Shared recipes

An unannounced brief stop at a sibling’s house yielded a recipe for tulingan which she shared with us. Thing is, this fish is not always available in the markets. She got hers, fresh from Batangas, in Libertad. Anyway, the fish was cooked more like paksiw but coconut cream is added for a richer, tastier sauce. Slices of finger chili make it spicy, adding much flavor and zing to the dish.

Left—over food always poses a challenge: serve it another day or it becomes stale in the freezer, forgotten. It is wise to regularly check what is in your fridge or freezer in order to discover small portions, which nobody would want to touch. We were in this situation one day and of course realized that left-overs need not remain so; they can be recycled (guess most homemakers know this by now). We found a piece of roast lamb, about 700 grams, and thought we would make it less boring. We sliced the chunk into bite-size pieces, sautéd a head of crushed native garlic in olive oil, then added the meat, pimiento-stuffed olives, half a beef cube and allowed it to simmer for a few minutes. Voila! Our brood enjoyed it, initially not realizing that was the roast we had a few days ago. Of course, it need not be lamb. Beef, pork or chicken will be just as good.

A visit to another sibling gave us a recipe for a breakfast spread. Actually his kitchen assistant got this from someone else, and we are now sharing it with you. We call it Queso-Mayo. You need one eighth of a queso de bola or a block of cheddar cheese, a small can of crushed pineapples (drained so it will not be soggy) and half a cup of mayonnaise. Mix them all together and you’ve got a super spread.

There’s a suman recipe we got from someone who has worked with the family for years and years. Here it is–two kilos malagkit (glutinous rice), 2 grated coconuts, one and a half cup sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, palm leaves to wrap the suman in. Wash the rice twice, drain. Squeeze the coconut, first without water, to get the kakang gata (first press), set this aside. Add one half cup water to the coconut, squeeze to get the cream then add the sugar, salt and rice. Mix well and let stand for 4 to 5 hours.

Meantime, do not throw away the coconut meat. Put more water and get a third press. Wrap rice in the palm leaves. Boil the liquid where the rice was soaked plus the third press for about 30 minutes. Put the suman in the liquid and cook for about 2 hours, from the time it boils. Do not take the suman out of the water until they cool.

We found Spanish chorizo! But it is not El Rey which we have been accustomed to. Anyway, we decided to go to the Poduim at the Ortigas Center and look at what Terry Selection has. This store is located in the basement. To our delight, they carry El Vedado Spicy Chorizo, Iberico Bellota. This one is indeed from Spain. We all know that El Rey is made in America, with the recipe/formula brought over there from some Iberian source. This is more expensive (P1420 a kilo), but packed singly, which costs P238.56 a piece. We did our cocido and were very happy. In fact, as El Rey costs about P85 per, this one comes out not that expensive, because it has a more intense flavor and therefore a third or a half is enough for a kilo of meat. Terry Selection has lots and lots of imported (and some local) food stuff that one is likely to go wild. It is here where Marron Glace (glazed chestnuts) is sold, rather pricey. They have ready-to-heat canned specialties like callos and fabada. The Sasso chicken goes as big as 2.5 kilos. Of the local stuff, we got Dagupeña daing na bangus, in two variants—— the plain and the pesto-flavored. The latter is only belly, from P120 each.

For those who love to munch on Cebu Chicharon, there’s a company called Pinoy Chicharon Food Products in Mandaue, Cebu which has packed the crunchy treat (50 gms each). The brand is Nunie’s and they come in two flavors, original and bacon. And yes, they are either plain rind or with laman.

There are a few Food Expositions in the near future. One is the Fil-Chinese Baking Fair set from March 8 to 10 at the World Trade Center. With a lot of people wanting to make that extra buck, events such as this give the opportunity to look at possible endeavors, study the pros and cons and get professional advise from exhibitors. We will watch out for other food expos, and let you know. Have a good Sunday.

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