Yahoo! Philippines Answers blog

One of the TV shows I really enjoy watching is Iron Chef America.  The program is like a culinary game show where in each episode, a new challenger chef “battles” one of the resident “Iron Chefs” in a one-hour cooking competition based on a secret ingredient.  It’s always amazing to see the chefs put together the different types of delicious dishes based on the theme ingredient within the time limit.

Well, last month I blogged about creating a menu for a graduation celebration.  I asked the Answers community to post their suggested Pinoy appetizer, main course and dessert in questions in Answers and even in the comments of the post.  Based on your responses, here’s the result of our Answers-generated menu.  I can almost imagine this to be something I will present to the Chairman and the judges of Iron Chef America, hehehe.  Read and enjoy!

Starter: Radish Kilawin (from user “rough surface”)

The ingredients of this appetizer are thinly-sliced radish, green and yellow tomatoes sliced according to your preference, onions, green mango (the Indian or Carabao variety) also thinly sliced, and “sinamak” (this is Filipino vinegar that’s aged and mixed with chili, onions garlic and ginger).  Just mixed everything then it’s ready to eat.

Main Course: Adobo (chosen by user “Taiga Aisaka” and recipe from “Anne”)

Marinate for at least an hour 1 kilo pork liempo and/or chicken pieces.  The rest of the ingredients are: 1 head garlic, peeled and crushed; 1 tablespoon fresh crushed black peppercorns; 1-2 cups soy sauce (light or chinese soy sauce) and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

In a wok or heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the marinated garlic and meat pieces until browned. Pour in marinade plus 1 bay leaf and let it simmer.  Pour in 1 cup of coconut vinegar (or sugarcane vinegar, if not available).  Do not stir.  Just let it boil for a few minutes to “cook” the vinegar.  Taste and adjust the seasoning and add some water if you want more sauce in the dish.  Simmer until meat is tender.  Remove bay leaf before serving.  You can also add a peeled hard-boiled eggs or raw potato cubes when adding more water.

Dessert: Banana Cue (from user “Alvin” based on eHow.com article)

To prepare banana cue, pour in a generous amount of oil in the pan, normally about 2 cups. As this is heating up, add 2 cups of brown sugar. You need to dip the banana into the oil or be able to roll it several times in the hot concoction.  Peel all saba bananas you are planning to cook and carefully run a skewer or stick into the middle of the banana.  Once the oil and brown sugar mixture is boiling, dip the banana into the liquid and roll several times.  After you pull the hot banana out, roll in brown sugar again and then re-dip in liquid.  Serve this caramelized delicacy hot or warm.  To add a twist to this, you can serve it with a scoop of ice cream.

There you have it, our Answers-generated menu!  This is perfect not only for celebrations but for any occasion you can think of.  Thank you again Answers community for your contributions, enjoy preparing and eating our user-generated menu.

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(Flickr photo by isadora_photography)

Ok, you’re probably wondering what I mean by this.  Well, we all know that March is Graduation Month in our country and whenever a member of the family graduates, it always calls for a celebration.

As we spend time celebrating with the graduates of 2010, I would like to reach out to the food lovers here in Answers.  Let’s create a Filipino menu that’s fit for a graduation celebration!  This menu will include the best recipes for cooking a starter, a main course and dessert (imagine a 3-course meal).  I’ve seen some amazing questions and answers about Filipino food and cooking here in Answers so I know that we can come up with a great meal based on your answers.  In short, let’s come up with a user-generated menu for a graduation celebration!

There are two ways to suggest great recipes:

Either…

A) Send us a great open question about a recipe you’d like to know for a starter, a main course or a dessert by emailing me at y_answrs_jonas@yahoo.com.ph

Or…

B) You can either answer each one of the Team questions (here: starter, main course or dessert)

If you can help us with this project, you might find yourself published in the Best of Answers module on our frontpage for a week.  Even better, if your open question or answer is selected for Best of Answers or as a Best Answer, you’ll receive 50 bonus points!  Choose carefully a great best answer to one of your submitted food questions and at the end of the period and we’ll give you 20 extra points.

I definitely look forward to receiving your suggestions. Keep an eye on our blog where we’ll reveal more details about this initiative in the next few days. Many thanks!

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One of the things that characterize Pinoys is our love for food.  There’s no doubt about it, we love to eat!  Whether it’s a home-cooked meal, a sidewalk vendor’s tasty street food or in a posh, trendy restaurant, it doesn’t matter, Filipinos simply have a love affair with food (and by that I mean good, tasty food).

That’s why it’s no coincidence that our first ever Knowledge Partner here in Yahoo! Philippines Answers is Spot.ph!  Before I further introduce Spot.ph, allow me to give everyone a short heads up on the Yahoo! Answers Knowledge Partners program.  It’s basically a way for businesses to share their professional knowledge with Yahoo! Answers users by answering questions in its specialized field.  They are not commercial sponsorships and are also held to the same guidelines and standards as all Yahoo! Answers users.  They are here to bring their knowledge and experience to Yahoo! Answers, and provide a valuable contribution to our community.

And to food-loving Pinoys, I’m sure Spot.ph’s contribution will definitely be valued.  Spot.ph is an eating, drinking and going out online guide that’s proudly Pinoy. Their goal is to make city living easier by helping users find the cool places to dine, chill and play.  Their service enables community members to give each other the most accurate and current reviews on different establishments.  Spot.ph is a knowledge-sharing service as well and the great thing is they’re here to share their expertise to the Answers community!

You can check out their Answers profile through this link.  It has just been one day and already two of the questions they answered got the best answer!  Sekaputoseka asked if the Longrain Restaurant in Rockwell Center, Makati is still open and Spot.ph informed her that it’s already closed but in its place is a place that actually boasts of a spin-off of its original menu – Wild Ginger Restaurant.  In another question, Fel asked what’s the best vegetarian resto in Metro Manila and Spot.ph shared some really good recommendations – Cyma and Bodhi Café.

That’s a great start and we all are looking forward to more great answers in the Dining Out and Food & Drink categories from Spot.ph!  Expect some questions from them as well as they will be engaging and connecting with the rest of the Pinoy Answers community in more ways than one.  So without further ado, help me welcome to Answers Spot.ph!

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