The World is a Book...

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." - St Augustine


A small interruption from my EuroTrip photos as I celebrate my birthday...

Siopao Asado (Filipino Pork Buns)

ALDI had their pork tenderloin in ‘red hot special’ a couple of weeks back. Naturally, for a bargain hunter like me, I bought some even if I didn’t have a dish in mind to cook yet.

Today, I felt like siopao (Pinoy style pork buns). Luckily, I’ve got those tenderloins in the freezer which is the ideal cut to make the filling.

I’m a big fan of Panlasang Pinoy.  He’s so passionate about his food and sharing it to the world that he even includes instructional videos with his recipes (complete with Filipino folk music in the background).

I did not come up with a new recipe for my siopao. I used his. Follow the link below for the recipe details and the video.  Thanks Vanjo!

http://panlasangpinoy.com/2009/08/07/how-to-make-home-made-siopao-asado-recipe/

Goto Kind of Day

It’s a goto kind of day. By that I mean I’m indoors. Let me further qualify that. Apart from the occasional heavy lifting (move the washing machine on higher ground and keep it above water, for example) it’s the sort of day you’re stuck in the house. It’s an opportune time to get back into blogging. It’s nearly 10 months since my last post after all.

Queensland is experiencing another major summer storm right this very moment. It been raining non-stop for a week now. People are on the edge but hopeful the events of 2011 won’t be repeated.  We’re pretty blessed to be near the top of the hill but still a sudden surge of water causes our basement to flood.

Goto is the Tagalog word for tripe. It is also the street name for the Pinoy tripe congee (rice porridge with tripe). It’s perfect for a day like today...for me anyway.

I realise that not everyone is a fan of tripe. It’s probably safe to assume that there are lots more haters than lovers of this divisive ingredient. It’s synonymous to rubbish in the English language for a reason.

No matter how much you try tripe is tripe. It will never taste like chicken. But everybody loves chicken. To get around the dilemma of being the solo tripe lover in my household I make a chicken arroz caldo (chicken rice porridge) as a base for my goto. The goto then becomes more like a side dish/a topping/a condiment rather than being the main event....everybody happy.

The recipe below is basically how to make chicken congee and a side dish of tripe.

There are at least 3 types of tripe I’m aware of. There’s the ‘honeycomb’, the ‘towel’ and the ‘book’ descriptive of how they each look like. Be mindful of what you buy as it would determine how long you’re going to cook it for. I used the ‘towel’ for this dish. It’s meatier than the ‘book’ and texturally better than the ‘honeycomb’.

I highly recommend using a pressure cooker (for the tripe – to at least halve the cooking time) and a thick based pot (for the porridge – to avoid sticking to the bottom) for this dish.

I usually make my congee as basic as possible. I allow the diner to finish the dish by dressing it up to suit his/her taste. Apart from goto there are plenty of other additions to the Pinoy congee:

Tokwa’t baboy (deep fried tofu and pork)

Chicharon (deep fried pork rind)

Egg (hard boiled or soft boiled or even fresh)

Century egg

Spring onions

Coriander

Calamansi/lemon/lime

Cooked garlic in oil

Fish sauce

Soy sauce

White pepper/black pepper

Chillies

And a lot more…

The possibilities are limitless (almost).

Chicken Congee ala Beancounter

2 cups of jasmine rice

1 teaspoon salt

Slivers of ginger

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 medium sized onion chopped

1 dozen chicken wingettes

Peanut oil

At least 6 cups of Chicken stock (more if you want thinner congee)

1. First wash the rice. Mix in the salt and about 1 tablespoon of oil after washing. Straing to get rid of excess water. From experience this helps in breaking down the rice quicker to reach my preferred consistency.

2. In a large stockpot with a thick base (this prevents the rice from sticking and burning quickly) heat up a bit of oil.

3. Sauté the ginger first then the garlic and then the onion.

4. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes.

5. Add the rice and stir continuously for about 2 minutes. (If the base of your pot is not thick enough the rice will be sticking to the bottom like crazy. So invest in good pots and pans.)

6. Add half the stock. You’ll notice that as the rice cooks it will absorb the stock. You’ll need to keep adding more stock to achieve the consistency that you like. The rice will soon have enough and will start breaking down. I like my congee almost soup like not overcooked rice. There’s nothing worse than congee with still recognisable rice grains

7. Serve steaming hot with your preferred condiments and the goto of course!

Goto

500g tripe (towel/blanket)

Slivers of ginger

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 medium sized onion chopped

Black pepper to taste

Fish sauce to taste

Peanut oil

Water

1. Heat up a bit of oil using a a pressure cooker.

2. Sauté the ginger first then the garlic and then the onion.

3. Add the tripe and cook for a couple of minutes. Add fish sauce and black pepper to taste.

4. Add just enough water to cover the tripe. Pressure cook for about half an hour.

5. Set aside while you finish off cooking the congee.

It's More Fun in the Philippines!

Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love where I live. But when thinking of a tropical holiday there’s no other choice for me but the Philippines.

The Philippines has suffered from bad press for the longest time. I don’t care to detail them here. You can read about them everywhere else. As a consequence, the country did not appeal as a holiday destination. The number of tourist arrivals lagged behind that of other countries.

The Department of Tourism (@DOTPhilippines) of the Philippines launched a new campaign to entice tourists to travel to that part of the world. It’s about time! I think it’s imperative! It’s high time to tell the world, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”

According to the DOT’s Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr:

“Our strategy is simple: while other countries invite you to observe, Filipinos can promise a more heartfelt and interesting experience. Wherever you go, whatever you do in the country, it’s the Filipinos that will complete your vacation and will make your holiday unforgettable.”

I absolutely agree! There are good food and nice beaches all around the world but “It is More Fun in the Philippines” because of the people.

I like it.

I believe in it.

I am getting involved.

This new campaign is not without its detractors. ‘Copycat’ accusations are rife. The Swiss apparently used the same slogan back in 1951. Yup, 61 years ago!

And what’s with this misplaced nostalgia for the ‘WOW Philippines’ campaign? Did it actually succeed?

In support of this new initiative I’ve edited some of my travel photos to the Philippines. Here’s the first set of them.

A Cake for an Unconventional Girl

Designing a cake for my little fashionista is not an easy task. Despite Elishah’s firm colour and design choices, creating a “girl’s cake” based on her specifications proved quite a challenge.

If you’ve read my post last year on her you’ll understand that her colour preferences are not conventional. Pink and purple would have been easy but no, not for Yaya (her nick name). We were given black, of course, navy and crimson to play with for her special 7 year celebration. Actually, make that Cherry, my dear wife, not “we”, not “us”, just her, just Cherry’s Cakes, just Cherry to create something wonderful from a limited palette. I’m only the blogger/photographer.

For a time we thought we were heading the “Titanic” direction (as in the movie). For some reason Yaya was completely enchanted by the movie from the first time she saw it. She’s different, what more can I say? She couldn’t get enough of it. Titanic this, Titanic that. Her YouTube favourites were mainly “Titanic” stuff, parodies and all. Our house was filled with various renditions of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” And then she had a sudden change of heart. Thank God for that. I did not know how much longer the rest of the family could go on…

And this is what Cherry came up with after that nautical theme was quickly shot down: a Lollipop cake that is sophisticated and yet girly at the same time. It fits the brief. If you have to imagine what sort of lollipop flavour it would make here’s an idea: black is liquorice, navy is blueberry and crimson is cherry.

Despite her being modest about her abilities Cherry’s handiworks speak for themselves. She’s got her own page if any of you are interested in her designs. Please follow the link to Cherry’s Cakes.

And to my beautiful daughter here are my words of blessings to you:

“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favour and give you His peace” Numbers 6-24-26. Happy birthday!

Sampinit – Philippine Wild Raspberries

Sampinit in bilao

A caveat: There’s not a lot of literature written about sampinit. What I’m posting here is purely from personal experience, what I know, what I’ve seen and what I’ve tasted. Nothing extracted from a “tropical fruit” journal. Wikipedia did not help this time as well. This is all me, purely my thoughts.

P20 worth of Sampinit

When I first posted photos of sampinit on my Facebook page (yes, I have one) a lot of my Filipino friends were pleasantly surprised to know that such a fruit can be found in our native land. I was familiar with it but by no means was it common. It was and remains a rare summer treat. Not widely available and only for a short period of time. That partly explains it being on the pricey side. I used to pick them myself as I could not afford the going “market rate” back in the ‘80s.

Sampinit in bilao

It might be expensive compared to other tropical fruits but once you understand what it takes before they appear in some ale’s banana leaf lined bilao you’ll accept the price as fair if not cheap. I am not aware if attempts have been made to cultivate this precious jewel of the forest. From what I know nothing has changed in how sampinit is harvested. They are sporadically found in Laguna’s rainforest. Some brave souls needed to endure the sweltering summer heat to come up with a kilo of this much loved wild berries. The berry bush, by the way, is surrounded by sharp thorns adding to the tricky nature of collecting them.

Raspberries from the supermarket

Compared to the commercially available raspberries sampinit are a bit smaller and thereby more delicate. The flavour is very similar to the regular raspberry but it is more robustly astringent and tart. They are not genetically modified to become sweeter and plumper to suit the consumer. They have been left as nature intended. I think sampinit would be great in compotes, sauces, pastries and even cakes if you can get a hold of enough of them.

Raspberries from the supermarket

You can devour sampinit straight from the bush but some people prefer to add a bit of salt (yes, you read right, salt!) to bring out more of that berry goodness. They let it stand in the salt for a few minutes which then slowly releases the berry juices. It is a known way of eating sampinit in Laguna. You’ll notice a small jar of salt on the bilao in one of my photos.

They’re about P10 for a shot size glass filled to the brim. I think that amounts to barely 100g of the stuff. I’m kicking myself now for not buying more and made something out of them. On the next trip back home I promise myself not to miss the opportunity…whenever that may be.

Adobo – The Vegetarian Antidote

As a child I had a funny relationship with food. I went through various aversions/liking to certain food groups. At one stage I would only eat fat. Yes, just fat. Yes, just pork fat! One thing I do not remember though is loving just vegetables.

Hence, it really bothered me when one of my kids started exhibiting troubling signs of vegetarianism. I don’t get it. If there’s one thing a foodie dad dreads it’s a vegetarian for a child. For some time I was totally convinced I spawned one. My eyes were probably closed when it happened…

That fear was not totally unsubstantiated. On burger nights my 3^rd child, Yaya, would have what we now call Elishah’s (her real name) burger. It’s basically rabbit food in a bun. She would only eat the outside of spring rolls. She would remove any trace of meat on her spaghetti. She loves Hainanese chicken rice though… without the chicken. It is worrying as she’s barely 7 years old.

Maybe my comments about how I love cats…deep fried…has something to do with it but I’m still unsure about what brought this “not eating meat” habit on. Regardless, I was determined to nip it in the bud.

I’ve tried all sorts of techniques. Initially she would give in but then quickly revert back to her veggie fix. I felt helpless.

And then one day I cooked adobo for the following week’s packed lunches. The savoury aroma wafting throughout the house began to weaken Yaya’s resolve. Her curiosity got the better of her and asked for a taste. From then on she was cured. And we all lived happily ever after…

Adobo, after all, is the great vegetarian antidote. Now I know…

Pork Adobo ala Beancounter

1kg pork belly cut in fairly large chunks

60ml coconut vinegar

60ml Filipino soy sauce

1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

Black pepper

1 head of garlic chopped finely

1 large onion chopped

Water (just enough to cover the meat)

1 Bay leaf

A bit of oil for sautéing

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot but set aside a quarter of the garlic and onion for sautéing later.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or so or until desired tenderness of the meat is achieved.

3. Remove everything from the pot but separate the meat from the sauce.

4. Heat up a bit of oil in the same pot. Sauté the garlic then the onion.

5. Add the meat pieces back in and fry for a couple of minutes. If you prefer a “crispier” adobo fry it a bit longer.

6. Add the sauce back in and simmer for another five minutes.

7. Serve with steaming hot jasmine rice.

Fish for Lent - Pritong Galunggong (Fried Yellow Tail Scads)

There is no better time to post about fish than during Lent. And there’s no better fish for Lent than the humble yellow tail scad.

Although widely available in Australia it is conspicuously absent from most restaurant menus. The yellow tail’s wide availability I suppose accounts for it being less “desirable.”

To the Filipino yellow tail scads or galunggong is more than just a fish. Although outwardly maligned it is in fact highly valued by Pinoys. Associated with the less affluent it apparently is the fish of choice if you have no money. In actual fact though, it is sometimes more expensive than other fish varieties.

Presidential elections have been won and lost on account of galunggong. Nothing speaks more to a Pinoy about the “real” state of the nation than this fish. No rhetoric direct from the President’s mouth can match what the price of galunggong tells the people. The Cosumer Price Index is nothing but an arbitrary number.

So, in the observance of Good Friday I decided to prepare a simple meal for the family. We shared fried yellow tail served with a side of fresh tomato salsa.

The recipe below couldn’t be simpler.

Fried Yellow Tail Scads

6 Yellow Tail scads gutted and cleaned

Some sea salt

1. Lightly salt each fish.

2. Heat up some oil.

3. Fry the fish to desired crispness.

4. Serve with some freshly cooked rice and a side of fresh tomato salsa.

Food Trip Philippines - Part 3 - Take-Away Pinoy Style

Palayok (Claypots)

Kalde-Kaldero

Lumpiang Shanghai

Sari-saring Ulam

Iba-ibang longanissa (sausages), tapa at tocino

Food Trip Philippines - Part 1

My apologies to those of you who are following this blog.

Being The Beancounter, I am, at the moment, going through my annual silly season (similar to Christmas sans the jolliness).

In the meantime please enjoy a selection of photos from my recent trip home. The next couple of posts would be similar in style as well.

Pork BBQ w/ Binalot na Kanin

Home made crispy pata

Black Gulaman

Calamansi at Sili

Crispy Tawilis