one filipino dish a week

I know I’ve been missing in action for a few weeks but other commitments superseded the blogging life. But, here I am now holding my belly as it aches and yells at me for over-eating.  Ahhh, the wonders of holiday eating. We do tend to over eat this time of year and if you don’t, you get peer pressured into it: “It’s ok it’s just once a year!” I never really got that coaxing method. Maybe it’s just a way for everyone to ease ourselves into our obvious over indulgence. Or we are just all in denial

In the same fashion every year, the turkey in my house gets the cold shoulder. It’s usually passed over by the other more Filipino and quite honestly more flavorful affair. So what do you do with the left over turkey? Paksiw! Paksiw is a vinegar stew and is most associated with leftover lechon. In pre-refrigeration days, the vinegar-y stew preserves the leftover for a few more days. It’s a great cooking method and can be used with different meats. So if you still have some leftover turkey just paksiw it!

There wasn’t exact measurements when I made the paksiw. It was more taste as you go along. I had a lot of turkey left (~5lbs) so these were the ingredients and approximate measurements:

Left over turkey cut into bitesize pieces (I included the bones in the dark meat areas to extract more flavor)
12 cloves of garlic (just about one head) pressed and peeled
4 bay leaves
15 whole peppercorns
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup gravy
5 cups water (enough to cover the meat)
kosher salt to taste

Bring the mixture to a boil. Once it’s boiling, bring the heat to low and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the meat has absorbed the juices. While it is simmering, taste the stew and adjust seasoning to your taste. I like the broth to taste with a slight sourness.

Eat Filipino Food!