My teammate has resigned (oh my, oh why? should I be worried?) and yesterday lunch was some sort of a farewell gathering for him. After scanning the menu I finally ordered Singapore Fried Noodles. Wala lang. Not nice. Ba’t kaya ganon? I’ve been around frequenting Asian restaurants, canteen, even crazy noodle houses and stuff like that but I can only name 1 or 2 that are really good. Hmm… I’ve never really been around a lot anyway so I still have a lifetime to find that perfect place to quench my occasional craving. Should have been back to my regular cooking.

Crispy pata has become my craving of the week lately. How I miss crunching crispy mouth-watering pork rind with succulent meat inside. So for the meantime, I am stuck here staring tulo-laway at the photo of this crispy delight I cooked months ago back in Beijing.

Ingredients:
Pork pata (pork hock)
1 clove of garlic
Salt
Peppercorns

Blanch pata for few minutes and discard water. Add more water to cover pata and bring to boil. Skim off scum that floats in the broth. Add garlic and peppercorns then simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. Add salt and continue simmering until tender. Transfer pata to a platter. Run your knife on one side of the pork leg to separate the meat from the bone. Discard the bone and refrigerate the meat overnight.

Heat about 4 to 5 cups of fresh oil in a deep casserole. When it is smoking hot, slowly submerge the pata. Reduce heat and continue deep-frying until golden brown. Just when you think it is just nice and crispy, sprinkle few drops of water to make the rind crispier. Drain, chop as you wish and serve with your favorite condiment.

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.