My Very Own Angry Birds Cake

For those not in the know Angry Birds is an extremely popular game available on the iPhone (and other Apple “i” products plus other smart phones). As described on Wikipedia:

“In the game, players use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs stationed on or within various structures, with the intent of destroying all the pigs on the playfield. As players advance through the game, new birds appear, some with special abilities that can be activated by the player.”

It may not sound much but the game is highly addictive. It sure helps me while the time away as I wait for my bus, plane, train or any other sort of waiting I have to do. I guess it was an easy choice when I was asked me what cake I would like on my birthday.

I am not going to say a lot more except Thank You! (once again) to my lovely wife who laboured till the wee hours of the morning (no, not to give birth to our 5^th child) to produce this amazing cake. It’s made of two kinds of cake. The bigger layer is red velvet with white chocolate ganache. The mini cake on top is chocolate mud cake with dark chocolate ganache. I brought it to the office yesterday and was quickly gobbled up by my colleagues pigs, birds, rocks and all.

By the way, my dearest wife has her own blog now to showcase her cake designs. Do visit Cherry’s Cakes. And if you want her to create one for you please email me: enuguid@gmail.com.

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 2 - My San Pablo

There’s only one other place in the world I call home.

Located a couple of hours south of Manila is the city of San Pablo. It is my mother’s hometown. It is where I grew up. It is where I met my future wife. It is my other home.

Otherwise know as “The City of Seven Lakes” it boasts seven lakes within its confines. These are Bunot, Calibato, Mohicap, Palakpakin, Pandin, Sampalok and Yambo lakes.

On a cloudless day the lakes are visible as your plane approaches NAIA. I also found out today that you also get a spectacular view of the lakes from Mt. Kalisungan and Tayak Hill.

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

Pinoy Barbie (Filipino Style Barbecue)

And I do not mean a variation to the popular fashion doll. Rather, “barbie” is how Aussies affectionately refer to one of the favourite pastimes downunder, barbecue/barbecuing. Hence it is the cooking method of choice every Australia Day celebration (I meant to post this on that day for that particular reason…but just did not find the time). Large pieces of marinated meat/seafood are “thrown on the barbie” for a quick and tasty summer meal in the great outdoors.

We Filipinos have our own barbecue tradition if you like. Instead of large chunks of meat we like them bite size and skewered (using bamboo) much like the more well-known Southeast Asian satay. But rather than a spicy peanut sauce we Pinoys favour the smoky savoury sweet taste not too dissimilar to the style of our North American brothers.

There is another stark difference between the Aussie and the Pinoy barbie. Rather than cooking over charcoal the preferred antipodeans’ method is the use of a gas heated hot plate or a grill. You will not get the smoky barbecue finish doing it this way so I still revert back to using coal (or heat beads).

Barbecuing is meant to be easy. That is why I do not bother concocting a complicated alchemy of ingredients. The main component of my marinade is a pre-made mix made by Mama Sita’s (a popular Filipino food manufacturer). I add pineapple juice for some fruity freshness and some tomato ketchup for a right sweet and sour balance.

The marinade works well with other kinds of meat but my preference is pork. You do not have to skewer the meat if that’s too much of a chore. I tried this using pork chops and the result was still fantastic. It’s best to use cuts with a little bit of fat to keep the barbecue moist. Otherwise put a bit of oil in your marinade and use it to baste the meat as it cooks.

Grilled eggplants to make an Asian style salad

Quick & Easy Pinoy BBQ ala Beancounter

1 packet Mama Sita’s Barbeque Marinade

¼ cup soy sauce

1 cup pineapple juice

¼ cup tomato ketchup

Chillies (optional)

1 kg pork (belly strips, chops or any pork cut you prefer)

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients.

2. Pour the marinade on the meat and set aside for at least an hour.

3. Prepare your barbecue using charcoal or heat beads.

4. Length of cooking time depends on the thickness of your meat. Baste it from time to time to avoid drying out.

5. Serve with rice and some grilled eggplant salad.

My de-glamorised BBQ assistant

A Foodie's Worst Nightmare

The bright lights in the fresh section of the supermarket are almost blinding. There were not enough produce to filter the otherwise bearable fluorescent rays.

My heart sunk looking at the empty bread aisle. I humoured myself, “Good thing I know how to bake my own bread.” But even that is virtually useless if there is no power.

Moving on to the bottled water section and the tale was pretty much the same. What’s left in the shelves are luxury European sparkling water brands. I’m in no mood to splurge nor to celebrate.

Spam and canned corned beef, much maligned products in this society, suddenly became popular.

Aisle after “essentials” aisle tell the same story.

But it’s not all bad news. Take heart my foodie mates. Bulbs of fennel and bunches of rhubarb are still on hand. Get your MasterChef’s hat on and dazzle us!

The Great Deluge of 2011

I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all. - Ecclesiastes 9:11

With a heart full of gratitude I am writing today. In the midst of the great deluge the city I love, Brisbane, is experiencing my family has been left unscathed. We’ve remained dry. Clean water is still running from the tap. And our power was never cut, not even for a few seconds.

Spare a thought though for those who are less fortunate than us, those who have experienced the full brunt of the flood. Despite all the planning and preparations lives were still lost. Uncertainty is what’s awaiting evacuees on their return to their homes, if they still have homes to return to.

How easily did we forget? It was 37 years ago when Brisbane last went under water. The city rebuilt itself like it would never happen again. Seemingly impenetrable million dollar homes started lining the banks of the river only to be swallowed by the water they so desperately want to be close to.

“Time and chance happen to them all,” says the wisest man that ever lived.

By today’s estimate it will take at least two years to recover from this environmental crisis. The city needs all the help it could get. If you are moved to do so please do not hesitate to lend support. Follow the link below:

http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge Patrick Mendoza, a very good friend of mine who’s responsible for all the photos on this post. He and his lovely wife Pilar tried to go to work yesterday only to be halted by all this water. The photos definitely bring home to us what my city is going through.