BACALHAU (BACALAO IN SPANISH) is a dried salted codfish that can be prepared and cooked in many ways. It is a staple dish in Macau, a former colony of Portugal.

A group of leading Filipino chefs toured Macau five months ago to learn Macanese cooking. They eventually created a Macanese festival in their respective restaurants.

These chefs included Margarita Fores of Pepato and Cibo; Colin Mackay of Sala, Sala Bistro and People?s Palace; Jessie Sincioco of Le Soufflé Rockwell; and Vicky Pacheco of Chateau 1771, Sentro and Portico. They were invited by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO).

Here are recipes from the four chefs, each of whom whips up his or her own version of bacalhau. Interestingly, it?s their first time to offer this salted fish in their menus, which will carry through until Easter Sunday.

Croquetta de Bacalhau
Pepato, Greenbelt 2, Ayala Center, Makati

Margarita Fores whips up a delectable appetizer in Croquetta de Bacalhau, which is made with fish flakes and béchamel sauce instead of the traditional potato.

?We keep the flavor of the bacalhau a bit strong because that?s the way they prepare it in Macau,? says Fores. ?It?s salty, but if you serve it with garlic and aioli sauce on the side, it tempers the flavor.?

Bacalhau has a rather overwhelming flavor, which is typical of Macanese cuisine. It stems from combining the classic Portuguese cuisine with all the other influences?Chinese, Malay, Indian and African.

?To put an exclamation point on their strong dishes, they garnish them with something flavorful like olives. That?s what makes Macanese cuisine unique. They have an African chicken that uses so much paprika with turmeric, and is served with hard-boiled egg, red bell peppers and olives. It?s actually a very exaggerated combination of flavors,? explains Fores.

The food trip also made Fores more familiar with the ingredients.

?I was happy to discover how delicious their olive oil is, because I?ve been exposed only to Italian and Spanish olive oils. It was really a nice way to discover that there?s so much of this European influence in a very Asian location. We were sort of given an intensive venture into their cuisine. We went to their foremost hotel and restaurant schools. We learned Macanese cuisine from an institutional setting, and home-cooking-style.?

Croquetta de Bacalhau is Fores? own version of serving Macanese food without veering away too much from the real thing. For the breading, she uses oriental breadcrumbs rather than the traditional Japanese. She mixes bacalhau with onions and sautés them with tomatoes. The one that adds body is the béchamel, which comes with a garlic-mayo mix, smeared with piquillo oil and pureed parsley with a bit of tarragon to neutralize the flavor of the seafood.

Croquetta de Bacalhau
Ingredients:

120 g flaked bacalhau (salt cod)
4 c fresh milk (for soaking)
2 tbsp olive oil
20 g chopped garlic
50 g chopped onions
8 tbsp flour
4 c fresh milk
56 g butter
80 g potato mash
Salt and pepper to taste

For breading:
4 pcs eggs
? Japanese bread crumbs and ? local bread crumbs

Soak bacalhau in fresh milk. Set aside. Meanwhile, sauté garlic and onions in olive oil, then add flaked bacalhau. Set aside. Pour fresh milk then add butter, flour. Mix all ingredients. Season with iodized salt and pepper. Rest and let cool. Refrigerate. Form into desired shape.

For breading, beat eggs, roll in bread crumbs then egg, roll in bread crumbs again.

Makes 50 pieces.