is water underneath or it won't steam. 🙂 Turn it on and wait a few minutes before putting the buns in
In the steaming tray place enough buns without touching. Keep in mind that the buns will still expand. It is likely that not all the buns will fit in one layer so you will need to either put another layer or just cook a second or third batch. Steam your buns for 20 minutes then turn off the stove and let the buns sit in the steamer for another 5 minutes before removing them.
Notes
Notes
You can fill these buns with anything you want. Keep in mind, it is really just bread. 🙂
If you are cooking more than one layer of the buns, keep in mind that they will not cook the same because one layer will be hotter than the other. In my experience, the buns at the bottom "blossom" better than the ones on the upper layers.
This recipe is based on research from 2 or 3 recipe sites and I adjusted based on my available ingredients and the amount of effort I was willing to put into it. 😀 This is loosely based on the pita recipe I followed last time but instead of grilling the bread, I steamed it.
This is the first time that I made this so while I got it to cook and taste the way it should, I couldn’t get the right technique to pinch it closed consistently, hehe. The next time I make this I will most likely fold the buns into cua pao instead of siopao. 😀
How does the Pork Humba taste?
The Pork Humba ready to eat viand tasted just like pork humba should … savory and sweet at the same time. The meat was just the right level of softness and was anything but tough or dry.
I will confess that instead of thawing it in the chiller or drainboard, I decided to put it in the pot frozen and thaw it gently on the stove in low heat.
I also decided to cut it up with scissors in the pot, instead of cutting it on the board with a knife. This was because I didn’t want to waste any of the sauce.
I didn’t get to use all the humba when I made the paos so what was left I set aside I intend to eat tomorrow for lunch. 🙂
Feedback from the fam
Purefoods Ready to Eat Viands: Pork Humba
They loved it! They loved the flavor of the humba and the combination with the siopao bun (phew!) Now I have one more new recipe to add to my repertoire. Thanks for the assist, Purefoods! And thank you, HomefoodiePH for the recipe suggestion. <3
The concept of ready to eat meals is not new to us, another name for it is “frozen dinners”. The difference, I suppose is that while most frozen dinners as we see them in foreign movies are full meals made for one person alone, Purefoods Ready to Eat meals are made for families.
But this is also a reflection of how Filipinos enjoy sharing meals with family or friends. I know of very few Filipinos who cook full meals for just one person. We always tend to cook so much that we are eating the same thing for an additional meal or two. 😀
Purefoods Ready to Eat variants
Purefoods Ready to Eat variants
At present, there are a total of nine (9) variants … each one a standard Filipino dish and (as the packaging says) it has already been slow-cooked to give us, the consumers, the softest, juiciest, most delicious viands in minutes what would usually take us so much time to prepare … because “love takes time”.
I was able to get every variant (except the beef caldereta which I just photoshopped in the picture above to complete the set) and I will try to cook and review each one every day. In our house, there are quite a few people so I have to really think about what I will cook every day and how to stretch it, given how expensive meat and vegetables are.
Also, I am quite handy in the kitchen so I will quite likely do more than just put these babies in the pan, heat, and serve. 🙂 Watch out for what I cook up in the coming days.
Purefoods Ready to Eat viands are available at http://themall.sanmiguelfoods.com and at some supermarkets and groceries. Prices vary depending on the viand you purchase.
For this recipe, we will use the Purefoods Ready to Eat Viand: Pork Binagoongan. I loved making this dish because it really stretched out and fed our entire family with rice to spare!
Technically, I could have used any kind of noodles like canton, bihon, or sotanghon, but I like dangmyeon the best. Sotanghon and dangmyeon are both vermicelli noodles but sotanghon is made from mung bean flour while dangmyeon is made from sweet potato flour. Dangmyeon turns into glass noodles that are thick and kinda sticky, which is what I like about japchae.
This is the japchae sauce I used. I think I bought this and the noodles from Landers but they might also be available at other grocery stores, I just never really looked. You could also add this sauce to the beef pares japchae to make it more flavorful, but I would recommend trying it without first.
The Pork Humba ready to eat viand tasted just like pork humba should … savory and sweet at the same time. The meat was just the right level of softness and was anything but tough or dry.
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