Who wrote this?

An attribute of good blogs, according to 43 Folders is:
Good blogs have a voice. Who wrote this? What is their name? What can I figure out about who they are that they have never overtly told me? What’s their personality like and what do they have to contribute — even when it’s “just” curation. What tics and foibles fascinate make me about this blog and the person who makes it? Most importantly: what obsesses this person?
In the quest to make mine a reasonably good one I’ve answered some questions that’ll give readers of this blog some idea of who I am. At the risk of defeating the purpose entirely by telling you “overtly” things about me I’ll give it a go anyway:

What I love most about cooking…it is an art form that can literally be consumed.

What I least like about it is…the cleaning up after.

The best meal I’ve ever had was…at Trang’s in West End. The food is always excellent!

The worst meal I’ve ever had was…at the Holiday Inn in Darwin, the worst nasi goreng ever.

My interest in food began…at a very young age. I grew up at my grandparents’ place where everyone cooks.

The first thing I cooked was…lumpiang shanghai (Filipino spring rolls).

The foodies I admire are…Maeve O’Mara (for her highly informative shows and being culturally sensitive), Jamie Oliver (for his passion to get everybody on board), Doreen Fernandez (for shedding light on Filipino cuisine), Marketman (for inspiring me to write my own blog), and Anthony Bourdain (for having No Reservations).

My guiltiest pleasure is…KFC original recipe and Krispy Kreme original glazed donuts.

I'm very bad at…writing down notes.

The word that best describes me is…a learner.

Three things people might not know about me are…1) I don’t mind airline food; 2) I don’t like long drives; 3) I love fashion.

Someone who makes me laugh…is my wife.

Five years from now…I’ll be a father of four kids ages 15, 11, 9 and 5 and a husband to one.

My worst fashion moment…freshman at UP, I wore cycling shorts to class. Yuk!

You would not catch me wearing…crocs! They belong only in hospitals! Ugly things!

If there were five people, living or dead, I could invite to dinner, they would be…Ai AI de las Alas (Filipina comedienne), Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ennio Morricone, Doreen Fernandez, Marketman (of Marketmanila).

As a child I was…extremely shy.

My first job was…forgettable. I stayed only for a month.

You wouldn’t know it but I’m no good at…doing quick sums without a calculator.

When I was a child, I wanted to be…a doctor. Typical!

The best invention is…TV.

If I were a movie actor, the character I love to have played is…Salvatore in Cinema Paradiso.

I wish I hadn’t…held back.

If only I could…make everybody happy.

The celebrity I most fancy is...Monica Bellucci.

My favourite smell is...freshly baked bread.

My best career decision was...going into mining.

The best advice my parents gave me was...study hard.

The thing that keeps me awake at night is... doesn’t apply. I sleep well.

A book that means a lot to me is...the Holy Bible.

A movie that has stayed with me is...Cinema Paradiso.

A song that resonates for me is...Cinema Paradiso soundtrack. It’s all music but very moving.

My secret skill (that is now no longer a secret is)...I’m very good at parking.

My earliest memory is...being taken to the doctor to get a shot.

I don't like talking about...real estate and the stock market.

At home I cook...all the time.

It's not fashionable but I love...Spam.

What I don't find amusing is...vegetarianism.

I'm always being asked...by other people about what to wear.

At the moment I'm reading...re-reading The Mad Tea Party by Clinton Palanca.

I often wonder...what life would have been like if I have brothers and sisters.

Variation on a Steak

As much as I like steak in a restaurant I love it even better when I cook it at home. I’m yet to encounter my perfect steak meal when dining out. More on that a little bit later.

The closest to perfection in my opinion was the steak I had at Embers in Milton. It was so good there was no need for any sauce or any other accompaniment. But still it fell short.

Although the accompaniment is exactly what it is, an accompaniment it could make or break the deal for me. Steak is not hard to duplicate at home. All you need is your preferred cut of meat, the right equipment (a good grill/barbeque, cast iron plates perhaps) and a bit of cooking skill and voila, you can cook the perfect steak! It just becomes more involved when you try to copy the “other” things that came with your restaurant steak.

I come from a culture that does not consider a meal complete without rice. Rice is present in Filipino gastronomy from breakfast to dinner and anything in between. It is therefore natural that my idea of a perfect steak meal includes rice.

I’ve had steak with the usual suspects (seasonal vegetables and potato – baked/chips/mashed). Other times I’ve had them with more interesting sides like garlic prawns. But I’m not aware of any restaurant that serves steak with rice (in Australia), steaming hot jasmine rice to be more specific.

I like my steak medium rare served on a sizzling plate. It might be horrifying for some but I use supermarket bought sauces. Que horror! purists might say but I just haven’t got the time to make jus for two when we feel like having steak.

Apart from the rice, my preferred side dishes are caramelised carrots and Brussels sprouts (a stuff of nightmares in some cartoon series).

Here’s how I do my steak:

Steak
T-bone (the meat closest to the bone is the tastiest)
A bit of sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Olive oil

1. Put the sizzling pan on the stove (preferably gas)
2. Some say do not salt your steak before cooking. I don’t subscribe to this. If you want to do it my way I suggest you salt the steak at least 10 minutes before cooking.
3. Add some black pepper (to your taste).
4. Cover the steak in olive oil.
5. After 10 minutes of marinating thrown your steak on the sizzling plate. Make sure it’s on high heat to develop a nice colour on your steak.
6. Depending on the thickness of the steak medium rare is about 2 minutes on each side.
7. Pour your preferred sauce onto the steak (while still on the sizzling plate) just before serving.



Brussels Sprouts w/ bacon
8-10 Brussels sprouts cut in half
A slice of bacon chopped (Pancetta if you want to be a bit more fancy)
Butter (not margarine)
Sea salt

1. Boil some salted water.
2. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook about ¾ of the way. Drain then set aside.
3. In a pan melt some butter then fry the bacon pieces.
4. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Caramelised Carrots
1-2 Carrots cut into chip size pieces or mini batons
Sea salt
Butter (not margarine)
Bay leaf
A bit of water

1. Combine all the ingredients together except for the butter. Make sure the water just covers the carrot pieces. Cook over medium heat.
2. Just before all the water has evaporated add the butter.
3. Cook until the pan starts to sizzle and the carrots are starting to caramelise.

Cheap Eats – Laksa Hut

51 Sherwood Road
Toowong, QLD 4066
Speciality: Laksa

You’ve heard the old adage “do not judge a book by its cover”. It’s fairly true with a lot of my favourite eateries. They are sometimes literally “hole in the wall” operations. But the look of premises betrays little about the glorious food that is on offer.

Laksa Hut is a good example of such. The signage was obviously done on a very limited budget (it looks hand painted – and I do not mean that as a compliment). There’s very little décor to speak of. Basic white crockery was probably too minimalist for them (an eclectic mix of tableware was more their thing…Hello Kitty plastic spoons, etc). And so on and so forth… but the food is good and that’s what matters!

Laksa Hut almost did not make it on my list of cheap eats. You see, a cheap (but not nasty) meal for me should cost less than $10.00. But Laksa Hut recently pushed up their prices by a $1.00. The cheapest laksa on their menu now costs $10.50.

I’m no laksa expert. All I know is how I want my laksa. And Laksa Hut do theirs pretty close to my idea of a good laksa. My Singaporean friends concur with this. The laksa here, according to them, is very similar to what they get back home.


I always order the Roast Pork Laksa but they offer a whole range, from vegetarian to roast duck. It always comes steaming hot, chockfull of the ingredients you would expect and with just the right amount of spiciness!

Laksa Hut can push up their prices a bit more (they might actually do as another unwanted effect of the GFC). I might complain a bit but I know I’ll be back.

11 years...

It’s times like these when I wish I was a more creative person.

We’ll be married for 11 years tomorrow! Yeheyyyy! All thanks go to God who continues to mould us. And of course, to my longsuffering wife who chooses to stick with me.

How do you say to your spouse that you love them more and more even after 11 years? That is why I am in awe of artists! They are able to express something like love in a hundred different ways. It could be a play of words or a stroke of hand or a choice of colour or whatever else…that somehow heightens the intensity of the message! Bravo to them!

And since I am neither very “handy” nor very “artistic” the next best thing is to “find” the right gift. And it’s times like these that I also thank God for the internet. Searching for the right gift just became easier. The internet has also exponentially increased my borders.

Flowers and chocolates have been done to death. We’ve also had the special dinners and times away from home.

One thing I know though is that Cherry loves cherries. She loves it more than chocolates. So I ended up ordering her some from interstate.

There are lots of sites offering fresh cherries but Cherries Online stood out among the rest and here’s the reason why:
Red Diamond Cherries - our signature brand - “Fresh diamonds you can eat” - an exclusive variety to the Gaudion Family. This is a new, large, luscious Cherry full of delicious flavour. Crunchy and sweet, each Cherry is deep red in appearance and at least 30-32mm in diameter. The beautifully packaged fruit is hand selected and is the perfect gift for that special someone... Red Diamonds are truly the most exquisite Cherries you will taste in the world today.

I think I’ll make this a tradition from now…

One gift given one day a year does not even come close to expressing how much I appreciate her... There are more to come but they'll just be between her and me.

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

I ran/walked to work today…in the rain!

I woke up with no sun in sight. But I’ve already made up my mind the night before that I would be walking to work today.

It’s not so bad walking in the rain. Below are three reasons why I don’t mind it:

1. It’s not too hot.
Australian summer can get really intense. It can get to as high as 40°C (104°F) on some days. It’s good to get a reprieve from the heat from time to time. Walking in the rain is actually a welcome break.

2. The walking tracks are less crowded.
There aren’t a lot of people who think the same way I do.

3. And finally…it’s fun!
How many times in ones adult life do you get to play in the rain? In my case, it’s probably once or twice a month!

Australia – the Food Icons – Meat Pie

To celebrate the release of Baz Luhrmann’s film “AUSTRALIA” I’ll be doing a series of blogs on Australian food icons.

Australia is not really well known for its cuisine but it is home to a range of food items that could not be denied as quintessentially Australian. Because of its close proximity and association with New Zealand there is an ongoing battle between the two as to which nation invented what and when.



We’ll start with Meat Pie.

A 2007 survey of Australians (affectionately titled as the ‘Top Taste Lamington Aussie Poll’) found that meat pies were the most popular Australian food (Lamingtons came second – to be discussed further in a future post).

So, what is an Australian meat pie?

It’s described by Wikipedia (always a good source of 100% accurate facts *wink* *wink*):

“…hand-sized pie containing largely minced meat and gravy sometimes with onion and often consumed as a takeaway food snack. The pie itself is congruent with the United Kingdom's steak pie.

It is considered iconic in Australia and New Zealand. It was described by former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr in 2003 as Australia's "national dish".”




Meat pies now come in all sorts of varieties but I like mine plain (steak) or with mushrooms. I smother it with tomato ketchup (more commonly called “tomato sauce” in Australia) before eating.



I’ve never actually cooked this but I found a recipe for a Basic Meat Pie from taste.com.au:

Basic Meat Pie

Preparation Time
30 - 60 minutes

Cooking Time
150 minutes


Ingredients (serves 4)
Plain flour, to dust
375g block frozen puff pastry, thawed (Pampas brand)
Melted butter, to grease
2 (25 x 25cm) sheets ready-rolled frozen shortcrust pastry, thawed (Pampas brand)
1 egg, lightly whisked
Beef filling
700g lean beef blade steak, cut into 3cm cubes
2 tbs plain flour
60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
1 large celery stick, thickly sliced
310ml (1 1/4 cups) good-quality beef stock
2 tbs finely chopped fresh curly parsley
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly cracked black pepper


Method
1. To make beef filling, place beef in a medium bowl, add flour and toss to coat. Heat 2 tbs of oil in a medium heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, using a wooden spoon to stir often, for 6 minutes or until light brown. Transfer to a medium heatproof bowl. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil to pan. Add onion, carrots and celery, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Return beef to pan with stock, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is tender. Increase heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for a further 10-15 minutes or until sauce is a thick gravy. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer beef filling to a medium heatproof bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to partially cool.

2. Meanwhile, line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Lightly flour a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll out puff pastry, rotating occasionally, to a 30cm square 3-4mm thick. Invert a shallow 25cm (top measurement) pie plate on pastry and use a sharp knife to cut pastry 2mm from edge of plate. (Do not drag - the pastry layers may stick together and the edge won't puff into separate crisp layers in the oven.) Lift pastry onto lined tray, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge until required.

3. Preheat oven to 200°C. Brush a pie plate with melted butter to grease. Place shortcrust pastry sheets on a clean surface and cut 1 sheet in half. Brush 1 edge of whole sheet with water and lay a half sheet along this edge, overlapping by 1cm. Press to join and smooth out join. Repeat process on an adjacent edge of whole sheet, overlapping ends of half-sheets as well. Gently lift pastry onto greased plate and ease into plate to line. Smooth pastry and press around top rim of plate. Hold plate and rotate while using a small sharp knife at a 45° angle to cut away excess pastry.

4. Use a fork to prick pastry base evenly about 25 times. Place in fridge for 15 minutes to rest (to help reduce shrinkage during cooking). Blind-bake the pie base before adding filling to ensure it is well cooked and crisp. To do this, place a 30cm square of non-stick baking paper or foil over the pastry and top evenly with about 1 cup of dried beans or rice to stop the pastry from bubbling. Place pie plate on a baking tray and cook in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Carefully remove paper or foil and beans or rice (see note) and bake for a further 8-10 minutes or until golden. Transfer the pie plate to a wire rack and, if necessary, use a clean tea towel to carefully pat down any pastry that has puffed during cooking. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool. Increase oven temperature to 220°C.

5. Spread cooled filling evenly into base. Remove puff pastry from fridge. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush pie edge with a little cold water. Place puff pastry on top of pie and gently press edges together to seal. (Do not press the outer edge, or it will not puff well during cooking.)
Use a small sharp knife to cut a 4cm cross in pastry centre to allow steam to escape during cooking. Lightly brush top with whisked egg. Place pie on baking tray and bake in oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 190°C and cook for a further 20-25 minutes or until well puffed, golden and heated through. If necessary, shield areas of pastry top and edges browning faster than others with pieces of foil. Serve immediately.

At home – Thai Green Curry Fish

Thai curries have become a staple in my household as much as any other Filipino meal not only because of its rich and complex flavours but more so due to its uncomplicatedness in preparation and cooking.

Nothing beats fresh, of course, but when it comes to Thai curries store bought pastes actually do a decent job in creating a pretty authentic meal. What matters more is the freshness of the other ingredients rather than the curry paste.

The recipe below uses fish but you can substitute any meat of your choice. You just have to adjust the cooking time as fish cooks much quicker than meat.

The secret in making this dish is getting the freshest fish you can find. I have been disappointed so many times when buying seafood from the major supermarket chains. I suggest you go to a fishmonger you can trust. Ask them what’s the freshest of the day. Any white fleshed fish would do (snapper, cod, sweet lip, etc.)


Thai Green Curry Fish

A bit of oil
2 tablespoons green curry paste (Mae Ploy tastes best – reduce the amount if you want it less spicy)
3-4 Kaffir lime leaves (you can julienne these if you want but I prefer them whole)
1 can coconut milk (use coconut cream if you want a richer sauce)
Red capsicum
1 Zucchini cut in large wedges
2 fillets of white fleshed fish cut into large chunks
Basil leaves (as much as you like)
Fish sauce to taste
Palm sugar to taste

1. Heat a bit of oil in a pan.
2. Stir fry the green curry paste for about a minute or two until it becomes really fragrant.
3. Add the Kaffir lime leaves and stir fry for another minute.
4. Add the coconut milk and cook until it starts to break (meaning oil separating from the coconut milk).
5. Add the fish sauce and the palm sugar.
6. Lower the heat then add the fish pieces. Cover the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes.
7. Add the zucchini and the capsicum and cook until done to your liking.
8. Add the basil and cook for another minute.
9. Serve with steaming hot jasmine rice.

Top 10 Emerging Food Destinations

Philippine cuisine has always been relegated to the “bizarre” shelf of the world food supermarket. That is why it excites me a lot whenever my home country’s dishes are viewed in a more favourable light.



In an article last week in the Courier Mail about “Top 10 Emerging Food Destinations” the Philippines was number 1 on the list! A special mention was made about “sinigang” as a dish not to be missed (I’ll feature this dish in a future post).


The list was inspired by a poll conducted by online travel site Expedia (Australia). In the midst of the “obesity epidemic” in the land down under there is also a “growing sophisticated interest in food” (and not just eating – there’s a big difference).

Filipino food is not all about “balut”-
“Malay, Spanish and Chinese influence is obvious in many dishes and the unique and often surprising combinations of flavours make Filipino food striking and interesting. Fresh seafood is a prominent ingredient, often served uncooked, in vinaigrette. Coconut is also regularly used to create exotic savoury and sweet dishes, ranging from meat and vegetable dishes to luscious rice puddings.”

In my own little way I try to be an ambassador of our much maligned food.