Breakfast all day

Being an early riser, it shouldn’t be surprising that my favorite meal is breakfast. I have a little nook outside my bedroom where I spend my quiet time, looking out the window and watching the dark sky grow lighter, the birdsong more varied as I enjoy my bowl of homemade granola and cafe au lait.

My brew is usually Benguet arabica, dark roasted, which I stock up on when I’m in Baguio. When supplies run low there’s always Batangas barako from Sidcor. On cooler mornings, the coffee is freshly made in my French press, but in the heat of the summer, I make my coffee the night before and chill it for a refreshing start to the day.

In my family we are big fans of breakfast dishes that can be served for lunch and dinner. One of our favorites is the typical Mexican breakfast of huevos rancheros and it’s rather simple to make.

Line a baking dish (the kind that can double as a serving dish) with tortillas. I then just empty a can of diced tomatoes, and mark boundaries for the eggs with strips of red and green bell pepper, long green chilies and slices of chorizo. An egg goes into each cavity, then a combination of cheddar and mozzarella generously tops everything. Sprinkle with rock salt and freshly crushed peppercorns before baking at 350°F for 20 minutes or till the eggs are done to your liking.

A popular menu choice in my classes is fried chicken and waffles. I teach many fried chicken recipes but if you ask me what I find the simplest and the best, it’s chicken pieces marinated in garlic, Knorr seasoning, salt and pepper then dredged only in a starch—cornstarch, tapioca starch, potato starch—before frying. This makes for a crisp fried chicken along the lines of the yummy Korean version.

As for the waffles, my recipe works equally well as pancake batter if you don’t have a waffle iron.

Whisk together the dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder 
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• Then blend in 1 1/4 cups milk
• 3 tbsp. melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1 egg

You can make this the night before, it will thicken a bit but you can add a tablespoon of water or leave it as is if you like thick pancakes (I do).

Aside from pancake syrup, places that serve up really good chicken and waffles (like Kettle) will add a spiced honey and gravy on the side.

To make spiced honey, heat a few tablespoons of honey with either a pinch of chili flakes or a sliced sili labuyo.

For the gravy, combine 4 tbsp. drippings (the oil you cooked the chicken in with any bits and pieces in it) with 4 tbsp. flour. If you have a little time, cook this over medium heat till it darkens to caramel, or else cheat with a teaspoon of soy sauce. Add 2 cups chicken stock (you can use a bouillon cube to 2 cups water) plus salt and pepper and cook until thickened. Adding half a teaspoon of dried thyme will give your gravy that unmistakable KFC flavor.

For a Filipino breakfast, I can’t think of anything better than homemade tapa with fried rice. You need thinly sliced pork belly and I find the kind they sell in Korean groceries is perfect. When I offered this menu in my Around the World series, I was amazed at how many kids picked it.

Marinate a half kilo of the pork with 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup calamansi juice, 4 cloves crushed garlic, 2 tbsp. brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Steam the meat for 10 minutes before pan frying the meat till golden brown.