Poqui-poqui, an Ilocano Recipe

This is one of my favorite foods when we were growing up. My late mom used to cook this and I remember I always have this in my packed lunch along with fried fish and rice when I was in high. I didn't know the name of this recipe and I think my mom didn't know it either because she never told us. I remember one of my boardmates in Baguio during my college days used to cook this and she even added carne norte and it added more flavor. That boardmate of mine was from Laoag City but she never mentioned the name of this recipe and I never bothered to asked her. 

I kept cooking this recipe not knowing its name because I love it. I even posted this recipe here but at that time I didn't know its name yet. It was only lately that I came to know the name of this recipe and it's called Poqui-poqui! It's one of the popular recipes in the Ilocos Region. The name sounds weird and it could be the reason why they never mentioned its name, lol! Whatever the name is, I assure you this taste good. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 eggplants

3 eggs

fish sauce (patis)

1 onion (sliced)

4 cloves garlic(crushed)

3 tomatoes (sliced)

salt

ground beef or carne norte (optional)

Procedure:

1. Grill the eggplants until it's cooked. Removed the skin then sliced and mash the eggplants.

2. Beat the eggs and put a little salt.

3. In a skillet, put cooking oil and saute the garlic and onions. Add the ground beef and some salt. Brown it and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and fish sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mashed eggplants and cook for a few minutes. Add more fish sauce if needed. Add the eggs and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from fire and serve with rice and fried fish.

Shanghai Lumpia

I love making lumpia and while in the US, I made it a few times. I love to give it away to my friends too. Our pastor and his family love it so every time I make lumpia, I have to make sure to give some to them. My step-kids and their kids love it too. Here's my recipe and anybody can do it. It's easy to make, crunchy and yummy to the tummy.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or pork
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 packages of spring roll wrappers
1 1/2 quarts oil for frying

In a large bowl, combine, ground beef, onion, and carrot. Make sure to completely mix everything. I suggest getting down and dirty and use your hands. Knead the meat in the bowl if you must.

Gradually blend in the soy sauce , black pepper, oyster sauce, garlic, and salt until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Cook it in medium-high heat until the meat turns brown stirring constantly. Taste it whether it's salty or not and try to adjust it according to your preference.

Remove from fire and drain the excess grease. After the stuffing mixture has cooled down, begin wrapping it immediately

Lay out a few wrappers at a time on a flat surface, and place about 1 tablespoonful of the filling in a line down the center of the wrapper.

Take the bottom and top edges of the wrapper and fold them towards the center. Take the left and right sides, and fold them towards the center. Moisten the last edge of the wrapper to seal. Now repeat using the rest of the wrappers.


To cook the lumpia, fill a frying pan with about 1/2-inch of vegetable oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Gently place the lumpia into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides.

Place the fried lumpia on paper towels and serve immediately with sweet and sour sauce. Click here for the recipe.