Cooking The Perfect Noche Buena/Media Noche

This holiday we will help you prepare the perfect Noche Buena/Media Noche! These are among the most-awaited meals of the year as it’s a time to spend the holiday season with the family. That’s why it has to be perfect and special for everyone involved.

While most families pull out the classic Pinoy ulam recipes for these occasions, you might be at a loss on what to do and where to start. Here are some tips to ensure you can prepare the best Noche Buena/Media Noche for your family.

Set a budget

Before you decide on what to cook, set a budget first. The allotment for the Noche Buena/Media Noche will largely dictate the meals you can prepare and the ingredients you can buy. If you have a bigger budget, you can opt for more dishes or something more extravagant. If money is a bit tight, you can adjust and get cheaper ingredients and dishes. Having a set amount (with extra funds just in case) will help you determine what to get during the actual grocery shopping.

Find the right dishes and ingredients

Once you have your budget ready, the next is finalizing the dishes you’ll be making and buying the ingredients you need. If you don’t know what to prepare, you can always go for classics such as Christmas ham, macaroni salad, hotdogs, and other Filipino party staples. To make these dishes more flavorful, you can make use of AJI-NO-MOTO® UMAMI SEASONING to amp up these meals. Ajinomoto’s products are affordable and convenient when you need something to greatly improve your traditional Christmas dinner.

You can also opt for something unique and surprising during Noche Buena/Media Noche. Introduce new dishes to make the Noche Buena/Media Noche more novel and exciting. You can also use Ajinomoto products to elevate these new additions to your Holiday table. Ajinomoto seasonings are versatile enough that it can cater to classic and new dishes alike.

Schedule a cooking time

Once you have your food, recipes, and ingredients prepared, the only thing left to do is cook. Make sure you allow one day to cook everything so that all the food is prepared by the time Christmas/New Year’s Eve comes. Doing this also saves time and electricity as you cook everything in one go for convenience. Afterwards, store them properly to avoid the food from going bad. Being exposed to room temperature can quicken the process of the food going bad, so it’s better to keep them refrigerated and just have them heated when the time comes.

By taking note of these tips above, you can prepare an amazing Noche Buena/Media Noche without any worries. Ensure that you have everything you need to deliver the best Christmas/New Year’s Eve dinner for you and your family. And remember, with the right ingredients such as Ajinomoto products, your Noche Buena/Media Noche feasts will indeed become more memorable.