The Happy Home Cook: Papa Diddi’s Stuffed Chicken and Batil Patung

The Happy Home Cook features cherished recipes of Filipino dishes from well-known foodies and contributors. If you have a recipe that you are proud of and would like to share, please send it along with a photo of the dish, your two-sentence bio and your picture to submissions@positivelyfilipino.com.

Recipes by Malou Perez Nievera
Edited by Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Papa Diddi’s Stuffed Chicken

Papa Didi's Stuffed Chicken (Photo by Malou Perez Nievera)

Papa Diddi’s Stuffed Chicken or what is known as Chicken Relleno to most Filipinos is the dish that St. Louis-based Filipina chef Malou Perez Nievera remembers best from holidays celebrated with her family in the Philippines. Now that she lives in America, Malou continues the tradition by cooking the relleno recipe which her father made for Christmas and gave to close family and friends.

Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients

One (4 lbs.) whole chicken, deboned
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup milk
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper to taste
Butter, softened for rub
For the stuffing:
4 lbs. ground beef
6 Strips of bacon
3 dinner rolls (or use bread slices)
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup ketchup
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of Salt to taste
Black pepper powder
5 large eggs, divided 3 hard-boiled eggs, 2 raw to go into stuffing
5 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
5 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 cup raisins

Procedure

· First, debone the chicken. Set aside.

· Mix the cream and milk together. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the lemon juice. Mix it all and marinate the deboned chicken overnight in the refrigerator.

· Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients for the stuffing : hoisin and oyster sauces, ketchup, 2 eggs. Add the onions, garlic, salt and black pepper. Add the bread-milk mixture. Combine the raisins with all the ingredients well before filling the chicken.

· To stuff the chicken: lay the deboned chicken flat on a large, flat pan, breast side up. Massage the chicken inside and out with the butter rub. This helps keep the chicken juicy. Fill the cavity with half of the meat mixture. Then lay the boiled eggs and sausages on top of the first stuffing layer. Add some more of the remaining meat mixture covering the eggs and sausages. Repeat the layers with more stuffing in the same order.

· Sew the chicken together with a butcher needle and thread. Make sure to seal and sew it completely closed to trap the moisture. Place in a large roasting pan. Cover with aluminum foil.

· Bake at 375° F for about 1 ½ hours. Then remove foil and bake until the top is golden brown for 25 to 30 minutes.

·  Arrange on a large platter and serve.

Batil Patung

Batil Patung (Photo by Malou Perz Nievera)

Malou Perez Nievera, a chef based in St. Louis, MO shares her a recipe for Batil Patung. This is a stir-fried noodle dish served with an egg topping (patung) paired with egg-drop soup (batil). This pancit dish is not complete without the side sauce of soy sauce and vinegar garnished with lots of onions. This iconic noodle dish is a local delicacy in Tuguegarao, Cagayan popularized by the much loved panciterias scattered all over the city.

Servings:  4

Ingredients

2-3 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, diced
1 lb. ground beef
1 piece Chinese sausage, sliced
1 small Chinese cabbage, sliced
1 small pack mongo sprouts, about 1 to 2 cups
1 piece carrot, peeled, sliced
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
4 cups beef stock
1 cup fresh pre-boiled egg noodles, from Asian stores, refrigerated section
1 egg, for soup
1 egg, scrambled, for topping
Soy sauce and vinegar side sauce, for serving
Sliced onions, for serving with soy sauce-vinegar

Procedure

· Saute garlic and half of an onion. Add ground beef and Chinese sausage. Cook for about 5 minutes or until beef is brown and the sausage is cooked.

· Add the vegetables. Season with a tablespoon each of soy sauce and oyster sauce. Adjust to taste. Make a quick stir. Set aside on a different plate, leaving some liquid in the cooking pan.

· Deglaze the pan using beef stock. (*Note: If beef stock is not available, use chicken or pork). Add remaining tablespoon of soy sauce and simmer.

· Add the noodles. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until noodles are al dente.

· Place the noodles on a serving plate as high as possible. The higher the mountain of noodles the better. Add the meat, vegetables and scrambled egg topping.

· Meanwhile, using the same pan, add more soup stock. When soup starts to simmer, break an egg into the stock. Stir till small ribbons of egg are formed.

· Ladle the soup in individual bowls and serve together with the noodles which are on a serving plate. Serve warm with the side dipping sauce of soy sauce, vinegar and sliced onions.