Life is Sweeter with Salt!

We Pinoys have known for a long time that salt’s place in gastronomy is not limited to savoury dishes. Salt is also a major player in the dessert arena in Filipino culinary.

Eating fresh pineapple just would not be complete without dipping it in a bit of salt. Cheese ice cream, a cringe worthy idea for some, has always had a special place in the Filipino dessert-dom. Can you imagine ensaymada with just sugar?

These and more show how we’ve enjoyed as a people that sweet/salty combination that is still alien in some parts of the world.

And now, certain restaurants are catching up to this concept. Sydney Morning Herald has written an article about it titled Salt for my Sweet.

This is a pretty good idea for a challenge. Salt in desserts… any takers?

Life is sweeter indeed with salt!

Pan de Sal Chronicles: A Session with the Master

It was a birthday celebration with a difference indeed. Instead of the ho-hum common garden variety party, Alex's family held a pan de sal (and more) workshop. Fun was had by all...with free baked goodies to take home to top it all. It is not surprising if the guests had more fun than the birthday celebrant.

Pan de sal was the main event but part of the workshop was a session on the secrets of Spanish bread (beats me why this is called such). Time was also set aside on the mysteries of monay, that Filipino bread that is a cross between a dinner roll and a hamburger bun. (Tip: Your pan de sal dough can quickly transform into either Spanish Bread or Monay with just a bit of tweaking.)

Tatay Rudy's masterful skills were on display beheld by all. His movements were punctuated by tips on how to do it better and/or quicker. They were undeniably invaluable lessons he’s learned from decades of baking.

I tell you what, even with a full load of tips and tricks I don’t think my current “style” comes close to that of Tatay Rudy’s…marami pa akong bigas na kakainin, ika nga…ilang bandehadong pan de sal pa ang lulutuin…before I attain his level of dexterity.

So thanks Alex, thanks to the Samson family and most specially to Tatay Rudy!

I don’t want to bore you with more narrative so just look at the photos and you’ll get the picture...;)

The master’s hand at work

The dough

The risen dough (quadrupled in size more likely than just doubled)

Look how even those pieces are! It’s not as easy as it looks!

Ready to bake Monay

The beginnings of Spanish Bread

The filling

The rolling

Ready to bake!

The Monay!

The Spanish Bread!

And of course, the pan de sal!

Some people were having more fun!

And some were nitpicking!

The Master at work!

The happy students!

Thanks Tatay Rudy!

Australia – The Food Icons – Vegemite

Prompted by a friend who recently went to see the movie AUSTRALIA (thanks for the unintentional reminder Lau) I’m continuing my series on the food icons of the land down under.

This series will not be complete without the inclusion of Australia’s beloved Vegemite.

Vegemite is a spread made from leftover brewer’s yeast (a by-product of brewing beer). Vegetable extracts and spices are added to the end product to give it that unique flavour that can only be described as yum! Or yuk!

Vegemite is usually spread on toast, sandwiches, and crackers or if you’re my boss, corn thins. It looks a little bit like Nutella but with a heavier consistency more similar to peanut butter. It also, apparently, has high levels of B vitamins.

The taste… hmmm, how do I describe thee? Let me count the ways…

1. You look like Nutella but you definitely are not – Vegemite is one of a kind. It is by no means sweet. It is neither chocolaty despite its dark rich colour similar to that of my favourite spread.

2. You are salty like no other spread I’ve tried before – Yup, you can probably substitute vegemite for soy sauce. I was told I probably put too much on my toast but when I did put a thin layer of this stuff it was still remarkably salty!

3. Your taste is as divine as bovine – Exactly right! I couldn’t agree more with others’ description of this stuff. The taste is very much akin to beef bouillon. It might have veg in its name but it definitely tastes like meat.

4. One bite of you is just not enough – It’s actually too much! Love for this stuff is definitely an acquired one. I’ve tried it twice. I am not looking forward to the third one. But hey, they say you’ve got to try things 9 times at least (or was that 21?) before you “acquire” the taste. It certainly took me less time with other stuff.

I’m not knocking back Vegemite altogether. It is well-loved by my compatriots for a very good reason. And I do hope to attain this same level of adoration…someday.

Refreshing Rockmelon Drink

March is supposed to be the beginning of autumn in Australia. At 36°C (97°F) today it feels more like the height of summer than onset of fall. Anyways, days like these call for a refreshing glass of ice cold melon drink?

Yes, I did say melon drink. More specifically, a drink made from rockmelon (cantaloupe). I am not really sure if other cultures do this but certainly in the Philippines rockmelon is more popular consumed as a beverage rather than eaten as a fruit. Its popularity I believe stems not only from its refreshing quality but also the absolute simplicity of how it’s made.



Some might think it inconceivable to add water and sugar to a perfectly good fruit. I would not dare do it to pricier melon varieties (a pair of Yubari melons in Japan sold for ¥2.5 million)…actually, I would just to find out if there is a difference. But rockmelon is fairly inexpensive and has enough natural flavour to stand its own.


Here’s how I do it:

Rockmelon Drink

Half a rockmelon grated (using a melon grater, Philippine made)
1 cup brown sugar (adjust this to your liking)
1 litre of water (and this too)
Ice, lots of it

1. Combine all the ingredients together.
2. Pour and drink!

Chop Suey (Mom's Way)

I was very difficult to feed as a child. It’s either logannissa or tocino or I would not eat at all. For a time I only favoured the fat of the tocino rather than the lean meat. Thank God I eventually out grew that.

My kids are not dissimilar to how I was, especially my son. Although I know that he’s inherited it from me it is still a never ending source of frustration when he would not eat the food that I’ve prepared. WARNING: Just in case you’ve invited him for a meal at your place please remember he only likes egg white (if you’re serving eggs, that is).

As a youngster vegetables and me did not get along well. The health benefits of vegetables were not enough to coax me into putting any in my mouth. They taste horrible and the texture very off putting. Remember all those TV ads? Ang malunggay…bow. I thought this just made them look desperate. Thank God, once again, I’ve matured…I think.

But mom, in her very clever way, managed to make me eat a variety of vegies by preparing a Filipino style Chop Suey. I did not put up a fight when mom cooks this. It appealed to me as a child with its variety of colours and the “special” vegetables mom adds to her Chop Suey. Celery, broccoli and cauliflower were a rarity in our kitchen. They were expensive and therefore only for special occasions. Quail eggs were added when she’s feeling a bit more generous. But one ingredient that gives a unique but very tasty addition to the finished dish was chicken liver. Mom’s Chop Suey is not complete without chicken livers. It was one of the first dishes I learned to cook in early ventures in the kitchen.

Chop Suey has a lot of variations depending on which country you are from. The Philippines is no exception in creating its own version with each Filipino household further adding to the diversity of this dish. But basically Chop Suey is a melange of vegetables and meat and or seafood cooked quickly like a stir fry.

I’ve undergone some minor surgery a few days back (reason for the lack of posts) and it made me yearn for the taste of home. So, in my post-op state, I concoct my own chop suey version using what we have in the fridge. There was no cauliflower or capsicum but we have chicken livers.

Mom’s Chop Suey

2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 stalk of celery cut diagonally
Chicken livers chopped (as little or as much as you like)
Chicken/pork/beef/prawns whatever is available
1 carrot
1 broccoli
6 button mushrooms
Half a cauliflower
Half a cabbage
Other vegetables you can add are chokoes (sayote), snow peas, beans etc.
Fish sauce (salt or soy sauce are good substitutes)
Oyster sauce
½ tablespoon of cornstarch (mixed in ½ cup of chicken stock)
Another ½ cup of chicken stock
A bit of oil for sautéing

1. Heat up a bit of oil in a pan. Stir fry the garlic until golden brown.
2. Add the onion and stir fry until translucent.
3. Add the chicken livers and the meat/seafood of your choice.
4. Add the stock and cook the liver and the meat/seafood until done. Season with a bit of fish sauce.
5. Add the vegetable that takes the longest to cook. If you have chokoes they should go in first. 6. Otherwise, the carrots and the celery should be added at this stage.
7. This should be followed by the broccoli and the cauliflower.
8. Add the mushroom and the cabbage while the broccoli is still half done.
9. Adjust the seasoning by adding more fish sauce (or salt or soy sauce) and oyster sauce.
10. Add the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce and cook for about a minute.
11. Serve with jasmine rice.

Easy Roast Pork ala Beancounter

Picture Dr Evil and Mini-me, only cuter, with better fashion sense and a lot more hair. *LOL* That's a bit much! But that's a little bit how it's like when I’m looking after Tikay (Eliyah). I'm frantically cooking in the kitchen with a tiny person dangling in front of me.

So, coming up with easy to prepare meals is not just pertinent, it's a matter of life and death...again too much drama! *LOL*

The love for Lechon (Filipino Roast Pork) is culturally embedded in my genes. But I haven't got time to source a pig, slaughter it and spit roast it for half a day. Fortunately, there are less bloody versions of this much-loved dish. Apart from the traditional spit roast there is the Lechon Kawali (Deep Fried) and the Lechon sa Hurno (Oven Roast) varieties, the latter being the least complex but very tasty nonetheless.

The secret to my Easy (oven) Roast Pork is the cut of meat. Low fat advocates look away now...The best and the only cut I use when roasting this way is a fatty pork belly. Ok, ok! It does not have to be really fatty. That is just to annoy "low fat" people. But a good layering of fat is vital. This would almost always guarantee a roast that is not dry. Pork Belly is quite forgiving in that an extra hour in the oven (due to the onset of dementia) would still result in an edible roast albeit crispy and a wee bit charred!

My recipe is easy but by no means quick. There isn’t a lot of fussing around with ingredients, in fact there are only three, but it involves a few hours of cooking.

The recipe is actually quite basic but that's the beauty of it. Once you feel confident you should be able to embellish without fear. You can add garlic and rosemary sprigs for example.

Also, this roast pork works really well served the traditional Pinoy way with a sweet and tangy lechon sauce eaten with rice. Or you can opt for a more western style of serving with gravy (made from the drippings), roast potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Easy Roast Pork ala Beancounter

1 piece of pork belly
Sea salt
Pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to about 200C.
2. Rub the pork belly with salt and pepper.
3. Put about a cup of water in your roasting tray. Place the meat (skin side up) on a rack on top of the roasting tray making sure the meat is not touching the water. Put it in the oven.
4. After about 30 minutes reduce the heat to about 150C. Cook for another 2-3 hours depending on the size of the meat. This is when the fat becomes really important. The melting pork fat will keep the meat moist. Check it after 2 hours and see how the crackling is forming. If it is done to your liking take it out of the oven at this point.
5. Let the meat rest for a few minutes before serving.

Salt

…And so begins another chapter in my blogging life.

When I first began writing online my intention was never for food to be the main focus…it just organically became that way.

But now I want to continue or you might say, begin again with the intention to fulfil my original intentions.

Salt – saltof.blogspot.com

Why Salt?

Although this is not going to be about food it is still about me…

Salt has been used in the Bible as a metaphor for a lot of things with the following verse as one of my favourites:

Let your speech be always with grace, having been seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one – Colossians 4:6

Salt’s preservative characteristic has always been highlighted pushing aside its other wonderful qualities that are just as important (maybe even more).

In the verse above, I believe “having been seasoned with salt” is less about preservation but more about “bringing out the goodness” of people through ones speech.

My pan de sal and ensaymadas would not be their brilliants selves without salt!

Can you imagine “nilaga” (Filipino Beef Soup) without it? You might as well drink hot water and chew rubber.

And doesn’t pineapple taste more pineapplely when dipped in a bit of salt? This is probably an acquired taste but salt, for me, brings out the sweetness of the fruit even more.

I just couldn’t help my self, could I? We’re back in the subject of food again. What I mean is, can you imagine how food in general would taste like without salt?

Let’s go back to the why…

Jesus said, in Matthew 5:13:
You are the salt of the earth…

I am just trying to follow…

Valentine's Day

I don’t know what the etiquette is on Valentine’s Day. Are you supposed to greet only your partner? Is it alright to say Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone?

Anyway, I thought this quote is both beautiful and profound:

“Blessed is the influence of one true human soul on another” – George Eliot

Happy Valentine’s Day…to whoever bothered to read this…. ;)