Before my son’s babysitter left I used to travel a lot to a project site in Shi Jia Zhuang, the capital of Hebei province, southwest of Beijing. 2 hours and 45 minutes by fast train, one way. A trip that long you need something to maintain sanity so we either watch a movie or read a book. Of course, before all that, read the morning news and mobile versions of our favorite websites on PDA. Here is where I found this Kapampangan recipe called quil?? (pronounced ki-loh).

Eventually this traditional meat recipe from Pampanga became one of my favorites as it is easy and fast to cook. (I didn’t time it but everything should be ready in about 20 minutes.) A working mom with a deadline and quil?? saves the day, be it minced pork or shredded chicken. You may find the original recipe here sizzling hot so good for LP6. Mine has no chili as Cean wouldn’t like it hot and spicy. An overview of quil?? is here.

Ingredients:
1/4 kilo ground pork
1 lemon (substitute for kalamansi)
salt
about 5-6 pcs. freshly ground peppercorns
1 onion, diced
4 tbsp minced garlic

Start by steaming your rice and it will be cooked by the time you finished your quilo dish.

Squeeze the lemon on the ground pork. Take out the seeds. Add in the salt, crushed peppercorns and half of the diced onions. Mix thoroughly and set aside, marinating it while you prepare the garlic and wash the vegetable you wish to have as side dish (or as long as 30 minutes if you are not in a rush).

Heat oil in wok. Over high fire, add in the garlic until browned. Add the meat mixture and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes. The most important part of the recipe that I always keep in mind is not to allow the juices to dry up. Serve immediately topped with the remaining onions and alongside hot plain rice and even cherry tomatoes.

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.