My appreciation for Filipino food has been documented, but the tough part is Seattle isn’t known for having an abundance of Filipino restaurants. Which is odd when you consider that Filipinos are one of the largest minority groups in the area. The general answer is that the best Filipino food in Seattle is found in homes. That’s great, but how can newbies experience for themselves? I’m going to visit a bunch of the local spots to grab some food and report back. First off, here is a quick dish that is super-easy to make, Visayan in tradition, and Pinoy in spirit.

Here is what you need to make it:

• About a cup of leftover cooked chicken, shredded into very small strips, (use a fork)
• Minced garlic clove (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
• Salt
• Pepper

That’s it! And it’s super easy to make; heat up a pan, add a knob of butter. When the pan is sufficiently heated, drop in the minced garlic (if you’re using the powder, add when you add the chicken). Let the garlic saute, a bit and then throw in the chicken. Season with salt and pepper.

When do you know it’s done? It’s up to you! The chicken is already cooked, I like to cook it when the pieces are crisped up and the smell in the kitchen has a nice, nutty aroma. The big thing about this is recipe is that you want to have the crisp texture to really bite into. This is mainly done with chicken, but beef and pork would work.

And what can you put it on? I like to put it over some rice and some diced tomatoes, maybe some cilantro for color. You could add it to a spinach salad. With eggs would work too. It’s good on pasta too!

Masarap! (this means delicious in Tagalog)