Recipes To Warm Up Your Day During The Rainy Season

Nothing beats the rainy blues than indulging in some warm, tasty soup. If you’re scouring the internet for recipes, check out these delicious, easy-to-cook Pinoy dishes. Both beginners and experienced home cooks can have a great time preparing these familiar classic dishes, whether the tangy Sinigang na Baboy recipe or the flavorful Tinolang Manok recipe.

Sinigang na Baboy sa Calamansi

This Sinigang na Baboy recipe with a twist is a crowd favorite. Preparing and cooking this dish will only take you less than an hour—perfect for busy individuals. Here’s how to do it:

Make sure you use a large deep pot to prevent any ingredients from spilling out. Fill your pot with water, then add unsliced tomatoes. Five cups of water (1,250 ml)  is enough to make five servings. Add more water and additional ingredients to increase serving size.

Once the tomatoes are soft, crush them and add pork to the pot. After 15 minutes, add bite-sized cuts of gabi, green chili, and onions. Boil for another 10 minutes at medium-high heat. For seasoning, all you need is fish sauce and one pack of AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning to add to the mix. Mix the rest of the ingredients—labanos, okra, and sitaw—and let it boil for five more minutes.

Turn down the heat, add freshly-squeezed juice of calamansi and kangkong, and let it simmer for 3 more minutes before turning off your stove.

Traditional Chicken Tinola

Try out this Tinolang Manok recipe if you’re craving a light and refreshing hot soup on rainy days. 

Pour cooking oil into your pot and place it on medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated, sauté garlic, ginger, and onion for 2-3 minutes, then add your chosen chicken cuts for another 3 minutes.

After that, add water and let it boil until the chicken is tender. You can choose between papaya or sayote to add to your tinola recipe. Let it cook with the chicken for 1-3 minutes. Turn down your stove to low heat, add chili leaves or malunggay and simmer it for 30 seconds. Each ingredient is packed with nutrients, so whatever you pick, you’ll end up with a healthy choice.

For the best-tasting Tinola, season it with AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning and black peppercorn to give it a strong flavor. Lastly, add fish sauce then mix it all. This dish is best served hot.

Classic Beef Bulalo

When it comes to cold weather, nothing beats eating Bulalo. For that soft and tender beef, use a pressure cooker for this Bulalo recipe. Put water and beef into your pressure cooker and let it cook for 30 minutes. Release the steam first before removing the lid, then add sliced onions, sweet corn, and potatoes. Continue to boil until corn and potatoes are semi-soft.

Season this classic dish with AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning, fish sauce, and black peppercorn. The final step is to add sliced cabbages and broccoli and allow it to simmer for 2 minutes. Once done, serve it up with some warm rice—simple yet tasty.

Find the complete recipes of these all-time Filipino favorites and more at Ajinomoto’s Cookmunity website. You can also share your version of the Bulalo recipe or other classic local dishes for fellow home cooks to try.