After a long hiatus, I’m finally back blogging. It feels good to be here again.

For this post, I’m featuring “Bopis” (Boh-peas), a delicious Filipino dish traditionally cooked with pig parts. Yes, pig parts. I won’t divulge which ones so don’t worry . If you know Filipino Food then you also know that it usually consists of different animal parts like the ones in Sisig, Goto, Bopis, and many more. Although these dishes are undeniably delicious, they’re definitely not cruelty-free. For my vegan version, I’m going to incorporate something equally “unconventional” and delectable: mushrooms. I’m not talking about the typical white button ones, not even Portabella, I’m using Wood Ear, Shiitake, and Enoki, and something else called “Snow Fungus”.

Bopis is popular as pulutan or “beer match”. Feel free to have it as appetizer or snack with your ice cold beer. It’s simple and easy to make especially if it’s the vegan version.

VEGAN BOPIS

(Makes 4-6 Servings)

INGREDIENTS:

• 6-8 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup white onion, finely minced
• 1 cup Shiitake mushrooms, finely minced
• 1 cup Enoki mushrooms, finely minced
• 1 cup Wood Ear mushrooms, finely minced
• 1 cup Snow fungus, finely chopped (soaked in water to soften)
• 1 tbsp. annato powder or “achioete”, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar (I used the brand “Datu Puti”)
• pinch of sea salt
• dash of Black Truffle Salt (I used the brand “Hepp’s Salt”)
• dash of black pepper
• 3-4 pcs Bay leaves (I didn’t use it but it’s recommended)
• 4-6 pcs Thai Chili (some chopped, some for garnish) (add more to make it spicier)
• cooking oil

Wood Ear Mushrooms

Shiitake Mushrooms

Enoki Mushrooms

Snow Fungus

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a medium pan over medium heat. Saute the garlic and onion in oil until they’re fragrant.
2. Add the mushrooms and Snow Fungus. Mix thoroughly.
3. Pour the vinegar and annatto mixture.
4. Season with sea salt and pepper.
5. Put the Bay leaves and Thai Chili.
6. Lower the heat and simmer for about 8 minutes.
7. Turn off the heat and sprinkle some black truffle salt.
8. Enjoy!

Once again, I had my mom and dad to taste test it and they approved with high remarks! It helped to let the flavors marinate a bit before serving.

By the way, the ingredients I used were incredibly versatile that I used them again for a completely different dish called “Kaldereta”. I’ll have that recipe as a guest post for my friend, Rika at Vegan Miam so please stay tuned