Eat Matters

You Are Invited

       So how would you like to literally eat your words  in a fashionable way during high tea?

                                       

Dukut: The Crust of Happiness

                        

Arroz ala Valenciana  or Valenciana  is a rice dish that came via Spain and indegenized by Filipinos.  Edilberto Alegre, Filipino food anthologist describes it as " party or fiesta food". The sticky rice dish cooked slowly in a kalaha or karahay(Filipino wok)  with, turmeric, chicken or pork,green peas, liver, shrimps, raisins and garnished with boiled chicken eggs ,is a staple in any celebration.The festive table is not complete without this  starchy yellowish fare.

During a fiesta cookout last February, I was not concerned at all how the Valenciana would turn out. Instead, I was incessantly  bugging the cook to  pluck out  the dukut --the crust of  burnt rice forming in the bottom of the (kalaha)pan.The thin, crispy, toasted flat cake of  rice was the core of my attention. Simply irresistible. Addicting.

My sister too, kept on coming back for those native rice "crispies". I felt like a little kid  drooling, with eyes bulging and greedy. I was grinning  from ear to ear every time the cook confirms a crust has formed. The hot dukut is pinched by the forefinger and the thumb  when it ready to be nibbled; to be toyed by the teeth until the tongue is ready to partake of the masticated crunch. What a joy.

Comes lunchtime and I lost the mood to eat. I had my fill too many of the dukut and its blessedly mysterious bittersweet flavors.  It was bit too much for the stomach, but the heck. What's a nice bed and a nap for?  Yea.While the others were feasting.

Garlic Stem and King Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry

                           

I did not expect that this Garlic Stem and Oyster Mushroom stir-fry would become a best -seller on our dinner table for three. I cooked this easy to prepare dish twice  this week already and every time, we had to scrape the bottom of the  serving platter for the last morsel. Even the five year old girl loves to feast on this.

                        

Garlic stems are  can be bought at your Asian grocer. They should not be mistaken garlic chives which, without the bulb would look similar from a distance. Garlic stems, also known as garlic sprouts or garlic bolts looks sturdier, smoother  and roundish than the garlic chives. They are beautiful to look at. The stems logically taste like garlic. Only milder.

                        

The King Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii) or Trumpets, according to Wikipedia, are popular in the European Mediterranean regions, the Mid East and North Africa.In China, they are known as xìng bào gū or
almond abalone mushroom and  cì qín gū or stab celery mushroom. The mushroom  are described as flavorless but I think other wise. There is a very negligible malinamnam hint to it . Malinamnam is a taste description exclusive to Pilipino- the official language of the Philippines. Very slightly sweetish would be a crude way to describe the taste in English.

To cook the dish, cut the stems to about 1.5 inches, slice the mushrooms crosswise into thin rounds,and  if you want, slice the rounds again into half.You add more volume, this way.

Saute some chopped onions in oil and when wilted add the stems and the mushroom. add a little chicken stock or  flavored liquid of your choice, and i mean a little ,to the pan. Season the mix with soy sauce and let the liquid simmer .

The best way to determine doneness is when the stems are slightly wilted and the mushrooms have  changed into a smooth texture. If this happens, it is chow time.  Serve hot.

Quickie Blueberry Tarts

The jars of home-made blueberry preserves were just sitting idly on the fridge since December. They were gifts from an aunt, a widowed retired nurse who has immersed herself  doing  creative home crafts  beside being active in church activities .The BB's came together with two smaller jars of preserved beets which we have yet to taste. The wild blueberrys were handpicked from the brushes in where she spent her holidays .Pretty special.

Because we are only occasional bread and jam eaters,  I tried to look for a way to  appreciate this homemade goodies. When baked into tarts,they  have been doing well as pleasant desserts for the past few days.

They were not a difficult thing to make as I only bought  ready made tart shells at the supermarket. Though the jam was not as thick to hold on its own when placed on the shell, it turned okay when the pastries were cooled after baking.

There are just a few of them left in the fridge.Don't think it will last after tomorrow.

Short-Braised Zucchini,Butternut Squash,Tomatoes and Mushrooms

               

Braising is technically  a conduction process. Just like sauteing, heat is transfered from the cooking vessel with a small amount  of liquid--water ,wine or stock --to the food. A steaming process is also involved when the pan is covered. Braising is a simple  slow-cooking technique that is not to be underestimated for it draws out  the best flavors from what is  being cooked. Simple is beautiful.

For this vegetable dish, I sauteed in a small amount of oil the usual aromatics of  crushed garlic and onions, then  added  the bite size cuts of butternut squash,a piece of zucchini with skin on,tomatoes and button mushrooms.I then poured a small amount of chicken stock and covered the pan adjusted to medium heat and let it be for about 15 or minutes.Before plating, I seasoned the veggies with salt and pepper to the desired taste.

While the veggies where on a slow simmer, I couldn't resist the urge to spoon and taste the  delicious developing braising liquid.

We finished up the veggies  on one seating with my daughter sequestering most of the  butternut squash cubes.What joy it brings to red meat junkie parent to see an offspring going crazy on veggies.

Healthy dinner ,I should say

Twisted Bago-ong Rice

I cooked Bago-ong Rice from out of the blue.

The way the kitchen clock said  it on my face over brewed black coffee, it was brunch time. Sunday morning. What a fine day in spite of the cold and foggy demeanor  brewing outside. The mind was sprightly and playful  thanks to the absence of weekend  hangover blues. Except for the weather, there was nothing to gripe about. Well, just  a little voice  egging me  not to do the traditional  cowboy grub of pancakes,maple syrup,fried eggs and farmer's sausage.That's when I  decided to experiment with  the  green apple  atop the microwave oven.

While making my pork loin chops some nights ago I nibbled on a wedge of green apple which reminded me of  green mangoes and bago-ong(fermented shrimp paste). For Pinoys, green mangoes and this pungent accompaniment are inseparable like horse and carriage or more rightly so like love and marriage. One can be without the other-- occasionally.

There are  some things about the Granny Smith  and  green mangoes  that evoke tangible similarities in  the mind --the color, the texture,the juiciness, the hint of tartness in the taste, the crunchiness when teeth meets meat-- among  other things. Perhaps homesickness is what  pushes the taste buds in forming familiar flavors. According to Jacques Pepin,"the effect of memory improves the taste of a glass of wine or a soup. It's much more powerful when the memory of an event comes through the senses."

In my case the presence green of the apple transported me to the routine of  buying  raw mangoes from a stand on a busy side walk.  I  imagine myself   anxiously  waiting  as the vendor peels the skin as  turns into an attractive spiral ribbon,drooling  with anticipation  for the first bite, as  a dollop of bago-ong is inserted between  the sliced wedges of the fruit.

  I thought of whipping up some bago-ong rice with  the Granny Smith. I  sauteed the crushed garlic, onions, sliced tomatoes with the shrimp paste and added the bowl of day old rice  and mixed it up until each kernel of rice has sucked all the flavors and the pungent aroma filled the enclosed room.

I made an omelet and sliced them into strands and garnished it on top of the plated rice with the sliced green mangoes.

Eating Vietnamese

                   

  It's nice to have friendly neighbors who come from different points of the globe.

Many Sunday's ago, we got a call from our Vietnamese friend that she is coming over  to  drop off some  food. She probably read our minds. We were too tired to cook  or eat out and was about to open up a  de lata of SPAM for lunch. Cooking a decent meal  wasn't just in our order of battle for the day.

What we got was a spread of  Vietnamese fare consisting of fried spring rolls, fish rolls ,sauce and Vietnamese noodles to substitute for the rice. Authentic Vietnamese food in the comfort of your home for free. Ah, nice

   
   
   
   

Notes: My Memories with Pan de sal

                   

Pan de sa l(bread of salt) is one that wafts with strong memories of my childhood. This is because we live a stone's throw away from Iloilo's famous pan de sal bakery. The early morning aroma of the freshly baked bread in the wood-fired lingers

Any expatriated full- bloodied Ilonggo  from Jaro has a story to tell about this institution and its pan de sal . Its been there since the  early  1900's.

For most of us, this is THE pan de sal; the simple all around bread that we grew up with. It is light and crusty as a French bread . It's  flavor is pleasantly  teasing with almost negligible saltiness. The flavor after the crunch is almost neutral which is what a pan  de sal should be. Why? Because it was made to be dipped in tsokolate, kape, condensada, Star Margarine, Guava jelly or what ever palaman ( sandwich filling, usaully a jam) one can think of. The neutral taste  makes it the perfect conduit.That without overshadowing the flavors.

Generations later, the  softer,sweetish hot pan de sal  surfaced as a fad  and quickly vanished.. To me it should have taken another name maybe, like pan de sweet.

Pan de sal ni Paa is the only real Pan de sal for me.

Pan de sal ni Pa-a is how the bread is called by  the patrons  and their house helps who are required  to line up at  dawn  in the front door of the bakery to get the freshest  batch from the wood fired oven.Pa-a, which means leg, is the the monicker for the owner/panadero who started it all. His real name was Uy Pa. How it came to be Pa-a (leg) is something that still needs to be explained.

Today, some enterprising individuals would buy the bread  still wrapped in  the original home -made  brown paper  bag and sell it  by the roadside to the  passing motorists.

On ordinary mornings it is just dunked on hot milk or coffee. At Christmas, the pan is butterflied to hold slices of queso de bola, imported butter and the de riguer Chinese ham or hamon serrano.

On some mornings, my  grandfather , when he was still alive,would scoop out  the white "meat" of the bread, moisten it with water and   sculpt little animals out of it. A talent he developed while studying Medicine at UP Manila in the 1920's. He would impress his American professors with these bread sculptures at breakfast.

The original two-storey bakery which is made of wood and cement is now an imposing four or five story structure housing other businesses.

On my recent homecoming to Iloilo, I made sure that this crusty pan was a regular on the breakfast table.This, to bring back memories of home.

Pancake Breakfast

                        

Today, for breakfast, we had  sliced bananas cooked in butter  flavored syrup wedged  comfortably wedged between two pancakes. The  pancake tops were drizzled with caster sugar and grated queso de bola.
I cook my pancakes thin. They  are slightly thicker than a crepe and  thinner than the standard pancakes.

Ampalaya with Parmegiano Anyone?

                                                   

Serendipity(ser.en.dip.i.ty) noun:the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or    beneficial way".

What better word to  describe a flavorful discovery.

I was cooking Ampalaya (bitter gourd/melon) in the traditional Filipino way :sauteing  minced garlic,chopped onions and sliced tomatoes, simmering the bitter vegetable in a small amount of water until tender and adding a slightly beaten egg to the dish until it is set. Ampalaya na may Itlog(Bitter gourd with Egg) is what it's commonly called.

After the putting the cooked veggie on the serving plate, a whiff of an idea- a what if- crossed my mind. I just went ahead and grabbed some left over grated Parmesan cheese, got a cupful of Ampalaya  (I did this to avoid a whack in the head by the precious wifey if the flavors went wrong)and drizzled  the mound with a good amount of the cheese. Well?

I won't tell you how it tasted but it looks like  I'm gonna get a kiss instead.

Try it.