The Filipino Friends Blog

This recipe is based on one that appears in the Joyce Chen Cook Book (J. B. Lippincott, 1962) by the author of the same name. For this dish, we like to use leaner, Chinese-style spareribs, also called St. Louis style, from which the breast bones and flaps of cartilaginous meat have been removed.

1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp. dry sherry
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. red food coloring
1/4 tsp. Chinese five spice powder
1  2-lb. slab spareribs, preferably St. Louis style,
cut into individual ribs

1. Whisk together hoisin, soy, sherry, garlic, sugar, food coloring, and spice powder in a large bowl. Add ribs; toss to coat with marinade. Set aside, covered with plastic wrap, to let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 350°. Arrange a baking rack on top of a rimmed, foil-lined sheet pan. Remove ribs from marinade (reserve marinade); arrange on the rack, meat (not bone) side up. Place pan on middle rack of oven; pour in enough water that it reaches halfway up the sides of the pan, making sure the water does not touch the ribs. Bake ribs for 35 minutes. Baste ribs with reserved marinade; flip and baste again. Bake for 35 minutes more. (Add more water to pan if it dries up.) Raise heat to 450°. Flip ribs again; baste with remaining marinade. Continue baking until ribs are glazed, browned, and tender, about 20 minutes more. Serve with Chinese mustard or duck sauce, if you like.

A bastardization of the fried wonton, crab rangoon is one of the most enduringly popular appetizers at the posh Polynesian restaurant chain Trader Vic’s.

5 oz. picked backfin crabmeat
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 wonton wrappers
Peanut oil

1. In a medium bowl, mix together crabmeat, cream cheese, scallions, garlic, worcestershire sauce, and sesame oil until the ingredients are well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.

2. Heat 2″ of oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, place 1 wonton wrapper on a cutting board with one corner pointing toward you. Drop 1 1/2 tsp. of the crab filling in center of wrapper. With a dab of water, moisten both edges of wonton skin; then pull the corner toward you, folding it over the filling so that it forms a triangle. Gently flatten the edges around the filling with your fingers to expel any air pockets and press to seal. Repeat process with remaining skins and filling.

3. When the oil registers 325° on a deep-fry thermometer, lower small batches of the wontons into the pan and deep-fry until golden, turning after 2–3 minutes so that they brown evenly on both sides. With a wire strainer, transfer to a paper towel–lined plate. Serve with tomato-based chili sauce and Chinese hot mustard.

These bacon-wrapped bites of chicken liver and water chestnuts were ubiquitous on pupu platters in the mid-20th century.

3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1  1″ piece fresh ginger, peeled
and finely chopped
4 chicken livers, cut into thirds
3 water chestnuts, quartered
4 strips bacon, cut into thirds

1. Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger in a small bowl. Add chicken livers and water chestnuts and toss to coat; place in refrigerator to let marinate for 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 425°. Strain liver and chestnuts, reserving the marinade. Pour marinade into a 1-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat; set aside.

3. Place 1 slice of bacon on a cutting board, then top with 1 piece of liver and 1 water chestnut. Wrap bacon around liver and chestnut; skewer bacon in place with a toothpick. Repeat process with remaining livers, water chestnuts, and bacon. Transfer rumaki to a foil-lined sheet tray and bake, basting occasionally with the marinade, until bacon is golden brown, about 25 minutes.