Stir-fried pork in fermented shrimp paste

Binagoongan

Ginisang Upo is a beloved Filipino dish that showcases the delicate flavors of bottle gourd, or upo. This humble vegetable is sautéed with garlic, onions, and a touch of oyster sauce to create a comforting and flavorful meal. I grew up eating this dish as it was on rotation in my household. Ideal for a quick weeknight dinner or a light lunch, this dish captures the essence of home-cooked comfort in every bite.

Fun fact: My husband used to hate this dish when I met him, but he loves this version. Hope you give it a try!

Ginisang Upo

Today’s menu is kalabasa and ground pork Arroz Caldo. It’s the perfect dish to make with any leftover kalabasa or kabocha squash. Arroz Caldo literally means ‘warm rice,’ and it’s the Filipino version of congee, or rice porridge, and perfect for this cooler weather.

This version adds kabocha squash, which brings a creamy, slightly sweeter flavor to the porridge. My friend Pauline uses ground chicken in her recipe so I knew using leftover ground pork would work just as well. Honestly, arroz caldo can be made with any meat or veggies of your choice. It’s more versatile than we think.

Top it off with some fresh scallions, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkle of crispy fried garlic for extra flavor and crunch! All the flavors came together so nicely, and I’d like to report that there were no leftovers in the making of this video. 

Kalabasa Arroz Caldo

Here’s a playful spin on the traditional kare-kare: this delightful peanut-based stew is presented in a deconstructed style, featuring crispy pork in place of the usual oxtail. Plus, you’re getting two recipes in one with this dish—lechon kawali is included as well. Feel free to prepare the lechon kawali ahead of time if you prefer!

Kare-Kare with Lechon Kawali

Welcome to the sinigang series part 5, a series where I show you how to use sinigang powder in ways other than the traditional sinigang soup. 

Todays menu? It’s a combination of Korean kimchi jjigae (Korean kimchi stew) and Filipino sinigang. Because sinigang and kimchi jjigae both have a sour taste, the combination of the two works perfectly. In this recipe, we make kimchi jjigae as normal and add sinigang powder and some of the usual sinigang vegetables. It’s a little spicy, a lotta sour and overall – a mix of two things I really love.

Kimchi Jjigae x Sinigang

It’s like longsilog, but all mixed together ~ which makes for easy eating. And these days easy meals are necessary because anything I can eat with one hand while holding the baby in the other is clutch!

Longanisa Fried Rice

Lumpia, the Filipino take on Chinese spring rolls, is a beloved menu item that’s always a hit. Originating from Fujian, China, and brought to Southeast Asia by traders between the 7th and 13th centuries, lumpia has been adapted by Filipinos over time. The classic filling typically features pork or beef mixed with a variety of vegetables, all wrapped in a thin pastry and deep-fried to a crispy, golden brown. It’s often served with a dipping sauce such as sweet chili sauce, vinegar, or 

, a popular Filipino ketchup. Once you start, it's hard to stop at just one!

Lumpiang Shanghai

Misua with Bola-Bola

Here is my mom’s pork and chicken adobo recipe, which I've interpreted based on her methods. She never measures her ingredients because it takes too long, but I believe that with practice, you can develop a feel for the right proportions and adjust as you go. I hope you use this recipe as a guide and taste along the way to suit your preferences—that’s the beauty of cooking.

I also find it wonderful to learn shared recipes. Whether it's a family recipe, a friend's, or one discovered online, each has its own story. You can also add potatoes and/or eggs to this dish (I didn’t have any on hand). My husband’s family includes potatoes in their adobo, and the first thing he said was, “No potatoes? Adobo is supposed to have potatoes!” I laughed because, as I mentioned, that’s the beauty of cooking—everyone has their own unique approach.

I think this mixed adobo of pork belly and chicken is the best of both worlds. Hope you like it!

Mom's Pork and Chicken Adobo

This is my mom's adobo recipe. It's the first thing I ate postpartum, and I remember the pork belly being so soft, that it melted in my mouth. The sabaw (sauce) over the rice was so delicious, and I especially loved the little spicy bites of the black peppercorns. Unpopular opinion, I know. My mom also doesn't believe in not touching the vinegar for a couple of minutes before you mix it -- that's just her belief so you don't have to follow it if you don't want to which is why I didn't put it in the instructions. Either way, this is a very easy, delicious, and comforting dish to try. Enjoy!

Mom's Pork Belly Adobo

Sinigang - a Filipino soup loved by so many. it is said to be one of the country’s oldest dishes existing long before any colonizers set foot and suggested by food historians that its roots are indigenous. The sourness comes from sour fruits such as guava, raw mango, calamansi, and tamarind. over the years ready-made seasoning packets have been invented for ease and accessibility, but are loaded with sodium and other preservatives. so learning to make this the original way without the packets was a fun and new experience and my new go-to method.

Pork Sinigang with Tamarind (Without Packet)

Pinakbet is a pre-colonial vegetable based dish originating from Ilocos, the northwestern part of Luzon, Philippines. These days, there are many different variations depending on region and season. This version is Pinakbet Tagalog, which uses shrimp paste bagoong. The original version derives from the Ilocos region of the Philippines, aka, Pinakbet Ilocos. It differs because it uses bagoong isda (fish) or fermented anchovy paste as opposed to shrimp paste.

It is a healthy and delicious meal comprised of an array of vegetables such as okra, bittermelon, eggplant, and squash.

Pinakbet Tagalog

Please excuse my voice – the winter has been a little rough for me ? but anywho- this Sinigang Marinated Pork Belly dish is so fast and easy to make you can whip it up in a flash! You can also adjust the marinade to your liking. For more salty add more soy sauce, for more sour – add more sinigang powder. Keen on pepper? Double the amount! That’s the wonderful thing about cooking- you can make each recipe your own. Let me know if you try this out and I look forward to sharing the rest of this sinigang series with you in the upcoming weeks.

Sinigang Marinated Pork Belly

How did this Spam Musubi Bowl come about? Well, it’s been raining on and off the couple of days in Los Angeles, and you know what that means — no one here knows what to do with themselves ? you know what I mean, we wear coats and beanies as soon as the temperature is under 70 degrees lmao and I’m not going to lie… I was missing the sunshine (I know, so dramatic).

Let me let you inside of my head for a second. I was on the treadmill and opened the blinds, saw the rain and immediately thought about Hawaii. Sunny beaches, tropical landscape.. and it led me to thinking about eating Spam musubi and then I started to crave it ?. And that’s how this spam Musubi bowl came to life a la krizkitch.

The salty spam covered in a sweet and savory teriyaki sauce, paired with white rice, seaweed and egg. The Mayo acts like the “macaroni salad” component. It’s the perfect combination. I hope you try this bowl, because it’s one of my favorite things I’ve made so far in my kitchen.

Baboy (Pork)