Mayo-Mango

One might raise an eyebrow to that combination, but believe me, they make a good duo. A lot of us probably grew up with mayonnaise as a regular on our tables, spread on hamburgers and hotdogs, mixed with boiled eggs to garnish steamed fish, added to sardines as sandwich filling, and of course used as salad dressing. This creamy spread is now being actively resurrected (although it had not completely disappeared) with a new life by the makers of Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise. They have ingeniously blended it with small bits of dried mangoes, chili powder, salt and pepper, and labeled it as Chili Mayo-Mango Dip. The taste is perfect and a pure delight on crackers, bread or even processed meat. This and another innovation, Mayo-Putanesca done with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and anchovies, are among the limited edition dips that show how mayonnaise has gone up the ladder of food enhancers.

There’s more that any homemaker can do with a bottle of mayonnaise. This is exactly what Lady’s Choice hopes every foodie will do–get a bottle of mayonnaise and create one’s own dip/spread. At the Lady’s Choice/DOT (Department of Tourism) "Food Trip –Biyahe Na" lunch at La Cocina de Tita Moning, four other variants were served: with carabao’s milk, with smoked bangus, with Lucban longganiza and with guava jam and guava bits. Each has its own unique flavor and any homemaker can take a cue from there. Maybe we can do it with kiwi, or even with ube; the possibilities are endless.

One might ask how DOT would dove-tail their current tourism thrust with mayonnaise. As with some neighboring countries like Hong Kong, the DOT is including the rich Filipino cuisine in their promotional efforts to attract potential foreign visitors and even domestic travelers. Lady’s Choice has therefore participated in events mounted by the DOT in various areas in the country. It would be interesting to find out how a tourist, say from America, would react to the Mayo-Mango dip.

Incidentally, those who are interested in dining at La Cocina de Tita Moning in the historied Legarda house on San Rafael Street within the restricted area of Malacañang, there are check points but they do allow entry to the vicinity. Cocina de Tita Moning is not a walk-in restaurant, meaning it is open only to private dining and reservations are required two days in advance. The house has been turned into a family museum, and diners uses china and cutlery that date back to the 1930s. The fare, of course, is Spanish–paella, lengua and the sinful bread pudding dessert. They serve barako coffee with (rightly so) warm milk.

We’ve often diappointed when we try those imported frozen food, like this box of flounder with crabmeat stuffing at P200 plus. Any good cook could have done a better job. So before you buy anything ready-to-cook, consider preparing it yourself using fresh ingredients; you’ll probably produce a better-tasting dish.

When frying or roasting chicken or turkey or pork, it is always a possibility that the breast will be less tasty and rather dry. Our friend Nancy, a culinary expert, shared with us a technique that she has adopted: brining. Take 16 cups water, 1 cup rock salt and 1 cup sugar. Brine the meat in this mixture, ideally in glass bowl, for 8 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, wash the meat and fry, roast or barbecue.

Here are some culinary tips. To save on the ever-increasing Meralco rates, when a chicken recipe calls for roasting or baking, fry the pieces after seasoning. Needless to say use cholesterol-free cooking oil. When serving a green salad, you can prepare it 8 hours ahead and place in refrigerator. As we need to be careful about bacteria, it is better to buy packaged tofu (bean curd) than those which are openly displayed. Barbecue fish over medium heat for better flavor. Think twice before making crispy pata with the boneless hocks that you now find in some outlets. Aside from being more expensive (average P280 a kilo) it comes out tasteless and tough because in the process of deboning, the fat is discarded. This proves that pork fat is a great flavor enhancer, but, yes, it is sinful!

A spokesperson of a big conglomerate that manufactures food and beauty care products was most insensitive when he released a company statement saying that they were not responsible for the contents of the TV programs where they sink in millions of advertising pesos. Apparently values have changed in pursuit of ratings.

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