5 chefs give tips for a happy, healthy Media Noche

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MANILA, Philippines — Now that Christmas is over, the next big event that everyone is looking forward to this holiday season is New Year's Eve.

Besides the countdown to 2026 and the festivities that come with it, people are seriously preparing for Media Noche because it is the first meal of the New Year and we will be spending it with family and friends.

The reunions that did not materialize last Christmas are finally pushing through this time. It is going to be extra special because of the anticipated fireworks displays and Champagnes popping to welcome the brand-new year.

So, how do you plan to have a happy and exciting yet safe and healthy New Year's celebration? Five top chefs share tips and suggestions…

Chef Sonny Mariano

"For a happy, healthy and safe Media Noche, go for a balanced spread that still feels festive," says Chef Sonny Mariano of the Tasteless Food Group. "Start with light appetizers like a DIY fresh salad or a simple cheese platter. Easy to prep, fun to mix and match, and less food waste."

As Chef Sonny puts it, "After the big Christmas Eve feast, you can keep the mains on the lighter side this time with roast chicken, grilled fish, and maybe one stew or soup dish."

But should you feel like it, you can still add some indulgent dishes, such as roast beef, but pair it with veggies, tortillas or fried rice — Peking duck style.

For practicality, he suggests that you think of some dishes that will still be good or will still be at their best when reheated the next day.

Still, in the end, it isn't just the food that you serve for Media Noche that matters, "What is most important is to welcome the New Year and celebrate it with your loved ones and friends. Happy New Year!"

Chef Myrna Segismundo

Chef Myrna Segismundo believes there is truth to that "it's hard to think of diets and healthy eating during Christmas," but there are two ways by which your menu can stay on the light and lean side.

One, she says, is to "make a Spanish boquerones of fresh anchovies in olive oil and vinegar, or a kinilaw of tanguingue in vinegar and minced onion, seasoned with salt and pepper."

The second is to "make a composed salad of sweet pomelo and orange wedges, julienned singkamas, diced carrots, steamed peeled shrimps, julienned young ubod, and mesclun greens. Drizzle with a citrus vinaigrette or honeyed patis dressing."

These two dishes should cut the richness of the heavy de riguer holiday dishes.

Chef Redd Agustin

For Media Noche, which takes place on the day the Old Year breaks into the New Year, Chef Redd Agustin recommends welcoming 2026 with a nice and hefty Steak Bake.

"The good thing about this recipe is that it can be pre-made one to two days in advance," he says.

Steak Bake

Steak Ingredients:

• 750 grams USDA Choice or Prime Ribeye Steak
• Salt and pepper
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Honey

Procedure:

1. Season steak with salt and pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, and a dab of honey. Marinate steak for 2 hours.
2. Sear steak for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Set aside and rest in chiller for 2 hours.
3. Cut steak into cubes. Set aside.
4. Prepare garlic confit.

Garlic Confit Ingredients:

• Whole peeled garlic cloves
• Olive oil or corn oil

Procedure:

1. Cook garlic slowly in olive oil or corn oil until golden brown.
2. Set aside, saving the oil for later use. 

Mashed Potato Ingredients:

• Potatoes, peeled and diced
• Cream
• Salt and pepper
• Butter
• Fresh milk

Procedure:

1. Boil potatoes for 25 minutes.
2. Mash them with a fork or transfer them to a food processor and mash.
3. Add cream, salt and pepper, butter and a little fresh milk.
4. Transfer to a piping bag if available.

Sauce Ingredients:

• Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• Shallots
• Garlic oil or butter
• Prepared gravy
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:

1. Quick-sauté shiitake mushrooms and shallots in garlic oil or butter. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a pan, combine mushrooms, steak cubes, and gravy. Then add a little cream and chopped herbs.
3. Transfer to a baking dish, and pipe a layer of mashed potato to cover.
   1. If piping bag is not available, simply make an even layer of mashed potato on top.
   2. Drizzle with butter, and sprinkle Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on top.
4. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until top is browned.

Chef Dorothy Ferreria

"For New Year, I usually make something light to give our tummies a break from all the pork and beef dishes we consumed shamelessly in the past few days," says Chef Dorothy Ferreria, who runs her very own Dorothy's Cooking School.

She starts with clear soup made from scratch — just chicken, onion, salt and pepper — and serves it as plain as it can be, just shredded chicken with a sprinkling of chopped spring onion, no cream to enrich it.

"For abundance, we buy siomai and serve it with steamed fish topped with vegetables and a soy dressing," says Chef Dorothy, who shares her steamed fish recipe here.

Restaurant-style steamed fish

Fish Ingredients:

• 1 pc. 800-gram fish (black lapu-lapu, tilapia or apahap)
• 1/4 cup gin
• 2 thin slices ginger, cut into thin strips

Vegetable Topping Ingredients:

• Sprigs of kinchay
• Thinly sliced carrots
• Thinly sliced leeks
• 2 Tbsps. corn oil

Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsps. sodium reduced soy sauce or 1 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine or mirin
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 cup water

Procedure:

1. Prepare fish for steaming.
   1. Remove gills, make a slit on the stomach to open, and remove all traces of blood and all internal organs. Rinse well in cold running water.
   2. Remove scales with the use of a knife or fish scaler, and rinse again in cold water.
2. Place fish in a shallow dish, and pour the gin over it.
   1. Stuff the stomach with ginger strips.
   2. Allow to marinate in the gin for at least 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, fill a deep casserole with water three-fourths full.
   1. Lower fish into the boiling water and allow to boil vigorously for 3 minutes.
   2. Turn off heat and cover pan. Let stand for 10 minutes.
4. Prick the meatiest part of the fish with a toothpick. It should go in and out easily.
   1. Otherwise, allow the fish to boil for 3 more minutes.
   2. As an alternative, you may simply boil the fish for exactly 8 minutes overall.
   3. Immediately transfer cooked fish to a serving platter.
5. Arrange vegetables on top of the fish.
6. Heat up corn oil in a small frying pan until it reaches smoking point. Immediately pour the hot oil over the vegetables.
7. Combine ingredients for the sauce in a medium bowl. Pour over fish and serve immediately.

Chef Cyrille Soenen

The technical director and executive chef of Le Cordon Bleu Ateneo Institute de Manila makes the best Kouign Amann in town under his own Ciçou brand and recommends this as a dessert for Media Noche.

But he also suggests a number of other dishes — a combination of light and indulgent — to celebrate the New Year with. 

The French chef's ideal Media Noche menu, which he will share only with wife Anna because their kids are abroad, starts with Fresh Oysters, served with Champagne and salted butter, fresh baguette and shallots, red wine vinegar (mignonette) and lemon.

"Make sure your oysters come from a good source. The oysters have to be super fresh and of good quality. They need to be alive when you open them. To check, put a dash of lemon or vinegar on them. Fresh oysters will move," he advises.

After the oysters comes a Foie Gras or Duck Liver Terrine with piment d'espelette jelly, which Chef Cyrille bought during his last trip to France, and he's serving it with toasted bread.

For this course, he suggests getting a well-known brand to ensure good quality, but he also welcomes the idea of making one's own terrine.

"It's very simple to make," he says, "And it allows you to put the right amount of salt and pepper and Armagnac or other alcohol on your foie gras terrine."

Chef Cyrille and his wife will have big Scallops with Roe with shiso, miso beurre blanc, salmon egg and nomad caviar, plus some BBQ leek fondue.

"The scallops," he warns, "must not be overcooked because they turn rubbery. Just cook them in a very hot nonstick pan to also give them a nice color."

He adds: "Make sure your beurre blanc does not split. To achieve the ideal consistency, add cream in your reduction before adding butter."

Then it's time for Beef Tournedos with Petrified Sauce and Pomme Anna, rare beef with a nice perrigeux truffle sauce.

His practical advice: "Use a thermometer for your beef. Remember that the sauce has to be nappante, meaning that if you use a spoon in the sauce, your spoon should be nicely coated with sauce. Not liquid but not too thick."

The cheese course ends the savories, "Choose a simple brie stuffed with dried fruits and mixed nuts nestled with honey. Get an already aged brie so it is better in taste and has a good balance with the dried fruits and nuts."

And for dessert? The amiable chef again suggests his signature Kouign Amann, of course, which is festive and sparks joy. It is a sweet, round Breton pastry made of laminated dough and contains layers of butter and sugar, and is slow-baked until the sugar caramelizes. "Just order from me," he says with a smile.

Happy New Year! Stay happy, healthy, and safe!

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