How to Make a Basic Silog.
If you want to try a classic Filipino dish, start with breakfast – the silog! The essence of silog is the sinangag (garlic rice) and itlog (egg, typically fried). So here is a simple silog recipe to learn how to make the rice and egg:
Start with the Basics: Simple Silog Recipe
With silogs you can jump into the proteins like salt-cured beef tapa or sweet-savory pork tocino. But, to make it a complete silog dish you must also have that deliciously irresistible garlic fried rice and the sunny-side up egg to make it a complete meal.
Sinangag, or Garlic Fried Rice
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients
- 1-2 cups leftover cooked rice
- 1 Tablespoon rice bran oil or canola oil
- 1 large clove of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Kitchen Tools
1. Heat a small non-stick pan over high heat. Add oil. When the oil heats, after about 1 minute, add the minced garlic and a pinch of kosher salt. Sauté with a wooden spoon until the garlic is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn and blacken the garlic.
2. Add the cold leftover rice and another pinch of kosher salt. Using a flat spatula, smoosh the rice grains into the garlic and oil – this helps to break down the chunks of cold rice and incorporate the tasty oil all around the rice grains.
Itlog, or in this case a Sunny-Side Up Egg
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients
- 1 whole egg, cracked opened into a small prep bowl
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
1. Over high heat and in the same pan that you cooked the rice (so that you can cook the egg in the delicious flavors from that pan, and it saves you from washing the pan), add the extra virgin olive oil. Once heated, gently place in the egg (it helps to crack the egg into a small prep bowl first). Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper.
2. Be careful not to get hit by the spattering oil, if it gets too much lower your heat to medium-high. Use one hand to tilt the pan so that the oil and egg gather to the side. This helps to cook the egg whites near the yolk without overcooking the yolk itself.
3. Once the egg white is no longer transparent, take it off the heat so the yolk does not cook further. You can cook it further to create brown, fried edges; but if you like a clean kitchen more than a proper fried egg, stop as soon as the whites are cooked. Using the flat spatula, carefully pick up the egg and place if over the garlic fried rice. Best garnished with homemade pickles or freshly chopped tomatoes. At this point, you can also heat up and add any leftover protein you may have in the fridge.
Read more about Silog:
Silogs for Breakfast, aka Filipino Comfort Food
Silog History: Looking Back at the Famous Filipino Breakfast
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