Spring Rolls
Yields: 20 - 25 rolls

WINNER: Alexandra Petilla
Ms. Petilla is a professional network marketer with a BA in English and Art. She created this recipe after extensive eggroll making for the Samahang Filipino participation in the Pittsburgh Folk Festival. It is a fusion of Chinese and Filipino elements.

8-10 large Chinese mushrooms
large head of cabbage
1 carrot
1/3 pound lean ground pork
garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound cooked salad shrimp
frozen wrappers (preferably Spring Home Spring Roll Pastry or Weichuan)
egg white
vegetable oil

Cooking Method:

Cover mushrooms with boiling water and let soak at least 15 minutes while preparing other ingredients. Quarter cabbage and discard core. Shred into 1/8 inch strips by pushing quickly through a food processor using the slicing disk. Put cabbage into a large mixing bowl. Peel carrot. Using the vegetable peeler, cut ribbons of carrots directly into bowl of cabbage. Saute pork in a large deep skillet. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. When cooked, add to the cabbage.

Defrost and rinse shrimp; remove visible veins, then add to cabbage. Drain mushrooms, remove stem and slice very thinly. Add to cabbage. Add more seasoning and mix well. Return to skillet over medium heat and toss continually until cabbage starts to wilt slightly. Remove from heat and return to mixing bowl. When cool, squeeze all excess liquid from filling.

Heat oil in wok or skillet on high heat. If using a deep fryer, heat to 350 degrees. Using 1/3 cup of filling, wrap spring rolls in the usual manner. Seal tightly with egg whites. Fry several at a time until wrapper is golden brown. Lift out of pot with tongs and drain well on paper towels before serving.

Banana Wafers
Serves: 4

WINNER: Rafia Q. Shah of Temple, TX
Ms. Shah is a science graduate, homemaker and mother. She enjoys reading, music, and cooking. She creates and develops her own recipes according to availability of ingredients and taste. She learned Filipino cooking from a friend.

2 raw green bananas
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
salt to taste
oil for frying

Cooking Method:

Remove the skin from bananas and cut into about ¼ inch thick slices in a crosswise manner. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the slices until crisp. Remove from frying pan and place on a plate covered with paper towels. Sprinkle salt & pepper over the fried slices while they are hot. Serve with tomato ketchup.

Cold Crabmeat Spread

WINNER: Suzanne Olipane of Belleville, IL
Ms. Olipane is a full time student at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, majoring in Elementary Education. This is one of her favorite recipes that is a crowd pleaser. It is easy to make and serves a lot of people. It's the perfect appetizer for entertaining a large group of people.

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
6 ounces of cream cheese
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
7 ounce can of crabmeat (or use fresh)
2-3 tablespoons of minced onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup mayonnaise

Cooking Method:

Warm soup. Add cream cheese and stir until smooth. Mix 1 tablespoon of cold water with gelatin and add to mixture. Remove from heat. Add onion, celery, crabmeat and stir. Add mayonnaise and stir. Pour into a lightly oiled mold and chill for at least 12 hours. Serve with crackers.

Fried Gabi with Peanut Powder
Serves: 4

WINNER: Jyothi Setty of Staten Island, NY
Gabi is known as taro roots and is also called "Arvi". The roots are brown and fuzzy. The best way to cook them is in lime or native lemon juice to reduce the stickiness. Ms. Setty has a masters degree in child development and is the mother of two children.

Ingredients:

1 pound gabi (taro root), medium size
2 tablespoons dayap (lime) juice
peanut oil for deep frying
1 teaspoon red pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
salt to taste
1/8 cup coconut powder
1/2 cup peanuts, roasted and coarsely crushed into powder
2 cups togue (mung bean sprout), if available

Cooking Method:

Heat enough water to boil one pound of gabi. Add dayap (lime) juice and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook gabi until done, but not too soft. Do not overcook. (You can also cook in pressure cooker.) Drain and rinse in cold water. Peel the gabi and slice into 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick slices. If slices are too tender, increase the thickness of the slices.

Heat oil in a wok. Deep fry gabi slices in 2 - 3 batches. When they are slightly golden in color, remove and drain any excess oil on a paper towel. Combine pepper powder, cumin powder, salt, coconut powder and peanut powder. Arrange fried gabi in a single row on a serving platter and sprinkle the spice and peanut powder mix evenly. Serve while hot with togue.

Lumpiang Ubod

WINNER: Jose C. Magboo

2 cups fresh ubod
1 cup chicken
1/2 cup shrimp
1 whole medium onion
1 tablespoon garlic
1 teaspoon black pepper

Cooking Method:

Saute onion and garlic. Add chicken and fry until brown. Add shrimp and saute for five minutes. Add ubod, stirring occasionally until meat and vegetables are tender. For sauce, mix 1 cup sugar, 3 teaspoons soy sauce, 3 cups water, 1-1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of cornstarch until thick. Season with black pepper and serve with sauce.

Banana Fritters (Maruyang Saging)
Yields: 20

WINNER: Gita Bantwal
Ms. Bantwal is a realtor and meets people of different cultures. She has a B.Sc in chemistry and feels that cooking is like conducting a chemistry experiment. Her engineer husband enjoys her creations.

Ingredients:

4 ripe short and thick bananas (saba) or 2 ripe plantains
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
4 cups oil for deep frying

Cooking Method:

Beat eggs. Add milk, flour and baking powder, mixing well. Beat slightly. Add salt and sugar. Let batter rest for 4 hours. Peel bananas and cut into 2 inch lengths and 1/2 inch thick pieces. Heat oil in a frying pan. Coat banana pieces with batter and deep fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

Pork Ribs Adobo    
Serves: 10

WINNER: Amaryllis Garupa Selk of Grand Junction, CO
Ms. Selk is a full time homemaker and enjoys volunteering at her daughter's school. She also enjoys cooking.

2 pounds pork spareribs, sawed in half and cut into serving pieces
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup soy sauce
6 peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup water
green onion leaves for garnish
* pineapple juice (optional)

Cooking Method:

Place pork ribs in a large pot and add all the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for about an hour or until all the liquid has been absorbed by the meat and the meat is soft and tender. Remove meat and place it on a serving platter and garnish with the green onion leaves.

* Note: By adding pineapple juice to the traditional adobo, it cuts the saltiness and gives it a touch of sweetness. Good for people watching their sodium intake.

Tahong with Gata (Mussels in Spicy Coconut Sauce)
Serves: 8

WINNER: Madge Kho of Somerville, MA
Ms. Kho's hobbies are collecting recipes, cooking and gardening. She was born and raised on the island of Jolo in the southern Philipines and now works for a law firm in Boston.

Ingredients:

2 pounds mussels; soak in water sprinkled with salt, rinse and clean
1 can coconut milk
1 large onion, cut into 8 pieces
4 stalks lemon grass (available in Chinatown stores)
10-15 kefir lime leaves (available in Chinatown stores)
scallions, cut into 2 1/2 inch length and sliced thinly lengthwise for garnish

Cooking Method:

Pour coconut milk in a saucepan (large enough to hold mussels later). Add onion, lemon grass and lime leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the mixture is reduced to more than half or when the sauce is relatively thick. Do not panic that you won't have enough sauce as the mussels will give you more liquid later. Set aside until ready to use, or refrigerate and use it the next day.

Bring the sauce to a high temperature and add cleaned mussels, stirring to coat each mussel with sauce. Remove mussels that have opened to a separate bowl, and continue to stir until all mussels have opened. If a lot of water comes out of the mussels and sauce is watered down, remove all the mussels and reduce the sauce some more. Then pour the thick sauce over the mussels. Garnish with sliced scallions.

Deep Fried Sweet Rice Snack
Serves: 6-8

WINNER: Ruchira Handa
Ms. Handa operated a day care for many years and is now retired. Her hobbies besides cooking are reading, knitting and gardening. She developed this dish by combining different ingredients until the right taste was attained.

1 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup dry coconut (not sweet)
2 tablespoons coconut milk
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons all purpose white flour
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 medium green pepper chopped (optional) or crushed red pepper
wok and oil for frying

Cooking Method:

In a bowl, mix whole milk, coconut milk, then add dry coconut and let soak for 20 minutes. Add rice flour, white flour and all other ingredients.

Add water and mix well. Let it stand for 10 minutes. As the onion has a tendency to become watery, mix it well.

Heat oil in a wok to medium high. Add mixture a little at a time with spoon or hand, 6 to 8 pieces each time. This should double in size. Brown all sides. Drain on a plate covered with double layer of paper towels. This dish can be served with drinks or tea.

Seafood Egg Rolls
Yields: 24 - 30 rolls

WINNER: Chris Santos-Brosnihan
Ms. Santos-Brosnihan has a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and worked in Boston before she and her husband moved to the Midwest. She has served as chairperson of the Philippine-American Group of Central Nebraska and is now the program coordinator of the organization. Her hobbies include traveling, cooking, shopping and entertaining. She also enjoys movies and the theater.

Ingredients:

Wrappers:
24-30 egg roll wrappers (available in Oriental stores)
1 egg, beaten

Cooking Method:

Saute the onion and tomato. Add crabmeat, shrimp and fish. Season with garlic powder, salt, pepper and soy sauce. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Add cilantro and raisins. When thoroughly heated, remove from heat and let cool for about 20-30 minutes. Mix in the beaten egg. Measure about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and place on each eggroll wrapper - follow directions on the wrapper package. Seal with beaten egg. Deep fry in hot oil until brown, drain excess oil on paper towel. Serve with Philippine Banana Ketchup or with a sweet and sour sauce. You can substitute any seafood of your choice.