Erwin's Kitchen Stories6 Comments

Paru-Parung Bukid

Erwin

Erwin Ines, cooking and writing from Canada, has decided to jump into the ripples of the butterfly effect. Here is his own take aptly entitled Paru-parong Bukid, which literally translates to “farm butterfly.” The meme’s guidelines are here. – Iska

It’s a dawn of a new day. I have seemingly been into a tunnel of a major trial and tribulation, which I feel I will abandon soon enough. It didn’t work to my expectation or to my desires. I would love to stay, but I know in the long-term or in the near future, this very, very short stint won’t positively workout. This sort of wandering brought me to an episode somewhere, lingering in my head, for about an hour so, specifically about my life here, which is now centred on food. I’ve immersed myself to this liking and went a bit overboard in this journey. I’ve missed a step, again, and I have to reconcile my thoughts and my wants against my urgent needs. In this particular quest, I would love to share my traipsing, my sojourn of eternal bliss, into this new adventure.

I was asked about several things regarding food and being a food aficionado: An Ingredient, A Dish or Recipe, A Meal, A Cookbook, A Chef or Food Personality, and Another Person in my Life. These topics cover most, if not many, of a food lover’s recipe to the past; a comforting sign of remembering those leisurely Sundays with family and friends while reinforcing the present and carving the future that lies somewhere. Below are my loving companion and motivation in the kitchen. They have shaped me as a person as I am now and gave me real inspiration to move on despite the harsh realities of being exposed in a kitchen work life.

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Pork16 Comments
Picadillo Torta

Lasang Pinoy 15: Giniling Galore

Iska

LP15: Recycled, Reloaded

What do you do with leftover food? Everyday cooking has made me a bit of an expert in calculating how much we can consume and which dish is a hit that I seldom have leftovers. But of course it doesn’t happen all the time. Fine. Yet I don’t think I could throw away a good and decent portion of food without feeling guilty for the hungry street children and leftovers aren’t as appetizing the second time around so a makeover is usually the case. One way of being creative is to camouflage it as an ingredient to a new dish. Usually I cut pieces of meat (like adobo) or vegetables, and use them as ingredient to fried rice the next morning for breakfast. A stir-fry vegetable dish could be toppings to fried noodles. I think of fish balls when there is leftover steamed fish. What’s left of sinaing na tulingan can be made into tuna pasta or tuna omelet. Don’t be surprised that I even made something out of take-away beef rendang!

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Erwin's Kitchen Stories, Rice8 Comments
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Lasang Pinoy 15: Erwin’s Paella

Erwin



Erwin Ines is this blog’s reader/commenter who never fails to give great cooking tips. I invited him as a guest blogger and I am ecstatic that he agrees to contribute this entry for the 15th round of Lasang Pinoy. A Credit and Financial Analyst in Manila, Erwin migrated to Canada in 2003 and made a drastic career change a year and a half later. With his passion for food and love for cooking, he decided to take a Continuing Education Chef Training Course at George Brown College’s Chef School in Toronto. He currently works as a cook in an Italian-American restaurant.

Strange Love

Ever wondered why Filipino cooking has never transcended into the realm of fine dining? In Manila, fine and casual dining has evolved from 15 to 25 years ago because of several obvious factors: economy, competition, creativity, the need for newer and fresher concepts and globalization. These liberal and presented juggernauts of world politics and common belief of almost total to complete improvement of self as well as self-respect and political parody have brought Filipino taste to majestic heights. However, this is only true for Manila, the city I have abandoned and loved. How about across the Atlantic? Have Filipinos realized how far Pinoy food has competed against their counterparts? South Asian, Thai and West Indian Cuisines have flourished, expanded, mutated and sprouted from all over, releasing their exotic and Caribbean tastes and spices. Indeed, they have become known and popular through these years. Spices such as All Spice, Garam Masala, Curry Powder (in paste & powder forms), Jerk, Coriander, and Cumin have become a mainstay in many kitchens nowadays. They have also been praised by Professional Chefs who have in time included some noticeable, succinct flavours into their menu-fusion.

Sadly, Pinoy food has only reached a certain level of appreciation and has never soared to a new level or new heights. Did you ever wonder why Pinoy cuisine, despite the never-ending and continuous flooding and flocking of immigrants around North America, have never transcended into the realm of true, exquisite, fresh, and flavourful cooking? In my short stint here, I have discovered one reason for this shortcoming: SHORT-CUTS. I feel, for many involved in cooking as a hobby, more so as a profession, and based on my kitchen experiences, Pinoys tend to cut corners and alleviate from what is right and proper or to what should be to what NOT. For example, Italians generally know how to make healthy, nurturing food for the family at a short time without making sacrifices on many ingredients. The key to good food, in their case, is freshness.

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Musings12 Comments

The Butterfly Effect

Iska

I could say I am back to foodblogging after a couple of busy months and now Mita the Unofficial Cook has tagged me for “The Butterfly Effect,” a meme created by Dan over at SaltShaker. It really is quite an interesting meme as it made me reflect on the important roles of certain items, events and people that has affected my foodie life. So here is how it goes.

Dan says on The Butterfly Effect
My thought in this meme is food items or events that changed your foodie life. Not some “oh it’s the first time I didn’t put jelly on a peanut butter sandwich and used bananas instead” sort of change, unless you truly feel that affected you profoundly. That’s the key – it affected you profoundly, in some manner. A moment you can look back at and say “that was a defining moment”. The questions are simple, the answers might be harder – an item, person, event, or place that had that effect on you, and why. They don’t have to be big splashy things – sometimes it’s something very small and simple that changes the way we view the world – the famed “butterfly effect” (and I’m not talking about the Aston Kutcher movie). So, to those who want to participate, copy this and pass it on (and, if you’re so inclined, do a trackback to the originating post). Here are your categories:
1. An ingredient
2. A dish, a recipe
3. A meal (in a restaurant, a home, or elsewhere)
4. A cookbook or other written work
5. A food ‘personality’ (chef, writer, etc.)
6. Another person in your life

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Pork3 Comments
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Braised Boneless Pata

Iska

I could have easily call this dish humba or even hamonadong pata but certain ingredients are missing such as bean curd, tausi (salted black beans), or pineapple and I don’t intend to confuse my readers with regards to the Philippine cuisine. As I am already perplexed with names and what ingredient goes into what recipe, I choose to simply call it – braised boneless pata. With a decent piece of pork leg and staple pantry items, here’s another melt-in-your-mouth dish.

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Musings5 Comments
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Beijing’s Mooncakes

Iska

De ja vu? Maybe just like me you also saw Mike’s mooncake box from Shangri-la Manila.

It’s a week-long vacation here in Beijing and the house is overflowing with mooncakes from Consultants and Suppliers. (Oh no! Not because of the Mooncake festival but it is China’s National Day.) This year the Mooncake Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 6th of this month when the moon is at its brightest for the entire year. Go here to read its legend.

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Appetizers17 Comments
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Lasang Pinoy 14: Embutido

Iska

Only few Filipino dishes with Spanish influence made it to our dining table as everyday food when we were young. Aside from the obvious budgetary reasons, my parents were never huge fans especially those thick, rich stews with tomatoes that are usually fiesta material. If there is anything ‘Spanish’ in what we cook then it is what JMom calls the holy trilogy of Filipino cuisine – the technique of sauteing garlic, onions and tomatoes with oil that I never realized came from the Spaniards.

For this month’s LP event A La Espanyola, I decided to cook embutido instead of the obvious holy trilogy. Embutido or the Pinoy meatloaf is still considered a luxury dish to date and as common as lechon and leche flan in any feast gathering. Here is a recipe based on one that came from my HS Home Economics book. We had few cookery demos at school to reinforce practical cooking at home and it’s one of those that I tried. I read it once and then cooked it as I follow my heart. Now I prepare the occasional rolls whenever I have the precious time.

My embutido in Beijing has a little twist though. I used Chinese chorizo instead of chorizo de Bilbao (or sausages/hotdogs) and Chinese green raisins instead of the common brown raisins. Fear not… everything turned out quite well. The seemingly alien ingredients add extra sweetness to the meatloaf. Scrumptious and fab!

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Beef & Lamb2 Comments
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Bistek

Iska

For some reason bistek is commonly known as the Philippine version of the western-style beef steak. As for me I couldn’t find any similarity unless of course other people’s bistek is different from what I learnt from my folks. Nevertheless I love this dish – saucy, tangy what with the kalamansi flavor and oh so appetizing I couldn’t stop getting myself few more cups of extra rice to go with it.

The good thing about this Pinoy steak is that you don’t have to buy the most expensive parts like those from the loin. Not everyone can afford it anyway so the much less expensive and less tender but usually more flavorful are just fine. Cut the beef thinly and always remember to pound each slice lightly with the back of a kitchen knife to tenderize, and of course a little over than just few minutes of cooking time. It’s also a famous carinderia recipe.

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Musings2 Comments

Russian Brand Corned Beef

Iska

Server problem is gone (Whew!). Back to normal way of blogging though I kinda like what I did with my last post. I think I’d do it again for the recipes next time. Hmmmm…. I used to sulk for not finding a can of corned beef here in Beijing but lo! The neighborhood Russian store always saves my day. I took the liberty to go through the canned goods section and found this can shown below. I couldn’t read a character but that cow logo somehow made me think it’s gotta be corned beef. (I bought a similar can months … Continue reading Russian Brand Corned Beef