Mama Sita goes global

MANILA, Philippines – The Filipino is everywhere, living and working in many parts of the world. And wherever there are Filipinos, Mama Sita is not far behind.

Thanks to modern food technology and the speed of 21st-century travel, Mama Sita’s, the premier brand of sauces and mixes in the Philippines, is now available to Filipino communities anywhere in the world.

Today, second- and third-generation Filipinos who were born and raised in foreign lands are coming to know and love the native dishes that their elders grew up with. Using Mama Sita’s mixes and sauces helps give authentic Filipino flavor to their cooking — from kare-kare and adobo, to pansit palabok, ginisang monggo, sinigang, and many more.

Promoting Filipino cuisine helps spread awareness about Filipino culture and tourism. To reach a wider audience, Mama Sita holds food festivals, cooking demos, and samplings in hotels and supermarkets here and abroad. To date, Mama Sita’s growing global popularity is evidenced by its presence in Europe, Bermuda, Canada, the USA, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.

Mama Sita’s mixes and sauces recently concluded a successful culinary trip-cum-food demonstration in the Pacific islands of Guam, Saipan, and Hawaii. In Agana, Guam, Mama Sita’s marketing team also attended the soft launching of Lola Sita’s Frozen Ready-to-Cook Meats.

Prior to this, the Mama Sita team participated in the Third Pickle and Culture Festival in Çubuk, Turkey. It featured the Philippine pickle made more delightfully piquant with the use of Mama Sita’s Premium All-Natural Coconut Nectar Vinegar and Labuyo Hot Pepper Sauce.

Mama Sita’s marketing team was invited by the European Desk of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs to showcase the versatility of Mama Sita’s other top quality products in the creation of well-loved Filipino traditional and foreign culinary concoctions. Culinary expert Rowena “Peach” Reyes, Mama Sita’s granddaughter, created a host of mouthwatering treats such as the yogurt dip with Mama Sita’s Caldereta Mix.

In another product and food tasting event at the Hotel Ciragan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul, Mama Sita gave guests a sampling of its other world-class products such as Sukang Tuba, Labuyo Hot Pepper Sauce, Barbecue Mix, Annatto Powder, and Adobo Mix.

Mama Sita’s export market exponentially grows by word of mouth. Over in Canada, immigrant Ellen Deperio Ho, originally from Pangasinan, operates the hugely successful Filipino restaurant Ellen’s Place. “Judging from the turnout of Filipino and foreign customers, I know I did the right thing in using Mama Sita’s sauces and mixes,” says Ellen. She has been prodding Asian and Filipino stores in Canada to have Mama Sita’s products available year-round on their shelves.

That could be a reality by now — in Canada and in many parts of the globe.

 KARE-KARE

Makes 4 to 5 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups oxtail (buntot ng baka), cleaned and cut into serving pieces

1 cup eggplant (talong), cut diagonally into 1" lengths

1 cup string beans (sitaw), cut into 2” pieces

1 bundle swamp cabbage (pechay)

1 tsp. garlic, crushed

1 pc. onion, sliced

1 pouch Mama Sita’s Kare-Kare (peanut sauce) Mix

1 tbsp. cooking oil

1/2 cup sautéed shrimp fry (bagoong alamang)

Procedure:

Boil oxtail in 8 cups (2 liters) water and simmer until meat is tender, leaving about 1-1/2 cup (375mL) stock. Set aside.

Sauté garlic and onion. Add oxtail and Mama Sita’s Kare-Kare (peanut sauce) Mix dissolved in one cup water. Add remaining stock. Stir and simmer for two minutes.

Add eggplant and string beans. Simmer for three minutes. Stir once in a while to avoid sticking of the sauce to the pan.

Add swamp cabbage and simmer for two minutes or until vegetables are done.

Serve with bagoong alamang (sautéed shrimp fry).

Variation:

Pressure cook 1/2 Kg for 45 minutes to one hour with three to four cups water.

May omit sautéing.