Food Filipino Eats On Rainy Days

Rainy days are again approaching in June to August in Manila. As expected, rainy days brings wet and cold weather. Wet from rain shower or soaked feet in flood water may bring shiver. As much as possible people prefer to stay at home than to go outside on rainy days. And what’s good to do on these days? Watch movies, read books, cuddle and of course eat warm soupy food to warm the body.

In Philippines, below are lists of food Filipinos love to eat to warm up the body on rainy days.

The warmth of this food combine with the slight sweet and salty plus the slight hotness of pepper makes this soup perfect for rainy days. Ask your mom to cook this for you before getting home from school or work, the feeling of warm in your stomach will definitely relieve your shiver.

Macaroni Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

250 g elbow macaroni

Chicken breast boiled and flaked

6 -8 cups Chicken broth (use the broth you used to boil the chicken add some water to make about 8 cups)

Chicken bouillon cube (optional)

1 onion diced

5 cloves garlic minced

1 can evaporated milk

Small carrot cut into strips

¼ cabbage cut into strips

Fish sauce to taste

Pinch of ground black pepper

margarine for sautéing

Procedure for Cooking:

1. Add the bouillon to the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

2. When boiling add the elbow macaroni and let boil for about 5 minutes. Turn off the fire.

3. Heat casserole in low fire, add 1 tbsp margarine and sauté garlic, onion and flaked chicken.

4. Combine the broth with macaroni and let boil until cook, season with fish sauce.

5. Add the vegetable and milk. Sprinkle ground pepper and remove from heat.

A type of rice porridge or similar to congee with chicken as one of the major ingredients that gives its tasty flavour. It is best to eat when still hot. It is delicious and also a best food if you’re not feeling well or having a cold. Its near to fine consistency makes it easy to sip and digest. I usually eat my arroz caldo with toasted garlic bread. Yum!

Arroz Calso Recipe

Ingredients:

250 g Chicken cut into serving size

2 cups glutinous rice

1 small onion chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

Ginger about the size of the thumb, cut into strips

Fish sauce

Chicken bouillon cubes (optional)

Cooking oil

Pinch of black pepper

Oil for sautéing

Spring onion chop

Pinch of dried Saffron herb (optional)

Procedure for cooking:

1. Heat casserole in low fire, add oil and sauté ginger, garlic and onion.

2. Add chicken and fish sauce, simmer in low fire for about 20 minutes or until cooked, with constantly stirring from time to time to prevent from being burnt.

3. Remove excess oil and then add rice. Add water and bring to boil.

4. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, if rice dries add some cups of water to achieve your desired consistency, bring to boil until rice is cooked.

5. Season with fish sauce according to taste. Serve hot in a bowl. Garnish on top with chop spring onion.

A taste of beef in a soup with noodles and spring onion is another perfect to gulf on cold weather. If you want this soup hot you can sprinkle pinch of chilli powder. It can be also good to partner with soft bread.

Beef Noodle Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound cubed beef stew meat

1 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup beef bouillon granules

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 cup chopped carrots

5 3/4 cups water

2 1/2 cups frozen egg noodles

Procedure for Cooking:

1. Heat saucepan over medium fire. Sauté the stew meat, onion and celery for 5 minutes, or until meat is browned on all sides.

2. Stir in the bouillon, parsley, ground black pepper, carrots, water and egg noodles. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

If you’re feeling low on rainy days, champorado is perfect comfort food for you. This sweet and creamy porridge that has flavanol from cocoa or chocolate powder helps boost your mood that brought down by the cold weather.

Champorado Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups glutinous rice

1 ½ cup coconut milk or 1 can evaporated milk

½ cup sugar

½ cup cocoa or chocolate powder

6 cups water

Direction for cooking:

1. Wash and boil the glutinous rice with 4 cups water. Add more water if necessary to achieve proper consistency of porridge.

2. Add sugar and cocoa or chocolate powder, cook a little more add water according to your desired consistency.

3. When done add the coconut milk or evaporated milk. Adjust the taste according to your preference. Turn off the fire and serve hot.

This is another noodle soup using a soft and silky noodle called Sotanghon by Filipinos or Vermicelli noodles by Chinese. Chicken can also be substitute with shrimp. The flavour and aroma of chicken combine with soft and silky noodles makes you ask for more of this noodle soup.

Sotanghon Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

200 grams Sotanghon or Vermicelli noodle

1 cup previously boiled chicken meat flake

6 cups chicken stock

Garlic minced

Small onion, chopped

Fish sauce to taste

2 tbsp margarine for sautéing

Spring onion chopped

Direction for Cooking:

1. Soak vermicelli noodle in water, you may cut this to shorten the length if you want.

2. Heat pot. Put margarine. When melted and hot, sauté garlic, onion and chicken flake and fish salt. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

3. Dried the soaked vermicelli noodle and drop on the soup. Simmer for 3 minutes or until the noodle is cooked, add pinch of grind black pepper.

4. Turn off the fire. Serve the soup and garnish with spring onion.